Meme-Less Monday, A Day of Mental Rest and Wiley Waffles

I am going to make a sincere effort to steer clear of politics today. I may have to stay off of Facebook to do this, but it'll be worth it. My head is still threatening to explode, and election rhetoric is not helping. Goodbye Fox and CNN. So long, New York Times. Au revoir, Orlando Sentinel. And farewell, Facebook. I am declaring this Meme-Less Monday. The news is literally making me sick. Excuse me while I go check out my Amazon.com cookbook recommendations.

It is 37 degrees in Kissimmee this morning, shockingly low for this poor old body. The temperature in Florida is currently ranging from 57 in Key West to 30 in Tallahassee. I have no plans to leave the house today, and right now I can't imagine leaving this bed, unless it is for the purpose of heading to Key West.  Or maybe as far as the kitchen to brew some coffee while trying a really easy waffle recipe I found online. I will conquer The Waffle, and I will do it without separating eggs or blooming yeast. But first - coffee über alles.

Ahhhhh .... now that I am appreciably caffeinated, I'm going to test the waffle recipe. In the meantime, I've posted some mighty fine and sunny pet pics with which you can wile away the time (yes, the spelling is correct) whilst I wittle a waffle or two.

"Hellooooooo to all my snowbound friends!  This is Chelsea Rose Rothfeld reporting from the No-Snow Zone, also known as Florida."

"My Puppy brother and I are sharing a toasty sunspot. I hope you get your toasty sunspots back real soon!"

"My Kitty brother is playing the part of a Solitary Sun Gazer. Stuck-up Feline Snob Lord of the Sith!"

Now, before I provide the recipe and pictures for you, I would like to share the wisdom of Bobby Flay, Brunchmeister and Grilling Guy Extraordinaire - "I like to leave the edges of the waffle irregular because that way you can tell they are homemade." These are very homemade. And I am pleased to add that they are delicious, crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, all the qualities that make a waffle a waffle.

Best of all, these are easy. No freaky ingredients like buttermilk or yeast (I happen to keep yeast in the fridge in case I wake up with a mad desire to bake bread, but buttermilk is too perishable for the luxury of maintaining a regular supply. It's not like anyone drinks that stuff, except Martha Stewart and possibly Andrew Zimmern. Buttermilk is like Asian fish sauce, thoroughly noxious until after you combine it with other ingredients. And yeast means time - waiting time, for the batter to rise up, and for you to pray to the Great Bakery Gods that your yeast is alive, that the water temperature is correct lest you kill the little darlings, that the yeast ate the sugar you gave them for breakfast and are in the mood to fart. Time better spent obsessing over Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic, or knitting a sock, or playing with your grandchildren.) No whipping separated egg whiles. No melting butter and waiting for it to cool off. This recipe is delightfully straightforward and user-friendly.

I found it on Allrecipes after initiating a search for "easiest and best waffles." Seriously, isn't Google divine? This is called "Waffles I" and judging by the comments was posted sometime in 2005 by OneShyOfABunch. Alrighty, then. I'm sure she would look askance at my screen nick. Brkexpat, what the hell is that supposed to mean?

2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Before I start the instructions, let me encourage you to click on the above link so you can check out the comments for your personal use and eddification.  I learn a lot from the comments, including tips on how to make a good recipe even better, and how truly box-of-rocks stupid some people can be. It's the contrast that keeps me amused. For Waffles I, the vast majority thought it was The Bomb. A very few thought it was worse than ground up cat shit. I went with the yay-sayers instead of the nay-sayers and was well-rewarded for my faith in nameless, faceless strangers who also like to cook.

I took some of their suggestions to heart, increasing the sugar (I used turbinado instead of white) to 2 tablespoons and the vanilla to 1 teaspoon. Most importantly I followed the recommendation of one waffler to beat the eggs for up to 5 minutes to get them really fluffy. About halfway through, I added the sugar and salt, which made for really good incorporation and really fluffy eggs.

Hard to see in the photo, but this batter had some weight to it, unlike last night's runny mess.

The last thing I did which is not part of the original recipe is to let the batter sit for a good 10 minutes before committing it to griddle. This gives the ingredients a chance to make friends and learn to play well with others. Seriously, this is a little trick I use when making muffins, and the result is always a higher-rising, more tender specimen. Trust me. Just remember to stir it once or twice when you are ready to pour.

Oy vay ist mir, where are those directions? Enough of this batter chatter!

Beat the eggs until fluffy, adding the sugar and salt about halfway through the fluffing.  Add the flour, milk, oil, baking powder and vanilla and beat just until smooth. Set aside at room temperature for about 10 minutes.

So while the batter is resting, preheat your waffle iron according to your manufacturer's instructions. Spray both sides of the hot griddle with butter-flavored Pam. Stir once or twice, then pour some of the batter onto the griddle, spread the batter evenly, close to the edges, if you are that sort of waffler, or go the Bobby Flay freehand route, like me. Close the griddle and bake until the waffle is golden brown and beautiful.

Remove from the waffle iron and eat. You can thank me later. Oh yeah, it's OneShyOfABunch's recipe, but I did the research! You're welcome.

Hunkered Down In The Cold - Chicken Livers and Waffles

Siri has advised me that it is currently 46 degrees Fahrenheit, which for Florida is an obscene concept. Even worse, it is 36 degrees in our state capital.  Perhaps Governor Voldemort should start wearing a knit skull cap.  Or a ski mask. Something to keep warm until term limits cast him thankfully out of the Governor's Mansion.

Rob gives in to Hand Knit Socks Weather

I think this is Day 4 of this headache; today my right eye seems particularly painful. But it's Sunday, no plans, no reason to leave my little corner of the living room. It's nice and warm here; I can eat my poached egg and sip my coffee in relative comfort. My friends and family up north, not so much - I know from personal experience that those bitter winds can give gas and electric heat a run for it's money, and even the best insulation can't completely block the cold.

Also, at my age, heading out to shovel several thousand feet of the white stuff can be dangerous to one's health. When I was a kid growing up in my parent's house in North Woodmere, we had a ridiculous amount of shoveling because the house was set on a corner lot. My brother and I cheerfully pitched in to help my Pop (everything is fun when you're school-age young), shlepping coal shovels that weighed as much as we did. If I tried to do that now, I would likely keel over and land face down in a snow drift. "Shoveling snow can pose serious risk to the heart" happens to be the topic under discussion on the health and medical segment on Fox News. Doctors Siegal and Samadi both agree that if you are over 50, hire someone to do your shoveling. I hope all of my Frozen Loved Ones Of A Certain Age are cognizant of that grim reality.

My cooking plan for today is beyond easy, but considered offal ... sautéed chicken livers. One of the easiest, cheapest, most satisfying dinners around. Go ahead, make a face. I made a face when I saw that chicken livers had increased from 99 cents to (gasp) $1.69 a pound! It's now going to cost me almost $2.00 to feed my family. The nerve! (Well, to feed Rob and me ... Cory still won't touch this.) Having bought a little over 3 pounds, that would let me feed 6 to 8 adventurous chowhounds or 4 Jewish Brooklynites for around $5.00.  Think about that. I'm thinking about leftovers.

This is a throwback recipe; I first published it in 2011, June 5 to be precise, back in the day I complicated my life with "companion" blogs. (If you're curious about the blog post that went with the recipe, click here. Never mind that it has nothing to do with the recipe. Nothing. We were - gasp - just returned from a Carnival cruise.)

Some of you may wish to avert your eyes - not me

I have no potatoes to mash (the perfect chicken liver side dish) but I'm watching Brunch with Bobby while writing this and he is pulling me inexorably towards waffles.

Oh yeah - thanks Bobby. No, really. I needed a good reason to dig out this waffle iron (I have more than one) and that cookbook.

Let's start with the chicken livers - I am going to make these Casino-style, which involves dried oregano. President Lyndon Johnson's family counted this dish as a family favorite.

2 large onions, halved and then thinly sliced

4 large cloves garlic, smashed and minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

2 pounds of fresh chicken livers, placed in a colander, rinsed with cold water, and very well drained

Kosher salt, black pepper

Dried herbes d' provence

I spiralized the onions - what fun!

Heat the oil and butter together in a large skillet.  Add the onions and garlic and saute until golden brown.  Remove with a slotted spoon and hold to the side.  Leave any remaining oil and butter in the skillet.

Chicken livers are often joined by a membrane; snip this with kitchen scissors, and you will have two nice pieces.  I do not recommend cutting the livers any smaller than this.   Season the livers with the salt and pepper, and then add to the skillet. 

Put the heat up to high, and then add the herbes d' provence.  Cook for three to five minutes, or until the livers are browned on both sides.  Let most of the excess liquid in the pan evaporate, but do not let the livers dry out.  Add back the onions and garlic, heat together for a minute or two, then turn into a serving dish and sprinkle with some parsley.

If you can't find the herbes, use dried oregano and call your dish Chicken Livers Casino. The very best thing to serve this with is old fashioned mashed potatoes and buttered green peas. 

And now the Crispy Cornmeal Waffles - first time I've tried these. The book is Waffles from morning to midnight by Dorie Greenspan.  As you can see, the book is way out of print, although it is available used. I am going to type up the recipe, because there's no other way to reasonably acquire it.

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal. preferably stone ground
2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 large eggs

Preheat your waffle iron. If you want to hold the finished waffles until serving time, preheat your oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Melt the butter; reserve. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In another bowl, thoroughly combine the buttermilk, maple syrup, and eggs.  Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk, stopping when the ingredients are just combined. Stir in the melted butter.

Lightly butter or spray the grids of your iron. Brush or spray the grids again only if subsequent waffles stick.

Spoon out 1/2 cup of batter (or the amount recommended by your waffler's manufacturer) onto the hot iron. Use a metal spatula or wooden spoon to smooth the batter almost to the edge of the grids. Close the lid and bake until browned and crisp.

Truthfully, my waffle-making skills need some work ... well, I usually have quite good luck when I use the round Waring Belgian Waffle machine, but this was something else. I'm not sure if it was the way I prepared the batter, or something with the Proctor-Silex waffle iron, or the recipe itself.

I guess I'll just have to try it again. I admittedly made changes, always a bad idea the first time through an untried recipe. I halved the recipe, used coarse cornmeal (not stone ground), and used fake buttermilk (the old lemon juice and whole milk trick). With all that, the taste was really good, and Robert loved them all nice and toasty, supporting a whole lot of those delicious chicken livers.

Waking Up Is Hard To Do

They say that waking up is hard to do

Now I know, I know that it's true ...

Holy smoke, the past few days have been brutal. I am seriously thankful that I live in Florida rather than up north right now, as the blizzard would only make me feel a lot worse.  I've been waking up with really bad headaches and pain in my eyes, so I'm very glad Rob will be driving to tai chi class this morning. Tai chi is going to be a challenge nonetheless, as every muscle in my body aches.

I know my northern friends and relatives are going to scoff, but I am wearing a scarf and half-mitts. Just until our temperature rises a bit. My heart may be in New York, but the rest of me is in Central Florida and after almost a quarter of a century this old body is acclimated to heat, not cold.

BEST - TAI CHI - CLASS - EVER: I hurt this morning, as bad as bad could be; my arms, my back, and that weird pain that starts in the chest, slams into your back, and radiates up like enraged light sabers into the neck, jaw, and ear canals. Here's the beauty of tai chi: I was able to follow along through almost all of the 2 hour class. We covered a lot today - many current forms, and a bunch of new forms, all very engaging. There were a few times I had to stop, but only towards the end. And from the standpoint of several hours down the road, I can tell you that the tai chi helped me get past the pain without swallowing a handful of Advil.  I was able to go to Publix, and then make lunch for Rob and I. Sink and relax, yes I can. Thank you Sifu Tony.

With so much family and friends living up north, and with our roots in NYC and Long Island, we have been watching all the reports regarding the Blizzard of 2016. It's all bad and getting worse; Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie have shut down their respective states. Washington D.C has also been closed down, and as one of the Republican candidates quipped, "Barack Obama's executive action pen has frozen." And Bill DeBlassio, Mayor of NYC, is advising people not to order in anything that has to be delivered. So if you're jonesing for moo goo gai pan, tough noogies - either make your own or assuming your favorite Chinese place is close by, take a walk. Don't you dare expect some poor schmuck on a bicycle to deliver your dinner.

Speaking of dinner, we went with friends to a new (to us) restaurant in downtown Orlando, and it is worthy of praise. The name is Soco, at 629 E. Central Blvd. in the Thornton Park neighborhood, and it serves contemporary southern cuisine. All around very good experience. I had one of their small plates, fried oysters, and I saw a number of other dishes I definitely want to try. Any restaurant that serves chicken fried New York strip steak, lobster mashed potatoes, fried green tomatoes, and Korean fried chicken (without having to drive to Savannah) definitely rates a return visit. If you click on the link, you can view the rest of the menu, and some reviews.

Stay warm. Stay safe. Take a tai chi class.

Yesterday, on a Blazing Saddle

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away

Now it looks as though they're here to stay

Oh, I believe in yesterday

Having grown up with The Beatles (yes kids, that is the group Paul McCartney sang with before Wings), it is no surprise that Beatle earworms wind my way a lot more frequently than say something from Run-D.M.C. All it takes is one word and I'm off and running (figuratively speaking, of course. Even Joseph Simmons doesn't run much these days.) Birthday? Lonely? Submarine? Yesterday, of course. Because yesterday I had a good day despite the usual aches and pains. A really good day. Surprised me, it did.

I started off with a visit to the doctor. Not The Doctor and not my primary doctor, but a new doctor who can hopefully help me deal with the fibromyalgia. A rheumatologist doctor. I feel like I just took a giant step forward, that maybe I won't always have a shadow hanging over me (sorry, residual effects of earworm.)  A doctor who didn't treat me like a crazy-lazy when I said the pain and the brain fog had caused me to have to stop working. A nice doctor who takes my insurance and is a 5 minute drive from my house, and who has pleasant and accommodating office and medical staff.

And then, when the day couldn't get any better, I had some time to kill while waiting for prescriptions to be filled at the CVS in The Loop (best pharmacy anywhere. Nicest, most helpful and efficient pharacy staff in the world - not easy because CVS has one of the worst computer systems, but these folks rise above it. Awesome.) and I decided to go to Panera for soup. I had a bowl of their creamy tomato which is almost as good as mine, and I ate it sitting at a table in the restaurant. If you know me you know I never take a seat while I'm alone in a restaurant, fast food or otherwise. This was totally out of character for me, and I actually smiled. You can teach an old dog new tricks. I don't have to eat lunch in my car or at my desk anymore. Not that I have a desk. Lost that when me and my job got divorced. Brian has custody of the desk, so it's in good hands. I went into Michael's and bought a coloring book. My reward for having a quasi-normal day.

All that joyfulness wore me out, and I passed out on the couch once I got home, but managed to get up so we could drive to the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center in Orlando to see Ina Garten. Wonderful show, I love her and her cookbooks and especially her story about Mel Brooks (talk about earworms! Mine, not Ina's. John Barrowman belting out "Springtime for Hitler." Cleavon Little crooning "I Get No Kick From Champagne." Mel himself, singing "Don't be stupid, be a smarty, come and join the Nazi party." Good times, good times.)

Today is like most other days, which is to say, painful and exhausting. I've been trying to do a few things around the house, with varying results. I cleaned up the pee pads, upstairs and downstairs. I emptied half of the dishwasher. And then I came to a decisive stop and a painful decision: go back to bed. I knew it couldn't last - but for a day, yesterday, it was good. Today, not so good, in fact, not good at all. That burst of energy cost me dearly. Crap.

It's been quite a few hours since I wrote all that. Walking upstairs, the pain in my legs and back were acute. I did pass out, and fortunately I was already sitting on the bed.  I'd wanted to show you a few pictures and suddenly I couldn't type nor keep my eyes open. I was trying to work on a mehndi design I've been coloring, and my head started to swim and it was all I could do to get the sharp pencil back in its case so that no one got stabbed. I'm awake now, but only because my bladder was tugging at my hand like that cute little cartoon in the Myrbetriq commercial.

Here are those pictures - the sock is well on its way to completion. The mehndi page has a ways to go, but all it takes is time and well, I've got nothing but. Let me send this off into cyber-space before I pass out again.

To all my Northern friends and relatives, stay warm, stay safe, stay inside your homes. Mother Nature and her devil spawn, El Niño, are both in crappy moods. Don't let them find you in any sort of vulnerable position.

"... He kindly stopped for me ..." - Zoodles with ...

Without intending to be overly morbid, I have to admit that this poem has been floating around in my head these past two days. A poetic ear worm, courtesy of Emily Dickenson. 

Because I could not stop for Death,

He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.

We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility.

It's not Death I've been thinking about, but his cousin Isolation. Always a loner, and mostly an introvert, I nonetheless enjoyed a world outside of the confines of my home. I have family and many friends, and we met on an irregular basis to share dinners, holidays, and simchas (happy occasions, celebrations), sufficient to qualify as a social life. Back when the boys were highly involved in taekwondo competition, we traveled regularly by car to out-of-state locations, meeting up with our ATA friends in places like Little Rock, Atlanta, Valdosta and Panama City Beach.

Most importantly, however, for my daily mental health, I went to work, every single day - I didn't even take too many sick days until the fibromyalgia shifted from annoying to debilitating. The people I worked with made up the fabric of my social life, and I was very happy.  Just the right amount of positive human contact to keep me grounded.

Things change, for various reasons, and I have fallen into a pattern of social isolation that can't be healthy. I am fortunate that I can make it to my tri-weekly tai chi classes, and it goes without saying that I meet with my therapist once a week, but beyond that, I am willingly confined to the house. At the beginning of this debacle, I made it a point to go out on my own a few days each week, whether it was to Publix or Walmart or even the office to see my peeps. I would take a walk with Horatio Cane, admiring the neighborhood gardening and architecture. Now, with increasing pain and decreasing cognitive ability, I hesitate to step outside the house unless I have to. It took me two days to work up the courage to make the drive to CVS for prescription pick-up.

To say that this sucks is a vast understatement. I've been a loner, yes, but not a hermit like my great-grandfather Charles Albert. I don't particularly like this, but I don't know what to do.

Enough of that. I did some cooking, but the results were less-than-stellar, so I can't recommend you try this. Needless to say this is absolutely the LAST time I try to use a bottled Alfredo sauce.  I had to add some pizza sauce and a few glugs of sherry to make it even close to palatable, and I'm still not happy. I made the meatballs from a pound each of ground chuck and ground Italian sausage, and then stuffed each meatball with mozzarella pearls, and they don't taste right to me either.  Could be my palate taking a fibromyalgia-funded vacation. Feh.

Speaking of My Friend Fibro, I finally made an appointment with a rheumatologist. First available was February 10, and I was okay with that, but then they called me back and asked if I wanted to come in tomorrow morning. Hell yeah!

My memory and word recall has been worse than ever these past few days. Scary that I couldn't "find" the word "shallots"to use in a conversation. I've had to ask Robert more than just a few times for help in recalling words. I don't feel good about the whole thing.

Turns out the meatballs and sauce are rather good, but this evening's winner is the spiralized zucchini, also known as zoodles. A really delicious substitute for spaghetti, especially with the sauce and some grated Parmesan cheese on top.

The zucchini was the size of a dachshund, so I only needed one. Once it was spiralized, I heated a couple of tablespoons of garlic-infused olive oil in a large deep skillet, and sprinkled on some black pepper and granulated garlic. NO SALT.  I cooked it over medium high until it was done to my liking, which is slightly underdone because I know it is going to be reheated. I used tongs to move it around in the pan, and then to remove it from the skillet, letting excess liquid drip off. Finally, I put it in a serving dish, spooned on some of the sauce from the meatballs, and sprinkled on some cheese. Right now, it's in a 350 degree oven, just to warm up and finish in the sauce. Serve with meatballs or anything else that goes well with spaghetti.  This was fun.

The Last Centurion - Spiralized Garlic-Paprika Sweet Potato "Fries" (link)

If I didn't know better, I'd swear I had the flu. And I never get the flu. But every muscle aches, and creeping out of bed was not a pretty sight. But I managed it, and also managed to play with my spiralizer while preparing a salad for Cory. A carrot, a radish, a shallot. Such pretty edible tendrils. And yes, those tomatoes are all from my garden.

I woke, as I almost always do, to the sight of The Last Centurion, guarding me from ... well, whatever. Romeo Lee Rothfeld, AKA Puppy, spends his days guarding me.

For my little man, it's all about Keeping Mommy Safe. He has certain spots in each room, from where he watches out for anyone or anything that might bring harm to Mommy. He barks like mad when Cory comes close to me, regardless of how many times we tell him that Cory is as safe as can be. If someone happens to walk towards me or near me, Romeo rushes over to my side.  Because I can't get out of bed at the same reasonable hour as Robert, Romeo will often forego his morning treats to stay with me. Even if he does follow Rob downstairs for treats, he runs right back upstairs to stay with me. 

Romeo has abandonment issues. He lost his first human mommy to cancer, and lost his puppy sister when she was adopted by a different family. Just like a little human, these experiences marked him for life. Not only does he watch over me, he is also very protective of his "new" sister, Chelsea.

Doggies. God's gift to the human race.

Finished my latest flower mandala, already started a new picture. 

I have a new coloring book on the way and I am very excited about it. Actually Robert got it for me, putting it on preorder.                

Gathering all my blue pencils in anticipation ...

I decided to play with the spiralizer again, before I call it a day and send this off to the publisher. This recipe for Spiralized Garlic-Paprika Sweet Potatoes is also from the "Inspiralized" website. I ramped up the seasoning with McCormick's California Style Garlic Pepper (instead of the plain garlic) and the addition of some sugar. Just plain old white sugar, nothing to overwhelm the other savory flavors.

These have a good taste, but I need to practice my spiralizing.  I've got at least 3 different widths from the same blade, which makes separating the strands a bit dicey, and messes with the cooking time. I'm not sure I'm crazy about the whole shoestring thing (which I might like better if my spiralization skills were up to snuff) so next time I will probably work with the medium blade instead.

Definitely medium blade next time. Okay, these are ridiculously good, although they remind me of French's French Fried Onions (which I love) rather than shoestring potatoes.

I bet these would be glorious on top of a casserole. For now, stick a fork in me, I am done, really overdone. I sat next to the oven while these were baking so I didn't have to walk back and forth, but my back still hurts and I feel like I ran a half-marathon. Ha ha ha ... me running a marathon ...

Today is Martin Luther King Day, a good day to reflect on the lessons of Dr. King.

Peace.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Thus Spake Bill The Cat - Korma Curry Chicken

Ack!

My heart is pounding, the light is hurting my eyes, and ... oh crap, you don't want to hear my litany of aches and pains yet again.

I'm cooking chicken today. Simple chicken, brushed with butter and spices, then broiled, then finished with a commercial Indian simmer sauce from Patak's and baked until perfectly done.  I happen to have some coconut rice in the refrigerator so I don't have to worry about preparing the "right" side dish. 

My mother used to do a lot of broiling - steak, lamb chops, chicken, steak - we ate a lot of steak - but broiling at home seems to have fallen out of favor. I still like to broil, especially when it will help me avoid pan-frying chicken thighs which is a messy proposition at best; fat splattering everywhere, including my clothes and hair and kitchen ceiling. Let's face it, the broiler is in the oven, and the oven is self-cleaning, one of the most beautiful phrases in the English language.

Korma Curry Chicken

10-12 chicken thighs, skin and bone intact

1 stick butter

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 green bell pepper, sliced

2 jars Patak's Original Simmer Sauce - Korma Curry

Place chicken on metal racks set over 2 aluminum baking dishes. Preheat oven to its "low" broiler setting. (Throughout the entire recipe I am cooking the chicken in 2 separate pans, and putting them into the oven one pan at a time.)

In a small saucepan, combine the butter, spices, and sugar. Set the saucepan over medium low heat just until butter is melted.

With a kitchen brush, gently mix the spices and butter together and brush the chicken over the entire top (skin-side up). Broil for 10 minutes. Let chicken cool, then turn over, brush more of the butter and spices on the chicken and return to the oven for 8 more minutes.

Remove the chicken from the rack, turn it right side up, and arrange in the pan, on top of any butter that has dripped down. Add half of the green pepper slices around the chicken. Spoon one jar of the sauce around the chicken and on top of the green peppers.

Change the oven setting to 400 degrees bake. Repeat with the second pan of chicken. Cover both pans with aluminum foil and place both pans in the oven.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the pans from the oven and uncover them.  Stir the sauce around the chicken. Check that the green pepper is tender. Brush the tops of the chicken with any remaining butter and spices. Turn the oven setting back to low broil, and return the uncovered pans to the oven. Broil for a few minutes until the chicken skin is evenly browned and the sauce is bubbly. Serve with Coconut Jasmine Rice. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro or parsley.

If you have the time, remove the chicken from the sauce, combine the sauce into one pan, and refrigerate it until the excess fat (butter and chicken fat, yum) rises to the surface and hardens. Remove the hardened fat and either 1) discard it, or 2) use it to fry some potatoes. Guess which option I chose?

I Sure Do Love You My Escargot - Andouille and Mixed Greens with Creamy Dijon Sauce

Good morning and ouch. Here we go again. I am in pain. Nu? Having taken my tai chi class and completed a rather speedy food shopping episode, I am home, in my corner of the living room, considering a nap.

Can't do this now - pain is overriding everything. Later.

And later -

I brought all my play things downstairs - my knitting, my coloring book and colored pencils, iPad and iPhone, which is full of fun game apps. And what did I do? Well, after a handful of Advil, half a handful of Zantac, and some very flat diet ginger ale, I went out to pick tomatoes for salad, and realized I was going to have to Do Something with those greens that had somehow survived a less than spectacular growing season.

I started cutting mustard greens, gorgeous collards, and even snagged a bunch of turnip greens with a cute little turnip root attached. After digging through my freezer and checking the internet for a creamy Dijon sauce, I put together this dish which is, may I say, quite tasty.

The sauce recipe is (mostly) from Emeril, so you KNOW it's good. The greens are all from my garden, so young and tender that I used all of the leaf and stem. I don't get to say this often, but I'm happy.

Andouille and Mixed Greens with Creamy Dijon Sauce

1 tablespoon each butter and bacon fat

about 12 cups mixed cut greens (collard, mustard, turnip)

1 large onion, chopped

Kosher salt

ground black pepper

smoked paprika

crushed red pepper

1 - 14 oz. package Johnsonville andouille smoked sausage (mine was frozen)

1/2 cup chicken stock

(1 small turnip root, peeled and chopped)

1 - 10 1/2 oz can Campbell's chicken broth
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon whole grain Dijon mustard
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
Kosher salt and ground black pepper

In a large covered skillet, melt the butter and bacon fat together over medium high heat.  Add the greens, onion, and seasonings. Stir to separate the greens. Cook until the onion starts to soften.  Add the sausage and cook for a few minutes each side.  Add the chicken stock (and the chopped turnip), cover the skillet, and lower the heat to medium low. Cook for 30 minutes.

Remove the andouille and set aside to cool slightly. Raise the heat to medium high and cook the skillet contents so that most of the excess liquid evaporates. Set aside. When cool enough to handle, slice the sausages on an angle, 4 to 5 slices from each sausage.

In a small saucepan, combine the chicken broth and the mustards. Bring to a boil and cook on medium high for 12 minutes, until the sauce is reduced to about 1/2 cup.  Take the saucepan off the heat and slowly stir in the cream while whisking.  Put the saucepan back on medium high heat, bring the sauce to a boil and cook another 2 minutes. Whisk in the butter until completely melted, and remove the saucepan from the heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper, but only after you taste it - I found the sauce to be plenty salty on its own from the canned chicken broth. I did add pepper.

Combine the sliced andouille with the cooked greens and then add the sauce. Stir to combine, and either serve from the skillet or move to a casserole dish. Pick your side dish and enjoy.

I'm so tired I could scream, but before I send this off to the publisher I want to show you who made an appearance as I was sorting and washing my mustard greens:

Isn't he cute? I took a whole bunch of photos

and then returned him, still on his mustard green leaf, to the garden. Run wild, run free, my little escargot!