Recipe Review: Sesame Chicken

I had planned to make some sort of chicken for dinner (but failed to plan what recipe), wanted something a little different, and remembered this recipe for Sesame Chicken from Melissa d'Arabian from Food Network. I did make a couple of substitutions.

Sesame Chicken
original recipe Melissa d'Arabian

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, nearly thawed
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
1 tablespoon sweet rice cooking wine (aji mirin), or white wine
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
3 tablespoons butter, melted - omitted. subbed with evoo spray - not PAM.
Rice, for serving

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

Cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes (easiest when not completely thawed). In a medium bowl, mix together the soy sauce, orange marmalade, wine, and crushed red pepper flakes. Toss in the chicken cubes and marinate for at least 10 minutes and up to 8 hours in the refrigerator.

In another bowl or plastic bag, mix together the flour and sesame seeds. Drain the chicken cubes and blot any excess liquid, and then toss in the flour to coat lightly. Spread the chicken cubes on the prepared baking sheet and drizzle with the melted butter. Bake until the chicken is crispy but not dry, about 20 minutes, turning the cubes halfway through. Serve with rice.

My substitutions were a sesame ginger seasoning mix my mother-in-law picked up for me, and pineapple ice cream topping. I had to work with what I could find on short notice.

The verdict: The chicken was tasty. Next time I will probably make a reduction using additional preserves/ice cream topping and soy sauce and then toss the chicken with the sauce after it is baked.

Recipe Review: Roasted Sweet Potato Fries

Found this recipe over at Food Network on the 5 Ingredient Fix show. I've been enjoying sweet potatoes more, so I thought I'd try this recipe and see if Dave likes it too. Sounds good to me, but I'll probably cut the spices back a bit for him.

Roasted Sweet Potato Fries
Original Recipe: 5 Ingredient Fix

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus 2 teaspoons
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

Preheat the oven to 450°

Cut the sweet potatoes into 1/2-inch squared strips (fry shape) and put them into a large bowl.

In a small saucepan, combine the orange juice, 1 tablespoon of oil, salt and pepper, to taste, the ground ginger and cayenne pepper. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, whisking until reduced to a thick consistency. Remove from the heat, pour over the sweet potatoes and toss to coat. (don't use your fingers, the oil is very hot)

Rub 2 teaspoons of remaining vegetable oil on a rimmed nonstick baking sheet or use a silicone liner and omit oil. Arrange the sweet potato strips on the prepared baking sheet and bake until brown, about 25 minutes, turning after about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer the potatoes to a serving dish.

The verdict: I definitely could have baked them a little longer, but the rest of our dinner was ready and it was getting late, so I pulled them out before they got very crispy. The flavor was great. I didn't use ginger or cayenne, I used some Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus spice blend instead. Will definitely try them again when I've got a little more time.

Recipe Review: Salmon Sweet Potato Cakes

Just the other day I was thinking of Salmon Cakes. I've never made them, and since I was raised in and currently live in Alaska, I thought it was high time I give it a go. Neptune (our 95 lb black mutt) was watching 30 Minute Meals with me and we saw this recipe and thought it looked delicious. Actually, he does watch TV with me, but his ears really perk up when the 30 Minute Meals intro starts because he loves seeing animals on TV and Rachael's dog is in the opening credits. I'm sure he wouldn't mind being a taste-tester too, but we really don't give the dogs table scraps (only fresh veggies & fruit if I'm cutting them up).

**As with all recipes, I made a few changes to suit our tastes and work with the ingredients I had on hand. Cracker crumbs were subbed with panko, wine was subbed with water, Old Bay seasoning was cut back a little, hot sauce and thyme were omitted. Fresh dill was replaced with Pampered Chef Dill seasoning. The original recipe also had a sweet and sour type relish over top that didn't really appeal to me.

I enjoyed these salmon cakes and D did too, once I told him they had sweet potato in them. They had more of a creamy texture from the sweet potato, but I may have mixed in too much of that. I cut the recipe down to make enough for the two of us and may have had some of the amounts a tad off. I will definitely make this again.

Salmon & Sweet Potato Cakes
Original recipe: Rachael Ray 

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into small chunks
Salt
3 (6-ounce) pieces salmon fillet
1 cup white wine
1 bay leaf
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Old Bay seafood seasoning,
1 1/2 cups cracker crumbs, like Saltines
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme leaves
1 tablespoon hot sauce
2 scallions, finely chopped
3 to 4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Cook the potatoes. Drain, then mash.
Meanwhile, put the salmon fillets in a skillet with the wine, bay leaf, and enough water to come up to the top of the fillets, but do not cover. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat to a simmer and poach until opaque about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the skin and transfer the salmon to a bowl. Flake the fish with a fork and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the mashed sweet potatoes to the bowl along with the seafood seasoning, half of the cracker crumbs, the egg, thyme, hot sauce, scallions, and dill. Mix to combine. The fish cake mixture needs to be just firm enough to mold into cakes. If its too wet, add a few more crumbs.

Form the salmon mixture into patties (4 large patties for dinner portions, or several smaller patties for bento or appetizer portions), coat in the remaining crumbs, and then add them to the pan. Cook the fish cakes until light golden, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side.