"Nordstrom: Entertaining at Home Cookbook" Blog #3

Austin Ibale
Hilmes Period 1
Honors English
24 January, 2017

Blog Number 3

Sometimes, people may be hungry, but not hungry enough to eat a whole elephant. That's why salads are a perfect and tasty dish for a light meal. Salads help experiment the wonderful tastes of nature into the kitchen. According to the Nordstrom cook book, "The salad is the closest connection between the garden and the table" (Clem & Northern 48). Therefore, I am going to make a Chicken Yakisoba Salad. 

The Yakisoba salad I am going to make is made out of marinated noodles, crisp panko-breaded chicken, and baby greens with citrusy vinaigrette. First I need to marinate the noodles by combining the soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic, Tabasco, ginger and white pepper. Next I boil the noodles for one minute and then pour into a colander to drain the noodles. Then I add the noodles back into the marinated sauce. Once the noodles are marinated, I need to refrigerate them for at least 2 to 8 hours in order to keep the noodles cold.

The second part to this recipe is making the salad vinaigrette.  To make the citrus-ginger vinaigrette, I need to blend the lemon juice, lime juice, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, egg yoke, salt, and white pepper. Then, according to the book, I need to "gradually add the the canola oil in a thin, steady stream to form an emulsion" (Clem & Northern 53). After the vinaigrette is mixed, I refrigerate it for up to three hours. 

The third part to this recipe is making the Crisp Panko Chicken. To prepare the chicken, I must first dredge the breasts, one at a time, in flour and pepper, then dip them in eggs and water, the coat them lightly with panko and place on a baking sheet. Next, I turn a large skillet on medium-high heat  with canola oil and cook the chicken breasts, allowing the oil to bubble around the chicken. I cook the breast until they turn golden brown. Then, I transfer the breasts onto a platter and into a warm oven. 

Finally, to assemble the salad, I "place about one cup of the marinated noodles in the center of each plate" (Clem & Northern 54). Then I combine the greens, bell pepper, and 1/2 cup of the vinaigrette into a large bowl and toss. Finally, I divide the salad evenly with the noodles and place slices of chicken on top.

In conclusion, from this recipe I learned that having multiple different foods, flavors, and textures in a dish can help create a good depth of flavor instead. If the salad were just lettuce, it would taste plain and vague. So having different elements coming together into one can create something amazing. What pieces in your life help make you complete?

By: Austin Ibale