Fortune Cookie (Culinary Mystery) (44 page)

Note: For a delicious twist, add one of the following before baking: ¾ cup toasted pecans or pistachios, ¼ cup chopped candied ginger, or ⅓ cup sweetened coconut.

Note: For a slightly sweeter cookie, use semisweet chocolate chips.

Note: This recipe was adapted from one found on www.ghirardelli.com.

Makes about two dozen cookies.

Chicken Tetrazzini

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

¼ cup diced onion

¼ cup diced celery

1½ teaspoon salt, divided

1 quart water

8 ounces uncooked spaghetti noodles

4 tablespoons butter, divided

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon pepper

¼ teaspoon paprika

⅛ teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup whipping cream (could use half-and-half or coconut milk instead)

⅔ cup Parmesan cheese

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In a two-quart saucepan on medium-high heat, combine chicken, onion, celery, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and water. Boil until chicken is done, about 15 minutes. Remove chicken from pan with a slotted spoon, retaining the stock in saucepan.

Bring stock to a boil and add spaghetti noodles. Cook according to package directions until al dente. If needed, add additional water, one cup at a time, to cover noodles.

While pasta is cooking, shred or cut chicken into pieces. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

When spaghetti is done, drain (retaining whatever veggies you can) and put noodles and vegetables in the bottom of a 9x13-inch or 11x7-inch baking dish.

In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter, lemon juice, and ½ teaspoon salt until butter is melted. Pour mixture over cooked spaghetti and toss lightly.

In same skillet, slowly heat the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, flour, pepper, paprika, and nutmeg, stirring constantly until smooth and thick. Remove from heat. Add whipping cream and stir until smooth. Add chicken and stir. Spoon chicken mixture over the spaghetti and top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes.

Makes approximately 8 servings.

Note: Adding 1 cup of mushrooms and 1 to 2 tablespoons pimentos sautéed in the lemon-butter sauce prior to tossing with pasta gives additional flavor and color to the dish.

Note: This recipe is perfect to assemble the night before and refrigerate until ready to bake.

Family Notes: Shawn always requests that I double the sauce. Breanna likes to add ½ a red pepper, diced, to the sauce for color. This was Neil’s favorite dish for using up leftover turkey after Thanksgiving.

Green Goddess Dressing

½ cup mayonnaise

½ cup sour cream (for a thinner dressing, substitute with ⅓ cup buttermilk)

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ cup snipped fresh chives or minced scallions

¼ cup minced fresh parsley

1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, or ¼ teaspoon dried

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

3 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry, and minced, or 2 teaspoons anchovy paste (less to taste, if desired)

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

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Stir all the ingredients together in a small bowl until well blended, or in a blender for a smoother texture. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to one week.

Makes about 1¼ cups of dressing.

Note: When this recipe was developed, there was often limited access to fresh produce, so the dressing was served with shredded iceberg lettuce, canned vegetables, and a choice of chicken, shrimp, or crab. Over the years, the Green Goddess Salad has evolved. Today, the salad is referred to as “The Garden Court Crab Salad” and features farm-fresh, mixed baby greens, locally grown California vegetables, and a generous portion of Dungeness crab meat. The salad is offered with a choice of dressings, one of which is, of course, the famous Green Goddess. The dressing also makes a great dip for meats and fresh veggies.

Note: For a creamier texture, add ½ an avocado.

Nutella-Stuffed French Toast

3 eggs

1⅓ cups milk

½ teaspoon vanilla

Dash of cinnamon (optional)

Dash of nutmeg (optional)

Dash of cloves (optional)

Bread

1 jar Nutella

1 cup strawberry jam (heated to a thick syrup)

2 bananas, sliced

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Heat griddle to medium heat. In a blender, mix eggs, milk, vanilla, and spices. Pour egg mixture into a pie tin or other shallow dish. Dip bread into egg mixture, making sure both sides are coated. (Adjust soaking time to your personal taste.) Cook bread on griddle, 2 to 3 minutes, or until browned. Turn and cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes.

When all bread slices are cooked, spread a tablespoon or so of Nutella between two slices and make a sandwich. Cut sandwich in half diagonally and top with strawberry jam and bananas.

Serves 6, depending on the density of the bread and how long you soak it in the egg mixture.

Chicken Corn Chowder

2 tablespoons olive oil

¼ cup diced onion (about ½ a medium onion)

2 cloves garlic, diced or pressed

32 ounces chicken broth

12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

4 ears fresh sweet corn (canned corn may be used, if desired)

1 bay leaf

½ cup chopped small green, sweet red, or orange pepper, divided

1 cup milk

1¼ cup instant mashed potato flakes

Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Salt and pepper, to taste

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Heat oil in a large soup pan with a lid (3-quart or larger) on medium-high heat. When oil is hot, sauté onion until translucent. Add garlic and sauté 30 seconds, being careful to not scorch it. Add broth, chicken, corn, and bay leaf. (Add extra broth if liquid does not cover corn.) Cover pan, increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 12 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken and corn to cutting board, leaving the broth in the pan and reducing the temperature to medium-high.

Add ¼ cup chopped pepper to stock. Stir in milk and potato flakes. Shred chicken and return to pan. Using a towel, fork, or corn holder to hold hot corn, cut kernels from cobs. Add red pepper flakes and corn kernels to soup; heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Garnish servings with remaining chopped pepper.

Makes 6 servings.

Cheater Sourdough Bread

6½ cups all-purpose flour

1½ tablespoons instant yeast (Traditional yeast may be used. Simply add it with the water after allowing it to proof.)

1½ tablespoons salt

3 cups warm water (hot, but not so hot you can’t keep your finger in it for 10 seconds)

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In a large bowl, mix flour, yeast, and salt. Add water and stir with a wooden spoon for a couple of minutes or until a very soft dough (or thick batter) forms. There should be no patches of flour but it won’t be smooth. It should be soft enough to conform to the shape of the bowl.

Cover the bowl and ignore for 2 to 5 hours; it doesn’t matter if the dough falls.

To properly store the dough, put dough in a lidded container, with the lid cracked so that it’s not airtight. A 1-gallon ice cream bucket works great with the lid set on top. Put in fridge and ignore for a week.

When you are ready to bake, remove however much dough you want to bake, but don’t make loaves any bigger than ½ of the original amount. (A grapefruit-sized portion will feed three people.)

Sprinkle dough portion with enough flour so it won’t stick to your hands. Pat and shape dough into a ball, pulling edges underneath to achieve a smooth top surface. Place shaped loaf on baking tray and cover with a dishtowel. (A layer of semolina flour or corn meal can prevent sticking to the pan, otherwise use a nonstick spray.)

Set a timer for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place a broiler pan or baking dish on lower rack of oven. (You will add water to this later.) Set your timer for 20 minutes.

When the timer goes off, even if oven isn’t completely preheated, remove cover from loaf and dust top lightly with flour. Using a sharp knife, cut three slits about ½-inch deep in the top of the loaf.

Add 1 to 2 cups of hot tap water to the broiler pan or baking dish placed on the lower rack and put loaf in oven on the middle rack. Close oven door quickly to trap the steam. (The steam gives the bread a flakier crust.) Bake about 30 minutes, until bread smells wonderful and crust is brown. Larger loaves will take longer to cook than smaller ones.

Remove bread from oven and allow to cool 10 minutes before slicing.

Store the remaining dough in a container without the lid sealed for up to another week. The longer it stays in the fridge, the more sourdough flavor it will take on.

Note: This bread is delicious fresh, but does not make great leftovers, so only bake what you’ll eat.

Note: If using a pizza stone, do not put the water dish directly beneath the pan—move it to the side of the rack—as the steam could split your pan.

Family Notes: Breanna prefers this fresh rather than sourdough-ed. Shawn will eat several slices in one sitting.

Makes 12 servings.

Apple Streusel Cake

Crumb Topping

½ cup flour

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon cloves

4 tablespoons butter

Cake

1 banana (the riper the better)

1 to 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract, to taste

1 teaspoon almond extract

½ cup milk (or almond milk, if desired)

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1½ cups flour

¾ cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

4 apples, peeled and sliced or 1 (16-ounce) can canned apples, drained*

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 glass baking dish, a 9-inch pie dish, or 12 medium-sized muffin tins.

To make the crumb topping, mix all topping ingredients together (except butter) in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add butter and cut together with dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly. Set aside.

To make the cake, in a large mixing bowl, mash banana with a fork. Mix in vanilla, almond extract, milk, and butter; mix well. Add in dry ingredients and mix until just combined.