Tim's Eggplant Tofu Basil Noodles with Broccoli

Note: Tim plans to do further experiments before finalizing the recipe.

Preparation:

- remove BROCCOLI (or other green vegetable), EGGPLANT, BASIL, TOFU, MUSHROOMS, SHAOSHING COOKING WINE, CHIU CHAO CHILI OIL, SOY SAUCE, [HOISIN SAUCE (OPTIONAL),] GINGER, LEEKS, letting all ingredients come to room temperature; prepare the ingredients as time permits during the subsequent recipe steps
Note: peel BROCCOLI stalks and chop into 1-1/2 inch long sticks, like carrots

- boil water in a steamer pot set up

- boil salted water for noodles

- When steamer water is boiling, steam the CHINESE EGGPLANTS at high heat for 5-10 minutes, (vary time based on size and tenderness, then set aside and let cool).
Note: check after 5 minutes to see if tender yet -- do not overcook (they will continue to cook while cooling, so be careful not to overcook)

- Toast WHOLE SICHUAN PEPPERCORNS in a dry pan and then grind in pestle or a spice mill.
Note: around 2 tbs (need to experiment with using less)

- mince GARLIC and GINGER

- when water is boiling, add CHINESE NOODLES (UDON-STYLE CHINESE NOODLES (TRY THIS NEXT TIME) or FLAT SHANGHAI-STYLE NOODLES); when al dente, drain, rinse with cold water until fully cooled, then toss with GRAPESEED OIL and set aside
Note: consider reserving a portion of the cooking water and add later

- when eggplant has cooled, slice into 1-1/2 inch strips.

- Heat large pan saute pan or wok to 350-375 and add a generous amount of GRAPESEED OIL
Note: thermometer will not measure the All Clad's temperature accurately until there is oil in the pan (because it reflects the infrared?)

- Add MINCED GINGER, and MINCED GARLIC, CHIU CHAO CHILI OIl, ROASTED GROUND SICHUAN PEPPER and WHOLE DRIED CHILI PEPPERS (all ingredients to taste) and cook for 1 MINUTE, stirring constantly.
Note: only add small amount of sichuan pepper,

- add LEEKS and BROCCOLI (or other GREEN VEGETABLE) and cook for several minutes until green vegetable starts to become tender
Note: Add additional GRAPESEED OIL as necessary during this (and following) steps
Note: as vegetables are added, increase heat as needed to maintain pan above 300 degrees

- add MUSHROOMS, TOFU a and then immediately add SHAOSHING COOKING WINE and SOY SAUCE (pouring a portion directly over the dried chili peppers and then bruise the peppers to release all liquid)
Note: optional -- add small portion of RESERVED NOODLE WATER r at this point to increase volume of and thicken the sauce
Note: can also add HOISIN SAUCE (OPTIONAL) at this point

- Remove dried chili peppers from the pan

- Add NOODLES, EGGPLANT and BASIL to the pan and toss, heating through and coating with the sauce mixture

- Remove from pan and serve immediately

Roast Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 lb whole chicken
• 2.5 ounces honey
• 4 ounces kosher salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• thyme leaves
• 1 lemon
• olive oil
• ground black pepper

Directions

Mix honey, salt, bay leaves, a thyme branch, juice from a lemon and a small amount of warm water in a pot.

Pull skin away from chicken just enough to place thyme leaves and garlic under skin. (When cleaning chicken, don't cut off flap - use it to truss chicken later.) Place chicken in liquid, breast side down, and add enough water to almost cover the chicken. Cover and leave in refrigerator for 3+ hours. (After brining over night, it was too salty.)

Remove chicken 1/2 hour before starting to cook.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Make sure rack is in middle setting.

Rinse off brine and place on rack in deep pan, breast side up. Grind pepper in cavity. Truss: Tie legs together with twine + tuck wings under. Rub chicken with olive oil and ground pepper.

Roast chicken breast side DOWN on a v-rack in a roasting pan, uncovered. After 20 minutes, flip and baste chicken. (Uneven basting may cause skin to brown unevenly.) Roast another 20 minutes and check temperature. Raise oven temperature to 425 F to brown the skin. Roast another 20 minutes or so.

(The roasting temp and time seem off. Next time, try roasting at 400 F for 20 minutes, flip and baste chicken, then raise temp to 425 F and roast another 30 minutes, check temperature, then probably roast another 10 - 20 minutes, depending on the temperature. Also consider roasting for a period at 450 F.)

To check temperature: thigh should register 175 - 180 F. Breast meat should register 150 - 155 F.

Let chicken stand 5 - 10 minutes (to finish cooking).