The World’s Greatest Chicken Wing-Off

First there was the crab cake cook-off.

Then we had a great chili cook-off.

Now, ta da…the chicken wing cook-off.

These are my chicken wings.

These are the husband’s chicken wings…

And this is the mess the husband made when making his wings.

I couldn’t even tell you what he put in them. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. Guys are strangely competitive, even about cooking chicken wings. I was very laid-back about the whole thing. I waited until two hours before the competition to start cooking mine.

It wasn’t because I didn’t care. I just didn’t want to get caught up in all the macho machination of it all. There was an awful lot of testosterone in the kitchen that afternoon. Humf.

And I was told that my food was too spicy for the ordinary palate. But I like it spicy…

and as pretty and golden as the trophy is, I wasn’t going to compromise my principles for a horse’s butt trophy. I just wasn’t.

So I made my wings like I always make them. Salty, garlicky, spicy, and crispy. That’s how I like ‘em.

And…I tied for second place. And though I already said I didn’t care about winning, I was really happy.

But the winner was…

Neighbor Kenny! Who really isn’t my neighbor. I actually don’t know where he lives.

He’s just always showing up when there is food.

He won for his Asian style wings. They were delicious. He was very proud of his horse’s butt trophy. Men.

There were twelve different kinds of wings and I was so full after eating it all. And they really were all GREAT! You should have been there.

We had to get the formalities out of the way so that we could celebrate someone’s birthday.

Then it…

…time to…

…party.

Until next time when we do…salsa! I have the perfect recipe.

Oh here’s what I did for my wings. There will be no quantities because I didn’t measure. I just threw it in.

Lemon pepper
Salt
Fresh crushed garlic
Golden Mountain sauce
Soy sauce
Red Hot Chilis (the hotter the better)
Accent

Mix with wings well. Place in refridgerator for about a half an hour. Mix well again. Put in the oven in very hot heat. Take it out when it gets crispy.

Voila. Good enough for second place!

Pho Pho What Do You Know

It’s cold and it’s snowing and I want some warm soup to warm my chilly bones. Pho is a Vietnamese stable and it’s a favorite of mine. Actually, I’m craving some now.

I start with this…rice noodles. You can actually find rice noodles of various brands in your local market.

And I also start with this…pho broth cubes. You can’t actually find pho broth cubes in your local market. I was torn as to whether or not to post this since it’s not an ingredient that was commonly available. So I do what everyone does, I go to Amazon.com. They have it! I can’t believe the stuff you can get there.

It’s not this kind, but it’s close enough.

I watched the cubes dissolve and I stand over the stove because I’m chilly…and I’m hungry.

I slice some mushrooms and throw them in the bowling pot. It’s the only thing I had in the refridgerator. Some other veggies that will work are – mushrooms. I normally don’t cook the veggies in the broth, but rather, I put them in after the soup is ready. That way they won’t get soggy. Some good veggies to throw in after are sliced cabbage, Thai basil,  and bean sprouts.

Now I put in my noodles. Notice I didn’t soak this particular kind. Or maybe you didn’t. Anyway, follow the directions on the package.

Hmmm…it’s a little plain.

Throw in some green onions.

Now that’s more like it…spicy, spicy, spicy. This is srachi sauce. We have a gallon of it. I also put in fish sauce, limes and a little bit of sugar.

It warms my stomach on this cold winter day.

I’m playing on Foodie Friday…

What I Got For Christmas III & The Super Bowl

As you know by now…maybe not…anyway, I love Polish Pottery. And with that in mind, my parents got me this beautiful platter for Christmas. It is gorgeous. And big…very very big. I didn’t have a Polish Pottery platter that size and I was coveting one. But I wouldn’t buy it for myself. It’s just one of those things.

As it so happens the pattern matches much of what I have already. I was thrilled!

And it’s big…really big. Big enough to hold this antipasta that I made for a party last week.

So if you are going to a Super Bowl party today and you don’t know what to bring, throw some antipasta-like stuff together and put it on your giant Polish pottery plate.

Speaking of Super Bowl…

Today…

we are…

rooting for the…

Saints.

Only kidding.

We’re a little bit restless today, maybe it’s a little bit of cabin fever from the blizzard the last couple of days. And maybe because the blizzard put a damper on just about all of our plans. It’s been quite a weekend. Anyway, I’ve made this for the Super Bowl.

Artichoke dip. None of the kids will eat it and the husband is – ahem – stuck somewhere (story later) so I guess I am going to eat the entire thing.

Easy artichoke dip recipe.

3 packages of cream cheese
2 cups chopped artichoke hearts
2 cups grated parmesan cheese

Mix together and bake at 250 for 15 minutes or until golden on top.

Go Colts:)

La Fungus A La Scampi Gozaimasu

I understand that the title is a total bastardization of three great world languages.

Here’s another culinary question. What kind of mushrooms are these?

Hint: They don’t come from the ocean as their name implies.

I made this dish with these little mushrooms. When we lived in Japan, we drove from our little Japanese town to the next big town over for pasta. We loved Japanese food but it was a nice change every once in a while. However, it was Japan and there was an unusual twist to the scampi. I don’t know what really was in it, but below is my take or as close as I can get.

Japanese Style Scampied Scallops with Pasta

2 lb sea scallops (I used frozen)
3 tbs olive oil
4 tbs butter
3 garlic cloves
a handful of fresh mushrooms – the kind above
3 tbs soy sauce
salt
pepper
wheat pasta – it’s my new favorite thing

Slice the mushrooms into medium sized slivers and set aside.

Heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Put in the crushed garlic and stir until the butter melts. Put in the scallops. Cook the scallops thoroughly in the scampi sauce. Put in the soy sauce. Stir. Now put in the mushrooms. Stir. Eat. Yum.

It’s umami. And it’s Foodie Friday.

January 29, By Any Other Name

Is still a rose.

So my week?

Recently, I felt I needed a change. The urge was very strong at the begining of the week. I couldn’t articulate it. It was just a nagging feeling, no details, no specifics, no direction.

The middle of the week brought more conversation, more counseling, more discussion.

And ahhh…now the end of the week. Nothing’s changed. At least not yet.

And I’m happy about it. For I wouldn’t be able to hang out here as much if it did.

There is still a nagging in me for change but there’s also peace in knowing that I like where I am.

Except…

Though it wasn’t easy, I was successful in eating only salads on Tuesday. I was starting to get grumpy toward the end of the night. The husband reminded me that I told everyone in blogland my frugal diet plan so I was bound to commit to it.  To which I responded from the open refrigerator door, “So what?” Then I slammed it. Perhaps a little too hard. Hey, I was hungry.

But…

I lost TWO pounds this week. Now there’s a change. So that’s “so what” and it’s so satisfying. Two pounds a week is the recommend weight loss rate according to the AMA, AFAA, Congress and me.

And…

That Mediterranean fare from yesterday? It’s a pickled caperberry. Here’s a not-so-good photo of it after I’ve chomped on it. It was delicious. I don’t know why it’s not more mainstream Jodi, people are missing out!  It is not a caper I’ve ever seen before. I’m only familiar with the small-ish kind. My mother bought these, Lord knows how much they cost.

I apologize for my manicured nails. Or rather, lack of…

Here’s a quick lemon and capers dish.

1 lb thinly sliced pork loin
4 tbs fresh lemon juice
2 tbs capers
1 garlic clove
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs butter
salt
pepper
your choice cooked pasta

Squeeze lemon over the pork. Add salt and pepper. Set aside. Heat olive oil and crushed garlic clove in a sauce pan. Once it’s hot, place pork into the pan. Put in the butter to melt, add in the capers. Turn over the pork and cook on the second side until done.

Serve over your pasta.

You can certainly use the capers that you are familiar with. These are big and pickled and may not be as accessible.

Bon appetite!

I’ll see ya tomorrow bloggie peeps.

January 28, Mediterranean Fare

Are you ready? Do you have your culinary hats on?

What is this?

Here’s a close up.

No prize or anything…sorry. Just some fun guesses…

Posted on Foodie Friday, when it finally rolls around. Come on Friday!

Cody Cooks, Simple Stir Fry Steak & Peppers

My last post of Cody cooking brought so many nice comments and encouragement for Cody. He’s definitely going to make some girl happy with his cooking prowess. And I’m more than happy to help in that category. But not too soon…he’s only 13 years old ladies.

Today, Cody is making stir fry beef and peppers. I wanted to do a meal that is very easy to prep. I also wanted to teach him a few things, like how to chop meat.

I always learned these things by watching my mother and then by doing. It was a little odd to try to articulate it. It’s a good thing that Cody’s a quick study.

I taught him how to peel and chop garlic. I see this chopping technique used a lot on the food network and though I don’t always chop this way, I showed him how. He’s pretty good that kid.

So here’s the stir fry recipe. It’s vewwwy, vewwwy, easy.

Start with:
2 pounds flank steak
3 large green peppers
2 large garlic cloves
2 tbsp vegetable oil

For steak marinade
2 large garlic cloves
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp vegetable oil

For stir fry sauce
1/4 cup oyster sauce
2 tbsp mushroom soy sauce (or any dark soy)
2 tbsp rice wine
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
black pepper to taste

Slice the steak thinly, like Cody did. Poor kid, took him forever but he did it! Once the steak is sliced, put in the steak marinade ingredients and set aside. Slice the green peppers in half and take out the seeds. Slice the peppers into think slivers, but not too thin. This was an art but Cody got the hang of it!

Chop up 2 large garlic cloves and place into a heated pan. But the oil in and heat through, stirring the garlic. It should start smelling grand!

Put in the steak on one side and cook. I like it a little bit rare but not too much. Once it’s cooked to your liking, turn it over to the other side. Now mix the stir fry sauce all together and pour it in slowly which the meat is cooking on the second side. Now this is where you have to watch. If you put too much for the sauce in, it will get soupy and I don’t like soupy stir fry. I like a well coated but dry stir fry.

But that’s just me.

In other words, use your discretion here!

Throw in the peppers. And are you ready? Stir, stir, stir. Don’t over cook. I take out a pepper after about 4 minutes and try it. If it’s done but slightly crunchy then it’s perfect.

What a great job that Little Cody did. He made this same dish a month later for his family and it was a hit. Of course, his mother Miss Karen called me once, or twice, or rather five times to get the directions again. That’s precisely why I’m writing them down…

So enjoy! Get your 13 year old in the kitchen today!

See more food and foodies at Design by Gollum.

La Restaurant Depot

There is no better way to start the year than with a trip to Restaurant Depot.

I was very excited about all the bulk things you can get there, but what I was really looking for were dinner plates. Restaurant style dinner plates. The kind that you can put in the dish washer a thousand times and would still wear well. The kind that you can put into a warming drawer and they would be nice and hot when you serve them to your dinner guests. They would be tough and sturdy. I love fine china too but I wanted an every day plate.

Neighbor Bill is my favorite man who is not my husband. I say that because of this…

Neighbor Bill spent a half an hour searching for plates and soup bowls for me. He dug through piles and piles of boxes.

He patiently waited as I spend ten agonizing minutes on trying to decide between the 11 1/4 plates and the 11 1/2 inch plates. Really, they were a quarter inch apart.

Can you tell which is which?

All the while Neighbor Beth and the husband were looking at food. They were talking chicken breasts.

The husband showed me this huge hunk of cheese. I mean big! I made him put it back.

We brought along a few more neighbors as well. While the rest of the world was quietly sleeping, our neighborhood was hanging out in a warehouse full of food. It’s what we do for fun.

We then brought our loot home and had a great dinner…it IS what we do for fun!

See more food fanatics over at Design by Gollum. I’m glad not I’m not the only one.

Cody Cooks…Cucumber & Onion Salad

Little Cody is a 13 year old cook. He wants to be a chef. I admire such young ambition. Most 13 year olds want to be professional Wii players.

My good friend Karen (aka his mother) asked me if I could give him a few cooking pointers, while she had a glass of wine and watched. Hehe.

I was glad to comply.

So we decided to make a cucumber and onion salad. It’s easy.

1) Peel about 3 medium cucumbers.

2) Thinly slice the cucumbers. Like so.

3) Peel and slice one large yellow onion.

I thought the spoon in the mouth would stop him from crying while slicing the onions. It didn’t work. I was right about the wine though wasn’t I?

Put the onions and cucumbers together.

4) Put in about half a bottle or 6 ounces of rice vinegar.
5) Stir in about a quarter cup of sugar.
6) Mix well.

There’s fresh hot peppers in the salad above. If you have a sensitive palate, leave them out.

It’s easy and delicious. Great job Chef Cody!

Corner View ~ Patterns Of Home

 

This are treasures in my mother’s home.

A day late and a few dollars short with this post. Happy Wednesday on Thursday.

 

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