Potatoes and Squash

To go along with my previous post about fried chicken, I thought that the mixed potatoes and squash were yummy enough to deserve their own post.



They were very simple. I washed and cut up one of those bags of mixed potatoes (some blue, some red, some gold) just into bite-sized halves (I got our bag at Trader Joe's, of course). I boiled them, and steamed diced acorn squash separately. I drained the taters, and combined them with the squash. I added just a little bit of cinnamon, brown sugar, butter, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Another tasty variation on this would have been to continue along and mash them up together, using a little milk and/or chicken broth. I guess your chemistry teacher would call that a "physical" change, not a "chemical" one...

Buttermilk Fried Chicken and the Leftovers

I tried my first-ever fried chicken (on the bone, at least) owing to my acquisition, this year, of a pan deep enough to fry in.



I used Bobby Flay's guidelines (on a show I saw of his) about double-dipping fried chicken in buttermilk and flour. First, I seasoned the flour with a little cayenne, some poultry seasoning, some Adobo seasoning, and pepper. Oh, and just a little of Nonno's seasoning, too, that I keep in the freezer (sage, rosemary, red pepper and yes, more garlic diced finely by Nonno with a mezza luna, or curved blade.) I had purchased chicken legs and thighs, because, I admit, they were so dang cheap. I had marinated the chicken (skin removed, I just don't care for it) in a gallon Ziploc bag for at least four hours in the buttermilk. Then I dipped them in the flour, and again in more buttermilk, and again in the flour. I fried the chicken in vegetable oil when the oil looked hot enough to me. You can check this by flicking a piece of breading in the oil, and seeing if bubbles form around it.

I would call my first fry successful. Next time, I will season it the same way. There are a couple of things I will do differently next time, though. I dunno if it was just my technique, but the double-dip made the breading so thick, it was almost too thick. I think a single dip is enough. I don't want anyone to split their palate open on super-crunchy breading.

Another tip is not to put the lid on the chicken if you need to walk away from it for a moment. Use a splatter-shield, but the lid, even if on for only a moment, will cause an increase in pressure. This causes the oil to flare up, and I burned that batch a bit on the bottom just from that moment of having the lid on. Makes it harder to control the temperature.

Lastly, I think next time I will spring for the white meat. I think the breasts and the drumsticks would have been a nicer combo. Especially since dark meat is naturally a bit oily, I think white meat makes a better fry.

We had plenty of leftovers. Later, I cut the meat and breading off of the drumsticks, and diced it into salads on a hot day. I added scallions, and made a buttermilk, ranch-seasoned dressing with light sour cream and some of the remaining buttermilk.



On a cooler day, I used the thighs (I had bought boneless and skinless thighs) to bake in the oven with marinara and mozzarella (in a mixed cheese) as chicken parmigiana.

Caribbean Bratwurst

Okay, y'all are gonna think I'm crazy after this one. I mean, if you didn't already.



Sometimes pulling together everything in the fridge into a coherent... something is a challenge, even for me (only because I think I have my Dad's gift for that.) And when turkey bratwurst is buy one, get one free, that's a lot of brats if there aren't any cookouts on your calendar. And no buns in the fridge.

But I was up for it. I had an idea for a spicy, fruit-based Caribbean-style bean dish kicking around in my head, and adding brats to that didn't seem too crazy. They're a spicy meat, after all... So I chopped the brats and sautéed them with diced onion and garlic. Then I added chopped green apples (which was also something I needed to use.) I always keep the skin on, because there's a lot of nutrients there, and flavor, too. When those had softened just the tiniest bit, I added:

1 can of kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
1 can of pinto beans (rinsed and drained)
¼ - ½ jar of Trader Joe's Mango purée (peach sauce or apple sauce would work, too)
a generous dusting of mexican seasoning
extra spice -- some extra cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes
a handful of cashews
a handful of golden raisins

I topped it with a dollop of low fat sour cream (or yogurt is also nice), and put it on brown rice. I really, really liked it. It was like spicy meat candy, in a phrase that sounds like something my brother might say. Mmmmm. Meat candy...

But it was also low fat and high in nutrients and fiber. It had lots of textures and flavors... what's not to like?

Grilled Veggies... and What to Do With Them

I love the veggie griller's package at Trader Joe's. It comes with bell peppers, a slice of eggplant, sweet potato, zucchini, red onion and yellow squash, plus a couple mushrooms, and some asparagus. I added the green onion myself, plus some additional bell pepper I had. If you don't have access to Joe's, you could easily make the mix yourself. I just like that it is "single-use, no waste."

Now, of course, they are good simply paired with a grilled chicken breast, but one could get tired of that. Also, there are a couple of these (like the eggplant) that need some "sneaking in" for my husband's sake. I grill the veggies on my grill pan, and I've come up with several uses for them after that.

One night I rough-chopped them, and added them to pasta with some olive oil, a can of clams, a little red pepper flakes and a bit of white wine. Plus, of course, a ton of parmesan cheese.



On another occasion, I put them through the slicer blade (after grilling) of my food processor, plus some leftover asparagus and steamed broccoli I had.



Then I added them to a sautée pan and added red sauce. I got a nutrient-packed veggie sauce out of that, and there was lots left over for the week.



Lastly, I also diced them after grilling and added them to a "crustless quiche." I based it on this recipe from cooks.com, but I basically put in the following:

10 cubed slices wheat bread
9 eggs
3 cups skim milk
two large handfuls (about 8 oz. or two cups) shredded cheese
the cubed veggies
four slices grilled Joe's turkey bacon, diced
salt and pepper

I cut the bread into cubes, and added the beaten eggs and milk, then all the other ingredients. I baked it in a sprayed pan at 350 until it all puffed up into a nice blossom, which took something like an hour. (Hard to say, because mine takes twice as long as everyone else's on earth.)



This was really delicious. We had lots of leftovers that we just reheated in the microwave throughout the week... Would be good without the bacon as a vegetarian option, too!

Will it Blend?

My husband sent me a link today to the "Will it Blend?" site. This has to be the most powerful blender in the world. Brilliant marketing -- who wouldn't want a blender that could pulverize chicken into soup, or, perchance, an iPhone?

Devil Tongues

I've become fascinated, over the last year or two, with dipping various things in chocolate. It started with a friend at my old job (her name is also Gina) that brought in these no-bake cookies. She frosted one Ritz cracker with marshmallow fluff, one with a thin layer of peanut butter, and made a sandwich out of them. Then you dip the "cookie" in melted Hershey bar chocolate, and cool them on parchment paper in the fridge. They are UH. MAY. ZING. Do not deviate from Hershey bars, she warned me. Nothing else works.

Well, of course I experimented. You know how I am. I mean, in the Garden of Eden, the addition of a snake using his forked devil-tongue to talk me into anything that I know I shouldn't do would have been completely superfluous -- because I would have gone STRAIGHT for that tree the moment I was told not to. Also, I had chocolate chips at home that I needed to use up. But the chips dry too hard and have an unpleasant "crunch" that spoils the cookie... and if you add a little milk, you end up with what is basically bechamel sauce, and it will never totally dry (though it's great on ice cream... or cheesecake). So for anyone but the expert candy maker, I say, USE HERSHEY BARS. Be ye warned.

Also, when you are melting chocolate, use a double-boiler method. It is really easy to burn the chocolate, so use indirect heat, or microwave for a few seconds, and just keep stirring until it all melts together. Don't keep nuking it, or if using a double-boiler, take it OFF the heat.

So what I've done here is take the chili-coated dried mango slices that they sell at Trader Joe's, and dip half of those in chocolate, and cool them on parchment paper (they will not stick, and then you can put them all in a tupperware container). Have you had chili spice with chocolate? It is really wonderful. They are paired a lot in Latino cooking, and these "tongues" are not too hot -- just savory. I call them "devil tongues" because, well, that's what they look like, because they're a little bit spicy, and in honor of the little voice in my head that tells me to dip things in chocolate.

Turkey Taco Time!

Nearly all of the time, you'll see me saying something like, "Hey, if you don't like this, switch it out or change it." But just this once, I think you should make my tacos exactly the way that I make them and see what you think. Chris and I could (and often do) eat these once a week, and they earn rave reviews from guests that may have been leery at first. I'm gonna be really specific here. Note the order, the layering, and the ingredients. You want to change anything, that's great! Just don't tell people you're making MY tacos. 'Cause you're not. I know, I'm being very fascist about this, but these are THE TACOS, and they are perfect and holy. (My mood will pass and I'll go back to being light-hearted and free-wheeling about procedure after this, I promise you.)



The Meat:

In the photo above, the tacos are shown with easy Crockpot taco chicken, which is also great instead of the turkey meat. The recipe for that is:

4 chicken breasts, either frozen or fresh
a liberal dusting of mexican seasoning (scroll down that page)
1/2 jar of jelly, any kind (low sugar is okay, but not sugar-free)
1/2 jar salsa
salt and pepper

Cook for 4 hours if fresh, 6 hours if frozen, or just until the chicken shreds easily with two forks.

If you're doing the ground turkey meat version, I use about a pound of ground turkey meat, added to about two cloves of diced garlic, and half a hefty diced onion that has been "sweated." When the meat has been browned with the onions and garlic, drain off the water using a lid. Return it to the heat, then add a liberal dusting of the mexican seasoning (scroll down that page), salt and pepper. When that is all mixed together, add about a half jar of your favorite salsa to the meat and mix that in. This is the key to getting turkey meat that is never dry and is nice a savory. At the last moment, add diced fresh cilantro and mix that in.



The Guacamole:

I know I've shared my guac recipe with you before, but here it is again with the reminder that it is PERFECT (I know... what is going on with me today, huh?):

2-3 ripe avocados
1/2 diced jalepeño
1/2 diced red onion
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1 small palmful minced fresh cilantro
juice of 1-2 limes
salt and pepper

I firmly believe that the salsa, as you can see, should be added to the meat, not to the avocados. What you want to taste are the avocados, and it shouldn't be mush. I like to mix it all once, just at the end, so it is nice and chunky. You can eat on this liberally with some chips and cerveza until the tacos are ready.



The Order:

Assemble the tacos in the following order. Yes, I am completely serious. DO IT THIS WAY. I'm going to know if you don't.

When the shells have been warmed for a couple minutes in the oven (and yes, if you don't do this you are a barbarian), use the back of the spoon to "frost" one inner side of the taco shell with light or fat-free sour cream. Doing this creates a "Spackle" that holds all the other ingredients in, and also distributes your sour cream throughout without taking up precious vertical space that can be used for the "stuffage" of other ingredients. (Yes, that is a technical term, and don't question me again, private!)



Next, place your taco meat in the bottom, then the shredded cheddar or mexican cheese blend, and then the lettuce (and thou shalt not use iceberg, but mixed spring greens, red lettuce, or romaine are good). Then take your guacamole and spread it over the top. Again, we have a kind of Spackle or caulking effect here, and putting it over the top seals in all your other loose ingredients.

Lastly, and most importantly, put a easy drizzle of Western Light dressing over the top. Don't use a different dressing, and oh lord Francine, don't skip it, and I can't even look at you right now because I can-NOT believe you even asked me that. Sheesh!



There she is! Packed with nutrients, lower in fat than your plain old Velveeta and beef taco, and who really cares? Because the main thing is that it tastes one thousand times better.

The leftovers also make a great taco salad assemblage, just store the meat and the other ingredients separately, and reheat the meat. I also like to add a can of baby corn, and a can of black beans (rinsed and drained). Leftover guac (not that we usually have any) will actually keep in the fridge for a day or two without browning, because there is plenty of lime juice in it.



Enjoy. The perfect taco, with the chicken or the turkey. I know I was hard on you, but anything this great usually don't come easy, and now you can make these in minutes. You are welcome.