Thai Chicken Pizza

As I sit here writing, good ol' Ted Allen, host of Chopped, delightfully educated me that 93% of Americans eat pizza.  Tonight, I contributed to that statistic.  You know what else I contributed to?  The percentage of Americans that eat salad, which I can feel a little better about.  Seriously. This pizza is great, it's like the offspring of pizza + salad.  Once the pizza is out of the oven a tasty slaw finishes it off.  Subtle coconut, salty peanuts, tart lime, and savory garlic marry flawlessly resulting in a dynamic, fresh pizza, different than any pizza you've had before.  Or should I call it a salad?

Spicy Asian Peanut Noodles

Sometimes I have these inexplicable cravings for Chinese take-out chicken lo mein.  

I don't even like lo mein, and the few times I actually eat it I feel awful afterwards because it is so incredibly greasy, like deep fried bacon greasy...

This quick dish is my solution to lo-main cravings.  While it isn't quite as greasy, and there's no chicken- I save the $6 and future stomach ache.  Win-win situation, no?

•  1 13oz box whole wheat thin spaghetti, or linguine
• 5 Tbs soy sauce
• 5 Tbs honey
• 2 Tbs peanut butter
• 2 Tbs sesame oil
• 1 Tbs Thai Roasted Red Chili Paste
• 2 carrots, shredded
• Sesame seeds, peanuts, and cilantro to garnish

1. Cook the noodles according to package instructions, drain, and set aside.  
2. In the now empty sauce pan, add the soy sauce, honey, peanut butter, sesame oil, and chili paste and whisk until incorporated.  Add the shredded carrot and noodles, then stir. 
3. Garnish with sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, and/or cilantro.  I toss in a little crushed red pepper at the end because I like it spicier :)

Yields 4-6 servings

Peanut Butter Cups

• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter, preferably all natural
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 pound bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
• 36 1 3/8-inch paper candy cups

1. Combine sugar, peanut butter, and butter with a fork until combined. Transfer mixture to a pastry bag or Ziplock bag and set aside.
2. Melt chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water. Keep melted chocolate over hot water near work area. Use a small spoon or small paintbrush to coat insides of the paper candy cups with the melted chocolate, making sure to cover the bottom and sides well. Transfer cups to a rimmed baking sheet or muffin tins (which will keep the cups from sliding around). Transfer to freezer until set, about 10 minutes.
3. Remove cold chocolate cups from the freezer. Pipe peanut-butter filling into each cup until three-quarters full. Spoon melted chocolate into each cup to cover, then jiggle the pan to eliminate any bubbles, and even the surface of the chocolate.
4. Return to the freezer until set, 15 to 25 minutes. Peanut-butter cups may be served right away, or kept tightly sealed in the freezer for 2 to 3 days. To serve, remove from freezer, peel off paper, and eat cold.

Notes:

• If you have chocolate molds available they work wonderfully instead of paper cups!

Yields 36 peanut butter cups.