culinary experiments and explorations

Yesterday for the Superbowl, I wanted something out of the ordinary... so I went back to my old favorite, homemade Chinese. I considered homemade dumplings for a while, but in the end passed on that to make something old, and something new.

( Something old: Kung Pao Chicken )

( ... and something new: Szechuan Braised Meatballs )

Both were extremely tasty, and went perfectly with the white rice I had steamed up earlier.

Kung pao chicken is an old favorite of mine, something I grew to love back when I lived in California and couldn't find a satisfactory take-out version of on the East Coast -- which was, among other things, what prompted me to start experimenting with cooking my own Chinese food. Too often in the East, what seems to pass for "kung pao chicken" is just diced chicken with peanuts drenched in hot oil -- yuck! My recipe has a great deal more going for it, though it's still spicy enough to raise sweat on your brow.

Szechuan braised meatballs was a new recipe for me, and I didn't quite have an image in mind when I began making it. Regardless, it turned out delicious -- the five-spice powder and Szechuan sauce combined with the beef broth to make a tasty, well-spiced side dish. The only complaint I have about it was that it seems like there aren't enough meatballs! Next time I might up the amount of ground beef to 1.5 lbs., because the broth (and my skillet) are definitely enough to contain another 6 - 8 meatballs.

With the chilly weather coming on, I find myself more and more in favor of comfoting, savory soups. This weekend is no exception -- and with a Penzey's Spices quarterly/recipe book in hand, I decided to try a variant on chicken and dumplings.

( Spicy Baked Chicken & Dumplings Soup )

Thick, savory stew with plenty of chicken and tasty dumplings to top it off -- an absolute winner in my book! For me, adding the lemon pepper spicing to season the chicken breasts made it particularly delicious, but for others that may be a touch too spicy.

The original recipe calls for double the amount of dumpling mix, which was way too much for me. I made the full amount and dropped the dumplings into the broth, but rapidly found myself out of space in the pot for more dumplings. Thus, I've halved the amounts for that part of the recipe. Honestly, I feel as though the recipe could even use a bit more broth -- with that much chicken and veggies as a base, the soup pot was crowded even before the dumplings went in.

Overall, though, I will absolutely be making this recipe again. Simple, straightforward, not too long to cook, and incredibly tasty -- four things that make it a winner in my book.

Last night, as the chill of autumn was starting to set in, I found myself in the mood for something satisfying yet not too difficult to cook up. I tinkered this together off of the foundation of a similar recipe from a soups-n-stews cookbook I bought some time back, and despite the dumplings just turning out OK (I always seem to have trouble getting dumplings just right, alas) the broth was pleasantly flavorful -- definitely not too bland.

So, without further ado, here's my recipe for ( Chicken Soup with Vegetables and Herb Dumplings. )

All in all, though, a very savory and tasty broth, with plenty of protein and veggies. Definitely a good thing to warm up with on a chilly day or evening.