"Dear Chip"

[MoreSaltThanPepper]

Having had some fun seeing Chip's reaction to my cooking peccadilloes, how about a new thread posting your "go-to" favourites or off-the-cuff kitchen madness?

I will begin with the breakfasts this weekend. I have some time on my hands, due to a little motorcycle fall, so I've spent some time in the kitchen.

Today, I got out the BACON (little nod to the bacon lovers)

Sasquatch Sandwich

"Sasquatch" sourdough based grain bread with:
2 rashers of bacon, pan cooked with garlic paste and sage

Topped with:
Nine year old cheddar
Danish Blue
Sweet (cocktail) pickled onion slices
Thai sweet chili sauce

The SigFem looks at me like I'm eating a live spider, so I made her:

Banana Muffin French Toast

2 banana muffins, halved by cutting off the tops (I make better banana bread but her baking skills are otherwise much superior to mine)

1 egg
Heavy Cream
Glort of vanilla
Smidge of cinnamon
Drizzle of honey

Beat these together with a fork in a shallow bowl. When you're ready to go, give the muffin halves a good soaking, top and bottom.

Finely chopped almonds
Very soft butter

Blend these together and let the butter set back up.

Orange marmalade

Pan cook the soaked muffins. Some people say only flip once but I use softer heat and make sure things are cooked through, so I flip repeatedly. Light brown cooked sides on soft heat is pretty much done.

Serve them up with the almond butter and marmalade on the side.

Goes without saying that there's plenty of coffee on hand

- John

[RichGem]

Who's Chip?

[MoreSaltThanPepper]

Who's Chip?

Is that any way for a Czar to speak of his most mostly loyal subject?

[RichGem]

Is that any way for a Czar to speak of his most mostly loyal subject?

hehehe

but, seriously, my most loyal subject has been MIA for over a week. Tho, I did get a PM from Mrs. Chip.. no mention of the Mr. tho.

[MoreSaltThanPepper]

hehehe

but, seriously, my most loyal subject has been MIA for over a week. Tho, I did get a PM from Mrs. Chip.. no mention of the Mr. tho.

Well, dang. I guess he'll be back when he needs shaving support.

"Hi, my name is Chip and . . . I'm a wetshaver"

" HI, CHIP"

[MrGuy]

John, I hope you and the bike are doing fine!
My favorite breakfast that gives me strange looks is some simple fried eggs, runny yolks please, with a big shot of Balsamic vinegar that gets cooked down with a little butter salt and pepper. Just make sure that your face isn't over the pan when that vinegar hits the heat! Soak up the liquid with some nice toasted bread, sourdough is always a good choice.



Off topic; In getting ready for my Iron Butt ride I've been watching "The Long Way 'Round" with Charlie Boorman and Ewan McGregor. If you haven't seen it, find it NOW! I just noticed that the only time they get into trouble with cars is in Calgary. Ewan is rear-ended and a car backs into Charlie. Maybe I need to rethink my wish to ride to Calgary

[Stubblefield]

Having had some fun seeing Chip's reaction to my cooking peccadilloes, how about a new thread posting your "go-to" favourites or off-the-cuff kitchen madness?

Yes, but first I want to know: How do you cook a peccadillo?

[MoreSaltThanPepper]

Yes, but first I want to know: How do you cook a peccadillo?

Let's see . . .

Begin with a dose of raw hunger and an uncertain amount and variety of food in the larder

Add rough measures of what is available

Mix with impeccable taste

Sear with the heat of brilliant insight

[MoreSaltThanPepper]

Looking after my niece this week along with my friend's cats, so I'm late enough getting away in the morning that we have time for breakfast.

This morning's centrepiece was:

Yoghurt Parfait

Yoghurt
Papaya
Watermelon
Honeydew
Grapes
Granola
Cinnamon sugar

Slice the fruit

Parfait glasses (or, in this case large A&W mugs that I, er, acquired a few years back)

Layer of granola in the bottom
Layer of yoghurt
Layer of one kind of fruit

Etc

Try to finish with yoghurt, so that the sprinkle of cinnamon sugar is visible. It didn't matter, since the niece wanted whipped cream on top.

enjoy

PS: Can't wait to see your contribution, Dex

[BrightFutur]

From my post in gentlemens essentials. I cannot get enough of this chicken!

I thought I would share my favourite lemon chicken recipe. It takes some time but it is well worth the effort. You can deviate on how you bread/fry the chicken, but the sauce is to die for, and I find the marinade pretty essential.

I really hate the standard yellow food colouring + lemon flavour + High fructose corn syrup that every Chinese take-out has. I find that a lot of the sweetness in this comes from the shredded pineapple and its juice. It's a whole new world compared to the yellow dye meets corn syrup.


Ingredients:

Group 1:

-4 Whole boneless chicken breasts, skinned and cut into 1 inch diagonal strips (Put the chicken in the freezer for about 1/2 an hour - it will slice easier. Or use chicken tenderloin - no slicing required)
-2 tbsp light soy sauce
-1/2 tbsp sesame seed oil
-1 tsp salt
-1 tbsp gin

Group 2:

-3 egg whites, beaten frothy
-1 cup of corn starch

Group 3:

-3/4 cup sugar
-1/2 cup white vinegar
-1 cup chicken broth
-2 tbsp cornstarch
-2tbsp water
-3 lemons, grated rind and juice.

Group 4:

-1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated (be generous!)
-2 cloves garlic, smashed
-1/2 cup shredded canned pineapple (You can just use a whole small can, including the juice)
-3 small carrots, cut into match stick sized julienne (I usually buy a bag of matchstick carrots precut)
-1/4 head iceberg lettuce, very finely shredded
-3 green onions, finely cut
-1 whole red or green pepper, finely cut (Matchstick size)



Method:

1 - Place Cut chicken in bowl, combine group 1 ingredients, pour over chicken and marinate in fridge, 30 minutes minimum (I tend to go over an hour if possible), then drain chicken and throw out marinade
2 - Add chicken pieces to the beaten egg white, toss to coat, place corn starch on a plate and coat chicken pieces with cornstarch
3 - Add about 1 inch of oil to a large pot or frying pan and cook the chicken, a few pieces at a time - about 2 minutes per 'batch' (It will be VERY light brownish white), drain and keep warm in the oven. *
4 - Place the 3rd group of ingredients in a large pot and bring to boil, and stir until mixture thickens.
5 - Add 4th group of ingredients (Except lettuce) to hot lemon sauce, mix, let simmer for a few minutes to cook the carrots slightly, remove from heat, add lettuce and pour over chicken.**

Serve with rice.
Serves 4 very generously.

I tend to make double the amount I think I will need for two reasons:

1 - So I can have leftovers (They don't last long)
2 - Because I often underestimate how much of this my guests will eat.


If you can pull this off without making a mess of the kitchen I think you can score some real brownie points with SWMBO (Or HWMBO for that matter)


*For a lower fat alternative, you can lay the chicken out on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. It's not quite as good but is lower fat.
**My mom likes to let the chicken sit in the sauce for about 15 minutes to absorb it. I like to drown the chicken in sauce then eat right away - more crispy. It's up to you.

[rmrdaddy]

OK, for you John, I post a very rare recipe.
From "Recipes And Memories From Mama Cash's Kitchen" courtesy of Johnny "The Man In Black" Cash.

Johnny Cash's "Old Iron Pot" Family Style Chili
5 Lbs sirloin steak
3 pkgs McCormicks Chili Seasoning Mix *
Mexene chili powder *
Spice Islands chili con carne seasoning *
Cumin *
Thyme *
Sage Leaves *
Chopped Raw Onions *
Chopped Chili Peppers *
3-4 cans red kidney beans
3-4 cans whole tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
Garlic Powder *
Onion Powder *
2 Tbsp. sugar
Salt to Taste

Chop steak and cook until medium, with a little shortening added. Add packages of chili seasoning mix, cook for five minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, spices, raw onions, sugar, chili powder, and/or chili con carne mix. Taste.
(NOTE: if the chili is too hot for the children, or the ladies, add one to two cans of tomatoes.) Add tomato paste. If chili seems too thick, add water. Simmer on low for 20 minutes. Serve with soda crackers, Pepsi or Coke.
This will serve 12 people - three helpings each!

* Indicates that you must guess the amounts to use. I never measure them.

Note from John : This chili will be better tomorrow than today if properly taken care of overnight. I also have been known to substitute things, such as snake meat, for the steak.

[MoreSaltThanPepper]

The idea for this thread came about from another, well loved thread:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=85742

The SigFem is off doing something female tonight, so with many thanks to MurchMB for the original recipe and to MrGuy for the vinegar hash browns recipe, I fixed myself a St Louis Slinger:

Two sirloin patties, with aged cheddar on top.
Andy's Vinegar Hash Browns (page one of this thread)
Two eggs sunny side up on top
Covered with chili (Hormel makes a fine canned chili when you're lazy)
Topped with mixed cheddar and mozza.

If someone will wake me up in about, oh, April should do it, I am going to go digest . . .



- John

[Scissors]

[youtube]gO8EiScBEjA[/youtube]

A great recipe and a great video from the director of Sin City and Once Upon A Time In Mexico. It's a delicious dish; I've made it for guests and then watched the movie.

[MoreSaltThanPepper]

Friday night coming down . . .

Salad to start . . .

Wannabe Waldorf:
Lettuce mix
Green onion slices
Pecan pieces
Apple slices

Protein blast . . .

Chicken Flocking Chili

Can of small diced tomatoes
Can of mushrooms
Can of mixed beans
Chop a pepper of your colour choice into coarse pieces.
Chop a red onion up pretty fine.

Get a big pot and put some olive oil in the bottom. No, it doesn't matter a bit how virgin it is. Mix in some garlic powder. No, it doesn't make a bit of difference if it's powder or paste or smashed ripe cloves. I've been cooking for close to half a century and there is zip difference. Stir, stir, stir over medium heat until the garlic smells sweet. Dump in the onion and cook it over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion turns a bit translucent. Add some black pepper and cook a couple more minutes.

Dump everything else in. Add some chili powder, cayenne pepper, whatever else you like as you bring it back to a fast simmer. Now, toss in about a teaspoon of cinnamon. Trust me.

Now, add enough large chopped, cooked chicken breast to double the volume of whatever is there already. Bring it back to a fast simmer, stirring it pretty often for about five minutes and then knock it down to a slow simmer. Longer the better but it really only needs about fifteen minutes.

You're going to want some really starchy bread to break the heat. I recommend nice big crunchy kaisers. I personally like garlic butter on mine but suit yourself.

Slice up some aged cheddar to put on top of the chili in the bowl and of course, you need to wash it down. Tonight, I used Howe Sound Rail Ale.

The finish . . .

Simple fruit salad was what was in the fridge tonight, so a nice splash of orange brandy on top made it dessert.

I'm finishing the litre of Rail Ale as I type this. That might explain the long rambling text above

You ought to be grateful that it all pretty much came out legible.

Best Regards,

- John

[MoreSaltThanPepper]

Chopping up some back bacon (Canadian bacon, peameal bacon, whatever else you call it) this morning, I realized that I had already started the toast, without thinking. I desperation, I wrapped the bacon in paper towel on a dish and tossed it in the microwave.

Final result? Gawdawful. The texture was like . . . like . . . well, never mind. I wound up doing it again from scatch, properly. What a waste.

How do YOU cook your bacon?

Regards,

- John