Shrimp, peppers and lemon sauce over rice, so nice

Tonight I was determined to cook something beautiful for dinner. I'd picked up a loaf of ciabbata this morning that was so appealing, it inspired me to come up with a dish that would go well with -- and look good with -- the bread.

While rice was cooking in the microwave, I heated 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat, then added a diced sweet onion and two cloves garlic, chopped. I cooked 'til onion was soft, about 8 minutes. Then I added a diced red pepper and half a diced green pepper and cooked about five minutes. I added 1 cup fresh mushroom slices, then added juice from one lemon and 3/4 cup Sauvignon Blanc, along with 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes. I threw in a pound of cooked cocktail shrimp, and heated just for a couple of minutes. Tasting the broth, I realized it was pretty sour, so I added 2 teaspoons sugar and let the dish simmer. I added three tablespoons chopped fresh parsley from my garden, just before dishing the shrimp and sauce over a platter of rice. I served this dish with fresh steamed farmers' market green beans. Very pretty. And tasty too.

Easy, easy chicken in peanut sauce

Summer meals at our house have been all about the grill, but this weekend it cooled down a little so I decided to wok it on out. Thanks to a couple shortcuts in the way of Asian sauces, I managed to put together a beautiful and very tasty dinner in about 20 minutes.

While cooking a batch of rice in the microwave, I heated about 2 tablespoons canola oil with a couple shakes of peanut oil at medium high heat in my electric wok. I added one pound of chicken tenders, chopped into bite-sized pieces. After four minutes, I stirred the chicken to brown the other side for a few more minutes. Then I set aside the chicken on a plate.

To the oil in the wok, I added a handful of chopped carrots and a half of a Vidalia onion, diced. I stir-fried those 'til carrots were lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Then I reduced heat to medium, added a cup of fresh green beans, and covered the wok for five minutes. Then I added chopped red and green pepper and two tablespoons of Kikkoman Classic Stir-Fry sauce. I heated that 'til the peppers started to turn soft. Then I added a shake of red pepper flakes and some sesame seeds. I emptied that into a small bowl and covered to keep warm.

Then, I put the chicken back into the wok with about a cup of House of Tsang Bankok Padang Peanut Sauce. I heated that for five minutes. Then I added two tablespoons chopped fresh parsley from my garden. I served the veggies and chicken with rice with Man Vintners Chenin Blanc, a wine we've come to particularly like this summer. Mmm.