by Milisa on September 30, 2011
Kung Pao Chicken
Kung Pao Chicken is the last in my series of One-Pot Wonders from the new Emeril cookbook Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders. This was pretty quick to put together. It was about a quarter after seven when we all made it home the other night. Usually, I try to have supper ready when the boys get home from football practice. They are always starving. I told them that I could fix scrambled eggs in ten minutes or Emeril’s Kung Pao Chicken in about 30 to 45 minutes. They said that they would gladly wait for another Emeril dish, especially something Chinese.
As described in the cookbook: “This dish really puts the PAO in chicken! The authentic Chinese version includes a handful of Szechuan peppercorns to give it a distinctively spicy flavor, but until recently there has been a ban on importing them into the United States. Though they are finally back, they’re not so easy to find. My recipe here uses crushed red pepper and Sriracha sauce in the marinade to pack a punch.”
The kids really loved it. They are always happy to get homemade Chinese, since there is no take-out in our little town. The only thing that I had to pick up for the recipe was sliced bamboo shoots and that was a new one for the boys. They were surprised that I was feeding them bamboo, but they liked it. I cut the Sriracha down a little since I’m such a sissy when it comes to heat and I doubled the sauce because we are big, I mean huge lovers of the sauce!
Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders is widely available from retailers everywhere. I am telling you, pick up a copy! You will be glad you did, so many great recipes. Thanks to Morrow Cookbooks at The Secret Ingredient Blog for having this great One-Pot Wonder Blogger Cooking Party and for including me. It has been so much fun! Make sure that you check out the other posts from the other participating bloggers, the links are in the side bar.
Thanks for stopping by!
Miss
by Milisa on September 29, 2011
Cola-Braised Pot Roast with Vegetables
We raise beef for a living, so pot roast is something that we have often and we really love it. I thought I had cooked pot roast about every way possible until I was looking through Emeril’s Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders. Low and behold there it was, Cola-Braised Pot Roast. I just had to try it.
Normally I do not cook the vegetables in with the roast but this was Emeril’s and so far every recipe from this cookbook has been really delicious, so I did it. The recipe called for parsnips, carrots, onions, and celery. Don’t laugh, but I didn’t even know what a parsnip looked like. I was thinking about turnips or rutabagas or something like that. Turns out they are like a white carrot, but I’m guessing you already knew that.
On Monday I helped my husband gather the cows and sort the calves from the cows for weaning. It seems like a simple task to swing the gate open when the calf comes down the alley and let the cows run by to the next pen. Except for the calves really like to stick by their mommas and it gets a little tricky. Needless to say I ran my legs off and even managed to fall down once. I’m real graceful like that.
My husband described my behavior like the scene from the Indiana Jones movie where his dad is waving his arms chasing the birds. The cows were not amused. After all of my crazy running and waving my arms I was pretty tired and quite happy to come home to a delicious pot roast ready to eat. That’s the beauty of pot roast; it cooks away in the oven or the crockpot while you are doing something else.
Emeril’s recipe called for making a paste with garlic, herbs and salt that are inserted into slits in the roast, which is browned and then braised in a mixture of cola and beef broth. I normally insert garlic cloves into my roasts, but I found the herb and garlic paste created a much more flavorful roast. The gravy was good, with a stronger vegetable taste than my normal gravy but I didn’t add anything to it, just thickened it with a little flour. The family enjoyed the meal as if I had slaved in the kitchen all day.
Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders is now available from a large variety of retailers. You know I love cookbooks and I really have enjoyed every recipe that I have prepared for the One-Pot Cooking Party. There are still many recipes in the book that I will be trying, even after the party is completed. I highly recommend this cookbook for your collection or for anyone who likes to cook, for more information check out The Secret Ingredient Blog.
Enjoy!
Miss
