Wolfgang Puck's Chinois Chicken Salad

I tried this dish recently at the Wolfgang Puck restaurant in the MGM Las Vegas. My husband ordered it and I ended up eating most of it since it was so good! The dish had so many complex flavors and textures that ended up balancing out. Highly recommend this dish.  

Ingredients: 
Dressing:
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/3 cup low sodium sauce
1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. chopped pickled ginger
1 Tbsp. chili oil
1 Tbsp. sesame paste (or tahini)
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup peanut oil

Salad:
2 lbs chicken breasts, cooked + sliced thin
5 cups Napa cabbage, julienned
4 cups mixed greens
1 head radicchio, julienned
2 carrots, julienned
2 cups wonton strips
1/3 cup toasted cashews, chopped
2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
 
Directions:

For Dressing:
1. In a blender, combine everything except the peanut oil, until smooth.

2. Slowly drizzle in the peanut oil while the blender is running. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to your palate.

For Salad:
1. Transfer the chicken, cabbage, mixed greens, radicchio, and carrots to a large bowl. Add half of the dressing to the salad and toss to coat. Taste and add more dressing if you like, a little at a time.

2. To plate the salad add the tossed lettuce mix on the plate. Top with the wonton strips, cashews, and sesame seeds.

Xanthan Gum Gluten Free Pizza - X - Alphabet Challenge

X was impossible since so few items start with the letter X. I came up with xanthan gum which is powder used for thickening and emulsifying in purees and sauces. During my research I also found that xanthan gum is used in a lot of gluten free recipes. I thought I'd give this gluten free pizza dough a try. While it looks good in the photo, the crust was terrible! In the future I'll use my standard pizza recipe found here. But this is an alphabet challenge so I must post this recipe I'll never use again. Enjoy! hahah. 

Ingredients:

Dough:
2 cups gluten free all purpose flour
1/2 Tbsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup lukewarm water (about 105 degrees)
1 packet active dry yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp)
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp. olive oil (plug more for the bowl)

Pizza:
Tomato Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Toppings of choice like pepperoni

Directions:

1. In a small measuring cup combine the lukewarm water, yeast, sugar, and 1 Tbsp olive oil. Allow the yeast to bloom for 3-5 minutes. If you don't see any bubbles after this time, your yeast is dead and you'll need to restart this step with new yeast. 

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment combine the flour, xanthan gum, salt, and baking powder. 

3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix on medium speed for 4-5 minutes until a sticky dough is formed. 

4. Add a drizzle of oil to coat a bowl big enough for the dough to rise. Add the dough to the oiled bowl and cover dough all over with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place to rise for 2-3 hours. It will not double in size but will puff up a bit. 

5. Once the dough is risen preheat oven to 450 degrees. 

6. Add a section of the dough into an oil lined baking sheet. Press the dough into the pizza shape of your choice. Top as you would a standard pizza. 

7. Bake pizza for about 10 minutes until the dough is crispy and golden brown and the toppings have melted. 

Wontons - W - Alphabet Challenge

I've always liked pot stickers and wontons. While I've tackled pan fried wontons at home, I wanted to give deep fried pork wontons a chance. The biggest trick to frying them is getting the oil temperature right so the inside filling has enough time to cook but the outside wonton wrapper doesn't get burned. When making this the first time, cut the dumplings in half before eating to make sure the pork filling is completely cooked. 

Ingredients:
1 pound ground pork
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp garlic chili sauce
1/4 tsp ground ginger
6 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup grated carrots
1 tsp kosher salt
40-50 wonton wrappers

Sweet Thai Chili Sauce or Soy Dipping Sauce if desired

Bowl of water to seal the wrappers
2 cups canola oil for frying

Soy Dipping Sauce:
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 large clove garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 tsp. grated ginger
1 scallion, thinly sliced

Directions:
1. In a bowl combine all of the ingredients, except the wonton wrappers, and mix until combined.

2. To make the wontons, place a teaspoonful of the pork mixture in the center of the wonton wrapper, dip your finger into the bowl of water and run your finger along the edges of the wrapper. Fold bottom corner of the wrapper over the filling and press all edges to close the wrapper, you'll have a triangle. (Note: When making these use a damp paper towel to cover the wonton wrappers, otherwise they may dry out before you have a chance to fill them).

3. Combine all soy dipping sauce ingredients in a small dish and mix together. Set aside until wontons are complete.

4. In a large pot, preheat the canola oil over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, fry until golden brown. About 3-4 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with salt ,if desired, and serve.

Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Bean Buttercream - V - Alphabet Challenge

I was very excited to use Vanilla for my V dish. While it was super tasty I definitely sawI have a lot to learn about cake decorating lol. I didn't have enough eggs so my cake came out a bit short and squat. My secret to making a great cake - use box cake mix but add a little extra flavoring. Box mix makes it cheaper and easier to make. Whether you use box cake mix or make the cake from scratch, I highly recommend making your own icing. Premade frosting is overly sweet in my opinion. 

Ingredients:
1 box white cake mix
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Buttercream Frosting:
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste (use vanilla extract if you don't have this)
1/2 tsp. salt
3-8 Tbsp. milk

Directions:

1. Make cake according to package directions. Try to make the cake layer height as even as possible for consistent cooking. If you're using multiply pan sizes for a tiered effect make sure to cook the smallest layer a shorter time than the larger layers. 

2. Remove cake from oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pans and place on a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes.

3. To make Frosting: Pour melted butter into a bowl and add powdered sugar. I suggest a stand mixer or hand mixer to make the frosting. Whisk until it resembles chalky beads.

4. Add vanilla bean paste to mixture and slowly add milk 1 Tbsp. at a time whisking well after each addition, until frosting is consistency you like. (make sure it's not to runny or frosting the cake will be difficult)

5. To frost and decorate the cakes I suggest checking out some youtube videos. A lazy susan is also a good investment for this. Place a small amount of frosting on top of a layer of cake, work the frosting from the middle of the cake outward to around the sides. It's best to pour all the frosting on top then ease it over the sides. Then remove excess frosting if needed. Repeat this process for each cake layer. Allow to chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes until the buttercream is a little bit set. This makes it easier to stack the cakes. Decorate as you like with more buttercream frosting, sprinkles, or using different piping tips. 

Udon Noodles with Beef and Broccoli - U - Alphabet Challenge

U was a tough ingredient since there are only so many foods that start with U. I've never tried Udon noodles before and found them to be a bit like an Asian spaghetti. The sauce added a lot of flavor but I felt like the dish needed more texture. When I make it again I'll add some bean sprouts or some crispy garlic for a crunch. 

Ingredients:
Marinade for Steak:
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 pound flank steak, sliced across grain 1/4-inch thick
 
Sauce for Noodles:
3 Tbsp. mirin
3 Tbsp. water
4 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
 
1 head broccoli, broken into bite-sized florets
20 ounces udon noodles
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 (1/2-inch) piece fresh ginger, finely minced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
 
Directions:
 
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat.
 
2. Whisk together sesame oil, cornstarch, 1 Tbsp. soy sauce, salt, and baking soda together in a bowl. Add sliced steak to the bowl and marinate for 10 minutes.
 
3. Meanwhile, whisk mirin, water, 4 Tbsp. soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl. Set sauce aside.
 
4. Heat a wok over high heat, and cook and stir steak in the hot wok until steak pieces are caramelized and browned, 3 to 4 minutes. The secret is a high temp and quick cook so the steak does not get tough. Remove steak from wok; set aside to keep warm. 

5. Add broccoli florets to the wok with a small amount of water. Cover with a lid and steam broccoli until bright green, about 5 minutes. Remove from wok; set aside to keep warm. 
 
6. Add udon noodles to boiling water; return water to a boil and cook using package directions until noodles are tender.
 
7. While noodles finish cooking add garlic and ginger to the wok. Return steak and broccoli to wok.

8. Drain noodles; stir noodles and prepared sauce into the wok to combine. Sprinkle with green onions and toasted sesame seeds to serve.

Truffle Tagliatelle - T - Alphabet Challenge

This post is a bit late since my husband Brian and I both got Covid for the first time. I was originally thinking to make a tres leches cake that I could share but since I didn't want to contaminate my friends I decided to change course. 

The secret to this truffle tagliatelle is truffle flavored items. I couldn't find a real fresh truffle so I used truffle butter, truffle oil, and truffle salt to get the truffle flavor into this pasta. I also used a tagliatelle I purchased while visiting my friend Renee in Seattle at the Pike Place Market. (Yes, I also saw the famous fish throwing). 

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. truffle oil
1 Tbsp. truffle butter

1 clove garlic, peeled and left whole
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup grated parmesan, divided
1 tsp. truffle salt
1 tsp. black pepper
8 oz tagliatelle pasta

Directions:

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the tagliatelle and cook according to package directions. 

2. In a separate large sauce pan over low heat add the truffle oil and butter. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add in the heavy cream and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Reduce over a low simmer until cream is slightly thickened. 

3. Once pasta is al dente add to the cream sauce. Stir to combine and add 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Allow to cook over low heat until the pasta is saucy. 

4. To plate add pasta to a bowl. I recommend doing this in a swirling/twirling motion to try to get a nice pasta nest. Garnish with a pinch of parmesan, a drizzle of truffle oil, and a sprig of basil.