Daring Bakers: Vols-au-Vent


The September 2009 Daring Bakers’ Challenge has been chosen by Steph of a whisk and a spoon. Steph chose Vols-au-Vent, which we are pretty sure in French means, “After one bite we could die and go to heaven!”

Get ready for a long post……….

I have made laminated dough in the past. In fact, my first post on this blog was about my cherry danish braid. This dough was different because there was no yeast involved. Here are a few photos showing what I did…

Dough ball from my first attempt (before butter was added)

For this challenge, I had to make this dough twice because I accidentally put too much butter in the dough. That is why my pastries didn’t lift the way they were supposed to. They were still very good, just too buttery.

Subsequent process photos are from my second attempt.

About to pour the ice water into the mixer. A food processor is on my Christmas wish list (mom! hint. hint.)

Shaped dough from my first attempt.

The second time around, I halved the recipe. I put in the right amount of butter this time, but the dough looked a bit more crumbly than the first time.

It smoothed out later, though. Most of the prep photos you see are from my second round.

I moved my dining/prep table to the window so that I could take pictures of most of the steps.

Making sure I brush off excess flour from the rolled dough between folds.

After making the turns, I stopped taking pictures since it all looked the same.However, at one point, the butter started to melt and stuck to the table.

In order to remedy the problem, I put flour on the buttery bits, patted it, brushed off the excess flour, and then placed the dough in the refrigerator for a longer period of time.

Marking four turns. Two more to go!

Cutting the prepared dough in half. The layers don’t look very good…I was kind of scared at this point.

I am obsessed with the process of making laminated dough. I watched a bunch of youtube videos and a bunch of pictures even though I knew what to do already. It is so fascinating watching the pastry come together and seeing the end result.

The rest of the dough is sitting in the freezer and probably will be sitting there until it’s no longer good just like the danish dough (that is still in the freezer! I need to get that out of there.).

Steps for making this shaped pastry.

Eating puff pastry is another story. I’m not crazy about eating it even though it is so good. I guess I like cakes, cookies, and pies more.

Dough getting ready to be cut, shaped, and baked.

Despite my fears, the taste of both attempts was exceptional. That is most important in my book!

The pastries on the brown plate come from my first attempt. I placed homemade lemon-lime, cream cheese curd (recipe below) on top with homemade strawberry topping/jam.



Also, after making all of these pastries, I’m really tired of the stuff haha. Good thing, I only made two or three of them at a time.

These danishes on the black sheet are from my second attempt. I placed more of the lemon-lime, cream cheese curd on top with homemade strawberry topping/jam.

The pastries on the white plate also come from my second attempt after sitting in the freezer for a few days. I wanted to see if I could take better pics, but yeah, that didn’t happen. For the topping, I placed a scoop of my Mexican Ice cream, whipped cream, and hot fudge (that’s no longer smooth as it was when I made it a few weeks ago).

All in all, the second bit of dough produced a much better pastry. I still wasn’t able to make it look as pretty as the others I’ve seen. Thanks for the great challenge, Steph!

Lemon-Lime Curd with Cream Cheese

adapted from The Knead for Bread



1/4 cup butter

3 large eggs

½ cup sugar

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (I used 3 limes)

1/2 cup of Mascarpone Cheese (I used cream cheese)

Finely grated zest from 1 limes

Add a cup of water to a pot and bring to a simmer. Place the eggs, sugar, lime zest and lime juice into a metal bowl and whisk together. Place the bowl over the simmering pot of water and whisk till the mixture becomes thick and creamy. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Now, add the Mascarpone Cheese and blend together. Pour into a clean container and place plastic wrap on top. Be sure the wrap is touching the top of the curd. This will help to prevent a crust from forming. Place into the fridge for at least 3 hours to overnight.

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Turkey Bolognese Sauce & Whole Wheat Pasta

This past weekend, I decided to make more homemade pasta and the same bolognese sauce I have made for a few months now. I have made this sauce so much now that I didn’t need to look at the recipe this time around.

I started up the sauce as soon as I woke up so that it could simmer for 2-3 hours without affecting my hunger levels. I used two pounds of lean turkey instead of beef to make the sauce healthier. I seasoned the turkey well with Lawry’s Seasoning Salt before adding it in the pot. After adding all of the other seasonings in the sauce, you will never know that the meat was turkey. Making this sauce is the best way to cook ground turkey.

While the sauce simmered, I made the pasta. I used a different recipe for this pasta than the one I used in the old post. With the addition of the whole wheat, the dough was harder to roll. I really need to work on making the dough thinner; they keep coming out too thick. Either way, the pasta tastes great.

I made the full recipe so that I could have leftover pasta to eat for the entire week. I still have sauce left but sadly there’s no more homemade pasta. I had to use the store-bought stuff today. Even after eating this dish for about four or five days in a row, I am still not tired of it. I still have enough for one or two more days!

Both pasta recipes yielded basically the same result in taste and texture. I didn’t notice a difference in taste outside of the addition of the wheat flour. I didn’t use white wheat flour; I used the regular wheat flour.

Homemade Wheat Pasta
adapted from Big Red Kitchen


4 large eggs
scant amount of water
2 1/2 cups unbleached AP flour
1 cup whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour

In a liquid measuring cup break eggs and whisk lightly. Add enough water to equal one cup liquid (with four eggs, I had almost exactly 1 cup). In a stand up mixer or on the countertop with your hands, mix the egg mixture with the flours until it pulls together into a dough. Turn onto a flour surface, knead lightly and cover with plastic wrap and let rest at least ten minutes. Then cut into pasta using whatever machine you like- electric, hand crack, or the old-fashioned way of rolling out and hand cutting. Use noodles immediately or dry slightly and then place in boiling water and cook 3-5 minutes or until al dente. Pasta not cooked immediately can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for one week or frozen I guess up to 6 months. (I hung my pasta on hangers for a few hours before storing the pasta.)

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Because I Can…Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Buttercream

The frosting in the middle is a bit brownish because it’s a combination of leftover vanilla and chocolate buttercream frosting I made a few weeks ago. I made more vanilla frosting yesterday for the outside of the cake.

Yep. I made this cake just because I can and because I was craving it. I was going to half the recipe like I always do, but I changed my mind so that I could create decent pictures of two layers on this blog. Ahh, the sacrifices I make for you all! haha

Since I have a lot of cake left, I will be relying on my neighbor and his unending appetite for my baked goods. I am sure he will be more than pleased to get half of this yummy cake. [*UPDATE* While typing this post, I called my neighbor, and he came to pick up a huge chunk of this cake. Even though I knew I couldn’t eat it all and had some leftover here, I couldn’t help but feel a twang of pain watching all of that moist cake leave my apartment LOL.]

Back to this cake…O-M-G. This became my go-to recipe for chocolate cake since I first tried it a few months ago. I noticed the same thing is true for other food bloggers who have been exposed to this addicting cake recipe. It is so moist, intense, and chocolaty. I enhanced the flavor by adding instant ground coffee and rigged-up buttermilk (aka milk + lemon juice). Since I don’t normally have whole milk in my house, I had to use a combination of half-n-half and skim milk so that it wouldn’t come out too watery.

Anyway, if you’ve never tried out this chocolate cake recipe, please do. It will indubitably become your go-to recipe as well. Note: The instructions for this cake are different from those of most cake recipes, so don’t start with creaming the fat and sugar together.

Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake
adapted by Hershey’s
(this recipe is also on the back of the Hershey’s cocoa canister)

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tsp instant coffee granules or espresso powder (my addition)
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (or whole milk + 1Tbsp lemon juice after it sits for 3-5 minutes)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans, and flip over onto wire racks. Cool completely. 10 to 12 servings.

VARIATIONS:
ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

Vanilla Buttercream
halved and adapted by The Repressed Pastry Chef

1/2 cup unsalted, room temperature butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup shortening
3 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp (optional) almond extract (my addition)
3-4 Tbsp whole or 2% milk (I used half-n-half and skim milk)

Beat butter and shortening until fairly smooth (2-3 minutes). Add in the sugar 1/2 cup – 1 cup at a time so that it won’t fly everywhere. Add in the extracts. Then add in the milk a Tbsp at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

Enjoy!

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Mexican Feast Part 6: Fajitas de pollo/Chicken Fajitas

Fajitas de pollo. YUM! I honestly thought the steak fajitas were going to be better than these, but I was proven wrong. Usually, no matter how much I season chicken, I still think beef tastes better. This time, however, the chicken was perfect, and I used less seasoning than I did with the steak fajitas. Furthermore, I did not marinate the chicken as I did with the steak.

I had to make another batch of flour tortillas for this dish. However, I still had leftovers of arroz mexicano, frijoles refritos, grated cheese, and pico de gallo.

Again, I don’t have a recipe for this chicken. I just cut up the chicken, seasoned it with Lawry’s Seasoning Salt, cumin, homemade taco seasoning, and freshly-ground peppercorn. I then put olive oil in the cast-iron pan, threw in some onions and garlic. After allowing it to cook for awhile, I added in the seasoned chicken and cooked it until it looked ready. Then, I added in some chopped cilantro.

This dish was beyond delicious. I cannot wait to make it again. It’s so simple and quick to make; I don’t know why I’ve never made it before.

Maybe next time I can take some photos of them that are not overexposed hehe. Interestingly, it has been overcast and/or rainy ever since that day.

Well, this marks the last dish of my Mexican Feast series; I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Mexican Feast Part 5: Fajitas de bistec/Steak Fajitas

Umm, steak fajitas. As I said before, the steak was good, but the warm tortillas were definitely the star of the show. I used a marinade that came from two different websites. It mainly consisted of cilantro, lime juice, salt, chili powder, and other ingredients. It was still lacking in flavor for my taste. I’m not going to bother posting the recipe for the steak since it didn’t taste all that great, but I’ve included the link to one of the marinade varieties I used below. Following tradition, I used skirt steak and then grilled the steak on a cast-iron skillet for about 5 minutes per side. I prefer almost well-done to burnt meat, so I wasn’t happy to see the red inside. However, I’ve noticed that most foodies like their steak that way. Next time I will add more seasoning to my marinade and while it’s in the skillet. I will also cook the meat for 6 to 7 minutes.

When you have to depend on the side ingredients for a good fajita (or would you technically just call this a steak taco since I don’t like red or green peppers?), then something is wrong.

The chicken fajitas I made a few days later were a whole ‘nother story. I will talk about those next. YUM!

One of the marinades I used for the fajitas de bistec (recipe in Spanish).

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Mexican Feast Part 4: Pico de gallo/Rooster’s Beak

I bet you didn’t know that “Pico de gallo” literally translates as “beak of a rooster”! Okay, maybe a few of you did know. No matter how strange the name may seem, pico de gallo is yummy and refreshing. I can’t believe I forgot to mention that it was included in my Mexican Feast! It’s very easy to make, and there are many recipes out there for this stuff.

A basic, traditional pico de gallo just involves cutting up roma tomatoes, green onions (or regular onions for the non-traditional version; I used the latter because I was out of the green stuff), serrano (or jalapeño) peppers, and lime juice.

I made a very small version for this feast, so I only needed one serrano, one lime, and two roma tomatoes. I had some onions already cut up in the refrigerator, so I just grabbed a small handful. Many people take the seeds out of their tomatoes before placing them into the salsa, but I really don’t care if they’re there or not. Make this stuff with fresh ingredients; it’s the only way. 🙂

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Mexican Feast Part 3: Arroz mexicano/Mexican Rice

The day I took this picture, it was a rainy, dreary day. So, I tried taking more photos of the rice the next day, but it was almost just as dreary as the previous day. Oh well, the rice still tasted really good.

I’ve made this recipe three times now. It is my go-to recipe for Arroz Mexicano. It is so easy to make that I didn’t need to look at the recipe the second time I made it.

You will need a blender and a saucepan to make this dish. However, if you don’t have the former, it is still doable with a can of crushed tomatoes, which is how I made it this time around. If you want to see better, brighter pictures of this yummy dish, make sure you click on the link to the source of the recipe. (Note: I think the site is down temporarily. Check back later.)

Arroz Mexicano/Mexican Rice
adapted from What’s Cooking
(can be doubled easily)

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 cup of white or brown rice
2-3 roma tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped onions
1-2 cloves of garlic
salt to taste (start out with 1 tsp)
small handful of cilantro
1-2 cups of chicken broth

Pour about 2-3 Tbsp of oil in a saucepan. When hot, place the rice in the saucepan and allow it to brown. While the rice is cooking, blend the tomatoes, onions, garlic, salt, and cilantro in a blender for a few seconds. Once blended, pour in the chicken broth until you reach 2 cups. Then blend the mixture again.

Once blended, pour the tomato mixture in the saucepan over the rice and stir. Cover the rice mixture and allow to cook for 15 minutes. Sprinkle some more chopped cilantro on top (optional). Enjoy! ¡Buen provecho!

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

*UPDATED* Mexican Feast Part 2: Tortillas de harina/Flour Tortillas

The other day, I introduced the first part of my Mexican Feast, which were cheesy frijoles refritos or refried beans. In that post, I promised to present these flour tortillas next.
Ummmmm, flour tortillas. I wish I could make another batch of these babies. They are so good. In fact, they were the star of the entire Mexican Feast (even more so than the steak and the chicken!). They were soft and flavorful. They even tasted just as good the next day after spending the night in the refrigerator. They were so good that I would sneak out a tortilla, put butter on it, roll it up like the ones pictured, and gobble it up. So freaking good!

Whenever I make Mexican dishes, I take advantage of my multilingual abilities by looking at recetas (recipes) from Mexico. I have made flour tortillas before, but they weren’t nearly as good as these were. I don’t know why these tasted so much better since the ingredients were basically the same. The procedure was slightly different, though.

I didn’t find this recipe on a blog or a cookbook; I found it on YouTube! The recipe is written in Spanish, so I translated it below for the non-Spanish speakers out there. You’re welcome. 🙂
With this recipe, you don’t have to cut in the lard or shortening. Also, you don’t need to use much flour to roll out the masa (dough). Using a Silpat makes the process even easier. Enjoy!

Tortillas de harina/Flour Tortillas
Translated recipe from Blanca Díaz
(I highly suggest you watch the detailed video of her making the tortillas.)


*UPDATE* I’ve been making these tortillas quite often now, and sometimes they come out perfectly, and sometimes they came out just okay. Here are some tips, if you’re planning on making these:

The tortillas should be soft and bubbly. I think the key to a good tortilla is to mix/stir the dry ingredients (even though she stated not to do so), and break in the shortening. Next start the mixer and then add the hot water as it mixes. The dough should be wet but not too wet (I usually use all of the water in the recipe). Don’t forget to let the dough sit for 30 minutes before rolling the dough. You should be able to roll it in a ball easily. I also add an extra 1/2 tsp of baking powder to ensure rise. Also, don’t let it heat up too long the first time you put it on the comal or skillet. The first exposure to heat is the most important part, I think. Flip it over as soon as you see a few bubbles.

Make ahead: Roll out all the dough balls and place between wax paper. Then place the wax papered tortillas in a freezer bag for later use. When ready to make them, just take them out and heat them on the comal or skillet. *UPDATE OVER!* Go HERE for make-ahead photos and more information!

3 ½ cups of AP flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
100 gr (7/8 cups or a little less than 1 cup) of lard or shortening, cut into small pieces (I didn’t cut it into pieces, and it was fine)
¾ to 1 cup of very hot water (almost boiling)

1. Place the flour in a bowl.

2. Add the salt, baking powder, and fat without stirring.

3. Little by little, pour the very hot water over the ingredients and mix them with your hands (or dough attachment in your stand mixer), measuring the quantity of water until you reach the desired texture. It should be moist and soft, but not sticky.

4. Knead/Mix the dough for approximately 5 minutes, and form a ball.

5. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel, and allow it to rest inside of the bowl for 15 to 20 minutes.

6. Form small balls weighing approximately 40 grams each (if you don’t have a scale, the balls should be more or less the size of a ping-pong or golf ball). Cover the little balls again with the towel as you roll each one out.

7. Place one of the balls on top of a clean surface, and press down on it lightly with your fingers.

8. Roll out the little ball until you form an oval. Lift up the oval and turn it to the right 45 degrees, and roll it out again. Turn it 45 degrees again to the right until you creat a circle of the desired size.

9. Place the tortilla on a hot comal, griddle pan, or cast-iron skillet until it forms small bubbles on the uncooked side of the tortilla. Turn over the tortilla, and wait until it inflates a bit. Turn it again and with a spatula, press on it until the air inside goes out and stops inflating (I didn’t do this last part because it stops puffing up once you remove it from the heat).

10. Store the tortillas in tortilla holder, covered container, or wrapped in a towel. You could also keep it warm in a low-temperature oven. These tortillas can be reheated the next day; store them in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Yields 18-20 tortillas; this recipe can be halved easily.

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Mexican Feast Part 1: Frijoles refritos/Refried Beans

I decided to make a full, savory, “authentic”, Mexican meal this weekend. So, for a few days, and depending on how well the photos come out, I will try to post everything I made. To start off, I made Steak fajitas, Mexican rice, flour tortillas, and refried beans. Surprisingly, I didn’t make dessert. I guess I could do that later. I did make lemon/lime curd with cream cheese (will blog about this much later), but I didn’t make it for the purposes of this feast. Anyway, everything came out almost perfectly. With the exception of the steak, I had made all of these items before. I did try a new recipe for the flour tortillas, and it will now forever be my go-to recipe. I will blog about them next.

The refried beans are so good. I usually put Monterey Jack on the beans to make them more authentic, but the little I had left was starting to mold. By the time I had scraped all the white film off of the cheese, there was nothing but a nob of cheese left. So, instead, I put some grated Colby and Monterey Jack cheese blend on top. I also added cumin in the beans to give off that more authentic flavor and smell.

I have made these beans three or four times now. The first three times were for my girlfriend who was born in Mexico City. She loved this dish, so I knew it was a keeper from then on.

I hope you make this dish soon. There is no need to soak the beans. If you don’t have a pressure cooker (like me), you just boil the beans for 2.5 hours, and then transfer them to the grilled, translucent onions. It is really easy to make. Also, don’t be afraid of the lard. It has less transfat than butter, so it really isn’t as bad as some people think it is. I’m sure we’ve eaten a lot worse in restaurants since we don’t know what is going on in some of those kitchens. If you’re still hesitant to try lard, which makes the dish more authentic, there are other options mentioned in the recipe.

adapted from Simply Recipes
  • 2 1/2 cups of dry pinto beans (about 1 lb or 450gm)
  • 3 quarts of water
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)
  • 2 Tbsp pork lard, bacon fat, or olive oil
  • 1/4 cup water
  • Salt to taste
  • Cumin to taste (I put in about 1 tsp to a HALVED recipe)
  • Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese (optional)
  1. Rinse the beans in water and remove any small stones, pieces of dirt, or bad beans.
  2. Cook the beans in water.
  3. Pressure Cooker method Put beans into a 4 quart pressure cooker with a 15 lb weight. Fill up the pressure cooker with water, up to the line that indicates the capacity for the pot. Cook for 30-35 minutes – until the beans are soft and the skins are barely breaking open.
  4. Regular method Put beans into a pot and cover beans with at least 3 inches of water – about 3 quarts for 2 1/2 cups of dry beans. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to simmer, covered, for about 2 1/2 hours. The cooking time will vary depending on the batch of beans you have. The beans are done when they are soft and the skin is just beginning to break open.
  5. Strain the beans from the cooking water.
  6. Add the onions and lard/fat/oil to a wide, sturdy (not with a flimsy stick-free lining) frying pan on medium high heat.
  7. Cook onions until translucent.
  8. Add the strained beans and about a 1/4 cup of water to the pan (I use the bean water by straining the beans and allowing its juice to pour into a liquid measuring cup).
  9. Using a potato masher, mash the beans in the pan, while you are cooking them, until they are a rough purée. Add more water if necessary to keep the fried beans from getting too dried out.
  10. Add salt and cumin to taste.
  11. Add a few slices of Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese, or some (1/2 cup) grated cheddar cheese if you want.
  12. When beans are heated through (and optional cheese melted) the beans are ready to serve.
Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Sweet & Sour Chicken

I was in the mood for Chinese food on Labor Day. Not burgers. Not BBQ. Just Chinese food. I think most Southerners would find that sacrilegious, but since I live alone, I can basically do what I want without anyone knowing…well, except for anyone who reads my blog :).

Anyway, I defrosted a package of already cut-up chicken breasts and decided to make Sweet & Sour Chicken. While I was in the mood for this dish, I wasn’t in the mood to cook, especially something that requires frying chicken in oil. I’m not very crazy about fried food. I rarely crave it with the exception of Chinese food and french fries. I guess it’s because I don’t feel like the food is fried in Chinese dishes compared to the salient, fried taste I feel on my tongue when I eat fried chicken or fried mozzarella, for instance. I would guess that the use of cornstarch in lieu of flour lends to that “doesn’t-taste-fried” feeling.

I have made this dish before using the same recipe from My Kitchen Café. In fact, this recipe is one of her most popular recipes on her site. I made the dish with Jasmine rice. The rice did not come out as fluffy as regular, white rice, but it was still good. I should have cut up the chicken pieces a bit more instead of just using them straight out of the package, but their sizes did not affect the yummy flavor of this dish.

Above and below: One of two beautiful pairs of chopsticks my girlfriend brought from Korea when she was in the military. I still haven’t used the other pair (not pictured); I hope to preserve it in its unused state forever.
Yes, the wrapper is still on the top end of the sticks. I’ve used these sticks for years without taking it off. 🙂

I love this dish. I may not like frying the chicken, but I love the fact that I don’t have to drive out for substandard Chinese food because this city is not known for good Chinese restaurants. Note: if you like the sauce, I suggest making a double amount, just in case. I halved this recipe, so I used the regular amount and divided it into two (one on top of the chicken before placing it in the oven; other half on the side).

Tip : I suggest making the sauce first. You could also make the sauce ahead of time, and prepare the chicken around 45 mins to 1 hour before dinnertime. Enjoy!

Chicken:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil (or any other neutral oil)

Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.

Sweet & Sour Sauce:

¾ cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes (I do this only once). If you like extra sauce, make another batch of sauce and bring it to a boil on the stovetop. Stir constantly and let cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced – about 6-8 minutes.

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com