i think this is a refreshing salad. it's best after sitting in the fridge for at least several hours, if not overnight. perfect for a good lunch, or light dinner. simple to make, too!
sesame pasta chicken salad
all recipes
1 pound dry pasta
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/3 cup light soy sauce
3 tablespoons white sugar
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 pound chicken breast, cooked and chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup chopped green onion
Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain pasta and rinse under cold water until cool. Allow to drain, then transfer to a large bowl.
In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine vegetable oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, pepper, and ginger. Shake well, then pour mixture over pasta. Toss thoroughly to evenly coat pasta.
Gently mix chicken, cilantro, and green onions into pasta. Serve immediately or chill overnight.
Yield: 11 servings
i've never thought of trying to make my own pizza, aside from buying that boboli stuff and topping it with things. but, after seeing the naked chef make it look really easy and delicious, i figured i'd give it a try. it took a little time. i've made dough from scratch one other time, but had my mom helping me out the entire way, so it seemed easier.
first of all, the counters here are tiled with grout ridges in them, so i didn't have a good surface to work on kneeding the dough. i used a baking sheet that wiggled back and forth... really need to invest in a good butcher's block for this stuff! i don't have a rolling pin either, so i just had to stretch out the dough with my hands. it was a lot of work because the dough was a little sticky and kept shrinking back from the shape.
eventually, i managed to make 8 thin pizza crusts. we left them on the foil and put them straight on the racks in the oven. although, after 10 minutes they weren't cooked enough, 5 minutes more did the job. the crust had a nice flavor to it, reminded me of "terry's pizza" back home, except no where near as greasy.
i'd recommend you trying this, if you've got the time and desire. it really isn't all that hard. the dough was sticky so i kept adding a little more flour to help out with that. in the end, i should have been more careful to brush it off the crust because it left the cooked crust a little dusty. but, didn't really distract from the flavor. and, it'd probably be ideal to have a rolling pin.
pizza
jamie oliver, the Naked Chef
2 pounds, 3 ounces strong bread flour
1 ounce sugar
1 ounce salt
1 ounce dried yeast
1 pint tepid water
2 tablespoons olive oil
toppings, recipes follow
Put the flour onto a work surface or use a bowl, if you are short of space. Using your fingers, make a big well in the middle of the flour. Add the sugar, salt and yeast then pour in the tepid water and olive oil.
Using a fork, make circular movements from the center moving outwards, slowly bringing in more of the flour until all the yeast mixture is soaked up. This should be starting to look like dough now so you can start to work and knead it until it is smooth. This should take around 4 minutes. Roll out to a sausage shape and divide into 8 or 10 balls, depending on how large you want the pizzas to be.
Flour the surface and roll each pizza out to about the thickness of 3 beer coasters (1/3 of an inch). They don't have to be perfectly round, they should look home-made. Place each pizza on a lightly oiled and floured piece of tin foil. Flour the top of the pizza, placing another on top of it. Flour that and repeat this until all the pizzas are stacked together, with a piece of foil in between each layer.
These can be frozen for a couple of months, placed in the fridge for 10 hours, or cooked straight away. Lightly top with your chosen topping (the simpler the better) and bake directly on the oven bars for 10 minutes at your oven's highest temperature (*author note: around 500ºF for 15 minutes is usually perfect for me).
Toppings:
Tomato:
8 plum tomatoes
Sprinkle dried oregano
Drizzle olive oil
For enough to cover eight bases, chop and de-seed plum tomatoes, dry with kitchen paper, sprinkle with a little dried oregano and a drizzle of olive oil.
Various topping ingredients:
Sliced mozzarella
Rocket (Arugula)
Parmesan
Olives
Sun-dried tomatoes
Artichoke hearts
Prosciutto
Panchetta
Any interesting cheeses - use your imagination
Yield: 8 (10 inch) pizzas
i love coconut shrimp, ever since having them at montego bay restaurant in panama city. this recipe i found at all recipes -- an excellent search engine for tons of recipes. the recipe didn't suggest peeling the shrimp, except for the tail, but i did anyway. i've heard that it doesn't really make a difference to eat the shell, but since it didn't say to leave it on i didn't.
coating the shrimp is a little... well it's not difficult. the coconut gets real gummy in the dish used for coating, so i'd suggest putting in a plate maybe, a thin layer, refilling the plate with fresh coconut as needed. i think it would help a lot. cooking takes no time, as shrimp only need a few minutes to be done. so, once i had refrigerated them the actual frying was very quick. i placed them, after draining, back on the cookie sheet and put in a 300†F for about 4 minutes just to keep warm.
the sauce is the best. i've used it several times before for other types of shrimp. we also used cocktail sauce and ranch. the ranch was surprisingly good on the shrimp.
overall, a good and tasty dinner. takes a little bit of time to prepare, but not difficult at all. try using sweetened coconut too -- i did. it's a nice flavor -- not "coconuty" at all.
coconut shrimp
allrecipes.com
For dipping sauce, use orange marmalade, mustard and horseradish mixed to taste.
1 egg
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup beer
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups flaked coconut
24 shrimp
3 cups oil, for frying
In medium bowl, combine egg, 1/2 cup flour, beer and baking powder. Place 1/4 cup flour and coconut in two separate bowls. Hold shrimp by tail, and dredge in flour, shaking off excess flour. Dip in egg/beer batter; allow excess to drip off. Roll shrimp in coconut, and place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat oil to 350ºF in a deep-fryer. Fry shrimp in batches: cook, turning once, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Using tongs, move shrimp to paper towels to drain. Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.
Yield: 6 servings
