A spicy kick

Around here, we're always up for a spicy dish. Indian? You bet! Thai? Yes, please! Mexican? We're on board!

When I saw this recipe for boneless buffalo chicken strips, I was excited to give them a try. The preparation was fairly quick and easy and the outcome was mighty tasty. The strips weren't quite as crispy as I was expecting, but that may have been due to the large amounts of buffalo sauce that I drizzled over the strips.

All in all, this was a pretty good dish that I will make again.


Buffalo Chicken Strips
Adapted from Cooking Light, as seen on Amber's Delectable Delights
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups coarsely crushed cornflakes
1 pound chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch-thick strips
Cooking spray
1/3 cup hot sauce (such as Frank's Red Hot)
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup ranch dressing
4 celery stalks, cut into sticks
4 carrots, cut into sticks or a handful of baby carrots

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a shallow dish, stirring with a whisk. Place egg whites in a shallow dish. Place cornflakes in a shallow dish. Working with one chicken strip at a time, dredge in flour mixture. Dip in egg whites; dredge in cornflakes. Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken strips, flour mixture, egg whites, and cornflakes.

Lightly coat chicken strips with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until done, turning once halfway through.

Combine hot sauce, pepper sauce, and Worcestershire in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer one minute. Remove from heat; stir in butter. Drizzle hot sauce mixture over chicken. Serve with ranch dressing, celery, and carrots.

Daring Bakers: A different kind of pie

This month's Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Rosa of Rosa's Yummy Yums. The recipe was originally chosen by Sher from What Did You Eat who passed away unexpectedly in July. This post is in memory of her.

The challenge this month was to create pizza dough using following the recipe (with the allowance of going gluten free if desired) and to toss at least two of the pieces of dough. Included in the tossing challenge was the requirement of photographing the high-flying fun.

The rules were pretty simple -- follow the dough recipe as written and top with both sauce and toppings. What sauce and what toppings were entirely up to us. How fun!

Now, I must admit that I was nervous about flinging the dough into the air never having done this move before. But in the end, it was rather fun! Thanks to Matt, my wonderful boyfriend, for taking the photos of me throwing the dough ... and for encouraging me to "throw it higher!"

One thing I definitely learned from this challenge is that I tend to make some pretty silly faces when throwing food in the air:

I was so paranoid about dropping it on the floor. I guess I was concentrating really hard because I kept sticking my tongue out without even realizing it! What a weirdo!

Some other things I learned from this challenge are:
1. Dry active yeast is not the same thing as instant yeast but will still produce a decent crust.
2. Develop gluten more by kneading longer. This will allow the crust to stretch more.
3. 6-7 oz portions are single serving size unless you go quite thin. I will divide into 4 pieces next time.
4. Only put semolina under the pizza, otherwise the extra will burn and smoke your house up. I had to stand waving a kitchen towel at my smoke detector trying to keep it from going off and pissing off my neighbors. I was quite surprised that it didn't go off considering the billowing smoke clouds floating through my living room ...

All in all, I really enjoyed this challenge. It was my first attempt at pizza dough but it certainly will not be my last! I am excited to try out different recipes and other techniques. Although, I must say that this was a great recipe. Matt does not particularly care for pizza but expressed several times how great the crust tasted!

Basic Pizza Dough
Source: The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread, by Peter Reinhart
Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches)

4 1/2 cups (20 1/4 ounces) unbleached bread flour, chilled
1 3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1/4 cup (2 ounces) olive oil or vegetable oil (optional but tasty)
1 3/4 cups (14 ounces) water, ice cold (40° F)
1 tablespoon sugar
Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

Day one:
Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer. (For those of you without stand mixers, check out Rosa's page for instructions.)

Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well with the paddle attachment on low speed until the ingredients come together in a sticky ball of dough. Switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for 5-7 minutes. (Longer may be better for good gluten production.) The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water. The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F.

Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with parchment paper. Lightly oil the paper.

With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).

Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.

Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap and put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to three days. (For long term storage, pour a few tablespoons of oil in a medium bowl and dip each of the dough balls into the oil, so that each is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate zippered freezer bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.)

Day two:
On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch thick and 5 inches in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F). (If you don't have a baking stone, you can use a cookie sheet or pizza pan -- just don't preheat them like you would a stone.)

Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan or pizza peel with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take one piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.

During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping. If you have trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.
You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn’t as effective as the toss method.

When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches for a 6 ounce piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly pan or peel, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan/peel.

Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.
NOTE: Remember that the best pizzas are topped not too generously. No more than 3 or 4 toppings (including sauce and cheese) are sufficient.

Using the peel, shimmy the pizza onto the baking stone or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for about 5-8 minutes. After 2 minutes, rotate 180°.

If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone or jelly roll pan to a lower shelf before the next round. On the contrary, if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone or jelly roll pan.

Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.


Pizza #1: Red pepper pesto sauce with tomatoes and fresh mozzarella

Red pepper pesto sauce (recipe follows)
1/2 beefsteak or plum tomato, sliced
Fresh mozzarella (amount to your liking)

Spoon a small amount into the center of the pizza dough and smooth with the back of the spoon covering most of the crust in a thin layer of sauce -- leave the edge plain. Lay a few thin slices of tomato on top of the pesto and then top with slices of fresh mozzarella cheese. Follow baking instructions above. (This is a bit wetter than the rest of the recipes I tried so you may have better luck moving it closer to the heating element in your oven.)

Red Pepper Pesto Sauce
Source: Rachael Ray as seen on Two Novice Chefs, One Tiny Kitchen
1 cup drained, packed roasted red peppers
2 small cloves garlic
1 (3-ounce) jar pignoli/pine nuts
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, a couple of handfuls
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it

Combine roasted peppers, garlic, pine nuts, parsley, salt and pepper and cheese in a food processor. Turn the processor on and stream in the extra-virgin olive oil to form a thick, pasty sauce forms. Adjust seasoning and transfer sauce to a large bowl.

The pesto is delicious and a nice variation on a classic. This pizza was a simple but crowd pleasing combination.

Pizza #2: Mexican Pizza

Mexican Pizza
Salsa (homemade or from a jar)
Black beans
Roasted chicken, sliced or shredded
Mexican cheese blend
Scallions, sliced on the bias
Sour cream, for topping
Guacamole, for topping (homemade or store bought)

Spoon a small amount of salsa into the center of the pizza dough and smooth with the back of the spoon covering most of the crust in a thin layer of sauce -- leave the edge plain. Sprinkle on a small amount of black beans and then lay on the chicken. Top with the cheese and bake according to the instructions above.


Once removed from the oven, top with the scallions. Top individual slices with a small dollop of sour cream and guacamole.

Pizza #3: White sauce with bacon, bleu cheese, ground beef, and onions

White sauce (recipe follows)
1/2 medium onion, cut into half moons and sauteed
3 sliced thick cut bacon, cooked, drained and chopped
1/4 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1 to 2 ounces bleu cheese
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Spoon a small amount of sauce into the center of the pizza dough and smooth with the back of the spoon covering most of the crust in a thin layer of sauce -- leave the edge plain. Add the sauteed onions in a thin layer then top with ground beef and bacon. Next, sprinkle on the bleu cheese and Parmesan. Follow baking instructions above.

Pizza Blanca Sauce (White Pizza Sauce)
Source: Shawn's Recipe Kitchen
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

In a saucier, melt butter. While whisking, add flour and cook for a couple of minutes (to get rid of flour taste). Slowly whisk in milk, adding gradually to make a sauce. Stir in spices and cheese.

Pizza #4: Sausage, apple, and sage pizza with cranberry sauce


1/4 to 1/2 cup jellied cranberry sauce, warmed
4 fresh sage leaves, chiffonade
1/2 apple, sliced wafer thin (a vegetable peeler does a great job) and tossed in lemon juice to prevent browning
1 link sweet Italian sausage, removed from the casing and browned
Cheddar cheese, shredded (amount to your liking)

Spoon a small amount of sauce into the center of the pizza dough and smooth with the back of the spoon covering most of the crust in a thin layer of sauce -- leave the edge plain. Sprinkle the sage over the sauce and top with the apple slices. Add sausage and cheese. Follow baking instructions above.


Be sure to check out the blogroll to see what the other Daring Bakers came up with!

A failure?

Have you ever tried to follow a recipe, only to find out half-way through that you're missing something, be it an ingredient, a tool, whatever? Did you scrap the whole thing or muddle through?

Here's one that I thought I was prepared for, only to find out I wasn't in the least! Yet, I forged ahead making do as best I could. The whole time I was thinking to myself, "this is going to be terrible, which is probably a good thing because if Matt ever wanted this again, there's no way I could duplicate it!"

He loved it. Go figure.

Considering that my flub-up was so successful, I can only imagine how good the real version must be! Click the link to read the original; my screwed up modified version is below. (If I can remember what the heck I did ...)

Chettinad Style Chicken Curry
Adapted from: Sailu’s Kitchen

1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 cup shallots
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 clove of garlic, mashed into a paste
1" of ginger, mashed into a paste
1 lb boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/2 can coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I accidentally dumped a bunch in ... I added 1/2 can extra coconut milk to try to neutralize the overwhelming cinnamon taste)
Additional curry powder to taste

Heat oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and curry powder and saute for 2 minutes. (This may smoke a little.) Add the garlic and ginger pastes and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken and increase the heat to high. Cook for approximately 4 minutes, stirring frequently.

Reduce to medium heat, add salt, turmeric powder and tomatoes and combine well. Continue cooking for 4-5 minutes, uncovered.

Add the coconut milk and cook for 5 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink. Add the remaining spices and let simmer for 3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.

Serve hot with white rice.

My first homemade tomato sauce

I've known for a long time that I should be making my own tomato sauce. Yet I haven't because the jar is just so convenient. But when Matt requested Chicken Parmesan, I decided it was time.

Both the chicken and the sauce from this recipe tasted fantastic. The one complaint Matt and I had was that there wasn't quite enough sauce. I may have let it simmer too long, I'm not sure. The flavor though, was amazing. My kitchen smelled like an Italian restaurant. And adding the basil I grew from seeds was so rewarding. Especially since I'm a plant killer and the basil is still thriving. (Yay me!)


Chicken Parmesan
Source: Nook & Pantry
4 chicken breasts, sliced or pounded thin
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons flour
1 large egg, beaten
1 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
3/4 cup coarsely grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
16 ounces pasta (Spaghetti or Linguini)

Tomato Sauce
2 - 3 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
2 Tablespoons olive oil
28 oz. can diced tomatoes or whole tomatoes crushed
1 small onion, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herb mix
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup basil leaves (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan or Dutch oven and add the onions. Cook until the onions are soft and translucent, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute. Add the tomatoes, dried herbs, sugar, black pepper and simmer until the sauce thickens. Salt to taste. Keep warm and set aside.

Begin boiling water for the pasta. Meanwhile, beat the egg, and prepare two trays for the flour and the panko bread crumbs.

Salt and pepper the chicken cutlets. Lightly dredge them in flour, patting off the excess, then dip into the beaten egg, then press and coat both sides with panko. Set aside until all cutlets are breaded.

Preheat broiler (I used my toaster oven). Add your pasta and some salt to the boiling water. Cook the chicken while the pasta is boiling.

Heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Pan fry the chicken cutlets until both sides are golden brown, about 2 - 3 minutes per side.

Transfer the chicken cutlets onto a tray lined with a wire rack. Mix the mozzarella and Parmesan together and cover each cutlet with some cheese. Broil until the cheese is melted and spotty brown.

Meanwhile drain the pasta when it is finished. Roughly chop or tear the basil leaves and stir them into the sauce. Transfer the pasta and chicken to plates and spoon the sauce on top.



I'm sure I'll still turn to the jar once in a while, but I will no longer fear making my own sauce. It's just so much better.

Not your average chicken

Matt does not like chicken. This is unusual for him since he likes just about everything! I wanted to find a chicken dish that would be a bit different from what he's used to so he might not mind eating it. This one was just that.

Honey-Pecan Chicken Thighs
Source: CookingLight.com
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3/4 cup honey, divided
3/4 cup Dijon mustard, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon curry powder

Combine first 4 ingredients; sprinkle evenly over chicken in a shallow dish. Stir together 1/2 cup honey, 1/2 cup mustard, and garlic; pour over chicken. Cover and chill 2 hours.

Remove chicken from marinade, discarding marinade. Dredge chicken in pecans; place on a lightly greased rack in an aluminum foil-lined broiler pan.

Bake at 375° for 40 minutes or until chicken is done.

Stir together remaining 1/4 cup honey, remaining 1/4 cup mustard, and curry powder; serve sauce with chicken.

(Sorry I didn't get any photos of this one!)

You've gotta love dip!

In the last year, I have begun making dips for parties. They're usually pretty easy and people love them! Here's one I made recently that got rave reviews.

Buffalo Chicken Dip
Source: GAgirl
1 package precooked chicken (such as Perdue ShortCuts), diced
8 oz. Franks Red Hot
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup blue cheese or ranch salad dressing
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a large bowl combine: chicken, hot sauce, cream cheese, dressing and ½ of the shredded cheese. (A potato masher works well for this!)

Pour mixture into a greased baking dish and sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.