Teriyaki Sauce

Aloha. This is my teriyaki, it might not be the most traditional sauce, but it is Brok' Da Mout (tastes delicious - yummy grinds)! It's also gluten free, for those that are into that.



3/4 cup Light Soy Sauce (gluten free)
1/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
3/4 cup Pineapple Juice - with or without crushed pineapple chunks
1/4 cup water
1 tsp Ginger Root - freshly grated
2-4 garlic cloves - crushed or minced
pinch of CRP
4 Tbls Brown Sugar - firmly packed
1 Tbls locally produced Honey
1/4 cup Cold Water
2 Tbls Corn Starch
1 Tbls Green Onion or Chives - thinly sliced on a bias

Mix all but the last three ingredients together in a medium sized saucepan.




Bring mixture to a boil, whisking occasionally.



When the sauce begins to boil, mix your cornstarch into the ice water until it's completely dissolved.

Whisk the slurry (ice cold liquid and a thickener) into your saucepan and immediately turn the heat down to medium low - low.



Let the sauce lightly simmer until it's at your desired thickness. The longer it cooks the thicker it will get. If it gets too thick, stir in a little more pineapple juice or water to thin it out.



I cook the sauce until it sticks to my spoon and leaves a line when I slide my finger down the spoon.





Either stir the scallions/chives into your sauce or sprinkle them over it after plating your dish.



This sauce has so many great uses: over chicken and rice with a side of macaroni salad (memories of my Hawaiian days), on a chicken sandwich or a hamburger, on pineapple skewers, as a marinade, in pasta salad, over grilled oysters, in a stir fry, over fish or tossed with noodles. I prefer ramen noodles with teriyaki, they hold up to the flavorful sauce.

Teriyaki makes a wonderful dip for stuff like spring rolls and dumplings.


Chicken Potstickers Recipe


Ramen Noodles topped with Teriyaki and Scallions


Tossed Noodles with Vegetables




Salmon Hot Pot Soup



Teriyaki over Poached Fish

Mahalo!

Pie Crust - Black Pepper and Herb

Ok, this is my first attempt at making a savory pie crust. I think it turned out pretty good. The crust was buttery and flaky with a nice savory flavor. My friend Molly uses half butter and half shortening, I think I'll try that next time. Just be sure that both are very cold!



This crust is great for pot pies and quiches.

2 1/2 Cups Flour
1 tsp s/p (each)
1 tsp fresh Thyme leaves
1 tsp fresh Rosemary - chopped
1 cup Water with Ice Cubes
1 cup Butter - cut into cubes, covered & placed in the freezer

Preheat oven to 400°.

Whisk the first four ingredients together.



Add the cold butter. Use a pastry cutter, or two forks to cut the butter into the flour mixture until it's the size of peas.




Bring the dough together with half of the water. Add more water, one Tbsp at a time, as needed till the clumps of dough, gently kneaded together with your hands, form a ball. Start this in the bowl, then move to a floured working surface. Don't over work the dough. You don't want the little clumps of butter to melt, so work quickly!

Crispin Honey Crisp Cider Sorbet

I have spent the summer out enjoying the nice warm weather and not writing recipes, but I have to share this one. It's made with one of my favorite varieties of Crispin Cider, Honey Crisp, it's gluten free and vegetarian. After drinking this all summer I wanted another way to enjoy the honey sweetened hard cider. This recipe is very easy and so tasty!



I went out and bought an ice cream maker just to try it out. (So look out for more icy sweets from Tasty Stuffs MN.) If you don't own one, maybe you could make this as a granita by chilling the ingredients in a shallow pan and scraping it with a spoon ever fifteen minutes or so as it sets to create an frozen dessert.

Hint: Be sure all of the ingredients and the ice cream maker's blow are chilled before you start to make the sorbet.

1 3/4 cup Honey Crisp Cider
3/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Simply Apple Juice (or use your favorite brand)
1 Tart Apple (I used Granny Smith) - peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 t Grand Marnier



Combine Crispin Cider and sugar in a small sauce pot. Simmer, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. (The left over Crispin should be drunk immediately over ice, by you!)

Add apple slices to cider mixture and cook until soft, about 2 - 4 minutes depending on the thickness of the slices.



Remove pan from heat and stir in your apple juice.

Use a blender or food processor to puree the apple mixture. Don't try to make it too smooth. Think of the texture of fine apple sauce.



Cover the mixture and place it in the fridge until it's completely chilled. Overnight is best.

Fresh Pineapple Sweet and Sour Chicken

I learned to make this tasty dish when I lived in Hawaii. I make it in a wok, but it's also great cooked in an electric skillet, stove top, or on the grill outside. When I cook with my wok, I like to cook in stages, that way the wok doesn't cool down too much. When you're cooking in a wok you want to cook the food quickly at a high temperature, so cut the food into large, bit sized pieces before cooking and don't over crowd the pan.



This dish is versatile (and gluten free), so add or subtract the foods that you do or don't like. For instance, for a vegetarian meal, subtract the chicken and add extra veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, bok chow, mushrooms, snow peas, or any that you prefer.

Marinade
14 oz Chicken Tenders (breast or boneless thighs also work well)
1 T Onion - chopped
2 cloves Garlic - smashed
1/4 cup Pineapple Juice
3 T Soy Sauce
1 T EVOO
1/4 Serrano Pepper
Splash of Water

Slury
1/3 cup Pineapple Juice
1 T Brown Sugar
1 T Seasoned Rice Vinegar
1 T Soy Sauce
1/4 t Tomato Paste
1 T Cornstarch

Vegetables
5 Cloves of Garlic (split) 2 cloves sliced (optional) and 3 chopped
2 small or 1 large Carrot -sliced
1/2 Green Bell Pepper - diced
Serrano Pepper - very thinly sliced or finely chopped (optional)
1/2 Onion - diced
2 Roma Tomatoes - diced (seeds removed)
1/ fresh Pineapple - diced (skin/rind and core removed)

You'll also need cooking oil and a 1/4 cup of chicken stock or a combination of stock and sweet white wine.

Stroganoff

I used ground turkey for my stroganoff but you can use any ground meat or steak instead. I think that using steamed or roasted cauliflower in your stroganoff sauce, instead of meat, would make a great vegetarian dish. You should make it with whatever ingredients sound best to you.



2 T Butter or EVOO - split
1 small or 1/2 a large Onion - diced
5-10 Baby Portabella (Cremini) Mushrooms - cleaned with a damp cloth and sliced
3-6 cloves Garlic - chopped or pressed
1-1.5 lb Ground Meat
s/p - to taste
CRP - to taste
1/4 t Smoked Paprika
1 heaping T fresh oregano
1 heaping T flour
1 cup Stock (or 1/2 cup wine and 1/2 cup stock)
8-10 oz Sour Cream
Egg Noodles



Sauté the onion and mushrooms in EVOO and/or butter over medium low heat until they are cooked. Then add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes. This will take about ten minutes all together.

Mac-N-Cheese Stuffed Meatballs

I used a box of macaroni and cheese when I made these balls. Next time, I would make my own. The cheese wasn't as gooey as I would of liked it to be. Overall though, I was very happy with the outcome of this crazy idea that I literally dreamt up one night.



Macaroni and Cheese
Fresh Basil
1 Egg
1/2 package Italian Dressing Mix or 1 T Italian Seasoning
Dried Oregano
CRP
s/p
3-4 cloves Garlic
1 Onion
Italian Style Bread Crumbs
1 lb Ground Meat (I used turkey. Beef, pork, chicken or a combo would also be tasty.)
Cooking oil

Cook your mac and cheese as you normally would, weather with a box mix or by scratch. When the mac-n-cheese is cooked, stir in a handful of chiffonade basil (thinly sliced or ribbons).

Then put the prepared mac and cheese in a storage dish. (I sprayed the dish with non-stick cooking spray first.) Cover and place the dish in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.



After the mac-n-cheese has completely cooled, turn it out of the storage dish onto a cutting board.



Cut the macaroni into cubes about the size of a large die and set them on a tray. Loosely cover the tray and place it in the freezer while you season the meat.

Sweet Onion and Sun Dried Tomato Dip

This dip is simple to make and fun to eat! Sprinkle a few extra bits of sun dried tomato and green onion on top of the dip, just before you serve to add color.



1 large Sweet Onion - diced
4-8 Sun Dried Tomatoes (oil patted off) - diced
8 oz Cream Cheese - softened
3/4 cup Mayo or Salad Dressing
3 oz Parmesan Cheese - freshly grated
CRP
s/p

Preheat oven to 350°.

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.