What's The Difference?

Different, But the Same!

 

Ever notice how two people can make the exact same recipe and it turns out different?  I do.

 

I notice it most when I get a family recipe that I just loved as a kid.  Then I make it and it’s just not the same.  Did my tastes for things change over the years?  Maybe!  Or maybe it’s something in that dreaded “season to taste” or “dash of” line that you see in many, many recipes.  Maybe a manufacturer changed an ingredient.  Ya know, like using corn syrup instead of sugar.  There could be many, many reasons. 

 

I stumbled on one a while back.   One of my wife’s and my favorites is goulash.  It’s easy to prepare and always good.  We make it at least once a month.  She usually makes it. 

 

So awhile back, I tell her, “I’ll cook dinner, what d’ya want?”  Goulash.  It’s the recipe from my post "Scrambling Hamburger" . 

 

It turned out good, but we both noticed that something was different.  We decided to investigate. 

 

I pulled out the recipe and we started going through it.  The recipe calls for a medium onion.  Maybe that was it.  Did I use brown when she uses white or red.  Maybe my onion was a bigger medium than hers.  How about the medium green pepper.  Hmmm, maybe we should change the recipe to being more exact.  Maybe ¼ or ½ cup of each and specify brown, white, or red.  But, my wife says that wasn’t it.  She uses whatever’s available but she likes the idea of exact measurement because sometimes if the onion or pepper seem to be a little big, she’ll not put it all in. 

 

We moved on down the recipe.  Maybe it was a different brand chili powder.  If you read my post on "Chili Dogs", you know that all chili powder isn’t created equal.  Nope, we both used McCormick’s. 

 

Continuing on, we both had used the same amount Tabasco and the same brand (S&W) Mexican style tomatoes.  The only thing we could figure was that it had to be the hamburger.  Maybe I used a leaner mix than she did.  Sure, that must have been it, because we decided, it seemed a little dryer. 

 

Then yesterday, we once again decided on making some goulash.  We did it together.  That was when we found the missing ingredient. 

 

Amazingly the answer is GREASE!  She doesn’t brown the hamburger  using my scrambling hamburger method.  We discovered that when you use my method the hamburger grease is mostly discarded with the water.  That’s good right?  But, hey we want that flavor.  She drains the hamburger after browning but that good fatty flavor stays there which we decided what was missing. 

 

What other recipes did this affect?

 

We decided chili was probably better with the grease, but we both liked tacos and burritos to have less.  Less with a Bolognese spaghetti sauce. 

 

It all comes down to what I’ve been saying for years.  Ya gotta experiment and figure out what you like. 

 

So, for me, lessons learned:  Be more specific on how much of each ingredient.  Be more specific on methods. 

 

I hope this post gave you some food for thought or visa versa.  Hahahaha!

 

Enjoy!

Blue Cheese Dip - Great for Every Occasion

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Blue Cheese Dip

 

2 packages of cream cheese (softened)

1 package blue cheese

4 tbsp chopped black olives

4 tbsp chopped onion

Milk

 

Use just enough milk for a smooth consistency

Beat with mixer

 

Serve with corn chips.

Fritos or Bugles are best.

photo courtesy of my niece, Melanie Schultz

click on picture to enlarge

 

 As a kid, I never was much of a blue cheese fan.  As a aging boomer, I have become a big fan.  The above dip recipe is one that my mother made for every family occasion.  It was there on every holiday and even for neighborhood taco parties.

 With football season getting ready to kick off, I figured I oughta add this to the blog.

Every time someone new tries it, they ask for the recipe and Mom always gave it to them.

Here's a little story of how my Mother got the recipe.  In our little town of Liberty, Missouri there was a guy named John Pixlee.  Mr. Pixlee threw the paper for the Kansas City Times and Star.  All the time I was growing up, I don't remember having another paper man.  He had a white van and he would sit in the back rolling papers and threw them out of the van while someone else drove it.  Anyway, Mr Pixlee's wife was Eula (Harlow) Pixlee.  Mrs. Pixlee brought the Blue Cheese Dip to a party. It was immediately devoured. So, she left and came back with another big bowl and the recipe. My Dad says there's a note about it in one of my Mother's recipe books.  The Pixlee's owned a bar in Liberty in the 40's.  Both Mr and Mrs Pixlee were born in November 1900 just a couple weeks apart. She died August 1989 and he followed just a month later.  There's gotta be a good love story there.

I hope you'll love her dip.

Enjoy it and as always, feel free to share the recipe.

South Seas Chicken

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I always overbuy fruit and veggies.  That happens when there’s only two people in the house.  This week it was bananas.  I bought a half dozen and we only ate a couple.  There’s always banana bread but ya really got to time that just right.  Those bananas gotta ripen pretty good,  and we’re pretty lazy when it’s in the triple digits outside.

Barbi, my Mrs., has a recipe called South Seas Chicken.  It’s perfect for this situation, plus it takes a lemon which we always have plenty of.  Neither of us really know where this recipe came from but she says she thinks she got it off a cream of coconut can.  Who woulda thought you could use cream of coconut for something besides Pina Coladas.

As always, click on the pic to see a larger view.

It’s really good recipe and we use thighs but we have used breasts and it turns out great.  We just prefer legs and thighs, unless we’re havin’ company. Ha!

South Seas Chicken

2 bananas

6 pieces chicken

Salt and pepper

1 cup cream of coconut

2 tblspns lemon juice

2 ½ cups cornflake crumbs

¾ cup melted butter or margarine

Rinse and pat dry the chicken pieces

Salt and pepper both sides of chicken

In a bowl mix the cream of coconut and lemon juice

Peel and cut the bananas in half (lengthwise or crosswise)

Dip the chicken and the bananas in the coconut then in the cornflakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Brush bottom of baking dish with butter

Place chicken in dish

Drizzle with half the butter

Bake for 45 minutes

Add bananas

Drizzle with remaining butter

Bake another 15 minutes

If you’re having company, I would cut the bananas in thirds so there’s a banana for each piece of chicken.  Or, you can just add another banana.

Here’s something to think about.  Drizzling the butter gives a rich buttery flavor, but some say it makes it a little too greasy. Maybe drizzle over half and see how you like it best.  We always have leftovers, and the extra moisture is good for the reheat, but you can always add a little when you need it.

Now, I don’t know about where you live, but where I live, cream of coconut comes in a 15 oz can. So you got about a cup left over.  My suggestion.  Serve with Pina Coladas!

Enjoy!

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4th of July- Chili Dogs

Chili Dogs

Want to learn how to cook?  Experiment.

That’s what I do.  At first you have some bad batches of stuff but you learn quickly.

Remember my chili recipe?  If not, click here:

Uncle Ron's Chili

Today is the 4^th of July and nothin’ goes better with Independence Day than some real American food.

Chili Dogs

If you make Chief’s recipe and leave out the beans, you have a fantastic chili dog sauce. 

With Barbi’s recipe, just leave out the beans and can of water.

You can add the beans too, if you wish, but leave out the water and strain one can of the beans to make it into a thick chili dog sauce.

If you really feel “experimental,” throw in some jalepenos, or for milder, some chopped bell pepper.

Maybe, leave the onion out in case your having a party.  There’s lot’s of folks that for some reason that I can’t figure, don’t like onion.  I personally, don’t know how you can cook without it.

Here’s a coney island twist, leave out the tomato soup and add a bottle of chili sauce instead.

Chili Powder

All chili powder is not created equal.  The chili I made today was a little hot.  Spicy, chili powder hot.  It was because I used hot New Mexico chili powder.  I had bought this stuff in an effort to save some moola.  You know, the spices that are about half the price and come in a bag instead of a bottle.  I'm not saying these spices are bad, I'm just saying experiment and figure out which ones you like and which ones you don't.

In the Sept/Oct 2000 issue, "Cook's Illustrated" published a taste test article on chili powder.  I'm including it here.

 Now, I would like to discuss a few helpful hints I have learned when it comes to chili dogs.

People ask me "Uncle Ron, should I grill or boil?  Should I toast the bun?"  My answer, whatever/ whichever you like.  I prefer boiled without toasting.

After you make a pot of chili or hot dog chili sauce, I suggest you dig out those old ice cube trays and freeze the leftovers.This is something I learned from a Marine dependent wife named Bobbi.  Bobbi and her mother made a great chili dog sauce but refused to give up the recipe. I suppose they were saving it for after Bobbi's husband, Dennis retired from the Marine Corps.  He could start a new career in front of federal buildings or county court houses.  Anyway, the ice cube sized chili is perfectly sized for a single hot dog serving.

Remember going tot he ball game or fair and buying a "red hot" or "coney" and how good it tasted.  Why did it taste better than you make at home.  It didn't.  You were just in a situation where that hot dog really hit the spot.  Here's a suggestion.  When you serve your dog, wrap it in either wax paper or foil.  It compresses the dog so when you unwrap it, little of your toppings (including the sauce) fall off the dog.  Another idea is to roll it up in a used bread or bun wrapper, then unroll it before placing it in the plate.  Believe me, this really does work.

Finally, let's talk ketchup.  I think Heinz is the best commercial brand.  Once again experiment.  Some people will put ketchup on anything.  I saw Marines in the chow hall put it on eggs.  And yes, some people even put ketchup on their hot dog.  Go figure!

 I hope this was helpful.

Enjoy!

Ham Smokin'

Smoked Ham

 

Yesterday, I was staring at my new smoker and wondering what I should cook up next when my wife saw me.  She walks over and says “Ya know, ya oughta smoke a ham.”

So, off to the internet I went looking for some help.  I found several sites but the jist of it was that you smoke the ham about 4 hours to an internal temp of 140-150 degrees.  Most also used a glaze.

The interesting part was whether or not you use a “cured” ham (already cooked) or a raw one.  I don’t ever remember seeing a raw ham in the grocery store, so I decided on a ham already fully cooked. 

I went down to the store to see what my selections were.  Turns out there was hardly a choice.  It not being a holiday, they only had a couple to choose from.  They did have an already cooked spiral sliced ham but I thought I’d rather slice it after the smoking.  I grabbed a five pound sugar cured ham for $1.99 a pound.

I got this $10 ham home and went to work.  First ting, of course, was to clean the smoker from the last time I used it.  Smokers, like bbq grills get backwards treatment in that after you use it, you just let ‘er sit.  Unlike anything else you use to cook that gets cleaned immediately and put away ready for the next use.  Interesting!

The first thing I did was rub a Dijon style honey mustard all over the ham.  Then, I rubbed it all over with brown sugar.

I let it sit while I fired up the smoker with a full pan of water and a smoke box of pre-soaked “cherry” wood chips.  Once the smoker gets up to about 200, it’ll start smokin’ and your ready to add the ham.  I had pulled out two of my three racks and had left the last one close to the bottom.  The rubbed ham went directly on the rack.

I’ve learned that the trick to smokin’ with a gas smoker is to make sure there’s plenty of wood chips in there to keep the smoke going and to keep the water pan with water as to provide moisture for whatever you’re cookin’.

After an hour, I turned the ham over, added some more cherry chips and some water and let ‘er go another hour.

After that second hour, I pulled out the entire ham.  I placed it on some foil and sprayed that baby with some canned pineapple juice.  I had debated whether to use pineapple or apple as another recipe mentioned and decided on the pineapple.  Then wrapped the ham with the foil and put it back in the smoker.

Now, at this point, you don’t need to add any more chips cause the smokes not gonna make it through the foil.  You might not need the moisture either, but I added some water to the pan.  The indirect heat at 225 is what you’re looking for.

After another hour, I pulled out the ham and unwrapped it making sure not to allow any of the juices to run out the foil.  One recipe called it making the foil into a “boat.”

I poured brown sugar all over it, then sprayed it with some more pineapple juice.  The spray immediately made the brown sugar into a glaze.  Then wrapped it back up and back in for another hour.  I also added some more water to the pan.

After another and final hour, I pulled it out.  I checked the internal temp and got right at about 145.  This bad boy was ready and I was dying for a taste, but nope, ya gotta let ‘er rest for a while cause it worked pretty hard in that heat.

Most recipes agreed between 15 and 30 minutes so I figured what the heck  30 minutes oughta do it.  That bad boy should be well rested and ready for a knife and fork.

I unwrapped the ham.  I slowly cut a circle around the bone, then cut off two slices.  The first one had glaze on it, so I let it sit on the plate, while I gave a taste of the second juicy slice.

Oh my god, you gotta try this!  Delicious!

Now, I’m not like most recipe publishers who would leave things right here.  I want to tell you the bad as well as the good.

First off, some of the meat closest to the outside was a little dry.

There’s a lot of fat on a ham, and there’s skin over that.  You have to cut it off.

If you’ve ever carved a small ham with bone, it’s about as easy as carving a turkey or a chicken.  You end up with a lot of chunks.  That’s ok, ‘cause you can use them and that fat, along with the bone for ham and beans.

Unless you’re using a huge ham like they cook in restaurants, you’re not gonna get a lot of thin sandwich ready slices, even with a slicer.  Be prepared to eat delicious smoked ham sandwiches with pieces.

I don’t think it makes a big difference what kind of wood you use.  While I was cooking, I thought, “this cherry smoke smells just like hickory and mesquite smoke.”  It’s smokey.  You experiment and decide if you think it makes a difference.  Let me know.

Lastly, a whole ham is covered with that layer of skin and fat.  That’s the outside, except for one end.  I wonder if there’s a necessity to glaze it.  Maybe just spray it or baste it to keep it moist.  I don’t know.  I’ll try to remember the next time I smoke one, and I’ll let you know.

I’ll definitely do it again but I’m sure this won’t be one of those weekly things, maybe once or twice a year.  I’m thinking when I have guests so I can use a huge ham.

All in all, the smoked ham was delish and I give it a thumbs up!

 Enjoy!

Cole Slaw

I was lucky enough to grow up in a household where both Mom and Dad cooked.  Mom used the old red and white  Better Homes cookbook and lot’s of Family Circle recipes.  Dad was a fireman and you know how those guys cook. Plus, Dad had cooked at some lunch counters/ diners as a teenager.

Anyway, one of the things my Dad made best was his cole slaw.  This was long before KFC was around.  I never saw him use a recipe, he would just throw together the ingredients.  He’d slice a head of cabbage and throw in some Miracle Whip, just a little vinegar, and some celery seed.  It always turned out great.

Of course, once you get married now you join another person from a household that they believe had the best food around.  The trick is to mix and match until you find the right combinations that satisfy you both.

Here’s the Cole Slaw we now make at our house.

Cole Slaw

In a 2 cup measuring cup, mix together:

    1 cup Miracle Whip
    1/8 cup milk
    2 tbspn sugar
    ½ tspn celery seeds
     ½ tblspn apple cider vinegar

Pour this mixture over about 10 ounces of chopped/sliced cabbage.  We came up with 10 ounces because our local grocers sell precut cabbage in 10 ounce packs.  We use the one with carrots added but you decide if you want carrots or not.

Stir it up real good, cover and refrigerate.  We make it at least two hours before we eat to let the ingredients blend or “marry” as many cookbooks call it.  If we’re gonna have ribs or chicken for dinner and we want some slaw with it, my wife will make the cole slaw in the morning and let it sit in the fridge all day.  Then when you get ready to eat, stir it real good again and serve.

Carrots aren’t the only variation.  My brother’s wife adds pineapple and marshmellow.  I like ‘em.  My Dad would have a “hissy.”  We’ve also been known to put some rasins in there (there's a few in the batch in the picture).  I have some friends who add chopped onions and green bell pepper, but I tend to skip those.   Then, there’s the old Miracle Whip salad dressing or real mayo controversy.  You decide.

So, experiment and I hope you find just the right combination that fits your family.

Enjoy!

Note:  I updated the recipe on 6-7-2013.  I realized I missed an ingredient, the apple cider vinegar.
 

Grilled Cheese and variations thereof...

Some people are just nuts for grilled cheese sandwiches.  My wife is.  Then there’s  my niece who used to eat grilled cheese for breakfast.  I’ll have to ask her if she still does it.  I wonder if her husband does?  They’ve also got a new baby who will be old enough before long for a grilled cheese introduction…..hmmmmm.

Anyway, inexpensive, quick, and just down right delicious.

Just in case you live in Siberia and although you are looking at my blog, but have never tried a grilled cheese sandwich, here’s what you do.  Butter some bread.  Put a piece or two of American cheese in between with butter side out.  Grill.

Now, let’s talk variations.  One of the easiest is simply changing the cheese.  Maybe some provolone or swiss.  Then my wife adds some miracle whip.  Yep, before grilling.  Several years ago, we went to a little Mom and Pop place and they had added red onion and sliced tomato.  It’s fantastic and we still do it.  I of course, like dead animal products so I’ll add some roast beef, bologna, or chicken.  Every so often, we’ll skip the cheese all together and just have some grilled roast beef with bbq sauce (sometimes ham and bbq sauce).  How about ham and cheese, grilled… with mayo…..  Or, how about a little tuna salad or some salmon.  Listen, you could go on and on and on……  I’m really not sure about anchovies….

Enjoy!

Midwestern Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches

A few weeks ago, my friend Craig and I were talking about home.  We’re both from Missouri but both live in California.  His dad and my parents both still live back there.  We were talking about what we miss and don’t miss about the Midwest.  Of course, we talked about humidity, snow, and reminisced about growing up there.  Then the subject turned to food.  One of the things we both agreed on, we miss those fantastic tenderloins they have in the restaurants back there.  So, yesterday, we and our wives got together and made some.  They turned out fantastic!

They are so easy to make.  It’s basically, flattened pork tenderloin, breaded and fried.  Yup, that easy.  Here’s our step by step.

Pork tenderloin sandwiches

One package pork tenderloin (NOT pork loin, it’s gotta be tenderloin)

Flour

Salt and pepper

Eggs

Milk

Ritz crackers

Corn oil

Ok, there’s the ingredients.  Here’s what we did.

First you gotta fight with that silverskin on the meat.  Scrape, cut, and pull ‘til it’s all gone.  Sounds difficult but only takes a few minutes.  Then cut the tenderloin.  If you’ve never had one, the tenderloin is a long muscle about two inches in diameter.  So, ya look at it and say, how in the world do I turn this into a bun sized patty.  I cuta piece off about 2 -2 ½ inches, then you butterfly it, meaning you cut a slit about half way but you only cut it about half way through.  Then fold it out and hammer it flat.  The thinner the better.   Repeat until you’ve either run outa meat or you have enough to make a sandwich or two for each person.  I layer these between some wax paper then put them back in the fridge.  Smashing them down is pretty easy.  We have one of those tenderizing hammers which work good, but I just use my fists and play Rocky music in the background.

Then you gotta grind the ritz crackers.  I use a Cuisinart food processor, but a mortor and pestle work good too.  A wooden spoon in a measuring cup does just fine.  Speaking of fine, that’s the way you want your cracker meal.  I guess you could buy it, but for some reason the stores where I live, don’t carry it..

Put flour in a bowl and mix in a little salt and pepper.  Then throw two eggs in another bowl and put in just enough milk to give it the consistency you’d want for scrambles eggs.

Heat some oil to 375 degrees.  I use an electric fryer but you can do it on the stove.

Take your tenderloins out of the fridge and separate.  Take them one at a time, coat in the flour, dip in the egg wash, then cover with cracker meal.

Put straight into the hot oil and let it cook until it’s a golden like fried chicken or chicken fried steak..  It’ll only take a few minutes.  Turn it to ensure you have cooked both sides.

Put them on a plate with a paper towel.

Then prepare a bun (we like sesame) with some mayo or miracle whip, lettuce, tomato, and if you like dill pickle slices.  Some like ketchup.

Eat, enjoy, and talk about Missouri!

Smokin’

Last week I was looking at BBQ grills.  I have a nice one and don’t know why I look, but I do anyway.  This time of year (spring) they always have a good selection.  Anyway, I saw a nice upright, Charbroil, gas smoker ON SALE!  I’ve wanted one forever, so I looked at the wife, who said “Happy Father’s Day.” Even though, the holiday is weeks away, I knew that she meant to get it and don’t expect anything else ‘cept maybe a card.

Smokers are so easy to use and the food comes out great.  You soak some wood chips.  I like hickory and apple but have used citrus.  You can buy them at the grocer or hardware store.  Don’t use plywood or treated lumber though….  I soak ‘em for about two hours but they say (whoever they are) 30 minutes is enough.  I throw about half package in a bucket and let ‘em soak.  I pull out what I need and let the rest stay n the water.  Fire up the smoker and put some water in for steam and put the wood chips in the smoke box.  (Men, read the directions that come with the smoker!) Use your favorite rub on some meat of throw in some veggies or both and let ‘er cook.  The smoker will slow cook at about 200-250.  If your heat starts going higher, you need to add some water, or turn it down a notch.  Veggies only take an hour or so, but meat will need to cook ‘til it’s the right temperature.  My pork butt took about six and a half hours to get it to 170 internal temp degrees (measured with a meat thermometer.  Baby backs are the best on a smoker.  And chicken… Mmmmmm!

Enjoy!

Cream of Mushroom with Chicken

    Frank and Betty Smith owned a restaurant in Hemet, California named Falatico’s.  Frank ran the restaurant, and Betty ran the business.  Falatico’s was just a great place.  The food was fantastic, but the place itself, with all the employees just yelled “Come on in, we’re the friendliest place you’ll ever dine. Plus the food is GREAT!"

Now, I knew Frank from the Elks Lodge.  He would never give me his recipes although he would tell me pretty much exactly  but after a few beers, I would never remember.  One thing Frank used to say was “Ron, you’d be surprised how simple most recipes are.”

Falatico’s specialty was Italian as you may have guessed from the name, but they had great barbeque ribs and steaks.  Another thing that “was to die for” was their homemade soups.  Especially Thursday night when they would have mushroom.

Sorry to say, Frank and Betty are both gone and so is Falatico’s.  I often think about them and have cravings for one of their meals.  Start with a small salad with Italian, then the mushroom soup, the main course of ribs with a side of spaghetti, then a little spumoni  for dessert.

Ok, so the other night while eating some really great cream of potato soup at the Soboba country club, I started thinking about Falatico’s and their mushroom soup.  So, the next morning I started checking recipes and guess what, you’ll be surprised about how simple it is.

Basic is best and here’s the basic.

 

Cream of Mushroom Soup

½ lb fresh mushrooms (chopped)

1 tbspn chopped chives (green onions, chopped)

3 tbspns butter

¼ tsp salt

¼ tspn blk pepper

4 cups chicken broth

4 tbspns flour

¾ cup cream

Melt the butter and sautee the mushroom s and chives.  Add the salt and pepper and chicken broth.  Bring to boil.  While waiting for it to boil, shake the flour with the cream and add to the boiling broth.  Stir until it thickens then drop to a simmer.  Serve

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      Now, how easy is that?

So, here’s what happened to me.  I didn’t have any chicken broth and I could bitch about the price of gas and how the nearest store is  five miles away, but the fact is I was too lazy to go to the store.  But, I did have some frozen chicken breasts.  So, I crockpot’d it on high for 4 hrs in 4 cups water and made my own.  And, since now I had the chicken breasts, I used a half cup chopped in the soup, and that’s why the title says Cream of Mushroom with Chicken.

Now, I know that most people don’t have a half pound of fresh cremini mushrooms in their fridge like I did, so canned is ok, 2 or 3 small cans.  And if you do like fresh, feel free to use portabell’s, shiitake’s or whatever suits your fancy. 

What I did was slice half and chop the other half cause I wanted some slices in the soup.  Whichever mushrooms you use, when you sautee them with the chives, don’t forget the salt.  That’s what brings out the flavor.  Lot’s of people these days will be tempted to skip it, you know the so called healthy.

I mentioned how simple this is.  If you read some of the recipes from famous chef’s like Julia Child, you’ll see where they whipped the  heavy cream with an egg yolk then mixed in some arrowroot (which I cannot find in my local grocery stores) and this is what gives the creamy thickness.  I say if you got time, go for it.  It’ll probably be better, but if you talk to the kitchen help, at the restaurant, it’s thrown together in a pot.   It's basically a white sauce and broth with mushrooms and onion.  Puck uses corn starch, I used flour.  Hey, experiment.  Add some bay leaves, thyme, use beef instead of chicken, celery, or whatever.  It’s gonna be one of two recipes.  One you use again or one you don't.  I’m usin’ mine again.

Enjoy!

Chicken Parmesan

Once again I opened the Parade Magazine and saw a recipe that caught my attention.  This one Feb 26, 2012 was for Ree Drummond’s Chicken Parmesan.  Ree Drummond is the star of Pioneer Woman on the Food Network.  I must admit that I’ve never seen her show but the recipe looks great.

http://www.dashrecipes.com/recipes/sunday-dinner/chicken-parmesan-ree-drummond.html

Here’s mine:   

Chicken Parmesan

2-4 boneless chicken breasts – pound them thin (I use my fists, the mallet is just too light.)
1 egg
¼ cup milk

1 cup flour

1 teaspn each Salt and pepper

1 cup oil

Whisk the eggs and milk in a bowl.  Mix salt and pepper with flour in shaker bag.  Dip chicken in this egg wash then coat with flour and salt and pepper.  Do this step twice.

Cook in hot oil then set aside.  Keep warm at 250 degrees.

At this point, you could use the pan and make a gravy, then serve with fried potatoes, but that’s another meal.  Back to the parmesan.

 1 tblspn garlic

¼ to ½ onion

1 chopped (diced) tomato

1 jar Prego or Ragu spaghetti sauce

½ cup wine

Provolone (or mozzarella) cheese slices

Spaghetti (4 servings)

 Add garlic and onion to pan drippings and saute.  Add the sauce and wine.  Let simmer while you cook the spaghetti as per the package.  Drain spaghetti and return to pot.  Mix in about a ½ cup of the sauce with the spaghetti.  This will give it that reddish coating. 

Put serving of spaghetti on plate or pasta dish.  Sprinkle with parmesan.  Lay a chicken breast on top of the spaghetti.  Put a generous slice of provolone on chicken.  Pour sauce over  chicken then top with generous portion of grated parmesan.

This is a simple but delicious meal.  Serve with some garlic bread and spumoni ice cream for dessert.

ENJOY!

Rosemary's Baby / St Cloud Cocktail

A couple years ago, I got interested in genealogy.  It happened by accident but I got hooked and have enjoyed many hours researching my relatives.  I never met my paternal grandfather and had to use my investigative experience to find him.  He had changed his name slightly, changed his birthplace, and even his birth year came into question.  Ultimately, the way I found him was in his brother’s obituary.  Finding him opened a new branch of the family.  I have a second cousin named Carl.  Carl probably has no clue that I even exist but I’ve researched him just the same.  One afternoon, I found Carl listed in a blog by a Julia Reed.  Julia is a friend of Carl and his wife.  They apparently have a very good catering business.  The story goes that Carl was in Boston and stumbled upon a drink called the St Cloud at the Aquataine French Bistro.  The aquataineboston.com menu says the St. Cloud is Svedka Vodka, grapefruit, Rosemary Essence, and lime zest.  Julia did some experimatnation and came up with her recipe that is listed on her website www.fetchmagbytaigan.com/food-drink/rosemarys-baby

Anyone following my blog knows that I have rosemary growing in my back yard in abundance and I’m always looking for ways to use it.  I also have a grapefruit tree, so this recipe is a natural for me plus it is very, very good.  Julia describes it as tasting “seriously like the nectar of the gods.”  Thanks Julia for a great recipe.  Tell Carl I said hello.

Rosemary’s Baby

“First, make the simple syrup by boiling two cups sugar and two cups water for a few minutes until the sugar is completely dissolved. Take the pot off the heat and steep a healthy handful of rosemary branches in the syrup. Leave it on the counter to cool with the herbs for 30 minutes to an hour (rosemary is so strong you don’t need to do it any longer to get the full effect). Remove branches and strain syrup. This will keep refrigerated in a jar for at least a month, which is why I always make at least two cups of the stuff.

While the syrup is cooling, squeeze fresh grapefruits (the Texas pink variety is sweetest and prettiest) to make as much juice as you need. Strain through a wire mesh strainer, and chill. Put a healthy jigger of ice cold vodka in a highball glass, and top with the chilled grapefruit juice. Stir in a couple of tablespoons of the rosemary syrup and taste (depending on the sweetness of the juice, you may need more). Garnish with a rosemary sprig.”

As always, ENJOY!

Kansas City BBQ Sauce

When I was growing up in Kansas City, there were two types of barbeque.  There was Arthur Bryant’s and there was Gates.  Bryant’s was where you went if you were on your way to the baseball game because it was right there down the street from the old municipal stadium.  Arthur Bryant’s is my favorite. 

http://here-in-california.blogspot.com/2010/01/arthur-bryants-now-thats-barbeque.html

Over the years, I have searched for bbq sauce recipes hoping to duplicate Bryant’s sauce.  I’m still looking, but not long ago, I ran across several websites that said this recipe was given to Martha Stewart on her show by Ol’ Mr Gates himself.  So I gave it a try.  I hoped with all my heart that it was the real thing.  Ya know, I have many times run across recipes that say stuff like “this donut is exactly like a Krispy Kreme” so you go for it and the result doesn’t even resemble a glazed donut let alone the real Krispy Kreme.  I am happy to report that this recipe is the real deal.  It may or may not have come from Mr Gates, but it sure does taste like Gates sauce.  At least to me.  I played around with it and came up with the following.  It may seem a little thick but that can be easily taken care of with just a little water.  I like to make this sauce a day or so in advance, but have used it right out of the measuring cup.

Gates BBQ Sauce

1 cup ketchup

      4 tblspns vinegar
      2 tblspns sugar
      ½ tblspn salt
      ¼ tblspn celery seeds
      ¼ tblspn ground cumin
      ¼ tblspn ground red pepper
      ¼ tblspn garlic powder
      ¼ tblspn chili powder
      ¼ teaspn liquid smoke
      1/8 teaspn lemon juice

I hope you ENJOY it!

Stuffed Green Bell Pepper

I grew up on these things.  My Mom and Dad always used the old Better Homes and Gardens red and white checkered cookbook recipe.  Mom used to prepare them the night before and cover them with saran wrap then refridgerate.  The only thing they needed were to be baked and served. Mom and Dad both worked so whoever got home first baked them.  Usually Mom got there first, but one night Dad beat her home.  He heated the oven and threw in  the stuffed peppers.   The only problem was that he forgot to take off the saran wrap.  Luckily saran wrap shrivels before melting, so we were able to get most of it off.  Also luckily, melted saran wrap didn’t kill us when we ate it.

Dad worked for Remington Arms/ Dupont at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant.  For Christmas 1979, Lake City made up a cookbook of “Favorite Lake City Recipes.”  450 pages of about 1500 recipes.  On page 146, a primer inspector named Jackie Cort of Bldg 35 listed her Stuffed Pepper recipe.  In it, she added the horseradish.  It adds a nice little zing.  Skip it if it scares you.  I like it!

Stuffed Bell Peppers 

6 bell peppers

1 tsp Salt (keep the salt shaker on standby)

1 tsp black pepper

1 ½- 2 lbs hamburger

1 chopped onion

2 14.5 oz cans tomatoes

1 cup water

1 cup rice

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

8 oz shredded American or cheddar cheese

1 tblspn horseradish

Cut of tops of peppers and spoon out seeds and membrane.

Boil in salted water 5 minutes (skip this part if you like your peppers very crisp)

Take out of water.  Sprinkle inside with salt (shake it like a salt shaker) and set aside on plate.

Scramble the hamburger  and onion and drain.(Refer to that post. If not, just brown it.)

Put back in skillet and add salt, pepper, tomatoes, water, rice, Worcestershire sauce, and horseradish.

Bring to boil and let simmer about 5 minutes (until rice is tender).  If there's still excess water, let it simmer longer to boil off that liquid.  You want the meal mosit and tender but not soggy. 
Stir in the shredded cheddar.

Place peppers in a large baking dish (I use a 9x13)

Fill peppers with meat mixture, then spoon the rest of the meat mixture around the peppers.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Let stand about 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with grated Parmesan cheese, bread, and butter.

Now that’s some good stuff, or should I say stuffing?

Enjoy!

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Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Click on picture to see the whole thing

I have always loved pineapple upside down cake.  I'm not sure when I tried it for the first time, but my guess is probably the chow hall at NAS Jax, Florida.  I'm also sure I had a big glass of cold milk too.  Oops, drooling on the computer, let's get to the recipe.

When you read recipes in the cookbooks, they're all about the same, except for the newer cookbooks don't walk you through making the cake yourself.  Instead they recommend using a boxed yellow or white cake mix.  I've made my own and I've tried the mixes, and I gotta tell ya, for a buck and a half, get the mix.  I would recommend that you at least once make a cake from scratch, though.  Sorry, this time I'm using the mix. But, with some adjustments.  Don't worry, very minor.   : )


Pineapple Upside Down Cake

1/2 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 20 oz can pineapple slices
1 jar marachino cherries, no stem
1 box yellow or white cake mix
1/4 cup sugar
1 orange
plus eggs, oil, etc on cake mix box
crushed walnuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees
Use a 13x9  pan,  melt the butter in the oven
Sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter.  Spread it out to cover the whole pan.

Drain  the pineapple (but save the juice) and place the slices in the pan.  Try to arrange them pretty evenly in the pan.  Then put a cherry in the middle of each slice and if you want, place  a few extra in between.  If you want, sprinkle those optional crushed nuts on there, but don't over do it.

Check the mix box and see how much water it calls for.  Then substitute the water with a mixture of the left over pineapple juice, the juice of one fresh orange, and water.  That's the 1st adjustment. Then mix it all up as directed on the box plus throw in an extra 1/4 cup of sugar. That's the second and final.

Pour the mix over the pineapple and cherries.  Bake for 45 minutes (check the side of the cake mix box).  Test with a toothpick or a fork to make sure it's done.  If it is, the toothpick or fork will come out clean.

Pull from oven and immediately run a knife around he edge of the pan.  This will loosen the cake so it won't stick.  Now place a plate of pan bigger than the cake pan over the cake pan.  Use something that won't melt.  Turn the cake over onto the plate.  Leave the pan over it for a little over 5 minutes to make sure all that juice soaks into the top of the cake, then pull the pan off.  Doesn't taht look yummy?  Let it sit for at least 30 minutes before you cut and serve it.  If ya feel like it throw on a little whip cream.  MMMmmmmmm!

There's that drool again.....  Enjoy!

Beef Stew - More Winter Comfort Food

Beef Stew

1 ½ lbs stew meat

5-6 cups water
1/4 cup red wine

4 beef bullion cubes-or 3 tablespns instant  bullion - or 1 cn beef consumme

1tspn salt

3 large potatoes

2 stalks celery

3 large carrots

2 large onions quartered – or 10-12 pearl onions

½ tspn kitchen bouquet

Flour

Shortening

 Flour meat then brown in shortening.  Put in a large kettle.

Add water, bullion, and kitchen bouquet. Add wine.

Bring to boil and let simmer for two hours.

Add veggies and simmer another hour.

Eat and Enjoy!

The easiest way to flour meat is to put in a bag, add enough flour to coat meat, and shake.

We’ve used frozen beef vegetables.  I would use two bags but one will be ok.  If you use the dry pearl onions in a bag, be sure to let cook long enough for the onions to soften real good.

Now, if it were up to me, I’d add about a cup of ketchup to the recipe.  My wife doesn’t like it like that, so I add my ketchup at serving time. Sometimes I add a little tobasco.  Mmmm!

We like to get a bag of fresh French bread to go with it, too.

So there ya go.  Nice comfort food for a cold day.

Enjoy!

Again with the Chasseur Sauce

Remembering back to my post on Tornados Chasseur and again with Prime Rib, I love Chasseur Sauce.  Well, last night I had a steak and wanted some sauce.  I looked in the cabinet and there was no Beef Broth.  But, there was an envelope of Au Jus.  So I made some up.  I didn't use a recipe, just kinda threw it together.  It was the best ever.  After dinner I went back and read the recipes.  Pretty close but what made the difference was that I added more butter, used some wine, and since I have fresh rosemary in the yard, I threw some of that in too. Of course, there's always garlic, so it went in.  Then, who knows why, I spotted one of those school lunch box size boxes of raisins in the cabinet and I threw that in too.  The last thing I did different was it was a little runny so I let 'er simmer.  This does a couple things.  First it burns off the excess liquid including the alcohol from the wine.  Then it draws out and blends all the flavor.  What came out was a thick Chasseur Sauce that was to die for!

Chasseur Sauce

1 envelope Au Jus (I used Lawrey's)
1 cup water
1 1/2 tblspn ketchup
1/4 cup wine
half an onion chopped
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms sliced
1 tblspn minced garlic
3 tblspns butter
1 tspn rosemary
1 small box raisins

start with the butter onions, galic, and mushrooms. saute

In a shaker, mix everything else.  Shake it up baby!  Add to pan and let simmer until it reduces to a nice thick sauce.

You're gonna like the way it tastes.
Enjoy!

Chicken Italian

In 1978, I lived on the Westbank in  New Orleans, Louisiana.  I lived in a really nice apartment complex called Higgins Gate.  The entire complex was wiped out by hurricane Katrina in 2005 (long after I had left)  On Friday afternoons, I would ice down a case of Bud and go sit by the swimming pool.  Yes this was every Friday (or at least most of ‘em) as I remember.  People would come by and I would share my beer.  The catch was that when we ran out, someone else had to go get some more.  This worked really well for it meant we had a great party every Friday night plus after a while, people would just bring beer and we’d never run out.  One night a guy named Cary, an offshore welder and I were the last ones standing and we decided we wanted to get something to eat.  We were walking towards the parking lot when we ran into a neighbor, Jay.  Jay and his wife were both nurses and some of the nicest people you could ever meet.  I don’t remember where Jay’s wife, Becky was, but Jay was just getting home from a party.  We told Jay of our plans and he said that if someone else drove his truck, he would treat us to the best steak we ever ate.  So I was driving with jay in the middle and Cary at the passenger window. Jay was giving directions.  We drove over the I-10 Mississippi River Bridge and was headed west.  We went past Fat City/ Metairie and still heading west into nowhere.  I asked Jay where in the heck we were going.  His reply “Lake Charles!”  Now, Lake Charles is over 200 miles away from New Orleans  meaning we still had about a three hour drive on our hands.  Remember at that time even on the I-10 it was 55mph.   It wasn’t long before both Jay and Carey were asleep.  I took the opportunity to reverse direction back towards home.  When we got to Metairie, I saw a sign for Steak and Eggs and pulled in.  Carey woke up but we couldn’t get Jay’s attention long enough to ask if he wanted to come in.  We ate and headed back to Higgin’s Gate.  We managed to get Jay inside and closed the door behind him.  He slept in the apartment’s entryway.  The next afternoon, I was telling Jay the story.  He had no recollection of even seeing me, let alone the drive.  We laughed and he asked how he could make it up to me.  Oh boy, I knew the Answer right away.  One of the best things on the planet is:

 Jay and Becky’s Chicken Italian. (it was Becky’s Mother’s recipe)

5 lb chicken

2 qt chicken stock (made while cooking)

2 8oz pkg noodles

1 can mushrooms

2 tbsp cooking oil

2 green bell peppers

1 cup diced celery

2 chopped onions

2 cloves chopped garlic

2 cans tomato sauce

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 ½ tsp tobasco sauce

Parmesan cheese

In a saucepan, cook until tender in 2 tbsp oil, bell peppers, half the celery, half the onions, mushrooms, and garlic.

Add tomato sauce, Worcestershire, and tobasco.  Cook slowly one hour.

Cut up chicken and place in two qts water.

Put in the rest of the onion and celery and add some salt and pepper.  Boil until chicken is tender then bone and cut it up.

Use stock to cook the noodles and pour of excess.

Mix it all together.

Serve with Parmesan cheese.

You gonna want seconds!

I haven’t seen Jay and Becky in years, but I caught up with them on facebook.  Isn’t facebook fantastic?

Enjoy!