Aug16

Vietnamese-Style Chicken Vermicelli

Posted on by
Standard

Paco and I love Vietnamese food, but we had taken a little break from fish sauce since our rather epic trip to Vietnam.

As the heat wave continued yesterday, a cool bowl of vermicelli sounded like the perfect meal.  Other than boiling the noodles, it does not require using the stove or oven if you grill the chicken outside.  If you don’t have a grill, cut the chicken into smaller strips so that they cook more quickly, minimizing the time the stove has to be turned on.

Vietnamese-Style Chicken Vermicelli
(Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, where it was adapted from David Tanis via The New York Times)
Serves 4

For the chicken:
2 chicken breasts (skinless, boneless)
1 T sesame oil
2 T soy sauce

For the sauce:
4 T brown sugar
1/2 c warm water
4 T fish sauce
8 T lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 – 1/2 serrano chili (I used a whole one and it was very spicy)

For the noodle bowls:
1 lb. of dried rice noodles
1 English cucumber, cut into matchsticks
2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
4 scallions, thinly sliced
mint leaves
cilantro leaves

To make the chicken:
Marinate the chicken breasts in sesame oil and soy sauce for 15-30 minutes. Heat the grill or a grill pan to medium high, then grill on each side for about 8 minutes, or until cooked through. Cool, then slice into bite-sized pieces.

To make the sauce:
Dissolve the brown sugar in warm water, then stir in other ingredients.

To make the noodle bowls:
Prepare the noodles according to package directions, then rinse under cool water. Assemble the bowls with some vegetables on the bottom, followed by noodles, chicken, then herbs. Serve with fish sauce on the side. (And garlic chili sauce, if you didn’t put way too much chili into the fish sauce, the way I did.) Toss everything together with fish sauce and enjoy!

Aug15

Three-Bean Salad

Posted on by
Standard

Three-bean salad is great because it’s light and healthy, but more filling than a green salad.  Some of my other favorite  side salads are macaroni salad, bacon-fat roasted potato salad with corn and jalapeño, grilled sweet potato salad, and broccoli and bacon salad.

Three-Bean Salad

15 oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 c red onion, finely chopped
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
3 T olive oil
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 T sugar
kosher salt
black pepper

Combine the beans and onions in a large bowl.  In a smaller bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, mustard, sugar, salt, and pepper.  Toss the beans in the dressing.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to eat.  If possible, make this at least an hour before you plan to eat it so that the beans can absorb some of the dressing.

Aug13

Grilled Chicken with Caprese Topping

Posted on by
Standard

We have been having a bit of a heat wave in L.A., so I have been avoiding turning on the stove or oven. This caprese chicken from Baked Bree is the perfect light summer meal.

Grilled Chicken with Caprese Topping
Adapted from Baked Bree

2 chicken breasts, cut into halves or thirds if they are large
grill seasoning
1 c cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 c fresh mozzarella, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/4 c red onion, finely chopped
10 leaves basil, chopped
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
kosher salt
black pepper

To make the salad, put the tomatoes, mozzarella, and red onion in a medium-sized bowl. Season with salt and pepper, then drizzle with vinegar and oil to taste. Add the basil and toss. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Season the chicken on both sides with grill seasoning. Grill on medium-high heat until the chicken is cooked through.

Serve the chicken with the caprese salad on top.

Aug8

Farfalle with Smoked Salmon and Vodka Sauce

Posted on by
Standard

I have had smoked salmon in a creamy pink sauce at restaurants, so I tried to recreate it at home with a base of vodka sauce. The results were a savory and welcome change from our usual red sauces (pork ragu, eggplant parmesan, linguine all’amatriciana, spaghetti and meatballs).

Farfalle with Smoked Salmon and Vodka Sauce

4 oz smoked salmon fillet
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, diced
kosher salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 c vodka
14 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 c half-and-half
8 leaves of basil, finely chopped
1/2 lb farfalle (bowtie pasta), prepared using package directions

Heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Saute the olive and garlic until softened, seasoning with salt and red pepper flakes. Add the vodka, then simmer until half of the liquid has evaporated. Add the tomato sauce and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, then stir in the half-and-half and basil.

Break the smoked salmon into small pieces, then stir into the sauce.

Toss the pasta in the sauce.