Batter Fried Chicken 101

Brining the chicken for 1 hour in water, salt, and sugar ensures a flavorful moist chicken. The batter includes 1 cup each cornstarch and flour, 2 tbsp baking powder. Seasoned with lots of salt, paprika, cayenne, and black pepper. Add 1 3/4 cup cold water and whisk smooth. Remove chicken from brine, pat dry, and dip in batter. Fry @ 350 for 12 minutes in peanut oil. I like to drizzle honey over the fried chicken to give it that sweet and spicy kick!

Chiles Rillenos

This version of chiles rillenos was stuffed with pork carnitas and jack cheese, but I gotta admit the plain jack cheese version was alot better. The pork was overpowering the mild cheese and chiles flavors. Its a good thing I made one with pork and one without. Recipe to make chiles rillenos is pretty simple. First roast peppers and peal them clean. Slit the pepper enough to scrape out the seeds. Stuff with cheese, secure with toothpicks, and set aside. The sauce is tomato, onion, garlic, cinnamon, cumin, oregano, and s/p. When sauce is ready, heat up oil to fry the rilleno. Making the batter takes 2 eggs, salt, 2 teaspoons flour. First beat egg whites until stiff peaks. Slowly incorporate salt, flour, and egg yolks. Dip the stuffed peppers into the batter and fry in oil at 350. Medium heat is best to make sure the batter doesn't burn before the cheese melts. Also it will help cook the pepper a little more. Serve the tomato sauce on plate with chiles rillenos.

Pork Carnitas with Spanish Quinoa

Pork is King. It's that simple. One of my favorite ways to enjoy this glorious meat is simply roasting it. Get your self a roasting pan, fill with about 1/2 cup of water and place evenly cut pork pieces, seasoned with nothing more then salt. Cover with foil and bake @ 375 for 90 minutes. At this point you have 2 choices...The traditional Mexican Carnitas is done by removing the pork from oven and deep frying it in pork fat. This gives it an extra crisp exterior while keeping the meat moist inside. The other choice is finishing it in the oven, simply remove the foil and turn the heat up to 475. Roast another 60 minutes or until all the water is evaporated and the pork fat renders crisp. This I learned from the great Rick Bayless who always inspires me to cook traditional Mexican food.

Cheese Tortellinis in Diablo

I keep cheese tortellinis (made by a local Italian deli) in my freezer for making quick meals on the fly. The Tortellinis are whole wheat and stuffed with Parmesan and Ricotta cheeses. I try to keep wheat based foods to a minimum. Maybe ounce a week I'll have something made with wheat, such as these Tortellinis. The Diablo Sauce or spicy tomato sauce is made from San Marzano tomatos, along with some garlic, basil, honey, crushed red pepper flakes, olive oil, and salt/pepper. The sauce was simmered for over 2 hours on low heat to develop rich flavor. Plate and shave Parmesan cheese over.

Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura

Tempura batter...Mix 1 part cornstarch, 3 parts flour (rice flour), salt, sugar, and cold club soda. Make a thin batter to coat shrimp and vegetables. Dipping sauce; light soy sauce, rice vinegar, Vietnamese chili garlic paste, sesame oil, scallions, and ginger. Make the dipping sauce at least an hour advance.

 

Shrimp Scampi in 5 Minutes

I love to cook quick delicious recipes that use less then 10 ingredients. Shrimp Scampi is a great example of this. Fresh shrimp, butter, garlic, lemon juice/zest, cilantro, salt, pepper, and Vermouth. Saute shrimp with garlic and butter. Season with S/P. Now a splash of Vermouth to deglaze, add lemon zest, then squeeze the juice. Turn off the heat and add chopped cilantro. Serve with Quinoa you're done.

Mee Krob Thai Noodles

Mee Krob is a great Thai dish that's made with fried rice noodles in a sweet sauce. I had it first at a local Thai restaurant last year. I've been working on perfecting the recipe. The sauce consists of oil, honey, tamarind juice, rice vinegar, paprika, fish sauce, light soy sauce, and an egg. You mix the ingredients in a saute pan and simmer on low for a few minutes. Then you add the egg and lightly scramble. When the sauce thickens, add shrimp or chicken, stir well until everything is cooked. Set the sauce aside and start frying the noodle. When the sauce has cooled, toss with noodles, and plate. Garnish with bean sprouts, cilantro, scallions, and lime.