Asian Wings

5 lbs  chicken wings, split with tips removed

Marinate wings for 24 hours in
1/2 c Thai fish sauce ( try Golden Boy Brand)
1/2 c sugar
1 TBS rice vinegar
1TBS Sriracha sauce
1 clove garlic, chopped

Remove from marinade and pat wings dry.
Dredge in rice flour. Let sit 5 minutes.
Deep fry in oil about 14 minutes.
Reduce the marinade in sauce pan over low heat until thick.

Finely chop mint and cilantro (1/4 c each)

Toss fried wings in reduced marinade (1/4 c) with mint and cilantro.

Homemade Ice cream

No egg ice cream base:

1. Mix slurry in small bowl:
1/2 c milk
1 1/2 TBS cornstarch

2. Place 1 1/2 oz cream cheese in large bowl with flavorings and set aside.
Flavorings could be 1 TBS vanilla or 1/4 tsp oil such as fiori di sicilia, or lemon or peppermint, etc.

3. Stir in saucepan over medium heat:
1 1/2 c milk
1 1/4 c heavy cream
2/3 c sugar
2 TBS light corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt

4. Heat to boiling and simmer for 4 minutes.
Mix in the slurry and return to boil.
Stir until thickened about 2 minutes.

5. Restir the cream cheese/flavorings mixture and slowly add in the hot cream mixture, whisking until smooth.

6. Pour ice cream base through a sieve into a clean container, cover and chill 4 hours or overnight.

7. Process in an ice cream maker (15-20 minutes).  Makes about 1 quart.

For chocolate ice cream, omit the flavoring in step 2. 
After finishing the ice cream base above add the following:

Combine in a small saucepan and bring to boil stirring;
1 c cocoa powder
1 c brewed dark coffee
1 c sugar

Remove from heat and stir in:
3 oz bittersweet chocolate

Add chocolate mixture to the finished ice cream base and chill as in step 6.
Process in ice cream maker as in step 7.  I do this in two batches because my ice cream maker is a 1.5 qt capacity.

Serving size is 1/2 cup.

Courtesy Lee Duberman, Ariel's Restaurant, Brookfield VT

Kaddo Bowrani (Afghan Baked Pumpkin)

For pumpkin:
1 small sugar pumpkin
1/4 c vegetable oil
3/4 c sugar
Cinnamon

Slice pumpkin and remove seeds. Peel outer skin.  (Or I often used store-bought cut-up pumpkin or squash.)  Place oil in skillet and heat to medium heat. Add pumpkin. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning once.

Remove from pan and place in small casserole.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.  Cover tightly. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until soft. Serves about 6-8 people as a first course or appetizer.

Serve warm with yogurt sauce.  Often I will use as filling in little wonton wrappers and deep fry them. For the full Afghan experience I also make some wonton fillings with leeks.

For yogurt sauce, combine until smooth:
1 c plain yogurt
1 tsp fresh-cut diced garlic
Dash salt

Courtesy of Qayum Karsai, Baltimore's The Helmand

Buttermilk Pancakes

1 c flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1egg

1 c whole-fat buttermilk

2 TBS melted butter

Mix dry ingredients and mix in wet ingredients.

Cook on griddle.

Chess Squares

1 pkg. yellow cake mix

4 eggs

1/2 cup butter, melted

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 lb. box confectioners sugar

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 Combine cake mix, 1 egg and butter.  Press into 9 x 13 pan.

 Combine softened cream cheese, confectioner’s sugar and 3 eggs.  Pour over cake mixture.

 Bake 35-40 minutes.

Chocolate-covered Matzo

4 unsalted matzo boards
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup light-brown sugar (packed)
3/4 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and lightly grease.

Arrange matzo to fit on sheet, breaking boards as necessary.

Combine butter and brown sugar in saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until boiling.  Boil for 3 minutes.

Pour butter mixture over matzo  (I add a bit of salt here) and place baking sheet in oven. Turn the oven temp down to 350 degrees and bake for 10 minutes.

Remove baking sheet from oven and sprinkle chips over.  Let stand 5 minutes then spread the melted chips.

Chop almonds and sprinkle on top of chocolate.  Chill in refrigerator until set.  Break into pieces when cooled.

Multigrain Side Dish

Use any or all of the following grains and cook according to their directions:

quinoa
pink or red rice
wild rice
faro

For 4 cups of cooked grains (2 cups uncooked):

Cool the cooked grains on a cookie sheet to prevent further cooking.
Sauté 1 sliced onion in some olive oil. Set aside.

Prepare uncooked ingredients by combining:
  grated zest and juice from 1 orange
  2 tsp lemon juice
  1/3 cup olive oil
  4 green onions, thinly sliced
  3/4 cups dried apricots, coarsely chopped
  1/3 cup shelled and toasted pistachio nuts
  salt & pepper

To serve combine the cooked grains, cooled onion and uncooked ingredients in a large serving bowl.
Serves 6