The Garden of Immortal Peaches

I found this Mojito Chicken recipe a few weeks ago and have been waiting for a day that wasn't too busy to make it because it has a lot of steps and a lot of marinating time. It did have a lot of mini-recipes, but actually it wasn't as labor intensive as I thought it'd be. There are 3 main parts/steps here: the dry rub, the marinade, and the glaze.

The major change I made was that I used dark tequila in place of the rum that the recipe called for. It was really good! I prefer tequila to rum anyways. Instead of using a whole chicken, I used a few drumsticks and thighs. In the marinade, I used some Sunny D to substitute for the OJ. Also, instead of squeezing fresh limes, I added 5 tablespoons of bottled lime juice. I bet it would be even better if you added lime zest! In the Mojito Glaze, I only added about half of the water and cornstarch mixture because it was just getting a little too thick.

Searing the chicken skin side down was absolutely essential! It just created such an awesome crust and flavor. I seared it in a skillet and just threw the entire thing into the oven. I wouldn't skip any of the steps because the end result was 100% restaurant quality.

The chicken was served with this Cilantro-Lime Rice recipe:

Smiles for breakfast.















Beef, Sausage & Sam Adam's Oktoberfest Chili



















Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
  
• 1/2 pound Italian sausage
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 small can tomato sauce
  
• 1 medium white onion, chopped
  
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 chopped green bell pepper
• 1-1/2 teaspoons bacon bits
• 2 cubes beef bouillon
• 1 bottle beer (I used seasonal Oktoberfest)
  
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
  
• 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/2 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble the ground beef and sausage into the hot pan, and cook until evenly browned. Drain off excess grease.
2. Pour in the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Add the onion, celery, green bell pepper, bacon bits, bouillon, and beer. Season with chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, oregano, cumin, hot pepper sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and sugar. Stir to blend, then cover and simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. After 2 hours, taste, and adjust salt, pepper, and chili powder if necessary. The longer the chili simmers, the better it will taste. Remove from heat and serve.
4. To serve, (optional) top with shredded cheddar cheese, raw diced onions, chopped green onions, dollop of sour cream, sliced jalapeños.

Tuna Onigiri =)















Roasted Butternut Squash with Craisins & Rosemary Mashed Potatoes















Thai Chicken Meat Balls (forgot to shoot the finished product)

Cakey, fluffy, limey cookies!
Below is the recipe I actually used, slightly modified from the original.

Ingredients:

• 4 teaspoons lime juice
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• zest of 2 limes
  
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/3 cup white sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a small bowl, combine the 4 teaspoons of lime juice with the milk, let stand for 5 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the lime zest and milk mixture. Combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda, blend into the creamed mixture. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges are light brown. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. To make the glaze, stir together the remaining lime juice and sugar. Brush onto cooled cookies.

I doubled the lime juice in the batter, increased the 2 tsp. of lime zest to "zest of 2 limes". Also, instead of using white sugar in the glaze, I decided to use powdered sugar to make it smoother. Then I increased the amount from 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup (it was a tad too sour).

In step 2 when the instructions say it's supposed to get light and fluffy, it didn't for me. It only became that way after I started adding the flour to the mixture. But all else progressed as it should have. Since it told me to bake for 8-10 minutes, I left it in the oven for exactly 9, and it was PERFECT.

*These changes are already incorporated into the recipe written above. Original recipe is in the link.

Rosh Hashanah dinner at Jon's parents' last night started with a plate of apples served with honey. I am hooked!