Celebrating 10 years of favourite recipes

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/03/2004 (7891 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TEN years ago this week, I wrote my first Recipe Swap column.

In the last decade, culinary trends have changed, but luckily, the preference for tried-and-true, home-cooked meals and desserts has remained constant.

And that is the joy of Recipe Swap — legions of readers sharing their favourite recipes with each other. I have had the pleasure over the years to test and taste hundreds of Recipe Swap recipes (and pass my experiences on to you), write two best-selling Recipe Swap Favourites cookbooks, and conduct many cooking demonstrations.

I’ve also been fortunate to meet countless devoted fans of Recipe Swap who have e-mailed, written in, phoned, or stopped me in person to tell me that Recipe Swap is the first place they turn to in Wednesday’s Free Press. To all of you, thank you! It’s your dedication and commitment to Recipe Swap that sustain this unique column.

To celebrate my 10-year anniversary as Recipe Swap columnist, I have compiled a Recipe Swap Top 10 List, with the help of the Free Press librarians. Each week, for the next five weeks, I will run two of your top 10 recipes.

I also want to recognize 10 loyal swappers whose enthusiasm to exchange recipes is truly extraordinary. I will name two each week, and they will receive a special gift package — available for pickup any weekday during office hours at the front reception desk of the Free Press — for their contribution to the success of Recipe Swap.

This week’s “Special Swappers” are Edna Mroz of Beausejour and Therese Dumesnil. Each frequently sends in recipes to Recipe Swap (almost weekly), and I thank them for their diligence.

Now on to this week’s requests:

Marvin Dyck would love to get his hands on recipes for healthy, tasty, salty snacks.

Liz Magnifico is hoping someone can come through with recipes for Wheat Song Bakery’s lentil cheese savoury, as well as for Wheat Song Bakery’s date squares. Can anyone help?

Finally, Pat Rheubottom of Sandy Hook puts out a call for a light raisin bread recipe that is prepared in the breadmaker.

Please send any requests or responses to Recipe Swap, c/o Ilana Simon, Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, Man., R2X 3B6, send a fax to 697-7412 or e-mail to ilana.simon@freepress.mb.ca. Please include name, address, and daytime telephone number in case any ingredients or directions must be checked.

Supposed to be Applebee’s Oriental chicken salad

Oriental dressing:

45 ml (3 tbsp) honey

22 ml (1 1/2 tbsp) white vinegar

20 ml (4 tsp) mayonnaise

15 ml (1 tbsp) Dijon mustard

0.5 ml (1/8 tsp) sesame oil

Chicken:

500 ml to 1 l (2 to 4 cups) vegetable oil

1 egg

125 ml (1/2 cup) milk

125 ml (1/2 cup) flour

125 ml (1/2 cup) cornflake crumbs

5 ml (1 tsp) salt

1 ml (1/4 tsp) pepper

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast

Salad:

750 ml (3 cups) romaine lettuce, chopped

250 ml (1 cup) red cabbage, chopped

250 ml (1 cup) napa cabbage, chopped

1/2 carrot, shredded

1 green onion, chopped

15 ml (1 tbsp) sliced almonds

75 ml (1/3 cup) chow mein noodles

Dressing: In small bowl, use electric mixer to blend honey, vinegar, mayonnaise, mustard and sesame oil. Refrigerate while preparing chicken and salad.

Chicken: Preheat oil in deep fryer over medium heat until temperature reaches 180 C (350 F).

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, beat egg. Add milk and mix well. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine flour with cornflake crumbs, salt and pepper.

Cut chicken breast into 4 to 5 long strips. Dip each strip of chicken into egg mixture and then into flour/cornflake crumbs, coating each piece completely. Fry each chicken finger for 5 minutes, or until coating turns brown.

Salad: Toss romaine lettuce with red cabbage, napa cabbage and carrots. Pile on dinner plate. Sprinkle with sliced green onion. Sprinkle with almonds and chow mein noodles. Cut chicken into bite-sized chunks. Pile chicken in middle of salad.

Serve with salad dressing on the side.

Taste-tester notes: This sensational salad tastes very much like the restaurant version. I increased sesame oil to 1 ml (1/4 tsp) and toasted the almonds for added flavour. I recommend using 2 chicken breasts for this amount of salad, and slicing each chicken breast into 5 pieces. There is easily enough coating. If desired, instead of deep-frying, pan-fry at medium-high heat, using about 30 to 60 ml (2 to 4 tbsp) of oil in non-stick skillet.

Tastes Like Clodhoppers

1 l (4 cups) Golden Grahams cereal

250 ml (1 cup) roasted cashews, chopped

500 ml (2 cups) white chocolate wafers (discs)

Mix together cereal and nuts. Melt chocolate in double boiler over hot water, stirring frequently. Pour chocolate over cereal and nuts and mix it quickly. Spread on cookie sheet. When hardened, break up into small pieces.

Taste-tester notes: Everyone loves this delicious combination of white chocolate, cashews and Golden Grahams. If desired, melt plain white chocolate squares (two 170-g boxes) instead of chocolate wafers. I find it works better to add the cereal and cashews to the melted chocolate. Stir quickly and then spread on parchment (or waxed) paper-lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate until hardened. Enjoy!