What's for Dinner?

Tonight for dinner I made an old family favorite, Szechuan Chicken, and it was so yummy I had to share it with you.  I don't often cook Chinese food, and this certainly is not authentic, but it's fast and easy, always a crowd pleaser, and the chicken is tender, moist and flavorful.  

Szechuan Chicken

3 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

3 T. cornstarch

1 T. oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

5 T. soy sauce

1 1/2 T. white wine vinegar

1 t. sugar

1/4 c. water

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

1/2 lb. snow peas

1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

Toss chicken pieces with cornstarch to coat.  Heat oil in wok or large skillet.  Stir fry chicken and garlic until lightly brown.  Add soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and water (I combine ingredients in a bowl and add all at once).  Cover and cook for 3 minutes or until sugar is done.  Uncover and add remaining ingredients and stir fry 2 more minutes.  Serve over rice.

3 New Favs

I know, I know, it's been kind of a while since I lasted posted, so I thought I would share some new favorites:

1.  Jem's New CD:  Down to Earth

I can't tell you how many girl road trips I've taken rocking out to her last cd, Finally Woken. Love, Love, Love that cd, so I was definitely excited when I heard she was coming out with a new cd.  I've listened to it a couple of times now and I really like it.  It has some different beats and melodies, even kind of a funky techno dance number.  One track I really like is, It's Amazing.  

2.  The new Legacy Parkway.

Wow, this has totally changed my life.  I used to get home at 5:45 at night, 45 minutes to get home, seriously?  Now it takes me just about 10 minutes to get to work, and 10 minutes to get home, does wonders for the blood pressure.  I get on at Highway 89 in Farmington, get off on the Centerville exit, and I'm a block away from work.  Sweet!  If you haven't been on Legacy, it is so beautiful, with views out to the lake.  Another bonus - no semis or trucks allowed on the parkway.  No rock chips!  

3.  Peaches

I have always loved fresh peaches in season.  Nothing better than a fresh peach just off the tree. Lately, I've been making a fresh peach cobbler that is so yummy.  It is so simple and I think that's why I like it - beautiful fresh peaches and a simple cobbler crust.  Here's the recipe, it literally takes about 10 minutes to make.

Quick Peach Cobbler

4 c. sliced fresh peaches

1 T. lemon juice

1 c. flour

1 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg, beaten

6 T. butter, melted

Place peaches in deep dish.  Sprinkle with sugar to taste (I usually don't add sugar, the peaches are good enough).  Sprinkle also with lemon juice.  Sift dry ingredients together, then add egg.  Mix with fork till crumbly.  Sprinkle evenly over peaches.  Pour melted butter over crumb mixture.  Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes or until top is crusty and light brown.  Serve warm topped with whipped or ice cream.  

Wedding Doings...

The cute wedding couple

family pictures...

Uncle Chewy with Maddy, Paige and Dylan

Cute Cousins!  Hailey and Abbi

(Thanks Paige for posting these pictures on facebook!  I didn't have time to take any pictures)

SATURDAY NIGHT, Mer and Cody were married and I have to say, the wedding was a smashing success.  Everything was so beautiful.  The ceremony was sweet and short and the kids were so fun to watch.  While the bishop was proceeding with the ceremony, Hailey, Bronsen and Madison were circling around Cody and Meridith, clinging to Meridith's skirt, tugging on Cody's pant leg.  They were adorable.  

I think everyone knows by now that I like to cook, so I offered to do the dinner for the reception.  Well, Saturday morning I was seriously questioning the logic of my offer, and my sanity.  I have never done a wedding, nor prepared food for 150 before.  I think that it ended up being a good learning experience for me.  I think the food turned out really well and I have had requests to share the recipes.  Let's be clear, I definitely did not do this by myself, I had a load of fabulous people helping - including my mom, my cousin, Kenna, Boni, and the best friends a person could ask for, Jen and Krista.  

For the dinner I made some lemon chicken skewers, a panzanella salad, and fruit salad with a honey lime dressing.  Meridith also ordered red velvet cake from California Pizza Kitchen and when that ran out we served a delicious wedding cake that she ordered from Kneaders.  We also had a trio of beverages.  We had water with lemon and lime slices and mint, and Meridith had Raspberry Lemonade and Lime Pina Colada that she ordered from Kneaders as well.  Meridith also put together a cute candy buffet that the children and adults enjoyed as well.  We brought in a grill and Cody's friend, Cade, sacrificed his whole night grilling almost 300 skewers for me - bless his heart!  Of course I was running around all night and didn't think to take any pictures.  So without further ado, here are the recipes:

Chicken Piccata Brochettes

I got this recipe from one of my favorite cookbook authors, Marguerite Hendersen, in Small Plates.  I did make some changes for convenience, and I will note that.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T. olive oil ( probably doubled the amount of oil)

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

2 bay leaves

1/4 c. chopped fresh sage (for the reason that I was making such a large amount of marinade, I compromised and used dried herbs, but I have also used fresh in this recipe, I like using either. For the wedding I used 1 tsp. dried sage)

1/4 c. chopped fresh rosemary (I used 1 T. dried rosemary)

1 tsp. dried thyme

2 tsp. capers

Cut the chicken into 1 inch pieces.  Place in bowl along with garlic, oil, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper, bay leaves, sage, rosemary, thyme and capers.  Toss; refrigerate for up to 6 hours.  Remove the bay leaves.  Soak wooden skewers in water for 10 minutes.  Thread 4 to 5 pieces of chicken on each skewer.  The recipe says: place on baking sheets and top with remaining marinade.  Bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.  I did this different.  I grilled them for 8 - 10 minutes.  In the past I have also broiled them, and I like that result as well.

Make 12 to 16 brochettes, I would plan on 2 - 3 per person.

Panzanella (Tuscan Bread Salad)

Here's another great recipe from Marguerite Henderson from Savor the Memories.  This is a beautiful salad that shows off our delicious summer tomatoes.

1 pound loaf hearty Italian bread

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 large ripe beefsteak tomatoes

1/4 c. sliced red onion

1 bunch (about 1 cup) fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

3 T. red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 c. shaved romano pecorino cheese (for convenience sake, I used a pre-shredded parmesan cheese from Costco)

Cut bread into 1 inch cubes.  In bowl, toss bread with 1/4 c. olive oil and 2 cloves minced garlic.  Place on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes in 350 degree oven.  Bread should be crisp and golden on the outside.

Cut tomatoes into 1 inch pieces, place in bowl with red onion, basil leaves, 1/4 c. olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Toss in toasted bread.  Allow to sit for 1/2 hour, tossing often.  Bread should be soft and saturated slightly with the oil and vinegar.  Taste for seasoning.  Serve with romano cheese on top.  (I mixed in the shredded parmesan).

Serves 8.

Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Dressing

I found this recipe on Epicurious.  I didn't use the fruit listed below, I basically made a fruit salad with watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, grapes, and blueberries, and used the dressing from the recipe.  I love the honey lime dressing!

1/2 c. plain yogurt

1/4 c. fresh lime juice

1/4 c. honey

1 tsp. grated lime peel

2 c. chopped cantaloupe

2 c. chopped honeydew 

2 c. red or green grapes

2 c. chopped pineapple

1 1/2 c. diced papaya

1 c. halved strawberries

Whisk first 4 ingredients in small bowl to blend; set dressing aside.  Combine remaining ingredients in large bowl.  Cover dressing and fruit separately and chill until ready to serve, up to 6 hours.  Mix dressing into fruit.  Let stand 15 minutes to blend flavors. 

I've Been Clean for 30 Days!

Oh, Diet Coke with Lime how I do love thee, and Oh, how I miss thee!  You are so good, but oh sooo bad for me.  Yes, that's right, some of you may know, I set a goal to stop drinking all pop and caffeine and I am proud to say that it has been an entire 30 days.  I decided to quit because I felt like I was drinking too much pop,  and as well, a friend reminded me, again, of some of the bad health effects of pop.  It actually hasn't been too bad, I have my water and Crystal Light is my new best friend.  There have been a few times, especially after doing yard work all day and I'm hot and sweaty and thirsty, that I have had a major craving.  I'm not saying I will quit pop permanently, but I definitely want it to be a very occasional treat for me.  I think that it's embedded in my genes that when you have great mexican food, coke is a must.

So...three cheers for ME!

Shakespeare Festival

This weekend was my annual girls trip with my fab friends Jen and Krista down to Cedar City for the Shakespeare Festival.  A fun time was definitely had by all!  There are a few traditions that we stick to every year: see several plays (of course), have dinner at the Pizza Factory, and hike up Kolob Canyon.  This year we were particularly ambitious and planned on seeing 4 plays.  We  went to Taming of the Shrew and Cyrano de Bergerac on Friday, and Fiddler on the Roof and Othello on Saturday.  All four plays were just amazing, but I have to say, Cyrano was my favorite by far.  One of the festival favorite actors, Brian Vaughn, played Cyrano,  and his performance was beyond words.  Yeah, I was crying and sniffing in the final scene.  If you have never taken the opportunity to go to Cedar City for the Festival, you must go, the quality of the plays and the caliber of the actors are so professional.

Here's the girls, me, Krista, and Jen:

Every evening before the evening performance they do a greenshow:

I really shouldn't be doing this, but I'll tell you one of the best kept secrets in southern Utah is hiking in Kolob Canyon, which is a part of Zions.  It's about a 20 minute drive from Cedar City and we always hike the Taylor Creek trail to Double Arch.  It's about a 3 hour beautiful hike.  Another nice thing is there are usually very few people on the trail!  

A few of the wildflowers on the trail:

I thought this tree was pretty funky looking:

Here is a part of double arch, it would be hard to take in the full arch with my camera:

There are a few old cabins on the trail along the way.  It always makes me wonder why settlers chose to live in the area and what they did to survive there.  

I love the beautiful red rock in southern Utah.

Gelato

Tonight my friend Anne and I went to a gelato class held at Orson Gygi.  The class was taught by Mark and Elizabeth England of the fabulous gelateria, Dolcetti Gelato.  Dolcetti's is located in Sugarhouse at about 1100 East and 1800 South. If you ever get the chance, it is the best place in Utah for quality artisan gelato.  For the uninformed, gelato is an italian ice cream and the difference is that gelato is milk based while ice cream is cream based, gelato is denser and has less air in it.  Anne and I got to sample all kinds of great flavors.  I thought I would share one of the recipes, and a favorite of mine, Lemon Sorbetto (sorbetto is a non-dairy base gelato). 

Lemon Sorbetto - Makes about 3 cups

5 lemons

1 1/4 c. sugar

1 1/4 c. water

1 egg white

Thoroughly scrub the lemons in warm soapy water.  Then rinse and dry.  Use a sharp potato peeler to remove the zest from 3 lemons.  If some white pith comes away with the zest, this should be shaved off, using a sharp knife angled flat against the peel.  If the white pith is not removed, the sorbetto is likely to have an  underlying bitterness.

Put the strips of zest in a small pan with the sugar and water and bring to a boil, then remove, cover, and leave to cool.  Add the water and the strained juice from all 5 lemons, then re-cover and chill overnight in fridge.  

The next day start the ice cream machine and pour in the lemon mixture via a plastic sieve to remove the lemon strips.  Churn 10 minutes, or until mixture is opaque and icy.  Using a fork, beat the egg white until loosened and add to the sorbet with the machine still running.  Continue until the sorbet is firm enough to serve.  To store, quickly scrape into a plastic freezer box, freeze.  Once the sorbet is solid it will need about 20 minutes in the fridge to soften sufficiently to serve.  Enjoy.

SYTYCD

Tonight was the finale on So You Think You Can Dance and they crowned a new winner - Joshua.  Yay!  What an awesome season this has been and so addicting!  All of the dancers and the choreographers have been outstanding.  Katie and Joshua have definitely been my favorites.  Since Katie didn't make it, I was totally thrilled that Joshua was chosen.  It's amazing that he is a fairly untrained hip hop dancer and on every dance he has risen to the occasion, be it contemporary, Latin, ballroom, jazz, and even Bollywood!  So props to Joshua, with the cutest smile, you are so buck!