Welcome to Favorite Friday! :) I had to look through all my past posts (112 in all) and pick a favorite to repost today. It was hard. It was really hard. I finally got it down to a list of eight recipes that all are worthy of being posted today, but since I can only pick one, this is the winner! Like I said when I first posted this recipe... It's the love of my life. :) A reader informed me that this recipe may have originated from The Silver Palate New Basics Cookbook, which I have never heard of. But I'll give credit where credit is due!Just for fun, I am going to share with you the other options I had on my list:
Chili Verde (crockpot. It's superb.)
Spinach and Chicken Stuffed Shells (makes two 9x13 pans, perfect for when you're bringing dinner to a friend, and it freezes well. I serve it with breadsticks and salad. Mmmm.)
Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles (I love thai peanut sauce; similar to this recipe)
Crockpot Southwestern Chicken (love it how it's so easy and so delicious!)
Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup (It's so fast. I put this on when I am leaving for a day trip to the zoo or something like that. It's wonderful to come home to dinner.)
Can you tell I'm having a baby in a couple weeks? My mind is focusing on the easy and yummy crockpot recipes I like!
Pesto Chicken Pizza with Pine Nuts and Feta (the only recipe I can claim as my own masterpiece. It's fantastic. I would have posted this today, but it's not exactly basil season, and if you don't already have pesto in the freezer, I'm not sure how the store bought variety will compare.)
Fruit Soup (I love love love making this for baby showers. I'm actually making it this Saturday for a shower. It's the ultimate chick food. It's awesome!)
And now for the feature presentation.... :)
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8 oz linguine
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 Tbs brown sugar
6 Tbs chunky peanut butter (¼ c. plus 2 T.)
¼ cup soy sauce
scant ¼ cup sesame oil
½ - 1 Tbs hot chili oil (depending on how hot your chili oil is. I add the whole Tb.)
2 ½ boneless and skinless cooked chicken breast halves
5 Tbs sesame seeds, toasted
¾ lb to 1 lb thin asparagus, trimmed
3 scallions, white bulb and 3 inches green, cut into 2-inch julienne
1 small cucumber, halved, seeded, and cut into 1/4 inch dice
Cook chicken. (Many options here – put frozen breasts in microwave at 50% power, or boil in water, or cook for a few hours in the crockpot with a cup of water…)
Trim asparagus; set aside. *see note below
Toast sesame seeds, set aside. (Two options: toast in the microwave, stirring every minute or so, or toast in a dry skillet on medium, stirring frequently. They are done when they turn brown. Takes 5-10 minutes.)
Cut scallions and cucumber as directed in ingredients. Set aside.
Prepare sauce: Place the garlic, vinegar, brown sugar, peanut butter, and soy sauce in a food processor. Process for 1 minute. With the motor running, slowly add the sesame and hot chili oils through the feed tube, and process until well blended.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the linguine, and cook at a rolling boil until just tender. Drain, rinse under cold water, drain again, and set aside in a large mixing bowl.
Shred the chicken into 2-inch julienne, and toss with the linguine. Add the sauce and 4 Tbs of the sesame seeds, and toss to coat well.
Cut the asparagus on the diagonal into 1-inch lengths. Blanch in a saucepan of boiling water for 2-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of your asparagus. They will be done when you can easily insert a thin-bladed knife or skewer into them. Drain, rinse under cold water, and pat dry. **see note below
Place the linguine and chicken in a large flat serving bowl, and arrange the asparagus on top. Sprinkle with the scallions, cucumber, and remaining 1 Tbs sesame seeds.
Number Of Servings:6
* Trimming the asparagus - This is a very important step. Snap the ends off by bending the bottoms until they snap. They will snap off above the white part, and some of the green will snap off too. This is the safest way to trim asparagus. It seems like you are wasting a lot of asparagus, but don’t be deceived! When I was new at cooking I tried cutting off just the white part, or just 1 inch off the bottoms, and would live to regret it! The bottom part of asparagus spears are very fibrous. If you don’t cut enough off the bottom, you will feel like you are trying to chew on a piece of bamboo. It’s horrible. My trusty cookbook by MarkBittman says, “Snap off the bottom of each stalk; they will usually separate naturally right where the woody part ends.” Take it from the pro.
**Also, I combine the steps of blanching the asparagus and cooking the linguine. 4-5 minutes before linguine is done, I add the asparagus. Then I drain it all when the asparagus is done. I drain the noodles and asparagus once, then add the sauce, chicken, and some sesame seeds and toss. Then I add the scallions, cucumber and remaining sesame seeds on top and lightly toss a bit. I've learned to combine steps to make this a faster recipe.
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 Tbs brown sugar
6 Tbs chunky peanut butter (¼ c. plus 2 T.)
¼ cup soy sauce
scant ¼ cup sesame oil
½ - 1 Tbs hot chili oil (depending on how hot your chili oil is. I add the whole Tb.)
2 ½ boneless and skinless cooked chicken breast halves
5 Tbs sesame seeds, toasted
¾ lb to 1 lb thin asparagus, trimmed
3 scallions, white bulb and 3 inches green, cut into 2-inch julienne
1 small cucumber, halved, seeded, and cut into 1/4 inch dice
Cook chicken. (Many options here – put frozen breasts in microwave at 50% power, or boil in water, or cook for a few hours in the crockpot with a cup of water…)
Trim asparagus; set aside. *see note below
Toast sesame seeds, set aside. (Two options: toast in the microwave, stirring every minute or so, or toast in a dry skillet on medium, stirring frequently. They are done when they turn brown. Takes 5-10 minutes.)
Cut scallions and cucumber as directed in ingredients. Set aside.
Prepare sauce: Place the garlic, vinegar, brown sugar, peanut butter, and soy sauce in a food processor. Process for 1 minute. With the motor running, slowly add the sesame and hot chili oils through the feed tube, and process until well blended.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the linguine, and cook at a rolling boil until just tender. Drain, rinse under cold water, drain again, and set aside in a large mixing bowl.
Shred the chicken into 2-inch julienne, and toss with the linguine. Add the sauce and 4 Tbs of the sesame seeds, and toss to coat well.
Cut the asparagus on the diagonal into 1-inch lengths. Blanch in a saucepan of boiling water for 2-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of your asparagus. They will be done when you can easily insert a thin-bladed knife or skewer into them. Drain, rinse under cold water, and pat dry. **see note below
Place the linguine and chicken in a large flat serving bowl, and arrange the asparagus on top. Sprinkle with the scallions, cucumber, and remaining 1 Tbs sesame seeds.
Number Of Servings:6
* Trimming the asparagus - This is a very important step. Snap the ends off by bending the bottoms until they snap. They will snap off above the white part, and some of the green will snap off too. This is the safest way to trim asparagus. It seems like you are wasting a lot of asparagus, but don’t be deceived! When I was new at cooking I tried cutting off just the white part, or just 1 inch off the bottoms, and would live to regret it! The bottom part of asparagus spears are very fibrous. If you don’t cut enough off the bottom, you will feel like you are trying to chew on a piece of bamboo. It’s horrible. My trusty cookbook by MarkBittman says, “Snap off the bottom of each stalk; they will usually separate naturally right where the woody part ends.” Take it from the pro.
**Also, I combine the steps of blanching the asparagus and cooking the linguine. 4-5 minutes before linguine is done, I add the asparagus. Then I drain it all when the asparagus is done. I drain the noodles and asparagus once, then add the sauce, chicken, and some sesame seeds and toss. Then I add the scallions, cucumber and remaining sesame seeds on top and lightly toss a bit. I've learned to combine steps to make this a faster recipe.
I haven't tried this yet Erin! Thanks for bringing it back out the wood-works for us to enjoy. Asparagus is on sale at my local grocery stores this week:) I made the thai peanut noodles a few days ago too, I have loved that recipe!
ReplyDeletewhat an awesome recipe - thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI loved that post - it's fun to hear what your favorites are! I LOVE those Peanut noodles with asparagus...boy am I missing eating peanuts about now! :)
ReplyDeleteI've never tried this, it looks excellent.
ReplyDeleteI loved that post, too. It was fun to see all your favs. We made crockpot southwestern chicken this week... I love that recipe. So easy! I've never made this sesame chicken and asparagus pasta, but I have had it bookmarked forever. This week, I'll have to do it.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I feel dumb, but I have never heard of chili oil, where do I find that at the grocery store? I checked in the oil aisle and did not see it there, I can't wait to try this recipe, it looks divine!
ReplyDeleteYum, Erin, these all look fabulous! I have to agree that the fruit soup is the best shower (or any chick event) food ever! Melanie made it for my baby shower 5 years ago & I my mouth still waters thinking about it!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Sandra!
ReplyDeleteI bought the chili oil in the regular grocery store. Just look next to the olive oils and there should be a small row/section of specialty olive oil bottles nearby. Mine is called 'chili flavored olive oil' and I remember there were a bunch of other flavored oils next to it (like garlic, etc). Hope you can find it!
Yum :) I want to try this and the stuffed shells...hmm and maybe the pizza. Thanks for some good new stuff :)
ReplyDeleteSandra, you can also look for chili oil in the ethnic food section. I got mine with Thai food and roasted sesame seeds (which are much cheaper -- for more quantity -- in the Thai food section as well).
ReplyDeleteI made this last night and I really liked it. I think I was fishing sesame seeds out of my teeth the rest of the evening, but it was good. My husband didn't care for the sauce, but I think it's perhaps an acquired flavor.
Thanks for the tips on preparing and cooking the asparagus -- I'm not sure I've ever eaten asparagus so perfect!
I made this tonight and it was fabulous! I didn't have any chili flavored olive oil so I just substituted olive oil and add a few teaspoons of Chili Garlic sauce (I cut down on the garlic too). It had quite a kick but we just loved it. Thanks so much!
ReplyDelete