Bechamel Sauce

Ingredients
5 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Directions
In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until melted. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Over medium heat, cook until the mixture turns a light, golden sandy color, about 6 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until just about to boil. Add the hot milk to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until very smooth. Bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Season with salt and nutmeg, and set aside until ready to use.

Sopa Crema de Pollo

120 g Butter
100 g sliced Onions
30 g garlic minced
120 g flour
6 cups chicken broth
200 ml Fresh cream
150 g diced cooked chicken
2 celery stalks chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make:
Heat the butter in a pan.
Add the garlic and saute until fragrant.
Add onions.
Stir in the flour, stirring until smooth and thick.
Enter the chicken and stir in chicken broth, bring to a boil over low heat until cooked, stirring occasionally.
Add celery and simmer briefly.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Enter the fresh cream. Simmer for 5 minutes..
Sprinkle with parsley

Clam Chowder soup

2 (6.5 ounce) cans minced clams
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup minced onion
1 cup diced celery
1 cup cubed potatoes
1 cup diced carrots
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 quart half-and-half cream
1 cup shredded white chedder
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Chop celery, potatoes and carrots into bite size pieces. In a large pot put your veggies and add the chicken broth. Cover and cook over medium heat until tender.
Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Whisk in cream and stir constantly until thick and smooth. Add the cheese. Then add the vegetables with broth into the cream mixture. Drain and rinse clams and add to the soup. Heat through, but do not boil. If they cook too much they get tough. When clams are heated through, stir in vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.

Adapted from: http://frogpants.com/geekfood/?p=160

Chinese Honey Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
Oil, for deep-frying
2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 4 teaspoons of water, for sauce thickening
Salt and sugar to taste
Toasted sesame seeds, to garnish

Marinade:
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 dashes ground white pepper

Frying Batter:
1 egg white
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup water, ice cold
1 tablespoon peanut oil, or regular cooking oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

Honey Garlic Sauce:
2 cloves garlic, sliced or lightly bruised
1/3 cup pure honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Chinese cooking wine, or dry sherry wine
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/4-1/2 cup of water

Method:
Marinate the chicken cubes with the Marinade for 5 minutes.

Make the Frying Batter. In a large bowl, lightly whisk the egg white, and mix in the rest of the Frying Batter ingredients. Batter should not be lumpy, nor too runny, but smooth. Place another bowl with ice cubes underneath the frying batter bowl. Drop in the chicken cubes, mix well until they are well coated. Let it sit for about 30 minutes to 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Prepare to make the Honey Garlic Sauce mixture. Mix all the sauce ingredients well and set aside.

Heat up a wok with deep-frying oil. Gently drop in the battered chicken cubes, one by one, making sure it is spread out to prevent sticking, overcrowding the wok, and not fried properly. Turn the heat down to medium-high, and continue to deep-fry until the color changes to golden brown and completely cooked. Dish out and drain on paper towels.

Reserve 3 tablespoons of deep-frying oil in the wok, and stir-fry the garlic until it is browned and the oil is fragrant. Dish out the garlic, and discard. Leave about 2-3 tablespoons of garlic oil in the wok.

Heat up the wok with the garlic oil from previous step, gently pour in the Honey Garlic Sauce mixture, and bring to a light simmer, add in the cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce, give it a quick stir and adjust salt/sugar/water to taste.

Here, you can either dish out some sauce for dipping later and just keep enough to coat the fried chicken cubes in the wok, OR, toss in the chicken and briefly stir well, making sure the chicken is well coated in the sauce, dish out and sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds and serve. Alternatively, you can also keep the sauce separate from the chicken, and dip as you eat.

Egg-Drop Soup

4 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons green onions (chopped)
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt or according to your taste
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 eggs
1 egg yolk

1. Reserve ¾ cup of the chicken broth (it will later be mixed with the cornstarch). Pour the rest of the broth into a sauce pan.
2. Stir in ginger, salt, and green onions. Bring to a boil. While bringing to a boil combine the corn starch with the reserve chicken broth and mix well. Set aside.
3. In a bowl whisk eggs and the egg yolk together with a fork.
4. Slowly drizzle the egg a little at a time with a fork into the boiling broth. The egg will cook right away.
5. Pour the cornstarch mixture into the broth and stir until its mixed well.

Serve hot and enjoy...

Serves 4