The meal that launched a family

Yesterday was mine and Bill's 13th anniversary of our first date. That night 13 years ago he had invited me over so he could cook me supper. On the menu was Diced Chicken with Peanuts, a couple of bottles of REALLY excellent wine that he had brought with him from Ontario, and a strawberry desert wine that he had made himself. On my yum. the rest, as they say, is history.

In honour of this anniversary, I made the dish last night. It is still as good and I thought that I could share it with you.

2 or 3 chicken breasts cut into long thin strips marinated at least 2 hours in,

1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tbsp dry sherry
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1/3 cup of dry red wine
10 to 12 dry red chilies (or less depending on your heat tolerance)

Stir-fry ingredients

1 1/4 cups raw peanuts skinned and shelled
1 large sweet red pepper, sliced
1/2 large green pepper, sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
3 to 4 cups broccoli florets
2 tsp chopped ginger root
5 cloves garlic chopped
1 cup green onions cut 1/2 inch long
3 tbsp oil to stir fry with

Combine in a jar and set aside

1/3 cup water
2 tbsp soya sauce
1 heaping tbsp corn starch

Cooking Instructions

Put two tbsp oil in the cold wok and add the peanuts, then bring the heat up to medium and stirring constantly, roast them slowly until they are a golden brown. Remove the peanuts with a slotted spoon , leaving the oil behind.
Add peppers and celery and stir fry until cooked. Remove from pan.
Do the same with broccoli.
Add the remaining oil, then add ginger, garlic, and green onions. Cook fro about a minute, then add the chicken and marinade. Cook until the chicken is cooked, but still tender.
Put all of the ingredients back into the wok add the cornstarch mixture, turn down the heat and stir until the sauce thickens. You can remove the chilies before eating, or you can live dangerously.

I hope that someone our there trys and enjoys this dish as much as we do. Even the kids all eat it, although they don't bother with the chilies.

Todays post is also my 100th post. Hard to believe, but there it is.