Hoisin Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Have you ever eaten P.F. Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps? They are a family favorite of ours as well as the one appetizer on the menu that I cannot help but order each time I frequent the restaurant. It doesn't matter if I am there with girlfriends, my family, or on a date with my husband, I want the lettuce wraps. No Chinese Fusion meal is complete without them.

That's why when I ran across Rachel Ray's recipe of Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps I instantly wanted to make them. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that from the time I found the recipe until the time the food was complete was about 2 hours--and that included a trip to the grocery store. Can you tell that I was that excited to make them?? I knew once the aroma of the chicken and shitake mushrooms and water chestnuts started taking over the kitchen that it was going to be good--and the end result did not disappoint.

Use the listed amount of hoisin sauce (a Chinese barbecue sauce) as a general guideline. Add more or less, depending on your taste. Start small, with a tablespoon or two, and then add more if desired after tasting. I personally love hoisin sauce, so I wanted more than 1/4 cup added, but you be the judge. Also, I wouldn't skimp on the ginger or the orange zest. Ah-maz-ing.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups, 4 handfuls, shitake mushrooms

1 1/3 to 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used peanut oil)

Salt, to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch ginger root, finely chopped or grated

1 orange, zested

1/2 red bell pepper, minced

1 can (8 ounce) sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped

3 scallions, chopped

1/4 cup hoisin (available in Asian foods aisle)

1/2 large head iceberg lettuce, core removed, head quartered

Wedges of navel orange, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Remove tough stems from mushrooms and brush with damp towel to clean. (Note from Holli: Those directions are for fresh shitake mushrooms. I used dried instead because my husband prefers the taste of dried. Apparently the sun-drying process draws out the umami flavor. If you use dried mushrooms, soak them in warm water until tender. Make sure to remove the stems whether you use fresh or dried mushrooms. They are tough and take longer to cook then the soft fleshy caps.) Chop mushrooms into small-medium dice.

2. Preheat a large skillet or wok on high heat. Add oil to hot pan. Add chicken to pan and brown. (Note from Holli: The original recipe called for thin cut chicken breasts or chicken tenders that were chopped prior to cooking. I used ground chicken instead to get the same consistency as P.F. Chang's version. You may use either one, but I was happy with the result of ground chicken.) Add mushrooms and cook another 1-2 minutes.

3. Add salt and pepper to season to taste, then garlic and ginger. Cook 1-2 more minutes.

4. Grate orange zest into pan. (Note from Holli: Do not omit orange zest! It tastes amazing and would greatly change your end result if it wasn't in there!)

5. Add bell pepper, water chestnuts, and scallions. Cook another 1-2 minutes, continuing to stir fry mixture.

6. Add hoisin sauce and toss to coat the mixture evenly.

7. Transfer the hot chopped chicken mixture to a serving platter and pile the quartered wedges of crisp iceberg lettuce along side. Add wedged oranges to platter to garnish. To eat, pile spoonfuls of chicken mixture into lettuce leaves, wrapping lettuce around filling. Squeeze with orange wedge if desired.

Yields: 4-6 servings as an entree or 6-8 as an appetizer.

Recipe from FoodNetwork.com by Rachel Ray.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

Caribbean Zucchini Bread

I found that there are hundreds of zucchini bread recipes circulating around the Internet. Hundreds. I also found that looking through the ingredient list with a discerning eye is not enough to ensure you don't end up wasting your time as well as your zucchini with a bad recipe. I made some very disappointing loaves of bread even though the recipe initially seemed appealing. Let me just say that there is nothing worse than going through the effort to bake something enjoyable for yourself and your family, only to take the first bite and find it *blah*. Please tell me I am not alone on this.

I went on a hunt to specifically find a zucchini bread that had great flavor and whose end result was moist and sweet like a pumpkin bread or banana bread. After narrowing down the recipes to four, I decided it was time to just start baking and see which one proved to give the most bang for my buck, so to speak. Well, there was one clear front runner, which had great flavor, was moist and sweet, and baked up like a charm--Caribbean Zucchini Bread.

The sweetness and flavor are enhanced from the inclusion of ripe bananas and the extra cinnamon. Most of the zucchini bread recipes I looked at called for 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, while this one called for an entire tablespoon. The Caribbean Zucchini Bread also added flaked coconut and toasted nuts, which can be easily omitted without affecting the flavor if you prefer. I personally like the added crunch and texture, but they were not the make-it-or-break-it ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used spelt instead)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 ripe bananas, mashed
3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
1/2 cup shredded coconut

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two 9x5-inch loaf pans. Mix together flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

2. Beat the bananas, eggs, vegetable oil, applesauce, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla together in a large bowl.

3. Stir the flour mixture into the wet mixture.

4. Fold in the zucchini, walnuts, and coconut into the batter until evenly combined.

5. Pour into the prepared pans. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 60-70 minutes. (Note from Holli: the original recipe called for baking only 40-50 minutes, which I found was not nearly long enough. I checked the loaves after 50 minutes and still needed to add 10 additional minutes two times before I thought the loaves were cooked through.)

6. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Recipe from Allrecipes.com; Modifications mine.

Yields: 2 loaves. Each 1/2-inch slice of bread contains: Calories 142; Total Fat 5.9g; Saturated Fat 1.2g; Cholesterol 16mg; Sodium 109mg; Total Carbohydrates 20.4g; Dietary Fiber 1.0g; Sugars 10.9g; Protein 2.6g; Vitamin A 1%; Vitamin C 3%; Calcium 2%; Iron 5%

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Cucumber-Honeydew-White Chocolate Icebox Pie

I know that ever since I shared the Pie Makers' Secrets from the Oregonian you have been waiting on pins and needles to hear about the Cucumber-Honeydew-White Chocolate Icebox Pie I mentioned. (Note the sarcasm?) Well, ready or not, the results are in.....and let me be the first to tell you that if I swore, I would swear this was the best thing I have ever eaten in my entire life. But I don't swear--so the best I can do is tell you that this pie just may be the best dessert I have ever eaten. Ever. Really. It's that amazing. It is no wonder it won the grand prize as the best overall pie of the 2009 Portland Pie-Off.

I must admit that I was initially a skeptic. The cucumber and honeydew combination really had me scratching my head. What on earth was a cucumber doing in a pie? I could wrap my brain around a cucumber-honeydew body lotion perhaps, but somehow not as the main ingredients in a pie. That all changed the minute I put the combination in the food processor. The smell alone tempted me, but after pureeing, I couldn't help but taste it immediately, and my little skeptic self changed into a believer at that precise moment. That was at step 1! Step ONE!

From there, every taste I had while cooking was better than the last. I felt like had to wait for eternity to come before I could finally taste all of the components together, and when I did, the gates of heaven opened up and angels started to sing. You think I am kidding? You'll just have to try this amazing delight on your own and be the judge. If I swore, and I don't, I would swear you would agree.

INGREDIENTS:

Sorbet

2 cups peeled, seeded, and cubed honeydew melon
1 cup peeled, seeded, and cubed cucumber
3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

3 tablespoons lime juice

Crust

2 cups crushed shortbread cookies

1/3 cup butter

White Chocolate Pudding

2 1/2 cups whole milk (divided)

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup white chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. To make the sorbet: In a blender or food processor that has been fitted with a metal blade, combine honeydew, cucumber, sugar, corn syrup, and lime juice. Pulse to chop, then process until thick and smooth.

2. Place in ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Place in freezer to ripen while you make the crust and pudding.

3. To make the crust: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine shortbread crumbs and butter and blend well.

4. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Cool on wire rack before filling.

5. To make the pudding: Place 2 cups milk and salt in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Sprinkle sugar on milk and do not stir; heat over medium-high. In a small bowl quickly combine cornstarch with remaining 1/2 cup milk; add egg yolks and mix well. When milk mixture comes to a full boil, remove saucepan from heat and stir in cornstarch mixture (pudding will begin to thicken).

6. Return to heat and cook, stirring continuously, for 1 minute. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, butter, and white chocolate chips. Place plastic wrap on surface and chill in refrigerator until cool.

7. To assemble: Spread 2 cups chilled pudding in crust (strain the pudding through a wire mesh strainer if lumps have formed). Place pie in freezer until pudding hardens, about 45-60 minutes.

8. About 20 minutes before taking pie out of freezer, remove sorbet from freezer and allow to soften until spreadable. Spread softened sorbet over pudding. Return to freezer until solid, at least one hour.

For best results, thaw slightly before slicing, so pie is easy to cut, but not melted and sloppy.

Recipe from FOODday of the Oregonian, September 1, 2009; Alison Greco.

Yields: one 9-inch pie

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