Vietnamese Beef and Potatoes

Yes,  this is a  simple stir fry made with beef, onion, and....potato chips!   Kettle chips, specifically.  Not just a super-quick, tasty dish, but a great conversation piece. I'll bet you'll make it again! 

In a small bowl, combine 2/3 c.  beef broth, 3 TB oyster sauce, 1 TB garlic-ginger stir-fry sauce, and 2 tsp. cornstarch.  Blend well and set aside.

Heat 1 TB peanut oil in a large skillet or a wok over medium-high until hot.  Add 1 small onion cut in thin wedges; cook and stir 2 minutes.  Add 1 lb. boneless beef sirloin, cut lengthwise into 2" wide strips thinly sliced.  Cook and stir 3-4 minutes until browned.

Stir broth mixture until smooth and add to skillet. Cook and stir 1 minutes or until thick and bubbly.  Add 4 oz.  kettle chips ( 4 cups) and toss gently to coat with sauce.  

Makes  four  1 1/2 c.  servings. 

Frozen ( or not ) Grasshopper Pie

Back in the olden days -- the 70's --- Grasshoppers were a popular  frozen minty  cocktail  made with green crème de menthe and vanilla ice cream.   Soon a recipe circulated among our card club for  frozen  grasshopper pie one of the hostesses served.   I haven't made this for....um.... let's say 40 years,  until it popped up in  a magazine recently... Food Network,  maybe.  They don't mention freezing it, but that's the way we enjoyed  it.    Just let it set out for 10 or 15 minutes to thaw a bit  before cutting.   Here goes:

Melt 24  regular-size marshmallows in 2/3 cup half -and-half cream in a double boiler  or very slowly & carefully over low heat.  Remove the pan and let it cool before folding in 2 TB white crème de cacao and 2 TB green crème de  menthe.  Fold in 1/2 pint whipping cream, whipped, and pour the filling into a  9" chocolate crumb crust.  Freeze for at least 3 hours or chill  for at least 1 hour.    Serve topped  with more whipped cream,  a few crushed chocolate cookies, and   fresh mint leaves.  I think  we sometimes dribbled a  few  tablespoons  of crème de menthe over the  whipped cream when we served it.  

Snowberry Saltine Pie

My  task today was to gather some of my favorite  low-sodium recipes to share  with a caterer for an American Heart Association lunch event  called "Go Red For Women".    We need to keep fat and sodium at a minimum, while delighting guests with great food, so this dessert came to mind.   I give full credit to Midwest Living magazine where I found  it  in 1994 and have been making it ever since. The  soft, crunchy salty-sweet meringue is so good.    For this recipe, I  simply  substitute low-sodium saltines ("unsalted tops").  I can't tell the difference.   If you like,  use whipped topping with a  tiny splash of almond  or vanilla extract instead of whipped cream.  Whipped cream is definitely better, but if you're concerned with the fat content, go with the topping. Don't make the filling  more than 4 hours ahead, so the fruit doesn't weep and  stain the whipped cream.

  While I tend to use mixed  berries of all kinds,  I've also used peaches, plums, kiwi and nectarines cut in berry-size pieces.   I think a mixture looks prettiest, especially with kiwi or blackberries  for a touch of purple or green.

4 egg whites, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 cup sugar
16 saltine crackers, crushed,1/2 cup  finely   chopped pecans,1 cup whipping cream or   2  1/4 c  whipped topping,1/3 cup sugar,1 teaspoon vanilla
2 -3 cups fresh or frozen raspberries, blueberries, sliced strawberries, cherries, or blackberries, all  pieces about the same size

Grease and flour a 9-inch pie plate. Set aside.          

1. In a large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Gradually beat in the 1 cup sugar until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight). Fold in crackers and pecans.
2. Transfer egg mixture to prepared pie plate, spreading over bottom and side. Bake in a 325 degree F oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until  very pale golden. Cool.
3. For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream, the 1/3 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until soft peaks form (tips curl).  Fold in berries. Spoon into crust. Store in the refrigerator. Makes 8 servings.

         

Chicken Stroganoff

Don't  you love it when   a few ordinary ingredients somehow combine to  create  a superb flavor far beyond the ( expected)  sum of its  parts ?   The recipe was published decades ago in Bon Appetit .  I've made it  a few zillion times for family and for catering clients. It's inexpensive, very fast, and addictively good. 

Two caveats:  if not served immediately,  your noodles (even more than rice) will absorb all  the rich sauce if left to languish very long, so don't mix them until the last minute.  If you anticipate that they'll end up sitting a few minutes before eating,  double the sauce ingredients to have extra.   And the second caution is not to think you can skip  or substitute something else for the Dijon.  Now and then there is a sole ingredient responsible for a flavor meld, and this is the role of the Dijon.  You won't identify the flavor profile as being mustard-y, just delicious!

Cut 5 skinless chicken breasts in 1"  pieces and  brown lightly in batches  in  2 TB butter for about 5 minutes, removing to another dish and keep warm if you're serving soon.  Don't crowd the pan, or you'll steam the chicken.    To the pan, add 8 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms and 1 medium onion, sliced.  Cook until light brown, 6-8 minutes and then add to the dish with  the chicken. These steps can be done ahead.  Bring the chicken, onion and mushrooms to room temperature again, and then warm briefly before proceeding.

Melt  1 TB butter in the pan, add 1 TB  flour, and stir for 3 minutes.  Whisk in 1 cup warm chicken broth and whisk well, scraping up any browned bits at the bottom of the pan. and adding salt and pepper to taste.   Stir vigorously  until thickened and smooth, about 5 minutes.  Stir in 1 TB Dijon mustard and 1/2 cup sour cream and cook until warmed through.  Don't let it boil.   Add the chicken, onion, and mushrooms back to the pan.

Serve   to 4-6 people  over rice or  buttered noodles, and sprinkle with  chopped parsley for a pretty touch of color.