Sweet Tea

Sweet Tea

11 Lipton regular tea bags

1 3/4 cup sugar

1 gallon good water

Add tea bags to 4c boiling water off the heat, stir and brew for 10 min. Then dissolve sugar into hot tea concentrate before    adding back into the remainder of the gallon of water. Stir if in rubbermaid pitcher, shake if using the water jug.

Pasta Alfredo with Blackened Chicken

Pasta Alfredo with Blackened Chicken

(Creamy-without-the-cream and fortified with broccoli and tomatoes, this classic restaurant-indulgence dish just became your weeknight backup, it's so easy!)

Put salted pasta water on to boil, readying

1 lb mezze penne, or your preferred pasta

Heat a grill pan or iron skillet on med high, and ventilate cooking area.

Filet 2 chicken breasts into cutlets (time saving, spicier) and season each side with some of the blackening spice mixture:

2 tsp Old Bay or seasoned salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp mixed dried herbs such as rosemary, thyme, oregano

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne

Drizzle the chicken breasts with olive oil before searing about 2 min. each side, cooking to 165f..

4 large cloves garlic, pressed or minced

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

2 cups milk

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper (for the taste of it)

1/3 cup italian-blend shredded cheese

2/3 cup grated or shredded parmesan

Add garlic to melting butter in a large non-stick skillet, and with your silicone-covered whisk (don't tear up your skillet), whisk in the flour, and cook this garlicky roux until golden over medium heat. Whisk in milk gradually, eliminating lumps as you go. (Put pasta on to boil) Season sauce and let thicken while stirring frequently. When sauce is gravy-like, remove from heat and add cheese, stirring to melt. Finally, mix into sauce:

3 Tbsp diced sun-dried tomatoes (start with packaged julienned sun-dried tomatoes for ease)

Stir into boiling pasta at t-minus 2 min:

1 head of fresh broccoli, trimmed

Drain pasta and broccoli well before combining with sauce. Slice chicken breasts against the grain just before serving.

Bacon and Shrimp Egg Rolls with Duck Sauce

Bacon-Shrimp Egg Rolls & Duck Sauce

(I serve these with a side of General Tso's chicken.)

20 egg roll wrappers

20 large raw shrimp, thawed, cleaned, and butterflied lengthwise for length

4 slices bacon, cut into bits

1/4 cup julienned carrot

(2 bags) finely sliced cabbage

6 green onions, sliced (of course no tops)

2 medium cloves garlic, same amount of fresh ginger, garlic-pressed (or minced)

2 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar

1 Tbsp mirin (more if rice vinegar isn't seasoned)

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp+ sriracha

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

This happens fast, so get it all ready first.

Fry bacon bits in large non-reactive skillet that has a lid for it. Remove cooked bacon bits from pan, reserving grease. Toss in carrots, then mound of cabbage, aromatics on top, then pour on seasonings, top with lid, and cut the heat. Stir 2 min after adding cabbage, and take off heat in no more than 4 min, with cabbage just translucent in the thin parts.

Roll 'em up: lay wrap in a diamond shape, lay a shrimp horizontally, corner to corner. Use tongs to squeeze a bit of the liquid from the filling as you fill the roll with about 3 Tbsp of cabbage, arranged same as shrimp. Now fold the two short corners over the filling, and rolling one long corner over the filling, tucking just a bit to seal as you fold the filling over onto the remaining long corner, like a burrito. Moisten the last corner with a bit of sauce or water and set aside on a wire rack or parchment paper, 1 in apart. Work quickly, and while you roll up the last few, heat 4 cups of oil in a 4qt pan to 350f. Fry them quickly to a golden brown, allowing the oil to come back to 350 between batches of 4 or 5. Watch and actively turn them gently with tongs to make sure they don't fry on one side only. Oil temp too low= overcooked shrimp. Drain on wire racks, and eat right away (or should I say, "Don't burn yourself!"), serve with sauce.

Duck Saaauce

(It seems like a lot when you make it, but not a lot when you eat it)

Whir in a little food processor:

1 c apricot-pineapple preserves

1/4 tsp sriracha

4 tsp seasoned rice vinegar, OR

1 Tbsp rice vinegar+1 tsp sweet mirin