Copycat P.F. Chang's Chili Sauce and Sofas

It has been a full month of weekend projects and I'm happy to say the end is closing near.  Four straight weekends of hard physical work, I recover during the week and then we're back at it again on Saturday/Sunday mornings.  I have never been in so much pain in my life.  Muscles that I didn't even know that I owned have been screaming at me.  You know what they say though...no pain, no gain.

We have now changed our upstairs flooring (check back later this month for more on that...), and installed our downstairs flooring.  As you know, when you change just one thing, the domino effect starts falling...quickly.

We decided last summer that our sofa, loveseat, chair and ottoman were tired...very, very tired.  We think they are 16 years old.  16 years of kids, dogs, recuperating sick days home, evening debriefings, parties and celebrations, quiet book reading coffee times, family game and movie nights, and 5 residential moves.  

In this time, I had them reupholstered once, and I spent countless afternoons using leather conditioning treatments (which by the way is also a great arm workout).  There wasn't much more I could do to keep up their appearance, it was time to say good-bye.  I advertised them on the free page of Craigslist and someone from Wyoming drove all the way here to pick up the furniture for his new "man cave" he was building...perfect!

We placed our order of the new furnishings and waited...and waited...and waited.  Our six to eight week lead time turned into five months.  In the end though, it all worked out and was worth the wait.

What was once old, is now a new refreshed living room.  Even Princess Brinkley clearly approves of if all.

Since every waking weekend moment and dollar has been focused on the house, we really don't go out much at all for meals.  However, one of our favorite restaurants for special occasions is P.F. Chang's.

We always start our evening with their Steamed Handmade Shrimp Dumplings.  They serve them with a chili sauce drizzle that is simply out of this world.  We always ask for extra sauce.  Honestly, we could ask for a bucket and it wouldn't be enough.

Luckily, after many years of trial and error, we have conquered this sauce to make at home with our own dumplings.  So, so good and ridiculous how easy it is!

Copycat P.F. Chang's Chili Sauce

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

2 Tbl soy sauce

2 Tbl rice wine vinegar

2 Tbl ketchup

1 Tbl lemon juice

1/8 tsp sesame oil

1 Tbl hot Chinese mustard

2 tsp water

1-2 tsp garlic and chili paste

Dissolve the sugar in 1/2 cup water, stirring until completely incorporated.  Add the rest of ingredients and slowly whisk to combine.

This sauce is also super great to drizzle over grilled meats, shrimp, or rice.

One Year Ago:  Shrimp Cucumber Bites

Two Years Ago:  Chicken, Artichoke and Cannellini Bean Spezzatino

Three Years Ago:  Eating My Words...Part 1 and Cheesy Country Ham Dip

Four Years Ago:  Julie & Julia's Tomato Bruschetta

Five Years Ago:  BBQ Glazed Meatloaf and Jack and The Beanstalk

Six Years Ago:  24 Hour Salad (And To Departure)

Seven Years Ago:  Chile-Cheese Egg Bake