This is a weekday lunch staple. Since jwa and I both bring lunch to work pretty much everyday, if I do any cooking at night during the week, it’s most likely something to bring to lunch the next day. The original recipe was for beef, but I usually make it with chicken. The other night I tried some shrimp (about 3/4 of a pound) and that works really well too! In theory, you should really be able to use any one pound of protein that you want to here, but I can just vouch for chicken and shrimp so far.

Do all your chopping and dicing at once — mise en place! — before you start cooking anything (or while you are marinating).

You can make it have as much spice or as little spice as you like. I usually use 3 dried chilies and it comes out medium spicy. And a good substitute for Szechwan pepper is some hot chili oil, which can be drizzled in at the end to adjust the heat.

Kung Pao Shrimp or Chicken (or Beef!)
Adapted from a recipe by Tyler Florence
1 pound shrimp (shelled & cleaned & detailed) or boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice wine or sherry
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp peanut oil
3-5 dried red chiles, split (I used Thai red chiles)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp Szechwan pepper, toasted and crushed (or 1/4 - 1 tsp hot chili oil — mine was hot peppercorn chili oil — this kind)
2 green onions, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
1 red or orange bell pepper, cut in pieces
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp rice wine or sherry
2 tbsp Chinese black vinegar or balsamic
1 tsp sugar
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
1/3 cup roasted peanuts

Combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine/sherry, egg white and salt in a glass bowl. Add the shrimp or chicken and stir to coat. Marinate for 30 minutes, covered in the refrigerator.

Place peanut oil in a wok, swirling to coat the sides, and place over high heat. Add the chilies and cook until they begin to darken.

Add the garlic, ginger and Szechwan pepper (if using chili oil, add that at the end) and continue to cook to infuse the oil.

Add the green onions and bell pepper. Remove the shrimp or chicken from the marinade and add it to the wok, (discard leftover marinade). Stir-fry the shrimp for 2 minutes until almost cooked through. If using chicken, cook for 4-5 minutes.

Blend in soy sauce, rice wine, Chinese vinegar, sugar and chicken broth.

Dissolve the cornstarch slurry and add it to the sauce, stirring, to thicken.

Sprinkle in the peanuts and stir to coat. Add the chili oil to taste.

Serve over rice and enjoy. Or pack up for lunch the next day.

We had this meal over New Year’s Weekend because I believe lentils are lucky to have around that time. Of course, I opted to not use lentils because I had some Christmas Lima Beans that I needed to use. I hope Christmas Lima Beans are still lucky. I soaked my beans for about 8 hours before I used them in the recipe, so make sure you do that if you are using larger dried beans. You could also just use lentils, like the original recipe calls for and skip the soaking all together. I think that’s what I’ll do next time.

That said, this meal was fantastic! The tomato salsa is really fragrant and good and I have discovered Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage at Trader Joe’s. Wow — it was so tasty in this. Feel free to use the sausage of your choice — chicken, turkey or traditional pork sausage. Note: If your sausage is not raw, I would just cook briefly in the pan, not bake in the oven too.

This will feed a lot, so invite people over or have lunches and dinners for the week to look forward too.

Sausages and Legumes with Tomato Salsa
Adapted from a recipe in Jamie’s Italy
8 medium-sized good-quality Italian sausages (my package of chicken Italian sausage only had 5, so that’s how many I used)
Olive oil
1 pound broccoli florets
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
A small handful of chopped thyme

For the tomato salsa
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
1 small stick of cinnamon
1-2 small dried red chilies, crumbled
2 tbsp red wine vinegar, plus extra for dressing
2 (14 ounce) cans of good-quality plum tomatoes (I used Italian stewed tomatoes)

For the lentils (or beans)
14 ounces lenticchie di Castelluccio or Puy lentils (or the equivalent in pre-soaked beans)
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 bay leaf
A handful of fresh flat–leaf parsley, leaves chopped, stems reserved
Red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar

Start the salsa: Heat the olive oil in a pan, then add the onion and sliced garlic, cinnamon stick and a the chili, saute on a gentle heat for 10 minutes, until the onions are soft. Turn the heat up and add your red wine vinegar — stand back.

Then turn the heat down to low and add the canned tomatoes. Break them up with a wooden spoon and simmer while you work on the rest of the meal.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Put the beans into a pot, cover them with water, and add the 2 whole cloves of garlic, the bay leaf, and some tied-up stems from the parsley. Simmer for around 20 minutes for lentils, up to an hour for larger beans. Make sure that you’ve got enough liquid covering the lentils or beans.

Toss the sausages in a little olive oil and sear them in a pan, then put them in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden and crisp. It helps if the pan you seared them in is oven safe.

Toss your broccoli in a little olive oil, salt and pepper and add it to the oven too, roasting for about 15-20 minutes. When done, toss in a bowl with a squeeze of lemon juice and some extra virgin olive oil.

Once the lentils or beans are cooked, remove the parsley stems and bay leaf and pour away most of the water from the pot. Mash the garlic cloves up with a spoon, mix in with the lentils or lentils, and dress them using 4 tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil and 1 or 2 tablespoons of good vinegar. Throw in all your finely chopped parsley leaves, mix, and season.

Remove the sausages from the pan and pour away any fat. Transfer lentils or beans into your serving bowl. Remove the cinnamon stick from the salsa and discard it, then season well to taste and spoon it over your lentils or beans. Place the sausages, either sliced or whole, on top. Sprinkle with the thyme or parsley and serve with a big bowl of the roasted broccoli.

Starting this meal off? A killer antipasto platter I put together with — roasted red pepper, marinated artichoke hearts, roasted garlic, olives, prosciutto, mole salami, marinated mushrooms and aged provolone.

So here is what we snacked on Christmas morning while opening presents. This is also a great way to use up the odd piece of puff pastry you may have in your freezer after the holidays. Or, just go buy some puff pastry for the sole purpose of making these. That would certainly work too!

The original recipe is based on one by Ina Garten but I cut the butter way down. Seriously, I think the original recipe’s rolls would have been swimming in butter. I adjusted it to only 4 tablespoons total (about half of what was originally called for).

I also omitted the raisins and added the pecans to the filling, as many reviews mentioned that the pecans burned while on the bottom of the muffin tin.

Note: I put these together the night before up to getting them in the muffin cups. Then I wrapped them up tightly with plastic wrap and kept in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning I baked them. Worked really well!

Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls
Recipe adapted from the Barefoot Contessa
3 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp brown sugar, packed
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, defrosted

For the filling:
1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans (mine were lightly salted and toasted)
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/4 tsp anise seeds

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Locate a jumbo 6 cup muffin tin. Combine the 3 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons brown sugar. Divide this mixture between the bottom of the six muffin cups.

In a bowl, mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans, orange zest and anise seeds.

Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold your sheet of puff pastry. Brush the whole sheet with the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle the sheet with the brown sugar/pecan mixture.

Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down.

Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces. Place each piece, spiral side up, in a muffin cup.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden on top and firm to the touch. Be careful - they’re hot!

Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns (you may have to do this one at a time, not just by flipping the muffin tin over) onto onto a plate. Use a spoon to spread any brown sugar/butter that stays in the cup, on top of the roll.

These are delightful eaten warm, but still delicious eaten at room temperature!

Oh my god, where has December gone? I can’t believe it’s almost over and this is only my third post of the month. But seriously, it’s not all my fault. I had a weekend getaway (Leavenworth, WA, so fun!), I had jury duty (depressing case, don’t ask), and then it was Christmas. But now, finally, here is Peanut Brittle! I also had to wait and post this because I sent some to my mom and aunt for Christmas and I didn’t want to spoil the surprise.

This was seriously easy. I was afraid it was going to be tricky what with having to reach a certain temperature and not having the sugar crystalize and what not but it was no problem at all. Just pop it all in a pot, melt, stir, darken in color, pour, roll and cut. Well, perhaps that is a bit of a simplification but not by much.

If you have a candy thermometer, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to be aware of the temperature while making the brittle. I did not use one and I was blissfully unaware of the actual temperature at all times. I am living on the edge of peanut brittle making!

Yeah, there’s corn syrup in this recipe. But there’s also more than a stick of butter so seriously, you’re concerned about the corn syrup??!

Peanut Brittle
(Recipe adapted from Jacques Torres)
Non-stick spray
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/4 cups unsalted toasted peanuts
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp corn syrup
1 scant cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, cubed
1/4 cup honey
2 tsp salt

Line two flat baking sheets with parchment paper. Give them a quick coating with non-stick spray.

Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and place over high heat.

Cook to a caramel color while continuously stirring with a wooden spoon.

This will take about 10+ minutes. The color will turn really quick. I stirred and stirred and stirred for about 8 minutes and then I stirred and it was a darker color. It also got thicker. Pull it off heat as soon as it darkens!

Immediately pour the peanut mixture onto the parchment paper lined baking sheets. Place another piece of parchment paper over the hot brittle (I sprayed mine with the non-stick spay first).

Use a rolling pin to roll the peanut brittle into a 3/8-inch thick flat layer.

Use a sharp chef’s knife to partially cut the brittle while it is still warm.

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Related peanut brittle content on the Website Foodista:

This is a kind of recipe mash-up. A lamb tagine recipe (with the wonderful & amazing spice-paste-rub stuff) and a chicken tagine recipe with the tomatoes and broth and oven cooking. And wow, good call to mix the two recipes togetther! This was WONDERFUL — all caps wonderful. I wrote it down right after dinner so I would remember exactly what I did.

Let’s see, what else? I did not make this in an actual tagine (*hint* *hint*) but a big, heavy, ovenproof, wide skillet. That worked well. I also used some of a spice mix I got at Penzeys — Rogan Josh. It has ginger, paprika, cumin, garlic, etc…so if you don’t have that specific blend, you can just add a little of those spices or omit it, it was only a 1/2 teaspoon. I was really just looking for an opportunity to use it. It smells so good. I wind up with so many little jars of spice blends from Penzey’s because they all smell so good!

Obscure ingredient alert: I actually had sundried tomato paste! If you don’t, I’m sure you could just use regular tomato paste. I’ve also included the recipe for the couscous I made to accompany the tagine and a harissa yogurt sauce below.

Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas & Golden Raisins
Adapted from two recipes by Bobby Flay — one for Chicken Tagine and one for Lamb Tagine
2 lb chicken thighs and drumsticks (I used about 1 lb bone-in, skin on drumsticks and about 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs — this was a good combination!)
6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1 handful chopped cilantro
Pinch of saffron threads
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 white onion, diced
1 leek, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
Optional: 1/2 tsp Rogan Josh seasoning
2 cups chicken stock
1 cinnamon stick
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup golden raisins

Mix together the garlic, honey, olive oil, cilantro, saffron, paprika, cumin and tomato paste in a large bowl. Rub the mixture all over the chicken and cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 5 - 8 hours. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or a tagine over high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides and place in the hot pan, in batches if needed; cook until golden brown.

Remove chicken to a plate or bowl. Make sure you get up all the garlic pieces and crispy cilantro bits.

Return the Dutch oven/tagine to the stove and add the onions, leek and Rojan Josh seasoning and cook until soft. Add the stock, tomatoes, cinnamon stick, tomatoes, chickpeas, and raisins and bring to a simmer.

Nestle the chicken (and any accumulate juices) down into a tagine or Dutch oven. Cover and cook in the oven for 45 minutes or until the chicken is tender. Do not remove the lid to check on the chicken until after the 45 minutes.

Garnish with chopped clinatro and serve harissa sauce on the side.

Harissa Sauce
1/2 cup 2% fat Greek yogurt
1 tbsp harissa paste

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl and let stand at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator before serving. This is awesome stuff. Do not skip it!

Almond, Orange & Pomegranate Couscous
1 cup couscous
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp orange zest
1/4 cup toasted almonds, chopped
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
2 green onions, sliced
salt

Bring the chicken stock, pinch of salt and olive oil to a boil. Add the zest, green onions and couscous. Stir. Add the almonds and pomegranate seeds to the top. Turn off the heat and cover for 5 minutes.

Fluff with a fork and serve with the tagine.