One Dish Can Do What?

Did you know that your style and preference in cooking say a lot about who you are and what makes you tick?

This is my signature tomato-based dish. I love tomatoes, and this dish looks COMPLICATED BUT deliciously SIMPLE to make. And yields a GENEROUS portion in every pot while NOT being FRIVOLOUS in its ingredients. It boasts of MYSTERY while being CLEAR IN INTENT- to please any palette...

(taken with cell phone)

CHICKEN A LA CAROLYN

1. 1 lb of boned chicken pieces (thighs, drumstick, etc)
2. 1 can cut tomatoes
3. 1 small onion, sliced
4. 3 bay leaves
5. 1 tsp. each S&P
6. 1 T soy sauce
7. 5 cups water
8. 1 tsp garlic powder or 3 cloves, mashed
9. 1 T parsley, fresh or dry
10. 1 cup peas, frozen
11. 1 lb red potatoes, halved
12. 1 can tomato sauce, small
13. 7-10 leaves basil, fresh and torn
14. 1 tsp paprika
15. 2 tsp canola oil
16. 1 yellow bell pepper, cubed big
    

It seems daunting already huh, but it's like a casserole on your stove top. Just layer slowly and let simmer to let each TALENTED flavor to mesh and GROW into the dish and create a UNIQUE AND BRAVE character that makes the dish, FRIENDLY TO ALL palettes. (unless of course you're allergic to any of the ingredients). And because there are such a variety of ingredients, it is FLEXIBLE AND UNDERSTANDING of its consumers that the dish is customizable, MOLDABLE.

Rinse and pat dry each chicken piece. Rub on garlic, S&P and paprika. Set aside in fridge for 10-15 minutes. In a deep soup pot, heat up oil in med high.
Brown each chicken piece on all sides. Set aside.
Saute the onions; add in the potatoes and bay leaves.
Add in the chicken, the tomatoes, tomato sauce and water. Simmer for 10 minutes on med high.
Add in all the veggies and the rest of the seasoning, except the basil and the peas. Simmer for another 30 minutes on medium heat.
Add in the peas and stir into the pot.
Layer the basil leaves on top of each other and rip in half. Add in and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Kill the heat and leave covered for another 10 minutes before serving on top of steamed rice or pasta.

It reminds of Italy's Cacciatore, has the air of American casseroles and stews, but the soy sauce definitely brings out its Asian roots and adds that finishing touch.

I hope you'll try it and enjoy the complexity of this dish and you may just discover just how easy it is to do if you just take the time... And take a look at that, you got to know me just a little bit better... Now that's delicious!

(Ok, I'm hungry for some now; bye!)

My Cheesecake!

I borrowed this picture from gourmetfood.com

So this actually happened last night, but I was too tired to write...

I've only made two to three other cheesecakes in my entire married life, all were no-bakes. Well, after a successful run with the molten lava cakes last Monday, I was spurred on to make a cheesecake! Last night, as a dessert to feed the missionaries. I chose a good old-fashioned New York cheesecake! Only, since I'm a complete buffoon when it comes to reading while stirring, I didn't realize that I was missing an ingredient- great! What to do, what to do?

Well, I couldn't back out after pulling out from the pantry my three size-never been used-springform pans, plus all the other ingredients were already on the table! So I plug on... I even sent Lisa next door to see if I can swap to another recipe, came back with just a squirt of what I needed, so again, I was left to improvise!

(Sorry, there was no time to take a picture, it took over an hour; just in time to give the missionaries after they ate dinner.)

Here's what I did: I substituted milk with sugar for condensed milk and added lemon juice since I only had a squirt of sour cream. The result was a fluffy and light cheesecake! The missionaries and my family all had seconds! If it wasn't a tall cheesecake to begin with, we wouldn't have any leftovers. As it is, the leftover was just enough for one serving. What a great and wonderful accident! (Yes, I was cautious; I only gave each missionary and my family a taste and let them decide if they wanted more.) Mine barely cooled; it was my very first attempt at a baked cheesecake, and I had no other time to let it cool down more. It still tasted great, I was even impressed!

So, I accidentally made my very own cheesecake recipe! How cool is that?!

CANDY'S Cheesecake

Crust:

6-8 graham crackers or chocolate flavored grahams

5 tbsp. melted butter

1 1/4 cup sugar

Batter:

4 blocks of cream cheese (Neufchatel variety)

1 cup of milk

1 1/4 cups of flour

1 1/4 cups of sugar (less if desired)

Fresh juice of 1/2 large lemon

1 tsp. lemon rind

1 1/2 tbsp. sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

4 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees

2. Crush the graham crackers in a blender; dump into a bowl and add in sugar and melted butter. Mix until all stuck together. Spread flat at the bottom of a 9-in springform pan. Refrigerate until the batter is ready to be poured.

3. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs in with sugar and milk. Blend until one consistency. Set aside.

4. In a big mixing bowl, put in all the cream cheese and whip until creamy. Add in the vanilla and milk slurry. Blend until well mixed.

5. Add in the sour cream, lemon rind and juice and blend until well mixed.

6. Pour in the batter into the cooled crust and place the springform pan onto a shallow baking pan.

7. Place the baking pan into the oven and pour in water to create a water bath.

8. Bake for 75 minutes.

9. Let cool for another hour before releasing from the pan.

You can make this a day ahead and the cooled cheesecake would taste just as good. Remember to heat up the knife before cutting, to minimize the mess.

Don't be fooled by the fluffiness, remember the ingredients that went into it. For you who wants to stay trim, a sliver would be enough. That's all I had, though it took all my will power to resist. It's all about how we savor the flavor...