International Potluck Blogfest

International Potluck Blogfest
Do you have a favorite recipe? A dish everyone loves?
Share it with us! 

Beth Fred, Medeia Sharif and Lexa Cain are hosting the International Potluck Blogfest. Here are the rules:

• Put the bloghop badge on your post.
• Post the cover of a book you love (it can be your own) with a food and/or recipe from the book, or a food from the MC's region, or a food you just like!
• Link back to Beth, Media, and Lexa. All three of us.
• A copy of Beth's Finding Hope, Medeia's Snip, Snip, Revenge, and Lexa's Soul Cutter, plus a $10 Amazon gift card will be given away via Rafflecopter!

Thank you, ladies, for your excellent idea and hosting duties!

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What does cooking have to do with Cherdo on the Flipside, a humor blog about the flipside of fifty? It's simple: on the flipside, I cook whatever I want to cook and blog about what interests me. I'm a free agent.

My approach to dinner is pretty basic: if I'm going to go to the trouble (or have the pleasure) of cooking a meal, I want everyone to love it. Give me an easy recipe that is a hit and versatile and I've instantly arrived at foodie nirvana. 

One of my favorite cookbooks is The Chinese Takeout Cookbook by Diana Kuan.

There's nothing quite so satisfying as good Chinese food, and though we all like to run to that perfect little neighborhood restaurant for our Asian fix, it's great to serve it up homemade. You can argue that American restaurants don't dish out authentic Chinese food, but participating in that debate would just take up too much of my time that could be spent making this:

Sweet Chili Shrimp!

Sweet Chili Shrimp is just the right mix of sweet and tangy, with a little kick. You can adjust the amount of honey if you want it less sweet or even add a bit of hot sauce for extra zowie.

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey*
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons chili sauce

1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 shallot, finely chopped

• In a large bowl, toss the shrimp with the cornstarch, salt, and pepper.
• Prepare the sauce: In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, honey, cider vinegar, and chili sauce. Set aside.
• Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat until a bead of water sizzles and evaporates on contact. Add the peanut oil and swirl to coat the bottom. Add the garlic, ginger, and shallot and stir-fry until fragrant, 30 to 40 seconds. Toss in the shrimp and stir-fry about 2 minutes, until pink.
• Pour in the sauce and stir to coat the shrimp well.
• Transfer to a plate and serve.

I put a Cherdo spin on this recipe: if I want it to be more like a meal, I serve it with rice or add chunky green peppers to the mix. I've even added pineapple. Need an appetizer? Place these on your best platter with tiny skewers - they'll be a hit. They're even good cold. 

Sweet Chili Shrimp is endlessly versatile, if you're so inclined. There's nothing wrong and everything right about this recipe, as is. Try it out!

It's your turn! What's a favorite recipe in your house? Chow now, show me how. Sign up below.