Sweet and Sour Fish

-flounder or tilapia
-batter fish with flour, and pan fry for a crust on both sides and remove
-in separate bowl add: 4 tablespoons of ketchup, 10 tablespoons of water, little vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, little soy sauce, scallions, lea and pepper, saracha, little honey or brown sugar-optional (for 2 fish)
-pour sauce in pan with fish drippings
-add large pieces of green pepper and onion -add fish back in (sauce will thicken)

For 5 thin filets of tilapia, I doubled sauce. Taste sauce when in bowl, if too sweet, add more vinegar, saracha (maybe a teaspoon). More sesame oil will give it a more oriental flavor.

Chinese Scallion Pancakes

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (cake flour also works, but lacks elasticity)
- 1 teaspoon yeast dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water + 1 teaspoon sugar to activate yeast
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup finely chopped scallions

Directions:
Sift flour into 2 equal portions into separate bowls. In the first bowl, slowly add the yeast-water, mixing with a spatula, until a dough forms.
In the second bowl, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the salt into the flour. Slowly pour in 1/2 cup of the boiling hot water while vigorously stirring (this “cooks” the dough.) Add more water and keep stirring until a rough dough forms. (If you accidentally add too much water and the dough is too soft, add a little more flour.) Mix in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Roll the doughs out on a lightly floured surface and knead them together. Cover with a damp towel and let rise for 30 to 40 minutes.

On the same floured surface, roll out the risen dough. Form into a 1-inch thick log, and slice into Ping Pong-ball sized segments. With a rolling pin, roll each segment out to 4″ or 5″ circles.

Lightly brush the top of each circle with vegetable oil. Sprinkle over with chopped scallions and the remaining salt.

Roll up the circle, semi-tightly, making sure the scallions stay in place.

Now, roll it again lengthwise until it forms a coiled ball.

Turn the spiral side face-up, then flatten again into a circle with the rolling pin. Place on a plate and repeat with the remaining dough until you have a stack of scallion-studded spiral patties. (Whatever you don’t cook immediately can be frozen for future use.)
Heat a flat-bottom skillet on medium high heat and add remaining 1 tablespoon cooking oil. Working in batches, pan-fry the pancakes until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Serve warm.

http://appetiteforchina.com/recipes/chinese-scallion-pancakes-photo-photo-recipe

Baked Spinach Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:
-1cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
-1cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
-1can (about 14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
-1box (9 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to drain
-1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
-1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack or mozzarella cheese (1 oz)
- Round bread loaf recommended

Toasted baguette slices or assorted crackers, if desired

1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Mix mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese. Stir in artichokes, spinach and bell pepper.
2. Spoon mixture into 1-quart casserole. Sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese. Add garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, black pepper, Italian seasonings and parsley.
3. Put in a bread bowl. Bake about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve warm with baguette slices. Also tortilla chips.

Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

Ingredients
· 20 lasagna noodles
· 2 tablespoons olive oil
· 1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms – how many ever you want really!
· 1 cup chopped onion – I used about ½ a large onion
· 1 tablespoon minced garlic – I used about 4-6 cloves of garlic
· 2 cups fresh spinach – I used 3 bags of spinach…but I recommend 4 bags!
· 3 cups ricotta cheese – I used fat-free ricotta...it was great
· 2/3 cup grated Romano cheese
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1 teaspoon dried oregano
· 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
· 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
· 1 egg
· 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese – I used fresh mozzarella cheese, grated (you can also slice)
· 3 cups tomato pasta sauce – I used 2 jars of Rinaldi pasta sauce…perfect
· 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese – I used powered Parmesan since I already had it
Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
3. In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook mushrooms, onions, and garlic in olive oil until onions are tender. Drain excess liquid and cool. Boil spinach for 5 minutes. Drain, then squeeze out excess liquid. Chop spinach. I cooked the sautéed the spinach with garlic, onions, mushrooms and olive oil…I had to drain some of the water, b/c I didn’t want to overcook the spinach
4. Combine ricotta cheese, Romano cheese, spinach, salt, oregano, basil, pepper, and egg in a bowl. Add cooled mushroom mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Spread some sauce in the dish and lay 5-6 lasagna noodles in bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spread half of the spinach/mushroom mixture, then half of ricotta cheese picture. Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese on top (even a little Romano if you like). Spread 1 cup spaghetti sauce over cheese. Repeat with another layer. Finish with noodles on the top, with a lot of sauce…then with fresh mozz and a little Romano and parmesan…whatever I had left.
5. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour (or until cheese melts). Cool 15 minutes before serving.

Orzo Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

1 (28-ounce) can Italian tomatoes
2 zucchini, grated
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
6 sweet bell peppers (red work best)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Pour the tomatoes into a large bowl and break apart using a pair of kitchen shears or your finger tips. Add the zucchini, mint, cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
Meanwhile, bring the chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the orzo and cook for 4 minutes. The orzo should be only partially cooked. Use a fine mesh sieve to transfer the orzo to the large bowl with the other vegetables. Stir the orzo into the vegetable mix to combine. Transfer the warm chicken broth to a 3-quart baking dish.
Slice the tops off the peppers and remove all ribs and seeds. Cut a very thin slice from the base to help the peppers stand up.
Place the peppers in the baking dish with the warm chicken broth. Spoon the orzo mixture into the peppers. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle the top of each pepper with cheese and continue baking until the cheese is golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, carefully transfer the orzo stuffed pepper to a serving plate.

Meat Lasagna

Ingredients
1 pound of sweet Italian sausage
1 pound of ground beef (I used pork)
1/2 cup of chopped onions
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 (28 ounce) can of crushed tomatoes
2 (8 ounce) cans of tomato sauce
2 (6 ounce) cans of tomato paste
1/2 Cup of Water
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon fennel seed
2 teaspoons fresh Basil leaves chopped
4 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
23 ounces of ricotta cheese.
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1 egg
1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
12 lasagna noodles
–Serves 12 people–
Start with the following in a pot:
1 pound (450 g) of sweet Italian sausage
1 pound (450 g) of ground beef
1/2 cup (120 mL) of chopped onions
2 cloves of garlic chopped

Brown the ground beef, Italian sausage, onions and garlic in a pot until they start to cook. It takes about 6 to 9 minutes to brown the meat. I like to use a Dutch oven to cook this portion of the recipe. I use a medium low temperature to brown the meat. It is optional to remove the grease from the meat once it is finished browning, your choice.

Add the following:
1 (28 ounce) (784 g) can of crushed tomatoes (I used 29-oz of regular tomato sauce)
2 (8 ounce) (230 g) cans of tomato sauce (I used 14-oz of fire-roasted diced tomatoes)
2 (6 ounce) (168 g) cans of tomato paste (I used 14-oz sliced and stewed tomatoes)
1/2 (120 mL) cup of water

Gently stir this into the cooking meat.

Add the following:
2 tablespoons (30 mL) white sugar (I put only 1 tablespoon sugar b/c I added some leftover port wine that we had)
1 teaspoon (5 mL) fennel seed (I didn’t have this)
2 teaspoons (10 mL) fresh Basil leaves chopped
2 tablespoons (30 mL) fresh Italian parsley chopped
1 teaspoon (5 mL) salt
1 teaspoon (5 mL) Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) ground pepper

Gently stir these seasoning into the sauce.
Cover the pot and let the meat sauce simmer. Simmer on low heat for 1 hour and 30 minutes This is the ideal simmer time but not mandatory. If you don’t have time it will still be great after one hour of simmering.
I will sometimes make this sauce and refrigerate it after it finishes simmering. I will use the meat sauce the next day to put the rest of this recipe together. For some reason Italian meat sauce taste even better the next day. But that’s up to you.

Soak 12 lasagna noodles.
The lasagna noodles need to be soaked in hot tap water for 15 minutes.
While the noodles are soaking you can make the cheese filling.

Put the following in a mixing bowl:
23 ounces (644 g) of ricotta cheese.
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) fresh grated nutmeg

Grate fresh nutmeg over the Ricotta cheese.

Add the following:
1 egg
2 tablespoons (30 mL) fresh Italian parsley chopped

Mix these ingredients together with a spoon

Now we start building the lasagna layers.
Use a 9×13 inch baking pan.

Spread 2 Cups (480 mL) of meat sauce on the bottom of the pan.
Remove your lasagna noodles out of the water bath. Shake water off wet noodles.
Lay 6 noodles across the layer of sauce.
Spread half of the ricotta cheese mixture over the layer of noodles.
Spread 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese over the ricotta layer.
Sprinkle half of the Parmesan cheese over the mozzarella layer

Spread 2 cups (480 mL) of meat sauce over the cheese layer
Lay down the next layer of noodles
Spread the remaining ricotta mixture over noodles
Spread the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses saving some cheese for the top of the lasagna
Put the last layer of meat sauce on the cheeses
Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

Cover with foil
Bake in preheated oven at 350 F (177 C) for 25 minutes
Remove foil and bake uncovered for another 25 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for approximately 15 minutes.

Paneer or Chicken Tikka Rolls

Ingredients:
- Paneer or chicken cubes
- ¾ cup yogurt (6-7 tablespoons)
- ½ tsp grated ginger
- ¾ tsp minced garlic
- 1 ½ tsp dhania
- ¼ tsp hadar
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp jeera powder
- ½ tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp tandoor masala (you can get the Shan packets at the Indian grocery store)
- green bell peppers (optional)
- sliced onions (optional)
- small, individual white flour tortillas

· Marinate cubes of paneer or chicken in all the ingredients for a few hours
· Put it on the stove on high, stir and then put the stove on low – will dry a bit
· In separate pan, you can sauté some green peppers and onions if you like
· Put a couple of spoonfuls of paneer in a flour tortilla and roll (you can put a toothpick in it for an appetizer, works best with the chicken)

Chinese-Style Green Beans

Ingredients
• 1 lb green beans, haricots verts or Chinese longbeans
• 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon ginger, chopped
• 2 scallions (spring onions, green onions), white parts only, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon chili paste
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon dry sherry or rice wine
• Pepper to taste, optional
• 2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil for stir-frying, or as needed

Wash the green beans, drain thoroughly, and trim the tops and bottoms.
Cut the green beans on the diagonal into slices approximately 2 inches long.
Chop the garlic, ginger and scallions.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the green beans and stir-fry until they start to shrivel or "pucker" and turn brown (6 to 7 minutes for longbeans).
Remove the green beans from the wok and drain in a colander or on paper towels.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the wok on high heat. Add the garlic, ginger and scallions. Stir-fry for a few seconds, then add the chili paste and stir-fry for a few more seconds until aromatic.
Add the green beans and the dark soy sauce, sugar, salt, and pepper if using. Stir everything together, and taste and adjust the seasoning if desired. Serve hot.

Black Pepper Chicken (Courtesy of Anjana)

Ingredients:

- chicken breast or tendors cut into pieces
- black pepper
- lea and perins sauce
- mushrooms, either fresh or canned
- garlic
- chicken bouillon cube
- cornstarch
- heavy cream

Take thin chicken breast and coat with crushed blk pepper and a little lee and perins sauce (salt to taste)

In a thick pan, melt some butter and a little garlic. Then add chicken and saute on each side for a minute.

Add a boullion cube mixed with warm water to the pan and add some heavy cream. Add salt, blk pepper and lee and perins sauce to taste.
Then add a little corn starch mixed in a little cold water to thicken the sauce.

Spicy Dill Pickles (Courtesy of Mel)

Pickling Liquid:
- 3 cups water
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 1/4 cup coarse salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 bay leaf

Pack into Jars:
- cucumbers
- carrots
- cauliflower
- onions
- jalapeños
- celery
- chopped garlic
- fresh dill

Boil pickling liquid and pour over veggies in glass jars. Turn jars upside down. Put on lids and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Refrigerate and enjoy!

Sweet Pickles (Courtesy of Mel)

ingredients:
- cukes
- fresh dill
- onion, celery, carrot, etc.

pickling liquid:
- 1 cup vinegar
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp mustard seed
- 1/2 tsp celery seed
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp cayenne


1. cut up veggies and put them in jars with pinches of fresh dill
2. bring liquid to a boil and ladel into jars - fill to about 1/2 inch from the top, screw on lids
3. stand jars on their lids - let sit at room temp for a day then refridgerate

note: the jars fill up pretty quick when you're cramming sliced veggies in, so you don't need a ton of veggies - maybe 4-5 cukes if you're adding some other veggies? The smaller diameter on the cukes the better so you can get more in the jar. Jeff claims he adds garlic but it wasn't in the recipe so I guess throw some garlic in there for good measure ... why not? =o) This should make about 6-8 medium size jars, give or take - it all depends on the size of your jars.

Roasted Manchurian Cauliflower

Ingredients:

5 1/2 cups cauliflower florets (about 1 large head)
2 tablespoons Garam Masala
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons canola oil, divided
Cooking spray
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
8 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper


1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. Combine first 3 ingredients and 1 teaspoon oil in a large bowl; toss well. Place cauliflower mixture in an 11 x 7inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes.

3. Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add black pepper to pan, and sauté 1 minute. Add garlic; sauté for 30 seconds. Stir in ketchup; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in red pepper; reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes or until thick.

4. Remove cauliflower mixture from oven. Stir in ketchup mixture. Bake at 425° for an additional 20 minutes or until cauliflower is tender, stirring after 10 minutes.

Coleslaw

Total Time: 25 minutes

Yield: Serves 6

Ingredients:

3/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/3 cup oil
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon celery salt
1 dash black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup half-and-half (I added a little whipping cream)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large head cabbage, finely shredded (used 1 bag of shredded cabbage)

Preparation:

Blend mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar and oil. Add onion powder, dry mustard, celery salt, pepper, lemon juice, half-and-half and salt. Stir until smooth. Pour coleslaw dressing over shredded cabbage in a large bowl and toss until cabbage is well coated. Keep coleslaw refrigerated. Best if refrigerated for several hours before serving.

This coleslaw serves 8.