Paula Dean Disappoints Me

Now when I say Paula "disappointed" me...I don't mean "Paula" as a person. Rather more a magazine. Recently I tried a Chocolate Pecan Crumble from her Paula Dean's magazine (Quick & Easy Meals) and this is what happened:

Don't believe the cover. I don't think she'd be smiling if she made the mess I'm about to show you.

Flour, sugar, cocoa powder...all looks normal right?

But then it had me poor the "brownie" mix into melted butter (above) and NOT mix it in.

And then you pour "boiling" water over the cocoa powder "crumble"...WTF??

And in the end it looked greasy/oily and just gross. It tasted okay - especially with vanilla ice cream

In the end it looked just awful....and I HIGHLY doubt that anyone in the Paula Dean kitchen test ran this before putting it in the magazine.

Searching for Onion Marmalade

So I have this giant bag of sweet vidalia onions sitting at home and while I'm planning on making French Onion Soup this week that won't use them all up. 

My mother had the idea of making Onion Marmalade - for having in salads, on sandwiches, with grilled chicken, etc. Trouble is I've never made an Onion Marmalade...or any kind of marmalade actually...so I have no idea where to begin. 

I've looked online and of course was overwhelmed by the thousands of recipes. But I want something someone I know has tried before, it doesn't even have to be someone I "KNOW"....it can be anyone but I want them to say "Try my recipe. It's the best because....."

So yes. If you are know of an Onion Marmalade recipe please pass it my way. 

Happy Eating.

Recipe: Chinese Honey Garlic Chicken

I was chatting with a friend recently about a Honey Garlic Chicken dish she'd had at a local Chinese restaurant long ago and hasn't been able to find another version since. I found this recipe online and thought I'd give it a try, give her my thoughts and then encourage her to try it herself.

I changed the recipe slightly....here's the original but here's how I changed it:


Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1” chunks)
Oil (for deep frying)

Batter:
2 Cups McCormick Beer Batter mix
1 Can of Beer (you can use water or juice or any liquid)


Sauce:
1 ½ tablespoons oil
2 teaspoon ginger (minced)
5 tablespoons garlic (minced)
1 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 tablespoons honey (I used 6 but it was too sweet)
3 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1 cup water
2 teaspoon cornstarch (mixed with 3 teaspoon water)
Sesame seeds (for garnish)

Step 1: In a large bowl mix all batter ingredients together until smooth. Add the chicken to the batter tossing to coat.

Step 2: Heat a deep fryer to 350 degrees. Fry chicken bits in patches for 2 minutes or until batter becomes firm. Drain on paper towels.

Step 3: To make the sauce. Heat 1 ½ tablespoons of oil in your wok. Add garlic and ginger and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add salt, honey, vinegar, and water. Mix well. Combine 3 teaspoon of water with 2 teaspoon of cornstarch. Add to the sauce and Simmer for 2 minutes.

Step 4: Coat chicken with the sauce and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve with white rice.

I fried up the chicken (make sure your oil is HOT otherwise the chicken just absorbs the oil and that's gross). I also didn't toss the entire batch of chicken in the sauce but let people drizzle however much they wanted on their own plates (keeps batter from getting soggy).

It turned out pretty good. A little sweet (added too much honey so I've reduced it on the above ingredients).

I'll probably change it up a little again next time but will be trying it again.