Chicken in Light Peppercorn Sauce

I made this dish for our dinner last week. Tender pan fried chicken breast cooked in brined peppercorn sauce. This sauce is much lighter than the usual peppercorns sauce served at the restaurant. I used some white wine for the sauce but you can always replace it with chicken stock. Because preserved green peppercorns quickly lose their flavor in cooking, add them at the end. This sauce is also delicious with fish, steak or duck.

Ingredients

2 pieces chicken breast – slice and pound thinly
2 tablespoons butter + 1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp of flour
2 cloves of garlic - finely chopped
Half cup of small diced red peppers
1/2 cup white wine
3/4 chicken stock
2 teaspoon green peppercorns in brine - rinsed and drained
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat a large non-stick pan over medium high. Season the chicken with some salt and pepper. Lightly coat the chicken with flour and set it aside.
2. Melt 2 tbsp of butter and a tbsp of olive oil, then add in the chicken and sear until golden on both side. Remove from pan and set it aside.
3. In the same pan, add another tbsp of olive oil, add in garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add in red peppers and white wine, stir to scrape up brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add in stock, bring up to a boil and cook until the sauce reduced by half.
4. Put the chicken back into the pan, add in the green peppercorns, salt and pepper to taste. Once the chicken is well coated with the sauce and sauce thicken turn off the heat. Dish out and serve.

Note: If you like thicker and heavier sauce you can always add some fresh cream to the sauce.

Homemade Cheese Crackers

I love cheese crackers especially Cheez-It I can eat it just like that or even put it in my soup. Why bake my own cheese crackers when I can just buy a box of it? Well, I simply like the idea that I am able to bake something I like to eat and also it’s much healthier without all the preservatives. These homemade cheese crackers are the most tender, rich, buttery, cheesy crackers you have ever eaten. It involves very little fuss. Just put everything in the food processor, roll out the dough, cut it and then bake it.

Ingredients:

1 stick butter (113 grm) – at room temperature
1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups Flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp of black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper (less if you prefer less spicy)
1 tsp of paprika
2 tbsp of cold water (more or less)

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degree F. Line a baking sheet with some parchment paper.
2. Put all the above ingredients except water in a food processor. Pulse until it resembles coarse bread crumbs. Slowly add in one tbsp of cold water or a bit more until the mixture comes together into a ball.
3. Take out the dough and lightly floured work surface, give the dough a few knead and let it rest for half an hour.
4. Roll the dough out thinly about 1/8" thick. Cut out into desired shapes
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until the crackers start to get just golden on the edges
Remove the baking pan from the oven, and transfer the browned crackers to a cooling rack.

Tsukune/Chicken Patties

This tasty chicken patties, also know as Tsukune in Japanese. Come in round, oval-shaped or shape into meat patties. You might find some grill and serve in skewer and some serve in a thick layer of caramelized teriyaki sauce. Made from mixing ground chicken meat witha few other ingredients. Tsukune can be fried, simmered, or grilled. Tsukune is tender and juicy, bursting with flavor with every bite.

Ingredient:

1 pound ground chicken
1 small carrot – grated finely
1 egg yolk
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 ½ tsp of soy sauce
1 tsp fresh ginger juice
2 tbsp cornstarch


Sauce:

½ cup of teriyaki sauce
¼ of water
1 tsp of cornstarch

1. Put ground chicken in a bowl. Add egg yolk, salt, soy sauce, fresh ginger juice and cornstarch in the meat. Mix well.
2. Shape into meat patties. In a non-stick pan heat up some vegetable oil. Pan fried the meat patties on low medium heat for 2-3 minutes on each side.
3. Remove fried tsukune from the pan and drain oil on paper towels. Remove the remaining oil from the frying pan.
4. Put in all the sauce ingredients in the pan. Bring it up to boil and once its boil put in the tsukune. Simmer until the sauce thickens and almost dry. Remove and serve with warm rice.

Pineapple Shortcake

The heat is already looming around here in PA so it really does feel like summer. I wanted to bake something tropical and also to get rid of a can of crushed pineapple from my pantry so I bake this great cake to start the summer. A layer of moist cake on the bottom and topped with a layer a gooey buttery pineapple and crunchy caramelized walnuts.

Ingredients for the cake

1 stick butter – 113 grm/1/2 cup
2 tbsp of sour cream
1/3 cup of sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp of milk
1 tsp of essence vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Ingredients for the pineapple topping

3 tbsp butter
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1 can (14 oz) crushed pineapple – drained well
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Pre-heat over to 350 degree F. Greased an 8” x 8” square baking pan and line it with parchment paper overhang on both side (for easy removing your slices later).
2. For the cake beat butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add in the egg, one at a time beating thoroughly after each addition. Add in the sour cream and vanilla. Mix well
3. Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour into the butter mixture and the milk. Mix well.
4. Spread the mixture evenly into the baking pan and bake the cake for 30 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool the cake for 15 minutes.
5. Pre-heat the grill/broiler to high. To make the pineapple topping, cream butter and brown sugar until just combined.
6. Stir in the well drained pineapple and walnuts. Mix well. Spread the topping over the cake base.
7. Grill the cake for 5-7 minutes or until the topping bubbles and caramelized. Cool the cake before cutting.

Note: Drain the pineapple really well if not it will make the cake base soggy. Prepared the topping only when the cake is done if not the pineapple topping might discharge more liquid.