Restaurant Style Shrimp Fried Rice

 I love Chinese food and it is one of those cuisines where you can eat lots of it without feeling unpleasantly stuffed.  If you are like me, you love a good Chinese restaurant, or on those busy days you run into Panda Express to satisfy that hankering for Chinese food. The craving is never satisfied without fried rice. It is unbelievably easy to make great restaurant quality fried rice at home. But most of us would rather buy it. On those days when you feel like whipping up your own fried rice, you will be glad you did. I usually use small to medium shrimp, but jumbo shrimp make the rice more filling and it could easily be a main dish, rather than a side.

The trick to making great fried rice is using leftover chilled white rice. Rice that has been in the refrigerator for a day or two is perfect for making a tasty batch of fried rice. For the most fragrant rice, use freshly chopped onions.

A combination of white and green onions adds great flavor

Peas and Carrots add nice texture

The best foolproof way to make sure your rice is perfect is to cook some of your ingredients separately. Stir fry the shrimp until it just starts to turn pink and remove it from the wok or skillet. At this point it will be 80% done.  Cook the eggs seperately and put them back into the wok at the last minute when you put the shrimp back in to finish the last bit of cooking.

Ingredients

2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil

a small dash of salt

8 ounces large uncooked shrimp (shelled and deveined)

2 eggs beaten in a small bowl

1/2 cup chopped white onion

2 stalks chopped green onion

4 cups previously cooked white rice

3/4 cup peas and carrots

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

Directions:

Heat oil until very hot. About 60 seconds. Add shrimp to a Wok or large skillet and sprinkle with a dash of salt. Stir fry shrimp until it begins to turn pink, then flip over and cook on other side for about 30 seconds and remove and from heat and place on a plate. Add beaten eggs to wok and stir until scrambled soft. Remove from heat and place on plate with shrimp.

Add  1 teaspoon sesame oil and  saute onions for a few seconds before adding rice. Add soy sauce to rice and stir until well combined. Add Shrimp, remaining sesame oil, eggs and carrots and stir fry to combine ingredients and finish cooking the shrimp and eggs. Add more soy sauce if needed.

Bon Appetit!

Classic Picnic Potato Salad

 Nothing says summer like potato salad.  There are so many different ways to prepare potato salad. For years I have wondered how to recreate the potato salad I buy at my favorite Jewish delis, which has a flavor very similar to one of my dad's favorite fried chicken joints. After experimenting, I finally found the answer.

The secret to this tangy potato salad is a vinegar brine that adds a robust flavor that marries beautifully with the mayo and other seasonings. A garnish of parsley flakes adds a nice hint of color. In my family, we always sprinkle paprika over the top of potato salad, but the parsley is a nice change of pace. 

Ingredients

5 pounds red potatoes peeled

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 cup white wine vinegar or cider vinegar

1 1/2 cup real Mayonnaise 

1 tablespoon Mustard 

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup sweet pickle relish

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper

2 green onions chopped

1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped brown onion 

Directions

Add potatoes to a large pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Cook until fork tender. Drain potatoes and cut into chunks. In a small saucepan, combine water sugar and  vinegar. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Pour over potatoes and chill for an hour or two.

Mix mayonnaise, mustard, celery, relish, bell pepper, green onions and brown onion. Drain the marinade from potatoes and fold mayonnaise mixture into chopped potatoes until well incorporated. Serve chilled.

Makes 8 servings

Bon Appetit!

Southern Baked Beans

 Baked beans, potato salad and barbecue are a big part of summer. I love baked beans and my mother makes some of the best baked beans ever. I have adapted her recipe by adding a few of my own personal touches. These are great with barbecue and a great side to have with a burger hot off the grill:-) 

I have tried making baked beans with all sorts of variations and although traditional baked beans are made with navy beans, my mother has always used Van de Camps pork and beans in the can along with fresh bell pepper, onion and embellishments that make them quite tasty. The prep is easy and after 45 minutes to an hour, you have a great side dish:-)

Maple glazed Bacon with smoked paprika is used as a garnish and a topping

I use a baking dish most of the time, but a cast iron skillet is a great way to cook these. If these bacon slices look small it's because they were so good, I ate half of them. Don't judge.

Ingredients

2 slices Bacon

1/2 onion chopped

1/2 cup chopped Bell Pepper

2 15 ounce cans  Pork and Beans

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

2 tablespoons real maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Fry bacon in large frying pan until partially cooked. Remove bacon and drain on paper towels. Add onion and peppers and saute until onions are translucent. About 2 minutes. Add pork and beans, brown sugar, barbecue sauce, mustard and Worcestershire Sauce.

Pour beans into a greased casserole dish. Mix syrup, paprika and cayenne together in a small bowl. Place baked beans in oven for 20 minutes. Brush Bacon with maple mixture. Lay on top of beans for last 25 minutes of cooking. This is done when the beans are nice and bubbly and the bacon is cooked all the way through. This makes 10 servings and can the recipe can be doubled.

Bon Appetit!

Sweet Potato Casserole

I really like sweet sticky things. And sweet sticky things with brown sugar and pecans...

 

Oh My

 

Sweet Potato Casserole is very addictive. This dish makes an appearance on my table quite a bit. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Sunday Dinner. It is the perfect dish. One of the things I love about this dish is that it can be a side dish or dessert and it is the ultimate comfort food. Crunchy Pecans, Brown Sugar, Butter, Fresh Yams. What is not to love? When you go to the store to get your ingredients, be sure to get yams. There are more than one type of sweet potato, but for this recipe, fresh or canned yams work beautifully. They should be orange, not white. I use the term yam and sweet potato interchangeably, so I hope I don't confuse you.

After you cook your yams or mash your canned yams and add all of your ingredients, the batter will look like this. I always add a little brown sugar to the batter, but I like things extra sweet. If you add extra like I do, this will taste more like a dessert than a side dish. I usually add 1/2 cup brown sugar in addition to the 1/2 cup white sugar. Either way, this is really really good.

Fresh Pecans really take this dish to the next level. If you have a mini chopper, just pulse once or twice and they are the perfect size, or you have the option of chopping them by hand or purchasing a bag of chopped pecans. I always like to leave a few whole pecans to garnish the top of the casserole.

Brown sugar babe, when I put it in my mouth I don't know how to behave...

Once you add all of your ingredients to the topping, it will look crumbly like this

And then...

Fresh out of the oven it looks like this

So do you want to experience this deliciousness? do ya?

Go get your ingredients and lets enjoy something brown sugary and sweet:-)

 

Ingredients

4 cups mashed sweet potatoes/yams

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon nutmeg

4 eggs beaten

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 pound butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

 

Preheat oven to 350.  Butter a 2 quart casserole dish, or your choice of a 13x9 pan or you can make two small pans. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sweet potatoes, white sugar, vanilla extract, nutmeg, eggs and heavy cream. Blend well and spread evenly in casserole dish or the pan of your choice.

For the topping, make sure the butter is very cold and chop it into little squares and then combine with the flour, and sugar with a fork until the mixture is crumbly. Add the pecans and when well combined and crumbly, sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture.

Note: this freezes beautifully. If you decide to freeze it, simply freeze in the pan without baking and when ready to cook, thaw completely and bake as usual. I often make a smaller casserole and freeze the other one in a small 8x8 pan.

Bake the casserole in a 350 oven for approximately 30-40 minutes. Topping should be golden brown.

Bon Appetit!

Panera Mac n Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is one of my favorite comfort foods. I grew up eating southern baked macaroni and cheese loaded with an obscene amount of cheddar cheese, but this creamy white macaroni and cheese is every bit as flavorful.  I was thrilled to find this recipe up for grabs on the Panera Bread website and couldn't wait to make it at home. 

My son and I love eating lunch at Panera, and this mac n cheese is one of our favorite items on the menu. This stove top mac n cheese is creamy with a hint of Dijon and plenty of  white cheese. Although it is not listed as an ingredient, I love to add a tiny dash of nutmeg to white sauces. It adds an incredible depth of flavor. There is nothing like simple comfort food to bring a smile to your face:-)

Panera Bread’s Signature Macaroni & Cheese
Adapted by Head Chef Dan Kish

Ingredients
1 (16-ounce) package of rigati pasta (or other small pasta shells)
¼ cup butter
½ cup all-purpose flour
2½ cups milk or cream
6 slices white American cheese, chopped
1 cup (8 ounces) shredded extra-sharp white Vermont cheddar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon hot sauce

Directions
1. Prepare pasta according to package directions.

2. Melt butter over low heat. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute, whisking constantly.

3. Gradually whisk in milk (or cream); cook over medium heat, whisking until mixture thickens and bubbles. Remove from heat.

4. Add cheeses, mustard, salt, and hot sauce, stirring until cheese melts and sauce is smooth.

5. Stir in pasta and cook over medium heat for 1 minute (or until thoroughly heated).

Serves 4 to 6