Spicy Chicken and Lettuce Wraps

So this recipe is from my Foodnetwork Magazine from its Almost Famous section that copycats a famous restaurant dish. So this is copying Pei Wei's lettuce wraps. It has diced chicken instead of ground chicken and mine wasn't quite as spicy as Pei Wei's. I posted the full recipe, but I never follow exactly what it says. Mine has no sesame oil (too expensive), water chestnuts or mushrooms since that's how we normally order it.

The verdict: I liked it and would make it again. Michael thought the flavor was just like Pei Wei's but the texture was different (maybe next time I'll use ground chicken). The boys ate it pretty, so overall I'd say it was a success.

Ingredients
For the Chicken:
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, diced
For the Stir-Fry Sauce:
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons cornstarch
For the Noodles:
2 bundles cellophane noodles
Peanut oil, for frying
For the Stir-Fry:
4 tablespoons peanut oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced peeled ginger
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
4 scallions; 2 minced, 2 cut into 1-inch pieces
Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms,stemmed and diced
3/4 cup diced water chestnuts
Small lettuce leaves, for serving
Soy sauce, chili paste and/or hot mustard, for serving
Directions
Prepare the chicken: Whisk the egg white, cornstarch and rice wine in a bowl. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
Make the stir-fry sauce: Whisk 1/3 cup water, the oyster, hoisin and soy sauces, the rice wine and sesame oil in a bowl, then whisk in the cornstarch until dissolved.
Fry the noodles: Pull the noodles apart into sections. Heat 3/4 inch peanut oil in a medium saucepan until a deep-fry thermometer registers 380 degrees F. Working in batches, press the noodles into the oil with a spatula until they puff, 5 to 10 seconds. Drain on paper towels.
Make the stir-fry: Heat 2 tablespoons peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons peanut oil to the skillet; when almost smoking, stir in the garlic, ginger, jalapeno and minced scallions, then add 1/2 teaspoon salt and the sugar and stir-fry 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms, water chestnuts and scallion pieces and stir-fry 2 minutes. Add the stir-fry sauce and chicken and cook 1 minute.
Make a bed of noodles on a platter and top with the chicken mixture. Serve the noodles and stir-fry with lettuce leaves and soy sauce for dipping.

Pizza Potatoes

This isn't as much as a recipe as it is an idea. My Foodnetwork magazine this past month had an insert for different ways to make stuffed potatoes. This looked like the option my family would eat best.

Pizza Potato

Bake a russet potato (whichever way you prefer in the oven, microwave ect.)

Split it down the center and scoop out the insides

Mix the potato flesh with tomato sauce or your favorite pizza sauce

Add in pepperonis, mozzarella and parmesan cheese

Fill the potato skin back up and top with additional mozzarella cheese

Put potato under the broiler for about 5 minutes, until brown and bubbly

So the verdict: I thought they were pretty good, it was a quick easy dinner to put together I served it with a salad and some sourdough bread. Michael seemed to like it pretty well and ate all of his potato. Ethan and Joshua both gave it stink face until I forced them to eat a few bites and then they liked it ok. They liked the cheesy bites, and ate about half of their potatoes.

The Judges

I wanted to introduce the judges first before I added any recipes, since they will be providing some of the feedback.

#1 is Michael, aka the husband, he is notoriously known as a very picky eater. He genuinely enjoys my cooking though and has made much progress over the years. He is still apprehensive to try new things but usually I stick to new recipes that at least sound like something he will like.

#2 Joshua, the snacker. He has trouble eating real food at dinnertime. He loves to have snacks and desserts throughout the day. Although he does like a few foods like mushrooms that the other guys won't touch.

#3 Ethan, and yet another picky eater. There are many foods Ethan will not touch, mostly because he thinks he doesn't like them. Although Ethan has started cleaning his plate at dinnertime (when it is foods he likes), which is good, his skinny body could use a few calories.

#4 Avery, a soon to be judge, hopefully if she starts eating any foods soon. She is still just loving her milk and not loving any solids we try but soon she'll have to eat something more.