Quick and Easy Macaroni and Cheese

Forget the stuff from the box, here is a method takes just as a much time, and the results are way better. I first discovered this method from The College Cookbook, back when I was well, in college. And I haven’t gone back to using the stuff from the blue box since. I’ve tweaked it over the years, for a more “grown-up” taste, adding a handful of cheddar cheese and a pinch of cayenne pepper for a hint of spice. But the American cheese is still a key ingredient to get the creaminess that coats the macaroni. Using cheddar alone, I found makes it stringy and grainy.

Another advantage of this method is you can make as little or as much as you want. I found that using the box you confined to the 4-6 servings, and since I usually was cooking it for myself, I would be eating mac and cheese for several meals.

So try this method, using real cheese, and butter, and you may never go back to using the stuff from the blue box.

Quick and Easy Macaroni and Cheese
Adapted from The College Cookbook

1 cup (a handful) of macaroni (I used “Celentani” here because it’s a fun spiral shape, but any tubular pasta will do)
1-2 slices American cheese
¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese
A pat of butter
A few tablespoons of milk
Salt and pepper to taste
A pinch of cayenne pepper

Boil the pasta according to the directions. Drain the pasta and return to the pot and turn the heat to the lowest setting possible on your stove. Melt butter into the pasta and stir it so it is evenly distributed. Add cheese and milk and stir until it becomes desired consistency. (I add about a tablespoon of milk at a time and stir until it becomes nice and creamy). Season with salt and pepper and dust with a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper. Serves one person as a meal, or 3 as a side dish.

Panko-crusted chicken with teriyaki sauce

After several days of Thanksgiving leftovers, I was looking something different, with a zingy, tangy taste. Granted, if I really wanted a change from Thanksgiving, I probably should have moved away from poultry all together. But not having the foresight that I might be sick of poultry after Thanksgiving, I bought two pounds of chicken breasts (they were buy one get one free!) on the day before Thanksgiving.

So I turned to Jaden Hair's Steamy Kitchen cookbook, since Asian flavors were about as far as I could think of from Thanksgiving. I am an avid reader of Jaden's blog, and was delighted to get her book as a gift last Christmas. What Jaden has done in this book is great because she memorializes Asian recipes in writing. And from what I know from experience, written Asian recipes are hard to come by! All of my grandmother's cooking was simply her tossing in ingredients and seasonings based on her experience and taste. Growing up in my house, we never even had measuring cups in our kitchen! So you can imagine, it is difficult and maybe even impossible to re-create my grandmother's dishes in my kitchen.

What I especially like about this book is that at the beginning there is a section that gives the low-down on Asian ingredients and cooking techniques in a way that easy for my Americanized brain to understand. I found this book has helped me learn more about Asian flavors and get an approximation to what I remember from my grandmother's cooking.

The following recipe is adapted, barely, from Jaden's book. As usual, I made adjustments based on my tastes and availability of ingredients. I reduced the whole recipe to only make one serving for myself. I also reduced the amount of sugar the sauce called for, since I didn't want it to be overly sweet, and I omitted the sake, simply because I didn't have any. If I were to do this again, I would add more orange juice because it is supposed to by a citrusy sauce, but I didn't taste much of the citrus. Another thing I might try next time in cooking the chicken is pan frying it first to get the nice golden brown crust, rather than simply spraying cooking spray and putting it in the oven. (Although, admittedly, this would make the recipe less healthy).

Panko-crusted Chicken with Teriyaki sauce
Adapted from Jaden Hair, Steamy Kitchen

Ingredients:

For the chicken:
1 chicken breast, flattened to about 1/3 to 1/2 inch thickness
1/4 cup panko crumbs
1/4 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper to taste

For the dipping sauce:
3 Tbs soy sace
3 Tbs orange juice
3 Tbs mirin
1 Tbs sugar


Preheat oven for 475 degrees. Combine flour with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and then dip into the egg. Shake off any excess egg and dredge the chicken into the panko crumbs. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray and both sides of the chicken. Place chicken in the pan and bake for about 15-20 minutes at 475 degrees.

While the chicken is baking, combing the sauce ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer for about 3-5 minutes.

(Note for next time I try this recipe: try frying chicken in oil for a few minutes on each side to get the nice golden brown crust. This time, I didn't quite get the golden brown crust, even after raising the temperature to 500 degrees for an extra five minutes. Perhaps the chicken was not thin enough, or perhaps my oven is finicky, but it just wasn't meant to be.)

Serves 1 person with white rice.

Chicken Stir-Fry

This dish was one of my go-to meals back in college, which I adapted from "The College Cookbook," (which, by the way, is a great reference for beginner cooks, in college or not.) The original recipe was only vegetables, but I wanted to add chicken so I could have nice one-dish meal that includes my protein and veggies. In college, though, I had problems with the method. The chicken would always end up either too dry and tough, and the vegetables mushy or tough and undercooked. It wasn't until I began avidly watching professional cooks on the Food Network and reading food blogs that I finally figured it out the perfect method. The trick is to cook your ingredients separately, so that each retains its own flavor. I also got some help from Jaden Hair's The Steamy Kitchen, with great tips on stir-frying meat on this page. Another trick I learned is to parboil the tougher vegetables, such as broccoli or carrots first, before adding to the stir fry, so that they won't be tough and undercooked at the end.

So the method below is basically a compendium of different techniques that I've garnered after many attempts and mushy vegetables.

Chicken Stir-Fry

Ingredients:
Note: The ingredients are quite flexible and you can use whatever meat or vegetables you have on hand. Below is what I happened to have handy:

Chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
Broccoli
Red pepper
Button mushrooms (canned or fresh, I used canned)
Other vegetables that would be good: Carrots, snow peas, onions if you like them, etc., just chop everything into bite-size pieces.
1 clove of garlic, minced or 1/2 teaspoon of the minced garlic in the jar
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil


For the sauce:
A couple tablespoons of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of corn starch dissolved into a couple of tablespoons of cold water

Method:

1. Start by boiling water for cooking tough vegetables like broccoli or carrots. Boil these vegetables for about five minutes, drain and set aside.
2. While the water is boiling, sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken, and heat a few tablespoons of oil (I recommend olive oil) on medium-high heat.
3. Once the pan is hot, (test it by flicking a drop of water on to it. If it sizzles right away, that means it's hot enough), cook the chicken, a few minutes on each side (until lightly browned). Be careful not to overcrowd the pan, even if this means that you have to cook the chicken in batches. (click here for more stir-fry tips). Set chicken aside.
4. Add garlic to the pan. Once it start sizzling, add remaining vegetables and cook for 2-3 minutes.
5. Stir in broccoli and carrots and chicken.
6. Prepare the sauce by stirring corn starch into cold water and soy sauce. Slowly stir in the mixture over the chicken and vegetables so that it evenly coats everything. Allow it to cook for about a minute, until the sauce turns shiny and translucent.
7. Serve over rice.

A Simple Ratatouille

Now I will try to write this post without discussing the Disney animated film involving cartoon rats. (Even though it is an awesome movie for kids and foodies). After my post on stir-fried asparagus, which was a recipe that I pulled from a cookbook I borrowed from the library, I decided a new project is to "test-run" cookbooks that that I find at the public library. Economical, tasty, and a good way to try new recipes and cooking techniques. Today's recipe is brought to you by Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything", a helpful reference book, that starts each section with the most basic techniques and recipe and then adds on variations. And at 1044 pages, it really DOES show you how to cook just about everything.

Simple Ratatouille (Sauteed Eggplant with Tomatoes)
Adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

Ingredients:
1 long Japanese eggplant, chopped into 1/2 in cubes (recipe called for regular eggplant, but I live in an Asian household, so all we had was Japanese eggplant. I actually prefer Japanese eggplants because the skin is thinner, so no need to peel them)
About 1/3 cup olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
2 teaspoons dried basil (Again, here I substituted dried basil for fresh because that is all I had)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Put oil and all but one teaspoon of garlic in non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent (about two minutes).
2. Add eggplant - stir and toss enough to coat the eggplant in oil. Allow it to cook until soft (about ten minutes), stirring occasionally.
3. Add tomatoes and cook for about another five minutes, stirring to break up the tomatoes.
4. Stir in remaining garlic and basil and cook for another five minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy.

Stir-Fried Asparagus with Almonds

A few weeks ago when I was leaving the public library, this book on the display, Best American Side Dishes, caught my eye. After flipping through the pages, I was instantly sold, (or rather "borrowed"). It's a great book compiled by the editors of Cook's Illustrated devoted entirely to side dishes, such as appetizers, pasta salads, and a wide variety of vegetables. I took it out primarily to find ways to make vegetables more exciting* but found that the book is full of handy tips, such as how to cut broccoli properly (I didn't even know there was a "right" way to do it!) and recommendations on the best brands of foods and cooking equipment. In fact, I am a little sad that I have to return the book today, that I may actually buy it from the bookstore one of these days.

* I never liked veggies as a kid. Mostly because my mom's idea of cooking them was as my sister called it, "boil until dead." Or in some cases, "Fry, until dead." So I am always looking for new ways to cook vegetables and would be happy to hear suggestions!

And of course, here's a recipe adapted from Best American Side Dishes:

Stir-Fried Asparagus with Almonds

½ cup low-sodium chicken broth (I dissolved 1 teaspoon of no sodium chicken bouillon in ¾ cup of boiling water)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of oil + ½ tablespoon reserved (recipe called for peanut oil, I used light olive oil)
1 ½ lbs asparagus, tough ends snapped off and cut into 1 to 1 ½ inch pieces
3 medium minced garlic cloves, minced
Sliced almonds (optional - I threw these in at the end because I thought it would look pretty)

1. Heat two tablespoons of oil. Add the asparagus and cook until browed (about five minutes). Add seasonings.

2. This is Cook’s Illustrated method for avoiding burnt garlic: Clear a space in the center of the pan, add garlic and the remaining ½ tablespoon oil. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth mixture and toss to coat the asparagus. Cook until the sauce is syrupy, about 30 seconds. Top with almonds for garnish. Serve immediately