Apricot Lacquered Chicken Wings with Creamed Peas

My wife found this recipe in the magazine, Gourmet Every Day, so we decided to give it a try. We have been using apricot on our pork chops for many years; so, though the original recipe called for peaches, in fine print it also says apricot works well too. I have never cooked much meat indoors so this was a treat learning a little more about broiling, chicken wings this time time, indoors. The wings were delicious, but we agreed just a little more spice would have contrasted nicely with the sweetness from the apricot flavor; still they were very good eatin'!!

Continue Reading Diego's Apricot Lacquered Chicken Wings with Creamed Peas.

Ribs, Ribs, Ribs

We have tried a number of different rib recipes, including one that involved an apple flavored sauce) smoked with apple wood. It wasn't bad, but after multiple smokes, the following has become a favorite.

We just discovered a Carolina based bbq sauce that knocked these babies outa the park! .

Ingredients:

Ribs, either babyback or spareribs (St. Louis style) - (doesn't matter how many racks)
Hot Spicy Mustard
Rub *
You choice of sauces, or no sauce. Again, we favor the North Carolina Style Sauce.
Cherry, Hickory, Pecan

Method:

Do not use oil on the meat. Oil prevents the absorption of the smoke.

Do not put rub on the meat the night before. The salt in the rub absorbs into the meat giving it a strong "ham" taste. Put the rub on no more than 30 mins before putting the meat on the smoker.

Remove the outer membrane off the back side of the ribs. This is best done by placing a dinner knife at about the 2nd or 3rd rib from the end and gently running it beneath the membrane to get it started. Once started, hold it with a piece of paper-towel and pull it away from the ribs. If you see nothing between you and the rib bones, you have gone one membrane too deep and the entire rack will fall apart. There are two membranes there, you only want the one on top.

Spread a layer of the hot spicy mustard over the ribs, both sides.
Spread the rub over the mustard, over both sides.
Put the meat on the smoker: setting "smoke" for about an hour to an hour and a half.
Then crank up the temps to about 275 - 300 degrees.
There is no need to do anything further until the meat is registering about 195 degrees and when grabbed on one end with a pair of tongues shows great flexibility - about an hour.

(At this point, you can foil the meat, pour in about a half cup of beer, or coke, or apple juice, or some combinatin thereof, and put back on the smoker for another hour. I used to do this step, but after ruining a number of racks of ribs, I now simply spray some beer on the ribs during the smoke to keep it moist.)

Once the meat is done, either take it off the smoker, tent with foil and let it rest for about 10 minutes, cut, and serve.

BBQ sauce: The best way to apply the sauce is to brush it on about half an hour before you remove the ribs from the grille.

* Rub

Add equal parts of each of the following:

cane sugar (if the pkg doesn't say "cane sugar," it is "beet sugar.")
kosher salt
Montreal Steak Seasoning
Chili Powder (preferably dark)
A pinch, or more, of cayenne, or chipotle - to taste

Mango Chutney Sauce with Grilled Chicken and Steamed Rice

My friend, Lillie, who lives down in the Florida Keys tells me she loves mangoes. She loves them so much she purchased the lot across the street "so I wouldn't have to look at another house over there," and planted a "bunch" of mango trees on it. I forgot to ask how many trees she planted, but my guess is about . . . ten.

We didn't say much more about it other than she has a more than one variety of mango growing there; but I got to thinking about it later. I don't think I've ever eaten so much as one mango in my entire life. A googling of mango tells me no fruit is grown in more quantity, and no other fruit is consumed as much as mango. That because it grows prolifically throughout the world in the tropical and sub-tropical regions.

When I got home I went to the store and bought three. Did some research here online to find a recipe, and found one that looks relatively easy to do: "Mango Chutney Sauce" which goes well with chicken. Here's a link to it at one of my favorite recipe link sites, "Simply Recipes."

And here's a link to my sketchbook where I wrote out the recipe and sketched a picture of the mangoes I purchased.

The finished product wasn't quite as good as I wanted. I think what we learned about mangoes is that they need to be a little less firm than these two were. The sauce was a bit more acidic than I hoped for at the end of the 30 minute cooking time, so more sugar was added, but the mango was still just not quite ready.

By the way: In the picture above the chicken looks all burned and blackened. This is because I added contrast to the overall picture to more clearly show the sauce. Though the chicken looks bad from here, it was nice and juicy, thank you.

Winter Finally Begins to Slowly Fade Away

It's been frustrating this winter not having good light for taking photos of the foods we have cooked both on the Traeger and in the kitchen. As the sun takes a little longer each day now to find its drop-point on the horizon, there will be increasingly better light for taking a few shots to add to the blog.

Stay with us.

BRISKET

I have tried the brisket a number of times now and the following method, with modifications over the past few times, is becoming the method-of-choice.

This last time the brisket was smoked on the 3rd of July for our 4th of July meal. After slicing the meat, it was foiled and placed in the refrigerator along with the au jus to spend the night.

The next day, the au jus was warmed on the stove-top, then poured over the brisket slices which were then foiled and placed in the oven at 350 degrees for reheating. After about 20 minutes, before they became too hot to handle, the bbq sauce was added and blended.

Once the meat was nice and warm it was removed from the oven and served immediately. This was the best brisket to date. Here's the recipe :

Ingredients:

1 3-5lb brisket  (a small brisket cooks much quicker than the large 10 - 12 pounders)
Spicy Mustard
Rub

Procedure:

1. Trim most of the fat from the surface of the meat, and score the fat bottom side of the meat with sharp knife being careful not to cut into the meat layer below the fat. View this YouTube on "hot to trim" your brisket.

2. Slather the meat with a hot spicy mustard.

3. Add liberal amount of rub.

4. Set the oven temp to 225 degrees F.

5. Cook for 2.5 to 3 hours, or until the temp hits 160 degrees F, unfoiled.

6. Place meat in aluminum pan, pour enough Coca Cola (or beer, apple cider/juice, etc.) in pan to immerse the meat half-way, cook at the same temperature, or until internal temperature of meat is 204 degrees F.

7. Collect juice, spice up the au jus by adding rub and BBQ sauce (optional), remove meat from foil, push temp to 375 on Traeger and cook until a nice crust develops.

8. Remove meat, tent for 30 minutes then slice across the grain. If cooking for the next day, foil the meat and put in refrigerator. Also refrigerate the au jus.

9. Add rub and bbq to the au jus, bring to a boil, let simmer and cool then serve in small dipping bowls for the diners.

Wrap any left-overs with some of the au jus to help keep it moist and place in fridge.

Mo' Smoke Betta'

Konrad Haskins, RIP

Sorry to report that since the following was posted, Konrad Haskins has passed away. The links in the posting are no longer connected.

Took a BBQ class from Konrad Haskins, aka., Teddy Bear BBQ, yesterday and came home with a headful of new ideas and stomach full of some mighty fine babybacks, spares, brisket, pulled pork (aka-Boston Butt, Pork Shoulder, Pork Butt), tri-tip steak, and chicken. Fortunately I didn't overdo at each offering, so no pepto or Rolaids were needed when I got home.

Konrad, born and partially raised in England, is a large man with a definite Teddy Bear "look" - but don't let that fool you. He is a former helicopter maintenance engineer and he worked as a Microsoft consultant in the highly intense environment of corporate America.

At some point in time he gave all that up and dove all the way into the deep end of the pool with BBQ where he says he and wife are now "living the American Dream." He has won far too many awards to list in this tiny space on the blog, so just let it be said that he, and his wife, Phyllis, have won over 70 awards since 2002 alone; but just in case you are wondering, he is a Five time Grand Champion including two-time Montana State BBQ Grand Champion and the Nebraska Grand Champion; and he has been invited to six "invitation only" world championship BBQ contests.

Check out this video broadcast by the Food Network regarding Konrad's leadership in Operation BBQ where he and Phyllis fed fall-off-the-bone BBQ to over 5,000 returning members of the Stryker Brigade out of Fort Lewis. Check out the website for Operation BBQ Northwest at this link.

In all of Konrad's achievements in the BBQ world, nothing is mentioned regarding the excellent classes he runs all over the country. I only hope that with my exposure to two of them I can reach a level of "Mo' Smoke Betta" BBQ in my own backyard.

More to come, later.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

We have never done much to celebrate the birthday of ol' St. Pat around here, so this time we decided to put some corned beef and cabbage on the table. It was a first for us, so a few errors were probably made, but we thought the meal was good. The recipe said to cut the meat in 1/2 inch slices, but when I checked out a few other sites, afterwards, it looks like they could have been sliced more thinly.

The cabbage was sauteed a couple of hours prior to the meat being done; so once the cabbage was done, it was transferred into a non-stick skillet and set on low heat. As a result, it came out much darker than anticipated, but the taste was excellent, so we didn't think to much about it.

Continue reading Corned Beef and Cabbage.

Sauteed Onions and Mushrooms

Not too many things get the salivaries flowing any better than a big pile of sauteed onions and mushrooms either when they're sauteeing in a frying pan, or when slathered across a juicy steak, or a hamburger patty. Here's one way to make'em good!

Ingredients:

*Reserve - can be drippings from a smoking, or grilled meat, or something as simple as Italian Zesty Salad Dressing.
*Yellow Onions
*Mushrooms - any kind

Method:

*Reserve 1/4 to 1/2 cup marinade - liquid for sauteeing
*Bring the liquid to a boil in a non-stick frying pan, either on the stove or your grille: 5 minutes
*Add the sliced yellow onions and mushrooms and saute until desired doneness
*Pile on top of steak, pattie, etc., and enjoy

This recipe modified from one found at thesmokerking.com.

Diego's Winter Stew and Fresh Bread

In the last 3 weeks the outside temperatures have been running consistently below freezing: some days the highs were in single digits. It is time for some of Diego's Winter Stew.

We invited our son over for dinner after he got off work this evening. Served with a loaf of Almost No-Knead Bread, and cold milk, this stew really hit-the-spot!

Continue reading Diego's Winter Stew and Fresh Bread

Happy New Year and Ribeye Roast

This evening, to celebrate the total disappearance of the year 2008 and the first glimpses of 2009, we had our kids and their kids over for food and drink. The highlight of the evening was the meal: ribeye roast, slow-cooked hashbrowns, whole corn, mixed veggies, and french bread. The wine, red, was from a local winery, Felicitas, which was a Christmas gift from my sister and brother-in-law.

The ribeye was 12 lbs and here's how it was smoked on the Traeger:

* Brought it out of the fridge and let it warm up on the kitchen counter beneath an aluminum tent. 1 1/2 hours.
* Spread a spicy mustard over the entire outer skin to hold the rub.
* Spread the rub over the mustard. (Rub: equal parts Montreal Steak Seasoning, Kosher salt, white granulated sugar, dark chili powder, and a pinch of cayenne.)
* Set the ribeye on a rack inside an aluminum drip pan, to collect any juices, and inserted a remote thermometer prob to monitor internal temperature.
* Set the Traeger at 240 and at approximately 3 hours, poured about 3/4 qt of Coca-Cola into the drip pan. 3 1/2 hours later the ribeye's internal temp was at 115.
* Moved the ribeye into the oven where the temperature was at 400 degrees, and turned off the oven. This to create a little thicker crust on the outside of the meat and to allow its internal temp to raise to 135 - medium rare. Meanwhile, collect the drippings and let stand for 20 - 30 minutes: spoon off any fat that rises to the surface; then add Worcestershire, red wine, salt/pepper, and 1 cup of beef broth to the Coca-Cola and drippings - all to taste. Bring to a boil then let simmer until ready to use.
* Once the meat reaches 135 degrees, remove from oven and let it breath beneath a tent on the counter for approximately 20 minutes, then sliced it into 7 three-quarter to one inch slices. Drench the steaks with the juice, then pour left over juice into a bowl for individual preferences at the dining table.

If you're interested in steak that is tender, juicy and so mouth wateringly good that you can hear the folks you share it with groaning in gastronomical delight, then this is the recipe you want. Wow!

Ribeye with Red Wine Marinade

We found a good buy on some ribeye in the local food store and after some searching, decided to give this recipe a try. The original calls for an aged, prime cut of ribeye that runs for approximately $17 per pound; so I figured this much less expensive cut we bought should do well in a recipe designed for such royal services.

Ingredients:

*1/2 bottle of inexpensive, dry red wine
*1 cup of vegetable oil
*1/2 cup chopped yellow onions
*2 cloves chopped garlic
*Kosher Salt
*Fresh ground pepper
*2 Cuts of fresh ribeye steaks
*1/2 cup melted butter
*1/2 cup oil
*2 average sized yellow onions - sliced
*1 cup sliced mushrooms

Method:

*Mix the wine, oil and chopped garlic
*Add the steaks and refrigerate for six hours
*Remove steaks from fridge and let them sit for one hour

*High heat on the grill, or charcoal briquets that are white hot

*Mix melted butter and oil in shallow baking dish
*Coat the steaks in the butter and oil
*Apply a heavy coat of Kosher salt and ground pepper to all sides of the meat
*Place steaks on grill directly over the heat
*Cook for 1 1/2 minutes
*Turn steak 90 degrees and cook for additional 1 1/2 mins
*Flip steak and cook for 1 1/2 mins
*Turn steak 90 degrees and cook for additional 1 1/2 mins
*Using an instant read thermometer, medium rare will register 135 degrees
*Remove steak from grill, place on cookie sheet and cover with foil for 10 minutes. (Stack oven mitts on top to help retain heat)
*They are ready to serve

Sauteed Onions and Mushrooms

Reserve 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the marinade for liquid for sauteeing
Bring the liquid to a boil in a non-stick frying pan for 5 minutes or so
Add the sliced yellow onions and mushrooms and saute until desired doneness.
Pile on top of the ribeye steak and enjoy

This recipe modified from one found at thesmokerking.com.

"The Christmas Turkey, '08"

This 19 pounder waited patiently in the freezer for about three weeks for its turn. During that three weeks I worried and stewed about my promise to the family to "smoke a turkey" for them for Christmas. I knew I was in deep trouble when I learned my sister and her husband had spent more than a hour or two researching the "best" wine for smoked turkey at a local winery, Fidelitas, where they are members. Trouble? The temperatures had dropped into the single digits, and it is no secret that the times needed for smoking meat in a Traeger escalate with lowering temps. I had no idea if it would take 4 hours, 8 hours, or 3 days to cook this sucker.

I researched the issue on google; at Traeger's website; with Konrad Haskins, my instructor at a recent class on smoking/bbqing; my buddy, Joe from Oly, who kinda got me started with the long, slow smoke style cooking and knows tons of stuff about cooking. No one could really answer my questions about whether or not to even give it a try. I even joined an online forum, "pelletheads," and found some pretty strange comments there.

On the morning of the smoke, out of desperation, I called the 800 number Traeger puts up on their website (I found it the night before, too late to call).

Bruce's first question was, "do you have either a 100% cotton, or 100% wool, blanket?" I folded the blanket and lay it over the lid of the smoker for insulation. (Note: Careful with this - that blanket ended up scorched like a fragile pair of laced silk panties smothered beneath a forgotten iron! But it worked.)

Then Bruce told me to get a remote thermometer ($17 at Target), stick it in the breast, put the bird on when the smoker's temp is 300 degrees. Keep it there until the breast hits 100 degrees on the remote, then turn the smoker down to "smoke" and keep it there until the breast hits 170 degrees when it will be done. Note: for all you Traeger users out there - when you turn the temperature down, especially to "smoke," you need to open the lid for about five minutes and keep a close eye on your smoker's temp.

Once the temp hit 170, I took the bird inside and let it rest for about 15 minutes before carving it. Also brought in the drippings and made the gravy from them while the bird rested.

The turkey was delicious! Succulent, tender, moist, and smoked with cherry wood pellets, fabulously flavorful. The Gang raved about how good it was. Phew.

Note: So, here it is 11 months later and I'm reviewing this for preparation for next week's turkey and I see I didn't mention the time frame. Seems like it took about 9 hours. I'm thinking about smoking it the day before, then heating it up in the oven on Thanksgiving Day.

Note 2:  So, here it is - November, 2011, and I'm reviewing this for Thanksgiving.  The bird this year is a 22 pounder, a bit large for the smoker.  I won't be able to put the bird on a very high rack inside the roasting pan, so I think I'll just make the gravy in the kitchen oven, and when ready, pour the drippings from the roasting pan into it, mix, and then spoon off any grease as mentioned below.    

Turkey Preparation:

Brine for 12 - 24 hours, then wash thoroughly inside and out, pat dry with paper towels.

Separate skin from meat and spread the rub between these two layers.

Pour Italian Dressing over the exterior, mostly as an adherent for the rub, and spread the rub in all the nooks and crannies.

Brine*
1 gallon water
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 cup Soy sauce
1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

Rub*
Equal parts of each of the following -

Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
White granulated cane sugar
Dark chili powder
Canadian, or Montreal Steak SeasoningPinch of Cayenne or Chipotle for heat, to taste (optional).

Gravy**
Put sliced yellow onions (about 2 to 3 cups), a cup of chopped celery, and a cup of chopped carrots along with 4 or 5 tblspns of olive oil in roasting pan, heat in oven at 425 degrees for one hour, or until the onions turn a nice golden brown. 

Place the bird on a roasting rack and set it in the roasting pan with the onions, carrots, etc. Place bird breast UP. Add 3, or 4, cups of chicken broth (not organic!), and optinally, chopped innards from the bird, and put it in the oven/smoker. Replenish liquid with chicken broth as needed throughout the cooking process.

Once done, pour into a bowl and spoon off the grease on top, then put into the blender and puree to a gravy consistency.  At that point, as my friend from Oly says, "Toss in some salt and pepper to taste, then start praising God that he put Joe on earth to be your friend."

Bring the gravy to a boil to reduce and thicken, if needed.  It is rich enough that you can add more stock, or broth, to make more. 

It is THAT good!


* recipe provided by Konrad Haskins.
** recipe provided by Joe from Oly.

Another Brisket

Another Brisket
Originally uploaded by bmgarner

This brisket has an interesting story that involves an error in equipment usage that actually caused the lid of the smoker to open explosively when an overabundance of wood pellets filled the firebox. Owner's error!

The meat survived by spending the final couple of hours in the oven. Something we may do on purpose next time as it filled the house with the most wonderful aroma while finishing up.

* Rubbed
* 3 hours at 185-220
* 1/2 hour at 375
* 3-4 hours at one notch below 275 on a Lil Texas Traeger smoker with the meat immersed in one liter of coca-cola.
*15-20 minutes for resting
*thin slice across the grain
* pour au jus from drip pan over the sliced meat
*bbq as individually desired

Diego's Texas Brisket

My first attempt at brisket was a couple years ago. I had purchased a fairly cheap charcoal bbq unit and had been learning about direct and indirect heat, how to cook salmon on alder planks, how to use a charcoal chimney, and how to manage heat.

The brisket attempt was abysmal: completely black and charred on the outside and bone-dry inside.

I tried it again yesterday.

I bought a 13 lb. brisket; rubbed it with some hot, spicy, mustard; spread a rub over the entire surface; and once the temp was at 185-200 degrees on the smoker, I put the meat on the grille and closed the lid. For three hours. This temp heats the meat above the threshold temp for danger (140) and produces a most impressive smoke ring once the meat is done.

At the three hour mark, I pushed the temp up to about 375 degrees for one half hour where it develops a "crust;" then lowered the temp to about 275. At this time I also put the meat into a foil pan, poured in almost a quart of Coca-Cola (do not use diet-Coke - the aspartame is converted to formaldehyde at these temps), tented the meat with foil, and let it cook for about 4 more hours. When the meat reached 195-200 degrees, it was declared ready to take off the grille.

Covered with foil for another half hour, it was then cut across the grain and plated. The meat was sliced thin enough for sandwich style preparation on hamburger buns, choice of sauce was left to each individual.

The brisket was excellent, with just a bit of dryness which I am going to research and try to do a little better next time. I think the answer may be to cook it just a bit longer at the top temp.

Country Style Ribs

Country Style Western Ribs on my Traeger

Country Style Ribs, off the shoulder/loin area of the pig, are not really ribs; but they are fabulous when cooked correctly. It takes some care to smoke them to that fall apart tenderness that cannot be achieved if the cook is in a hurry. Been there . . .

Plan for five hours.

Ingredients:

3 - 5 lbs Country Style Ribs
2 C        BBQ sauce
1 C        Apple Juice, Beer, Regular Coke or Dr. Pepper
1/2 C     Vinegar
tsp         Paprika
tsp         Black ground pepper
tsp         Onion Powder
3 - 4 tbl Brown Sugar


Procedure:
1.  Smoke the meat for 30 - 45 minutes, hickory wood.
2.  Set temp to 225 degrees: cook about an hour, until the meat is 155 -160 degrees
     Blend the sauce ingredients, put on simmer until the next stage.
3.  Place the meat in a saucepan, pour the sauce in enough to cover the bottom of
     the pan, more is ok (good), foil and return to smoker
4.  Two plus hours, at 180 - 190 degrees, the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender.
     Replace the meat to the grill, layer with remaining sauce on each side 5 - 7 mins.
5.  Place meat on a serving tray, foil, let rest for 5 - 10 mins.

These types of ribs are done at 165 degrees, but they aren't tender.  The higher temps will melt the collagen in the meat rendering perfection in the tenderness.

Enjoy

Diego's "Un-Texas Beef and Beer Chili" (5 stars)

Chili, the American staple from Mexico? At the "History and Legends of Chili, Chili Con Carne" website, it is reported, "If there is any doubt about what the Mexicans think about chili, the Diccionario de Mejicanismos, published in 1959, defines chili con carne as (roughly translated): 'detestable food passing itself off as Mexican, sold in the U.S. from Texas to New York.' " Most reports indicate chili arose somewhere, but flourished in the Southwest, particularly in Texas.

When I was a kid we lived in Texas and we ate a lot of chili; and it all came out of a can. Dinty Moore made the best chili available, back in those days, from the grocery store. It wasn't until we moved to Washington state and my dad began making Texas Chili with mainly ground beef, tomato sauce, or paste, or chopped tomatoes, a few spices, and lot of chili heat!!

He introduced his chili to the family one Christmas Eve and it remained a staple of our annual Christmas Eve celebration for a number of years, even after he was gone. Sometimes his chili was almost unbearably hot with chili powders and hot chilis; and it never had beans in it. Texas chili isn't Texas Chili if it has beans.

I made a pot of Un-Texas chili today, and I think the recipe deserves a place here in "Squeeet." There are almost as many chili recipes as there are people who make chili; but since it all mostly "looks" the same, I chose not to take any pictures with the exception of the cilantro I chopped for garnish.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C chopped red onion (1 medium)
1 C chopped red bell pepper
8 ounces extra lean ground beef
2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tbl chili powder
1/2 tsp dry cayenne pepper, minced and crushed
2 tspn ground cumin
1 tspn sugar
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 tspn dried oregano

2 cans (15 oz) beans: pinto, kidney, etc.
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (8 oz) tomato paste
1 can (14 oz) low sodium beef broth
1 bottle beer (Bud Light)

1 tbl yellow cornmeal
1 tbl fresh lime juice

Method:

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook 5 minutes, or until beef is browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in chili powder, cayenne, cumin, sugar, and salt: cook 1 minute. Add oregano and next 4 ingredients (through the beer) to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, with lid on but with very small crack to allow steam to escape, for 3 - 4 hours. Stir in cornmeal; cook 5 minutes. Stir in lime juice.

Garnishes: chopped cilantro, fresh guacamole, sour cream.

Yield: 4 servings at 1.5 cups.

Review:

Everyone loved this chili. What really gave it an authentic "Mexican" taste was adding the chopped cilantro (to individual tastes) with the guacamole and sour cream.

Recommeded Modifications:

Next time I am going to try red wine rather than beer; not because the beer wasn't good because it was very good. This recommendation is due to the excellent result with red wine in the Coq Au Vin recipe from last week. Also, the addition of a tbs of either honey or molasses might really knock this recipe up a notch or two.

The red wine didn't give the anticipated results and ended up rather ho-hum.

Coq Au Vin/Chicken with Red Wine (* * * * *)

My fascination with Paris has a tendency to transfer over to the french cuisine. A couple days ago, on an episode of "The Take Home Chef," the meal prepared was "Coq Au Vin." This looked like something I might be able to pull off, so I googled the chef's recipe, then a few others, and settled on one I read about at Simply Recipes.

Coq au vin translates to, "rooster with red wine." The concoction was originally developed as a way to prepare the tough and sinewy meat of an old rooster whose prime had come and gone, by cooking him under a rather long and low heat, until the meat is - "fall off the bone" - tender. The acidity of the wine adds to the process; and the sauce that is produced with bacon, mushrooms, and the wine, is sublime.

Since old roosters are difficult to locate in our modern grocery stores these days, and since most of us don't raise chickens anymore, best used are stew hens, if one can be found. The chicken used for this recipe was neither an old, worn-out, rooster, nor a stewing hen, and it all turned out quite well anyway.

Here it is:

Ingredients

1/2 lb bacon slices
20 pearl onions, peeled, or 1 large yellow onion, sliced
1 chicken, 4 lb, cut into serving pieces, or 3 lbs chicken parts, excess fat trimmed, skin ON
6 garlic cloves, peeled
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups chicken stock2 cups red wine (pinot noir, burgundy, or zinfandel)
2 bay leaves
Several fresh thyme sprigs
Several fresh parsley sprigs
1/2 lb button mushrooms, trimmed and roughly chopped
2 Tbsp butter
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Method

1 Blanch the bacon to remove some of its saltiness. Drop the bacon into a saucepan of cold water, covered by a couple of inches. Bring to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes, drain. Rinse in cold water, pat dry with paper towels. Cut the bacon into 1 inch by 1/4 inch pieces.

2 Brown bacon on medium high heat in a dutch oven big enough to hold the chicken, about 10 minutes. Remove the cooked bacon, set aside. Keep the bacon fat in the pan. Add onions and chicken, skin side down. Brown the chicken well, on all sides, about 10 minutes. Halfway through the browning, add the garlic and sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. (Note: it is best to add salt while cooking, not just at the very end. It brings out the flavor of the chicken.)

3 Spoon off any excess fat. Add the chicken stock, wine, and herbs. Add back the bacon. Lower heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until chicken is tender and cooked through. Remove chicken and onions to a separate platter. Remove the bay leaves, herb sprigs, garlic, and discard.

4 Add mushrooms to the remaining liquid and turn the heat to high. Boil quickly and reduce the liquid by three fourths until it becomes thick and saucy. Lower the heat, stir in the butter. Return the chicken and onions to the pan to reheat and coat with sauce. Adjust seasoning. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Serves 4. Serve with potatoes or over egg noodles.

RESULTS: The problem we had was time. You have to start in plenty of time ahead to allow the sauce to reduce down. We had another engagement for 6:30 pm and starting preparing the meal at 4:30. There wasn't enough time to fully reduce the sauce. However, it was delicious! We did have to hurry our meal and that wasn't fun; but we learned about making this dish and will make it again.

NEXT TIME: More time, yes. Brown the chicken in the iron skillet and put the entire chicken in the dutch oven. Browned it this time in the dutch oven and there wasn't enough room for all of it to brown well on the limited bottom surface of the pan. Once a whole chicken is browned, it doesn't matter once it is in the oven because that's when the chicken stock, wine, etc. is added.

A recommendation for a side dish, in addition to the mashed potatoes and steamed carrots is mustard greens. With mashed potatoes the sauce can be ladeled across them. Leftover sauce goes well on pasta for lunch the next day.

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chili Sauce

A long, long, time ago, in a far away time and place (40 years ago and 3 or 4 miles from here) my father would throw together some of the best Mexican food ever eaten. At least that's the way I felt about his enchiladas. I don't know where he bought his tortillas for we had no Mexican influence here then, but I do know he deep fried them, probably in Crisco oil. I don't know how he made the sauce, but I'm reasonably sure he fried the hamburger in a skillet. We had never had food like this before and it was wonderful. I remember eating seventeen of them once. I was a teenager then and my stomach went down into each leg.

So, thanks to my good friend, Joe's, recommendation for this recipe, found at Cooks Illustrated online, I had to give it a try. My wife and I worked most of the afternoon making the tortillas from "scratch," bbq'ing the chicken; and cooking the sauce, also from "scratch." We agreed that we didn't think this would be as good my dad's enchiladas were; but we were wrong. These babies were scrumtious and we'll definitely have them again.

Our First "Croque Monsier" Sandwich

This recipe emerged from the pages of a fancy little book called, Paris Cafe - The Select Crowd. The book outlines the history of French cafes in general and cafes in Paris specifically; but we'll save the history and character of Le Select for another time.

The recipe for the Croque Monsier is one of three basic meals served in Le Select and having been to Paris a few times, there was no way the recipe could be avoided. We decided rather than making a closed sandwich, to use only one piece of freshley made no-knead bread. It was tasty, but we think maybe we should go ahead with the second, more thinly sliced piece of bread next time.

Ingredients

1 slice Poilane bread (or Almost No Knead Bread)
1 slice cooked ham (we recommend 4-6 slices of Black Forest ham)
1 thins slice Gruyere (Emmenthal) or Swiss Cheese
1 Tbsp grated Gruyere or Swiss Cheese
1 pat butter
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions for Open Face:

Lightly toast and butter the bread (iron skillet, or griddle); place the ham, then cheese, on top of bread. Cover with grated cheese and heat until the cheese bubbles. Serve immediately with lettuce garnish and a favorite wine.

Options:

A richer version uses 2 thinner slices of bread (crusts removed) with ham and cheese between. Place bechamel (white) sauce and grated cheese on top, and heat.

Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers have been a staple in our family for three decades. Whether on a cool autumn evening, or a freezing winter one, this meal satisfies the craving for not only something good, but something warm and fulfilling. This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients:

2 green peppers
1/2 lb. hamburger, fried
1 8oz. tomato sauce
1/4 C chopped green pepper (chopped tops)
1/3 C raw rice
1/3 C chopped onions
1 Tbls Worchestershire sauce
1/2 C water
1 Tbls Brown Sugar
Shredded Cheese - enough to cover the tops of the peppers

Instructions:
Mix all ingredients except the peppers,and the cheese, and simmer for 25 mins.
Cut the top off the peppers. Boil the peppers in salted water for 5 mins, then fill them with the mixture, top with cheese and bake for 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

salt to taste

Suggested Side Dishes:

Strawberry Almond Salad
Greenbeans



Home-made No Knead Bread