Kung Pao Chicken Recipe

This is a good recipe, but perhaps a bit on the mild side.

Ingredients:

1 1/3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
5 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sherry
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar or rice vinegar
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/2 cup peanuts
4 scallions, white bulbs and green tops cut separately into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 teaspoon dried red-pepper flakes

Cooking Directions:

In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of the sherry, and the 1 tablespoon cornstarch.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, water, and the remaining 4 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of sherry, and 2 teaspoons cornstarch.

In a wok or large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over moderately high heat. Add the peanuts and stir-fry until light brown, about 30 seconds. Remove from the pan. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add the white part of the scallions and the red-pepper flakes to the pan and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the chicken with its marinade and cook, stirring, until almost done, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the soy-sauce mixture and the scallion tops and simmer until the chicken is just done, about 1 minute longer. Stir in the peanuts.

Yield: 4 servings

Amish Sour Cream Apple Pie Recipe

On to a far more fun and cheerful topic than the San Jose Sharks ...

I found this delicious recipe on the Internet a little over a year ago and it quickly became a family favorite. I like to add pecan pieces to the topping for a little extra texture and crunch. Ummmm!


Amish Sour Cream Apple Pie Recipe
Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cup apples, peeled, diced
• 1 9 inch pie shell, unbaked

Crumb Topping
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon


Instructions:

1. Use dairy sour cream for this recipe-not a sour cream substitute.
2. Beat sour cream and egg together; add sugar, flour, salt and vanilla.
3. Mix until smooth.
4. Stir in apples.
5. Place mixture into pie shell and bak in preheated 400 degree oven for 25 minutes.
6. Meanwhile mix topping ingredients until crumbly. Remove pie from oven and sprinkle the crumb topping over.
7. Bake 20 minutes longer.

San Jose Sharks Never Fail to Let Their Fans Feel Unappreciated

I was a San Jose Sharks fan from Day 1. The Good Ol' Cow Palace Days. They were awesome to the fans back then, they really were. Sadly, as the years passed, the organization forgot how to care about the fans. Let me point out, I am NOT talking about the players themselves. I am referring to management. All management. At every level. I can go on and on and on listing examples of why I feel the way that I do, but I will only share the latest experience.

My sister is a Patrick Marleau fan. She has been since the first day he skated onto the ice wearing teal. She has been a loyal and devoted fan as well as a season ticket holder since Day 1. She received an e-mail from the Sharks organization about a Marleau autograph session at the store in the HP Pavilion. This e-mail stated that Marleau would be signing from 4:30-6pm. It went on to say that depending on turn out, he would be able to sign one or two items. Okay, cool.

Even though I am no longer a Sharks fan (I converted my allegiance to the Flyers a couple of years ago.) I offered to take the train from the San Francisco area to San Jose to meet my sister for the signing. I left my home around 2:30pm and spent the horrific sum of money on the train ticket. (If anyone reading this is familiar with CalTrain, then he/she knows how expensive tickets are for the train.)

My sister and I were in line by four o'clock. The line didn't even appear outrageous. Let me just say, as the minutes, quarter hours, and even half hours passed, we wondered if Marleau had ever made it. NO announcements were made to the fans waiting in line. Why was the line moving so slow? Who knows for sure. Maybe it is because the first people in the line got several autographs per person, plus photos of themselves with the player, plus they we allowed to stand there and chat while others stood patiently in line waiting their turn.

Wow, I thought. This is nothing like the San Francisco Giants. I just went to a Bengie Molina signing at the Giants Dugout a few weeks ago. The Giants were so organized. They made announcements all the way down the line. They passed out tickets limiting the number of people. Once tickets were gone, they notified anyone showing up for the signing that the supply of tickets was exhausted. With their well-planned out system, there was no way for anyone to cut in line or cause problems. No one was disappointed because they stood in line and didn't get an autograph. They announced the picture taking policy and explained to everyone in line how it would work. They closed the store so that there would be no confusion as to who was there for autographs and who wasn't. There were a large number of Giants employees present to watch the crowd. I cannot praise the San Francisco Giants enough for making the signing a pleasant experience for all.

Back to the Sharks who desperately need to look to north to a more sophisticated organization for a clue ...

after two hours of standing in line for the autograph, the first and only announcement was made, "NO MORE. HE'S DONE." What???!!! At the door were a few small signs. Apparently you needed to be at the store at 1:30pm to receive a ticket for the signing (no, this information was NOT in the e-mail to the season ticket holders). Nobody could see the notes on the windows from the middle of the line. Employees passed us and took pictures of us and NEVER ONCE had the decency to tell us about tickets or that we would not be able to get an autograph. They did not even offer an apology to those who stood in line for hours with the belief that they would receive an autograph.

In all, I gave up 5 hours of my day plus enough money on a train ticket to buy myself a really nice dinner. I ended up with yet another reason I am totally and completely disgusted with Sharks management, or their lack of it. This is supposed to be a professional sports franchise. I have witnessed better organization in a kindergarten classroom. Sharks staff, I know that you do not care a bit about the fans. You prove it over and over and over again, but do you have to be so darn blatant about it? SHAME ON YOU!

Tomato Tart Recipe

I found this recipe in a San Francisco newspaper a couple of years ago and it quickly became a family favorite. I thought that I would share it like the tomato lovers out there.

Tomato Tart Recipe:

Ingredients:
Olive oil cooking spray
Dough for 1 pie crust
2 tablespoons olive tapenade
2 large red tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 large green tomatoes, thinly sliced
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon fresh basil
Optional: 1-2 tablespoons parmesan cheese shreds

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom with olive oil cooking spray.

Place the dough between two sheets of parchment or wax paper and roll out to a 10-inch circle. Gently set the dough over the tart pan, then press it into the edges and up the sides, pinching off and discarding any extra. Lightly spray the tart shell with olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes. Increase over to 425 degrees.

Spread the tapenade evenly over the bottom of the tart shell. Using a circular pattern, place a single layer of tomato slices, edges overlapping, over the tapenade. Season with salt, pepper and the herbs. Sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese shreds, if desired.

Bake for 20 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 6 servings.