Macaroni Salad (Food Network)

Ingredients

• 2 cups dry elbow macaroni, cooked, rinsed, and drained
• 1/3 cup diced celery
• 1/4 cup minced red onion, soaked in cold water for 5 minutes, drained
• 1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup diced vine-ripened tomato (optional)
• 1/2 cup prepared mayonnaise
• 3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a large bowl combine the macaroni, celery, onion, parsley and tomato, if using. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, sugar, vinegar, sour cream and salt. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve. Store covered in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days.

Ginger Sesame Chicken

GINGER SESAME CHICKEN

liz used 3 chicken breasts and suggested doubling the sauce

Ingredients:
2 T sesame seeds
1 T water 
1 T low sodium soy sauce 
1 T light maple syrup 
1 T sherry
 1 t fresh ginger root, minced 
 1/2 t five spice powder
 2 T flour 
 1/2 t salt 
 1/4 t black pepper 
 1 lb raw boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces 
2 t sesame oil 
3 c cooked brown rice – optional*

Directions:
1.    In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the sesame seeds until lightly toasted (2-3 minutes), shaking the pan frequently. Remove toasted seeds from heat and transfer to a dish. Set skillet aside for use in step 4.

2.    In a small bowl, combine the water, soy sauce, maple syrup, wine, ginger and five spice and stir together.

3.    Place the flour, salt and pepper in a Ziploc bag and shake to mix. Add the chicken pieces and seal. Shake until chicken pieces are thoroughly coated.

4.    Add the sesame oil to the large skillet and bring to medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add the chicken pieces and cook through, flipping the chicken to brown on all sides (about 5 minutes). Pour the sauce mixture from step 2 over the chicken and stir to coat. Cook for a few more minutes until sauce is thickened and coating chicken. Add toasted sesame seeds to chicken and stir to coat (or sprinkle seeds over top of each serving). Split chicken into four servings and serve over rice if desired

Pampered Chef Balsamic Vinagrette

• 12 ounces olive oil
• 4 ounces balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 cloves pressed garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon basil
• 1/4 onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. 1
   Mix all ingredients well in the order listed.
2. 2
   Enjoy!

Manhatten Clam Chowder

Manhattan Clam Chowder
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2001

Prep Time: -- Inactive Prep Time: -- Cook Time: --
Level:
Easy
Serves:
6 to 8 main course servings

Ingredients
8 pounds quahog or large cherrystone clams, scrubbed and rinsed, opened clams discarded
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch lengths
2 cups finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
3/4 cup diced carrot
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 1/4 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
1 cup chicken stock
3 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes or 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, chopped and juices reserved
1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt
Directions
In a large stockpot bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add clams, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover, quickly stir clams well with a wooden spoon, and recover. Allow clams to cook 5 to 10 minutes longer (this will depend on the type and size of clams you are using), or until most of the clams are opened. Transfer clams to a large bowl or baking dish and strain broth through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl. (You should have about 6 cups of clam broth. If not, add enough water to bring the volume up to 6 cups.) When clams are cool enough to handle, remove them from their shells and chop into 1/2-inch pieces. Set clams and broth aside.

In a large heavy pot add bacon and render until golden and crispy. Pour off all fat except 4 tablespoons. Add onions, celery, bell pepper and carrots and cook for 10 minutes, until vegetables are softened. Do not allow to color. Add garlic, bay leaves, oregano, thyme and crushed red pepper and cook an additional 2 minutes. Increase heat to high and add potatoes, reserved clam broth, and chicken stock and bring to a boil, covered. Cook for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and the broth has thickened somewhat. Add tomatoes and continue to cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and add reserved clams and parsley and season with pepper and salt, if necessary. Allow chowder to sit for up to 1 hour to allow flavors to meld, then reheat slowly over low fire if necessary. Do not allow to boil.

Here's my changes to this recipe: I went to Wegman's got already shucked clams - for the clam brother, I used an additional jar of clam juice. I omitted the carrots and added clam base to flavor this soup up. Absolutely the best chowder I have EVER MADE.

Clam Chowder

Get 1 quart of clams and broth from clams plus 4 cups of water.
Strain broth many times to get rid of sand.
Keep clams aside to clean (most time consuming part).
Add to claim broth and water:
2 large stalks of celery cleaned and diced and put leaf part of celery in whole.
2 cups of diced baby carrots.
1-1/2 cups of diced potatoes rinsed.
3 - 8oz cans of tomato sauce
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
Bring broth and water to a simmer with vegetables, salt, pepper and sauce.  Let simmer (do not boil as you lose some of your liquid) until vegetables are tender.  Approximately 1/2 hour and then add cleaned clams into broth and vegetables for approximately 10-15 minutes.

Clams have  pocket of dark brown stuff, I remove that part and clean the rest very good.

Chicken Murphy

3-4 chicken breasts (cut into bite size pieces)
1-1/2 lbs. sweet sausage (cut into bite sized pieces) (easy to slice if slightly frozen)
1 large onion sliced
3 tablespoons minched garlic
1 cubed potato per person
1 lb sliced mushrooms
salt, pepper, adobe (blue lid)
1/2 - 1 cup goya olive oil
1-2 to 1 cup of water
optional hot pepper (last 10 minutes of cooking)

Combine all ingredients and mix in large baking dish
Bake at 400 for 1-1/2 hours or until cooked thoroughly
Serve over white rice or noodles.

Cole Slaw

1/2 cup mayo
3 tablespoons of sugar
3 tablespoons of milk
4 tablespoons of white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Mix above in medium bowl until smooth.  Add 1 package of coleslaw and for best taste, let sit for a few hours before serving.