justliketakeout Lemon Chicken

SO my friends Kaiter, Diana and I made lemon chicken and managed to eat it allllll before I got to snap a picture, so I have to use the picture that is provided by the recipe on blogchef.net.  But to be straight, it would probably look WAY better in the original picture then in any picture I could take, haha.

Doesn’t that look scrumptious?  Mmmm..

You need:

• 2 1/2lbs boneless-skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1” cubes)

Marinade :

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon salt

Batter :

• 2 large eggs
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 pinch white pepper
• oil (for frying)

Sauce :

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 3 slices of lemon (peeled)
• 2 tablespoons oil
• yellow food coloring (optional)

1. Place cut chicken breast pieces into a bowl and mix with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and ½ teaspoon of salt. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
2. To make the batter – beat 2 large eggs with ¼ cup of cornstarch, a pinch of white pepper and baking powder.  Coat the chicken with the batter.
3. Heat deep fryer to 350 degrees and deep-fry in batches until chicken is fully cooked. Drain on paper towels and set aside. You can also cook the chicken using a wok if you don’t have a deep fryer.
4. Now, to make the lemon sauce – combine 1/3 cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 cup chicken broth, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and ¾ teaspoon salt (if using food coloring you can add it now). Mix until well combined and add 3 slices of lemon to the sauce mixture.
5. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in your wok and stir in the lemon sauce mixture and heat until well mixed and sauce becomes clear. Remove lemon slices and pour the sauce over the chicken and mix. Best served with rice and broccoli.

ALL done. The outcome was a little salty for me, but I still enjoyed it.  There isn’t much you can change with this recipe, but we used arrowroot instead of cornstarch, and it worked the same.

Try it, and let me know what you think.  Enjoy!

ultimate easter dessert – LEMON MERINGUE PIE

If you’re a fan of lemon meringue pie, try my mum’s famous recipe (taught to her by the Joy of Cooking, haha).  The crust is easy, just not quite as easy as 1-2-3.  The crust is a light, slightly salty pastry that amazingly compliments the lemon filling, topped with a light, bubbly meringue.  This pie is tried and true, having been made at almost every special occasion that I’ve been a part of with the big Norman family.

For the crust, you’ll need: (makes 1 double crust, or 2 pie shells)

• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 3/4 salt
• 1 cup CRISCO (shortening)
• 4 – 5 tbsp ice water

NOTE: if using cake or pastry flour, use 2 1/4 cups flour and 3/4 CRISCO

1. Combine flour and salt in a mixing bowl.  Measure ingredients accurately.  Cut room temperature CRISCO into flour with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture is uniform and resembles large peas.  BE CAREFUL not to OVERMIX, it will cause a tough pastry.
2. Sprinkle with ice water, one at a time, mixing lightly with a fork.  Add enough water to form dough into a firm ball with a minimum of handling.  Chill 15 – 30 minutes for easier rolling.
3. Divide dough in half and shape each into a ball.  On a floured flat surface, flatten ball into a circle by pressing with palm of hand across in both directions.
4. Roll dough to uniform thickness in spoke fashion from center to edge with light even strokes.  Reshape circle with your hands as you work.  If dough sticks, dust lightly with flour.  Again, overworking and too much flour will toughen pastry.
5. For an easier transfer to the pie plate, slide spatula under dough to loosen in, then lift one edge and fold in half, being careful not to create a broken seam.  Drape over the pie plate and unfold carefully.
6. Ease pastry into pie plate.  Do not stretch the dough or it will shrink during baking.  To repair any uneven edges or tears, moisten edges and press together.
7. Trim dough 1 cm beyond the edge of the pie plate and create a decorative flute edge by pinching the edge and pressing a triangle into the pinch to create a V shape.
8. When baking, for a DOUBLE CRUST: prick top crust.  Bake at 425oF for 40 – 50 min, or as directed in filling recipe.  For a BAKEN SHELL: prick dough with fork.  Bake at 425oF for 12 – 15 min.  Cool then fill or proceed as directed in filling recipe.  For an UNBAKED SHELL: do not prick dough.  Fill and bake at 450oF for 10 min, then at 350oF for 30 – 40 min or as directed in filling recipe.

For the Lemon Filling, you need:

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 6 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 3 well-beaten egg yolks
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1 tsp lemon zest

1. Sift sugar, cornstarch and salt into a 2- or 3- quart saucepan, and gradually blend in cold water and lemon juice.
2. When smooth add yolks and butter, blending thoroughly.
3. Gradually add the boiling water, stirring constantly.
4. Bring mixture to a full boil, stirring gently.  As it begins to thicken, reduce the heat and allow to simmer slowly for 1 minute.  Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest.
5. Pour in the baked pie shell and cover with the Meringue (recipe below).

Ok now here’s the fun part, the yummy, fluffy, bubbly meringue!  Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 3 tbsp sugar OR 4 tbsp confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 325 to 350 degrees.  Whip the egg whites until frothy and add the cream of tartar.  Whip them until they are stiff, but not dry; meaning they stand in peaks that lean over slightly when the beater is removed.
2. Beat in the sugar, 1 tbsp at a time.  DO NOT OVERBEAT.
3. Beat in the vanilla.
4. Spread on the pie and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the meringue.

This is what you’ll end up with:

Try this for yourself, it’ll quickly become a favourite if you love a lemony zing.  The recipe for the crust is an old CRISCO recipe that they don’t give out anymore, but definitely one of the best, just not the easiest.

Let me know how it turns out!

poll of the week!

na’an bread

So I tried this recipe about a week ago, and it made one of the best Na’an batches I’ve ever tasted.  If you haven’t experienced the wonderfulness of this Indian delight, I have some instructions for you – (1) get in your car, (2) go to your local indian restaurant , and (3) order lots and lots of na’an.

Anyways here’s the recipe I used from allrecipes.com:

You’ll need:

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
2. Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
3. During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
4. At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

You’ll end up with something looking like this:

Now I just copied and pasted their recipe because I couldn’t have said it better myself.  The directions are very clear, but for the time line, what they say is the minimum.  The second period of rising for me was about an hour and it did not make a huge difference.  On allrecipes.com, they say to only use 2 tsp of garlic, but I found it a little bland, so I doubled the garlic.

The result is a soft, sweet, warm dream of a baked good and you’ll think you were just born.

Judgement? Best na’an you’ll ever taste and it’ll become a staple in your home.  Yumm.

meat sauce

Have you ever seen the show Chef at Home on the Food Network?  The host’s favourite line is “the best recipe is NO recipe!”  So that’s the recipe I followed tonight when my boyfriend, Alex, and I made our dinner – spaghetti and meat sauce!  Mmm.

So we started out by browning a pound of extra lean ground beef, adding a big big big variety of spices as the meat cooked.  We put in two varieties of Mrs. Dash spice mix (if you haven’t heard of Mrs. Dash, look her up!), red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, etc.  Once the meat was half cooked, we chopped up some carrots, onion, celery and red pepper, and cooked it all together in the pan.  Once the meat is all browned up, add a full jar of tomato sauce and (IMPORTANT) a couple tsps of sugar.  This will bring the tomato taste out in the sauce over the vegetables, and the beef.  We added some hot sauce which added a nice bite as an after taste.

This is probably the easiest meal that you could make.  As a total it takes ten minutes, and makes tons of left overs that you can keep for tomorrow, or freeze for months from now.  Hands down, it’s great.