Firecracker Chicken

When Little Devil lived at home our menu consisted of constant Asian recipes.  When we became empty nesters Mr. Devilish Dish said, "Can we take an Asian Food Hiatus?" so we did for a while and after a break I can report we are now enjoying some Asian meals now and then.  I made a version of this recipe a couple of weeks ago and while it was good, it wasn't great so I made it again last night because I wanted to tweak the sauce.  Both Mr. DD and I were really happy with the way it turned out.  Warning, it does have a little kick, hence the name Firecracker Chicken.  I'm super excited to have something that is crispy and fried that is gluten-free so it is a winning recipe all around.  I served it over rice and garnished it with some crisp green onions.  Skip the take out and make your own at home, it's that easy!

Better than Take Out!

Fry your chicken in a small amount of
oil until crispy.

Coat with sauce and bake until thick.

Garnish with green onions.

Serve over hot, steamed rice and enjoy!

The BEST Cold Brew Coffee Featuring the Toddy Cold Brew System

Back in December, my pal Ginger and I had our Annual Holiday Pop-Up Shop where Mr. Devilish Dish was kind enough to teach a workshop on how to put together a charcuterie board for the holidays.  He also demonstrated the Toddy Cold Brew System for making cold brew coffee.  We purchased this system earlier this year and he has been hooked on this coffee ever since! Iced coffee is brewed hot and served cold. ... Cold-brew coffee, however, is made by steeping coarsely ground coffee beans in room-temperature water for six to 24 hours. This creates a coffee concentrate you mix with hot water, cold water or milk.  The biggest benefit to cold brew is its acidity level. As one study points out, cold brew is almost 67 percent less acidic than hot coffee, which means it's better for your teeth as well as your stomach. There's a taste benefit to this type of coffee as well.  I'm not even a huge coffee drinker and I love this coffee.  It is so smooth and tasty, it really doesn't even require a lot of cream or sugar (bonus if you are watching your calories) BUT, I especially enjoy it as an after dinner Carajillo Cocktail when it's mixed with Tuaca or Licor 43.  One of the biggest things we enjoy about brewing our coffee at home this way is the savings.  The coffee concentrate lasts us about ten days or two weeks using only 3/4 pound of coffee, which is a big money saver compared to buying expensive coffee drinks.  I should let you know at this point, that I have not been compensated in any way by the Toddy folks, we just really like the coffee made this way and I thought I would share it with you! 

The BEST Cold Brew Coffee.
There is the finished concentrate.
Ready for hot or cold water.

We use about 3/4 pound of coffee (coarsely ground)
per batch.  Mr. Devilish Dish
likes to weigh it out.

Place the coffee in the filter.

Add water.
We use filtered or bottled water here.
Brewed coffee is only as good as the
quality of coffee beans and water
you start with! 

Now sit it aside and let it steep anywhere
from 6-24 hours.

Mr. DD prefers 24 hours.

Now you've got several days worth of
concentrate.  At this point you can introduce
hot water if you want a cup of hot coffee, we
love it with cold water as a Cold Brew Coffee Drink.
There are endless amounts of recipes on the Toddy Website,
using the concentrate.  We also like the sparkling version below!

Gran Gran's Apple Dumplings

It's January 8th, surely those New Year's Resolutions have been blown by now right?  If not, then everything in moderation because you MUST try these!  I was asked to bring a dessert to Thanksgiving Dinner and Mr. Devilish Dish said, "Anything but pumpkin or pecan pie." (I know, I know *gasp* we don't like pumpkin or pecan pie) I rattled off several suggestions and we settled on Gran Gran's Apple Dumplings.  I cannot believe in 25 years of marriage I have NEVER made these for Mr. Devilish because I've made lots of her recipes over the years including Chicken Spaghetti (one of his favorites) and of course her famous Apricot Nectar Cake.  He was so intrigued when I made this.  In fact he said, "Who came up with this dessert and then said, 'You know what would make this better?  Let's pour a can of Mountain Dew over the top!" I'm not sure what the Mountain Dew actually does for the recipe, unless it helps create the sticky, syrupy, gooey goodness of a sauce.  I can honestly say I haven't bought a Mountain Dew since the last time I made this recipe, but I never omit it. These dumplings are incredibly rich as is, but you can up the indulgence factor by adding a scoop of ice cream or homemade whipped cream.  Bonus factor they are simple, travel well, and everyone loves them.  Just like the rest of Gran Gran's recipes. 

One of Gran Gran's Favorite Recipes!
So simple and delicious!

Peel and cut the apples into 8 wedges each.
Microwave for 2 minutes to soften.

Roll each apple wedge into a crescent roll strip.
You'll have 16 total.

Combine the granulated sugar, melted butter,
cinnamon and vanilla and pour this mixture
over the rolls.

Now pour a can of Mountain Dew
over the whole thing.
I know it's crazy but it's delicious.
  

Check out that golden, delicous
goodness.  Really indulge and add a
scoop of ice cream or whipped cream!