Wierd Food Combo: How to make them work

Would you ever put Chocolate on Tomatoes? Or Ants? Grasshoppers? Or how about putting cheese on Okra? Would you dip your French fries in chocolate pudding or mayonnaise? Do you know people who put hot sauce on, oh say, everything?

Try mixing Teriyaki sauce, Soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and Worcestershire and olive oil. It makes a good marinade for beef and pork.

Back to the Chocolate and tomatoes: Heard of Mole sauce. It is fantastic on chicken. Sometimes this is how a really great recipe is created. We have all experienced it, we're chewing and tasting, chewing, and wondering to ourselves why the food tastes the way it does. You are trying to determine what is that?

Sometimes one must experiment in order to come up with just the right… zing.
Cheese on okra- When I was growing up it was the only way to get me to eat it. I would mix okra, onion tomato, turkey, and cheese. Cook it all together, and have it like a stew. Yes, my family and friends thought I was nuts.

I did go through a faze where I wanted cheese on almost everything. If the dish had meat, bread or veggies, I wanted cheese on it. Well even apples. The only thing that was not covered in cheese was Chinese and middle eastern food.
I’m still getting over my cheese fixation.

Ok back to the mole:
Here is a really good recipe. My favorite Mexican restaurant makes a chicken mole that could make you cry. It is that good. But I’m not in California anymore. Humm… wonder if they would send me a quart or two?

This is from Mexonline.com.

Mole Poblano
(Chicken with Chocolate Sauce)
• 4 tb Olive oil
• 1/4 c Raisins
• 2 Cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 ts Cumin
• 1/4 ts Nutmeg
• 1/4 ts Ground cloves
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 1/4 ts Cinnamon
• 1 Green pepper, chopped
• 1/2 ts Salt
• 3 Slices canned pimento, chopped
• 1/4 ts Pepper
• 1 ts Sugar
• 2 Large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
• Grated rind of 1 orange
• 2 Squares bitter chocolate, chopped
• 2 tb Chili powder (or to taste)
• 2 1/2 c Chicken broth
• 1/4 c Light rum
• 1/4 c Slivered almonds

In casserole, heat oil and cook garlic for a few moments to flavour oil; add chicken and brown. Remove chicken.
In remaining fat, cook onion, green pepper, pimento, and tomato over gentle heat for 10 minutes. To onion mixture, add chili powder, blending well. Add broth, almonds, raisins, seasonings, and rind; simmer, covered, 30 minutes longer. Add chocolate, stirring until melted.
Replace chicken, spooning sauce over. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until chicken is tender. Warm rum, ignite it, and pour over contents of casserole; allow to stand for a few minutes.
6 servings

bugs.

a bug is the biggest lie we know!

Oh, My! Look, its Breakfast!

Alton Brown is one of my favorite FoodTV celebs. I have a video about breakfast. and whew... what a production.

"Alton Brown takes on the challenge of teaching us how to make breakfast for ourself...Perhaps he can teach us how to properly wash our clothes? Well..maybe another episode!"

I Feel Like Chicken Tonight

I love pasta. It is so easy. this recipe is easy and nice and garlicky. yum!







Grilled Chicken Penne Al Fresco

1 BULB garlic
2 C grape or cherry tomatoes
3 C uncooked mezze penne pasta
3 C chicken broth
3/4 C dry white wine such as Chardonnay (OR an addition 3/4 C chicken broth)
1/2 tsp each salt & pepper (I'll plan to bring my grinders that has our salt & peper)
1 1/4 C lightly packed fresh basil leaves
1 oz Parmesan cheese (block)
3 chicken breasts-grilled.

1. Spray Deep Covered Baker w/ Olive oil using Kitchen Spritzer. Slice garlic into baker using Garlic Slicer. Add tomatoes. Cover; microwave on HIGH 4-5 minutes or until tomatoes begin to burst, stirring after 2 minutes. Crush tomatoes using Mix 'N Chop. Add pasta, broth, wine, salt and black pepper.

2. Return baker to microwave; cover & microwave on HIGH 16-18 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring after 10 minutes. Meanwhile, coarsely mince basil with Kitchen shears. Reserve 2 Tbsp for garnish. Grate cheese using Rotary Grater.

3. Carefully remove baker from microwave and remove lid, lifting away from you. Add remaining basil, cheese and chicken to baker; mix well. Garnish with reserved 2 Tbsp basil, additional Parmesan cheese and black pepper, if desired.

Yield: 8 servings


Find this recipe and others at ThePamperedChef.com

Brisket Love

Hello again
bringing you another great recipe from the web :-)


When the weather turns cold like now in January sometimes all you want is comfort food. And if you are like me that means meat and potatoes.

Even Mrs. Wolowitz knows how to make a great brisket. You know Howard’s mother. The Big Bang Theory. If you know anything about briskets, you know they need to be cooked low and slow in order for them to be tender. (Maybe that’s one of the reasons why Howard never left home.) I digress…


This one is easy. All you need is a small 2 pound brisket, rice, beans, and some vegetables. You can even make chili out of the leftovers.



This is my version of a cowboy brisket cooked slowly in my favorite crock pot.

Layer the bottom of the crock with corn and chili beans. then add half a sliced tomato.
slice 1/2 an onion 1/2 a green pepper, and 2 cloves of garlic.
add salt and pepper to one side of the brisket, place it in the crock on top of the vegetavbles. Salt and pepper the other side. add some enchalada sauce, and a can of chili ready diced tomatoes.
Let smimmer on high for 5 hours.
meat should be so tender it falls apart.
serve with rice and beans.