Big Orange Book--Cold Chicken Satay Noodles

(page 174)

I have a really hard time watching Rachel Ray on television. I hate her asinine homemade words like yumm-o and stoup, and that really insipid way she giggles, it just comes across to me as being really affected-- def. "speaking or behaving in an artificial way to make an impression". I am however, very tolerant of her recipes. She makes really good food; plain and simple...the girl likes to eat. Well this girl likes to eat too, and I also share with Rachel the love for the color ORANGE. So when I saw this book and read some of the reviews, I was not going to bite off my nose to spite my face; just 'cause Rachel irritates me does not mean I have to ignore her food!

Like her or not, you have got to get you a copy of this book! I posted about its arrival to my home here and it has not left my hands since. Val from Bellini Valli visited my blog and suggested we coordinate a post from this book (which she so handily won in a contest). Then Laura from Real Good Food left a nice comment and I invited her to join me by posting a recipe at her blog today too. So visit Val and Laura by clicking on the links above.

I personally own 5 R. R. cookbooks including this one, and I think this is the cherry on top, the cat's meow, winner-winner-chicken dinner, and all that jazz. Out of 330 pages or so, of recipes I think I could see myself wanting to create about 85% of them. Pretty good percentage. I chose the following recipe because I have a hectic week, and I could easily make a vegetarian version of it for my daughter Tiny. I did kick up the heat amps for this recipe by serving jalapeños on the side! My kids wanted to add extra lime juice too.

Rachel Ray's Cold Chicken Satay Noodles

Salt
1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
1/4 to 1/3 cup smooth or chunky rpeanut butter (eyeball it)
2 Tablespoons honey
1/4 cup warm water (eyeball it)
1/4 cup tamari (eyeball it)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
juice of 2 limes
1 teaspoon hot sauce (Sri Racha)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
a handful of shredded carrots
4 scallions thinly sliced on the bias
1 cup spinach, thinly sliced (chiffonade)
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
2 cups shredded store-bought rotisserie chicken
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water liberally, then add the pasta and cook to al dente. Run the cooked pasta under cold water to cool. Drain well.

While the water comes to a boil and the pasta cooks, heat the peanut butter in the microwave in 10 second intervals until softened. Place in a large bowl with the honey and warm water. Whisk in the tamari, garlic, lime juice, and hot sauce, then whisk in the oil in a slow stream.

Add the cold noodles, veggies, and peanuts to the bowl and toss until the ingredients are well mixed.

Serve the noodles in shallow bowls topped with the chicken and cilantro.
(and of course with the limes and jalapeños)