Valentine's Day - Dinner for Two

Good guess! We'll be making this.

It's the evening of Valentine's Day. If you have kids, they're in bed by now and you're focusing your attention on your sweetie. If you don't have kids, you're focusing your attention on your better half already. Finally, if you have no kids, no significant other, AND you're reading this blog - just make the food for yourself, lock the door and put on cartoons. No reason to share the yummies. 

Now, before evening rolls around, you're going to want to do some shopping. Let's keep the ingredients simple and relatively inexpensive. This exercise is mostly about method of preparation. The most difficult item tonight is a Risotto, and I'll walk you through it. The point here is not to run out and buy the biggest lobster and most expensive bottle of champagne you can find. Any random jackass can do that. This is making something that shows you have some class and are willing to put in effort to show that you care. Making something with your own hands that is pleasing to all of the senses. Invoking feelings of trust and closeness,  compassion and understanding.

Then maybe parlaying those feelings into some after-hours bouncy bouncy. Let's begin.

Valentine’s Day Dinner For Two:

Tomato Fresco Bruschetta & Sauteed Shrimp over Mushroom Risotto

-recommended to be served with a sweet Moscato or even an auslese Riesling.

Mise en Place

Here's what you need:

For the Bruschetta

Roma Tomatoes – 4

Garlic, Minced – 1 tbsp

Olive Oil – 1 oz

Basil, fresh, chiffonade – 2 tbsp

Kosher Salt – TT

Italian Bread, bias sliced 

For the Risotto

Arborio Rice – 1 cup

Chicken Stock – 4 cups

Mushrooms, sliced – 1 cup (I prefer crimini, but button works fine)

Shallots, diced – 2
Garlic, minced - 2 tsp
White Wine – 1/3 cup

Olive Oil – 2 tbsp

Green Onion, thinly sliced – 2 tbsp

Kosher Salt – TT 
 Asiago, grated – to top

For the Shrimp 

Shrimp, large (shelled and deveined) – 12

White Wine – to deglaze

Salt & Pepper – TT

Wooden Skewers, 6 in. – 4

Olive Oil (for sauteeing)

And here's what you do:

For the Bruschetta

Prepare this first to give it some rest time while the other preparations are underway. Do not top the bread until service.

-Dice your Romas. Be careful; too large and it won't fit on the bread well, too small and it'll turn to mush quickly.
-Combine all other ingredients (except bread) in a bowl. Cover and set aside.

Bias cut bread for Bruschetta

-Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. 
-Slice the bread on a bias. Brush with Olive Oil. If you prefer, sprinkle a little Garlic Powder over it all, but not much.
-Place all of your bread slices on a sheet pan and toast in the oven for 5 - 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them. They tend to burn easily.

To serve: Place a spoonful of the tomato mixture onto each bread slice, arrange on a plate, and let the yumminess commence.

For the Risotto

A Risotto is a relatively simple thing to create. Unfortunately, it's also a very easy thing to screw up. If this is your first time making a Risotto, give it your undivided attention until it's done.

-Oil a saucepan with 1 tbsp of the Olive Oil. Turn on medium heat. Do not let the oil smoke.
-When the oil is hot, add your diced Shallots. Cook until slightly tender.
-Add your Garlic and Mushrooms, continue to cook until 'Shrooms shrink slightly and get floppy.
-Pour in your rice. All of it. Stir it around until every grain is coated with vegetable essence and Olive Oil. Cook until the rice changes color slightly. (If needed, you may use the other tbsp of Olive Oil at this stage, but it might not be necessary.)
-Deglaze with White Wine. Continue stirring until almost all of the wine is cooked off/absorbed into the rice.

Risotto in progress

-Pour in about 1/3 of your chicken stock. Cook,stirring constantly, until stock is almost fully absorbed.
-Pour in another 1/3 of your stock. Continue cooking, continue stirring, until stock is almost fully absorbed.
-Pour in last 1/3 of stock. Add the green Onion and Salt. Continue with the cooking and stirring. When everything is almost fully incorporated, cover and remove from heat. Let rest for 5 - 10 minutes before service.

A note about this: Risotto, when prepared properly, should be very starchy and creamy while still having a bit of "bite" to the individual grains of rice. Not a lot, mind you. Just enough that you don't feel compelled to swallow it immediately. I cannot stress enough that this is a stand-alone dish or a side, never a soup.

Shrimpy Goodness

For the Shrimp

-Splash a small amount of oil in a saute pan. Get it going nice and hot.
-Add your Shrimp. Hit it lightly with Salt/Pepper.
-Toss lightly until Shrimp is almost done, maybe a minute.
-Deglaze the pan with a small amount of White Wine. Toss to coat Shrimp and cook for a few seconds more.
-Remove from heat and put your Shrimp onto skewers, three each.

Putting It All Together

-On your plate, place about 6 oz. of Risotto at a 10 o'clock center position. Garnish with a few long strips of grated Asiago.

-Position two of your Shrimp Skewers over the Risotto at an angle, pointing from the 4 o'clock position.  Garnish with your remaining Green Onion.

-Place the toast rounds, three or four per plate, around the Risotto, and top with your Tomato mixture, careful to strain away any excess liquid. 

-Enjoy!

One good point about this meal is that it is filling on the short term but allows you to enjoy a glass or two of wine without feeling bloated. Maybe even have room for dessert if you so choose and still be of use to your beau concerning various mid-coital activities.

I would recommend garnishing this particular meal with a dozen roses and a coupon for a free backrub with lots of Xs and Os. 

Tomato Fresco Bruschetta, Sauteed Shrimp Skewers & Mushroom Risotto

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day - Dinner with the Kids

Finished product, dessert courtesy of Surreal Confections.

It's been a little while since my last post. Doesn't mean that I haven't been cooking, just been too busy to post. Well, that curious lack of posting ends today. A bit of a special occasion, really, this meal is being done in tandem with Surreal Confections (providing the dessert).  I'll get right to it.

Valentine's Day. Ordinarily a time for people in love to show their affection for one another by gifts of chocolate, flowers, lovely greeting cards, and food in very expensive restaurants. Now, Valentine's Day makes up one of the two busiest days for a restaurant (the other one being Mother's Day), which hardly ensures that you'll even get a seat, let alone a memorable meal. And what do you do when you have a family? Hire a sitter that costs too much and probably has a nagging addiction to snorting cornflakes and coke? NO! That'll cost you even more money and drain your supplies of cereal and soda. Here's what you do:

Make dinner yourself. Cater to your kids. (If you're a guy, your lady will appreciate your attention and nurturing actions directed at the little ones. If you're a lady, your guy will understand that the little ones take priority.) When they're in bed, full of yummy food and chocolate, THEN you cater to your sweetheart. Keep the kids' dinner simple but memorable. Traditional meals like, oh, say... Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes, perhaps? Let's be fancy and make some bell pepper hearts to go along with it. Today is all about the presentation.

So, our Valentine's Day meal for the kids will consist of Heart-Shaped Homestyle Meatloaf, Garlic Mashed Potatoes,  Bell Pepper Hearts, and we're finishing off the meal with Surreal Confections' own Strawberry and Dark Chocolate Filled Choclate Cupcakes with Whipped Topping, conceived specially for the occasion.

First off, before the day gets rolling too hard you'll need to prepare a couple of things. First off, here's what you need:

For the Meatloaf

Meatloaf veggies, just about ready to go.

2 lbs. Ground Beef,

1 medium Onion, yellow, diced small

1 large stalk of Celery, diced small

6 button mushrooms, sliced 

2 Eggs

Salt & Pepper (to taste)

1 tbsp Garlic Powder

1 tbsp Onion Powder

2 tbsp Brown Sugar

1 tsp Paprika

1/2 cup Ketchup

Cooking Oil (for sauteeing) 

1 cup of Breadcrumbs or Cornflakes

For the Mashers

7 Potatoes, White, Medium sized (or five bigger ones)

Salt & Pepper (to taste)

2 cups Heavy Cream

2 Tbsp Minced Garlic in Oil

Onion Powder
2 tbsp Whole Butter

Pepper Hearts

For the Peppers

1 each Red, Orange, Yellow, and Green Bell Pepper
Cooking Oil (for sauteeing)
Salt (to taste)
1 tsp minced Garlic

Now that we've got that settled, here's what you do:

For the Meatloaf

-Drop a bit of oil into a medium saute pan or  skillet. Bring up the temp for a couple of minutes and drop in your onion, celery, and mushrooms. Keep it moving until the veggies are tender.
-Mix all ingredients well in a large bowl (except for 1 tbsp of brown sugar).  Simple, eh?
-Couple of options here. If you have a medium sized heart-shaped pan, as is a staple in many child bearing households, oil it lightly and plop the embryonic meatloaf in.  If you do not, get a square baking pan, load it up, and trim it down to a heart shape after it comes out of the oven. But I strongly suggest you get the heart pan. Multi-purpose, and whatnot.
- Cover with foil, making sure to tent the middle and secure the sides
-Cook at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes or until juices run clear. Alternately, it should have an internal temperature in the centermost area of at least 155 degrees. Also Fahrenheit.

A note, here. I cheated, and I expect you to as well. This is meant to be an easy fix, with the nifty bit being the presentation. Pick your favorite packaged spiced blend. Either Lawry's Seasoned Salt or Montreal Steak Seasoning work well with a loaf o' meat. Omit the other spices from this recipe except for one tbsp of the brown sugar. You'll see why.

-After your Meatloaf is out of the oven, allow it to rest for about five minutes. While resting, mix together your ketchup and brown sugar.
-Apply your red glaze evenly to the top of the Meatloaf (do this during the "Put It All Together" phase, below).

For the Mashers

-Get a pot of water on high heat. Bring to a boil.
-While waiting on the water, quarter your potatoes. Do not peel.
-When the water's at a good rolling boil, CAREFULLY add the potatoes.
-Boil, stirring occasionally, until your 'taters are tender. Drain and reserve.
-In a small saucepan, drop in a teaspoon of oil and your garlic. bring up the heat and keep it moving until the Garlic just begins to brown.
-Add the Heavy Cream and give it a good stir to dislodge anything on the bottom of the saucepan.
-Add your seasonings and  whisk to incorporate. When it begins to bubble, reduce heat to low and stir occasionally.
-When your potatoes are cooked and drained, pour them into a large bowl and mash the bejeezus out of them, then add your hot cream mixture and butter.
-Fold everything together.

For a spiffier (WOW, the spellchecker actually thinks "spiffier" is a word in English) presentation of the Mashers, mix in a bit of chopped parsley or green onion.

For the Peppers

This can be time consuming without the proper cutter. I used three small heart-shaped cookie cutters, but in the past I've had to use a paring knife. Get the cutters. Save your hands.

-Slice off the top and bottom of each Pepper.
-Cut a vertical slice to open them up.
-Carefully remove the seeds and white membrane, discard.
-Using your cookie cutters (or knife, if you're desperate) cut out several heart shapes. Start from the fleshy side, make sure the outer skin is down before you press. It'll make your job so much easier.
-In a small saute pan, heat a small amount of oil over medium heat . Add your Garlic and stir until it just starts to soften, but not quite brown.
-Add the Pepper hearts and toss in a dash of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until it begins to change color slightly. Remove from heat and cover.
-In two minutes, they're perfect.

Platter Service

Put It All Together

-On a serving platter, put down a layer of the Mashed Potatoes. Position the Meatloaf in the dead center and press down lightly.
-Time to glaze your Meatloaf.
-Arrange your Pepper hearts around your larger Meatloaf heart.
-Plate your dessert next to your entree (for details on your yummy dessert, please see the  tandem meal post HERE.)

Individual service

-Eat.

For individual servings, lay down a serving spoon full of mashers at approximately the 10 o'clock center of the plate. Cut off two of three thin slices of Meatloaf and lay across the Mashers, and garnish heavily with Pepper hearts.

Give it to your kids, tell them Happy V-Day, and explain to them that this is what's for dinner, stop complaining and eat it. Make sure to prepare this a little early, after they eat it's time to prepare dinner for your sweetie.

Coming very soon and very next - Valentine's Day Dinner for Two - the real reason for the season. And a huge thanks to Surreal Confections for going tandem with this meal.

Sweet Tea Fried Chicken

This is a more contemporary dish of the American South. I've seen it pop up in various places recently online and in print; various famous persons with Southern heritage and a culinary bent have prepared this recipe for a receptive public. Yet somehow, whenever I mention the concept to associates or acquaintances, I receive blank, vapid stares (at best). 

For a people that are immensely proud of their culture, I have found that many Southerners are loath to experience anything new, culinarily speaking, even simple variations on epicurean standbys. Fried Chicken is an excellent example of this.

When you look at it, face value, it seems to be a logical, inevitable step. This is a food culture where everyone's mother makes the BEST fried chicken in the county. A culture that consumes cold black tea by the gallon, with enough sugar in it to send otherwise healthy people from cooler latitudes into diabetic shock. And further, a culture that has a tendency to marinade meats for days at a time. Weeks, sometimes. The idea of combining these techniques and qualities into a single, glorious picnic dish was WAY overdue.

So here it is. Now I'll warn you, this takes an amount of preparation. Start on this two days before you want to serve it. Another thing: this is a picnic recipe. What I mean by that is this is a recipe that holds well after cooking, and in fact tastes better cold. Don't ask me how, just does. Eating a leg now.

So, let's get on to the Whys and Wherefores. I started with one whole, young chicken. Cut it up into eight pieces (2 legs, 2 thighs, 2 breasts, 2 wings) and set it aside. Now work on your brine. It's the most important part of this process. Here are your ingredients:

1/2 gal. Black Tea, DOUBLE STRENGTH
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup kosher (or sea) salt
1 lemon, cut into slices

Mix all ingredients. Simple, huh? A point, though: Mix your sugar and salt in while the tea is still very hot. Trust me, it makes all the difference in the world.

Now, bring the temperature of your Sweet Tea Brine down. I don't much care how; let it rest for a while, pop it in the freezer for a half hour, whatever. Just make sure that the tea is (at most) room temperature. You don't want to prematurely cook your chicken, even a little bit. It will prevent the flavor from seeping into your meat. When your brine is nice and cool, proceed thusly:

Place your chicken pieces into a large bowl, pour in your brine, and give it a good stir to ensure full coverage. Now cover, set in the refrigerator, and wait for two days. Yup, two days. Read War & Peace. Watch the first four seasons of Buffy. Go to work. Have a beer with total strangers and make them feel jealous over your chickeny goodness. For, umm.. two days. Yeah, I didn't think that last one through. If you MUST do something in relation to your upcoming meal (and it's a pretty good idea), every few hours or so give the chicken pieces a good rearranging to ensure even coverage. 

Provided everything has gone smoothly up to now, it's been two days and you're ready to cook. You'll need to bread the chicken. I recommend a simple, single coating consisting of:

2 cups AP flour,
1 tbsp garlic powder,
1 tbsp onion powder,
2 tsp black pepper,
1 tbsp sea salt

Sift all ingredients together.

Remove your chicken from the brine and set on a wire rack to drip drain. When no longer sopping wet (but still very damp), toss in your seasoned flour. Set aside.

Get your pan ready. Set over low-medium heat and add your cooking oil of choice. I prefer a mixture of butter flavored shortening and canola oil, but that's just personal taste. If at this time you can see through the flour on your chicken, give it another toss and start cooking as soon as your oil comes to temp.

Cook until the chicken reads 165 degrees F internally, and when stabbed with a fork the juices run clear. If you have a trace of pink, toss it back in. While cooking, turn every few minutes.

Because of the color the brine will give your chicken, it will be difficult for veteran chicken fryers to judge doneness by sight. You just kind of have to get a feel for it after the first couple of pieces.

Now, on to the eating! Again, I recommend letting it cool thoroughly, although it's still an experience nice and hot. For this meal, I served it with Sweet Potato Souffle and Strawberries, Cornbread, and a huge pitcher of Southern Sweet Tea.

Yes, I'm feeling a little homesick. 

Albondigas de Camaron (Shrimp Meatball Soup)

 Albondigas de Camaron

Every so often, I'm delighted to note that I can be surprised. Culinarily speaking, I mean. One of my darling children can still hide behind the bathroom door as I pass by and leap out like an ambush predator screaming bloody murder in the middle of the night, causing me to shriek in a very undignified manner and consider the possibility of grounding them from OXYGEN indefinitely. But food - different story. Especially living where I do, finding food that makes me sit up and take notice is a nigh-Herculean task.

I got the opportunity to sit up and take notice just yesterday. I was having a very pleasant day out with my wife and our youngest running household errands,  groceries, purchasing kitchen wares, etc. when we decide to stop in someplace for lunch. After a short discussion, we decide upon Inca Mexican Restaurant here in sunny Moses Lake, WA.

Upon casual examination, Inca is everything you expect from a Mexican eatery in a small to mid-sized town. Parking was adequate, we had shown up just after they opened at 11 a.m. so there was no shortage of available spaces. We were met by a colorful (if basic) sign perpendicular to the door identifying the downtown building. The interior was likewise similar to the cultural paradigm of the American Mexican restaurant, decorated with archways, red-brown tile, and artwork depicting important scenes from Mexican history.

(Odd side note, upon arriving I excused myself to make use of the facilities. At the second I flushed, they turned on the canned music, prompting me to think (if just for a moment) that I had done something horribly incorrect with and/or to the toilet.  Common sense arrived a touch late, and when it did I felt very foolish.)

Where Inca stands apart from the average burrito joint is their menu. It has the standardized sections for dinner combinations and the like. (Example:  #3. 2 Enchiladas, 1 Taco, includes Mexican rice, refried beans and cole slaw. You may substitute whole black beans for the refried beans.) These types of items are staples for the American consumer, and are cheerfully kept tucked away toward the back of the main menu. The lion's share of the menu is filled with a selection of what Inca is known for locally: Traditional fare prepared simply and to order. The Shrimp Fajitas are excellent, as my wife can attest.

I decided to try something away from my usual requests. Having become jaded by the food in the area, I usually stick to things that are industry standard and therefore difficult to screw up. For some reason, I felt  adventurous that day and let my eyes hover over a menu item that had SHRIMP MEATBALLS in the description. Sounds interesting. Being that my Spanish is in dire need of some Rosetta Stone polishing, I wasn't sure how to properly pronounce it; further I did not want to insult our waiter's culture by mangling his language with my coarse grammar, so I smiled, pointed, and said I wanted it with the corn tortillas.

The dish:  Albondigas de Camaron

It is a soup traditionally served with beef or sometimes pork meatballs. The guy in charge here apparently thought that such a thing was awfully pedestrian, so changed it out for shrimp. In essence, it is a soup comprised of a rich vegetable stock with large chunks of potato, carrot, and chayote squash. When the broth is nice and simmering, dallops of minced shrimp, onion, egg, and fresh cilantro are dropped into the mix and poached until firm. (There's more to it, but it's their recipe not mine and I think they'd be a little miffed if I gave away trade secrets.)

The soup was served with a saucer containing lime wedges, finely chopped onion, jalapeno, and a chiffonade of more fresh cilantro. Also, a handful of corn tortillas. Being unfamiliar with this dish, I asked our waiter, Ismael, the proper etiquette for eating it. he cheerfully explains that there are a number of methods. I decided to try a few different ones.

Option One: Use the chopped veggies on the side to season your soup to taste and eat as you commonly would any other soup. Tortillas are used as the bread component to the meal.

Option Two: Smash a single meatball into a tortilla, garnish with the side vegetables and eat fajita style. drink the broth at leisure.

Option Three: Break up the meatballs in the soup and num away.

According to our waiter, 90% of Mexicans who eat this dish, regardless of method, squeeze lime over it before anything else. It's just custom.

Suffice it to say, I greatly enjoyed this meal. Our waiter was very helpful and informative, to the point that he divulged ingredients and method of preparation. Now I have a decided interest in making this dish for myself, and have proposed some tweaks to bring it more into the realm of Cajun/Creole cuisine.  

Concerning the kitchen staff who prepared our meal: I do speak a little Spanish. Just enough to get me in trouble, mind you. We could hear them conversing about our order, and I was able to pick out enough to guess that they weren't particularly happy about having to make it. I may agree with them, it's a bit of a procedure getting poached meatballs from shrimp together for a customer first thing in the workday.

Some of the back-and-forth between the wait and cook staff, even in Spanish, was a delightful reminder of my own days working a hot line in a colorful local kitchen (That's local in Georgia, mind you. Very different accents). Ismael, our waiter, apologized for how long it took to get it to our table and informed me that it was made, like the majority of their menu, from scratch the moment I ordered it. It was a polite gesture, but somewhat unnecessary.

The flavor of the Albondigas de Camaron was rich, well developed, and a welcome change from the norm. It was simply prepared and presented, with fresh ingredients and polite staff. My lunch at Inca was indeed memorable.

For those of you who are fond of links:
 
 Inca Mexican Restaurant

Baconcakes!

Baconcakes!

A largely unnoticed slab of yummy Americana, I'm trying to bring it back into the light. It isn't particularly healthy, but it is certainly one of the prettiest breakfasts ever. The concept is also AMAZINGLY simple; I'm sure most can get an idea as to how to do this from the picture alone. The most I can do is give tips for better presentation. However, for the sake of being thorough, I'll give the step by step.
  
For starters, get a nice, medium thickness pancake batter. Too thick and the batter won't pour evenly over the bacon, too thin and you'll have too much spread. Yes, this means you want the batter that Goldilocks chose. (Just right, for those of you who had childhoods bereft of "storytime") Use a box if you like; I grew up in a Bisquick household, myself. Works fine. Pull one from the myriad of pancake recipes off the 'Net if you want to do it yourself. Or you could use this one, below:

(serves about 4)

1 3/4 cups AP Flour
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
2 tablespoon Granulated Sugar
3 tsp Baking Powder
1 1/4 cups Milk
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 oz Canola Oil

-Mix dry ingredients (except sugar)

-Mix wet ingredients (including sugar)

-Mix dry and wet ingredients together well.


 Put your batter aside for the time being and focus your attention on the Bacon. Now, your Bacon should be thick, meaty, and hickory smoked. A nice, strongly flavored Bacon. A "stand alone" bacon, if you will. From here, you have two options: Bake or Fry.

Frying the bacon has the advantage of pre-oiling the pan before you add your pancake batter. If you're only making this for one or two people it will be the fastest method of production. Also, you can more accurately gauge the doneness of your Bacon. (yes, I capitalize Bacon like a proper noun. It deserves to be.)

Baking has the advantage of giving a flatter slice of Bacon, more even rendering of fat, and better color without as much browning. If you're batching this recipe out for many people, this is the most effective method short of a commercial flattop grill. Best method - Wire rack on a cookie sheet. Reserve all rendered Bacon fat to oil your pan in the final cooking process.

Finale:

-Make sure your pan is well oiled with Bacon fat and that you have a slice of the smoky goodness in your pan.

-Carefully pour your batter over the Bacon lengthwise. Pour evenly and directly over the Bacon, it will spread as much as it needs to. 6 oz to a cup will suffice nicely.

-When your pancake gets bubbly across the top, give it a flip. Cook for another minute or so. It should be golden brown and crispy along the edges.

-Serve with lots of Maple Syrup and Butter.

Plated  with Bacon-Cilantro Roses and Strawberry garnish

-Keep for yourself.

Variations:

Two or more slices of Bacon per pancake, grouped tightly.

Chopped Bacon instead of (or in addition to) slices.
                       

Hickory Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf

I've been getting a little grill-happy as of late. Five nights out of seven this past week I've been on the patio with a Guinness and my new Weber grill (thanks, Jenn!) for hours at a time searing many, many dead animals. It may be going a bit overboard.

Case in point: This morning I had a big, heaping bowl of jumbo sea scallops, wrapped in bacon and grilled well. Last night for supper I had MEAT with a side of MEAT and a MEAT garnish. I was debating washing it down with a tall, frothy glass of gravy. For the Gibson Clan, it is a feast. For the barnyard, it is Armageddon. I have a problem.

But in every problem there lay opportunity. And in this opportunity I've come up with something that may revolutionize the concept of Ground Beef as we know it. In my week of excess I have stumbled on something potentially game-changing: Hickory Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf.

Here's what you'll need:

Ground beef (about 1/2 lb per loaf, 2.5 lbs total)
Bread crumbs (half a cup)
Plain potato chips, crushed (half a cup)
2 whole eggs
Lawry's Seasoned Salt (a good tablespoon)
Bacon (12-15 thick slices)

And here's what you do:

-Get your grill going. That's a charcoal grill, folks. Don't let the propane industry fool you. Just can't get the same flavor. For fuel: Charcoal and soaked Hickory Chips. Put the chips directly on the coals before you load up your meat. Alternately, you could use the briquettes with hickory in them, but it's really second-best.

-Mix everything except bacon until uniform. Form into five cigar shapes and wrap in hickory smoked bacon (2 to 3 per loaf). No need to pin it to the meat, just get a good, tight, overlapping wrap.

-Place on a medium heat grill covered, turning as needed.


-Your loaf is done when the bacon is cooked through but not burnt, and meat has a 155 F (68.3 C) internal temp. Lower if you like it more pink.

A couple of things to mention before you really get involved: 1)This is going to vent a LOT of bacon and beef fat into the coals. When you turn them, do so quickly and efficiently. If the grill cover is off for too long this fat will catch fire and might ruin your weekend.  2) I got lazy with the seasoning. Any blend will do, just watch the salt content. The bacon will add a lot of this already, and it's going to lose a bit of moisture while it cooks. You don't want to overpower.





Happy Grilling!

Chicken & Waffles Benedict

Back in college, I took to hanging out with a small group of odd, likeminded people. We had very little in common, with the exception of an appreciation for beer and good food.  Two of them stand out in my memory, David Epps and Marcus Page. I vaguely recall a four-pitcher night with these two ne'er-do-wells when I SWORE that one day, when I was an Executive Chef in charge of an important venue or account, I would serve my clients Chicken & Waffles. Moreover, they would be GRATEFUL for it. I did not know it at the time, but that utterance has stuck with me to this day.

I got my first opportunity to do so with an Interim position with the Oregon Institute of Technology. For two months I took up the mantle of their Executive Chef. It started well enough, I kept a similar menu plan going as their usual and limited my creativity to catered events (with client approval, of course). After a bit the powers that be handed down the assignment of organizing a Weekend Brunch. My words from years ago crept back into the forefront of my brain, reminding me. Taunting. Daring.

You see, office management didn't come in on the weekends. But the Executive Chef implementing a new meal program? Yup, had to be there. It is said that there is no greater tyrant than the Captain of a ship at sea. The same can be said of kitchen leads with total menu control. Armed with this newfound combination of authority and freedom, I declared a standing menu for Sunday Brunch across the whole of resident dining: Southern Fried Chicken and Belgian Waffles.

Two thousand college students and faculty trapped in the Cascade Mountains LOVED it. It's now a permanent fixture on the menu, every Sunday, with lots of maple syrup and hot sauce. 

My inebriated promise had been fulfilled, but something felt unfinished.

The next source of inspiration came from my loving wife, Jenn. You see, she adores my Hollandaise sauce. I make it extra thick and extra lemony. Eggs Benedict and Asparagus makes for an excellent brunch, as well as an excellent excuse to whip up a pint of Stabilized Hollandaise. (details below)

On this occasion, we had it for three meals in a row. Overkill maybe, but you just can't beat a classic. After filling our bellies with poached eggy goodness, we began to discuss alternate methods of making the meal. I offered up my Breaded Oysters Benedict, or a variation with Crabcakes.  My wife suggests Waffles. She does make a lovely Waffle.

The concept reminded me again that I was not yet done with Chicken & Waffles. Or, more likely, Chicken & Waffles was not done with me.

As you can see from the pictures, it's a whole Belgian Waffle for the base. Make sure the batter is slightly sweet. I cannot go into detail about the batter; it's not my recipe and the missus may commit acts of aggression upon me were I to spill it.

Now, I used a Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, butterfly cut to fully separate. Now much thinner, it is soaked in buttermilk and dredged in seasoned flour. The actual seasoning that goes into the flour is a bit of a family secret, as are the circumstances of cooking. I'm from the South. It's kind of how we do things. Either way, make sure your oil is good and hot before dropping your chicken in. It should instantly sizzle and scare you a little. Keep it going until it's golden brown on both sides, and make sure it's fully done. (165 F internal temp will suffice)

Per Jenn's suggestion, the pork product was Bacon. No real reason except that Bacon is so epic it deserves its own anime music intro.  Moving on.

Now the Hollandaise: There is a classic method of preparation that can be easily referenced. Or there are packets you can buy at the market and "just add water". If you're in a commercial kitchen, there is a very passable Hollandaise base that can be had. My approach is different: Start with a classical preparation, but make three alterations to the recipe. 1) do NOT use clarified butter. When it comes time to incorporate butter, use whole, unsalted butter cut into cubes and chilled. Toss in about a third of the butter at a time and keep your whisk moving. 2) After your butter is melted (but before adding lemon juice) throw in an ounce of heavy cream. 3) Use about three times the listed Lemon Juice.  If everything is done properly, you will have a very tangy and extremely stable Hollandaise.

The sauce for this particular dish is a Tabasco flavored Hollandaise. I substituted hot sauce for the vinegar component. It's not for everyone, but it does make a tasty alternative.

Assemble the components as shown, and dig in. With this recipe out of the way, it makes me wonder what else I can get into with Chicken & Waffles. Next stop: FINE DINING!!!