Japanese Fried Chicken, Japanese Eggplant and Strawberries and Pound Cake.

Went to the farmers market and one of them had  Japanese eggplant so I planned tonight dinner around that.

Japanese Fried chicken

Ingredients

1 pound chicken thighsboneless, skin-on cut into 1 in. pieces

1 tablespoon ginger grated

1 clove garlic  grated

2 tablespoons soy sauce  use tamari to make it gluten-free

1 tablespoon sake 

2 teaspoons granulated sugar 

1/3 cup potato starch
vegetable oil for frying 

lemon for serving

Instructions

Add the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sake and sugar to a bowl and whisk to combine. Add the chicken, then stir to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 

coat chicken with potato starch and fry in vegetable oil

Grilled Japanese Eggplant

2 tablespoons soy sauce

4 teaspoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons olive oil

4 Japanese eggplants (about 1 pound)

1/4 cup katsuobushi, dried, shaved bonito flakes (a type of tuna), optional

Whisk together the soy sauce, lemon juice, and olive oil in a bowl to make the dressing; set aside. Score the stem end of each eggplant, making a circular cut in the skin (this will make the eggplant easier to peel). Poke a few holes into the eggplants with a skewer or fork to allow steam to escape as they grill.

Preheat a grill to medium. Grill for about 8 minutes, turning the eggplants a quarter turn every 2 minutes. Try to grill the eggplant all around. Test the eggplants for doneness by pressing against their sides with a pair of tongs. If the eggplants give easily, they're ready. Transfer the eggplants to a plate.

As soon as the eggplants are cool enough to handle, carefully peel off the skin (the skin comes off more easily if the eggplant is warm; don't let it cool completely). Once you've removed the skin, remove the stems, and slice each eggplant into 4 pieces, cutting on an angle. Transfer the eggplant slices to a platter. Drizzle with dressing, sprinkle with the bonito, and serve.

Scaloppine, stuffed mushrooms and shrimp and avocado salad

Stuffed Mushrooms

6 large mushrooms, stems reserved

1 Tbs. butter

2T. minced onions

1 clove garlic

2 Tbs chopped paeans

Seasoned salt to taste

Italian herbs to taste

2 Tbs. panko bread crumbs

2 T. butter

2 Tbsp chicken stock (better than bouillon and water)

1 teaspoon cream cheese

2 Tbs. parmesan cheese, grated

Melt butter, add finely chopped mushroom stems, onion and garlic and cook until stems and onion are soft. Add walnuts .salt and herbs.  Remove from heat and mash/fold in cream cheese. Stuff mushrooms, top with grated cheese and bake at 400º 15 - 20 minutes

Pork Scaloppine With  Mushrooms NOTE: I used sirloin beef instead of pork

Ingredients

1/2 cup chicken broth ( Better than Bouillion + water)

1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon butter, divided 

1/2 lb mushroom, sliced 

1/2 lb thin pork scallopini

paprika omitted from this recipe

salt & freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons  sour cream 

Directions

Whisk together chicken broth, mustard, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and cornstarch; set aside.

In a large nonstick frypan, melt half thebutter over medium high heat.

Add mushrooms; cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are tender and golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes.

Set aside in a bowl.

Lightly season both sides of pork with paprika, salt and pepper.

Melt remaining butter in frypan over medium high heat.

Add pork and cook, 2 to 3 minutes each side, until just a hint of pink remains inside.

Remove from pan and set aside with mushrooms.

Stir broth mixture then add to pan, stirring until mixture boils and thickens slightly, 30 to 60 seconds.

Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.

Gently heat through if necessary.

Serve immediately, sprinkled with chives.

Shrimp and Avocado Salad NOTE: I used orange instead of grapefruit and added a soft boiled egg.

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 small shallot, thinly sliced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 large grapefruit

1 Hass avocado, cut into 1/4-inch lengthwise wedges

Salt and freshly ground pepper

3/4 pound shelled and deveined large shrimp

One 5-ounce head of Boston lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces

Note:

I made the salad dressing with:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

white onion
a few minced fresh tarragon leaves
some of the juice squeezed from the orange membrane after I cut out the sections for the salad and
a little salt. 


I marinated the shrimp, avocados and onion in the dressing with the lettuce on top for about half an hour then tossed it all together. Egg was added on the side.

  

Preheat the oven to 400°. Spread the pumpkin seeds in a pie plate or on a small baking sheet and bake for 3 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Transfer to a plate and let cool.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine 3 tablespoons of the olive oil with the lime juice, shallot and cilantro. Using a sharp knife, peel the grapefruit, removing all of the bitter white pith. Working over the bowl, cut in between the membranes to release the grapefruit sections into the bowl. Squeeze the juice from the membranes into the bowl; discard the membranes. Gently fold in the avocado and season with salt and pepper.

In a medium skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil until shimmering. Add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderate heat, tossing the shrimp until they are curled and pink, about 4 minutes.

Arrange the lettuce on a platter. Using a slotted spoon, lift the grapefruit and avocado from the citrus vinaigrette and gently spread over the lettuce. Add the shrimp to the vinaigrette and toss to coat. Arrange the shrimp over the salad and drizzle the remaining citrus dressing on top. Scatter the toasted pumpkin seeds on top and serve right away.

lasagne

Everytime I ask the kids for suggestions for dinner, they can't come up with anything so yesterday I said would you rather have chili, meatloaf or lasagne and they chose lasagne. Cassie made a spinach salad with raisins and walnuts and some tender crisp carrots. 

July 2014. Charlie said it’s perfect. Cassie said it is best one so far.

Béchamel

 1 C. heavy cream

 1 C. chicken stock

3T. butter 

3 heaping T. flour 

add salt to taste 

+ a little nutmeg 

Melt butter, stir in flour.  Add heated chicken broth a little at a time.  Add heated cream, whisking often, bring to boil and let thicken.  Set  aside.

Meat filling

1 med. onion,chopped

3 cl. garlic, minced

1 1/2 lb. ground beef (1 3/4 lbs)

3T. fresh chopped italian parsley (used spinach)

3 T. fresh chopped oregano

1 1/2 lb. mild or sweet Italian sausage ( substituted 4 wursts, skinned. Cassie does not like sausage and both of them don't like Eckridge Italian sausage)

1 1/2 C. grated Pecorino Romano cheese

salt and pepper

Oil for frying

Sauté onion and garlic in oil until soft.  Add meats and cook until done but not browned.  Stir in cheese, parsley and oregano.  Set aside

Cheese filling

1 1/3 C. fresh grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 C. fresh chopped basil

1 1/2 -2 packages fresh mozzarella

16 oz. whole milk ricotta 

Marinara pasta sauce (from a Jar)

Package shredded mozzarella

12 lasagna noodles, cooked 

Preheat oven to 400.  Put some marinara on bottom of lasagna pan.  Put 4 lasagna (3 noodles per layer is all the pan would hold) noodles on bottom, overlapping each one.  Add half the meat mixture, 1/2 the béchamel, 1/3 the parmesan, 1/2 the basil, 1/3 the ricotta and 1/3 the marinara

Make second layer like the first and top with last 4 noodles.  Top with last of the sauce, and last of the ricotta.  Cover with foil and bake at 400 for 1 hour, 15 minutes. Turn oven up to 450.  Remove foil add shredded mozzarella and cook until browned and bubbling, about 15 minutes.  Broil a couple minutes at the end if needed for browning. 

Let set 20 minutes, cut and serve.