Almost Take-out Thai Chicken Stir-Fry with Peanuts & Rice

Lime Scented Rice:

1.5 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons canola or peanut oil
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 cup long grain rice
1/4 cup chopped chives

Chicken:
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or tenders, diced or thinly sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
1 *chile pepper, thinly sliced *Optional to taste
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, grated or minced
2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced or grated
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced or diced
1/2 cup unsalted dry roasted peanuts
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced on an angle
Sauce:
.5 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
1/3 cup orange marmalade
2 tablespoons tamari sauce or low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoonful *cornstarch with water to smooth paste *Optional

RICE: Bring 1 1/2 cups stock, 1  tablespoon oil, and lime zest to a boil. Add the rice, stir, reduce heat  to medium-low to simmer, and cover. Cook 15 to 16 minutes, and then  stir in the lime juice and chives. Turn off the heat and fluff the rice.  Keep covered and warm on the stove until ready to serve.

CHICKEN: Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a  large non-stick skillet over high heat. When the oil smokes, add the  chicken and season with black pepper. Brown evenly, and then remove to a  plate. To the skillet, add chile, ginger, garlic, and red bell pepper  and stir fry for 2 minutes. Return the chicken to the pan. Stir together  the hoisin, marmalade, tamari and remaining 1/2 cup chicken stock.  Add  to the pan and reduce over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in small amounts of cornstarch mixture until sauce slightly thickens. Stir in the  peanuts and scallions - save scallions for garnish. Turn off the heat.

Serve the chicken over rice in shallow bowls and garnish with scallions.

Stuffed Cabbage - work in progress

Stuffed Cabbage 

Ground beef chuck
Sugar - teaspoon
Cooked rice - not for Passover version 
Fine Chopped/ground onions 
Lots bread crumbs or matzo meal
Garlic power
Ketchup
Cumin
Black pepper

Mix in kitchen aid 

Tomato Sauce simmer 45minutes

Water
White vinegar
Sugar
Raisins
Lemon juice
Tomato puree 
Tomato paste
Cranberry sauce
Cinnamon sticks

Cabbage - boil, cool. 

Line baking dish with cabbage leaves. Stuff cabbage leaves with beef mixture. Cover with tomato raisin sauce. Cover with extra cabbage leaves. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Serve with extra raisin sauce. 

Scones...

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 c sugar + 1T sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 t.salt

6 T. Chilled unsalted better, cut into small pieces
2/3 C. Heavy cream
1 egg

Makes about 8-9 scones.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In bowl wick together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add in butter and mix until resembles coarse crumbs. Beat egg and add to heavy cream. Then add mixture to dry ingredients. Then add in cranberries, chips or whatever else you desire.

Remove from mixing bowl. Knead dough gently, 5-10 times. Roll into log, 2-3 inches in diameter. Slice into discs, about 1 inch thick. Dip tops in extra heavy cream and sugar. Place on parchment lined pan. Bake for about 15 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on wire rack of plate.

Add ins: cranberries, chocolate Chips walnuts, cinnamon and sugar..
Knead and rollout into log slice into 1 inch slices. Brush with heavy cream, sprinkle with sugar and toppings.

Bake at 425, for 15 minutes.

Crescent Jam and Cheese Cookies

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookie Book via Smitten Kitchen

You might want to fill them with Nutella, with chocolate chips. You might want to try out different jams and maybe even some of that exalted chestnut paste. Plus, having no sugar in them, they seem destined for savory applications to, be it herbed goat cheese or a slip of caramelized onions.

Makes about 30 cookies

2 sticks (1 cup, 8 ounces or 227 grams) unsalted butter, softened
7.5 ounces farmer cheese (a lowfat cottage/ricotta-style cheese; I buy mine from Friendship)*
2 tablespoons (1 ounce or 30 grams) sour cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups (8 3/4 ounces or 250 grams) all-purpose flour, plus additional for rolling cookies out
1/4 teaspoon salt
Jam or preserves (I will use raspberry)
Milk, for brushing cookies
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Cream butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Force cheese through a sieve right onto creamed butter and stir it in. Add the sour cream and vanilla and combine the mixture well. Whisk or sift together flour and salt in a separate bowl and gradually blend it into the cheese mixture. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill it for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll one-fourth of the dough out very thinly on a lightly floured surface and chill the remaining dough until it is to be used. Cut the dough into 3-inch squares** and put about 1/2 teaspoon jam or preserves in the center of each. Fold the dough in half on the diagonal, pressing firmly down to seal the two sides around the jam. Roll the triangle into crescents, starting at the wide end. Arrange crescents on a baking sheet (they won’t expand terribly much, so just an inch or so between them is fine), brush them lightly with milk and bake them for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are golden. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and dust them with powdered sugar. Continue making cookies in the same manner until all the dough is used.