Beef Stroganoff

Hey!  I'm still here just so much has happened since my last post.  I have to say that "2011" hasn't been my best year,  but it could always  be worse I suppose.  No worries, I'm still cooking:>).  Tonight I made beef stroganoff from a Food Network Recipe.  I followed the recipe to a tee and you know what?  I don't like beef stroganoff.  I can't say that I had it before, so I really didn't know what to expect, but I don't like it. I don't think it was this particular recipe because I reviewed several and they were all pretty much the same.   I found it to be rather too boring and bland for my liking.  I like foods that add a punch and this just didn't do it for me.  Anyway, I'm sure that this dish is good eats for someone, but not me.  Oh, Will also thought it was just kind so-so.  Anyway, until next time Happy Holidays!  I'll be bringing a quick and easy appetizer and simple dessert next time, so stay tuned.

Ginger Garlic Chicken & Noodles

This dish has a lot of potential, and it could've been really awesome had I done a few things differently.  So this is how you should do it... take 3 boneless skinless chicken breast and cut them into small bite size pieces and coat them lightly in a mixture of cornstarch and Kosher Salt.  Heat about 1/4 C canola oil over high heat in a large skillet.  Add your chicken to the hot oil and brown.  While chicken is cooking get your noodles going.  I used linguini.  Be sure to add salt to your boiling water.  Cook noodles according to directions.  Remove the chicken from the pan and add your garlic and ginger and saute over med heat until the oil infuses the garlic and ginger (about 3-5 minutes), add your chicken back into the skillet and add 3/4  C  chicken stock and let the dish simmer for about 10 minutes.  Drain cooked noodles and reserves about 1/2 C of the pasta water.  Take 10 leaves of fresh basil and tear by hand and added to noodles and add about 3 tbs of thai garlic chili oil to the pasta and fold it in.  Add a little of the pasta water, just to keep the noodles loose.  Serve the noodles in a bowl with the chicken over top and drizzle about 1 tsp of soy sauce over top.  That's it.  FYI- be sure to get your skillet very hot before you add the chicken otherwise the chicken will get a slimy coating on it from the corn starch.  This slimey coating will overtake the dish and that's not Good Eats.

Spicy Thai Noodles with Ginger Peanut Dressing

This dish is also from the Food Network, from the Next Food Network Star Show.  The chef is Dzintra Dzenis and although she didn't win the title of Next Food Network Star, she did have some good recipes, this one being one of them.  As usual I modified the recipe to fit what I had to work with.  I used 1 lb of chicken tenders that I marinated overnite, but I didn't have thai chiles, so wherever you see them in the recipe I substituted jalapenos. I also grilled the chicken tenders on med-low heat for about 8-10 minutes total, turning often.  I didn't skewer the cooked chicken with the orange either, but I bet that would have been a nice combination.

The dressing was a bit thick, so I added about 1/2 C of chicken stock to loosen it up.  It really was peanut-ee, so next time for my liking I will use less peanut butter or substitute Tahini (sesame paste).  I also added chopped roasted peanuts atop the noodles along with the cilantro, peppers and scallions. One ingredient that I LOVE in this recipe is the chili oil.   You need to get it, it tastes so good and has that burst of heat that I love.  I can see me adding the chili oil to just about everything.  It would be great mixed with garlic over pasta.  I have some leftover linguini from the dish tonight, so that could be my lunch tomorrow.

Anyway, this dish was yummy and I will make it again.  Try it and let me know what you think.  Good Eats!!

Dirty P's Garlic-Ginger Chicken Thighs & Sesame Noodles

Tonight I made 2 dishes from the Food Network.  The chicken thighs are a Guy Fieri recipe, which is very easy.   The thighs grilled up with a crispy outside and were very moist and juicy inside.  The flavor had a nice mellow, slightly sweet and salty taste.  Really yummy and very easy, the hardest part is that you need to marinate them, and I chose to marinate them overnight.   I recommend this recipe and I will definitely make it again.  Since the thighs had an asian flair, I decided to serve them with a Rachael Ray Sesame Noodle Recipe.  I chose to use linguini pasta and I doubled the recipe, since it calls for 1 serving.  I really like this dish.  It was SOoooo easy and really yummy.  It too had a mellow flavor, not over the top peanut buttery or sesami-ish.  I will definitely make this one again, it really only takes about 8 minutes to make it.  I would suggest that you try them both together or alone.  BTW, hubby is recovering well from the fall,  he has a broken rib and he's very sore and bruised, but TG he will be OK.  Anyway, give these dishes a try they are Very Good Eats!