Ah Say Ah Say Did You Say Chicken?

The illustrious yard bird, the chattering hen, the flightless fowl of deliciousness.... the chicken!  Now, if you are like most folks you consume your fair share of the tasty hen.  But did you know, that chicken is expected to rise in demand worldwide in both developed and developing nations. Chicken also happens to be the most efficient converter of input (feed) to output (meat and eggs), and is therefore cheaper at the market than pork or beef. These are some of the reasons chicken is expected to continue rising in demand. And, throughout the world, an estimated 130 million chickens are consumed each day. This includes chickens sold in restaurants and fast food establishments, as well as those purchased for home consumption. Billions of chickens are consumed throughout the year.  We have gotten to where we eat so much chicken, I'm surprised we don't have feathers on our legs!  I for one know it can get a little tedious preparing those juicy thighs and moist breasts, nothing is worse than a dried up breast or thigh!  So, I've added three recipes here that I make, that will once again make you salivate like a teenager dreaming about the next issue of Cluck and Wing! " Ah say son, get to cookin' yo botherin' me"  FogHorn LegHorn ESQ.   Try them, comment on them, change them up some and post the results.  What are you waiting for?

Musings of a Road Warrior!

I am hitting the road again today and after twenty plus years of travelling if someone says "It never gets old", they are flat out lying!  I try to post as frequently as possible and use photo's of the meals I'm cooking at the time, but alas this week will be filled with lunchtime take out sandwiches, hotel dinners or the occasional restaurant!  Now mind you I do pack necessities for those late night snacks while channel surfing...

Now I know what you're thinking, "Dude how can you eat those things?"  Well I'll tell you, if you can stuff mechanically separated chicken into a tube form, dredge it in a chipotle hot sauce and make it scream my name, well darlin' I'm putting it on a Ritz cracker and praising Jesus for your ingenuity!

 

So here's to all my road warrior friends, a toast to you on this Saint Patrick's Day!  I'll post some recipes and photos from past dinners at Casa de Ogle to keep up and entertain with stories from the road! Remember always keep your head out of the bag and watch out for rattlesnakes!

The Three Faces Of Roux!

Ok, I posted my thoughts on a gumbo and the tradition behind that lascivious concoction derived in the bayou's of Louisiana.  Now whatever your choice, sausage and chicken, game meat, seafood or vegetable (don't trust anyone who offers a vegetarian gumbo), it all starts with the roux!  To make a good roux is to master the basics for any gravy or sauce that is thickened.  Think béchamel one of the 5 mother sauces.   If you can make gravy, another topic, you can make a mighty tasty roux for gumbo, it's basically two ingredients, a fat and flour.  In my gumbo roux I roll big time, I use rendered lard!  That's right I said it LARD!  That pigalicious rendering that will make a grown man cry!  I'm making gumbo to freeze so I'm making a large pot of gumbo.  Here is the recipe for the roux:  1 Cup Lard and 1 and 1/3rd cup flour...that's it... that's simplicity and that is what cooking should be... simple!  In a large pot, I use a large ceramic coated cast iron pot ( the Friggin' Bomb ), melt the lard once melted add the flour.  Now to get that roux to a gumbo color it takes a while.  When I say a while I mean 35-40 minutes of stirring over medium heat!  That is constant attention, no slacking!  There are three stages to a roux, blonde....

 

The Blonde is a base you can use for sausage gravy, béchamel and add parmesan, it works well and is the sauce for my lasagna recipe!  Then we continue to work our love machine and stir until we reach the peanut butter stage...

The Peanut Butter stage, takes about 20 minutes, you start to smell the nutty aroma of the flour as it cooks, you have to stir constantly, no lie, but in the end it pays dividends big time!  Keep stirring, keep cooking until you reach the Chocolate stage:

35-40 minute of constant stirring gets you to this luscious stage!  You really have to stir constantly because if you burn it, oh well order out!  Love Baby Love... work it! It pays off I promise! Now to get the rest of the recipe check out the recipe page!  This will change your world, I promise... ;-)~

 

Louisiana Style Cajun Chili... AKA GUMBO!

Generally speaking, a gumbo is a thick, dark soup containing a mixture of rice, vegetables, and meat or seafood. Gumbo is often cited as an example of the melting-pot nature of Louisiana cooking, but trying to sort out the origins and evolution of the dish is highly speculative. The name derives from a West African word for okra, suggesting that gumbo was originally made with okra.  Dr. Carl A. Brasseaux, of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, who has written the definitive history of the Cajuns, found that the first documented references to gumbo appeared around the turn of the 19th century. In 1803, gumbo was served at a gubernatorial reception in New Orleans, and in 1804 gumbo was served at a Cajun gathering on the Acadian Coast.  With Gumbo there are just two hard and fast rules:  a gumbo must always contain rice, and it must always be thickened with something.  Most gumbos are, in fact, double-thickened - first with a dark, oil-based roux, and then using either okra or filé powder, but never both (to connoisseurs, this as uncouth a practice as blending a Bordeaux with a Riesling).  Roux, there are raging controversies over what constitutes a proper gumbo roux. Roux, of course, is flour that has been browned in oil or some other fat. Both cooks and eaters have their own opinions on how dark the roux should be and how much should be used in a gumbo. There is no agreement on these matters, as anyone who has tasted gumbos from different cooks can attest.   Don't know what filet powder is?   Here's a link to splain Lucy!  Filet Powder

So that, to quote Paul Harvey’s so eloquently coined phrase is the rest of the story!  I’m going to step you through the Roux and my chicken and sausage gumbo.  It is a time consuming process that luscious lady roux but, will be the base of  the gumbo that will jump up and kiss your mouth so hard you’ll squeal like a suckling pig at a barbeque!  Come on let’s take this ride!  I’ll post the recipe in the proper section shortly!

Brassica Oleracea Gemmefera !

Brussels sprouts, or Brassica oleracea gemmifera, are related to other better-known vegetables in the Brassica genus like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. They are part of the cruciferae or mustard family, so known because of a four-part flower in the shape of a cross.
Sprouts were believed to have been cultivated in Italy in Roman times, and possibly as early as the 1200s in Belgium. The modern Brussels sprout that we are familiar with was first cultivated in large quantities in Belgium (hence the name "Brussels" sprouts) as early as 1587, with their introduction into the U.S. in the 1800s.
Brussels sprouts are a very good source of many essential vitamins, fiber, and folate. They are especially high in Vitamin C. They, along with their other cruciferous cousins, have been shown to have some very beneficial effects against certain types of cancer, as they contain many different ingredients that are believed to help prevent the disease.
That being said... How many faces just went EWWWWW?  Remember as kids when our mothers would get adventurous and try to get us to eat something healthy?   Remember when the vegetable of the  dinner meal was the much maligned Brussels sprout?  Remember the over boiled mushy mess that disintegrated in your mouth like a snail under salt?  WHAT was she thinking????  I'm gonna show you a way to cook these precious sprouts that will make you reach back and slap yo mama!  No offense mom!  This involves roasting them in the oven with simple ingredients, olive oil, salt, pepper and a touch of balsamic vinegar!  I'll post a recipe in a few minutes.  I've been out of town, but will get right back to my blogger duties, promise!  I promise once you try this recipe, you will be it's biggest fan!     UPDATE: Recipe is up in the appropriate section!  Please return your seatbacks the upright and locked position!  That is all.

 

 

 

Mama Says "Eat Your Spinach Baby!"

I just love spinach!  Fresh, creamed, wilted, baked in a casserole, whatever.  It's good for you and is a really easy way to turn a good meal into a great meal!  I posted a new creamed spinach recipe in the recipe's section.  Check it out!  ENJOY...

Musings of a Pastafarian...

OK, I'll be the first to admit it... I'm a pasta snob, a pasta elitist, a pasta junkie!  I didn't used to be that way it just kind of took over and grabbed me hard!  It all started with those boxes of dried pasta, the original gateway pasta.  I then progressed to those fancy designer pasta's and found I was getting further and further away from my closest friends and family who still clung to the old boxed versions.  Then... I went to Italy, the very epicenter of my pasta junkie dependencies.  I still remember the first meal in a little cozy café off the beaten path.  I had prepared for months.  I had practiced my Italian, brushed up on all the culinary combinations of the glorious strands and sheets!  Stuffed, filled, rolled, white sauces, red sauces, baked pasta I craved and wanted it all!  That first dish, spaghetti carbonara, Oh My!  It wasn't what I expected, it was more... much more, It was creamy, velvety, perfect al dente!  Halfway through I was a silent obsessive mess, the crispy prosciutto, luscious noodles, the perfect parmesan with the silky egg mixture coating the noodles... my brain was releasing dopamine's like Niagara Falls.  We spent 7 days and nights feeding my habit and now... well I am who I am.  I have become a maker of pasta, there I said it, I make my own pasta.  I no longer have to wander the streets for the perfect pasta.  I control my own pasta addiction! 

You to can make your own pasta and once you do well, you will know where I am in my addiction and have the ability to feed yours at will.  First, you will need to invest in a pasta maker.  I have a table top, hand crank version an Imperia... Here is a link you might check out ..
Imperia Pasta Maker  

This is what mine looks like:  In the box...

 

Out if the box, all the pieces...

And what it looks like on the counter assembled...

Now, I generally don't use the attachment because I find it easier and faster to cut the noodles by hand.  I will post a recipe for pasta, maybe even a video showing just how simple it is to become a pasta king or queen!  Look for it soon...  Go ahead give it a try feed your desire...  Ciao!

 

 

A Tale Of Two Chili's

It was the best of reds and it was the worst of reds... There is a fierce debate among chili heads about whether beans belong in "real" chili.  I for one like both but feel that a real Texas Red Chili should be a NO BEAN chili, Period!  I like to use whole dried chili's of various heat and types.  I usually combine a hot with a smoky with a mild in my recipe.  I hydrate them and use the liquid paste for the chili flavoring and use chili powder just as a boost to the flavor and heat.  Dried chili's are easy to find in the grocery store, generally in the produce section or in the ethnic or spice aisles.  Once you use them you will find they have a much better flavor than just powdered spice.  It's a smoother creamier texture in the chili.  I'll post My Texas Red recipe in the recipe page.  Nothing better on a cold late winter afternoon! Take a look and if you want a good resource on dried chili's check out this link....   http://www.foodsubs.com/Chiledry.html

For The Beginner...

I've created a page for all those folks who say they can't cook!!  I call BS on that and say you just gotta get started!  The page Kitchen Essentials will help you wade through the tools you will need to get off to a good start.  This is the start of a series where I will walk you through the steps it takes to create a good meal for your family and friends.  I'm just getting started folks.. let's get this pony rolling!