Infused Sugar

I love making and using infused sugar. The wonderful uses of infused sugar are endless. It adds a depth of flavor to baked goods, whether that be a poundcake, scones, or cookies. A teaspoon in a cup of tea or coffee adds a little hint of flavor to the drink. It can be used to garnish the rim of a cocktail. They are easy to do and make wonderful gifts for your favorite baker.

For years I have kept a canister of vanilla sugar on my counter.  I make homemade vanilla extract.  I dry the used vanilla beans and put in my sugar canister.  Anytime I am making a recipe that calls for vanilla and sugar I almost always go to my canister.  When it starts getting low, I just add more sugar.

There are many kinds of infused sugars to be made; lavender, citrus, herbal (salt can also be infused!)  Recently I was given a lot of lemons and oranges.  Some of them went into lemon and orange infused sugar. Oh, they smell so good! I plan to use some in a few baked goods this weekend.

Below is the basic recipe to create citrus sugars; zest amounts can be adjusted depending on the size of your produce. I always seem to go by "more is better", but adjust to your taste buds.

Orange sugar: 2 cups of sugar + the zest of one orange

Lemon sugar: 2 cups of sugar + the zest of 2 lemons

Lime sugar: 2 cups of sugar + the zest of 3 limes

Use a zester to zest the outer part of the skin, being careful not to get into the white pith area. Toss into a food processor bowl with 1 cup of the sugar, pulse a few times until you have uniform pieces of zest in the sugar. Add the rest of the sugar and pulse until combined.

Lay the sugar mixture out on a baking sheet for a few hours until it has dried out.

Store in a jar (I use my favorite mason jars).

I was knee-deep in oranges the other night, orange infused sugar is drying on the cookie sheet.

Orange Crescent Rolls

These little crescent-shaped rolls are a great morning coffee break treat.  They aren't as sweet and gooey as a cinnamon roll but pack a lot of orange flavor. The glaze is especially good; sour cream isn't a normal glaze ingredient but it adds a lot of richness to the glaze. One of my food board friends makes these every year for her family's Christmas brunch.  She got the recipe years ago from a neighbor.  They call it orange coffee cake, I'm not sure why as the rolls don't resemble any coffee cake I've ever had. Nonetheless, they are fabulous!

Whenever I make a yeast breakfast dough I always try to make the dough the night before.  I like my sleep and getting up 2-3 hours early to get dough rising isn't my idea of a fun time. Instead I make the dough the night before.  I do all the steps until the final rise, at that point I put the yeast dough in the refrigerator.  Even though the fridge is cool, the yeast dough will do a slow rise.  In the morning I take it out and let it come to room temp, usually a half hour to 45 minutes, and the dough continues to rise.  There is no compromise in the dough and it's definitely a time saver.

After the first rise, the dough is rolled out into a circle and spread with melted butter and a sugar-orange rind-coconut mixture.  The dough is cut into triangles and each one rolled into a crescent shape. They are very easy to do!

My two pans of orange rolls went to the office.  I took one in my car and my husband took the other. We both laughed at the fact that we each had two rolls missing by the time we got to the office.  The smell was too intoxicating and we couldn't resist eating a few on our trip! They disappear fast!

 Orange Crescent Rolls

I package yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup sugar, divided
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 3/4 cups flour
1 cup coconut, toasted **
2 tablespoons grated orange rind


In large mixing bowl, combine yeast and warm water, until starting to soften and bubble, about 5 minutes.

Stir in 1/4 cup of the sugar, salt, eggs, sour cream, and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter.  At medium speed, gradually add flour to form a stiff dough, beating well. Cover and let rise in warm place until light and doubled, about 2 hours.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining 3/4 cup sugar, 3/4 cup toasted coconut, and orange rind.  

Knead dough on well-floured surface 15-20 times.  Roll out one-half the dough to a 12-inch circle.  Brush with 1 tablespoon melted butter and sprinkle with one-half of the sugar mixture. Cut the circle into 12 wedges.  Roll up, starting with the wide end.  Place rolls, point side down, in a buttered 9x13-inch pan, forming 3 rows.  Repeat with remaining dough.

Cover and let rise until doubled (about 1 hour). (Or refrigerate overnight and let come to room temperature).

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.  Leave rolls in pan and pour glaze over hot rolls.  Sprinkle with remaining coconut.

Glaze:

1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/4 cup butter

In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients.  Bring to a boil, over medium heat, for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

** To toast coconut, spread coconut evenly on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees, stirring frequently, until lightly golden.  Be careful, as it burns easily!

Orange Chicken with Sriracha

With the exception of In 'n Out Burger (I'm a California girl after all!), I'm not a big fast food fan. Every now and then, however, I'll run to Panda Express and get their orange chicken. Bite-size chunks of fried chicken in an orange sauce, what's not to love about that? When I found this recipe I knew I had to try it, the addition of the spicy Sriracha sauce appealed to my taste buds. I was not disappointed. The orange sauce was amazing, so flavorful, with just a slight spicy aftertaste. It was so good I think I could pour it over pound cake and devour it!

My husband complains that I don't serve the same meal twice, or there are long spaces between rotations.  What can I say?  I get bored cooking the same things! If he likes a new recipe he will tell me it's a "keeper". He proclaimed this recipe a keeper but then complained that he probably wouldn't get served it again for three years.  I promised him I would make it again before then!

Orange Chicken with Sriracha

For the marinade:
1 cup regular chicken broth
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Zest of one orange
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
2-3 tablespoons Sriracha, depending on desired heat level
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon cornstarch, dissolve with 2 tablespoons water

For the chicken:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite-size chunks
1 cup cornstarch, in a pie pan
2 large eggs beaten, in a pie pan
1 cup oil for frying

Optional: sesame seeds and green onions for garnish

Combine all marinade ingredients in a bowl, and whisk to incorporate well.  In a separate bowl, combine chicken with 1/2 cup of the marinade, making sure that all pieces are thoroughly covered with the marinade.  Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring remaining marinade to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Sauce will thicken as it gets to a boil.  Once sauce is thickened, turn heat off.  Keep sauce warm while you fry the chicken.

Drain chicken and discard used marinade.

Dip chicken pieces, a few at a time, into the pan of beaten eggs. Let excess eggs drip off, and dredge chicken pieces in the pan of cornstarch.  Press to coat well. Repeat until all pieces are coated.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high to high heat, until oil is very hot.  Add chicken pieces, taking care not to overcrowd, and fry until cooked through, about 1-2 minutes. Place fried chicken on paper towels, and work in batches until all chicken is fried.

Toss chicken with warm sauce and serve immediately.  Serve over rice and garnish as desired.

Recipe adapted from www.chewoutloud.com.

Honey-Orange Roast Chicken

I survived another tax season, hallelujah! Now it's time to catch up on work that got put on the back burner during our crazy time and catch up on household chores.  I have some sewing projects lined up, two cross-stitched pieces to get finished, gardening to do, and an outdoor patio furniture piece to be constructed/painted that involves an old door. So many projects, so little time!

I've longed to be in the kitchen and to have a home-cooked meal.  My first day off after April 15 involved hopping on a flight to Las Vegas and meeting up with my son for a divisional drag race.  Home-cooked meals were not a happening there; we ate turkey sandwiches from an ice chest and had to find a restaurant each night for dinner. Once home I had so many things to do that I knew spending a lot of time in the kitchen just wasn't going to fit into my timeline.  So I went to what always works in a pinch, a good old-fashioned roast chicken with vegetables. I adapted this recipe from two that I found online and it worked very well.  I love anything with orange in it and the addition of honey added a nice sweetness to it.  I especially liked the carrots with the orange/honey flavor. This recipe will definitely be made again!

Honey-Orange Roast Chicken

1 3/12 pound whole broiler-fryer chicken
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 shallot, sliced
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup chicken broth, divided
8 carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
1/2 pound green beans
1 lemon, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Rinse chicken cavity; pat chicken dry with paper towels. Skewer neck skin to back; tie legs to tail.  Place chicken in a shallow roasting pan.  Brush with butter; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast, uncovered, for 1 hour.  Distribute carrots in pan; roast another 1/4 to 3/4 hour or until drumsticks move easily in sockets and chicken is no longer pink (180 degrees F).  Combine honey and orange zest; brush chicken with half the mixture.  Roast about 5 minutes more or until the chicken has a golden brown glaze.

Remove chicken from pan and tent with foil.  Transfer roasting pan to stove top. Add shallots, orange juice, 1/4 cup chicken broth, remaining honey, and green beans. Simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes or until juices thicken slightly and the vegetables are tender. Add lemon slices to pan and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes more or until heated through.

Remove vegetables from pan.  Combine cornstarch with remaining 1/4 cup chicken broth.  Stir into liquid mixture; stir until thickened.  Serve the thickened sauce with the chicken.

Root Beer (or Orange Crush) Ice Cream

I'm a food snob.  I admit it. I think food should be prepared with the freshest, finest ingredients. I believe it doesn't take much more effort to make a meal or baked good from scratch instead of from a box or can (and it's more economical).  Unless I'm making cake pops for grandkids, you'll rarely see me cooking with processed food items. This snobbism definately applies to ice cream.  In my opinion, ice cream should be made with cream (screw the calories!), fresh eggs if making a custard base, fresh and in-season fruit. So when a family friend gave me a recipe that called for sweetened condensed milk and soda I was not optimistic. I made the requested recipe at a drag race we were at and instantly fell in love with this ice cream.  It's now become a family favorite.

The original recipe calls for Orange Crush soda. Eating the ice cream is like eating a 50/50 bar.  Last summer I decided to try it with root beer.  As my parents owned an A&W Root Beer drive-in during the mid-70's, root beer is near and dear to my family's heart. Using root beer instead of the orange soda is like tasting a frozen root beer float (and I made plenty of those during my working days at the drive-in!) This version made it to our 4th of July celebration this year. So use whichever soda you like best.  I guarantee you and your guests will find this a very refreshing ice cream!

Orange Crush (or Root Beer) Ice Cream

2 cans Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk
1 pint whipping cream
6 cans Orange Crush (or root beer) soda

Mix sweetened condensed milk and whipping cream.  Pour into ice cream container.  Add soda.  Process according to ice cream makier instructions.

It does make a lot of ice cream.  We had a smaller crowd today so I halved the recipe and made it in my refrigerated ice cream maker.  To make the full batch you will need to use a standard/rock salt kind of ice cream maker.

Our official taste tester gave this ice cream a rave review!

Join me at Foodie Friday for more great recipes!