The Charmed Kitchen

Ginger Lime Shrimp

A friend was stopping by last evening and I wanted to make dinner, but didn’t have a lot of time. I always keep some shrimp in the freezer. It can be defrosted in no time and makes any dinner special. I put the shrimp in a bowl of cold water. I changed the water a couple of times. They were mostly defrosted in less than 30 minutes. I peeled them and added the marinade ingredients. While they were marinading I started cooking the rice. It was brown rice and would take 40 minutes or so. I also prepped the veggies. When the rice was nearly cooked I started cooking the rest of the dish. It was so easy but it felt very special, like it was more work than it really was. It tasted pretty special, too.

Ginger Lime Shrimp

12 oz. raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 lime
1 t. fresh grated ginger
2 t. soy sauce
1 egg
oil
1 small onion, sliced
8 oz. pea pods, washed and trimmed
1-2 T. oyster sauce
2-3 T. cornstarch
Hot cooked rice

In small bowl place shrimp. Zest the lime and add the lime zest to the shrimp along with the juice of half of the lime, ginger, soy sauce and egg. Allow mixture to marinade together for 30 minutes or so. In skillet or wok heat a little oil and saute the onion until golden. Add pea pods and cook 3-4 more minutes. Remove veggies from pan and set aside. Drain shrimp and dredge in the cornstarch. Heat a little more oil in the pan and cook shrimp until just done. Return veggies to pan and toss with the shrimp. Add the oyster sauce and heat through. Serve over the rice. Serves 2-3.

Almond Cookies

These are a great finish for any Chinese New Year party. The cookies are soft and almost cake like. Delicately flavored with almond extract and centered with a toasted almond they are great any time.  I enjoy almond cookies with an evening cup of tea. They aren’t too sweet and make a nice light dessert.

Chinese Almond Cookies

¾ c. sugar
¾ c. softened butter
1 egg
2 T. water
1 t. baking powder
1 t. almond extract
¼ t. salt
2 ½ c. flour
whole almonds, about 1/3 c.

Combine all ingredients except flour and nuts and beat until smooth. Stir in flour. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place 2” apart on lightly greased baking sheet. Dip bottom of buttered glass in sugar and use it to flatten cookies a little. Press an almond into the center of each. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 8-12 minutes. Cookies should be firm to the touch, but not brown. Makes 3-4 dozen.

Wonton Soup

As part of our Chinese New Year dinner the other night, I was in charge of soup. I decided to go with one of my childhood favorites- Wonton Soup. I figured it was a soup everybody would like. I had some time constraints, too, and this soup is pretty easy to put together. The one problem I find when trying to make this soup at home is finding wonton wrappers that are thick enough. The square ones I find at the store are OK, but thinner than the ones in Wonton  Soup at a restaurant. At a local Asian grocery I have found round wrappers that are labelled for dumplings and are thicker. That is what I used. They worked out better. I normally add strips of roast pork to wonton soup, but one of our guests doesn’t eat pork, so the use of chicken thighs was a great substitute. You can play around with fillings, too. I often add shrimp as both a filling and to the soup itself.

Wonton Soup

1½ lb. chicken
1 head bok choy
3 T. hoisen sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
24 won ton wrappers
2 qts. Stock
1 t. ginger
1 t. hot pepper sauce
Chopped green onions
Sesame oil

Bake the chicken until cooked. I used boneless chicken thighs, but even leftover roasted chicken would work. Once cooled I minced enough of the chicken to give me 1 cup of meat. The rest I cut into thin strips. I then took stems from the bok choy and minced enough of them to make 1 cup. Combine the minced chicken with minced bok choy, the hoisen and the garlic. This is the filling for your wontons. Slice more of the bok choy- using mainly the leaves, into thin shreds. This will go into the soup later, along with the strips of chicken. You should have at least a couple of cups of the shredded bok choy, but more is OK, too. To make the wontons place one on your work surface and spoon a rounded teaspoon of the filling into the middle of it. Moisten edge with water, fold in half and press to seal. I used round wrappers, but square wrappers are fine, too. Repeat with remaining wontons and fillings until done. Bring stock to a boil and add the ginger and hot sauce. Add the wontons to the simmering stock. Simmer gently for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the strips of chicken and the shredded bok choy greens. Cook about 5-6 minutes longer. Finish soup with chopped green onions and a drizzle of sesame oil. Serves 6-8.

Amy’s Chicken Lo Mein

Keeping with the plan for a celebration of Chinese New Year we decided to include a lo mein dish. The dinners I enjoy with friends are wonderful collaborations. Amy and I get started with an idea and then things just seem to come together. In this dish I contributed a few packs of ramen noodles, spinach, oyster sauce and chopped green onions. Amy had marinated chicken in sherry and had also chopped up onions, carrots  and  peppers. She had some ginger, sesame oil and soy sauce. The end result was pretty darn good. Easy, too.

Amy’s Chicken Lo Mein

3 packets of ramen noodles
Oil
1 onion, diced                                                                                                                                          1 carrot, peeled and diced fine
1 sweet pepper seeded and diced
16 oz. chicken, cut in thin strips and marinated in sherry
1 lb. fresh spinach
¼ c. oyster sauce
Ginger
Soy sauce
Siracha sauce or other hot pepper sauce
Sesame oil
Chopped green onions

Cook pasta according to package directions but don’t use the seasoning packets they come with. Drain and set aside. In large skillet heat up a little oil and add the onion, cooking until tender. Add carrot and pepper and cook a few minutes more. Add chicken and stir fry until no pink is visible. Add spinach and cook until spinach is wilted down. Add noodles and oyster sauce with about ¼ cup of water. Toss to mix well. Add seasonings to suit your taste. We used about a teaspoon of ginger and a healthy shot of soy sauce. I also added about a teaspoon of the siracha. Just before serving I drizzled some sesame oil into the dish and added a handful of green onions. Serves 6.

Shrimp Fried Rice

I got together with friends to celebrate Chinese New Year and we made several Asian- inspired dishes. I did my version of fried rice, using brown Jasmine rice as the base. I cooked the rice a day ahead so it would be cold when I fried it the next day. I left the shrimp whole- I prefer that. I really liked the way it came out. Of course, you can switch out ingredients in countless ways. It isn’t like the take out fried rice you are used to. It’s moister and actually has a lot less oil in it. I loved it and so did the other guests at the dinner.

Shrimp Fried Rice

2 c. uncooked rice- I used brown rice and prefer it in this dish
4 c. stock or water
Soy sauce to taste
4 T. oil, or a bit more
1 onion, diced
1 sweet pepper, seeded and diced
1½ c. shelled edamame (fresh soybeans), you could use green peas
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz. raw medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 t. grated ginger
1 t. hot sauce
Toasted sesame oil
Chopped green onions

Cook rice in water or stock (stock preferred). Add some soy sauce to the cooking liquid, if you like. Once rice is cooked, cool down and keep in the fridge until ready to use. Better if you make the rice a day ahead. Heat half of the oil in large skillet or wok and cook the onion until lightly browned. Add the pepper, edamame and garlic and cook about 3 minutes longer. Add shrimp and cook, stirring often, until shrimp are just cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside. Heat remaining oil in pan and stir fry the rice until just starting to turn a little golden around the edges. You might have to do this in batches. Once rice is done return the shrimp mixture to the wok, with the rice, and stir to mix well. Add seasonings and adjust to your taste, adding more soy sauce if needed. Drizzle with a little sesame oil and green onions and serve. Serves 6-8.

Tiramisu Doughnuts

I will be having my annual Doughnut Days again this year. Held on Fat Tuesday, (Feb 17)  from noon until 9 pm, it is a chance for you to learn how to make doughnuts. This year we will be having the Tiramisu Doughnuts everybody loves along with many other doughnuts and fritters. The star is always the jelly doughnuts. I do this every year to honor my parents who made them, too. So stop on by to learn to make doughnuts, maybe see a few friends and of course to eat doughnuts.  The address is 18007 East Park Dr. in Cleveland. For more info please email me at judi_strauss@att.net.

Chocolate Waffles

I served these to a couple of friends recently and got a request for the recipe. These are fun because they can be for breakfast, brunch or dessert. If you like, you can even add some chocolate chips to the batter for a stronger chocolate taste.  Might be the perfect breakfast in bed for Valentine’s Day. Chocolate waffles are great topped with fresh berries. As an added bonus, they freeze well, too.

Chocolate Waffles

 2 eggs, room temperature

1/2 stick butter, melted and cooled

1 t. vanilla

1 c. buttermilk

1 c. flour

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. cocoa

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 each baking powder and baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. nutmeg

Beat first three ingredients until light and foamy, about 2 minutes. Stir in milk. Beat in dry ingredients just until blended. Bake until waffles are cooked through. Makes 4 cups batter. Serve with whipped butter or sour cream and fresh fruit. I like them just dusted with powdered sugar, too.

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

When I needed a special dessert for this weekend I decided to combine chocolate with cheesecake. I used bits and pieces from several different recipes to come up with this Triple Chocolate Cheesecake. The crust is made from chocolate cookies. The filling has white chocolate in it and the cheesecake is topped off with a strawberry glaze and chocolate “stars”. It was also an excuse to use the heart shaped springform pan I bought a few months ago. You don’t need to have a heart-shaped pan to make it, just a springform pan and a love of all things chocolate.

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust:
1½ c. chocolate cookie crumbs
3 T. butter, melted

Cheesecake:
6 oz. White chocolate, chopped fine
1½ lb. Cream cheese, room temperature
¾ c. sugar
4 eggs

Strawberry Glaze:
1½ sliced strawberries
¼ c. sugar
¼ c. water
1 T. cornstarch
2 T. cold water

Chocolate topping:
4 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
3 T. butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine crust ingredients and press into the bottom of a 9 or 10-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven and set aside. Melt white chocolate, set aside and allow to cool a little. Beat cheese with sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Mix in white chocolate and pour into the pan. Bake about 50-55 minutes until edges are puffed and golden. Center will not be set. Cool completely before refrigerating. Edges will puff up on this cheesecake and center will be lower. Aids in using the strawberry glaze later. Prepare glaze. Combine berries with sugar and water in pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Combine cornstarch with cold water and add to berries. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and pour over the center of the cooled cheesecake. Return to fridge. After cheesecake has chilled an hour, or longer, make the chocolate topping. Melt chocolate and butter together and stir until smooth. Using a piping bag and a star tip- out line the strawberry glaze with chocolate “stars”. Return to fridge until ready to serve. Serves 10.

Fish Chowder

When I think of seafood chowder I usually think about a creamy mix of some sort of shellfish with assorted veggies. Always a favorite of mine. This fish chowder is a little different. It is a mix of wonderful veggies, for sure, but there is no dairy and the seafood is any mild fish you happen to like. It is both hearty and light at the same time, if that makes sense. The recipe calls for Roma tomatoes, but I used a pint of my home canned tomatoes, liquid and all, which made the tomato a little more pronounced. I actually liked it that way a lot.  Here is the recipe. If you want to make fish tonight, but a little different, you might want to give it a try.

Fish Chowder

1 medium carrot, sliced
2 ribs celery, diced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 large leek, white part only, cleaned and chopped
5 c. chicken, vegetable or fish stock
2 c. plum tomatoes, drained, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 lb. firm white fish cut into 1/2 inch cubes – I used flounder
1/4 c. flour
1/2 t. paprika
2 T. oil
In broth cook the carrot, celery and leeks 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and potatoes and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes longer. Season to taste. Meanwhile mix the flour and paprika together and dredge the fish in it. Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat and cook the fish until lightly browned on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Before serving add fish pieces to the soup and simmer 5 minutes. Serve with crusty bread. Serves 6.