Easy Peanut Sauce

As we're getting ready for our big move to Chicago (we're under the 2 week mark!), we've been trying to use up the things we have left in our kitchen.  This weekend, it was a big package of rice noodles from H Mart.  We had tons leftover in the fridge so when my usual Monday morning routine rolled around (aka I have 6 minutes before I need to leave for work, what can I take for lunch?), I threw together a quick peanut sauce to put on top of the noodles.

It's absolutely wonderful! It's nutty, creamy, and just a little bit spicy.  I love how quickly it can be thrown together. It's great over rice noodles, but would make a great marinade for chicken skewers on the grill as well.  We always seem to have these ingredients in the house which makes for an easy meal any time.  The recipe below is for one serving of pasta, but you can increase it to fit your needs! I really just throw the ingredients together, so these measurements are approximate, anyways.



Easy Peanut Sauce


Ingredients
1-2 tbsp all natural creamy peanut butter (make your own!)
1-1.5 tbsp rice wine or apple cider vinegar
1-2 tsp sriracha sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1-2 tsp soy sauce

Instructions
1. Whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl with a small whisk or fork. If you want it to be hot, heat on the stove in a small saucepan over medium low heat until melted completely.
2. Serve over rice noodles or cooked chicken.

Chicken with Pepperoni Sauce

One of my favorite parts of DC is the number of former Top Chef contestants who are always buzzing around.  The really famous chefs, like Jose Andres, might leave their signatures on the menus, but these chef-lebrities are around town - at Nat's Games, walking down the street, and often at their restaurants.  It's a lot of fun!

Mike Isabella was not one of my favorites on his first season of Top Chef, but by the time he was on All Stars, I was a fan.  Since then we've seen him a number of times around town.  He just opened a new Mexican tapas restaurant, Bandolero, so we're going to visit for my birthday dinner tonight!  However, last night, we made our own Mike Isabella dinner - we whipped up his famous pepperoni sauce.  This could be spread on almost anything and it would be absolutely delicious.  We put it on some pan seared chicken and it was a delight!  Hopefully tonight's dinner will be just as good - maybe I'll even get Mike Isabella to sing Happy Birthday to me!



Chicken with Pepperoni Sauce
from Mike Isabella at Graffiato

Ingredients
6-oz. pepperoni, cut into thin slices
4-oz. yellow onion, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 teaspoon chili flake
1 teaspoon fennel seed, toasted
4-oz. crushed San Marzano tomatoes, chopped
4-oz. chicken stock
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 lb chicken breasts, hammered until thin
1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions
1. In a pot, sweat onions in olive oil for five to seven minutes. Add garlic and continue to sweat for two minutes.
2. Add the pepperoni and cook for about three more minutes. Add spices and cook for an additional minute.
3. Add the crushed tomatoes with the juice and cook for five more minutes. Lastly, add chicken stock and simmer for 40 minutes.
4. Remove the mixture from heat and puree in a blender. Season with salt and pass it through a fine china cap. Finally, add the splash of vinegar.
5. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Pan sear on each side until just cooked through. Top with pepperoni sauce and serve immediately.

Carnitas Pizza with Guacamole

The Monkey Scientist and I have been experimenting with carnitas lately. There is nothing like delicious shredded pork. We've tried making it in both the Dutch oven and the CrockPot but I haven't decided which tasted better. Since we had so many leftovers, we decided to make a carnitas pizza!



I have to admit (and maybe you've noticed) that I'm not a huge fan of Mexican food. It's surprising since I love spicy food, but between the cilantro and corn tortillas there are so many things I don't like at all. I was excited that this recipe let me bring in all of the Mexican flavors I like in a familiar favorite - pizza.

I loved how this came together. The Monkey Scientist picked up the dough at the Italian market in Cleveland Park. It has wonderful flavor and came out nice and crispy on the edges. The pizza was the perfect combination of spicy, cheesy and tangy. I liked the hot pizza topped by the cool guacamole as well, it was a nice contrast. This is the guacamole recipe I always use (usually with chips of course) and I adore it! Next time we may try to make this pizza on the grill like Mom does - I bet it would be fantastic!



Carnitas Pizza with Guacamole
carnitas adapted from My Baking Addiction
pizza adapted from What's Gabby Cooking?
guacamole is a yelleBELLYboo original

Ingredients
Carnitas
1 large Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 pork butt (ours was 2 1/2 lb)
3/4 c cider vinegar
4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 can chipotles in adobo, roughly chopped
2 oranges, juiced
1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 bottle beer
Pizza
1 batch pizza dough
1/2 jar salsa
1 bag shredded Mexican cheese
1/2 can fire-roasted chiles
2 tbsp adobo sauce from chipotles in adobo
Guacamole
2 ripe avocados, diced
2 tomatillos, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lime, juiced
Salt and pepper
Dash cayenne
Dash cumin

Instructions
Carnitas
1. Rinse pork under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Place onions in Crock pot. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, paprika, salt and pepper. Rub to cover the roast. Place roast on top of onions.
3. Mix remaining ingredients and add to Crock pot. Add water to just cover pork.
4. Cook on low 10-12 hours.
5. Remove meat and onions from Crock pot. Chop or shred meat and onions. Add a bit of the cooking liquid for flavor.
Pizza
1. Preheat the oven to 500.
2. Carefully stretch dough to the size of your pizza pan or cookie sheet.
3. Top with salsa, then cheese, chiles, and adobo.
4. Bake 8 minutes, remove from onion. Top with shredded carnitas (maybe 2/3 c worth).
5. Return to oven and bake an additional 4 minutes.  Let rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing.
Guacamole
1. Add all ingredients to a medium bowl.
2. Mash with a potato masher or the back of a fork until well combined.
3. Smear on top of each slice of pizza.

Picadillo and Eggplant Soup

After I made Stuffed Pepper Soup, I wanted to keep turning my favorite recipes into soup.  So where better to turn next than to one of my favorites - Picadillo Eggplant Boats?  So that's exactly where I headed.



Even though I hate tomato soup, I loved the tomato base of the Stuffed Pepper Soup.  Since the original recipe called for tomato paste, I figured it wouldn't be too far of a stretch to use the same liquid base as in the stuffed pepper soup, while keeping everything else nearly identical to the Picadillo Eggplant Boats.  I also used the same general methods of the Stuffed Pepper Soup, since it was super simple and came out so great.



As for the eggplant, I suppose I could have served the soup in boats - but I felt like that'd be a bit messy.  Instead, I chopped them up... OK, the Monkey Scientist chopped them up... and we threw them in to cook down and add more substance to the soup.  I was nervous at first that they wouldn't cook enough, but they turned out pretty close to perfect.



I was nervous about how this soup would be, but we both ended up loving it!  It was hearty, despite it's lack of a grain, and loaded with a unique flavor.  I would never think to add raisins to soup, but they added the perfect bit of sweetness and puffed up so they actually looked like beans.  The balance of sweet, spicy, and umami made this soup a perfect winner for a winter soup.



Picadillo and Eggplant Soup
adapted from recipes I posted for Picadillo Eggplant Boats and Stuffed Pepper Soup

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground pork
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 medium sized yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small graffiti eggplant, diced
2 cans (14.5 oz each) cans petite diced tomatoes
2 cups tomato sauce (I used one 14.5-oz can and 8-oz can of Hunt's)
2 cups reduced sodium, fat-free chicken broth (I used Cottage Inn)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp molasses (it helps to spray the measuring spoon with Pam)
1/4 c raisins

Instructions
1. Heat olive oil in a dutch oven or large, heavy pot over medium-high to high heat. Add ground pork and cook until brown, seasoning with cinnamon, oregano, red pepper flakes, allspice, salt, and garlic powder.
2. Reduce heat to medium or medium-low and add onion, garlic, and eggplant. Cook for 5-8 minutes until beginning to soften.
3. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, apple cider vinegar, molasses, and raisins. Cover and simmer on medium-low to low heat for 30 minutes. Serve immediately.