I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. For those of you that don't celebrate our American holiday, I have plenty of leftovers.

Mama Making Pumpkin Pies.

Getting ready for Thaksgiving.

Cranberry Chutney

Description:
Many years ago a container of Boston Market's Cranberry Chutney was in the fridge and I pulled it out when making some corn bread. What the heck, I added it to the batter and wow, what a great addition. I had to make my own for future uses and love it. It can be used for so many recipes. Add it to pancakes or waffles, use for a cobbler, serve over vanilla ice cream, added to a bbq sauce, add to stuffing and even serve over chicken, pork or turkey slices. It's even great on turkey sandwiches.

Ingredients:
Recipe for a basic version
1 bag of cranberries
1/2 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of orange juice
1 cup of rough chopped walnuts
1/4 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of fresh grated cinnamon


Directions:
Put all the ingredients into a sauce pan, bring to a boil while stirring. Once the sugar melts reduce heat and simmer till mixture reduces to a consistancy you like.

Enjoy, IC

A Garage Cleaning

About 7 years ago I through the Union Hall volunteered for a job called Christmas in April. The job was to assist the elderly with construction work needed on their homes.
I pulled up to the job on a Saturday morning with 2 fellow carpenters. Out of 100's of volunteers we were the only ones on this job. 50 other people were on a painting job with our famous X Mayor/ Governor, James E McGreevey whom had set this program up. The painting job was a Photo shoot.
We got out of our trucks and the job we were given was to install a garage door. Hah, It was a 2 car garage so another door had to be picked up.
We introduced ourselves to the elderly lady we were to do the job for. We went to open the garage and a 30 something year old son living there told us that there may be a few things in our way. We would have to go through the house. The other to fellows went inside to access the garage and I started to look at the old doors. They had never been painted. The house hadn't been very well maintained either. The side jambs of the doors were water rotted right through.
The 2 fellows I was with came back out of the house telling me that there was a problem. There was so much crap and garbage inside the garage they couldn't get to either door...
OK, I go to my truck, grab an extension chord, Saw Zall, heavy duty blade and set myself up, cut door #1 right down the middle. The bottom panel basically disintegrated.We were in. What we were in was beyond belief. I think a thousand Vics had cleaned there garages and shipped the stuff to this one.
Nothing had ever been thrown out at this place. Including garbage. We made a call and through channels of at that time  Mayor, James E McGreevey, a garbage truck was sent out special just for this job.
My 2 fellow carpenters and myself started to haul the garbage out. The Mother and her 30 something year old son watched. Another son that lived there showed up to watch too. He said that they had a couple old cars in there too. We had a glimpse of 1 but had no idea that there was 2. At some point a mention of a missing cat that had upset the elderly mother had been mentioned too.
We filled one garbage truck and it had to leave to dump and return. Filling the second, a pile of news papers was being removed. The pile must have been stacked and fallen over at one time. Under the last few bundles being removed we found the missing cat. Mummified. One of the guys picked the stiff corpse up by the tail, shook it head first at the lady and said, "We found your cat".
We literally jammed the garbage into garbage truck load #2. Even with the compression compactor on the truck we thought we would need one more trip but we got it all in there.
Yes, there were 2 cars in the garage, By old I was say late 60-70 models. Of course they couldn't be moved and sat in the way of working on the doors.
The garage door replacement . To start, we ended up rebuilding the entire front of the garage. The old framing had rotted along the bottom of the entire wall. We installed 2 new doors and then were asked to install openers on them. Happy happy joy joy specially with the 2 cars sitting in the way.
We didn't finish the job until almost 9pm.
Now helping someone in need to me should be a feel good project. Should be. We did the job, asked for nothing in return. Not a one of the 3 of us that did the job lived in the area. I had an hours drive myself to get there. What ticked me off, This elderly lady had 3 sons living there. All 3 sons were of a younger age than myself, 2 of those sons watched us work almost the entire day and not a 1 lifted a finger to help. We even bought our own lunches while they watched us eat. they ordered out for themselves. The project was completed, the material used was donated through donations and the Home Depot, As we were leaving the residences of the home were asking  who would  tow the cars from the garage.

Mashed Potatoes

I have mentioned before how I hate baked potatoes. The reason being, piucking potatoes as a kid and the memory burned into my brain of the putrid rotting slimy oozing dripping from my hand mass I would at times end up with and the stench.

I can eat potatoes in any other form though, lol. As long as no potato skins are along for the ride. My favorite though is mashed potatoes and they were mentioned i the comment section of my gravy recipe.

About Mashed Potatoes.

Every since I was a young boy, When makinbg mashed potatoes, after draining them we set the cooked potatoes in a bowl and then we whipped them with the electric beater. Added butter and cream, salt and pepper. To this day I still make them the same way. Maybe today other recipes may come into play such as additions of maybe some cooked and mashed garlic, sour cream and chives, horseradish, cheese blends or even bacon bits.

Does anyone else use an electric beater when making their potatoes? My wife and I have had our electric beater since forever, lol and it's the only thing we use it for. Potatoes.

Gravy

Description:
Judy asked if I would post a turkey gravy recipe. To me, gravy is made almost the same for almost anything roasted which requires the drippings and carmalization from the pan the roast was baked in, liquid and a thickner.
I also keep beef and chicken base on hand just incase I need some added flavor.
Thickners for me are either flour or corn starch in most cases. 2 tablespoons of flour per cup of liquid or 1 tbl of cornstarch.
The trick to me for a good gravy is to make it just before serving. Don't let a cornstarch or flour gravy cook to long or the thickening will cook off and the gravy will be runny. Also know that if you want a light gravy, use flour. Cornstarch will give you the color of a gravy of what ever color your sauce is.

At times when I know I'll have plenty of guest, I will make a stock using the gizzards, neck bone, onion, celery and carrot, a few cups of water, and simmer while the turkey roast, add this liquid to the drippings to increase volume for the gravy. This trinity of vegetables always inncreases the good flavor of a stock and gravy. Make sure to starin before using though.

Ingredients:
Gravy for 6
2 cups of drippings liquid . Add water or stock if needed.
4 tbls of flour or 2 tbls of cornstarch
1 tsp of base if not using stock
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
To make gravy,
Let drippings cool down just a bit so that excess fast can be spooned off the top. A few ice cubes can speed nthis up. You can get fancy cups that will dain off fat and you can even use your vaster to suck the drippings from under the fat.
I like to remove the fat and leave the drippings right in the roasting pan. Add cool liquid and thickner. whisk well to combine. Over a medium heat stir and work any bits off the bottom of the roaster and the sides. As the liquid comes to a boil lower heat to a low simmer and simmer between 5-10 minutes. Just cook off any raw flour taste. Taste for seasonings. Add base if needed before any salt. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Sauerbraten ( A Ginger Recipe)

Description:
This is a recipe out of an old Betty Crocker Cookbook dated 1969. It has a few tweaks or what I call ajustments.



Ingredients:
4 lb beef roast
1 pack of Lipton Beefy Onion soup mix.
1 teaspoon of beef base
1 tsp of fresh grated ginger
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 medium onion, slice
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon pickling spices
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup gingersnap cookie, crushed
1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:
Place meat in deep skillet or Dutch oven.
Mix the soup mix,ginger, beef base and vinegar; pour over meat.
With sharp fork, pierce surface of meat; marinate 15 minutes, turning occasionally.
Add onion, bay leaves, pickling spices and pepper.
Cover tightly; simmer on top of range or in 325 degrees oven 3 hours.
Remove meat.
Strain drippings and discard spices.
Measure drippings and add water to measure 2 1/2 cups liquid.
Melt shortening in skillet.
Blend in flour.
Cook over low heat , stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly.
Remove from heat.
Gradually stir in liquid.
Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.
Boil and stir 1 minute.
Add, meat; cover and simmer 30 minutes or until tender , turning meat once.
Place meat on warm platter; keep warm while preparing Gingersnap Gravy.
Gingersnap Gravy:.
Stir 1/3 cup crushed gingersnaps and 1 tsp sugar into gravy in pan.
Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.
Boil and stir 1 minute.
Serve gravy with meat.

Enjoy, IC

Chicken Soup

Description:
This a a soup recipe for those of you that want the real thing. Just a good old fashion bowl of soup.
The process of making the stock may seem to be a pain in the butt but it's well worth it

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, about a 3 pounder, cut into pieces
1 onion rough diced
4 carrots rough diced
3 stalks of celery rough diced
1 clove of garlic, minced very fine
1 tsp of Bells poultry seasoning
a dash or 2 of ginger

Cooked good chicken meat that was reserved
2 carrots, diced
1 medium onion minced
1 stalk of celery diced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of Egg noodles

Directions:
Place the cut up chicken pieces in a dutch oven type pot that has been coated with a tablespoon or 2 of vegetable oil and brown over a medium high heat.
Remove the browned chicken and saute the onions, carrots and celery until soft. Add the chicken back to the pan and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 1.2 hour.
Remove the chicken and allow to cool enough to get the meat off the bones. I try to pull the breast meat of whole so I can dice it up. Add the bones and any meat you don't want in your soup back to the liquid and simmer for about an hour. ( I usually just reserve the breast and thigh meat) Strain the liquid and discard bones and cooked remains. I like to fish out bones and try to press the cooked vegetables through a fine mesh strainer. All that pulp is good flavoring.
To the nice chicken stock you now have, add the reserved chicken, vegetables and spices. Bring to a simmer and add egg noodles. Cook for 10 minutes. Agg salt and pepper to taste. Soups on.

Enjoy, IC

Macaroni Soup

Description:
This is a soup that I grew up on as a kid that was at the top of the list as a comfort food and still is today. It's has just a few simple ingredients and will probably be laughed at but to this day I still make it and my kids love it.

Ingredients:
1 lb of macaroni. ( Elbows)
1 can of evaporated milk
2 cups of milk
1 stick of butter
salt and lots of black pepper

Directions:
Start by cooking the Elbow Macaroni as directed. Under cook by 3 minutes
Drain and put back in pot. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to medium and cook till the Macaroni has cooked to your desired texture. Lots of black pepper is important here.

(Crushed Saltines go very well In this Creamy and buttery broth)
Enjoy, IC

No Corned Beef and Cabbage

Description:
Growing up in an Irish family I never enjoyed Corned Beef and Cabbage.
I just make mine using ham. Ham is usually in the freezer from either New Years or Christmas leftovers.
Another very simple recipe

Ingredients:
2 quarts of water
two teaspoons of better than bullion chicken base
4 large potatoes cut into 3/4" chunks
4 large carrots sliced about 1/2" thick
1 large onion coarsely chopped
2 cloves of garlic smashed
2 cups of leftover diced ham or a leftover ham on the bone

Directions:
Place all of the above ingredients in a crock pot in the morning. Set on the low setting and cover. Allow to cook all day. Stir once if you get a chance ag
after about 4 hours.
I love to eat this soup with a really crusty home made loaf of sour dough bread cut into thick slabs slathered with butter.

Enjoy, IC

Manhattan Clam Chowder

Description:
I love clam chowder. Both new England and Manhattan but it seems that when out you can only get New England.
I love to make it home made because I can control the clams that go into it. There is nothing like a hot thermos of clam chowder on a cold day at work.

Ingredients:
1 lb of Little Neck Clams (removed from shells and minced) Save the juice
3 tablespoons of butter (optional, 4 slices of bacon)
1 large can of v8 juice
2 large potatoes diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large onion diced fine
1 cup of corn
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1/2 packet of Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 cup of lemon juice
An IC Twist- 1/2 cup of miniature pasta Shells

Directions:
melt butter in a dutch oven type pot. Add the clams,onions, Old Bay Seasoning, red pepper flakes and cook over medium high heat until onions are soft. I do at times use about 4 strips of bacon instead of the butter for a more intense flavor. After the onion has softened add the potatoes and cook until and excess liquid or drippings are absorbed.
Add the V8 juice, lemon juice,reserved clam juice and corn. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on medium heat for at least 20 minutes. Add the 1/2 cup of miniature sea shell shaped pasta and cooked for an additional 10 minutes.

I am a big fan of filling my bowl of this soup with crushed saltine crackers to thicken the broth just a bit as I eat it. If no crackers are on hand then its dipping a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich into the broth. Ewwwww, pb&j in a fishy broth, lol.I love PB&J sandwiches with almost any soup.

Enjoy, IC

Stuffed Cabbage Soup

Description:
This weeks theme is Soup. I have several favorite and going through my recipes you can find several like Potato Soup or even Pasta Fazoli Soup.

One of my favorites for the winter chill is a Stuffed Cabbage Soup that just uses the ingredients for stuffed cabbage. I love it. Nothing could be as simple to make.

Ingredients:
1 large can of V8 juice.
1 lb of ground beef
2 cups of chicken stock
1 large minced onion
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of Oregano
1 bag of Cole Slaw mix
1 cup of rice
1/8 cup of vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a large dutch oven type pot brown the ground beef and drain the fat. Add the onion, garlic and oregano and cook until onion is soft. Add the V8 juice, the vinager, stock and Cole Slaw mix and bring to a boil. Add the rice, salt and pepper and return to a boil. Stir and reduce heat to low. cover and cook soup for 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy, IC

Please don't be Tofu. Please don't be Tofu.....

Porcupines

Description:
Rice as a themed ingredient. I love rice just as much as I love pasta and potatoes and just about any way I make pasta potatoes I will cook up a rice dish. But as a themed ingredient I will say my favorite would be Porcupines. A Porcupine is nothing more than a filling for a stuffed pepper or cabbage cooked by itself in a meatball type form. Cook it in a tomato or gravy type sauce and it's a meal.

Ingredients:
1 lb of ground beef
3/4 cup of un cooked white long grained white rice
2 eggs beaten.
1 small onion minced fine
A dash of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 - 1/2 cup of dried bread crumbs. Plain or Italian Seasoned.

! quart of a tomato based sauce or a brown gravy


Directions:
Combine the ground beef, rice, and seasonings and mix well. Add eggs to the meat mixture and stir in till well blended. If mixture is to loose add a bit of bread crumbs to tighten.
Refrigerate for about and hour to let the mixture to build some flavor and let the fat from the ground beef set up.
Place gravy or sauce into a 6 quart pressure cooker and start heating over medium high heat. My favorite for this is actually V8 Juice.
Form chilled meat and rice mixture into 8 good sized meatballs. Place into pressure cooker and then follow pressure cooker directions. Cook for 15-20 minutes.
Remove the pressure cooker from the heat and allow to cool without releasing the pressure. Serve the porcupines with nice crusty home made bread and butter and a salad.. Spoon sauce or gravy over the Porcupines.

Enjoy, IC

Snipe Hunting

Here in the United States Snipe hunting is a rather interesting sport and a sport used most often to teach youth to just quiet down for a bit and to learn to enjoy nature.

As a father I would say that a sons first snipe hunt is a father and son bonding expeirience. I have never gone snipe hunting with my daughters because I didn't think they would all that much enjoy the out come, lol.

Snipe hunting is such a popular sport and I am sure everyone has their own stories of learning how to do it and the technique used for bagging a Snipe. If a bag was used.

Snipe only come out in the dark and are very quite and quick little critters. I guess the best way I have taught others to catch them is to arm themselves with a paper grocery sack. Next is to locate ones self on a trail when it gets very dark. Quiet is most important. Extremely important!!!

One takes the paper sack and lays the open end in the direction of the moss growing on the north side of a tree at least 10'-15' from the tree. One must lay behind the bag reaching their arms over it clutching the open end of the bag for the snipe to run into it. Every once in awhile a very soft whisper like "whoooot" must be done to attract the snipe. Also every once in awhile a small tap was to be used on the bottom of the bag.

Many a camper doesn't get past this stage without falling asleep but if one does and a Snipe does run into the paper sack then the sack must be quickly rolled up and a run must be made for camp with the prized snipe.

What is your adventure in Snipe hunting and would you care to share it? I'm sure everyone has a tale to tell and remember, other parts of the world can't enjoy the Snipe Hunting Adventures we share here so make them feel the love of the sport. Don't get to involved with the catch of the big Snipe and the beating of the bag. We don't want to gross anyone out or offend the Snipe Lovers of the world that just don't understand.

Thanks, Mac.

Sausage Stromboli

Description:
Not to long ago I posted my Pepperoni Stromboli. The recipe is the same here except for the use of crumbled browned Italian Sausage instead of the pepperoni and some diced onions and peppers.

Ingredients:
One homemade bread that has risen.(Deflate). or pizza dough. Store bought dough is fine if you hafta use it.
1 lb of Italian sausage removed from the casings.
1 diced onion
1 died bell pepper
12 oz or so of shredded mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil


Directions:
Preheat oven to 425*. Roll out your dough to about the size of a sheet pan. Let the dough rest for a few minutes. Sprinkle on cooled browned and crumbled Italian sausage.Sprinkle on diced peppers and onions. You should dice these very fine. If you want bigger pieces, saute first and allow to cool then add them. Sprinkle the cheese over the sausage, peppers and onions.
Roll jelly roll style. Pinch the seams closed and placed on an oiled sheet pan seam side down. Brush with olive oil. Place into a 425 degree oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack and allow to rest for 10 minutes to allow the cheese to set. Slice into 1/2" slices to serve. I like to serve mine with a fresh Marinara sauce for dipping.

Enjoy, IC

Sausage And Peppers

Description:
I love Italian Sausage served on a nice torpedo shaped roll topped with sauteed peppers and onions. The smell alone drives me nutz with anticipation.
Some like sauce on theirs but not me. I want to taste the sausage, peppers and onions.
I like to use sweet sausage but at times crave spicy.

Ingredients:
6-8 links of Italian Sausage
2 large onions halved and sliced.
3 Sweet Bell Peppers, color doesn't matter, halved, cored and sliced into strips.
2 cloves of smashed and minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:
In a skillet, brown the Italian sausage over medium high heat turning every few minutes to produce even browning all the way around.
Remove the sausage from the skillet. Add the garlic, peppers and onions, Reduce the heat to low. Place the sausage back in the skillet over the onions and peppers.
Cover the skillet and allow the sausage, peppers and onions to get to know one another. The flavors will meld together. After about 10 minutes taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.

One of the most important things with a Sausage Sandwich is the roll. The roll has to be a good one. Crusty exterior with a nice soft center. To serve the sandwich, cut the roll in half. lay 1-2 sausage on each roll, load with the sausage and peppers. Wrap each sandwich with foil, allow to sit for about 10 minutes. The juices from the vegetables and sausage seep into the bread.

Enjoy, IC

Sausage Gravy

Description:
This is a very simple and delicious gravy to serve over a nice biscuit for breakfast.

If I have fresh tomatoes on hand I love to eat a few slices along with this dish right over the gravy..

Ingredients:
1 lb of Jimmy Dean or Bob Evans breakfast Sausage Log,
2 tablespoons of flour
milk, 1 1/2 to 2 cups
salt and lots of fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:
Brown the sausage in a skillet. Stir in the flour and mix well into the sausage. Slowly add the milk to make your gravy. Allow to simmer on low for about 5-10 minutes to cook off any raw flour taste. Add salt and ground pepper to taste.

Serve over a nice hot fresh biscuit.
Enjoy, IC

My Mortgage Lifter Tomato Review

Mortgage Lifter Tomatoes are not keepers. That's probably why you never see one in the market around here. They go bad super fast. Pick one and by the next day the tomato starts to go bad. Pick them under ripe and they go bad just as fast and don't seem to ripen any further.

They are an excellent tasting tomato and very meaty. Once the fruit form it ripens super fast. None of mine would last more than 2 days before showing signs of distress. Even when refrigerated.

I can a lot of tomatoes and these are not a good tomato for that purpose unless you can time it right to pick and can the same day and the tomatoes are to the right ripeness that day. When I can, I like to do about 5 to 10 quarts at a time.

The Mortgage lifter Tomatoes went bad fast on me no matter what I did. Picked them red off the vine, picked them a tad under ripe, set on the counter, window sill, in the fridge or in a brown paper bag. They would go bad just as fast on the vine after ripening as they would in the fridge. My compost pile can contend to that.

Next year, it will be back to my trusted beef steaks.

My Turn For A New Computer

My wifes 's computer died a few weeks ago and yesterday was my turn. I was on Farmtown and everything was taking so long to load. I decided to run the registry cleaner and when it showed only one error the red flag should have gone up but didn't. I clicked restart my computer now and when it restarted all I had was a nice black screen looking at me.

I did the old f12 to open eventually and scanned my hard drive and found that it wasn't working right. I tried to start in safe mode after I was able to get that screen to open but it wouldn't open windows. I tried starting at last time of good operation and nothing.

I ended up going to Best Buys and getting another laptop. I like it and can't believe the difference in operation. This computer has Vista and I don't mind it at all. I thought it was suppose to be such a bad program from what I've heard others say about it.

 

The Peanut Challenge. Peanut Themed Chicken Kabobs

Description:
I accept the challenge and am going to wing this. I'm going for the grill with this dish.
With a choice of beef or chicken, I think I'm going to go with chicken with the peanut flavor and maybe go for a them along the lines of a Thai dish. i'll break out some hot pepper flakes, some good ole soy sauce and maybe some honey. Seems that with the sweet I may need a touch of sour too so lets go for it.

Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breast cut into 1" cubes
1/2 gallon of water with a 1/2 a cup of salt for an overnight brine for the chicken.
8 scallions
8 bamboo skewers

For the glazing sauce

1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup of honey
The juice and zest of 2 limes
1 teaspoon of Better than Bullion chicken base.
1 teaspoon of hot red pepper flakes
1/4 cup of low Sodium Soy Sauce
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 medium onion minced
2 cloves of garlic smashed
A pinch of salt and a dash of Cinnamon

1 cup of coarsely chopped honey roasted peanuts for a surprise finish.



Directions:
Brine the chicken pieces overnight. Rinse before using and pat dry.

Place the bamboo skewers in a sheet pan and cover with water and allow to soak for 1 hour.

In a medium sized sauce pan add a touch of peanut oil and saute the onions, garlic and pepper flakes. .Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat and allow to reduce for about 25-30 minutes for a thick barbecue sauce consistency.

Pour sauce into a bowl and allow to cool.

Blanch the scallions in boiling water for about 30 seconds and remove to a bowl of of ice water to stop the cooking.

Get the grill going. if using coals, get the coals started at one end of the grill. If using gas, just light one side.

To assemble the Kabobs.

Start with 1 scallion. Stick a skewer through the white end of the scallion, Slide down the length of the skewer gently about an 1" or so, then place a piece of chicken on the skewer. fold the scallion over the piece of chicken and pierce again. gently push down the skewer pushing the chicken and scallion about an 1'. Repeat this step 5 times wrapping the scallion over the chicken each time and then sliding. After the first kabob is assembled the next 7 should be a breeze.

Scrape the grill grates and apply some peanut oil on the grate with a paper towel and some tongs to prevent sticking. If the grates are smoking the grill should be plenty hot enough.

Place the Kabobs on the side of the grill without the fire under it and grill the kabobs for 20 minutes with the lid closed. Turn after the first 10 minutes.

Place the Kabobs over the fire now. Brush on the peanut butter glaze sauce and turn. Allow a few minutes and turn again. Few minutes more and brush and turn again. Build up a nice glaze this way. Keep turning every few minutes and brush on more glaze to prevent burning.After about 10 minutes remove the Kabobs from the grill and ready for special treatment.

Place the chopped honey roasted peanuts on a plate. As the Kabobs are removed from the grill, roll in the peanuts to coat and then onto a serving platter. Serve with lime wedges and squeeze a bit of the lime juice on while eating.

Enjoy, IC

For Lemon Lovers Like Me... Carefully pour an entire can of Lemon Altoids into your mouth all at once without spilling any. Close mouth, wait for drool to kick in..... Now thats a puckerupper. Remember, no chewing.

Lemon Chicken

Description:
This is one of my daughter's favorite chicken dishes that I make. It's a version to me of my Chicken Scalopine. It can be done with chicken, pork or veal.
The meat turns out melt in your mouth tender.

Ingredients:
6 chicken breast cutlets pounded an 1/8" thick.
1 cup of flour seasoned with salt and pepper for dredging.
2-3 tablespoons of Olive Oil

For the sauce

2 cloves of garlic, crushed and minced fine.
1/2 cup of white wine
The juice from 3 LEMONS. (Zest first)
2 cup of chicken stock.
1/2 cup of cream
3 tablespoons of either cold olive oil or butter cut into pieces.
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat a couple tables spoons of Olive Oil up in a deep skillet over medium high heat. Dredge the cutlets in the seasoned flour.
Fry the cutlets in the heated oil on each side until they are golden brown. They only take a minute or so on each side so watch them. Remove to a paper towel covered plate and repeat until all cutlets are browned. Add more oil if needed.

After all the cutlets have been browned, add the garlic to the drippings. As soon as the pan lets off the smell of garlic, pour in the wine and lemon juice. Reduce by 1/3. Stir as it reduces. Add the chicken stock and cream and whisk to combine. Reduce the heat and place the cutlets in the sauce. Simmer covered for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, cook 1lb of pasta. I prefer either Bow Ties or Angel Hair.
Remove the cutlets from the sauce. Turn off the heat to the sauce. Slowly whisk in the cold olive oil or butter pieces to thicken the sauce if needed. Taste for the need of salt and pepper and add to taste. Add the pasta to the sauce and combine. Transfer the pasta to a seving platter. Arrange the cutlets over the pasta. Garnish with the lemon zest. I like to add scallions to the sauce at times to if I have them on hand and add them when I'm adding the salt and pepper.

Enjoy, IC

Lemon Curd

Description:
Lemon Curd is an absolute favorite of mine when it comes to the use of lemons. Lemon curd can have so many uses. Eat it as it is, use it for a pie filling, put it between layers of cake(great for an easter cake), make a no bake cheese cake and use the lemon curd as a layer, fill pastries with lemon curd, mmmmmm. lemon curd filled donuts, lemon curd filled puffed pastries, lemon curd filled Yorkshire puddings.. lets not forget lemon bars. I know I'm not the only one to eat a whole pan of them.

I have this recipe that I tweaked just a bit from years ago taken from the Joy Of Baking or Cooking something or other..

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
1/3 cup of lemon juice (2-3 lemons) (do not use the bottled lemon juice)
3/4 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of grated lemon zest
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into small pieces


Directions:
In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended. Cook, stirring constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes thick (like sour cream or a hollandaise sauce) Get out your instant read and try for 160* This will take about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps. Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lemon zest and let cool. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Cover immediately (so a skin doesn't form) and refrigerate for up to a week.
Makes 1 1/2 cups.
If you want a lighter lemon curd whip 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream and fold it into the lemon curd.

Enjoy, IC

Huli Huli Pineapple

Description:
Description:
As many of my friends know, I love to grill. On PBS there was a program called Barbecue University and now it has morphed into a program called Primal Grill. In the past I posted a Barbecue Chicken with a coffee rub and coffee Barbecue sauce theme.
Now I am sharring this recipe for those that don't watch TV or have seen the program.
Pineapple is by far my favorite fruit. This recipe is a shocker and is an excellent Barbecued dessert and making it while sitting around enjoying the meal and company gets plenty of oooooos and ahhhhhs. The presentation will blow everyone away and it is almost a shame to cut it up and serve. It goes well with out the ice cream but I love blue berry cheese cake ice cream and decided to serve the chunks of glazed pineapple over that.

Enjoy. IC


Ingredients:
Ingredients:

1 large ripe pineapple

For the glaze:

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup dark rum
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 pint blackberry or blueberry ice cream or sorbet for serving (optional)

You'll also need: 1 rotisserie; 8 martini glasses (optional)


Directions:
Directions:
1. Cut the rind off the pineapple, leaving the leafy crown intact. I find a serrated knife works best for this. Even after you've removed the rind, you'll notice some diagonal rows of "eyes" (brown spots)-cut these out, making long diagonal V-shaped cuts to give the pineapple a rippled spiral effect.

2. Make the glaze. Place the butter, brown sugar, rum, cream, lime juice, cinnamon, and salt in a heavy saucepan and cook over high heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until thick and syrupy, 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

3. Set up your grill for spit-roasting and preheat to high.

4. Using a long slender knife, make starter holes in the crown end and base of the pineapple, pushing the knife lengthwise through the center to facilitate inserting the spit. Working gently but firmly, insert the rotisserie spit through the pineapple. (Be sure to have the first set of prongs on already.) Tighten the prongs. Loosely cover the pineapple leaves with foil. Place the end of the spit in the rotisserie motor socket and turn on the motor.

5. Spit-roast the pineapple until golden brown and tender, about 1 hour, basting with glaze every 15 minutes. You should have about half the glaze leftover for serving.

6. To serve, unspit the pineapple and unwrap the leaves. Show it off because the presentation coming off the grill is way cool.. Then cut it crosswise into slices for serving. Drizzle each slice with leftover glaze.

7. For the ultimate gilding of the lily, cut the pineapple slices in quarters and serve over blackberry ice cream in martini glasses. Spoon the glaze on top and garnish each glass with a pineapple leaf.

Back To Work

Finally, after almost 9 months I'm back to work.I wasn't getting my hopes up after being told I was being called back but seeings as how this has been day 2.... I am back to work.

These past 2 days of working in the direct sun, no shade, with the sun reflecting off white concrete block walls hasn't been fun though. It has completely drained 9 months of stored up energy. I probably downed 2 gallons of water yesterday alone and it didn't even phase the heat. I literally felt like I was ready to pass out by 9:00 yesterday morning and the day was just starting.

The good thing about the heat was coming home tonight and finding 5 ripe tomatoes and to be sitting here right now dripping the juices of my first tomato sandwich of the year all over my keyboard. It was worth the wait. You southerners are lucky to be ahead of my growing season but I'll tell you what, there is nothing like a Jersey Tomato. Specially the one I just finished off.

The Goat Burger

Seems someone may be interested in the recipe for the FarmTown Goat Burger.

1- Swipe a goat from a neighbors farm. It isn't a hard thing to do if you preoccupy them by hiring them to harvest a mango tree.

2-Take the goat with you to the market place in invisible mode and watch for the appropriate named worker to show up looking for a job. Anyone with a name like "Goat Whacker", "Ground Round Jim", "Blood And Gore Jane" or "Meat gyrator" probably aren't at the market place looking to really harvest or plow. They probably have something set up in their basements and for a few coins, can save you from the troubles of putting "Billy Goat" into a meat grinder yourself.

3-Take your Hefty bag filled with ground "Billy" home and place it in the sink, poke a few holes in it to let it drain for 30 minutes as recommended by the possible serial killer you just paid 5 coins to for butchering the poor goat.

 

Place about 5lbs of fresh ground "Billy" in a large bowl. Add 1 1/2 tsp of garlics powder, ! tablespoon of salt, 1 tsp of fresh cracked pepper, 1 large minced  onion, 2 tablespoons of ground horseradish. Mix the seasonings into the ground meat very well. Next combine 1/4 cup of olive oil with 1/4 cup of A-1 Steak Sauce. Whisk together really well and then stir mixture into the meat. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Fire up your Farm Town BBQ. You want the grill nice and hot. Make sure you send out an invite to all your friends.

Shape the burger mixture into about 20 "Billy" Goat Patties. Place on hot grill. Turn burgers after about 3 minutes and then brush the cooked side with more A-1 Sauce. After 3 minutes flip again and brush the top with more sauce.

Ask everyone if anyone wants cheese on their burger.........

 

Good Bye Monk.

There are very few TV programs that are very enjoyable anymore. One of my favorites is the program,  Monk. The show is going to have it's final season airing soon and then it's going off the air. It's a show that I have enjoyed watching on Friday nights for years with my youngest daughter and her cat as she has grown up.

The show was based on a quirky detective whose wife was murdered in a car bombing. Monk was deeply in love with his wife and emotionally shut down as a human being. He was a police detective and due to his emotional issues, removed from the force.
While recovering with therapy he became a detective, the best detective, with his former police department on a case by case basis. He had two female side kicks to assist him through the years. Monk was very humorous because he had a fear of every thing. Very phobic. His quirks are what made the show. His character Tony Shalhoub, from my memory, used to be on another program many years ago called Wings. His act didn't change much but he became very interesting with the role he played as Monk.

Good Bye Monk

I just spent the morning weeding , raking and watering everyone's farm......

Coffee Is On

A different Method For Making Bread Dough

Description:
Making a good bread or pizza dough requires knowing how to knead the dough properely and working with a nice moist dough. To knead the dough you may tend to add a bit more flour to make handling it a bit easier. Kneading it is an art because you need to knead it enough so as to build the gluten needed to hold the C02 that the yeast produces but you do not want to knead it to much and have a tough crumb. I myself like a finished product that is very airy with nooks and crannies and has a light and crispy crust. When you cut it, you can get a thin slice and it doesn't crumb a part.
Recently, well about a month ago I scoffed at someone that suggested making a dough with out kneading it. Who ever heard of such a thing. Well, I researched it and found the method called a French Fold. Many big bakers use this method when working with very big batches of dough and their machines break down.
There are many different ways to incorporate this technique into making your dough and I am just going to explain the way I found that works best for me.

Ingredients:
3 cups of flour
2 tsp of salt
1 tbs of sugar
2 1/2 tsp of yeast
1 cup of scalded milk cooled
cooking spray, baking spray like Pam

Directions:
I mix my flour except for about a good tbs, salt, 3/4 of a cup of the milk together first and let it rest while I make a type of sponge with my yeast. In 1/4 cup of the cooled milk I add a tbs or so of the flour, the sugar and yeast, stir and cover right in the measuring cup. Let this sit for about 20 minutes. It will rise up to about the 1 cup mark if your yeast is really good. Mix the yeast sponge mixture into the dough.

Let the dough rest and rise for 45 minutes. The dough is very moist and sticky.

After 45 minutes, gently remove the dough from the bowl onto the counter top. Be careful not to press the air out of it. With a bench scraper, gently lift and stretch the dough into a rectangular shape about 2'x16". Be gentle and not knock the air from the dough. Now gently fold the dough in thirds one way and then the other back into a ball. Spray the inside of the bowl with Canola spray and place the dough back into the bowl. Spray the top of the dough and cover, let rest and rise for 45 minutes.
Repeat this step 2 more times. Each time notice how the dough is really gaining strength and texture. It isn't a sticky mass. No extra flour is being used. It's a nice moist dough. After the last rise again stretch the dough and gently shape your loaf. Do your best not to release the air in the dough. Fold into your loaf shape, and seal the seam. I seal my seam by pinching it closed and then applying a few drops of water to the counter top, smear the water to make a big enough wet spot to gently roll the seam of the dough on to seal.

Spray the baking sheat with baking spray like Pam. place the loaf on the baking sheat then spray the top of the loaf with the canola spray. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes. Pre heat the oven to 425*

I put a skillet with water in it on the bottom rack to create steam for baking and to give extra rise.

Before I put my risen loaf in the oven I score the top of the loaf to allow for venting. That way the crust doesn't blow a part when rising further while baking.

Bake the loaf for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the skillet with water after 15-20 minutes of baking the bread.. The steam has a tendency to prevent the bottom of the loaf from browning. After I remove the water I also like to remove the sheet pan the loaf is on an place the bread directly on the rack.

After removing the loaf from the oven, place it on a cooling rack. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes before slicing it.

When you cut into this bread you will be surprised at how lite and crispy the crust is. The inside is light and full of air pockets. If you want to lower the salt content down to the standard 1 tsp go ahead but I like my bread to have more flavor.
I'll add pictures the next time I make a batch of dough.

Enjoy, IC

2009 Garden Update, Blooms and no blossoms

Almost 6"tall

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/09/new.jersey.chocolate.death/index.html Death By Chocolate.

Jeff Dunham - Achmed the Dead Terrorist

This is one of my favorite comedians and I have been watching him for many years. He has a few dummies that he works with. This one cracks me up. If you get the chance you need to watch him with Walter too.

My Mortgage lifter tomato plants look beautiful, 4-5 foot tall. I can't believe I don't have any blossoms yet on these plants...

Cooking Forum

http://www.spiceplace.com/forums/
I have been a member of The Spice Place for awhile now. It's a great site for sharing recipes and learning cooking techniques from around the world and is full of really good people.

Pepperoni Stromboli (An Ironic Chef Recipe)

Description:
I Love Pepperoni. This is my version of the Pepperoni Sandwich.



Ingredients:
1 pizza dough
3 cups of flour
2 1/2 tsp of yeast
1 tbs of sugar
2 tsp of salt
1 1/8 cups of water
1-2 tbs of olive oil

Mix all the ingredients together in the mixer then allow the machine to knead the dough for 10 minutes. Spray a bowl with vegetable spray, place dough in bowl and the spray the top of the dough with the spray. Cover and let rise till double in size.
When ready to use, gently remove the dough from the bowl, gently stertch the dough to about the size of the sheet pan you will be using. By gentle, don't knock all the air out of the dough.
Sliced pepperoni, try not to use enough to blow a heart valve.
Tomato sauce.
1/2 lb of shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Hot Pepper Flakes, Garlic and Oregano to taste.

Directions:
Pepperoni Stromboli.
Stack on the pepperoni in nice rows.


Add lots of Mozzarella Cheese.</span">



Just a little bit of sauce, A bit of hot pepper flakes, garlic and oregano.


Roll jelly roll style.


Pinch seam to seal.


Place on a baking sheet seam side down.


Score for venting.


Fresh baked, mmmmmmm the smell is out of this world.



Now this is a Pepperoni Stromboli.

Bishops And Seminarians Dinner

My son, wife and I went to a dinner last night for Seminarians. We had a very pleasant evening with good company.
The meal started with a nice salad. next came a baked Ziti for an appetizer. Of course baked Ziti is one of my favorites. Along with the baked Ziti we had nice bread for sopping up the sauce. The main course was a chicken Francaise, with fresh green beans and grilled potato wedges with skins on them. The potatoes skeered me but the chicken and green beans were very well prepared. For dessert we had cake. It was a very moist white cake with a pudding filling and a butter cream frosting. I don't generally like coffee when out but we were served coffee that actually tasted very good.
We had a very nice evening with pleasant conversation. Myself, I am just being nice. I was bored out of my gourd. The room was filled with Seminarians and Priest. I'm glad they had a sense of humor and I was allowed to be a smart ass without offending anyone.

I shouldn't say this but being one that judges men by their hand shake, I must have shaken 50 different hands last night and not a one had any back bone behind it. I'm trying really hard to be polite, lol.

Baklava

Description:
I met my sister's Mother In Law this weekend. Marie is 85 years old and came from Greece to The US in 1945. What a sweetheart.
She loves to make Baklava and her's is the best I have ever tasted. I talked with her for what seemed hours and she was so flattered that I asked her to share her recipe. When I returned to the hotel that night I jotted down her recipe and had a chance for her to review it before I came home.
My daughter and I will be making this this evening.

Ingredients:
Ingredients;

Filling
4 cups walnuts, finely chopped. 1 lb of ground. ( Pecans can be used too)
3 tablespoons granulated white sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 lb Phylo Dough
2 cups of sweet butter, melted

Syrup:
2 cups water
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
lemon or orange rind
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon


Directions:
Directions

Combine walnuts, sugar and spice.

In a baking pan, layer 7 Phylo sheets, buttering between each layer as it is stacked. Put a layer of the nut mixture. Repeat 4 times. Top with remaining Phylo sheets, buttering each sheet. You should make sure to have the same amount of Phylo sheets for the top as you did for the bottom. (Count how many sheets of Phylo dough there are and divide them for top, bottom and filling layers to see how many sheets you want to use between each filling layer) While layering, keep unused sheets of the dough covered with a damp towel.
Using a sharp knife, trim the edges. Perforate Baklava into square shapes with a fork. Try not to stick fork through the bottom layers.

Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool.

Pour hot syrup over Baklava (Not boiling hot).
Combine all ingredients for syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes. Pour syrup, that has been cooled for about 5 minutes, over the cooled Baklava.

After pouring syrup over the Baklava, wrap well with plastic wrap and allow to set for at least 2 days.

Saying Good Bye

My father passed away back in April and the family wanted the service and his remains buried on Father's Day which was this past Sunday.

I mentioned in my past blog about plans for a family reunion being shot to hell on the Saturday before in my last blog. The Reunion was to be held at my father's home but I think that due to problems with a niece and her friends shacked up in the house and issues revolving around the situation there, were the main reason for the cancellation of those plans.

We headed for UpState NY on Saturday morning. I had reserved a couple hotel rooms for my family. We arrived at the hotel around 2:00 in the afternoon and checked in. The hotel, an Econo Lodge was nothing like what they showed online. What a dive. The rooms smelled so bad of mold. Doors had missing trim, holes in the walls and outlets hanging out of holes by the wires. In our room the bathroom door had been busted in at one time and the door had a big broken section in the middle of it and the jamb was literally busted apart. The door catch section of the jamb was missing a piece about 16" in length and the door wouldn't stay closed. We went to my sisters house and returned later in the night to find that the hotel was actual being used by Mexicans. The place was operating like efficiency apartments and as many Mexicans that could squeeze into the rooms were utilizing the place.

My wife and I decided to go to an Italian bakery and to pick up some pastries and some fresh baked bread for my sister for dinner. We were in Albany NY and in the vicinity where my wife grew up. We headed out for a bakery in the phone book that my wife's family had frequently used. On the way there the front brakes on our Voyager decided to start grinding. Aaaargh. I didn't bring tools with me. Bad brakes made all the driving we had to do while we were up there rather difficult. I ended up changing the brakes and one rotor when we got back. The Italian Bakery, We walked into the place and it was nothing like it use to be. The entire area is no longer a good neighborhood. I don't know what went on in that place. They didn't sell pastries anymore. We retreated very quickly.

The dinner at my sisters house went very well. It was nice to see her, her kids, husband and mother inlaw. We had a nice dinner and conversation. Later talking with my sister and her husband I learned that my father had for many years, kept the remains of one of our Uncles in a card board box. He had left a request that our Uncle's remains be buried with him. I have talked with my sister almost every other day since my father died. My son was doing the grave side service. Not once did my sister ever mention anything about our Uncle. I was shocked.

Of course I have a way of taking things with a bit of humor. I figured a hole was being dug and it seemed that my family would take advantage and throw as many bodies (remains) as possible into it. I jokingly referred to the service as a twofer from that point on. We informed our son so that he could include my Uncle in the service. I'm glad he did because if he hadn't no one would have even known that his remains were being laid to rest too. I felt bad because my Aunt, the sister of both brothers being laid to rest was attending the service. She was taking it really hard.

My father's home is being used by a niece. A bad situation all the way around. I am glad I went with instinct and checked into a hotel. Bad hotel or not. If I hadn't I would probably be in jail now. A cousin had stayed there for a few nights. She went ballistic because of the partying going on there. Fighting over drugs and money. Drinking and driving. The shacking up between everyone. I guess  Friday night my niece and her boy friend went drunk driving to a bar after a fight with everyone, got into an accident with another car in the bar parking lot, the boyfriend was arrested for warrants and parole violations..... This wasn't my home.

My brother wants to move into the house. He will not do that with our niece there. She is in her 30's.  I have told the family that my brother should be there and the niece has to go. It's a situation that they are going to have to work out. I do not want my father's home used as a flop house. Bills and taxes need to be paid and that isn't being taken care of by the idiots that have tried to squat there.

I am glad to be home. Even if it is in New Jersey.

Going Home For The Weekend

We are going to Up State New York for the weekend. My family had decided to have my Fathers Burial and Memorial Service tomorrow. Father's Day.

We had planned to have a family reunion this afternoon with a cook out. I was looking forward to it and seeing family that I haven't seen in years. With the weather conditions and problems with non cooperating family members, I think the towel was thrown in yesterday at the last moment and the reunion isn't taking place.

We will be heading up but as far as this evenings plans go, it may just be a dinner at my sisters house. After dinner it's off to a hotel for the night. We were going to spend the night at my fathers house but unfortunately I have a 30 year old niece living there and her boy friend is shacking up with her while her 4 kids from different fathers live with her mother. It's a situation I am sure I would say something about but feel to keep the peace and to keep the weekend about my father, it's just best to go else where. As everyone knows, I don't think very often before opening my mouth.

Unfortunately, this weekend will to me, be saying good bye to what I have always called home. I am not looking forward to it.

Is this place working today? I would swear the same thing is on here that was here this morning.

Good Night Everyone.

You all are driving me nutz with this silly note feature.

Pizza Bianca

Description:
This is a pizza with a different kind of crust. There is in my opinion a little more work involved than a traditional crust but the finish results make it well worth it.the ingredients have to be followed really closely or you could have a major mess on your hands with a gooey dough attacking you. Just a bit of humor from the farside.

Ingredients:
See below

Directions:
Bianca Dough
                                                      Rested and Forked
                                                     Starting to bake
                                                      After 15 minutes
                                                               Done
Pizza Bianca

The Pizza Bianca has a different kind of crust. It's much like that of a Foccia. It's a type of crispy flat type bread baked with lots of olive oil and can have toppings like sauteed onions. If you have never had Foccia you don't know what you are missing. It is very light and airy and has a very fine thin outer layer of crispness. You get a nice crunch in every bite.

The ingredients for the Bianca dough is as follows.

3 cups of flour
1 2/3 cups of water
1 1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 teaspoon of yeast
1 1/4 teaspoon of sugar
5 tablespoons of olive oil

To make the dough.

In a mixer bowl add the flour, salt and water and mix for 5 minutes making sure to clean the sides of the bowl several times. Mix and make sure there is no dry flour left in the bowl. let the mixture set for about 20 minutes.
Sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the mix and then let the machine knead it for about 6 minutes. Scrape down the bowl sides and bottom several times. The best way I found to tell if the water and flour mixture is right was to allow the dough to knead for several minutes. This is a very wet dough. The dough should pull from the sides of the bowl. Mine was a little wet so I added 1 more tablespoon of flour and I had what I needed.
Coat the bottom of a bowl with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Coat your hands and a spatula too. When ever you have to handle this dough oil your hands. Do not dust or add more flour. Olive oil is your friend here. With your hands and the spatula, place the dough into the bowl turning it and coating it well with the olive oil. Cover the bowl tightly and allow it to rise to 3 times it's size. 2 1/2 hours.
During the last hour of rising preheat the oven with a stone on the center rack to 450*.
After the dough has risen, brush a 13"x18" backing sheet with a rim on it with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. With oiled hands remove the dough from the bowl to the baking sheet. Work from the center out and gently push the dough to the outside edges. If it keeps springing back, let the dough rest for a few minutes and then push again. After the dough is shaped allow it to rest again for about 10 minutes. The dough will get very bubbly. After the dough has rested poke the surface of the dough with a fork across the surface about 40 times. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, add sauce and toppings and bake for 10 minutes or so more until the cheese is a nice golden brown.

Enjoy, IC

Pasta And Bean Soup/Pasta Fagoli

Description:
I just happened to mention Pasta Fagoli yesterday and I think I need to make an introduction regarding what it is. I would think that if anyone could enjoy a bean soup then they just might enjoy this dish. It is indeed a comfort food for a cold day.


Pasta Fazoli, From Mac’s Kitchen

Ingredients:
6 Italian Sausage Links

2 stalks of diced celery diced
1 Large onion diced 1 Tsp of Oregano
1 Medium Carrot cubed
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
12 oz can of white beans 1 tablespoon of fresh garlic
1/2 pounds of Ditalini Pasta salt to taste
1 1/2 quarts of water
pinch of crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
Salt and black pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese to taste
1 teaspoon of basil

2 cups of chicken stock


Directions:
Cook sausage, set aside to cool, Bring water to a simmer in a large soup type heavy pot, add tomato paste, garlic, oregano, basil, chicken stock, salt and pepper, and can of beans. Cut sausage into bite size pieces and add to broth, sauté vegetables in the sausage drippings and then add to broth. Simmer for at least 20 minutes. The longer the better. While soup is simmering brown the dry pasta in the remainder of the sausage drippings, add some vegetable or olive oil if needed to coat pasta. After the pasta is evenly browned cook according to directions but take off a couple of minutes so that pasta is under done. Slowly add pasta to the soup and continue to simmer for about another 5 minutes. Before serving add Parmesan cheese and mix into soup. After soup is served add another grate of Parmesan cheese.

Some times, but not very often we use chick peas instead of white beans and use little shell pasta instead of the Ditalini. This changes the name of the soup to Pasta Chichati. I am not sure of the spelling of the name.

And yes, a loaf or 2 of fresh hot buttered bread is a must for this meal.

Enjoy, IC

Barbecued Chicken With A Coffee BBQ Sauce

Description:
I would like to wish everyone a happy 4th of July. I know that on the 4th of July most of us like to barbecue and this morning at about 6:30am I was told that my oldest daughter had requested a barbecued chicken dish that I grill up. For a little background, this daughter doesn’t usually have a taste for chicken but for some reason this version that I developed became a hit with my family when I first made it about 3 weeks ago.


Ingredients:
I start with a large bowl and add about 1 gallon of cold water and a ½ cup of salt. I then place either 4 boneless breast or 2 bone in breast into the salted water brine. If the chicken doesn’t want to stay under I fill a zipper bag with water in it over the pieces and that usually does the trick. I let this chicken soak over night or if time matters at least for one hour. This brine works really well for making the chicken very moist and seeing how it is breast meat it really helps.

For my spice rub the unusual themed ingredient coffee comes into play. I know this sounds weird but the results come with a very pleasing taste. I take 2 tablespoons of fresh coffee grounds, ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon, a dash of garlic powder, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper and a pinch or so of white sugar and mix every thing together well.

Directions:
Fourth Of July 2008, Barbecued Chicken, Themed Ingredient- Coffee.


The thing about doing anything with chicken around here is that the only chicken parts I can get away with using is the breast meat. I prefer bone in but have found that even skinless and boneless chicken breast work well with this recipe.

Here goes.

After I remove the chicken from the brine I dry it very well with paper towels and lay them on a sheet pan. I then sprinkle the coffee spice rub over the chicken, turn and get the other side and then rub it in really well.

At this point I get the grill going. I take a few hickory chips that have been soaked in water and wrap them in foil. I poke a few holes into the foil to release some smoke. I set the charcoal to one side of the grill to make a hot side.

After the chicken has sat for about 1 hour with the coffee rub in the fridge I let it come back up to room temperature. Before I place it on the cooler side of the grill I first place my foil pack of wood chips on the coals, I then take a paper towel with vegetable oil on it and brush the grill so that the chicken doesn’t stick. I then place the chicken onto the grill and close the grill. I set the vent hole over the chicken to draw the smoke up over the chicken. I like to get the temperature of the grill up to about 300 degrees for this step in making the chicken. I want it to smoke for about 20 minutes to ½ hour. If I were to do a whole chicken I would split it in half and then slow smoke it for about 1 hour. For good heat control try to remember that for every charcoal briquette you use you get about 15 degrees of heat.

Now while the breast smoke I make my coffee themed barbecue sauce. I take 1 cup of brewed coffee( I normal size espresso can save you some work here) and place it in a sauce pan, I then add ¼ cup of brown sugar, ½ cup of catsup, ¼ cup of honey, a splash of vinegar, ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, ½ a medium onion minced really fine and a garlic clove minced very fine, a pinch or so of salt. I Then over a low heat bring this mixture to a simmer and then reduce it down to a rather thick syrup.

After the breast have been on the grill smoking for about 20 minutes to a ½ hour it’s time for grilling and giving them a good barbecued chicken effect. I brush the tops of the breast with barbecue sause and set them over the coals sauce side down. I then brush the other side. I stay by the grill for this because one thing I really hate is to taste burnt food and with all the sugar in the barbecue sauce burning can happen really fast. I let the breast sit for maybe a minute or so and then turn. I recoat and flip again several times. I get a nice glaze on the chicken and if I am concerned with the thickness of the breast and for doneness I just stick my meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and hopefully it comes close to 160 degrees. If not I just keep flipping and glazing. Not every breast will finish at the same time unless I am using boneless breast that are all about the same thickness. After I remove the breast from the grill I place them onto a clean sheet pan and cover with foil to let them rest. While resting the internal temperature of the breast actually climbs to 165 degrees plus. Extremely safe for eating I would think.

To serve the chicken I like to cut the pieces from the breast as thin as possible and serve with some of the barbecue sauce drizzled over it. When I fist made this chicken I had images of having coffee grinds all stuck in my teeth and the bitter taste. Not at all. I asked my wife and kids how they liked the chicken and if they could tell what secret spice I had used. Now my wife downs several coffee pots of coffee every day and she couldn’t tell that it was coffee until I told her and then it was so recognizable to her. I was truly shocked at how well the flavors of coffee and chicken work so well together.

I have to thank the barbecue guru on the PBS network for steering me into the direction of coming up with this recipe on my own. He gave me the idea with a dish that he had done so I worked with it and to me that is what cooking is all about. Taking chances, learning and tasting something new and getting out of the bored hum drum life of eating the same thing day after day and week after week.

Just a note; In the past week NY City passed a law banning trans fatty acids. People are up in arms about it. Just my opinion here; I remember the good old days when you went out for French fries they where cooked in fat. They were sooooooo good. One day that changed and the restaurants like McDonalds started using Hydrogenated Oils for deep- frying. Margarine became a staple in people homes. People should do some research regarding what these things are. Margarine, lol, is only a few molecules off from being plastic. I am thinking that some day high fructose corn syrup will go out, as should the trans fatty acids. I am very happy that some day soon the really good French fries from long ago may be making a return.

Home Made Ravioli

Description:
I have always wanted a good recipe for beefy Ravioli. I have made several through the years but I have always tried a meatball type mix and the filling after the raviolis are cooked have always been very dense. I finally came up with a good filling recipe and the Ravioli I made yesterday were excellent.



Ingredients:
For the filling

1/2 pound of ground beef
1/2 packet of Beefy Lipton Onion Soup Mix. (they are called Beefy Ravioli, lol)
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
7 Saltine crackers soaked in 1/2 cup of water
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese.

Directions:
My Ravioli Making Adventure.



The trick I learned was to brown the ground beef first, which I did with the Beefy Onion Soup mix. I waited until all the moisture from the beef cook off and then allowed it to cool. I then mixed in the rest of the ingredients, draining off what ever water was left from the soaking crackers.I Mixed the filling very well and then refrigerated it over night.

Now I have always wanted to make Ravioli pleasing to the eye too. I do have a Ravioli Maker that goes onto my hand crank pasta maker but it doesn't allow for very much filling in a Ravioli at all so I have only used it a few times. I usually just lay out a sheet of pasta, put several dallops of filling onto it. Moisten around the filling with water and then set another sheet of pasta over it and seal the edges and then cut the Ravioli into squares. When boiling the Ravioli the seal is very pour. The filling usually leaks out into the pasta water. The Ravioli are always very rough in size and texture. I have tried Wanton wrappers which work out very well but I'm not making it from scratch.
I went online to see what I could find for Ravioli Makers. I came across molds that kind of resemble ice cube trays. They are metal and come in different designs for Raviolis. The prices ranged from around 26.00 to 69.00. Sorry, I'm not paying that much for an ice cube tray.

I decided to make my own version of a Ravioli Mold. I went to work and came out with a pretty good first attempt invention.

Before those though, My pasta dough is very simple, 3 cups of flour, 3 eggs. I Always use 1 egg for each cup of flour. Just a bit of olive oil. I combine these ingredients to form a crumbly mixture and then slowly add up to 1/4 cup of water to form a nice stiff dough. I then let the dough rest before rolling it out. I use my pasta roller for this. I have done it by hand but the pasta roller makes the process a whole lot quicker.

North Carolina

I have just spent the last two weeks in North Carolina putting doing a job for my Inlaws. They wanted a bathroom installed. A bathroom was an under statement. The bathroom in all actuality turned out to be a walk in closet, a bathroom sized room for a 6' vanity and then another room for a tub and toilet. I spent two weeks, 16 hour days every single day to get the job ready for painting. The rest is up to the plumber and electrician. The new rooms went into an attic so I have spent my time working in the dark with a work light. I took pictures. The metal framing was something new to the local contractors. They told me that they never heard of using this method for residential work.



After replacing the flooring the plumber had ripped up to install his plumbing I decided to frame the work with metal framing. The first wall I started to put up is on the end a shower is to be installed. The layout for the wall and the shower the plumbing was installed for was about 2' off. The head height in the shower due to the rafters for the roof would have been at about 5'4'.
I had to change the layout. Of course a toilet is to be installed next to the shower. The wrong layout and improper plumbing meant that the shower would be to close to the toilet. I changed the plans and decided to install a tub unit.


The first day I had the walls up and started the ceiling.


The second day I finished framing in the ceiling and had the electrician come and do his rough installation. This was on New Years Eve day. The electrician didn't want to come until the following Monday. When I asked him if that's how long it would take him to recover from New Years eve partying he showed up about an hour later.


Started insullating.


Framing in the ceiling meant incorporating hip rafters into the scheme of things and also the support post for the rafters.



After the electrician finished his rough, I hung the drywall and had it taped on New Years Day.
Carrying 30 some odd boards of drywall up two flights of stairs, around the landings and rails without doing any damage was an amazing feat. One of the reasons I framed everything in metal to be honest was to save time and muscle getting all the material up to where I needed it. The only area not drywalled at this point is where the tub has to be installed.

The rough plumbing. No copper. I'm not use to this at all.


While waiting for the plumber I had plenty of time to spackle.


The only light I had for 2 weeks.


I installed concrete board for the bathroom floors. I always glue down my Dura rock besides screwing it.


I ended up getting the tub kit myself to pressure the plumber to come and install it. I finished the drywall around the tub area and taped and spackled it right away with a quick drying spackle.


I also installed another layer of plywood in the hallway and the walk in closet. I picvked the doors up from the Home Depot. They came pre trimmed. I have never ever bought a door that was trimmed inside and out. I attempted to remove the trim from one side with disatourous results. Thr trim was stapled on. I did learn that the door frames actually came apart behind the door stop. I felt like such an idiot.I rather liked the system. Late at night when I am trying to reach a goal I get to impatient and need to slow down and do a bit more investigating. I actually liked how these door frames differed from what I am used to and will use this idea here at home. I can't wait to see how the Home Depot here reacts to my demand of wanting these doors here.


Due to the time I went with a premixed tile adhesive. I usually use thinset that I mix myself but I wanted to get the tile in that day. The day the tub went in, by 10:00 that night I had the bathrooms tiled. I ran short of adhesive by about a gallon and had to send out for some more. This picture got me what I needed.


See.

I grouted the following morning and found that I was very dissapointed in the tile adhesive.Thinset starts setting in a few hours. The adhesive I used still had some movement in the tile.
Tiles installed and grouted and the doors are installed.
OOOOps, 1 out of order.
There were a few vents coming from a bathroom below so I through a shoe rack shelf over them. The carpet layer can run carpeting over it.

I finished the trim and caulking and spackle touch ups on Thursday. Finishing up the day at about 4:30 felt so wierd but I had the time that night to get all my tools and equipment loaded up and on the road home by 7:30am Friday.I left the painting to my father Inlaw. I had had enough.

So, that is what the last 2 weeks of my life consisted of. Now go smack the boredom from your head.