Coconut Chicken Tenders with Apricot Dipping Sauce

I made these in the hopes of finding a new chicken recipe my daughter Maddie would like. Knowing that she loves chicken nuggets, but not knowing how she felt about coconut, I figured I had a 50/50 chance with these. Turns out the girl likes coconut and loved these! Score one for me...and I needed one, believe me. Lately it feels like that little nose has been in the locked and upright position come dinner time. Which makes me wonder, does turning your nose up and looking down your nose mean the same thing? I think Maddie has been doing both lately just to cover her bases.

COCONUT CHICKEN TENDERS

Yield: 8 servings

2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted (or canola oil)

8 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless

2 eggs

½ cup coconut milk

1-2 dashes Tabasco (to taste)

1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1 teaspoon fine salt

skewers for serving (optional)

1.      Preheat oven to 400º F. Grease a baking sheet with coconut oil.

2.      Slice each chicken thigh into 3 or 4 long pieces (chicken tenders).

3.      Whisk together the eggs, coconut milk and Tabasco.

4.      Ina separate bowl, mix together the shredded coconut, panko and salt.

5.      Dredge the chicken tenders in the egg mixture, then in coconut/panko mixture.

6.      Arrange on baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

adapted from recipes.sparkpeople.com (submitted by WANTS2B1HOTMAMA)

chicken thighs

cut into strips

dipping in egg mixture

dipping in coconut/bread crumb mixture

coated and ready to bake

coconut chicken tenders

APRICOT DIPPING SAUCE

Makes about 2 cups

1 3/4 cups apricot jam

2 tablespoons soy sauce, or to taste

3 tablespoons finely chopped scallion greens

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, or to taste

dash of Tabasco, or to taste

Melt jam in a small saucepan.Stir in remaining ingredients with salt and pepper to taste and serve warm. Can may be made 2 days ahead, cooled, then chilled, covered. Reheat over low heat, stirring.

from Gourmet

scallions and lime

everything mixed

My apricot preserves had chunks of apricot in it,
which I didn't bother straining (I just avoided
the chunks when dipping).

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Magic Cookie Bars

I basically had to make these magic cookie bars to keep myself from going to hell. Last week my friend Keith posted on facebook that my friend Eric was baking. This was very funny because I'm pretty sure Eric uses his oven as a wine rack. That post was followed by another post about how he used 1/2 pound of butter, instead of 1/2 cup (which is double the amount), which was followed by more of me laughing at Eric.

That was followed by an email from Eric asking me for advice after he made the bars a second time and they came out disgusting. That's when I found out that he was trying to make these bars because his mom always made them at Christmas...but his mom passed away last year, so basically he was trying to capture this food memory that would help him feel comforted and close to her. And that's when I realized if I didn't mail him magic cookie bars immediately that I would rot in hell. Probably not real hell. But some type of cookie hell reserved for people who laugh at other people who are trying to make their dead loved one's holiday baked goods. Either way, it was too risky. So Eric got his magic cookie bars and I escaped the fiery pits* of cookie hell, at least for now.

If I'm not back for a while...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

*I would totally roast demon s'mores in the fiery pits of cookie hell.

MAGIC COOKIE BARS

Yield: 2 dozen

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

12 oz. (2 cups) bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1 cup chopped nuts

1.      Heat oven to 350° F. Grease a 13- x 9-inch baking pan with butter or non-stick cooking spray.*

2.      Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter in small bowl. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with chocolate chips, coconut and nuts. Press down firmly with fork.

3.      Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Loosen from sides of pan while still warm; cool on wire rack. Cut into bars or diamonds.

*For perfectly cut bars, line entire pan with foil, extending foil over edge of pan. Coat lightly with non-stick cooking spray or butter. After bars have baked and cooled, lift up with edges of foil to remove from pan. Cut into bars.

(slightly reworded) from eaglebrand.com

graham cracker crumbs and 1 stick melted butter

graham cracker crust pressed into the pan

pouring on the sweetened condensed milk

sweetened condensed milk spread over crust

sprinkled with chocolate, pecans and coconut

I think I forgot to press down firmly with
a fork, but they held together anyway.

baked

running a knife along the sides while warm

cut into bars

I didn't mess with foil and they came out easily.

magic cookie bars

I'd also like to add that I thought these bars were sickeningly sweet. But my family loved them. And I have to admit, the extreme sweetness didn't keep me from picking at them every time I walked through the kitchen for the past three days.
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Amaretto Chunk Cookies

I hope if you're a mother that you're reading this post bright and early in the morning. Because that means you still have time to guilt your family into whipping up a batch of these tasty cookies for you (while you catch up on the back log on your dvr, in between snacking on popcorn and napping). Or is that just my idea of the perfect Mother's Day? It's not as selfish as it sounds (I'll share the cookies with everyone after they bake them).

AMARETTO CHUNK COOKIES

Yield: 4 dozen

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon amaretto liqueur

2 teaspoons almond extract

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1 cup sliced almonds

1.      Preheat oven to 375º F.

2.      On waxed paper, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3.      In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat butter and sugars until creamy. Beat in eggs, amaretto, and extract. Reduce speed to low; beat in flour mixture just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips, coconut, and almonds.

4.      Drop dough by heaping tablespoons, 2 inches apart, on ungreased large cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden around edges. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool.

5.      Repeat with remaining dough. Store cookies in tightly covered container at room temperature up to 1 week or in freezer up to 3 months.

from Bread and Chocolate in St. Paul, MN (published in Good Housekeeping, Oct. 2005).

butter and sugars

creamed

eggs, amaretto and almond extract added

I really enjoyed the subtle amaretto/almond flavor in
these cookies. It's a great variation on the traditional
chocolate chip cookie.

mixed

dry ingredients added

mixed

almonds, coconut and chocolate added

dough all mixed

raw dough balls

baked cookies

These cookies are softer than most, so if you prefer
your cookies crunchy, you should bake them longer/darker.

amaretto chunk cookie

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Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

I didn't expect to love this soup so much, but it kind of blew me away. The flavors were so fresh and bold. It was so good that for a brief moment, I could close my eyes and pretend I was at a Thai restaurant, a very casual one where I get to wear my Homer Simpson slippers. This soup had just the right amount of heat for me too (which means if you like things really spicy, you should probably pump up the volume when you make it). Of course it helped that I avoided actually swallowing any of the hot pepper pieces. So if you eat those, you'll be in business (I, on the other hand, would be filing bankruptcy on behalf of my aching tongue).

THAI COCONUT CHICKEN SOUP

Serves 6

2 (14 oz.) cans light unsweetened coconut milk

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms

3 stalks lemongrass, cut in half vertically and then into 4- to 5-inch pieces

1/4 cup fish sauce (nam pla)

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

1 serrano chili (or other hot pepper), sliced into rounds

1 tablespoon jaggery/coconut palm sugar (can substitute brown sugar)

2 teaspoons chili sauce (such as sambal or sriracha)

8 skinless boneless chicken thighs, thinly sliced

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

1/4 cup thinly sliced Thai basil (or basil)

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1.      Combine coconut milk, broth, mushrooms, lemongrass, fish sauce, ginger, garlic, hot pepper, palm sugar and chili sauce in large saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes to blend flavors.

2.      Add chicken; simmer until cooked through, about 5 minutes.

3.      Mix in green onions, basil and lime juice.

4.      Remove lemongrass before serving (or tell your guests not to eat it).

adapted from Bon Appétit, June 1998

lemongrass

Occasionally I see this at my supermarket, but I'm lucky
enough to live near a little produce store that sells a lot of
Asian and Latin ingredients. Their lemongrass is always
better than what they sell at the grocery store.

I chopped mine about 2"-3", but I recommend
chopping it 4"-5" (just to make it easier to remove).

ginger and jalapeño pepper (I couldn't find a serrano)

I was scared if I cut my pepper into rings and kept the
seeds/membranes, the soup would be too spicy for me.
So instead of rings, I just cut mine into large pieces.

adding fish sauce to coconut milk, lemongrass, garlic and ginger

mushrooms, sambal and hot pepper added

The mushrooms could have been sliced thinner, but I
bought them already sliced and wasn't about to try to slice the
slices thinner (I might as well stick my fingers in the paper
shredder and be done with it). I know I added the broth too,
but I think I forgot to take a photo of that.

jaggery

I found this in the international section of my supermarket.

adding the jaggery

slicing the chicken

I could have sliced the chicken thinner
too, but it's hard (that stuff is slippery).
I bet this soup would taste good with tofu too.

adding the chicken (most of it sank)

chopping scallions

lime and basil leaves

adding the scallions

basil and lime juice added

 mixed and ready

ladling

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