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.

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.