Recipe: Sticky Honey-Soy Chicken Wings

Sticky Honey-Soy Chicken Wings

Yield: Approximately 5 servings

Adapted from the Food Channel, recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken wings

1 c low sodium soy sauce or Tamari

1 Tbsp (large nub) coarsely chopped fresh ginger

2 Tbsp coarsely chopped cilantro leaves

2 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp butter

1/2 c honey

Sesame seeds, for garnish

Instructions

Remove tips from chicken wings; separate each wing at joint into 2 pieces. Place wings in a shallow dish and pour over the soy sauce, ginger, cilantro, garlic and lemon juice. Toss well to coat. Marinate, refrigerated, for 2 hours.

Remove wings from marinade and pat dry; season with salt and pepper.

In a large sauté pan over medium high heat, melt the butter in the olive oil. When the butter stops foaming, add the honey and give mixture a good stir.

Add chicken wings to the pan and fry until browned on each side. Continue cooking the wings, turning them often, until they are cooked through and the sauce has become sticky. (The time will vary depending on the size of your wings.)

Garnish with sesame seeds and serve warm.

Recipe: Honey-Soy Sauce Chicken Fingers

Honey-Soy Sauce Chicken Fingers

Adapted from White on Rice Couple

Yield: Approximately 30 chicken fingers

Ingredients

Chicken Fingers

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast or chicken tenderloin

Approximately 2 cups of panko bread crumbs, or more if needed

Approximately 1 cup of flour, or more if needed

salt and pepper

Vegetable oil for frying

Honey-Soy Sauce

1/2 c ketchup

1/2 c honey

1/4 c soy sauce

1 Tbsp Sriracha Sauce (chili garlic sauce)

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

Cilantro and fresh lime wedges to garnish

Instructions

If using chicken breasts, cut them into long strips of similar size.

Set up your dredging station, using 3 separate bowls (i.e. one bowl for the panko, one bowl for the beaten eggs and one bowl with the flour, salt and pepper).

Dredge each strip of chicken in the flour, then the egg, then the panko. Place the breaded chicken fingers on a cookie sheet, in a single layer, to prevent sticking.

Heat oil to 325 F (You can also test if the oil is ready by dropping a few bread crumbs into the pan. The oil will bubble and seize the bread crumbs when it is at the right temperature.) 

Place several chicken fingers in the hot oil, being careful not to crowd the pan. Fry for approximately 3 minutes on each side, until golden and cooked through. When finished, remove from pan and place on a paper towel lined plate. (The chicken fingers can be placed in a low oven to keep warm)

To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients in a large skillet and whisk to combine. Gently heat until warm and slightly sticky. 

To finish, toss the chicken fingers in the sauce, to cover both sides.  Alternatively, the warm sauce can be served on the side.  

Garnish with chopped cilantro and lime wedges. 

Recipe: {Flourless} Chocolate Orange Cake

{Flourless} Chocolate Orange Cake

Yield: 9 inch cake

Adapted from Nigella Lawson, Feast

Note: In order to make this cake, you will need a kitchen scale. I have this one, and love it. Baking by weight is so much easier and precise!

Ingredients

1 large or 2 small, thin-skinned oranges (350 g/12.3 oz total weight)

6 eggs

1 heaping tsp baking powder

.5 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

50 g/1.7 oz cocoa

200 g/7 oz almond meal (or very finely ground almonds)

250 g/ 8.8 oz sugar

Instructions

Put the whole orange(s) in a pan with cold water, bring to a boil and cook on a low simmer for 2 hours, or until soft. Drain.

When cool, halve the orange(s) and remove any visible seeds.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C

Puree the entire fruit (peel, pith and pulp) in a food processor. Add the eggs, baking powder, baking soda, salt, almond meal and cocoa to the orange in the processor. Run the machine until you have a cohesive batter.

Pour into a 9 inch butter springform pan.  Bake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

This cake is perfect for Passover, and is also gluten free.

Recipe: Potato Pancakes {Latkes}

Potato Pancakes

Yield will depends on how large you make them; one batch should yield approximately 12 small or 6 medium size pancakes. The recipe can be easily doubled or tripled.

Ingredients

1 pound russet (baking) potatoes

1 small onion

1/4 c matzo meal (can substitute flour)

salt and pepper to taste

schmaltz, duck fat or neutral vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

Grate the potato and onions* and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. I find wrapping the grated vegetables in a flour-sack towel and wringing out the liquid works the best. Place in a large bowl when finished.

Beat the egg and add to the bowl with the grated vegetables. Add salt, pepper and enough matzo meal (or flour) to bind. 

Add approximately 2 Tbsp schmaltz/oil to a large skillet (a cast-iron pan works particularly well). Drop in spoonfuls of batter and gently press down with the back of the spatula. Cook until latkes are golden brown, approximately 3 minutes per side.  Drain on paper towels. Continue with remaining batter, adding more schmaltz/oil as needed.

Frying latkes is a labor of love and in my experience can be time consuming! You can keep the cooked pancakes warm in the oven while frying up more.

*I like the potatoes and onions coursely grated. If you use a food processor, the process literally takes a minute. Some people (my grandmother included) use the finest side of a box grater, which results in a finer textured pancake.  

{Incredibly Crisp} Gingersnap Cookies

{Incredibly Crisp} Gingersnap Cookies

Adapted from the Food Network

Yield: about 40 cookies

Ingredients

2 c all-purpose flour

2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 t ground cinnamon

2 t ground ginger

1/2 t ground cloves

12 T (1 and 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 c sugar

1 large egg

1/4 c molasses

1/2 c sugar in a shallow bowl, for finishing

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degree F.

Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and spices in a bowl; stir well to mix.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and continue beating until smooth.

Lower speed and beat in half the dry ingredients, then the molasses. Stop the mixer and scrape down bowl and beater. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients. Remove bowl from mixer and use a large rubber spatula to finish mixing the dough.

Use a small ice cream scoop to form 1 inch diameter pieces of dough. Roll into balls between the palm of your hands, then roll in sugar. Place the balls of dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment, being sure to leave 3 inches around each to allow for spreading.

Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes, or until they have spread, the surface has crackled and they are firm to the touch.

Slide the papers from each pan onto a cooling rack. Store the cooled cookies between sheets of parchment or wax paper in a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting cover.