Baked Teriyaki Chicken

A easy and delicious main course for a big crowd or potluck! I'm sure you can also substitute Yoshida sauce for the homemade sauce if you're in a time crunch or don't have all the ingredients in your pantry.

Last time I made this, I doubled the sauce (you can't go wrong with extra sauce, right?). I froze the extra sauce in little containers; a week later I brushed some of the teriyaki sauce over salmon, baked it, and that made for a delicious and no-fuss dinner on a busy school night! I also didn't have cider vinegar (I broke the glass bottle in my garage while taking groceries out of my car- my garage smelled vinegar-y for weeks!). So, I did some research on vinegars- cider vinegar has a fruity smell/taste, so straight white diluted vinegar won't be a good substitute. Red wine vinegar diluted with equal amounts of water seemed to be the consensus on how to sub for cider vinegar, which is what I did and the sauce tasted fine. 

Baked Teriyaki Chicken

from Allrecipes.com

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1 tbsp. cold water

1/2 c. white sugar

1/2 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. cider vinegar

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. ginger, minced

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

6 skinless chicken thighs 

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine cornstarch, cold water, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and ground black pepper. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and bubbles. 
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
3. Place chicken thighs on a lightly greasted 9x13 baking dish. Pour sauce over chicken pieces. 
4. Cover pan lightly with aluminum foil. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Flip chicken pieces over and bake for another 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Chicken Fingers, Anyone?

Stumbled upon this recipe yesterday on Yahoo. It reminds me of the chicken katsu recipe that I use. A slight difference- this recipe adds another step with breading the chicken in flour first. Also, a Canadian shout-out, since the recipe originated from a Chinese (!) restaurant in Winnepeg. I can't wait to try making the dipping sauce! Honey mustard is definitely my favorite :). 

Mitzi's Chicken Fingers
SERVES 6

FOR THE DIPPING SAUCE:

1½ cups mayonnaise

¼ cup honey

2 tbsp. roughly chopped dill

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp. dry mustard powder

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

FOR THE CHICKEN FINGERS:

2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3"-long-by-1"-wide strips

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. kosher salt

1 tbsp. freshly ground black pepper

1½ tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. dry mustard powder

1 cup flour

4 eggs, lightly beaten

3 cups finely ground fresh breadcrumbs or panko

Canola oil, for frying

1. Make the dipping sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise with the honey, dill, mustard powder, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, and stir together until smooth; set honey-dill dipping sauce aside.

2. Make the chicken fingers: In a medium bowl, toss together chicken, sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and mustard; set aside. Place flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs in 3 separate shallow dishes; set aside. Pour oil to a depth of 2″ into a 6-qt. Dutch oven; heat over medium-high heat until deep-fry thermometer reads 325°. Working in batches, coat chicken in flour, shake off excess, and dip in eggs; coat in breadcrumbs. Fry chicken until golden brown and crisp, about 3 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Repeat with remaining chicken. Serve with dipping sauce.

My Favorite Season is Autumn

Autumn is lovely. As fun and sunny as summer may be, autumn brings back scarves and boots, bright pumpkins, falling red and yellow leaves. Also, some of my favorite foods are back: pumpkin pie, warm soups and stews, and hot pot! More serious and studious, fall marks the fresh start of a new school year. I especially adore walking on campus on a crisp autumn day with blue skies overhead while bundled up in cold weather gear.

This past week, I was inspired to bake a homemade apple pie. Paired with teriyaki chicken and coconut curry, I was prepared with feed (and nurture) a few friends that I had invited over for dinner. This apple pie recipe was actually picked up from a baking class I had taken during undergrad (via the Experimental College). Taught by a local baker, I was introduced to a simple no-fuss apple pie that did not require cinnamon (I am not a fan of overpowering cinnamon apple pies) and peeling apples. His logic made perfect sense- why overpower an apple pie with strong cinnamon flavoring and why lose the beauty of colorful apple peels? The other differences were the use of potato starch (less gooey than the typical store-bought apple pies) and dried cranberries (adds more color and complements the apples).

Making a homemade crust takes more time, but it makes a difference! Homemade crust is flakier, richer, chewier than store-bought ones. If you have a food processor (on my wish list!), make your own crust by all means! Just toss all the ingredients into the food processor, give it a whirl, and you'll have perfect pie crust.


Butter Crust (in comparison to a crust made with lard as the fat of choice)

2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 c. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 c. ice water, or more if necessary
1 tsp. nutmeg (optional)
1 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine flour, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add pieces of butter, then process (either in a food processor or by hand using a pastry knife) until mixture is crumbly. Add ice water, and then process until dough just holds together without being wet or sticky. (Test by squeezing dough, if it holds together it is done.) If dough is too dry and crumbly, add more ice water. 
2. Turn 1/2 of dough mixture onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Fold ends of plastic wrap over dough, forming dough into a flat disk. Wrap completely in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Repeat with other half of dough mixture. 
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 disk of dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch and 2 inches wider than pie plate. Fold rolled out pastry into quarters, pick up and place in pie dish, unfold pastry, pressing firmly against bottom and sides. Trim edge with scissors, so it is even. Crimp, if desired.
4. Roll out second disk of dough in the same way as the first, and use as the top layer in a double layer pie.

Homemade Apple Pie

5 c. sliced fresh apples, cored and leaving skins on

1 tsp. lemon zest

3/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. potato starch

1/2 c. craisins, rehydrated in microwave with 1/4 c. rum (or brandy or water) for 35 seconds

1 egg, beaten with 1/4 c. water (egg wash)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Prepare pie crusts. Mix apples, lemon zest, sugar, potato starch, and rehydrated craisins together. Fill prepared pie dish. 
3. Cover apple mixture with top crust, trim excess dough from edges, seal edge (with water if necessary) and flute edge of pie crust. Add slits to top crust. Brush egg wash on edges of pie and top crust. 
4. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until crust is slightly browned.