I had a few requests for the coconut shrimp from the Chinese buffet. I have yet to actually see this on a buffet here in Michigan so hopefully I came close. This is not like your normal coconut shrimp, which is breaded but rather shrimp in a coconut sauce. The sauce has ingredients such as coconut milk, heavy cream, amaretto liquor, sugar, coconut and vanilla extracts. I know using extracts in a dish like this might seem a little strange but I thought the flavor was pretty good. With that being said, this dish is probably not for everyone. If you don’t like sweet dishes, you probably will not enjoy this. You could of course, cut back on the sugar or add none at all.  The original recipe did not call for salt and pepper but I felt it needed seasonings. Let me know what you think. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1lb jumbo shrimp (peeled and deveined with tails off)
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 green onion (chopped)
1 tablespoon amaretto liquor
½ cup coconut milk
¼ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar (or less)
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a wok heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Season shrimp with salt and pepper. Add shrimp and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add green onions and amaretto liquor. Cooking for another 1-2 minutes until the shrimp begins to caramelize.

Step 2: Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside. Add to the wok- coconut milk, heavy cream, and sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer (stirring occasionally) until the sauce is reduced by half (about 6 minutes).
Step 3: Add shrimp back into the wok and add vanilla and coconut extracts. Simmer for another 1-2 minutes and serve.
(Makes 4 servings)

This is how they do hot dogs in Chicago. I personally have never had a Chicago style hot dog but had always wanted to try it. A Chicago style hot dog is basically a hot dog with a lot of condiments. Some of the condiments include tomato, dill pickle, relish, onion and hot peppers. If you are from Chicago chances are you already know all about these. I tried to keep this recipe as authentic as possible but unfortunately some items seem nearly impossible to find unless you order them. Probably the hardest authentic item on this list to find is the sport peppers. If you cannot find them just omit or some recommend Tabasco peppers if you can find those. Putting all these condiments on a hot dog might sound strange to some but trust me, it’s delicious! These hot dogs are perfect for the upcoming football season. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 all-beef hot dog
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 poppy seed hot dog bun
1 tablespoon sweet green pickle relish
1 tablespoon onion (chopped)
4 tomato wedges
1 dill pickle spear
2 sport peppers
Celery salt

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Add water to a medium pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add hot dog and cook for 5 minutes or until done. Remove hot dog and set aside. With a steamer, steam hot dog bun for 2 minutes.
Step 2: Place hot dog on the steamed bun. Add condiments in this specific order- yellow mustard, relish, onion, tomato wedges, dill pickle spear, and celery salt. The tomatoes should be placed between the hot dog and the top of the bun. The dill pickle spear should be placed between the hot dog and the bottom of the bun.
(Makes 1 Serving)

Some of you may remember or have tried my Zucchini bread. Here is something better, blueberry zucchini bread! The perfect combination and both just happen to be in season right now. Make good use of that abundance of garden zucchini, go pick some wild blueberries and you have a cheap and easy treat. Chances are if you love to bake you already have most (if not all) of t he ingredients on hand. This bread is very moist and the blueberries taste just fantastic. This recipe calls for 4 mini loaf pans but 2 regular size loaf pans will work as well. Totally optional but you could add chopped nuts into the mix as well. If you have been searching for a delicious zucchini bread recipe that won’t disappoint, give this one a try. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
3 eggs (lightly beaten)
1 cup vegetable oil
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups white sugar
2 cups shredded zucchini
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 pint fresh blueberries

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease 4 mini-loaf pans (or 2 regular loaf pans)
Step 2: In a large bowl beat eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. Fold in shredded zucchini. Beat in flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Gently fold in blueberries. Pour mixture into loaf pans (dividing batter evenly into each).

Step 3: Bake for 50 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted into the center of each loaf comes out clean. Allow bread to cool for 20 minutes, remove from loaf pans and finish cooling on wire racks.

Here is something different to add to my collection of Chinese recipes- lettuce wraps. I always hear people raving about P.F. Chang’s lettuce wraps and I figured I would try my own version. The result was a delicious appetizer that I couldn’t stop eating.  Some might be wondering, what are lettuce wraps? Lettuce wraps are lettuce leaves filled with a meat mixture that are folded and eaten like a burrito. The lettuce gives a nice crunch and the filling is just delicious with all the Asian flavors. The filling gets its flavor from ingredients such as soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, and hoisin sauce. I used butter lettuce but you could use other types of lettuce as well. There is a little prep work required but this dish only takes about 30 minutes to prepare. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
16 butter lettuce leaves (rinsed and pat dried)
1lb ground beef
1 tablespoon oil (for frying)
1 large onion (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
¼ cup hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
Asian chili pepper sauce (optional, to taste)
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts (drained and chopped)
1 bunch green onions (chopped)
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Heat a medium skillet to high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add ground beef. Break beef up into very small pieces with a metal spatula and reduce heat to medium. Cook until beef is fully cooked. Drain, remove from pan and allow beef to cool.
Step 2: In the same pan add onions and stir fry for 1 minute. Add garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, vinegar and chili pepper sauce to the onions. Stir to mix well. Stir in water chestnuts, green onions and sesame oil.  Continue cooking for about 2 minutes. Add sauce mixture to ground beef and mix well in a bowl.
Step 3: Pile the meat mixture into the center of each lettuce leaf. Wrap the lettuce around the meat like a burrito.
(Makes 4 Servings)

One thing I have always wanted to try is fried green tomatoes. Taking a look out in my garden I saw quite a few tomatoes that were green and knew I had to try them. For those of you that are not familiar with this dish… fried green tomatoes are just that, tomatoes that are not yet ripe. They get coated with breading and fried in oil. The green tomatoes are first dipped in an egg/milk mixture and then rolled in both bread crumbs and corn meal. You could also use tomatoes that are ripe for this recipe but make sure they are not over ripe or they will become mushy. I suppose you could deep fry these as well if you prefer. If you are like me and want to give fried green tomatoes a try, check this recipe out. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
4 large green tomatoes
2 eggs
½ cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cornmeal
½ cup breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 quart vegetable oil (for frying)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Slice each tomato into about ½ inch thick slices. Discard the ends. In a medium bowl whisk eggs and milk until well combined. Pour flour onto a plate. On a pie plate or bowl combine bread crumbs, cornmeal, salt and pepper. Roll each tomato slice in flour, then dip in egg mixture and then dredge in cornmeal/breadcrumb mixture until evenly coated. Repeat until all slices are coated.
Step 2: In a large skillet add oil, so that the oil is about ½” deep in the pan. Heat to medium-high heat. Add tomatoes to the pan (until the pan is full but tomatoes should not be touching each other). Fry until tomatoes are brown on the bottom, flip over and brown on the other side. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels.
(Makes 4 Servings)

It’s time for more Chinese food; here is a delicious recipe for ginger beef. Ginger beef is crispy strips of steak tossed with a sweet and spicy sauce. If you are a fan of Mongolian beef, you will love this recipe. As pretty much always, I deep fried the steak strips but they can be fried in the wok as well in about 1 inch of oil. This dish uses vegetables such as green onions and carrots but you could add others as well. It calls for 3 teaspoons of red pepper flakes but you can add more or less to adjust it to your tastes. Serve with white rice. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1lb sirloin steak (sliced into thin strips)                                                                                             
¾ cup cornstarch       
½ cup water
2 eggs
1 large carrot (julienned)
3 green onions (chopped)
¼ cup fresh ginger (minced)
5 garlic cloves (minced)
Canola oil (for frying)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
½ cup sugar
3 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a bowl add cornstarch, gradually add water while whisking. Beat eggs into cornstarch/water mixture. Add sliced steak strips and toss to coat. Pour 1 inch of oil into a wok, heat oil to 375 degrees or until oil is hot enough to fry the steak strips. Add a quarter of the steak strips at a time to the wok. Separate with a fork and cook stirring frequently until crispy. Drain on paper towels. Repeat until all the steak is gone (*you can also use a deep fryer for this).
Step 2: Drain all oil out of the wok except for 1 tablespoon. Add green onion, carrots, ginger and garlic. Stir fry for 30 seconds-1 minute.

Step 3: In a small bowl combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, sugar and red pepper flakes. Add to the wok and bring the mixture to a boil. Add beef, heat thorough and serve.
(Makes 2 Servings)

If you are getting tired of your average tacos, I highly recommend trying these shrimp tacos. These tacos are a great treat for summer and won’t disappoint those who love a little heat. These tacos include a combination of shrimp, chipotle peppers, bacon and onions.. You can adjust the amount of heat by adding more or less canned chipotle chilies. You can also add a little of the adobo sauce to the shrimp mixture. This recipe calls for 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Just to clarify, this means 3 peppers, not 3 cans. You can add whatever optional condiments you want. The tacos are garnished with cilantro and lime juice but what I did was mix cilantro, diced avocados and lime juice in a bowl and used that.  Enjoy.

Ingredients:
2lbs large cooked shrimp (peeled and deveined with tails removed)
1 (12 ounce) package bacon (cut into small pieces)
1/2 onion (diced)
3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (minced)
12 corn tortillas (or flour)
1 cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
The juice of one lime
2 avocados (diced, optional)
Monterey jack cheese (optional)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a large skillet cook bacon over medium high heat until evenly browned. Drain the bacon fat from the skillet. Add diced onions and stir fry for 5 minutes or until the onions are tender. Add shrimp and diced chipotle peppers. Cook 4 minutes or until heated through.

Step 2: Heat tortillas in a skillet over medium high heat for 10 seconds. Turn over and heat for another 5-10 seconds. Fill heated tortillas with shrimp mixture top with cilantro, lime juice, avocado and cheese.
(Makes 6 Servings)

If you are looking for a change from beef burgers, you might want to give this recipe for turkey burgers a try. It really is a fantastic and delicious switch from normal hamburgers. They have a different texture because of the egg getting mixed into the meat. Seasonings such as garlic, salt and pepper are mixed into the meat as well. It might be a tad bit messy but there is nothing complicated about this recipe. These turkey burgers are great for outdoor grilling. Optional condiments would include anything that goes good on burgers such as lettuce, tomato and onions. This recipe calls for 3lbs or turkey burger and will make about 12 patties but it can easily be split in half. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
3lbs ground turkey
¼ cup seasoned breadcrumbs
¼ cup onion (finely diced)
2 egg whites (lightly beaten)
¼ cup fresh parsley (chopped)
1 garlic clove (minced)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Hamburger buns

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a large bowl combine ground turkey, bread crumbs, onion, egg whites, parsley, salt, pepper and garlic. Mix well and form mixture into 12 patties.
Step 2: Place patties on grill and grill burgers until they have reached an internal temperature of 180 degrees (about 7 minutes per side). These can also be cooked in a skillet.
(Makes about 12 burgers)

I just tried Chinese fried wontons at the buffet last week and they were delicious. So, of course I had to make them at home. The ones I had at the buffet were filled with juicy pork and had an intense ginger flavor. These are a nice change from crab rangoons. The wontons are filled with ingredients such as pork, carrots, celery, garlic and ginger. The wontons get a lot of their flavor from garlic, ginger and soy sauce. If you are a fan of Asian food, you know the combination is fantastic. There are many ways to fold wontons. I folded them into a bag shape but the easiest way is to fold them into a triangle. This recipe will make about 50 fried wontons and makes a great appetizer for any party or event. Serve with your favorite sweet and sour sauce. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1lb ground pork
3 garlic cloves (chopped)
1 teaspoon fresh ginger (grated)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 carrots (finely diced)
3 celery stalks (finely chopped)
6 green onions (finely chopped)
1 (12 ounce) package wonton wrappers
1-2 eggs (beaten, for sealing)
Oil (for deep frying)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a large bowl combine pork, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, carrots, celery, and green onions. Stir to mix.
Step 2: In a bowl beat eggs. Lay out a wonton wrapper and place a heaping teaspoon of the filling into the center of the wrapper. Brush egg on 2 edges on one side of the wrapper. Fold over to form a triangle and seal the edges tightly with your finger. Repeat until all the wrappers and/or filling are used.
Step 3: Heat oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees. Deep fry in bathes until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
(Makes about 50 wontons)