Guest Post: General Tso's Chicken

Today I've invited my friend Emily to guest post for me.  You'll probably recognize her drool worthy photography from some of my Dinner Club posts as well as our recent Apple Extravaganza from October.  I'm always envious of her skills both in the kitchen and behind the lens.  She's an amazing person and I'm so glad to have her as a friend.  Hopefully this won't be the last that you see of Emily on this blog ;).

If you'd like to guest post, please leave a comment!

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 This officially marks my first food blog post. Ever. Seriously. I’ve taken hundreds of photos of food I’ve cooked…and baked….and grilled….and, sometimes, when I’m feeling rebellious, even fried. But, never once written a blog post. So, as you can imagine I was a bit reluctant to take Christine up on her offer for a guest post, but I’m not one to turn down trying new things. Especially those food-related.

The recipe I’m sharing with you all today is quite the standard: General Tso’s Chicken. I’m sure this one has been done a hundred thousand times over, across blogs, recipe sites and the like. Heck, I would argue that this dish has been over done. However, the reasons I wanted to post this are two-fold:

First, I’m generally anti-fry. I’m more or less a border-line health nut about 80% of the week (the other 20%? Well, that’s what weekends are for!), making this recipe fall squarely outside of my comfort zone. I confess, we own a Fry Daddy (I blame the husband!), but require it never be used inside. There are few things that will make my stomach turn, but waking up to a kitchen with the lingering odor of a McDonald’s only results in my being overcome by the urge to shower. Or exercise. A lot.

Good news! This recipe does NOT require a Fry Daddy. Seriously, nothing ever should. And, yet….

Second, I was quite frankly blown away by the end result. It was border-line restaurant comparable. I’m not kidding. Let’s just say the husband put this recipe in his Top 5, and mandated it have a regular appearance in “The Rotation.” On one condition: that I continue to keep his plate broccoli-free (you see what I have to deal with?). 

And now, for the main event….

General Tso’s Chicken

Ingredients

FOR THE CHICKEN

• 1-½ teaspoon Toasted Sesame Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
• 1 whole Large Egg White
• ¼ cups Plus 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
• 1 pound Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs
• Canola, Peanut, Or Vegetable Oil For Frying
• Flour to coat the chicken (1/2 - 1 cup, depending on desired coating)

FOR THE SAUCE:

• 1 Tablespoon Peanut, Canola Or Vegetable Oil
• 2 cloves Garlic, Peeled And Minced
• 2 Tablespoons Finely Chopped Fresh Ginger Root
• 1 cup Chicken Broth Or Stock
•  ¼ cups Soy Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon Chinese Chile-garlic Sauce
• 3 Tablespoons sugar. (The original recipe calls for Raw (turbinado Or Demerara) Sugar, but I’m not sure it matters either way)

FOR SERVING:

•  4 whole Scallions, Thinly Sliced
• Steamed Rice (we’re partial to sushi rice, but I’m sure this would taste phenomenal with sawdust, so it matters not!)
• Steamed Broccoli

Preparation Instructions

1. Prep your chicken: In a mixing bowl, stir together the sesame oil, soy sauce, egg white, and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cornstarch until a thick slurry forms. It will look gummy but smooth. Add the chicken pieces and stir until all are evenly coated. At first it may appear that it will not come together but it does! Set chicken aside, covered lightly with plastic wrap, at room temperature for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Begin the sauce: Add the tablespoon of oil to a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat. Stir the garlic and ginger into the oil and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining sauce ingredients until smooth. Pour into the garlic and ginger, stirring, until the sauce becomes thick and shiny. Once the sauce thickens, lower heat and keep the saucepan over a low burner partially covered to stay warm.
3. To fry the chicken: Heat 1/2-inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed, high-sided frying pan or skillet over high heat. In the meantime, add the flour to your coated chicken, mixing everything together. When the oil is shimmering, add one piece of chicken at a time, taking care not to crowd the pan. Cook chicken for 4 minutes on each side, or until deep golden brown and crisp on both sides.
4. Transfer the fried chicken to a paper towel lined plate and repeat the process until you’ve cooked all the chicken. Then slide all of the fried chicken into the prepared sauce and toss to coat. (If desired, add some steamed broccoli to coat with the sauce also.) Increase the heat to medium, stir and cook just until hot all the way through.
5. Sprinkle with sliced scallions and serve immediately over white rice. Or brown rice. Or sushi rice. You get the idea.

Source: Adapted from Rebecca at on Tasty Kitchen (Original Recipe)

Tex-Mex Meatloaf with Chipotle-Tomato Glaze

Hi friends.  Did you have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with food, friends, and family?  I know I certainly did...as evidenced by my lack of posting last week.  I had myself THREE Thanksgiving meals (yikes!) and surprisingly (and proudly) found myself still having an ab line and the scale was still within normal fluctuation the follow day.  I guess that Jazzercise session pre-Thanksgiving helped lessen the blow ;).  Plus, I was having far too much fun holding my adorable cousin's baby, Michaela, and watching her first crawl, too!  What did you do for Thanksgiving?  What did you eat and who did you spend it with?

Today's recipe that I'm sharing is a twist on an American classic.  It is a little tangy and a lotta spicy.  Definitely a fun change.

Tex-Mex Meatloaf with Chipotle-Tomato Glaze

Yields: 6-8 Servings

Ingredients

For the glaze

• 1 c. crushed canned fire-roasted tomatoes  
• 1/2 to 2 canned chipotle in adobo
• 2 TBSP lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
• 2 cloves garlic
• Salt, to taste

For the meatloaf

• 1/2 TBSP vegetable oil
• 1/4 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
• 1/2 lb. chorizo, removed from casings
• 1/4 c. chopped cilantro
• 2 large eggs
• 1 c. finely ground tortilla chips, crackers, or combination of the two (I highly recommend using chips)
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. Kosher salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Either line a large baking sheet with greased foil or grease a loaf pan.
2. To make the glaze, combine all ingredients except salt in a blender or food processor and puree.  Add salt to taste.
3. To make the meat loaf, heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat.  Add the onion and cook, uncovered, 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add garlic and salt and cook 30 seconds more.  Slide the onion mixture into a large bowl.  Add the all remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix thoroughly by hand. Form the meat mixture into a loaf and move to the baking sheet.  Alternately, gently press into a loaf pan.  Spread half the glaze on top of the meatloaf.  Place in the oven and bake 50 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and spread the remaining glaze on top.  Place back in the oven10 minutes more.  When done, remove meatloaf from the oven and let sit 15 minutes.  Slice with a serrated knife and serve. 

Source: Lisa Fain, The Homesick Texan Cookbook as seen on Apple A Day

Recipe Swap: Cheesy Chili Mac

Recipe swap time again!  This time I received a recipe that I had bookmarked earlier and was wanting to make anyway so was very excited to see this One Pot meal show up in my inbox.

This is very rich and very cheesy as the name promises!  I decided to leave out the extra cup of shredded cheese in the pasta sauce because I was concerned it'd be too much (crazy considering how much I LOVE cheese) and it was still plenty cheesy.  This is essentially homemade Hamburger Helper.  Yum!

This week I submitted a recipe that I received in a previous swap: Pierogi and Kielbasa Bake.  The Cookaholic Wife had made a very similar version previously and her husband liked the recipe even more WITH my addition of the veggies!  See the full round-up at Taste of Home Cooking.


By the way, I think I'm officially going to try to make Fridays a series of posts: Fast Fridays.  Meals that you can make in 30 minutes or less.  What do you think?  And, any great recipes to share so I can build my repertoire?

Cheesy Chili Mac

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1 Onion, minced
• 1 Tbsp Chili powder
• 1 Tbsp Cumin
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 4 Garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tbsp Brown sugar
• 1 lb Ground Beef
• 2 cups Water
• 1 15 oz can Tomato sauce
• 2 cups Pasta (I used about 3 cups Penne since noodles are bigger and so they don't pack as well)
• 1 15 oz can Black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes, drained (used diced tomatoes with jalapeno peppers)
• 4 oz Cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups Shredded mexican cheese blend (I used a sprinkling of sharp cheddar)
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. Heat a 12" skillet over medium heat and add oil.  Heat until shimmering.  Add the onion, chili powder, cumin, and salt to the pan.  Cook, stirring frequently until the onion is soft, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the garlic and brown sugar and cook an additional 1 minute.  Add the ground beef and cook through.
2. Stir in the water and tomato sauce then add the pasta and stir again.  Cover and increase heat to medium-high.  Cook until al dente, about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the tomatoes and black beans, then the cream cheese and stir until the cream cheese is incorporated.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and for extra cheesiness, add 1 cup of shredded cheese.  Stir until combined.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and cover.  Let stand for 2 minutes until the cheese has melted.  Top with cilantro and garnish with sour cream, if desired.

Source: Adapted from Jey of Cooking