Reinvented Fastfood at Angie's

Crispy Udon Noodles with Nori Salt

4 ounces dried udon noodles
Vegetable oil, for tossing and frying
1 sheet nori
1 tablespoon kosher salt

In a medium saucepan of boiling water, cook the udon noodles until they are almost al dente, about 4 minutes. Drain thoroughly and transfer the udon noodles to a medium bowl. Gently toss the udon noodles with vegetable oil to keep them from sticking together.

Using a pair of sturdy metal tongs, hold the nori over an open flame and toast about 4 inches from the heat until the nori is darkened and crisp, about 5 seconds per side. Let cool, then crumble and transfer the nori to a spice grinder. Add the salt and grind to a powder.

Take 4 udon strands and carefully tie them in a loose knot near the end. Repeat with the remaining udon. In a large skillet, heat 1/4 inch of vegetable oil until shimmering. Fry 4 of the udon bundles at a time over moderately high heat, spreading the udon out in a fan, until golden and crisp, about 1 minute per side. Transfer the udon bundles to paper towels to drain, then dust with the nori salt and serve.

Make Ahead: The fried udon bundles can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 hours. The nori salt can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Recipe by Marcia Kiesel
Food and Wine

Notes from Angie:
* My take on reinventing top ramen.

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Panko-Coated Chicken Schnitzel

1 cup flour
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups panko
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 6 ounces each), butterflied and pounded 1/4-inch-thick
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup canola oil
6 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons capers
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Set the flour, eggs and panko in three separate shallow bowls. Season the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour, shaking off any excess, then dip in the eggs and coat thoroughly with the panko, pressing lightly to adhere.

In each of 2 large skillets, heat 1/4 cup of the canola oil. Add the chicken and cook over moderately high heat, turning once, until golden and crispy, about 3 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with salt.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt the butter and cook over moderately high heat until browned and nutty, about 4 minutes. Stir in the capers, lemon juice and parsley; spoon over the chicken and serve.

Recipe by Thomas Keller
Food and Wine

Notes from Angie:
* My take on reinventing chicken nuggets.
* TIP: from Alton Brown, make sure your chicken comes to room temperature before you panfry. This ensures moist chicken! (This was a happy accident. I brought the chicken out of the fridge and spent so much time eating appetizers, drinking and chatting that the chicken came to room temp.)
** Use olive oil (not extra virgin)
*** My favorite quote about this dish came from Steph: "I didn't realize I even liked chicken that much!"

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Rum Raisin Ice Cream Sandwiches
Amanda's amazingly boozy and delicious reinvention of the classic ice cream sandwich made with molasses cookies and sporting homemade labels. We all agreed that she could sell them. Alas, to turn a profit, she joked that she would have to sell them for $28 each because they were so pricey to make!


Molasses cookie ice cream sandwiches

2/3 cup shortening
1/4 cup molasses (not blackstrap)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cream
2 tablespoons coarse or sanding sugar, for sprinkling
About 1 1/2 quarts premium ice cream such as vanilla, butter pecan or rum raisin

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Melt the shortening in a small saucepan over medium heat or in the microwave. Measure one-half cup and cool until it reaches room temperature and is slightly thickened. Discard any remaining shortening.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixture using the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the cooled shortening, molasses, granulated sugar and egg at medium speed until fully incorporated, about 3 minutes (it will not be fluffy).

4. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and salt. Mix in the combined dry ingredients, one-half at a time, until thoroughly combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Divide the dough in half and wrap tightly in plastic. Chill the dough for about 15 minutes to firm slightly.

5. Remove half of the chilled dough and roll it out between two sheets of plastic wrap or parchment paper until it is slightly thicker than one-eighth inch thick. Use a 2 1/2 -inch cookie cutter to cut as many cookies as possible from the dough. Peel away the scraps, then gently peel off the cookies. The dough may need to be chilled again to make peeling easier; if so, simply place the dough, still on parchment or plastic, on a baking sheet and freeze for several minutes. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat using the rest of the dough and scraps.

6. Just before baking, brush the dough rounds lightly with the cream, using a pastry brush. Sprinkle with the coarse sugar.

7. Bake the cookies, one pan at a time, until they puff and begin to deflate, and are just beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through for even baking. Cool completely on the baking sheets; the cookies will flatten and crack slightly as they cool. Make sure the cookies are completely cool prior to assembly.

8. To assemble, spread a heaping one-third cup ice cream (slightly softened) over the bottom of one cookie, and carefully top with another cookie. Press firmly but gently to avoid breaking the cookies. Run a knife or offset spatula around the edges to clean up any ice cream hanging over the edge. Freeze for at least 1 hour to firm the ice cream. Repeat with all the cookies.

Total time: 1 hour, 20 minutes, plus chilling and assembly time

Servings: Makes about 18 large ice cream sandwiches (or 36 cookies)

Note: Adapted from "Sunday Suppers at Lucques" by Suzanne Goin. This cookie dough is very soft when made and may need to be chilled at intervals as the cookies are rolled and assembled. Sandwiches are best assembled one day ahead to allow the cookies to soften slightly.

Each ice cream sandwich: 336 calories; 4 grams protein; 39 grams carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 18 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 57 mg. cholesterol; 110 mg. sodium.

LA Times

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Rum-Raisin Ice Cream

1 cup (packed) raisins
2/3 cup dark rum

8 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
3 cups milk (do not use low-fat or nonfat)
1 1/2 cups whipping cream

Combine raisins and rum in small bowl. Cover; let stand at room temperature 2 hours. Drain raisins, reserving 6 tablespoons rum. Combine in same bowl.
Whisk egg yolks and sugar in large bowl until blended. Bring milk and whipping cream to boil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Gradually whisk into yolk mixture. Return mixture to saucepan; stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens, about 15 minutes (do not boil). Strain custard into bowl. Cool. Add raisin mixture to custard. Refrigerate until cold.
Transfer custard to ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer's instructions. Freeze ice cream in covered container until firm, about 4 hours. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead.)

yield: Serves 10

Epicurious

Top Chef Quickfire Challenge
For fun, I marked 30 cups with 30 different ingredients to taste blindfolded and identify. (i.e. herbs, peanut butter, sprinkles, soy sauce,etc.) The tastebuds of the supperclub ladies were quite impressive. It was a close race between Elisa and Jody, with Jody ultimately winning in a sudden death match.

Spanish at Elisa's

Easy Party Sangria

1 1/2 cups Spanish brandy (such as Fundador)
1 cup Grand Marnier
Juice of 6 small oranges
Juice of 6 lemons
1 cup superfine sugar
1 3-liter box Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Shiraz
4 peaches, washed and thinly sliced
3 16-ounce bottles of seltzer or club soda, chilled

In a 2 gallon container, mix the brandy, Grand Marnier, orange juice, lemon juice and sugar. Add the wine and peaches and stir thoroughly. Refrigerate 1 hour. To serve, pour about a third of the mixture into a large pitcher half-filled with ice, add 1 bottle of seltzer or club soda, and pour into glasses. (The seltzer will go flat if you mix it together all at once.) When the pitcher is empty, add another third of the mixture and another bottle of seltzer. Repeat.

Makes 30 drinks

Real Simple Magazine

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Peach and Tomato Gazpacho

1 1/2 lb tomatoes, chopped (4 cups)
1 lb peaches, pitted and chopped (2 cups)
1/4 cup crushed ice
2 tablespoons chopped shallot (1 medium)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cup water

Purée two thirds of tomatoes and half of peaches with ice, shallot, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 2 teaspoons tarragon, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a blender until very smooth, about 1 minute. Force through a medium-mesh sieve into a large glass measure, discarding solids. Stir in water to desired consistency.

Toss together remaining tomatoes and peaches with remaining tablespoon oil, remaining 1/2 tablespoon vinegar, remaining teaspoon tarragon, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a bowl. 3Serve soup in bowls topped with tomato peach salsa.

Yield: Makes 4 first-course servings

Notes: We use ice in this recipe because it gives the gazpacho just the right chill without the soup having to be refrigerated for any length of time. If you don't have precrushed ice, crush about 1/4 cup ice in a blender.


Epicurious.com

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Piquillo Peppers stuffed with Orange Cumin Goat Cheese

1 jar piquillo peppers, whole
8 oz. goat cheese
1 tsp orange zest, minced fine
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
1 tsp ground cumin

Combine goat cheese, orange zest, orange juice and ground cumin. Mix throughly until softened. This is your stuffing. Fill a plastic freezer bag with the cheese mixture. Snip the corner of the plastic bag. Pipe the stuffing into each whole piquillo pepper. Only pipe half or 2/3 up the pepper. Gently squeeze the top of the pepper closed. Arrange all of your stuffed peppers on a plate and top with Almond and Parsley Salsa Verde.

ifoodtv


Notes from Angie: * I used chevre. I also couldn't find piquillo, so had to use whole roasted red peppers.

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Almond and Parsley Salsa Verde

2/3 cup whole-roasted almonds
1 cup olive oil (Spanish if you have it)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bunch Italian flat-leaf parsley

Shave the leaves of parsley off of the stems by holding your knife at a 45 degree angle and slicing into the bunch. Mince the parsley. Set aside. Chop the almonds fairly fine. Add the parsley back onto the almonds on the chopping board and chop together until both are well combined and finely minced. Add the combined mixture into a bowl. Add the garlic and olive oil. Stir well. (You can use a food processor, but be warned that it may have a more pasty consistency.)

ifoodtv

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The Ultimate Paella

Ingredients:
Spice Mix for chicken, recipe follows
1 (3-pound) frying chicken, cut into 10 pieces
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Spanish chorizo sausages, thickly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 Spanish onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
Bunch flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped, reserve some for garnish
1 (15-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and hand-crushed
4 cups short grain Spanish rice
6 cups water, warm
Generous pinch saffron threads
1 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed
1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and de-veined
2 lobster tails
1/2 cup sweet peas, frozen and thawed
Lemon wedges, for serving

Special equipment:
Large paella pan or wide shallow skillet

Directions:
Rub the spice mix all over the chicken and marinate chicken for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Heat oil in a paella pan over medium-high heat. Saute the chorizo until browned, remove and reserve. Add chicken skin-side down and brown on all sides, turning with tongs. Add salt and freshly ground pepper. Remove from pan and reserve.

In the same pan, make a sofrito by sauteing the onions, garlic, and parsley. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes on a medium heat. Then, add tomatoes and cook until the mixture caramelizes a bit and the flavors meld. Fold in the rice and stir-fry to coat the grains. Pour in water and simmer for 10 minutes, gently moving the pan around so the rice cooks evenly and absorbs the liquid. Add chicken, chorizo, and saffron. Add the clams and shrimp, tucking them into the rice. The shrimp will take about 8 minutes to cook. Give the paella a good shake and let it simmer, without stirring, until the rice is al dente, for about 15 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, when the rice is filling the pan, add the lobster tails. When the paella is cooked and the rice looks fluffy and moist, turn the heat up for 40 seconds until you can smell the rice toast at the bottom, then it's perfect.

Cook's note: The ideal paella has a toasted rice bottom called socarrat.

Remove from heat and rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with peas, parsley and lemon wedges.

Spice Mix for chicken:
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
2 teaspoons dried oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Rub the spice mixture all over the chicken; marinate for 1 hour, covered

Tyler Florence