For those of you clicking over from my main blog (http://www.thejohnsonsjungle.blogspot.com/), you've already heard the story of the Valentines Day Stomach Flu. It's not pretty or pleasant, and if you missed it, I don't encourage you to go check it out. The rest of my blog...yes. But if you wish to skip the sordid stomach flu tale, I completely understand.
The REAL downer of missing the Day of Love, though, wasn't that we were sick...it's that the aforementioned sickness meant that I couldn't cook a nice Valentines Day dinner for my family. So, on Valentines Day - we had Saltine crackers and Gatorade. And I don't need to put a recipe up for that.
Today is a glorious Tuesday...and we are flu-free. So I am making our yummy V-Day dinner TONIGHT.
I am sorry you missed this on the 14th...not that the dinner itself is terribly note-worthy...but the DESSERT is...yummy, sinfully delicious Chocolate Molten Cake. I have two recipes...one straight from my husbands award-winning restaurant, The Grand Lux Cafe, and another that I personally prefer because I am a BIG fan of DARK CHOCOLATE. However, as I was about to put The Grand Lux recipe on my blog...my husband informed me that to post recipes from his restaurant would expose carefully guarded TRADE SECRETS...and he could lose his job.
Whoops.
Not really the right economic climate to take that kind of risk.
So, if I promised you the Grand Lux recipe...sorry. You'll have to come over, and we'll turn off all the lights and cover all the windows and doors, and invent a super-secret encrypted code to communicate with (complete with hand-signs and facial expressions), and I'll share the recipe after swearing you to secrecy by some ancient and binding sacrificial rite. Okay?
Until then, you'll have to make MY version of Chocolate Molten Cake...but I promise you won't mind.
Not.
One.
Bit.
(just a moment...I need to find a napkin to wipe my chin...my mouth is watering. After a weekend of the BRAT diet, I can hardly wait to eat REAL FOOD.)
But first...we need dinner...
This is great served with rice (duh) and chow mien noodles.
California Stir-Fry
2 TBS Catalina dressing
2 TBS soy sauce, divided
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into thin slices
1/2 cup Catalina dressing
1 tsp minced fresh ginger root
1 clove minced garlic
1 cup broccoli florets
1 small carrot, cut into thin slices
1/2 cup each: medium red and yellow pepper, cut into thin strips
1 cup snow peas
1 cup bean sprouts
(OR...you can do what I do, and just use an awesome frozen oriental veggie mix...like the one from CostCo)
1. Heat 2 TBS dressing and 1 of the TBS soy sauce in large nonstick skillet or wok on medium heat. Add chicken; stir-fry 3 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from skillet.
2. Add all remaining ingredients except the bean sprouts to skillet; mix well. Stir-fry 5 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. (If using a frozen veggie mix - you can proceed in two ways...thaw veggies and cook only a couple minutes to heat through, or stir-fry from a frozen state. There is really no set time...just watch carefully...or you will end up with veggies that are soggy.)
3. Stir in chicken and bean sprouts; stir-fry until heated through.
4. Serve over rice.
Ahhh...and now, dessert...
Dark Molten Chocolate Cake
1 pkg. (6 squares) Bakers Bittersweet Chocolate
10 TBS butter
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup flour
3 whole eggs
3 egg yolks
1. Preheat oven to 425. Grease 6 6-oz. custard cups or souffle dishes. Place on baking sheet. (My mini souffle cups are still packed in my garage...so I use a giant muffin pan that makes six giant muffins. It works great!!)
2. Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler until butter and chocolate is completely melted (or microwave in a microwaveable bowl on 50% power 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Then stir with a wire whisk until chocolate is melted, too). Add sugar and flour, mix well. Add whole eggs and egg yolks; beat until well blended. Divide batter evenly into custard cups (or muffin tins!!).
3. Bake 14 to 15 minutes or until cakes are firm around the edges, but still soft in the centers. Let stand 1 minute. Run small knife around cakes to loosen. Carefully invert cakes onto dessert dishes. Sprinkle lightly with additional powdered sugar and garnish with raspberries, strawberries, candied lemon or orange peel, or mint leaves (or a combination of all the above!!) Tonight, I'm using a triple berry dessert sauce from Smuckers to drizzle around the edges.
Cut in half and serve warm...
recipes courtesy Kraft foods and myself, respectively
That stir fry recipe looks tasty! And not too hard, I may try that sometime.
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