General Tso's Chicken à la Dani

Ingredients
1 lb chicken thighs, already boned
3 eggs beaten with a whisk
1/2 cup cornstarch for egg mixture
2 tsp cornstarch for sauce mixture
5 dried pepper pods (using mexican dried pepper pods is fine)
1 & 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp rice wine
1 & 1/2 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 and 1/2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1/2 tbsp garlic
1 tsp grated ginger root

Directions
Step 1 Mixing - In a large bowl, blend 1/2 cup of cornstarch and the pre-beaten eggs using a wire whisk until thoroughly combined. Should be a lemony yellow color at this point. Cut up the chicken pieces (de-boned thigh meat) into bite size pieces (around 6-8 pieces per full thigh piece), then add the chicken to the egg mixture and toss to coat.

Step 2 Mixing - In a small bowl, prepare the sauce mixture by combining 2 tsp cornstarch with the rice wine, rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, garlic and grated ginger root. For the ginger root, ensure to get fresh ginger root, then cut off the skin of it before grating it with a handheld cheese grater. In a second small bowl, make a duplicate of this exact same mixture using the same amounts and ingredients, but do not combine the 2 mixtures together.

Step 1 Frying - Heat 1-2 inches of peanut oil in a wok to medium-high heat (350-400). You really need a gas stove to get the oil hot enough. Fry the chicken in small batches of around 10-12 pieces at a time until the chicken is lightly browned. Remove the chicken to paper towls on a plate and allow it to stand. Keep frying the chicken in batches until all of it is done.

Step 2 Frying - Drain out the oil and the pieces of coating in the wok until you have only 1-2 tablespoons of oil left. Add the pepper pods to the oil and stir-fry briefly, bringing out the aroma but not burning them (around 60 to 120 seconds). Remove the pepper pods and return the chicken to the wok.

General's Favorite Sauce - Immediately after adding the chicken, add the sauce mixture to the wok, tossing over the heat until the sauce caramelizes into a glaze (1-3 minutes) over the chicken. After the chicken is entirely coated, then add the second sauce mixture to the wok and heat it through (you would not need to coat the chicken with this mixture, just heating and reducing the sauce a bit for about 2-3 minutes). At this point, remove the chicken and sauce from the heat and re-add the pepper pods to the chicken and sauce mixture.

Serve over a bed of white, long grain rice. Should serve approximately 4-6 people.

Pollo al Chilindrón

Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds chicken thighs
1 and 1/2 white onions
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 tsp paprika
2 large tomatoes
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 package of prosciutto
1 shot of Cognac or Marsala
Olive oil

Directions
Chop the onions and tomatoes. Dice the green and red bell peppers. Tear apart the prosciutto into pieces.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the chopped onions, minced garlic and chicken until the chicken is browned and the onion turns golden.

Pour Cognac or Marsala over the chicken. Add the prosciutto and mix. Add the paprika, some salt and pepper, then mix again. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix well. Cover and simmer on medium heat for around 45 minutes.

Serves 6-8 people.

Never free

Numb, wanting wanting to be dumb
Blind with senses heightened
Yet dampened
Rambling
Talking to myself
In this self-made hell

Eating chocolate instead of substance
Drinking acid so it burns me
Since I really want to be consumed
By some sort of passion
Some sort of sensation or embrace
Embers only replace
The mask that descends

No friends, nothing but misguided whining
Needing a glimmer
Shining
Darkness
Stark and repressed emotions
Salt in this ocean
Bitterly swimming

Writing a poem while I'm drunk
Not really sure anymore
Why I am not just out
Giving blowjobs as a whore
Since I'm not better inside
Than those I pretend to be better than
Those I deride

I'd ride a wave of sin
Let the blackness in
To a soul that I don't own
Where everything is always me
Never moving
Never doing
Never free

If I Wake Up

I gave my heart away
To another person who didn't deserve it
Who didn't want it
Here I am alone again, fading
Watching cars pass
A lit cigarette in my hand

I walk to the liquor store
After another meal by myself
Another restaurant familiar and known
I ordered meat this time
After being a vegetarian for a year
Because why should I really care

There's a bottle in the fridge
Put there tonight
Even though it's mid-week
And I didn't even used to drink

There are grey hairs
Sprouting out of my skull
I'd pluck them all
But my hair is already too thin

So I'll get drunk soon
Like my father did when I was a kid
It won't help; it won't lessen anything
I won't be able to sleep better
I'll still be alone in the morning
If I wake up at all

Cheddar Cheese Puffs

This recipe comes from Better Homes and Gardens' "Cream Puffs" recipe, but rather than filling with sweet fillings, I instead change it to have cheddar. It ends up tasting like a pastry dish, good for any time of the day even breakfast.

Ingredients
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups of grated sharp cheddar cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a baking sheet 9 x 15in.

In a medium saucepan, stir together water, butter and salt until they boil.
Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously until it forms a ball.

Remove from heat, then add 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese. Cool for 10 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with a wooden spoon after each.

Drop 12 evenly formed heapings of the dough onto the baking sheet.
Bake for 25 minutes, then pull out and sprinkle cheddar cheese on top of each. Cook 5 minutes more until the cheese is melted.
Remove from the dish and cool.

Can chill and reheat for up to 3 days. Serves 3-6.

White Lasagne

The recipe is based on the one at this location, however, I made a few changes like I always do when making any recipe.

Ingredients
3/4 cup minced shallots (5-6, peeled, then sliced and minced)
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon paprika
3 3/4 cups 2% milk
1 cup chicken broth (replace with vegetable broth if you are a vegetarian)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon grated black pepper
1/2 cup dry Marsala
1 to 1.5 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, portion out 1/2 cup separately
1/8 cup grated Asiago
12 no-boil egg lasagne sheets (usually Barilla flat egg no boil pasta is best, it comes with 16 sheets)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle of oven.

Place shallots and butter into a heavy medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring periodically until the shallots are tender. This takes around 3-5 minutes.
Add the flour all at once, then reduce heat to low, stirring with a plastic or wooden spoon about 3 minutes.
Add the nutmeg and paprika. Increase the heat back to medium temperature, then slowly whisk in milk one cup at a time until blended.
Stir in the chicken or vegetable broth until blended. Bring to a boil, whisking with the spoon. Reduce heat to simmer, stirring until the sauce lightly coats the spoon. This is only about 1-2 minutes after reducing to simmer from the boil.

Remove from heat and cool until it is only warm rather than hot, re-stirring occasionally. Stir in eggs, Marsala, sea salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

Spread about 1 3/4 cups sauce over bottom of a glass baking dish about 11x8-inch in size. Cover with a layer of 3 lasagne sheets. Place a sprinkling of Parmigiano Reggiano on top of it with about 1/2 cup sauce.
Add another layer of 3 sheets and put a sprinkling of Asiago cheese on it with about 1/2 cup sauce.
Add another layer of 3 sheets and put the rest of the Asiago on it with about 1/4 cup sauce.
Add the last layer of 3 sheets, then top the remaining sauce evenly over the entire dish, then over the sauce put the remaining Parmigiano Reggiano cheese evenly.

Bake, uncovered, until browned, around 50 minutes.

Cool slightly, then slice into pieces with a knife. The bottom will stick slightly due to the sheets being egg-based, so you likely want to use a fork to get each piece out.

Enjoy! Serves around 4-6 people with around 12 slices (2-3 pieces per person).

White Chocolate Brownies

Based off of this recipe with some changes.

Ingredients
6 tablespoons butter
8 ounces white chocolate
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line an 8 inch square baking dish with foil.

Melt butter and 4 ounces of white chocolate together in top of double boiler over hot water (alternatively, use a medium saucepan with water under another smaller pan), stirring occasionally until mixed.
When melted, remove from heat and add the remaining white chocolate. Stir to blend well. Set aside.

Beat the eggs and sugar until pale and thick.
Add white chocolate and butter mixture, vanilla and flour. Beat with spoon just until smooth.
Add butterscotch chips and mix just until evenly mixed, do not overmix.

Pour into prepared pan and bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool out of the oven for about 30 minutes, then cut into squares and refrigerate 1-2 hours before serving. Serves 4-6 people.