Moroccan Chicken

Posted on January 17, 2018 by sparecake

I made this with a friend recently for sort of a tiny dinner party, and everyone really liked it, plus the extras made good leftovers for a day or two. Even better, when I showed up 99% of the chopping was already done, so I pretty much just had to stand and occasionally stir. We made a double batch, so, assuming you don’t, you won’t have to worry quite so much about potentially overflowing your pan!

Ingredients:

  • oil, for cooking
  • 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cubed
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 carrots, sliced
  • 2 stalks celery, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (the recipe said 1/4, I doubled and thought it still just a bit warm, not hot)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground tumeric
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup crushed tomatoes
  • 1 cup canned chickpeas, drained
  • 1 zucchini, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • prepared rice or couscous for serving

Heat a small amount of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Season the chicken with the salt and cook in the heated pan until almost cooked through, then remove from the pan and set aside.

In the same pan, heat a bit more oil, then add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, then add the ginger, paprika, cumin, oregano, cayenne, and tumeric. Cook about 1 minute, stirring frequently, then add the broth and tomatoes and stir to combine. Add the chicken back, reduce the heat, and simmer the mixture for 10 minutes.

Add the chickpeas and zucchini to the mixture, bring back to a simmer, then cover and cook for 15 minutes, or until the zucchini is tender. Stir in the lemon juice and serve. (We, uh, forgot the lemon juice, and it was still good? Oops!!)

Moroccan Chicken

From AllRecipes.

  • oil, for cooking
  • 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cubed
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 carrots, sliced
  • 2 stalks celery, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground tumeric
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup crushed tomatoes
  • 1 cup canned chickpeas, drained
  • 1 zucchini, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • prepared rice or couscous for serving

Heat a small amount of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Season the chicken with the salt and cook in the heated pan until almost cooked through, then remove from the pan and set aside.

In the same pan, heat a bit more oil, then add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, then add the ginger, paprika, cumin, oregano, cayenne, and tumeric. Cook about 1 minute, stirring frequently, then add the broth and tomatoes and stir to combine. Add the chicken back, reduce the heat, and simmer the mixture for 10 minutes.

Add the chickpeas and zucchini to the mixture, bring back to a simmer, then cover and cook for 15 minutes, or until the zucchini is tender. Stir in the lemon juice and serve.

 

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Cranberry Hoisin Chicken Wings

Posted on January 10, 2018 by sparecake

Some delicious wings with a really tasty sauce. We brought these to a potluck where they were well liked, and the cranberry hoisin sauce also goes very nicely with brie, if you have some extra to use up! We made a double batch, and it felt like a good amount to bring to a big potluck, plus was the right amount to all fit in the oven at once.

Limited pictures because I was eating these at a crowded potluck!

Ingredients:

Wings:

  • 3 1/2 pounds chicken wings, halved at joints and tips removed (thanks to my mom for dealing with that while I…sat around?)
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

Sauce:

  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon pressed or grated garlic
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1/3 cup orange juice
  • 1 cup cranberries, rinsed
  • 1/4 cup hoisin sauce (you can get that gluten-free if needed!)
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, or more to taste
  • black pepper, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. If making a single batch, place oven rack in the center position. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on the pan.

Place the chicken in a large bowl, or, better, a large ziplock, and toss with the baking powder until evenly coated. Add the salt and pepper and toss again. Arrange the coated wings, skin-side-up, on the rack.

Cook for 40 minutes, then turn the heat to 425 and cook for an additional 40 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Ours took a while longer, perhaps because I let out all the heat taking forever rotating/swapping the two pans for the doubled batch… Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

While the chicken cooks, in a saucepan combine the vegetable oil, garlic, and ginger over medium heat until it begins to sizzle.

Add the juice and berries and bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any stuck bits. Simmer, swirling occasionally, until the berries pop and soften, about 3 minutes.

Add the hoisin, honey, rice vinegar, and hot pepper sauce, and return to a simmer. Continue simmering until the cranberries are very soft, about 7 minutes, then use a wooden spoon and mash half the cranberries against the side of the pan and stir the squashed berries into the sauce.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add black pepper, to taste, and the butter, and stir as the butter melts to incorporate it into the sauce. Taste, and add additional pepper or hot pepper sauce as desired. Serve poured over the wings, or on the side for dipping.

Ready to be sauced!

Cranberry Hoisin Chicken Wings

From The Globe Magazine, 11/24/2017.

Wings:

  • 3 1/2 pounds chicken wings, halved at joints and tips removed
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

Sauce:

  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon pressed or grated garlic
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1/3 cup orange juice
  • 1 cup cranberries, rinsed
  • 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, or more to taste
  • black pepper, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. If making a single batch, place oven rack in the center position. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on the pan.

Place the chicken in a large bowl, or, better, a large ziplock, and toss with the baking powder until evenly coated. Add the salt and pepper and toss again. Arrange the coated wings, skin-side-up, on the rack. Cook for 40 minutes, then turn the heat to 425 and cook for an additional 40 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

While the chicken cooks, in a saucepan combine the vegetable oil, garlic, and ginger over medium heat until it begins to sizzle. Add the juice and berries and bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any stuck bits. Simmer, swirling occasionally, until the berries pop and soften, about 3 minutes. Add the hoisin, honey, rice vinegar, and hot pepper sauce, and return to a simmer. Continue simmering until the cranberries are very soft, about 7 minutes, then use a wooden spoon and mash half the cranberries against the side of the pan and stir the squashed berries into the sauce. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add black pepper, to taste, and the butter, and stir as the butter melts to incorporate it into the sauce. Taste, and add additional pepper or hot pepper sauce as desired. Serve poured over the wings, or on the side for dipping.

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Crockpot Potato Soup

Posted on January 3, 2018 by sparecake

An easy meal for some warmth on these cold cold nights.

Ingredients:

  • 6 russet potatoes, peeled and diced (ok I didn’t bother peeling and no one died…)
  • 2 medium onions, diced
  • 2 carrots, peeled and finely diced (again, can’t be bothered peeling)
  • 2 celery stalks, finely diced
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 1/4 cup brown rice flour
  • 1 1/2 cups half-and-half

Combine the potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, broth, basil, salt, and pepper in a crockpot.

Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8.

With one hour left in the cook time, stir together the brown rice flour and half-and-half in a small bowl and set aside.

In the crockpot, use a potato masher to roughly mash the potatoes, leaving some small chunks.

Smooshing up the potatoes makes a much creamier soup, even before the half-and-half!

Stir in the half-and-half mixture. Re-cover the crock pot and cook for the remaining time.

Nice and warm, and extra carb-y when you wind up serving it with crusty bread!

Crockpot Potato Soup

From The Everything Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Cookbook.

  • 6 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 2 medium onions, diced
  • 2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
  • 2 celery stalks, finely diced
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 1/4 cup brown rice flour
  • 1 1/2 cups half-and-half

Combine the potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, broth, basil, salt, and pepper in a crockpot. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8.

With one hour left in the cook time, stir together the brown rice flour and half-and-half in a small bowl and set aside. In the crockpot, use a potato masher to roughly mash the potatoes, leaving some small chunks. Stir in the half-and-half mixture. Re-cover the crock pot and cook for the remaining time.

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Porcupine Balls

Posted on December 27, 2017 by sparecake

Delicious little pork meatballs with Asian flavors, coated with rice to give the porcupine flavor. I don’t cook in a steamer too often, but this worked out well with no drama.

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

  • 1 1/4 cup medium-grain rice (I used 1 cup, and ran slightly short)
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1/3 cup chopped water chestnuts
  • 6 green onions, both white and green parts, chopped
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger (ours had gone gross, I used about 1/2 tablespoon dried ginger)
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce (gf if necessary)
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Soy Vinegar Dipping Sauce:

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2-3 slices fresh jalapeno or large pinch red pepper flakes (optional)

Place the rice in a bowl of water and soak at least 4 hours, up to 12 hours. Drain well, and then spread on a plate or small baking sheet. The rice didn’t feel softened, but it had swelled a bunch, so I certainly wouldn’t skip this step!

In a medium bowl, combine all remaining meatball ingredients and stir together until well combined.

With wet hands, shape the mixture into 24 meatballs. If the meat is too soft to shape, refrigerate for 15 minutes and try again. Roll each meatball in the rice to coat, rolling gently so that rice remains only on the outside of the balls.

Couple in the far back have pretty much no rice, which is why I’m recommending a bit more!

Meatballs can now be steamed, refrigerated for several hours on a plate, or frozen on a plate and then transferred to a freezer bag for longer-term storage.

When ready to cook, bring several inches of water to a boil in a wok or large pot. Oil the tray of a steamer and add the meatballs. Place the steamer tray over the boiling water and cover. Cook for 20 minutes, adding an additional 5 minutes if cooking frozen meatballs.

While the meatballs steam, stir together all dipping sauce ingredients. Once the meatballs have cooked, serve hot with the dipping sauce. Maybe if you’re not forgetful, make some snow peas or something for greenery, but hey, you do you!

They juuuust all fit, which is convenient so we don’t have to do another round of steaming.

Porcupine Balls

From The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen.

Meatballs:

  • 1 1/4 cup medium-grain rice
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1/3 cup chopped water chestnuts
  • 6 green onions, both white and green parts, chopped
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Soy Vinegar Dipping Sauce:

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2-3 slices fresh jalapeno or large pinch red pepper flakes (optional)

Place the rice in a bowl of water and soak at least 4 hours, up to 12 hours. Drain well, and then spread on a plate or small baking sheet.

In a medium bowl, combine all remaining meatball ingredients and stir together until well combined. With wet hands, shape the mixture into 24 meatballs. If the meat is too soft to shape, refrigerate for 15 minutes and try again. Roll each meatball in the rice to coat, rolling gently so that rice remains only on the outside of the balls. Meatballs can now be steamed, refrigerated for several hours on a plate, or frozen on a plate and then transferred to a freezer bag for longer-term storage.

When ready to cook, bring several inches of water to a boil in a wok or large pot. Oil the tray of a steamer and add the meatballs. Place the steamer tray over the boiling water and cover. Cook for 20 minutes, adding an additional 5 minutes if cooking frozen meatballs.

While the meatballs steam, stir together all dipping sauce ingredients. Once the meatballs have cooked, serve hot with the dipping sauce.

 

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Sheet Pan Carrot Soup

Posted on December 20, 2017 by sparecake

A simple soup that is rich in taste but pretty light on dishes – totally doable for a healthy fall work-night dinner!

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds carrots, ends removed and roughly chopped
  • 1 onion, peeled and quartered
  • 2 celery ribs, roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, smashed (don’t mince into super tiny pieces or the garlic will cook too much)
  • 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 6 cups vegetable stock
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees while you prepare the vegetables. Place the vegetables and herbs on a sheet pan, drizzle with the olive oil, and sprinkle with the salt and pepper.

Roast for 30 minutes. Towards the end of the 30 minutes, bring the stock to a simmer in a large pot.

When the vegetables are done cooking, just toss them in the pot, taking the rosemary and thyme leaves off the stems before adding them in as well.

Let simmer for a few minutes, then blend using an immersion blender until smooth.

If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can let the soup cool somewhat, then transfer in batches to a regular blender to blend, but with how often I pour things next to what I was aiming for, the immersion blender’s the way to go for me!

Stir in the cream, and serve. This soup pretty much begs to be served with a nice crusty bread, so keep that in mind while you’re at the store!

Sheet Pan Carrot Soup

From Crunch Time Kitchen.

  • 2 pounds carrots, ends removed and roughly chopped
  • 1 onion, peeled and quartered
  • 2 celery ribs, roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, smashed (don’t mince into super tiny pieces or the garlic will cook too much)
  • 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 6 cups vegetable stock
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees while you prepare the vegetables. Place the vegetables and herbs on a sheet pan, drizzle with the olive oil, and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes. Towards the end of the 30 minutes, bring the stock to a simmer in a large pot.

When the vegetables are done cooking, just toss them in the pot, taking the rosemary and thyme leaves off the stems before adding them in as well. Let simmer for a few minutes, then blend using an immersion blender until smooth. Stir in the cream, and serve.

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Churro Flavored Oyster Crackers

Posted on December 13, 2017 by sparecake

A quick snack to throw together before a party, these tasty bites disappear quickly with a crowd!

Ingredients:

  • 5 cups oyster crackers (one large bag)
  • 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, divided
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Ankle height and hard to find at the supermarket, but they exist!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spread the crackers evenly over the pan before setting aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from the heat and quickly stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon and the vanilla, then pour over the crackers. Stir the sugar mixture and crackers until the crackers are evenly coated.

Bake 10 minutes.

While the crackers bake, combine the sugar, remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and the salt in a small dish.

Once the crackers are baked, remove from the oven and quickly sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly over the hot crackers.

Let cool completely, then peel the crackers off the foil, breaking the sugar back up so you have individual crackers. Serve, or store in an airtight container.

This stuff is really, really tasty, especially for something so simple!

Churro Flavored Oyster Crackers

From Cookies and Cups.

  • 5 cups oyster crackers (one large bag)
  • 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, divided
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spread the crackers evenly over the pan before setting aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and quickly stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon and the vanilla, then pour over the crackers. Stir the sugar mixture and crackers until the crackers are evenly coated, then bake 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar, remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and the salt in a small dish. Once the crackers are baked, remove from the oven and quickly sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly over the hot crackers. Let cool completely, then peel the crackers off the foil, breaking the sugar back up so you have individual crackers. Serve, or store in an airtight container.

 

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Chopped Liver

Posted on December 6, 2017 by sparecake

This is definitely not a recipe/food for everyone, but I’d been vaguely wanting chopped liver for about a decade, and I’m glad to have finally gotten around to it! We always used to have it before the meal on Thanksgiving, but with Hannuka coming up that’s a decent excuse to make it too!

My mom and I looked at a few cookbooks and took/ignored what we wanted from multiple recipes (5 eggs? Really?? I could see maybe 2, but 5 is a whooole lotta egg!) and the result tasted exactly like I remembered/wanted. In the future I would probably try using the food processor more sparingly, to leave a tiny bit of texture, but if you’re into super smooth, that’s easy enough to achieve too!

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds chicken livers
  • 1 jumbo sweet onion
  • approximately 1/2 cup schmaltz (rendered chicken fat)
  • 1 large egg, hard boiled

You can apparently buy schmaltz jars in some stores. We made it – bought a big thing of chicken fat, heated it in the top of a double boiler until it melted, and strained through cheesecloth. That’s it!

Clean the chicken livers (cut out the connective tissue looking bits).

Liiiitle bit of liver for some happy kittens!

Heat 2 tablespoons of the schmaltz in a large pan over medium-high heat, then add the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and lightly softened, 4-5 minutes. Remove the onions from the heat, and set aside.

Add another 3 tablespoons of schmaltz to the pan and return it to the heat, lowering to medium. Add as many livers as can fit in a single layer to your pan, and cook until cooked through, then place in the bowl with the onions and continue with the remaining livers, adding more schmaltz as needed if the pan looks dry.

Once all the livers are cooked, add the egg and a pinch of salt.

This is half, we put it in the food processor in 2 batches, but it turned out not to be so much that it would overload it, I don’t think.

Process for just a few seconds. Scrape down the sides of the food processor to catch stray onions, then taste and add any additional salt as desired.

Process for another few seconds until well combined, and the texture you prefer. Transfer to a container and refrigerate until cool, then serve with bread or crackers.

We put half straight into the freezer as we weren’t going to eat THAT MUCH LIVER any time soon. We haven’t defrosted it yet, but it’s supposed to be good if you move it to the refrigerator the day before you want to eat it.

Chopped Liver

 

  • 2 pounds chicken livers
  • 1 jumbo sweet onion
  • approximately 1/2 cup schmaltz (rendered chicken fat)
  • 1 large egg, hard boiled

Clean the chicken livers.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the schmaltz in a large pan over medium-high heat, then add the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and lightly softened, 4-5 minutes. Remove the onions from the heat, and set aside.

Add another 3 tablespoons of schmaltz to the pan and return it to the heat, lowering to medium. Add as many livers as can fit in a single layer to your pan, and cook until cooked through, then place in the bowl with the onions and continue with the remaining livers, adding more schmaltz as needed if the pan looks dry.

Once all the livers are cooked, add the egg and a pinch of salt, and process for just a few seconds. Scrape down the sides of the food processor to catch stray onions, then taste and add any additional salt as desired. Process for another few seconds until well combined, and the texture you prefer. Transfer to a container and refrigerate until cool, then serve with bread or crackers.

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Korean Popcorn Chicken

Posted on November 22, 2017 by sparecake

I don’t think I’d ever made fried chicken before, and I certainly hadn’t made double fried chicken, but I’m glad I finally did because this was a very, very good dinner.

When I made this, we used way more rice cakes than chicken, because I didn’t bother measuring at all, but I’m going to give the original measurements because realistically more chicken than rice cake probably is the proper proportion. We still were really into this, though, and all the leftovers disappeared very quickly.

Ingredients:

  • 18 ounces chicken breast, rinsed under cold water and cut into bite sized pieces
  • 5.3 ounces fresh Korean rice cakes, cut in half (if using frozen, put them in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes, drain, and pat dry on paper towels)
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine
  • 2 teaspoons ginger powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 cup potato starch or corn starch (we used corn)
  • cooking oil for deep frying (we used peanut)
  • sesame seeds or finely chopped green onion for garnish (optional)

Sauce:

  • 5 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons gochujang (you can find it gluten-free on Amazon if needed)
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

Drying the huge amount of rice cakes.

Combine the chicken, rice wine, ginger powder, salt, and ground black pepper in a large bowl or large ziplock and mix well. Cover/seal and refrigerate for 30 minutes to marinate.

While the chicken marinates, stir together all the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside. Heat the cooking oil in a deep saucepan/wok to about 350 degrees. Line 2 plates with paper towel, and have more paper towels nearby.

Because of the excessive amount of rice cakes, we actually ended up doubling the sauce last minute, but this is the original amount.

Pour the potato/corn starch in a dish and coat the refrigerated chicken, working in batches to ensure each piece is fully coated.

Once the oil is hot, deep fry the rice cakes in batches, cooking until the outer layer turns crispy (about 30 seconds). The change isn’t visible while they’re in the oil, but when you strain them out if you poke them carefully, they will be crisp. Place the fried rice cakes on a paper towel-lined plate.

Once all the rice cakes are fried, give the oil a moment to heat again, in case the cool rice cakes lowered its temperature, and then begin frying the chicken in batches, cooking 2-3 minutes until lightly browned, and setting the drained chicken on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. For this step, it’s possible to do it alone, but significantly easier if you have one person to have gross chicken-hands dropping the starch-coated chicken into the hot oil, and a second person with clean hands fishing them back out with a large strainer-spoon.

Once all the chicken has been fried once, fry a second time, again 2-3 minutes, until a deeper golden brown. At the end of each 2-3 minute period the chicken begin bubbling more frantically, which is a good sign they’re ready to come out. Set aside the cooked chicken.

Heat a large skillet, then add the prepared sauce, boiling 1-2 minutes while stirring constantly. Add the chicken and rice cakes, stirring to coat.

If you actually follow the ingredient list, rather than winging it, you’ll have a more reasonable (chicken-heavy) proportion of chicken to rice cakes, but either way it’s going to taste fantastic!

Top with any seeds or green onions as desired, and serve.

No seeds for me, please!

Korean Popcorn Chicken

From My Korean Kitchen.

  • 18 ounces chicken breast, rinsed under cold water and cut into bite sized pieces
  • 5.3 ounces fresh Korean rice cakes, cut in half (if using frozen, put them in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes, drain, and pat dry on paper towels)
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine
  • 2 teaspoons ginger powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 cup potato starch or corn starch
  • cooking oil for deep frying
  • sesame seeds or finely chopped green onion for garnish (optional)

Sauce:

  • 5 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons gochujang
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

Combine the chicken, rice wine, ginger powder, salt, and ground black pepper in a large bowl or large ziplock and mix well. Cover/seal and refrigerate for 30 minutes to marinate.

While the chicken marinates, stir together all the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside. Heat the cooking oil in a deep saucepan/wok to about 350 degrees. Line 2 plates with paper towel, and have more paper towels nearby.

Pour the potato/corn starch in a dish and coat the refrigerated chicken, working in batches to ensure each piece is fully coated.

Once the oil is hot, deep fry the rice cakes in batches, cooking until the outer layer turns crispy (about 30 seconds). Place the fried rice cakes on a paper towel-lined plate.

Once all the rice cakes are fried, give the oil a moment to heat again, in case the cool rice cakes lowered its temperature, and then begin frying the chicken in batches, cooking 2-3 minutes until lightly browned, and setting the drained chicken on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Once all the chicken has been fried once, fry a second time, again 2-3 minutes, until a deeper golden brown.

Heat a large skillet, then add the prepared sauce, boiling 1-2 minutes while stirring constantly. Add the chicken and rice cakes, stirring to coat. Top with any seeds or green onions as desired, and serve.

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Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted on November 15, 2017 by sparecake

While I know changing anything about an America’s Test Kitchen is madness, as they test everything 1,000 ways to find the very best methods (and don’t worry, I did retain their unusual stirring method!), I am quite pleased with the results from replacing nuts with freeze-dried strawberries. Chocolate and strawberry is always a good combo, and the browned butter rounds out an irresistible cookie!

Thick and loaded with things!

Ingredients:

  • 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 14 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup lightly crumbled freeze-dried strawberries, measured after crumbling (or, if you must, chopped and toasted pecans or walnuts)

Place one oven rack in the center and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line to baking sheets with parchment and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the flour and baking soda and set aside. Cut 4 tablespoons of the butter into tablespoon-sized chunks and place in a large heat-safe bowl, then set aside.

Heat the remaining 10 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat until melted, then continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the melted butter is dark golden brown and has a nutty scent. Pour the melted butter over the 4 tablespoons of butter in the large bowl and stir until evenly melted.

Whisk in the sugars, salt, and vanilla.

Add the egg and yolk, whisking until no lumps remain, about 30 seconds.

Let the mixture rest for 3 minutes, then whisk a further 30 seconds, rest another 3 minutes, and repeat the whisking and resting a further 2 times. Allowing the sugars to melt into the butter like this apparently adds a bit of a toffee flavor to the finished cookie, and by the looks of it also works some extra air in (lightening the color) while it cools a bit.

Using a rubber spatula, mix in the flour mixture until just combined.

Add the chocolate chips and strawberries, again stirring until just combined.

Divide into 16 portions, each roughly 3 tablespoons in size, and place on the lined baking sheets, about 2″ apart.

Bake one sheet at a time, rotating the pan halfway through, 10-14 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown, with set edges but soft centers, then repeat with the second pan. I cooked my first batch for 12 minutes and they weren’t burnt, but were more baked than they had to be, and my second batch for 10 minutes which was just right with the oven I was using.

12 minutes total

10 minutes total (and I was out of parchment)

Let cool on the pan for several minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely (or eat warm, who are we kidding?!).

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lightly adapted from The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 15th Anniversary Edition.

  • 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 14 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup lightly crumbled freeze-dried strawberries, measured after crumbling

Place one oven rack in the center and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line to baking sheets with parchment and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the flour and baking soda and set aside. Cut 4 tablespoons of the butter into tablespoon-sized chunks and place in a large heat-safe bowl, then set aside.

Heat the remaining 10 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat until melted, then continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the melted butter is dark golden brown and has a nutty scent. Pour the melted butter over the 4 tablespoons of butter in the large bowl and stir until evenly melted. Whisk in the sugars, salt, and vanilla, then the egg and yolk, whisking until no lumps remain, about 30 seconds. Let the mixture rest for 3 minutes, then whisk a further 30 seconds, rest another 3 minutes, and repeat the whisking and resting a further 2 times.

Using a rubber spatula, mix in the flour mixture until just combined, then add the chocolate chips and strawberries, again stirring until just combined. Divide into 16 portions, each roughly 3 tablespoons in size, and place on the lined baking sheets, about 2″ apart. Bake one sheet at a time, rotating the pan halfway through, 10-14 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown, with set edges but soft centers, then repeat with the second pan.

Let cool on the pan for several minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Cake Balls

Posted on November 1, 2017 by sparecake

If you’re the one person on earth I’m likely to have mailed vegan baked goods to this week, a) check your mail tonight, and b) just skip this post. Everyone else, let’s talk delicious things that you’re going to have to make for yourself!

These cake balls, as most cake balls/cake pops do, consist of crumbled up cake mixed with frosting, then coated. Here we’re making a dense, super banana-y cake (worthwhile on its own), a rich delicious peanut butter frosting, and coating them in dark chocolate. Really hard to go wrong with that flavor combo! I doubled the cake and frosting (to make a 9×13″ of cake, vs a 9×9″), which made twice as many cake balls as I could reasonably mail, and definitely more than I actually had the patience to roll or coat, so I’ve put the recipes back down to the baseline, 9×9″ size, but if you have a party or something coming up and need SO MANY CAKE BALLS, go for it!

That wasn’t all of them!

Ingredients:

Banana Cake:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 4 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Peanut Butter Frosting:

  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2-4 tbsp aquafaba (liquid from a can of chickpeas) or milk of choice – the aquafaba sounds like a weird choice, but doesn’t flavor the frosting and gives you an excuse to make some crispy baked chickpeas while you let the cake cool!

To Finish:

  • 1 – 1 1/2 10 ounce bags dark chocolate chips
  • vegetable shortening, optional

To make the cake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×9″ cake pan. Stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and oil, then whisk in the banana, followed by the water and vanilla.

Add the dry mixture to the wet, stirring until just combined.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.

Bake 45-50 minutes until the cake passes the toothpick test.

If you are making a double batch, bake in a 9×13″ pan. Check at 45 minutes, and if the top is already browned, cover with foil to prevent burning and bake another 10-15 minutes until the cake passes the toothpick test.

Let the baked cake cool, at least until you can handle it comfortably, or completely. Meanwhile, make the frosting by stirring together the peanut butter, powdered sugar, and 2 tablespoons of the aquafaba/milk, adding additional additional liquid as needed to reach your desired consistency (in this case, a smoother, spreadable consistency will be much easier than a thicker one!). Line plates or a baking sheet (whatever fits in your freezer) with wax paper and set aside.

Too thick!

Lovely!

Once the cake has cooled and the frosting is prepared, crumble the cake by hand into a large bowl. Stir in the frosting, mixing well.

Just get wrist deep right up in there.

Roll portions of the mixture into balls and place on the prepared plate/sheet. How big you use is really up to personal preference – smaller balls will have a comparatively higher amount of chocolate coating, but also make for more balls and more coating you have to do. Larger balls are appealing at first, but can be intimidating to eat all of. Probably smaller than golf balls? Sure.

That’s a second layer, the first layer completely filled the bottom of the 9×13 (using the doubled amount).

At this point,  you can coat the balls in chocolate now, or place them in the freezer for at least an hour to let them firm up some to ensure they hold together well while being dipped.

In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate over low heat, adding shortening if desired to thin the chocolate to allow it to coat more smoothly. Using forks or toothpicks, dip each cake ball into the melted chocolate, tapping the fork/toothpick on the edge of the pot to shake off excess, then place back on a parchment lined pan/plate and refrigerating to set the chocolate. Once the chocolate has firmed, they’re ready to enjoy!

Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Cake Balls

Frosting from Veggie Inspired, cake from Genius Kitchen.

Banana Cake:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 4 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Peanut Butter Frosting:

  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2-4 tbsp aquafaba (liquid from a can of chickpeas) or milk of choice

To Finish:

  • 1 – 1 1/2 10 ounce bags dark chocolate chips
  • vegetable shortening, optional

To make the cake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×9″ cake pan. Stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and oil, then whisk in the banana, followed by the water and vanilla. Add the dry mixture to the wet, stirring until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan and bake 45-50 minutes until the cake passes the toothpick test.

Let the baked cake cool, at least until you can handle it comfortably, or completely. Meanwhile, make the frosting by stirring together the peanut butter, powdered sugar, and 2 tablespoons of the aquafaba/milk, adding additional additional liquid as needed to reach your desired consistency. Line plates or a baking sheet with wax paper and set aside.

Once the cake has cooled and the frosting is prepared, crumble the cake by hand into a large bowl. Stir in the frosting, mixing well, then use your hands to roll portions of the mixture into balls, placing on the lined plate/sheet. Freeze for at least an hour to firm, if desired.

In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate over low heat, adding shortening if desired to thin the chocolate to allow it to coat more smoothly. Using forks or toothpicks, dip each cake ball into the melted chocolate, tapping the fork/toothpick on the edge of the pot to shake off excess, then place back on a parchment lined pan/plate and refrigerating to set the chocolate, then enjoy.

 

 

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