Stir-Fried Chinese Chicken and Peanuts with Celery Salad and Steamed Spinach

So now that I've returned from visiting my dear husband Arron at our home in Maine, I slipped right back into my chefs hat with ease.  I missed watching Lucinda every morning, but thanks to DVR, I'll be playing catch up on the weekends.  Funny how I went from doing a 187 (crime of murdering meat) in the kitchen to really building a relationship with my utensils and spices.  Who knew within me there was a cook of a caterpillar waiting to bloom into this butterfly chef.  As much as I love to explore different ingredients, expand my taste buds, and expound on this new side to me,  there just wasn't enough time in the day to play wife, worker and whatever else came to mind.  

However, I'm back on the saddle and couldn't wait to pour on the olive oil.  I thought a little bit of comfort food would set me straight from missing Arron and was so thrilled to find Lucinda preparing meatloaf, mashed potatoes and spinach this morning.  There's nothing like a good potato to fill the place of a loved one, but that recipe will have to wait.  I gave my grandmother the option of meatloaf or chinese chicken and she chose the latter.   If I must admit, she chose well.  

Just like Lucinda said, "all of the ingredients needed for the chinese chicken recipe should be a staple in your pantry", and thanks to my grandmother who has been cooking it up in the kitchen for decades, they all were.  While my chicken was thawing out and getting cleaned, I whisked all the liquid ingredients together for the marinade.  It had a good earthy aroma.  I was excited about pouring it over my diced up, pulled from the bone, skinless chicken thighs.  Since I had everything necessary for the chinese celery salad at hand, I got that ready too!  I wasn't sold on the salad, but I figured I'd try something new.  My grandmother found it light and refreshing.  I, however, did not.  With the salad done and put aside in the fridge to chill, I poured the marinade over the chicken and placed that too in the fridge while I ran to the farmers market.   Since I knew the celery salad wasn't quite my thing, my alternative green was spinach.  The farmers market is the absolute best place to pick up fruits and vegetables.  It's half the price of retail chains like Wal-mart or your local supermarket.  

Back at home, I'm ready to put my poultry to the pan.  But first, you know what they say, "when in Rome, do like the Romans."  And when you're cooking chinese anything, rice better be present.  For the first time every, I made something called Jasmine rice, but instead of using water, I used chicken broth.  It gave the rice such nice coloring and flavor.  Now, I'm ready for the chicken.  You'll notice I did not include peanuts to my version of this dish for which the recipe suggest...my son begged me to skip the peanut part and it's important that he loves the meal as well.  Plus, Lucinda did say it was okay!   To set the stage for the chicken, I proceed to stir-fry an onion (scallions were missing at the market), the red peppers and garlic.  Coated with cornstarch at the last minute, the chicken has finally made it's appearance at the party.   While I waited for it to be done, I quickly poured some olive oil in my heated pan, tossed in some minced garlic, and threw in the cleaned spinach.    Ten minutes later, I'm helping myself to another serving of everything, minus the salad.  The chicken is brimming with flavor, the rice is fluffy and the spinach is tender.   Not exactly comfort food, but I took comfort in knowing that I prepared yet another delicious dish, and it sure did hit the spot.  

Even though I miss Arron terribly, I'm happy to be cooking up cool cuisine again.  Can't wait to see what's in store for tomorrow.

If you'd like to tap into your Asian alternative, click (or cut and paste) the link below.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/stir-fried-chicken-and-peanuts-mad-hungry

For those that have made this dish WITH the peanuts, I anxious to know if by omitting them I've completely missed the mark.

Please share your experience.