Pork with orange sauce

I tried this last week, and Michael says it's his new favorite.

2 c cooked long grain rice
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp grated orange peel
1 c orange juice
1 tsp soy sauce
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1/4 cup lightly salted cashews
1 Tbsp canola oil
2 c cubed cooked pork
1/2 c chow mein noodles
1 green onion, sliced

In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, sugar, ginger, and orange peel. Stir in orange juice and soy sauce until smooth; set aside.

In a large skillet or wok, stir-fry the celery, carrots, and cashews in oil until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir cornstarch mixture and add to the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Add pork, heat through. Serve with rice, top with noodles and onion.

This comes from Taste of home magazine (April & May 09). I didn't add the chow mein noodles to mine because I've never been a big fan. I guess they crunched some numbers and this meal comes out to about $1.54 per serving (serves 4 by the way).

Marshmallow Fondant

For Matti


Marshmallow Fondant

1 16 oz bag mini marshmallows
2 and 1/2 tbs water
1 (2 lb) bag powdered sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp clear vanilla extract

Microwave marshmallows and water for 1 minute. Stir well. Stir in extracts. Add powdered sugar (about 3/4 of bag) and mix/knead in till smooth and pliable, adding more powdered sugar as needed to form a smooth consistency. Knead 1-2 minutes, and rub with a light coating of crisco, then store in an air free plastic ziploc bag till ready to use.

To roll out, coat surface of counter with a combination of crisco/powdered sugar to prevent sticking. For large cake rounds, slide a cardboard cake circle under the fondant, and then slide the fondant off the circle and over the cake. Roll out about 1/8 to1/4 inch thick to help prevent tearing.

Hey Matti,

To make this easy, I just microwave the marshmallow and water and then dump them in my mixer bowl with the kneading hook on. I then add the extracts. Slowly I add in the sugar and let the machine do all the kneading. It is super easy. If you want the fondant all one color I'd even add the color gel while it is kneading to save some work. This is a great fondant for covering cakes because it tastes pretty good especially compared with the package stuff. If you want to make shape that will stand-up this is not the best. It is pretty flexible and will need support while it dries. Call me with any question,
Aunt Tammy

EL Pollo Loco Chicken

El Pollo Loco Chicken

1 cup White wine vinegar
1 cup Olive oil
1/2 cup White wine
1 tbls. Oregano
1 teas. Thyme
3 tbls. Salt
10 Garlic cloves; minced
1 1/2 teas. Tabasco sauce

Mix all ingredients and marinate two whole chicken which have been cut in
half. Marinate several hours in refrigerator. Grill chickens slowly until
done.


My comments:

To make this taste like real El Pollo Loco chicken I have to doctor the recipe slightly. This recipe is a GREAT jumping off point. It works great as is. Again, I have served this at many functions with people begging for the recipe. It also helps that Jason is great on the grill. Don't over cook these.

I usually add citrus to the recipe because I think that is what I like best about El Pollo Loco's chicken. I will add the juice of a lemon, lime, and a clementine(you can use an orange, just have these a lot cause kids love them). Along with most of the rind grated fine. I use my microplane and attack the skin(avoid the bitter white pulp), then slice and juice the fruit. I just use what ever citrus I have on hand and it works.

Usually don't have white wine around and will either leave it out of replace with chicken broth or white grape juice, if I have it.

Dried herbs work great.

I use boneless skinless chicken breasts. I am really particular about the type I use. I search for natural meat that has not been injected with the 10-15% of water and salt that many stores carry. I think it does not allow the chicken to absorb marinades well and I also think when they process the chicken so much it makes it really rubbery. I know it is much harder to find minimally processed chicken, but it makes a HUGE difference to me. Ok, I'll let it go.

Cider Roasted Pork Loin

I am menu planning for house guest that I am expecting on Monday. I thought I'd put my recipes up that I know are great and add the photos as I prepare them. This is my all time favorite recipe. I have served it at my gourmet cooking club to rave reviews, at many family gatherings, dinner parties, and I have multiplied the recipe and used it to serve to the whole Relief Society. I also use the brine recipe, multiplied, for my turkey at Thanksgiving. It is a fabulous recipe and very nice because most of the prep work needs to be done the day before. Here are a couple of my suggestions: buy the coriander seeds where you find the spices in bags, usually near the Mexican food in my grocery store. If you buy it in the bottles where the regular spices are you will spend much more. Stick with the kosher salt, it does make a difference. And brine overnight, you roast will be so tender. I usually serve this with rosemary red potatoes, I like to tie in the spices and either green beans or a green salad. Enjoy!




Cider-Roasted Pork Loin

From Cooking Light

Fresh herbs and sweet cider syrup combine in this savory main dish. Overnight brining tenderizes the roast. If the cider reduction becomes too thick to brush on the pork, warm it in a saucepan over low heat.


3 cups water
3 cups apple cider
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 bay leaf
1 (2-pound) boneless pork loin, trimmed
2 cups apple cider
Cooking spray
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring until salt dissolves. Remove from heat; cool. Pour brine into a 2-gallon zip-top plastic bag. Add pork; seal. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight, turning bag occasionally.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Bring 2 cups cider to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until cider has thickened and reduced to 1/4 cup (about 15 minutes). Set aside.

Remove pork from bag; discard brine. Place pork on rack of a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat pork with cooking spray. Combine rosemary, sage, and black pepper; sprinkle evenly over pork. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until thermometer registers 155°, basting twice with cider reduction during final 20 minutes of cooking. Remove from oven; baste with remaining cider reduction. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 3 ounces pork)

NUTRITION PER SERVING CALORIES 200(30% from fat); FAT 6.6g(sat 2.2g,mono 3g,poly 0.7g); PROTEIN 24.4g; CHOLESTEROL 67mg; CALCIUM 25mg; SODIUM 419mg; FIBER 0.3g; IRON 1.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 9.2g Kathryn Conrad Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2004

Barbecued Chinese Lettuce Wraps

This is a simple recipe and has not too many hard to find ingredients, but I always get rave reviews. The flavors are very complex and fresh considering how easy it is. I also add a little fresh cilantro if I have it on hand (I love the stuff and put it in what ever I can). You could also add some other small diced veggies if you want to use them up.


2 cups, fresh shiitake mushrooms ( I used button mushrooms, didn’t see these other at the store now I don't even bother looking, regular mushrooms work great in this recipe)
1 1/3 to 1 1/2 pounds thin cut chicken breast or chicken tenders
2 tablespoons light colored oil, such as vegetable oil or peanut oil (I use olive usually)
Coarse salt and coarse black pepper
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 inch ginger root, finely chopped or grated
1 orange, zested
1/2 red bell pepper, diced small
1 small tin, 6 to 8 ounces, sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
3 scallions, chopped
3 tablespoons hoisin, Chinese barbecue sauce, available on Asian foods aisle of market
Romaine Lettuce

Slice mushrooms. Chop chicken into small pieces.
Preheat a large skillet or wok to high.
Add oil to hot pan. Add chicken to the pan and sear meat by stir frying a minute or 2. Add mushrooms and cook another minute or two. Add salt and pepper to season, then garlic and ginger. Cook a minute more. Grate zest into pan, add bell pepper bits, chopped water chestnuts and scallions. Cook another minute, continuing to stir fry mixture. Add hoisin Chinese barbecue sauce and toss to coat the mixture evenly. Transfer the hot chopped barbecued chicken to serving platter and pile the romaine leaves along side. To eat, pile spoonfuls into lettuce leaves, wrapping lettuce around fillings.

Here are a few of my tips that make this a staple at my place. First I cut all ingredients as small as I can. This allows me to get more veggies into my kids without them recognizing them. Also, I hate mushrooms, but cut very small, they add a wonderful flavor. Also I cut up all my veggies first. While I am chopping, which is a little time consuming, I put the meat in the freezer. By the time I get to the meat, it is slightly frozen and cuts tons better. This adds the benefit of throwing the cutting board in the dishwasher after all the cutting is done and no worries about meat contamination. I put romaine leaves even though the original recipe had iceberg. I think my kids like calling them tacos. I know it is crazy, but I get a lot less complaints. I usually by the romaine at Costco and this uses quite a bit.

No picture now. Will work on it!