general 'dawn' tso's chicken

Finding a decent Chinese take away where I live is like looking for a needle in a haystack. It cannot be done. To get good Chinese I have to go to Baaahston into Chinatown for the real stuff. And for good Italian I go to the North End. Do I go into Boston a lot? Hell no. I'm lucky if I cross the bridge to leave the island. So that leaves me with recreating some of my favorite Chinese dishes at home. If any of you are General Tso chicken lovers then have I got the perfect dish for you. This was so so so so good. I'm a fussy eater of my own cooking creations, I have to have perfection or I will not eat it. I scarfed this one down. It was way better than PF Chang's--and that's saying a lot from me. Sorry PF Chang's, I still love you and will still come for the shrimp with candied walnuts & melons.

general dawn’s spicy tso chicken
by Dawn
print recipe

Vegetable oil, for deep frying
4 boneless chicken breasts (you can use dark meat)
3 eggs
2 ts cayenne pepper
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup plus 2 TB cornstarch
1 – 1 ½ cups of panko crumbs

Sauce:
1 large orange, zested
1 ¼ cups orange juice (with pulp is best)
½ cup dark brown sugar
3-4 TB plum sauce
1 stick of unsalted butter
2 ts hot pepper flakes
2 TB Worcestershire sauce
1 – 2 TB cornstarch

1 red bell pepper, cut into small strips
¼ - ½ cup of sweet & spicy pecans (I found at Trader Joe’s)

In a large heavy-bottomed pot, use about one bottle of veggie oil or enough oil to cover your pot about 1/3 of the way full. Heat pot over medium heat until oil reaches 350 degrees F.
Cut chicken into 2 or 3-inch pieces.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cayenne, salt & black pepper, set aside.
In another large bowl mix the flour, cornstarch and salt & pepper, set aside.
In a medium bowl put the panko crumbs in.
Dip the chicken in batches, first in egg mixture, then in the flour mixture and shake to coat. Then coat in the panko crumbs, making sure to push down and get them nice and coated. Line them up on a tray to get ready for frying. It’s best to let them sit for a few minutes to absorb all the dry coatings.
To prepare sauce use a large sauté pan, melt 6 TB of the butter, then add in the orange zest, orange juice, dark brown sugar, hot pepper flakes and Worcestershire sauce. Stir, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and add in the 3-4 TB of plum sauce, bring to a boil again and sprinkle on the cornstarch (use your hands or a sifter to avoid any cornstarch clumps). Stir well, let cornstarch dissolve, taste as you go, it might need a pinch or two of salt. Let simmer a bit till thickened—maybe 10 minutes? Add the last 2 TB of butter, stir until melted.
Carefully place chicken in hot oil and fry in small batches until golden and crispy; should take about 5 - 8 minutes. Transfer cooked chicken to paper towels to dry a bit. (this recipe belongs to dawn finicane)
Add the cooked chicken to the sauté pan with the sauce and toss until evenly coated. Then add in the red pepper strips and pecans, toss again and serve with white sticky rice.

dark-white chocolate pb cups

My obsession with peanut butter and chocolate is a never ending struggle. One that always has me up at night thinking of what can I add to these two perfect ingredients to make them better or make a new candy-cookie-muffin-cake-what-have you. And then it hit me, why haven't I added white chocolate to the mix? Duh, right? I know a total 'duh' moment. In all the years of making chocolate peanut butter cups I've never made them with white chocolate. Oh I've added cayenne pepper, caramel, cereal, espresso, coconut, cinnamon (very good), and of course my favorite potato chips (I need to post those, they were disgustingly good, and I mean that in a good way).
To make these dark-white chocolate pb cups just follow the dark chocolate pb cups I made from before, and the only change is to add a layer of melted white chocolate on top of the chilled peanut butter. Then chill that layer, then add your final layer of dark chocolate, then chill again and you're done.

Here are some interesting winter photos from my side of the world.

Icy cold Atlantic, shot taken at the Sandwich Marina lobster docks. Isn't the ocean color gorgeous?

Lots of fishing rope waiting for the next boat.

rows and rows of empty dry docked boats--like a ghost town of sorts

wanna place an order?

just outside sandwich diving school. clearly this diver is in the wrong element.

homemade cheesy tater tots

Cheesy tater tots, now? Yeah yeah new year's resolutions, I got it--everyone is on a diet....blah blah blah. Homemade cheesy tater tots will make you cheat on your new diet. That's it. LOL Kidding. I'm a foodie, it's hard for me to diet, I try I do. I doubt I will ever give up my fatty fried foods and calorie dense sweet treats. Foodie for life--word! I just have to workout more and more, and then again some more.
These fabulous cheesy tater tots I made I got inspiration from Nick over at Macheesmo (love that name). I pretty much followed his recipe, but wondered why he hadn't added cheese to the potato batter. You know? So I added cheese and did a couple other things.
So if you are looking for the BEST superbowl appetizer, oh yeah this is it. Or if you really want to make something for your friends, family or sweetheart and watch them just melt with happiness, this is it! Yes, this will impress. There is no way you can eat just 5, I mean when I made these Christmas day, they were gone in 10 minutes. That friggin good. Deep fried, crispy, cheesy, gooey, salty goodness dipped in sauces baby! Can I get an amen? Food of love people, food of friggin love.



cheesy homemade tater tots
adapted from Macheesmo
print recipe

4 Russet potatoes, peeled & chopped I used 5 medium)
1 egg (beat well in a small dish)
1/2 Cup milk (I did NOT use this)
3 TB unsalted butter (I used 5 TB)
1 Cup all-purpose flour
(½ cup sharp cheddar cheese grated fine)
Salt & Pepper
2 Large bags, plain kettle cooked chips or a few cups of Panko crumbs. (I used all Panko crumbs)

Deep-fry thermometer

Making the tots. It should be no surprise that these guys start with potatoes.
The first step for these guys is to make mashed potatoes. Now I’m not sure how they make real tater tots. I know it’s closer to a hash brown product, but mashed potatoes are a lot easier to shape and also happen to be delicious. To start, just peel and slice your potatoes.
Boil them for 10-15 minutes in salted water until the potato pieces are fork tender. Then drain them and transfer them to a bowl.
Using a fork, mush up your potatoes and let them cool for a few minutes until they are room temperature or slightly warmer. (Beat egg, well, in a small dish before adding to mix). Then add your butter, flour, egg, and (cheese). Add a good pinch of salt and pepper. Filling mixed.
To make the crunchy exterior of the tot and also give it some shape, I decided to try out two different toppings: crunched up kettle chips and Panko breadcrumbs. Both worked pretty well actually.
You cannot shape these until they are coated with the Panko crumbs. Make them into the size of a teaspoon, yes that small. Just drop a few teaspoons of mashed potatoes in your bowl of crust. Roll them around until they are coated all the way around. Then you can easily pick up each tot and shape it easily in your hand. Just roll them like you would a cookie only not as much pressure. You can try making them into a cylinder shape like Nick did. Then transfer them to a baking sheet and until ready to deep fry.
Cooking the tots. Make sure your oil is at 350 degrees before you do any type of frying. This is crucial. Once the oil reaches 350 degrees then you can start frying; do not overcrowd pan though. Unless you have a large pot you really should do semi-small batches. (I fried about 10 per batch in my 8 quart pot with about 3-4 inches of oil). They should only need about 5-7 minutes per batch. Once you scoop them out of the oil, transfer them to a paper towel and salt them immediately (I did not salt them—they really did not need it). Feel free to add whatever seasoned spices you crave. Serve with sauces--any kind would work actually. Here are a couple that I used.

horsey-blue cheese dip
from vanillasugarblog.com

3 tb of horseradish sauce
2 tb of blue cheese dressing
2 tb of Hellmans mayo
2 tb of sour cream
1 -2 ts of superfine sugar
Dashes of paprika and freshly chopped chives

spicy ketchup

ketchup with a few dashes of spicy chili oil and whatever else you desire.

asian meatballs in garlic-black bean sauce w/ peanut fried rice

Happy new year! 2010 is going to be a good one, yes? Nod your head yes. Good! My new year is already off to a good start, I have no oven but that's ok because soon I will be in my own kitchen. One month to go. My current landlord wants to try and repair the 36-year old oven. Whatev.... What did everyone eat for new year's? Leftovers? Or did you try something new? I tried something new and very tasty. This latest creation comes from the help of a very good blogging friend. She's a california buddy, so that makes her super cool. She's keeping an eye on California for me until I move back there. And when we chatted on the phone it was like we were best friends: all giggly and non-stop talking. Esi over at Dishing up Delights made these asian meatballs that literally made me print them out, throw the recipe in my to-make pile and then forget about it (I hate when I do that). But then I saw her food porn photo again and just had to make them, asap. She makes a lot of good meatball recipes: Esi the meatball maker! These meatballs were so good. You must try them. If you love the taste of ginger, this is it. I took her recipe and of course kicked it up a few knotches by adding in a sauce and swapping out the noodles for peanut fried rice. Can I tell you the smell in the house while these were cooking was so warming, so tempting, so, well good. It lingered in the house for a couple days too. I had leftovers and to be honest I ate them cold. Yes, a cold asian meatball sandwich with shredded carrots, lettuce all wrapped up in warmed Naan bread. Oh yeah! So good! I think I got all the ingredients down for the recipe. I never really measure when I'm cooking. I always measure when I'm baking but never cooking. I sort of eyeball what needs to go in there. So, that's why you'll see a lot of "or so" when I type out recipes. Basically add in as much or as little as your cute little tastebuds like. OK? asian meatballs in garlic black bean sauce over peanut fried rice print recipe Meatballs: ¾ pound ground pork 1/4 cup grated white onion 1 egg 3 fresh garlic cloves, minced 2 ts fresh ginger, grated 1/4 ts salt 1/8 ts black pepper ½ ts red chili pepper flakes 2 ts soy sauce ½ cup (or so) panko flakes Chopped scallions or chives, for garnish Garlic-honey black bean sauce: 2 TB (or so) honey 4 TB (or so) black bean garlic sauce 4 – 5 TB (or so) of soy with ginger sauce (or ginger like sauce) Dash of pepper Peanut Fried Rice: 3-4 cups (or so) of cooked rice (any kind is good, I’ve even used pilaf) 1 ts canola oil (for pan, might need more) 1-2 TB chopped garlic ¼ cup (or so) of fresh, chopped carrots (chopped into strips) 4 green onions, chopped ¼ - ½ cup of chopped water chestnuts ¼ - ½ cup of chopped bamboo shoots A couple dashes of soy sauce ¼ cup of dry roasted peanuts Soy sauce to taste (a couple dashes) 3 TB of pad thai sauce (or a sweet & sour sauce) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine meatballs ingredients in a bowl, mix well and form 1 to 1-1/2 inch meatballs. In a large fry pan heat up some canola oil and fry the pork meatballs. Get them nice and brown on all sides then transfer to a preheated 400 degree oven and finish cooking off. About 15 minutes. recipe by dawn finicane. Drain off the oil from the large skillet, leave a bit of oil in there along with any bits from bottom of pan. In a bowl combine all the ingredients for the black bean sauce, mix well, then transfer to back to the reheated large skillet and stir. Get the sauce nice and bubbly then add back in the meatballs. Coat the meatballs well in the sauce. To make the fried peanut rice, just heat up a bit of canola oil in a large skillet or wok. Add in the garlic, then add in the rice, stir well, add in the carrots, the bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and peanuts. Mix this well. Then make a small well in the middle of the wok and add in the pad thai sauce, soy sauce, then incorporate into the rice. When all is mixed through, sprinkle on the chopped green onions, and combine. Serve immediately.

rum-soaked french toast w/ pecan butter

Did everyone survive the holiday madness? Any diasters? Everything settle out or down ok? New Year's is right around the corner. I love Christmas, but in all honesty I love New Year's more. I love the celebration of a brand spanking new year. It's like someone came into your home, cleaned everything spotless, organized everything to a perfect ideal system just for you and gave you fresh clean sheets on your brand new bed. I love that! The perfect motivation to start something anew. This new year I am moving into my own home. Finally my own home with my own kitchen. No more greasy, messy rentals with broken appliances that never get fixed, no more wasting, burning rather, your hard earned money on a rental. My current rental I've dubbed as 'the money pit'. Seriously, I've even named my home network/internet connection 'the money pit'. This is the place as many of you remember where the landlord took her time fixing the fridge, then finally realizing (after 2 months) that she should buy a new one. But she didn't take the old one out (it's a wall unit) so the new fridge was put in the living room. Nice! And on top of that the new fridge that she bought was actually a 2-year old floor model that was used on the showroom floor for potential customers to open and close repeatedly, kids to open and slam repeatedly, and who knows what else abuse. She wanted the floor model because....yes, it was cheap. And cheap it was. You should hear the noises that thing makes, it reminds me of the movie Alien. No lie. I have to keep it turned up to the highest setting just to keep it at a nice toasty 35 degrees. Yes, this was the same landlord that didn't want to get the brand new washer & dryer properly fixed. I could go on and on, but in a month I move. But the icing on the cake was the fact that last week the 37-year old oven died. Just two days before Christmas my oven dies. I knew this was coming, but was hoping it would happen the day I moved. None such luck! And get this, the landlord is still undecided on whether or not to put in an oven! Good luck getting it rented with a brand new washer & dryer that doesn't work, a barely working fridge sitting in the living room and now no oven. Crazy right?
I have one more month left in the money pit and with no oven I have to resort my baking & creating to the gas stove. Thank goodness that still works (I should knock on wood at this point right?). This can give me a good excuse to do more with my wok and to flambe more, no? I have to admit I did try a batch of cookies in my ez-bake err toaster oven--it wasn't that bad!

rum-soaked french toast w/ pecan butter

1 large loaf of day old, crusty bread, sliced thick
3 eggs
1/2 cup - 3/4 cup of half & half
1/4 cup dark rum
pinch of salt
couple pinches of cinnnnnaminnnaamon

pecan butter

1 stick of room temp butter
1/2 cup or less of toasted, chopped pecans
pinch of salt
couple dashes of vanilla sugar (if you have it)

Make the pecan butter first by combining all the ingredients in a bowl and mixing well. Put into a small dish, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. You want the flavors to have an hour or so to meld together.

To make the french toast combine all the liquid ingredients, plus the cinnamon and salt in a shallow dish. Whisk this egg batter very well. Slice the crusty bread into desired thickness and let a few slices soak in the rum batter until ready to use. I soaked mine about 5 minutes. Add a few pats of butter to a hot skillet and cook up the french toast. Easy peasy. Make sure to serve with the pecan butter.