Food: Baked Teriyaki Chicken, Mushroom with Soy Sauce Glaze, Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

Sometimes food makes things better. The other day I noticed how tired and bogged down the 2nd years in my small group looked and remembered how awful second year was. I think they could use some cookies :( And what better says, I care about you and I'm glad we are friends, than a nice home-cooked meal, no? These are tough, stressful times for us all - I say we cook (and eat) away our sorrows!

I apologize for the unappetizing photos but I take them just to help me remember the foods that I make. Definitely would make the following three recipes again.

Baked Teriyaki Chicken

•  
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon cold water 
• 1/2 cup brown sugar 
• 1/2 cup soy sauce 
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar 
• 1-2 clove garlic, minced 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 
• 6 skinless chicken thighs

Directions 
1) In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the cornstarch, cold water, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger and ground black pepper. Let simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and bubbles.
2) Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Place chicken pieces in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
3) Pour half of sauce on pieces and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes.
4) Remove aluminum foil. Turn over pieces. Pour rest of sauce onto chicken. Bake for 30 more minutes until chicken no longer pink.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Comments: Great flavor, pretty, and easy to make. I think any dish that you can just leave in the oven is a good dish for entertaining when the last thing you want to be doing is tending to the stove. The chicken was tender and moist (I think the foil is key here) and yet a rich, dark caramelized color from the brown sugar/soy sauce. This may be a little bit sweet for some people, but then can be remedied by decreasing the amount of sugar. I served with rice, steamed broccoli, and sauteed mushrooms (see below for recipe). Baked Teriyaki Chicken 

Mushroom with a Soy Sauce Glaze

• 2 tablespoons butter (I used salted)
• 1 (8 ounce) package sliced white mushrooms
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• ground black pepper to taste

Directions
Melt the butter in skillet over medium heat; add the mushrooms; cook and stir until the mushrooms have softened and released their liquid, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic; continue to cook and stir for 1 minute. Pour in the soy sauce; cook the mushrooms in the soy sauce until the liquid has evaporated, about 4 minutes.
Rating: 4.8 out of 5
Comments: I was skeptical about this recipe because it just seemed like regular sauteed mushrooms. Maybe I've never had good sauteed mushrooms then because I thought these were so good. I think really it's the butter flavor that works so well with the tender texture of the mushrooms and savory saltiness of soy sauce and garlic combo. So simple and yet so luxurious. Great side dish for a nice meal, and a good one for company since it tastes good and is very quick to make. Would be great with steak too. Thanks to my friend Min-Jeong for the cooking help! Mushroom with a Soy Sauce Glaze

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies
 

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 (10 ounce) jar maraschino cherries
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2) Beat the butter and sugar together in a bowl. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder and stir until smooth.
3) Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls about the size of a walnut (larger if desired). Place on ungreased cookie sheet (lined with parchment paper). Press center of each ball with thumb. Drain cherries and reserve juice.
4) In a saucepan, heat condensed milk and chocolate chips until chips are melted to make frosting. Stir in 8 teaspoons of cherry juice.
5) Spoon about 1 teaspoon of frosting mixture in indentation of cookie. Place a cherry in indentation. (More cherry juice may be added to keep frosting of spreading consistency.)
6) Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Drizzle remaining frosting over cookies.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Comments: This was a rich, decadent cookie. The actual cookie is very dense, almost brownie like. I liked the cherry flavor to the frosting, and added doubled the amount of cherry juice the recipe originally called for. Definitely a special occasion cookie or a good dessert cookie for guests. Not so great for giving as gift though as frosting gets sticky making it a bit of a "messy" cookie. This recipe makes extra frosting which can be saved to use with other desserts. Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies