My Year on the Grill

52 Authentic Italian Recipes... What I am doing Now

2013-04-19T07:35:00.003-05:00

Hello my friends... Just wanted to update you all about what I have been cooking over at my more current blog. Posting daily and cooking some of the best food ever (for me). I decided to get simple, rustic, flavorful and delicious and have devoted myself to cooking Italian since the first of the year.

Follow some of the links and come see what I have been up to...

Dave

A Kansas Home Cook tackles authentic Italian Recipes... I am starting my new blog series that eventually will be a guide to Italian Cooking (worth following). I will try to research the history, Italian name for the dish and most of all the authenticity (going to be hard not to monkey about with the recipes, but I at least promise to try). Several times a month I will be adding to the page with something new...

So, Cin Cin (toast) and Buon Appetito (Enjoy your Meal) to you all and let's Cook authentic Italian!

The Basics...

Herbed Tomato Sauce for Pasta, Pizza or Cooking
Slow Cooker, Crock pot Recipe
"Salsa di Pomodoro alle erbe"

This is my go-to recipe for Italian Red Gravy... Your basic tomato sauce. Rich and thick and delicious. It is also my 9 month a year sauce, made with canned tomatoes (freshest possible in January). Very little hands on effort as the slow cooker does all the work!

Festival Ragu

(Ragù del Festività)

It may look like a chili, but this is a thick MEAT HEAVY Sauce. It's one of those chicken and egg things, you can't make an authentic Italian lasagna without first making a Festival Ragu Sauce (so named because there is SO MUCH MEAT it is reserved for festival days)

Fresh Made Pasta - The Basics

It's much easier than you think and worth all the effort. This is a basic recipe, perfect for linguine or to make artisan raviolis. Or even to pair with that tomato sauce above!

Soffritto

A Soffrito is a vegetable mix, similar to a Cajun trinity or the French Mirepoix. The big change for me was the addition of a carrot in place of a bell pepper. Adds a delicious sweetness to soups, meat dishes and more. Freezes easily for a convenient quick lunch flavoring ingredient.
A very useful vegetable combination

Chicken Stock

Made in a Crock Pot (constant temperature control... plus it's easy), you just can not get far in Italian cooking without a good supply of Chicken Stock. SO, why not make your own. It's easy, it is cost efficient and you use up pantry items that are close to being thrown out. Make it with a store bought fully cooked, fully seasoned Rotisserie Chicken and you get all that meat FREE!

Drinks...

LIMONCELLO...
and the top 5 uses for your home grown hooch

It gets no better than this! Very easy (I toss in the three tips that separate good from GREAT home made Limoncello. It does take patience as it takes 30 days for the oils in the lemon zest to infuse with the vodka but it is SO worth the wait. In the post I even toss in a couple recipes for Cheesecake, lemon bars and a few other ways I use mine.

Antipasto...
The Antipasto course sets the tone for a relaxed Italian meal. The meal starts with something to nibble on called antipasto which translates to "Before the Meal". Different from the Primo course. Smaller, light, nibble, grazing foods are best. Ideally you can serve this course away from the table, on the patio or by a roaring fire! Also an excellent time to be sure everyone is enjoying a little wine to set the tone.

The Classic Italian Antipasto...

Antipasto All'Italiana

These "party trays" are usually reserved for a party.

Selections of various meats, cheeses, maybe a Bruschetta (toast with a topping). They are ideal for a party since all of the work can be done before the guests arrive.

The advantage to trays like this, in addition to their ease (no cooking) is the tone that they set for the evening. The trays allow guests to mix mingle chose what they like. It gives the hosts a chance to make sure drinks are served and the evening starts relaxed. The course can easily take 30 minutes or more allowing late arriving guests to make the party and meet any new friends they have not yet met.

Simple and a sure winner of a n Antipasto course!

Pizza Margherita

Pizza Making 101 with recipes for Dough, Sauce and all the Techniques for pizzeria restaurant quality pies at home! This is the classic "original" Italian pie made to honor the Queen Consort of Italy, Margherita of Savoy (and not the tequila drink).

Bacon and Egg Pizza

(Uova e Pancetta Pizza)

Breakfast Pizza, fast and VERY EASY and maybe the prettiest presentation for a pizza ever! Salty bacon and eggs cook on a classic cheese and tomato sauce pizza. Makes a unique breakfast and also works as an antipasto appetizer.

Bruschetta with Tomatoes
Bruschetta al Pomodoro

Start with Tuscan Garlic Toast and add a delicious Italian tomato salsa and you have a classic dish to start the celebration for an olive harvest. Perfect example of Italian cooking, simple ingredients that SHINE!
Plus, Crostini and Fettunata are explained.

Slow Roasted Garlic and Tomato Bruschetta

(L'aglio e il pomodoro Arrosto Bruschetta)

Oh My... This takes a little planning as the tomatoes and garlic need to roast slowly in an oven for 2-3 hours in order for the natural sugars in the tomatoes to sweeten to near candy taste. Planning and time, but these are worth it. Simple and DELICIOUS! Easy to make and a crowd pleaser!

Focacca as an Appetizer
Focaccia Tutti i Giorni

Here's a basic recipe that I turned into three very different tastes... Sea Salt and Herb - Savory caramelized Onion - and the show stopper Sweetened Blueberries. Sets a nice tone for an Antipasto course, portable, easy to eat and gets the party talking!

Rosemary and Tomato Focacca Bread

A beautiful rustic bread, loaded with a light delicious Olive Oil and topped with Herbs, and a fresh seasonal tomato. A beautiful appetizer and easy to make!

Fennel and Orange Salad
Insalata di Finocchi e Aranci

The distinctive taste and aromas of sliced fennel bulbs highlight this unique citrus salad. Sicilian in origin, with an exotic sweet flavor typical of local pick and eat cooking style.

Fennel and Blood Orange Salad

Insalata di Finocchi e Aranci Rossa

Sound familiar, this is a seasonal dish that takes advantage of the winter availability of Blood Oranges. Dramatic presentation makes this perfect for a dinner party.

The distinctive taste and aromas of sliced fennel bulbs highlight this unique citrus salad. Sicilian in origin, with an exotic sweet flavor typical of local pick and eat cooking style.

Fritatta

The Italian version of an Olmelette...
Served Open faced, and made with eggs. Other than that, not many rules. Mostly the dish is used to make leftovers shine. A filling breakfast, lunch or a wonderful starter, easily serves 8 as an Antipasto.
This is my delicious sausage and red onion Fritatta that I occasionally make as a weeknight no company dinner for two.

Kumato Tomato Fritatta

A Firtatta can be more than just a way to use up left overs. In the classic Italian way, this is how to take the freshest best tasting ingredients (like a winter KUMATO TOMATO) and turning it into something simple BUT wonderful. Easy technique and the tomato shines!

Caprese Salad
Insalata Caprese

Salad in the style of Capri... A very simple (three ingredients, 4 if you count sea salt), so FRESH and flavorful ingredients are a MUST. But well worth the hunt as the reward is one of the classic salads of the world. Ignore the Salami, I just added that for a bit of a heartier lunch. the post has tips for finding and buying the best ingredients.

Mozzarella in a Coch (Italian Grilled Cheese)
(Mozzarella in Corrozza)
This is such a surprise... Seemingly a simple grilled cheese, but so much more. Seemingly a grilled cheese made with French toast, but so much more. More like a Bread pudding with a crispy crunchy outside, but the center is creamy almost custard like. BEST EVER GRILLED CHEESE!!!

Primo...
The First Course... Actually served second after the Antipasto. This is the pasta or soup course. Rice, Risotto or polenta are all considered terrific Primo Courses!

Beet Ricotta Ravioli with Basil Butter Sauce
(Barbabietola Ravioli con Salsa di Burro Basilico)
Get romantic with easy to do heart shaped pasta filled with a sweet Ricotta Cheese and bright bold colorful beets. The sauce is a gentle compliment with flecks of bright green adding to the look. But the taste is the winner!

Brown Butter, Sage and Walnut Pasta Sauce
(Burro, salvia e salsa noci)
over Spinach Ricotta Ravioli

I LOVE this sauce. One of the oldest pasta sauces from Italy, the butter softened walnuts and the rich buttery herbal sauce, plus the salty nutty parmesan cheese makes this IDEAL to flavor any sauce, but especially this sweet cheese/spinach stuffed ravioli

Layered Mushroom, Marscarpone and Polenta Bake
(Polenta Concia)
These are a wonderful little addition to any dinner. Creamy sweet polenta topped with savory onions and mushrooms, seasoned with fresh thyme and added to the "sandwich" is a sweet Mascarpone cheese sauce. Dramatic rustic presentation is sure to please!

Pasta Alla Carbonara Sauce

The third most popular sauce (after marinara and Alfredo), this is a bacon and egg noodle dish flavored with a sauce of bacon fat, cheese, herbs and mostly raw eggs! It is a delicious combination not to be missed. Easy one pot (well, two with the pasta) dish that comes together in minutes!

Lemon Linguine with Shrimp, Zucchini and Spinach

Linguine con Gamberi verdure e olio al limone

This became my wife's favorite pasta... The Lemon sauce compliments the pasta, flavors the shrimp, perfectly pairs with the zucchini and wilts the spinach to perfection!

Creamy Vodka Fettuccine

(Fettuccine Cremosa Vodka)

Vodka is used to bring out the deeper richer tastes of the tomatoes used in this sauce. A long simmer releases an extra layer of flavor to create a bold flavor. Reinvented in the 70's at high end Italian restaurants, this easy to make essentially 30 minute meal is FANTASTIC to make at home.

Fettuccini Alfredo with Lemon

Fettucini Alfredo Con Limone

This is NOT the heavy thick cream sauce you may know from the Americanized version. Cheesy and creamy coating with a zesty lemon addition. Terrific sauce to use with fresh made pasta!

Black pepper Pasta with a Brown butter Walnut Sage Sauce

Once you go fresh made pasta you may never go back. Now I am starting to make flavored pasta with the black pepper added right into the dough. But the star is this incredible sauce. Butter cooked with fresh sage. Then Walnuts softened in the butter and big handful of Parmesan cheese makes this FANTASTIC!

Tuscan Ragu Sauce with Spaghetti in a Crock Pot

(Spaghetti con ragù Toscano)

There is a simple cooking process that infuses the tastes of Italian sausage into a tomato sauce. making a richer fuller taste. Much more than just sauce and meat! All made set and forget easy in a crock pot slow cooker.

Zuppa Toscana - Soup of Tuscany better than Olive Garden

Started out as a copy cat recipe of an Olive garden favorite, made thicker and heartier with the subtraction of some of the liquid )almost a stew now) and a few more changes. Made easier as a crock pot recipe. WORKS GREAT! now one of my favorites!

Yellow and Red Pepper Soup

(Giallo e Rosso Pepe Zuppa)

This is a bright, beautiful soup. Light in taste with just a hint of the sweet Italian cream cheese (which also helps to thicken the broth for a very pleasing texture. And of course, LOVE the colors. Meatless Mondays do not need to be bland Mondays. This soup packed a lot of flavors.

Winter Minestrone in a Crock Pot

Minestrone D'Inveno

There is no "authentic" recipe for Minestrone, the soup is what the word means, a mixed-up mess of ingredients, seasonal (winter is what is in the Italian cook's root cellar). This is truly a peasant dish, a hearty bowl of soup, made from easily found (and often free or garden) ingredients' designed to fill you up at little to no expense

Sausage and Beans Minestrone
"Salsicce e fagioli Minestrone"

This is as hearty a soup as you can get. TWO kinds of Sausages, two Beans, two Root Vegetables, EVEN more vegetables, Tomatoes, all in a Tomato based broth... Even Orzo Pasta FANTASTIC FILLING HEARTY SOUP!

Peasant Pancetta Potato Soup to cure the flu

Zuppa di patate pancetta Contadina

The FLU has reared it's ugly head around our house. But this LOADED up vegetable-potato soup with a big wallop of Italian BACON helps in so many ways!

Salami Spelt Soup
Zuppa di FarroA MOST unexpected soup. DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THE SPELT. It is a grain, looks similar to barley BUT when slow cooked become sweet like a kernel of sweet corn. Combined with a SPICY Pepper Salami Soup, this becomes unexpected and FANTASTIC!!!

Italian Tomato Soup
Zuppa di Pomodoro

My ongoing collection of tomato soups grows with this amazing rich thick chunky pizza spiced wonderful pottage! Made easy in a set and forget crock pot, with an extra texture from Sun Dried Tomatoes the layers of flavors from the Italian spices sets this apart!

Italian Egg Drop Soup (Stracciatella Zuppa) For 2 People

Here's a FAST FOOD recipe... Even Better, A Fast Food DOLLAR MENU item. It costs next to nothing to make but filled with flavors. This is the Italian version of an Asia Egg Drop Soup with one special ingredient that adds nutty freshness to the soup!

Sweet Potato Risotto
Patate dolci risotto

I add a few tips to making a PERFECT Risotto every time. Just about any winter squash will work for this dish. The colorful sweet potatoes make this a standout for a beautiful and tasty dish.

A Risotto for Springtime

Risotto Primavera

Ah Springtime... When a young mans thoughts turn to flights of fancy... Like this fancy springtime risotto LOADED up with delicious vegetables (some of them are even fresh this time of year). The beautiful green colors just scream freshness and springtime! Zucchini, Green Beans, Peas and Asparagus... And LOTS of Parmesan Cheese

Eggs in Purgatory
Uova al purgatorio

This is soooooo easy, and cheap. Especially if you make your own Herbed Tomato Sauce for Pasta, Pizza or Cooking! You are simply poaching the eggs in a tomato sauce, adding great flavor to the simple egg!

Secondo...
The Second Course... Actually served third after the Antipasto and the Primo, the Main Course, the meat course usually.

Traditional Lasagna... DIY From Scratch
(Lasagne Tradizionali)

This is the basic, scratch version... layer upon layer of Home made fresh PASTA (Recipe included), A rich thick meaty RAGU Sauce (recipe included), a nutty creamy BECHAMEL Sauce (recipe Included), Loaded with Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheeses and FANTASTIC! Newer Specialty or lesser ingredients are fine, but this is the ONE PEOPLE WILL RAVE ABOUT!!!

Chilean Sea Bass from the Miller's Wife

(Spigola Alla Mugnaia)

A Deliciously delicate way to cook and then sauce your fish. Braised in butter, white wine and lemon juice, seasoned with simple salt pepper and a few Sage leaves. then the cooking liquid is thickened into a sauce that compliments the fish. Cook to proper internal temperature and the fillets melt in your mouth!

Beef Strips with Garlic and Rosemary

Stracetti de Manzo con Aglio e Rosmarino

It just does not get much better than this recipe. Olive Oil, garlic and Fresh herbs make this simple yet deeply rich flavors a specialty dish. Italians do not serve beef often, but when they do they make the most of it.

Marinated Steak with Pizzaiola Sauce
(Bistecca marinata alla pizzaiola)

Beef, it's whats for dinner. Start the marinade in the morning and this becomes a 30 minute meal. The "sauce" is actually diced tomatoes simmered in their juices along with pizza seasonings until the juices have simmered out and the tomatoes are deeply seasoned. Think a chunky BBQ sauce. Plus simple (best way to cook a steak) instructions for cooking the steaks.

Italian Pot Roast
(Stracotto di Manzo)

Simple seasonings, a few fresh herbs and braised in wine and stock, resting on a bed of Soffritto (minced root vegetables), this is NOT your Yankee pot roast. Simple with added flavors and you have a real winner of a heart warming meal!

Beef Braised in Red Wine
(Manzo Brasato al Vino Rosso)

It's kind of the Italian version of boeuf bourguignon. Beef stew meat cooked long and slow in a dutch oven or cast iron skillet. Long and slow, braised in red wine, adding a delicious tart tang along with a natural sweetness. And the gravy comes pre-coating, simply delicious.

Stuffed Meatloaf
(Polpettona Ripiena)

BEST MEATLOAF EVER, natural sweetness from LOTS of carrots and other vegetables, spinach and cheese highlight the hidden center and BACON BACON BACON wrap to hold everything in place. three layers of taste, traditional meatloaf, vegetables and cheese center and Cheesy Meatloaf on the bottom

Roast Pork in Milk
(Arista in Latte)

A wonderful dish to make for a party, slow simmers in a milk bath for over an hour, giving plenty of time to work on side dishes and be a part of the fun. BUT, the combination of fork tender pork, sweet hints from the milk and a fantastic mustard milk gravy make this a winning combination.

Pork Loin Stuffed with Herbs
Lombo di maiale ripienealle herbe aromatiche

It's a beautiful spectacular presentation, but also a delicious way to add an herb soaked oil/wine marinade to the center of the pork, making each bite wonderfully moist, tender, seasoned and DELICIOUS!!!

Sausages with Cranberry Beans

(Salsicce con Fagioli Cranberry)

A One pot wonder that is more stew than soup. The starchy water combines with dry white wine to make a fantastic gravy, along with mounds of sausage and plenty of BACON! The unique taste of the Cranberry beans makes this a winning cold weather dish!

Savory Bread Pudding
(Budino di pane salato)... Pizza Strata

Breakfast food, or a delicious main course at night. Layered with pizza toppings (sausage tomato sauce and mozzarella), the layered custard bottom and the crispy French toast top makes this a more complex version of a southern bread pudding... and DELICIOUS!

Chicken Cacciatore
(Pollo alla Cacciatore)

The legendary Chicken (Bone in, skin on) dish braised in wine and stock, flavofing the side dish of tomatoes and onions all in a single pot (Skillet). VERY VERY EASY and among the tastiest chicken dishes around!

Chicken, Sausage and Peppers with Gravy
(Pollo, Salsicce e Peperoni con Sugo)

FAST (30 Minutes), EASY (One Pot Meal), PRETTY (look at the Green Peppers, Red Tomatoes, White Chicken), but most of all... TASTY! Chicken and Sausage, Onions and Peppers, all resting in a shallow pool of gravy, seasoned with Italian herbs ... TASTY INDEED, LICK THE PLATE TASTY!

Contorni
The Contorni course usually is not a course at all, but is served along side the Secondo (meat course). A Contorni is the vegetable or side dish. Often in modern times, there can be more than one Contorni served during a meal (a potato dish AND a dish of peas).

Swiss Chard with Tomatoes , Pine Nuts and Olives
(Bietole con Pomodori, Pinoli e Olive)

10 minute side dish. Think Asian Stir Fry with fresh Italian ingredients. So many layers of flavors here, highlighted by the colorful tomatoes and the beautiful colors of the Swiss Chard. Great side dish or vegetarian main course.

Fennel Gratin
(Finocchi al gratin)

Incredibly rich cheesy, fantastic Earthy flavor of the roasted Fennel. Sweet and herbal with the nutmeg accented creamy cheese sauce. A bit crunchy and soft and delicious. This Mediterranean classic, exotic ingredient dripping with Bechamel Sauce is INCREDIBLE!

Asparagus and Cheese Tart
(Asparagi e formaggio di pecora)
A fantastic side dish, The Onions are softened in butter and by the time they are sauteed and baked they have released their natural sweetness. The egg and cheese mixture has some Half and Half that combines and bakes into almost a custard. And of course, Puff Pastry makes the whole thing easy and provides a perfect base for the tart,

Fennel and Potato Cake

(Torta di patate e finocchi)

I LOVE THIS!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE!
On so many levels, the crispy potatoes, the cheesy creamy eggs, the exotic Fennel and onions...
And so useful, breakfast leftovers, fantastic presentation fit for any dinner, a filling dish on it's own if you are going meatless. But it's that total taste that sends this to my MUST MAKE AGAIN SOON LIST!

Fried Rosemary Potatoes
Patate al rosmarino

It just does not get much easier than this...
A littl oil, a few poatatoes, crisp them up and season with fresh herbs. A rustic but handy little dish. It comes together quickly and the crispy edges, yet tender centers seasoned with the fresh herbs pairs so well with a secondi (meat course).

Potatoes in a Pouch
Patate al Forno in un Sacchetto

Sage is the seasoning and the potatoes are cooked in a tiny bit of oil PLUS bacon as the rendering bacon fat helps flavor the beautiful red potatoes. A colorful and wonderful side dish filled with flavor.

Version 2 of Potatoes in a Pouch

Patate al Forno in un Sacchetto

These are the same potatoes as above. I chose to make these for a dinner party with 8 dishes being served. These are so wonderful and they have the advantage of no fuss, just bake, open the aluminum pouch and serve, freeing me up to work on the other dishes.

Dolce
The dessert or sweet course. Authentic Italian meals end differently than American meals. After a multi course meal, the last course is usually something light that sits nicely on top of all that food. Often seasonal fruit (or canned from the always prepared Italian Grandmother cooks) is served. But of course for special occasions, an Italian dessert will always shine...

Layer Cake with Pastry Cream
(Torta Margherita con Creama Pasticcera)
Light, surprisingly light, very little flour, mostly eggs make this a delightful dessert after a full meal. The pastry cream is similar to the cream used in Boston Cream Pies. Rustic look but full flavor taste!

Hazelnut Cake
(Torta di Nocciole)

A wonderful texturally almost shortbread cake that is wonderful to pair with a fruit (I like peaches). There is as much crushed toasted hazelnuts in the cake as sugar making for a rich full taste.

Jordan Almonds Simple Biscotti

(Confetti Biscotti Simplici)
It's not the legendary Biscotti you may know. Instead it is loaded with the pulverized Almond meal and candy coating of Candied Jordan Almonds. Buttery soft flavor added to the PACKED WITH ALMOND TASTE makes this a cookie to remember. Perfect as a dessert with wine or with your morning coffee!

Well, that's it for now, but rest assured there will be more coming soon.

Bookmark us, follow us, pin us if you like but be sure to come back often to see what comes out of La Cucina (the kitchen) of a want to be Kansan Italian

And be sure to follow us on Pinterest...

Gotta Have a Gimmick - MY 3 TV RECIPES

2012-12-22T11:48:00.003-06:00

Did you feel a slight trembling in the Earth yesterday???

No, it was not the end of the world and the Mayan Calender nonsense. Instead, I think it was Alton Brown, Bobby Flay and Guy Fieri Shaking in their boots once word got out that there was a new TV Cooking Star snapping at their heals.

About two weeks ago I was contacted by one of the hosts of a local morning show, Better KC. The Better KC gimmick is to feature the things that make KC a bit better, visiting national celebrities, Local businesses, authors, and attractions.

On the day the Mayan Calendar had predicted the Apocalypse (no known connection) , co-host Kelly Jones (maybe the most beautiful woman (except my wife) I have ever seen) decided that my series of "52 Uses for a Rotisserie Chicken" deserves a feature. Not to brag, but that page has topped 400,000 (yes, thousand) "pins and repins" on Pinterest. According to my Google Analytic, more than 797,000 (on target to reach a million in a couple of months) page views. Obviously a LOT of people like to get their birds store bought, pre-cooked, pre-seasoned. And a lot of those folks want to do more than just make a sandwich.

It was of course exciting to be a part of the show. It is a bot of a shock to see myself, but I take solace in the well known fact that the camera adds ten pounds (I saw at least 6 different cameras in the room, so just imagine that I am 60 pounds thinner in real life).

So, here's a bit of what you missed if you didn't catch the show...

First of course, witty banter with Kelly...

The Camera also must have had some type of "graying of the hair" feature, but look... I have a title!!!

And, as the row of strippers explained to Gypsy Rose Lee, "You Gotta Have a Gimmick"...

Mine was a single Rotisserie Chicken gets three main dishes (recipes to follow on this post, keep reading), as well as a few "extras" that you can do to get your money's worth...

Look at all this food!!!

Here's one of my favorites... Use the plastic packaging as a mini Seed Starter Herb Garden Green House. I knew I was going to be on the show about 2 weeks ago. I planted a package of Chive seeds and a package of Parsley seeds. Watered them the day I planted, left covered, no additional water and viola... herbs!

I also showed a crock pot of Chicken Stock. I make stock every week, I get 8 cups out of a single set of chicken bones. Enough for a soup, to cook rice with and a couple of extra to freeze for next time I make Risotto (that takes a LOT of stock).

And a very timely discussion of making extra gravy for Christmas dinner. The gooey jelly on the bottom of the packaging is the chicken drippings and makes amazing (dare I say better) gravy than you get from a turkey. I do strip the meat from one of the wings to simulate giblet gravy.

You paid for the plastic, you paid for a the bones, you paid for the jelly goo, you paid for the wings... USE THEM! Get your money's worth!

Next we actually talked recipes... Again, my gimmick is everything I showed was from one chicken. I used the packaging, the bones, the goo and now the actual chicken... One of the breasts I made Chicken Salad...

The other Breast I made a FANTASTIC Spinach Pasta Chicken Salad...

With a Teriyaki Dressing...

And finally I explain how I use the dark meat from both the legs and thigh quarters to make Some EASY Chicken and Biscuits Cheesy Savory Monkey Bread!

Everything had to fit into 5 minutes. I had more I could have said, and if I could have done it again, I would have done some things differently. But all in all, I had nightmares that had me doing much worse.

Bobby, Alton and Guy should take a deep breath and relax. Their job is safe (for now).

And as promised; If they were good enough to show on TV, they are good enough for you to try...

Here's the recipes (note:, For both the salads, I actually always use both chicken breasts for them. so ( am giving the recipe for 2 breasts. If you are trying to stretch your bird to 3 (or 4) meals, cut them in half...

World's BEST Summertime Chicken Salad recipe

Courtesy of Chef Dave Scott

2 Quarters of a Rotisserie Chicken…Breast Meat (removed from the bones) from a single Rotisserie Chicken, Diced ½ inch size

½ Cup Sweet Onion, diced

½ Cup Grapes, Diced same size as the onions

½ Cup Granny Smith Apples, Diced same size as the onions

½ Cup Sweet Gherkin Pickles, Diced same size as the onions

½ Cup Mayonnaise

Cilantro to garnish (or any fresh Herbs you like)

Paprika to garnish

Evenly Combine everything

Optional... Add anything you enjoy...
Walnuts
Celery
Raisins
Dried cranberries

Serve cold and ENJOY!

EASY Chicken Cheese Savory Monkey Bread…

Courtesy of Chef Dave Scott

1 Large Eggs

2 TBS Whole Milk

1 (16.3 ounce) Can Pillsbury GRANDS brand refrigerator biscuits

6 ounces Cheddar Cheese, grated

1 Bunch (about 5) Green Onions, sliced both white and green parts

Meat removed from 2 Leg/Thigh Quarters of a Rotisserie Chicken, diced

Cooking Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees
Spray and 9X12 pan with cooking spray
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and milk until well combined
Separate the biscuits. Slice each biscuit (8 of them into quarters (32). Stir these into the egg/milk mixture
Fold in chicken and onions and cheese to evenly mix and coat the biscuit pieces
Transfer mixture to baking dish... VERY IMPORTANT, arrange everything into a single layer.
Bake at 350 degree for 28 minutes or until golden brown and delicious looking!

Serve warm and Enjoy!

Teriyaki Chicken Pasta Spinach Salad…

Courtesy of Chef Dave Scott

The Teriyaki Salad Dressing(Optional, can substitute a Store Bought Salad Dressing)

½ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

¼ Cup White Wine Vinegar

Large Pinch of Salt

Large Pinch of Pepper

½ Cup Teriyaki Sauce

3 TBS Sugar

Combine all ingredients, Whisk vigorously (or blend) to fully incorporate

The Salad…

2 Quarters of a Rotisserie Chicken…Breast Meat (removed from the bones) from a single Rotisserie Chicken, Diced ½ inch size

1 Bag (8 ounces) Washed Spinach, stems removed

1 Box (1 Pound) Bow Tie Pasta, cooked al dente according to box directions1 Small Can sliced Water Chestnuts, drained of liquid

Large Can Mandarin Oranges, drained of liquid

1 Bunch (about 5) Green Onions, sliced, include the white and green parts

1 Cup Honey Roasted Peanuts

1 Red Pepper, deseeded, stems removed and cut into 1 inch Julian style pieces

Several turns of a Pepper Mill

If you have the time, cook the pasta and marinate in 1/2 the dressing for 1 hour prior to serving.

Combine all ingredients in 3 stages so you can evenly mix everything.

Pour Dressing on the salad.

Serve Cold and Enjoy!

As I said, I was found through Pinterest, my new favorite website!!! Click HERE or click the photo of the screenshot above of my Pinterest page showing my 52 Uses for a Rotisserie Chicken. If you are not a part of Pinterest yet, there is a link right at the top of the page for you to sign up and be a part of the hottest growing site on the web (and a great way to be seen and noticed). If you are already a member and are not yet following my posts, go ahead and follow me (be sure to leave a comment here letting me know you are a follower... I WILL want to follow you too)!

And of course the Rotisserie Chicken makes these recipes easy to make. Making this three of my favorite additions to my "52 Uses For a Rotisserie Chicken"! A near perfect use of the chicken!

What could be easier and tastier?

And as always, if you like this recipe and think you might want to give it a try, pin this to your Pinterest Board and be sure to follow me on Pinterest if you want to see the rest of my 52 Ideas!

52 Left Over Turkey Recipes

2012-11-22T04:50:00.002-06:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

What's better than a Turkey served on Thanksgiving day??? How about the dish you make from the leftovers on Friday, the day after.

Like a light refreshing Salad made with pasta, mandarin oranges and spinach?
Or a quick and easy General Tso's Turkey (Take out at home in minutes)?
or a Sausage and Turkey Gumbo?
or a Spanish Paella?
Or a Beautiful presentation of an Alfredo sauced vegetables and biscuits?
Or a simple Turkey Fajita lettuce wrap?
Or GARLIC GARLIC Chicken and Dumplings (the dumplings are a copy cat recipe for those Garlic Cheese Biscuits from Red Lobster)?
Or an Enchilada Soup Alla Chili's Restaurant
Or a Butternut Squash based Turkey Soup?
Or Several More Chinese Take out recipes?

And that's not even a fifth of what I can show ...

OK, to be honest, these are actually recipes I made for a Rotisserie Chicken. But really, every one will work terrific with the remains of the big day. So, Anywhere you see chicken... Just think Turkey and you are all set!

It was a goal and a challenge, to have a use for the ~~chicken~~ Turkey for every playing card in a standard poker deck... Or, for every week in a year.

In fact, if I counted the ~~chicken~~ Turkey stock that I make from the bones and bits of pieces hanging off the carcass, I would guess that half of these posts would and could be soups. So, let's make a deal, I will add soups, stews, risotto, rice, things like that that can be made from the stock as a sort of appendix. But with the exception of making a stock as one of the uses, I will not add any soups (unless they actually have the meat from the birds as an ingredient.

So, let's ponder the possibilities...

Here's my first and MOST important..

OK, in no particular order (except for #1)...

#1 A Chicken in Every Pot
Chicken Stock!

I use Chicken Stock in LOTS of dishes. From Rice and Risotto, Soup and even in a few of my mashed potato recipes. By using fresh made (but easily frozen) chicken stock made from the bones, I easily add $3-$4 value in that $5 bird!

Fast and Easy Chicken Spread Sliders

Made with stuff that is usually in your pantry (and in amounts that can be made from leftovers from another recipe). These creamy cheesy delights come together in minutes!

#3
Chicken Mole made with Guinness Stout
(Chicken and Waffles)

Moles always sound complicated with their seemingly endless ingredient lists (and they are a little). But this packs all the flavor punch with a bit smaller list. And who wouldn't love this Guinness and chocolate treat over fresh made waffles!

Mom's Chicken Spread

Well, not my Mom's, but a great recipe for a flavorful chicken salad. Cream cheese is the secret to making this a notch above! Add some pecans for texture and they'll all be thanking Mom!

#5
Ricotta Sauced Pasta and Chicken

It's a pretty simple pasta topped with chicken recipe. But the Ricotta sauce adds a little extra tang, sweetness and creaminess to make this a special sauce! There is even a spinach pesto added to really zing it up!
The recipe is a bit of a cheat as I used some grilled chicken breasts in place of rotisserie chicken, but easily adapted to the cheap birds!

Quesadillas with BBQ Sauced Chicken

Oh Boy... Bar Snacks! And expensive bar snacks to boot, but costing pennies... My favorite type of recipe.

Fast easy and you make these with just the dribs and drabs cut from the chicken carcass. Once again stretching that $5 bird into an extra recipe!

#7
Cajun Chicken Salad with lots of Farmer's Market Goodies

This is my FAVORITE chicken salad recipe. Tart Apples, Sweet Grapes, Savory Onions and Louisiana Spices... It's the best!

Chicken Salad Pinwheels

A terrific use of just about any chicken salad recipe. I like to use cream cheese for these in place of Mayo.

This is especially fun (and fast to make) when you need a snack or an appetizer for a party. PLUS, there is a link for a very flavorful Cajun/Garlic spiced Aioli.

Loaded Chicken, Spinach, Pasta Salad

My favorite salad of all time! Loaded with colors for presentation, but full of mixtures of texture and tastes... Mandarin oranges, Water Chestnuts, Honey Cashews and a sweet TERIYAKI Dressing!

#10

Chicken and Shrimp Speedy Paella

A HUGE Millage of flavors.
A fast and easy 30 minute 2 pot meal. Loaded with great flavors and a beautiful presentation.

#11

Chicken Pot Pie... Um Chicken and Biscuits

Oh BOY did this come together easy and fast. I used refrigerator canned biscuits baked on top of the creamy vegetable laced filling for a "fake" Pot Pie. The sauce is a thick creamy mushroom and about every vegetable I had in the freezer! All less than 30 minutes!

#12

Chicken and Waffles

I wanted to dress up breakfast today.

The salty pre-seasoned rotisserie chicken, combined with the sweetness of maple syrup dress up a Sunday morning breakfast nicely. Uses the meat from just one chicken thigh and adds a lot to the taste!

#13

Dave Makes a Cobb Salad

This is a BIG SALAD!
Half a head of Romaine Lettuce, topped with Bacon, Peppers, Onions, Egg, of course Chicken, Cheese and even has a recipe for fresh made ZINGY Mustard Vinaigrette dressing!

#14

Chicken Nacho Salad

Is it a salad, Appetizer, Bar Snack or Main Course???

Whichever, it is the best nachos you have ever had!

Loaded with Bacon, Tomatoes and jalapenos, and a spicy cheese sets this apart from the rest!

#15

BBQ Chicken and Red Onions Pizza

An expensive gourmet pizza made at home for dimes on the dollar!

The recipe includes my "GO-TO" Pizza Dough recipe! Once you master that, there is just no stopping you from your own weekly at home pizzeria!

#16

Chicken Enchiladas

It;s a little time consuming as you make a delicious Spanish Rice (recipe link included), and a tropical Pineapple Pico de Gallo (recipe included and top everything with a spicy creamy cheese sauce (yeap, that recipe is included too!), But this may actually be my very favorite use for the beloved rotisserie bird! Worth all of the effort.

#17

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Chicken Sandwich

Open faced for presentation serving or close it up for a delicious sandwich, this is a very special take on the quicky chicken sandwich. Included in the post is my recipe for a walnut Sun Dried tomato pesto you can make in advance.

#18

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

A hearty stew, Cajun roots, memories of New Orleans and just about the tastiest Gumbo you have ever had. Perfect as the weather turns colder!

#19

Chicken Fried Rice... Well, not really

A terrific side dish or even a great lunch from leftovers. Me, I make mine with Long Grain Brown rice, so I avoid the extra step of frying (drys out the rice), but this works great fresh from the sauce pan loaded with extras (and chicken!).

#20

Fast and Easy General Tso's Chicken

Served over a bed of the almost Fried Rice (see recipe #19), this is a wonderful adaptation of the classic Chinese (but really NYC) dish. Crispy, seasoned and spicy... All done in about 20 minutes!

#21

Kentucky Hot Brown... Well, the Kansas Version

Open faced sandwich, but WHAT A SANDWICH! I made a breakfast dish with French Toast, topped by chicken, fried tomatoes, bacon and an easy to make cheese sauce. Stick to your ribs breakfast perfect for cold weather.

#22

Real Men Eat Chicken, Onion and Herb Quiche with a Hash Brown Crust!

Now this is a REAL MAN sized quiche, made in a cake form, tall and loaded with flavors. I finish the breakfast idea (although I usually make these for dinner) by replacing the usual pastry crust with a fresh made Hash Brown and Onion Crust!

#23

Rotisserie Chicken Cottage (Shepherd's) Pie

A great freezable dish, make and serve one today, freeze one for a rainy (or snowy) wintry day! I added a Mashed Potato recipe made with bacon and apples fried in the bacon drippings! Loaded with vegetables, sitting in their own gravy. Delicious Casserole.

#24

"Whatever I have in my fridge Sunday morning rotisserie chicken eggs Benedict inspired open faced sandwich with a quicky easy blender Hollandaise sauce recipe".

A long title, and I could have just said, "Rotisserie Chicken Eggs Benedict", but with the easy fast never fail Hollandaise Sauce recipe and using garlic toast in place of an English Muffin, I just thought the idea of "whatever I have in the fridege" Eggs Benedict made more sense for a title.

#25

GARLIC GARLIC Chicken and Dumplings

So FILLED with garlic i named it twice... Includes a recipe for copy cat "Red Lobster Cheesy Garlic Rolls" that I use as dumplings, A delicious on it's own garlic chicken vegetable soup made double good with the addition of the garlic cheese dumplings! My new favorite recipe... maybe of all time!

#26

Fast and Easy Chicken and Mushroom Vegetable Soup

OK, yesterday i posted MY FAVORITE... Today I am posting my wife's favorite... Thick and creamy and cheesy and LOADED with seasonal root vegetables (and a frozen one)!
Stick to your ribs soup!

#27

PRE-LeftOvers Chicken Chili Fluffy Omelette

Like being hit in the head with an apple, I feel like I discovered gravity with this AMAZING collection of sauted vegetables, spices and flavors add to a Fluffy Chicken Omelette (and come back for tomorrows recipe for Crock pot Chicken Chili that will have those same ingredients... see, PRE-LeftOvers!

#28

Crock pot Red Chicken Chili UMMMM... Stew??? Soup??? Nah, this is Chili!

It's going to be one of those days... Perfect for that cook as you multi-task with a crock pot... "Cause if it ain't ready by 6 AM, We are not eating tonight". Delicious blending of vegetables and seasonings!

#29

CHICKEN Loaded Cajun Deviled Eggs

YES, there is indeed chicken added to the egg goop! Along with some amazing spices and GARLIC! These little gems disappear, perfect for a party or pot luck event!

#30

Chicken Eggplant Parmesan

Almost vegetarian, but add some of the delicious pre-cooked, pre-seasoned Rotisserie Chicken meat and you are set for a simple and spectacular Italian feast!

And Shhh - I have a secret ingredient that makes this unique and extra YUMMY!

#31

Biscuits and Gravy and Potatoes and Rosemary

A new ingredient from the Rotisserie Bird makes this THE BEST recipe for a white milk gravy I have ever tasted... simply amazing deep rich taste send simple fried potatoes over the top!

#32

Chicken, Kale, Sweet Potatoes in a silky Butternut Squash Soup

Fall is in the air! Here's a wonderful silky smooth pureed Butternut Squash soup, LOADED with Sweet Potatoes, Kale and Chicken. Seasoned and served hot for those shockingly cold snaps coming!

#33

Fast and Easy Chicken Wings on a Crostini
With a Bourbon/Honey/Soy Sauce/Sriracha Sauce

Well, not really a chicken wing... But I use the dark meat from the rotisserie bird, and my favorite sauces when I make chicken wings... Served open face for an appetizer or makes a terrific sandwich!

#34

Easiest Recipe yet - Chicken Fajitas with a garlic Cajun Aioli

This was so easy and fast I even added a Fast and easy Blue Cheese Tomato Soup. But made as a lower calorie lettuce wrap or a low calorie Whole Wheat Tortilla Wrap, these are a winner for one of those days you want to cut back.

#35

Thai Sesame Chicken Points - Fried Pizza

A WONDERFUL appetizer, made easy, fast and very inexpensive. Unique oriental taste. Or think of it as an unusual pizza!

#36

Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken Soup

Cooks all day, ready when you walk in the door, turns onto a pulled chicken dish, filled with vegetables and the Asian flavors of a home made Teriyaki Soup.
PLUS, a Breakfast Idea... Waffles and teriyaki Chicken. you will LOVE This!

#37

Chicken Mushroom Stroganoff over Egg Noodles

INSANELY GOOD... Pound for pound, dollar for dollar this one pot meal, easy to make and FAST to make from ingredients already in most cooks' pantries, this dish is as good as it gets for a week night meal.

#38

Tiny Chicken and Blue Cheese Popovers

I made these for breakfast, but they would make an incredible appetizer. Mini muffin, single bite serving and simply delicious with a buttermilk popover batter and savory chicken and blue cheese... INCREDIBLE!

#39

Chicken/Vegetable Alfredo Biscuit Bake

A MILLION dollar recipe with a two MILLION dollar presentation. LOTS of vegetables soaked in a creamy rich Alfredo sauce with a BEAUTIFUL presentation of flaky buttermilk biscuits!

#40

VERY Fast and VERY Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken

This ain't your standard take out, but it all comes together in about 15 minutes. The DELICIOUS layers of flavors come through in a spectacular way as the sweet pineapple combines with the sour Rice Vinegar all made in just ONE PAN! A Favorite

#41

Smothered Lemon Chicken with Peas and Carrots

A DELICIOUS recipe inspired from The Chew TV show, thanks to Carla Hall. I made a few changes just to make it more pantry friendly (cheap), but love the extra citrus flavor to a deconstructed Pot pie meal!

#42

Better Than Chili's Enchilada Soup... Now a Stew

It started as a copy cat recipe for the Chili's Restaurant classic, evolved into... Well, better is in the taste buds of the beholder, but I LOVED this. Real taste of a Tex Mex Enchilada in a soup... Stew!

#43

Savory Bread Pudding
made with Red Lobster Copy Cat Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

Makes a terrific lunch. Made almost completely with left overs, this is WONDERFUL! Every time I make a savory bread pudding I wonder why I don;t make more. And with the addition of the Red Lobster biscuits... WONDERFUL!

#44

Rotisserie Chicken Cheesy Corn Chowder

Nothing like a big hearty bowl of stick to your ribs cheesy CHOWDER on a cold Fall day! Creamy , cheesy, filled with vegetables and meat, hints of heat and warming to the core!

#45

Chicken Cordon Bleu Crescent Roll-Ups

Has nothing to do with the cooking school. Not even French and really not a classic at all (invented in 1967). But with just a bit of leftovers it makes a delicious snack and a great use of a Rotisserie Chicken!!!

#46

FAST and VERY EASY Rotisserie Cashew Chicken

Sigh... Such an ugly dish. Brown food with a brown sauce.

BUT home made Chinese Fast Food is so much better than the take out dish. LOADED with nuts and everything comes together in less time than it takes to make the rice! Ugly BUT delicious!

#47

Chicken, Snow Peas and Pineapple on Garlic Glass Noodles

Two recipes in this post and this is my FAVORITE of the Chinese copy cat take out restaurant dishes. The HOT pineapple is what makes this dish amazing. Love the colors and it does not get any easier than this!

#48

NOT Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

A few exotic yet easy to find ingredients makes this soup not only accessible but WONDERFULLY delicious. Hints of Asian cuisine with sweet and mildly spicy flavors. Loaded with vegetables and chicken. LOVE IT!

#49

Sweet Potato, Chicken and Apple HASH

Start thinking now about the morning after Thanksgiving (or Christmas) as this is about the most PERFECT morning after meal you can imagine! Savory and made naturally sweet with APPLES in the hash!

#50

OMG, My Mother-In-law is Coming for Dinner

Chicken with Feta Creamed Spinach

Well sure I could just call this Chicken with Feta Creamed Spinach, but really that doesn't do this dish justice. OK, stay with me... For a second, let your imagination run wild... Return to those maddeningly stressful first few months of married life when your spouse would make a last minute phone call letting you know that your new Mother-in-Law was coming for dinner. Sure, after years of marriage you have either fallen in love with her, learned to tolerate her or moved cross country so those phone calls don;t matter any more. But those first few months you cooked to impress like the rest of your married life rested on your skills. This EASY FAST dish would impress.

#51

GREAT and I mean GREAT Chicken Gravy

I go step by step with photo instructions on how to make a gravy that stands up to any drippings gravy! Plus a few tips on how a store bought rotisserie chicken can help you save Thanksgiving disasters... Plan for success, but be ready to recover from a disaster (like running out of gravy).

#52
Asian Chicken and Noodle Soup

A fun soup, made special with sriracha sauce and made fun with a BIRD's NEST of glass noodles that cook as you serve the soup. Easy and FAST and exotic enough to impress!

Well, we did it...

52 recipes, all different, all delicious and all made fast, easy and cheap by the use of the beloved

Store bought, pre-cooked, pre-seasoned

ROTISSERIE CHICKEN!

Don't leave your market without one!!!

But WAIT, there's more...

#53

Jambalaya

How could I have not made this sooner? Absolutely one of my favorite meals, from an authentic recipe fresh from a visit to New Orleans. LOADED with spicy sausage and chicken... Seasoned vegetables and rice! One pot meal, ready in less than an hour and better the next day (make plenty for leftovers)!

#54

Smashed Baked Potatoes with Chicken and Mustard Vinaigrette

It started out as a quick lunch because the potatoes were on sale. The dish ended up to become a highlight on my "side dish" list. Loved the combination of tastes with the vinaigrette recipe in the post.

#55

Sloppy ~~Joes~~ Um... Sloppy Colonel Sanders

It's a sloppy Joe, made of Chicken and made just a touch more healthy with the beans in the mix. I also made this in a slow cooker. So all the work in the morning and ready at my convenience! Oh, and spicy and DELICIOUS!

I haven't even made a risotto yet...
... And I am still testing a dessert made from Chicken parts ...

So stay tuned, follow us on Pinterest and take a look for the next 52 recipes!

Many more to come soon...

Like What You See...

My favorite Chicken Salad

Recipe by Dave Scott

Prep time: 10 Minutes
Ingredients

4 Cups Diced Rotisserie Chicken
1/2 Cup Diced Sweet Onion
1/2 Cup Diced Grapes (same size as onion)
1/2 Cup Diced Granny Smith Apple (same size as onion)
1/2 Cup Diced Sweet Gherkin Pickles (same size as onion)
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
2 TSP Minced Cilantro

Cooking Directions

Mix well and serve!

52 Uses for a Rotisserie Chicken... I DID IT !!!

2012-11-15T10:29:00.001-06:00

Greetings my old friends... I know that it has been awhile since I posted here. Not that I have not been actively posting, just not here.

Things are going swimmingly over at "Inspired by eRecipeCards.com". I am posting daily and honestly doing some of the best cooking of my life. Just this week I finished a project that has been a year in the making... One Chicken recipe for every card in a poker deck (or week in a year). From soups to salads... Pizzas to Casseroles... An INCREDIBLE Garlic Garlic Chicken and Dumplings (hint, the Dumplings are made from the same recipe they make copycat Garlic Biscuits over at Red Lobster)... A hearty Gumbo, a FAST and EASY Spanish paella, Several of the most popular Chinese take out dishes...

I even made something really pretty...

Chicken/Vegetable Alfredo Biscuit Bake

So, take a look... I included links if you want to see the hows and whats of the dishes.

And a quick reminder... Every single one of these would make a GREAT leftover Turkey recipe as well!

And Hey... If I am on your list to visit whenever I post, come over to "Inspired by eRecipeCards.com"... I update that much much more often and even have more Chicken recipes planned (making Jambalaya tonight as a matter of fact).

At least come and visit and say hi!

OK... here's my list of 52 Rotisserie Chicken recipes...

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I am so confused... $5.49 for a fully cooked, fully seasoned Oven Roasted, Rotisserie Chicken. Yet shop in the raw meat department and most raw chickens are at best $8 each and usually far closer to $10. Anyone have an answer???

Me either.

So, I can either rail against the machine, or learn to embrace the beauty that is the $5 chicken!

It's a goal, to have a use for the chicken for every playing card in a standard poker deck... Or, for every week in a year.

In fact, if I counted the chicken stock that I make from the bones and bits of pieces hanging off the carcass, I would guess that half of these posts would and could be soups. So, let's make a deal, I will add soups, stews, risotto, rice, things like that that can be made from the stock as a sort of appendix. But with the exception of making a stock as one of the uses, I will not add any soups (unless they actually have the meat from the birds as an ingredient.

So, that's the goal...

Here's my first and MOST important..

A Chicken in Every Pot- Chicken Stock

With the price of store bought chicken stock (and comparing the taste to the cubes), this gets a free chicken and is almost no effort at all.

I started this project a year ago and it has taken on a life of it's own... Lots of folks have looked over the list, several have made suggestions (keep those coming, email me at Contact@eRecipeCards.com if you have a link to a post you would like for me to try.

And of course, if anyone tries one of these, drop me a line and let me know how it comes out.

OK, in no particular order (except for #1)...

Fast and Easy Chicken Spread Sliders

Made with stuff that is usually in your pantry (and in amounts that can be made from leftovers from another recipe). These creamy cheesy delights come together in minutes!

Mom's Chicken Spread

Well, not my Mom's, but a great recipe for a flavorful chicken salad. Cream cheese is the secret to making this a notch above! Add some pecans for texture and they'll all be thanking Mom!

Quesadillas with BBQ Sauced Chicken

Oh Boy... Bar Snacks! And expensive bar snacks to boot, but costing pennies... My favorite type of recipe.

Fast easy and you make these with just the dribs and drabs cut from the chicken carcass. Once again stretching that $5 bird into an extra recipe!

#7
Cajun Chicken Salad with lots of Farmer's Market Goodies

This is my FAVORITE chicken salad recipe. Tart Apples, Sweet Grapes, Savory Onions and Louisiana Spices... It's the best!

Chicken Salad Pinwheels

A terrific use of just about any chicken salad recipe. I like to use cream cheese for these in place of Mayo.

This is especially fun (and fast to make) when you need a snack or an appetizer for a party. PLUS, there is a link for a very flavorful Cajun/Garlic spiced Aioli.

Loaded Chicken, Spinach, Pasta Salad

My favorite salad of all time! Loaded with colors for presentation, but full of mixtures of texture and tastes... Mandarin oranges, Water Chestnuts, Honey Cashews and a sweet TERIYAKI Dressing!

#10

Chicken and Shrimp Speedy Paella

A HUGE Millage of flavors.
A fast and easy 30 minute 2 pot meal. Loaded with great flavors and a beautiful presentation.

#11

Chicken Pot Pie... Um Chicken and Biscuits

#12

Chicken and Waffles

I wanted to dress up breakfast today.

#13

Dave Makes a Cobb Salad

This is a BIG SALAD!
Half a head of Romaine Lettuce, topped with Bacon, Peppers, Onions, Egg, of course Chicken, Cheese and even has a recipe for fresh made ZINGY Mustard Vinaigrette dressing!

#14

Chicken Nacho Salad

Is it a salad, Appetizer, Bar Snack or Main Course???

Whichever, it is the best nachos you have ever had!

Loaded with Bacon, Tomatoes and jalapenos, and a spicy cheese sets this apart from the rest!

#15

BBQ Chicken and Red Onions Pizza

An expensive gourmet pizza made at home for dimes on the dollar!

The recipe includes my "GO-TO" Pizza Dough recipe! Once you master that, there is just no stopping you from your own weekly at home pizzeria!

#16

Chicken Enchiladas

#17

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Chicken Sandwich

#18

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

A hearty stew, Cajun roots, memories of New Orleans and just about the tastiest Gumbo you have ever had. Perfect as the weather turns colder!

#19

Chicken Fried Rice... Well, not really

#20

Fast and Easy General Tso's Chicken

Served over a bed of the almost Fried Rice (see recipe #19), this is a wonderful adaptation of the classic Chinese (but really NYC) dish. Crispy, seasoned and spicy... All done in about 20 minutes!

#21

Kentucky Hot Brown... Well, the Kansas Version

#22

Real Men Eat Chicken, Onion and Herb Quiche with a Hash Brown Crust!

#23

Rotisserie Chicken Cottage (Shepherd's) Pie

#24

"Whatever I have in my fridge Sunday morning rotisserie chicken eggs Benedict inspired open faced sandwich with a quicky easy blender Hollandaise sauce recipe".

#25

GARLIC GARLIC Chicken and Dumplings

#26

Fast and Easy Chicken and Mushroom Vegetable Soup

OK, yesterday i posted MY FAVORITE... Today I am posting my wife's favorite... Thick and creamy and cheesy and LOADED with seasonal root vegetables (and a frozen one)!
Stick to your ribs soup!

#27

PRE-LeftOvers Chicken Chili Fluffy Omelette

#28

Crock pot Red Chicken Chili UMMMM... Stew??? Soup??? Nah, this is Chili!

#29

CHICKEN Loaded Cajun Deviled Eggs

YES, there is indeed chicken added to the egg goop! Along with some amazing spices and GARLIC! These little gems disappear, perfect for a party or pot luck event!

#30

Chicken Eggplant Parmesan

Almost vegetarian, but add some of the delicious pre-cooked, pre-seasoned Rotisserie Chicken meat and you are set for a simple and spectacular Italian feast!

And Shhh - I have a secret ingredient that makes this unique and extra YUMMY!

#31

Biscuits and Gravy and Potatoes and Rosemary

A new ingredient from the Rotisserie Bird makes this THE BEST recipe for a white milk gravy I have ever tasted... simply amazing deep rich taste send simple fried potatoes over the top!

#32

Chicken, Kale, Sweet Potatoes in a silky Butternut Squash Soup

Fall is in the air! Here's a wonderful silky smooth pureed Butternut Squash soup, LOADED with Sweet Potatoes, Kale and Chicken. Seasoned and served hot for those shockingly cold snaps coming!

#33

Fast and Easy Chicken Wings on a Crostini
With a Bourbon/Honey/Soy Sauce/Sriracha Sauce

#34

Easiest Recipe yet - Chicken Fajitas with a garlic Cajun Aioli

#35

Thai Sesame Chicken Points - Fried Pizza

A WONDERFUL appetizer, made easy, fast and very inexpensive. Unique oriental taste. Or think of it as an unusual pizza!

#36

Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken Soup

#37

Chicken Mushroom Stroganoff over Egg Noodles

#38

Tiny Chicken and Blue Cheese Popovers

#39

Chicken/Vegetable Alfredo Biscuit Bake

A MILLION dollar recipe with a two MILLION dollar presentation. LOTS of vegetables soaked in a creamy rich Alfredo sauce with a BEAUTIFUL presentation of flaky buttermilk biscuits!

#40

VERY Fast and VERY Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken

#41

Smothered Lemon Chicken with Peas and Carrots

#42

Better Than Chili's Enchilada Soup... Now a Stew

#43

Savory Bread Pudding
made with Red Lobster Copy Cat Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

#44

Rotisserie Chicken Cheesy Corn Chowder

Nothing like a big hearty bowl of stick to your ribs cheesy CHOWDER on a cold Fall day! Creamy , cheesy, filled with vegetables and meat, hints of heat and warming to the core!

#45

Chicken Cordon Bleu Crescent Roll-Ups

#46

FAST and VERY EASY Rotisserie Cashew Chicken

Sigh... Such an ugly dish. Brown food with a brown sauce.

BUT home made Chinese Fast Food is so much better than the take out dish. LOADED with nuts and everything comes together in less time than it takes to make the rice! Ugly BUT delicious!

#47

Chicken, Snow Peas and Pineapple on Garlic Glass Noodles

#48

NOT Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

#49

Sweet Potato, Chicken and Apple HASH

Start thinking now about the morning after Thanksgiving (or Christmas) as this is about the most PERFECT morning after meal you can imagine! Savory and made naturally sweet with APPLES in the hash!

#50

OMG, My Mother-In-law is Coming for Dinner

Chicken with Feta Creamed Spinach

#51

GREAT and I mean GREAT Chicken Gravy

Well, we did it...

52 recipes, all different, all delicious and all made fast, easy and cheap by the use of the beloved

Store bought, pre-cooked, pre-seasoned

ROTISSERIE CHICKEN!

Don;t leave your market without one!!!

But WAIT, there's more...

I haven't even made a risotto yet... or a Jambalaya ... And I am still testing a dessert made from Chicken parts ...

So stay tuned, follow us on Pinterest and take a look for the next 52 recipes!

Many more to come soon...

Like What You See...

My favorite Chicken Salad

Recipe by Dave Scott

Prep time: 10 Minutes
Ingredients

4 Cups Diced Rotisserie Chicken
1/2 Cup Diced Sweet Onion
1/2 Cup Diced Grapes (same size as onion)
1/2 Cup Diced Granny Smith Apple (same size as onion)
1/2 Cup Diced Sweet Gherkin Pickles (same size as onion)
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
2 TSP Minced Cilantro

Cooking Directions

Mix well and serve!

Chorizo Meatball Pizza

2012-09-27T17:06:00.002-05:00

Remember just a couple of days ago when I combined a pound of hamburger with a Chorizo marinated sausage???

The meat made a terrific hamburger!!! But I also saved about a quarter of a pound of the meat in order to make this pizza.

The usual "Go To" pizza Dough,
The usual "Go To" Marinara Pizza Sauce
A few slices of Mozzarella cheese
Some red Onion rings

And it's a pizza to remember!

Paired well with a second pizza... The classic pepperoni!

Carbonated Onion Rings

2012-09-26T14:14:00.000-05:00

Long time readers will know of my never ending quest for the perfect onion ring. IMO, I found a very close recipe this year with a "secret" ingredient... Click the photo to see what that secret is.

BUT, one mans perfect recipe is another man's wife's dreaded TOO MUCH BREADING recipe.

So, since I am cooking for two, the search continues....

Today I decided to give a couple of tips I had heard on one of the TV Chef shows (not sure which one... sorry).

I had heard that club soda in place of the buttermilk (or milk) or egg that I had tried in the past would add some carbonated twist.

I had also heard that allowing the rings to dry out for an hour or so at room temperature would help allow the initial flour step to stick better.

So away I went...

Carbonated Onion Rings

Ingredients

1 Cup Flour, Divided
1/4 Cup Cornstarch
1 Cup Club Soda
2 tsp Cajun Seasonings
3 Medium Onions, Separated into rings
Enough to cover 2 inches Conola Oil to Fry

Cooking Directions

Slice the onions and separate into rings. Allow to air dry for one hour.
In a shallow bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup Flour, Cornstarch
Whisk in Club Soda
Pour Cajun Seasonings into second shallow dish and flour for dredging into a third
Fill heavy bottomed pan with 2 inches of Canola oil
Dip onion ring into the flour, then in the batter and coat well, and then coat with seasoned flour. Drop onion rings immediately into hot oil. Brown on both sides, about 2 minutes. Drain on wire rack over sheet pan
Serve and enjoy!!!

OK... without the Panko bread crumbs and the "Secret Ingredient" in my preferred recipe, the rings were OK, but not as good... In my opinion. BUT, they were exactly what my wife wanted. Less breading, plenty of crispness. Just crispy onions with a slight breading and flavoring.

I actually think these would work best as a garnish inside the burger instead of a side dish...

But, Jackie loved em!

Mix a Little Chorizo Sausage with your Burger

2012-09-25T12:05:00.000-05:00

Hard to believe it's even worth a post...

1 pound of hamburger mixed in with
1/4 pound of sausage and
1/4 cup of a chorizo sausage marinade (not sure what is in it, but a local buddy is trying to market it... You'll be hearing more soon).

mix well and enjoy!

Makes a tasty burger...
Add some grilled onions,
Dill pickle slices
Tomatoes and lettuce.

Add some crispy onion rings

And that's lunch!

Color PHOTO Index of YOUR BLOG's Recipes - SEARCHABLE!

2012-08-31T08:25:00.000-05:00

It's been a pretty big month for eRecipecards.com. As much as I love the "FoodPorn" sites, I always thought they had a fatal flaw. The very fact that they pick and chose the best (In someone's opinion... but don't get me started) means that many posts are left off their data base. So, the short term benefit of being chosen (LOTS of lookie loos that day, gratification of a job recognized as well done, etc.), can not be expanded to a permanent benefit.

From the beginning, I envisioned eRecipeCards.com as more than just foodporn. Instead I wanted a site that would host links to any and all of your (OK, mine) posts. But, once that body of work has been submitted, because our standards are different, that group of YOUR links can be used.

After months and months of effort... We have the very first useful completely indexed... completely searchable data base for not only every recipe submitted to the site (from the more than 1,000 users), but also the data base can be filtered to only the links you submit (or if you save other bloggers recipes, the site now filters just the links you save).

Think of the INDEX (Back of the Book) in a real cookbook.

Or even something as basic as the table of contents.

Blogs do not have them, which means unless we go to a great deal of work to catalog, index, tag, link and remember; much of our work is at best difficult to find again.

I remember the first 20 posts I wrote almost word for word...

The next 100 vaguely and the rest have become so routine that I can usually recall the main ingredient, the finished dish but little of the specific blog. So, after 750 plus posts (over 900 if you add this site with my "old" blog), finding my favorites has become difficult and time consuming.

And sure, if you use the "Search this Blog" feature that Blogger provides, you can search by keyword.

But even that, especially with 900 recipes to file, is difficult to use. The results are all text. That always seems bizarre to me as food blogging is almost always a visual medium.

The results also only show a limited number of links, causing you to page through to possibly find the post you are looking for.

Honestly, not very efficient, time consuming and frankly a royal pain.

There has to be a better way...

Add caption

And here it is...

First, the table of contents for your blog. Recipes separated by course. It's much easier to find that recipe you remember when you know it is filed under "Breakfast".

When you submit your recipe links, you assign a category or course...

Appetizers, Beverages and Drinks, Bread,Breakfast, Desserts and Sweets, Lunch and Snacks, Main Course, Other, Salad, Sauces and Spices, Side Dishes, Soups and Stews. Just seemed logical that when you take a look at your work, you see the links separated by the courses you assign them. Just like the table of contents in the book that is your blog.

But wait... It gets BETTER still...

Take a look at the yellow bar in the screen shot below...

Do you see the checked boxes???

That's where you can narrow your search. Want to see all the "Chicken" recipes (no matter which course you assign them)? Just type in "Chicken", and check the box you want to search... If you know you titled the recipe with that word, just search the titles. But sometimes you need to search deeper... Search the TAGS you assign as well. And occasionally you need to search deeper. That's where you may need to hunt through the description you provide of your post.

So, next time I spy an amazing sale on chicken, with just a few key strokes, links to my body of work pops up. I can get inspired to make a soup or a simple sauced chicken breast... BBQ ideas to pizzas.

Just like the index in the back of the book that is your blog.

But better still...

PHOTOS!

.Food blogs are almost 100% visual. Everyone posts a photo of the finished dish. Even more than the title, we probably remember the photo we take of the dish. So, even better than the index in the back of a "real" cookbook, your recipes are now indexed along with your photos!

Remember, all eRecipeCards.com is - is a collection of links BACK to your blog. Click the photo and by the magic of the internet, a new window opens on YOUR blog. The universal "Blue Lettering" link is also active. Click on the blue letters of your recipe title and you also are opening the link to your blog.

But, also remember that what we do with those links... how we organize them and how we make them useful to YOU makes us different. We are the "other guys" and I hope that shows. This feature is exclusive to eRecipeCards.com.

But, like every other tool to get the most of this feature you need to be active. Make it a habit to post not only your current posts, but make the extra effort to go through your back log of older posts. Once you get the hang of it, it is less than a minute to add the links for a post. Try to post a months worth of older stuff once a week. Or for every new post, add an older set of links.

It may take some effort (like my 750 plus links on my older blog), but in the end, having a PHOTO, SEARCHABLE, INDEX of your blog will be worth all the effort!

And one more thing...

FEEDBACK...

What do you think? And better still, what features would you like us to add?

Currently we are working on automatic "Pinning" to Pintrest, as well as a printable recipe feature that incorporates new Google Search demands that make recipe searches more difficult for blogs.

So again... What do you think?

Caramel Flan with a spicy Mango Sauce

2012-08-03T08:20:00.003-05:00

One of my never ending searches is for a really good flan recipe. Most flans I have had just seem to have so little flavor considering the ingredients. They just do not taste caramelly enough.

Well, here's the most caramelly tasting flan you have ever had. Rich tasting with caramel taste throughout.

The sauce adds that hint of spice with the sweetness of the mango.

Honestly, the color is not as appealing as I would like, presentation needs some work (this makes the quest never ending I guess), but as far as taste goes... nothing better.

Here's what I did...

For the Mango Sauce
1 ripe soft Mango, peeled and diced
Juice from 1 Lemon
1/4 cup Milk
1/4 tsp Chipotle Powder

For the Caramel
1/2 cup Turbinado Sugar (Sugar in the Raw Brand)
1/4 cup water

For the Flan
4 Egg Yolks
1-1/3 cup Evaporated Milk
1-1/3 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 tsp Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

To make the mango sauce, saute the diced mango an lemon juice together for 10 minutes or until the mango begins to soften and liquefy. Add the milk and continue stirring until everything is hot.
Place the creamy mango mixture into a food processor and pulse for several seconds until everything is completely liquefied.
Add the spice and pulse again for a few seconds.
Return to the stove and keep warm. You may need to add more milk to keep liquid

To make the Caramel base (topping once flipped), mix sugar and water in a small pan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly.
Continue stirring until the sugar is dissolved and begins to melt into a thick caramel syrup... about 10-15 minutes.

For the Flan, mix together egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk.
Stir in Vanilla and whisk thoroughly.
Take 6 Mise en Place bowls (small ramekins) and add 1 TBS of the caramel sauce in the bottom of each
divide the egg mixture evenly into each bowl
Bake in hot water bath for one hour or until a toothpick can be inserted in the center and comes out clean.
Cool to room temperature
Loosen edges and flip onto a plate.
Top with the Mango sauce and serve

For extra presentation points I divided the mango sauce. I added some red food coloring to about 1/3rd. Topped one of the flans with the yellow sauce, added a dollop of the red mango sauce and took a toothpick and swirled.

Needs a little work on presentation, but the taste is 100% there!

Peach Milkshake - the Steak N Shake Method

2012-08-02T07:12:00.001-05:00

It was a very good day! Farmer's market finds include some terrific Missouri Peaches!

Keep a few in the fridge for just grabbing and snacking.
Peach crumbles are coming soon, but here's what I did the first day...

Kansas, like most of the country has been hit hard with the drought and 100 plus degree days. Too many to count and no real end in sight yet. But Jackie and I had spent the morning out and about, and craved something cold an refreshing...

My very first "real" job was for Steak N Shake. Back when they had curbies that ran your food out to your car. But I also spent sometime inside, flippin burgers and making...SHAKES!

I do not own a real 50's style shake machine, stainless steel cups. But I do have a food processor (blender would work as well).

Here's what I did...

1 Peach, peeled and ptted
6 small scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup of Milk, I used 2%
More milk to thin as needed

And just process for 1 minute. Check the thickness of the shake. Some people like their shakes so thick you can stand a spoon in them. Me, I like them thick, but not so thick that you can not use a straw. I needed to add another 1/4 cup and process again for another 30 seconds.

Sweet, Creamy, Peachy and delicious...

AND COLD!

Tapenade Swirl with O Olive Oil Discount for ALL!

2012-08-01T09:29:00.001-05:00

Thank everyone for the tremendous response to our "Rites of Spring" Extravaganza!

It was very exciting to see all of the entrants, as well as read over their glowing recommendations for O Olive Oil, their artisan Vinegars and the quality of service received. It was equally gratifying to read over the comments that the company made in emails to me as well as their FaceBook page (a great place to catch up on recipes using their products as well as future sales).

They were thrilled with the response. So much so that they have hinted at another contest later in the year, and have allowed us a special discount just for readers of eRecipeCards.com!

It's very easy to take advantage of the offer... just head over to their website...

http://www.ooliveoil.com

Once there, look over all of their products (me, I am in love with their white Balsamic Vinegar and their O Fig Balsamic (A Finalist for Outstanding Vinegar of 2012 at The National Association of Specialty Food sofi Awards). Then select a few you would like to purchase and during the check out procedure, simply add the code

E-RECIPE

on the checkout page and you will receive your discount!

One of their newest products is a set of Tapenades. Those are a natural additional product for an olive oil company. Tapenades are a spread made from minced olives. O Olive Oil selected three of their pressed citrus oils as flavoring for their new tapenade line... Blood Orange, Meyer Lemon and Jalapeno Lime!

Me, I was very excited to give their Blood Orange Kalamata Olives & Capers a try.

Making a swirl bread is very easy. I made my ENG BREAD recipe. Eng Bread is my version of a sweet French bread, very versatile, easy to make and versatile.

I was making some slider buns for chicken salad sandwiches and decided to save about 1/4th of the recipe for a loaf of Tapenade swirl bread...

Simple enough, spread out the bread into a flat (about 1/2 inch) rectangle.
Spread the Olive tapenade
Roll up the bread into a tube
Bake at 375 for 12 minutes
Enjoy!

Cucumber Salad - Tomatoes, Sweet Onions, Mint and Feta

2012-06-19T07:20:00.000-05:00

I wish I could make this post more interesting or imply that it is some mystical complicated process...

But...

1 Tomato (thick sliced and quartered)
1 Cucumber (thick sliced and quartered)
1/2 Sweet Onion (thick sliced and quartered, rings separated)
6 large Mint leaves (Chiffonade cut) Those ribbon cuts, click the blue letters if you want to see a demonstration)
Simple Vinaigrette drizzle (3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar)

Combine the vegetables, drizzle the vinaigrette, sprinkle the feta and mint add salt and pepper to taste...

Enjoy

Fast food lunch... took less than 5 minutes!

Pizza - Salami, Artichoke Hearts and Chunky Tomatoes

2012-06-18T06:46:00.000-05:00

I could probably do a couple of pizza posts a week. Once you get into a pattern, it is about the easiest thing to make from scratch. This one was easier than most.

When I make pizza dough, I make 4 balls worth at a time. So I usually have a baggie of dough sitting in the fridge. There are many different pizza dough recipes out there. Lately I have been exclusively using a cold proof recipe, meaning there is very little bother with rising, punching down, kneading, etc. This recipe makes a crisp thin classic crust that works great. Even when using ingredients that have lots of moisture in them (potentially causing a soggy mushy crust).

Pizza Dough...

4 1/2 cups chilled Flour
1 3/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp instant Yeast
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 3/4 cups COLD Water (40 degrees)

Makes 4 pizzas

OK, did you read the 2 cold ingredients. Takes an extra hour or two of planning, I measure the water and the flour and pop them in the fridge for a couple hours to get cold. The small amount of yeast, relative to the amount of flour and the cold will make for a flat bread, almost no fermentation (rise). Just enough to soften the taste, but not make a big rise.

In my pre Kitchenaid days, I mixed and kneaded this recipe in a gallon size ziplock bag. Worked great, largely I believe because of the oil in the recipe. Without that, the dough would be too sticky to mix in a bag. But this sure made clean up easy.

Here's what I did...

Mix the dry ingredients first

add the water and oil about a fourth of each at a time

mix well until all the flour is hydrated and you form a large dough ball in your bag

continue kneading for about 10 minutes, or if you use your kitchenaid, use the dough hook attachment, and allow the machine to knead for 7 minutes

And now, time to divide... Generously sprinkle a work surface with flour. Also, prepare 4 ziplock sandwich size bags (bigger works fine as well) by spraying the insides of them with spray canola oil.

Plop the dough ball into the flour and coat well. Divide into 4 equal parts (or fewer if you know you are making larger pizzas). Put each dough ball into a prepared ziplock bag and refrigerate at least 6 hours, and preferably overnight.

OK... Once you have your dough, for this particular pizza, rolled a ball out flat and round... like a pizza! To help insure the dough stands up and forms a crispy crust that you can hold, I brushed on some Olive Oil all over the dough. Salt and pepper a bit before adding the toppings.

Then I just tossed some pantry ingredients...

I opened a can of chunk tomatoes, drained the liquid and spread those around. Now usually I will make a sauce, but tonight was all about lazy and fast food... and I wanted a chunky tomato pizza. Why not???

Next I saw a small jar of Harry and David marinated artichoke hearts. I think Harry and David stuff grows at night. I can not remember the last time I got a Harry and David food gift basket, but there was and has been a (seemingly) growing pile of tiny jars of stuff with the H&D logo... Like this jar of marinated artichoke hearts.

It did take some effort to get them drained and potentially dry enough to not make that dreaded mushy crust. Cut up into chunks and used a salad spinner, but it worked and I spread those chunks of heart over the chunks of tomatoes.

As to the salami, I had a hunk left over from an Italian antipasto dish. Just use like pepperoni, sliced thin and spread around the pizza. This worked GREAT, as the fat from the salami oozed and rendered out and flavored the pizza!

And add some fresh grated mozzarella cheese. Bake in a preheated oven on a preheated pizza stone (450 degrees) for 12 minutes

It was incredible! the salami had some heat to it. The artichoke was sweet, the tomatoes had a terrific full flavor... Crunchy crust, sweet, heat and FAST FOOD... Total cooking and work time about a half an hour.

I love pizza!

Saturday Garden Photo - Lady gets a Tan

2012-06-16T05:47:00.002-05:00

There's the Rub... Actually, here's the basic Rub Recipe

2012-06-15T08:51:00.001-05:00

From the celebrated 'to be, or not to be' speech in Shakespeare's Hamlet, 1602:

HAMLET:
To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;

Some very clever smoker needs to rewrite these words to fit a smoker's life. Not the Marlboro man type smoker, but the guy who sets up that backyard specialty cookware and glorying in the 22 hour cook sessions that convert the "worst" portions of a cow or pig into the best dishes.

So, in the Smoker's version of Hamlet's soliloquy,

"To crock pot or not to crock pot"

would never really be considered, as to most smokers, there is only a vague comparison. Like I said, it would take someone more clever than myself to come up with a complete version of the speech.

BUT, considering that most smokers need to be refreshed with fresh coal every few hours, that last line... "To sleep, perchance to dream" would need to be changed to...

To sleep, perchance to lose your temp"

A fate worst than death when smoking.

But I digress...

ay, Here's the rub (recipe)

Making your own rub can be very rewarding. Not only in bragging rights (no small thing when smoker's gather), but also in costs. I make a HUGE amount. A fresh rub stays fresh (when stored properly (cool dark place) for about 6 months. Mine lasts a little less as I use very little salt in mine. Salt acts as a preservative. That's why most commercial rubs list salt as their main ingredient. Buy one and it lasts for much longer than a year with the flavor the same.

Which, in addition to the bragging rights (no small thing), being able to adjust the tastes and ingredients (like salt) is the best reason to make your own.

Here's my basic rub... Make this up and you can use it as a base... Add more garlic, all spice or go crazy with dried Thai chili pepper if you like. But start with this...

1 cup Sweet Paprika
1/2 cup Black and White Pepper
1/2 cup Garlic Powder
1/2 cup Onion Powder
1/2 cup Celery Seeds
1/4 cup Cayenne Pepper
1 cup "Sodom and Gomorrah" (this is my own low salt/salt substitute, something i use almost every day... Equal parts Course Grind Sea Salt, Garlic Flakes and Black and White Sesame Seeds)

If you do the math, that's a total of 4 1/4 cups, of which only 1/4 cup is actually salt. If (as you must on an ingredient list on a pre-packaged food) you list the ingredients by quantity, salt would be at the bottom (tied with the cayenne Pepper).

Mix it well. I always mix my spices by hand. This helps you to break up the chunks.

Usually you add brown sugar to a spice mix to make a rub. In the quantities I listed, I add 2 cups of brown sugar.

In this case, I am making Pork Shoulder (pork Butt or Boston Butt if you like).

But this works on any protein, pork, fish, beef... even eggs. It also tastes great on grilled vegetables and is amazing on grilled pineapple.

So here's the rub!

And here's the leftovers, 6 cups worth, ready for my summer grilling and smoking!

Steak Onions and Blue Cheese Stromboli

2012-06-14T07:42:00.000-05:00

LEFTOVERS... I LOVE Leftovers!

I especially love unexpected leftovers...

Like the night I invited 6 people over for steak and potatoes, and 7 people showed.

It took a little tap dancing, but everyone is welcome and I do not run out of food. So I started slicing the steak, adding a blue cheese sauce and quickly made a batch of sauteed onions and...

Viola...

But the best part, by passing a plate and letting people take what they wanted, I was able to have a BIG pile of leftover blue cheese, onion and steak just waiting for something special...

And for me, a quicky Stromboli (my new favorite sandwich)...

I make pizza dough 4 "balls" at a time, so there is usually a ball of pizza dough in my fridge. A Stromboli is simply a rolled pizza, sealed and served like a sandwich. I used my usual GOTO Pixxa Dough...

Pizza Dough...

4 1/2 cups chilled Flour
1 3/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp instant Yeast
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 3/4 cups COLD Water (40 degrees)

Mix the dry ingredients first

add the water and oil about a fourth of each at a time

mix well until all the flour is hydrated and you form a large dough ball in your bag

continue kneading for about 10 minutes, or if you use your kitchenaid, use the dough hook attachment, and allow the machine to knead for 7 minutes

And now, time to divide... Generously sprinkle a work surface with flour. Also, prepare 4 ziplock sandwich size bags (bigger works fine as well) by spraying the insides of them with spray canola oil.

And once you have the dough and the leftovers, you have the Stromboli...

Just roll it our into a large rectangle.

Add the guts (in this case, steak, onions and a blue cheese sauce).

Brush an egg wash (water will work as well) on the edges. This helps to seal the dough.

Roll up, pressing the wet edges together.

Set seam side down on a sheet of parchment paper.

Do some more egg washing on the top. This helps the color, as well as aids the toppings to stick. In this case, I used my beloved "Sodom and Gomorrah" mix of equal parts Garlic Flakes, Coarse Grind Sea Salt and Black and White Sesame Seeds.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes until the crust is golden brown and delicious!

As this sandwich is!

Flowered Apple Crumble Pie PLUS a Giveaway

2012-06-11T03:00:00.000-05:00

It's my absolute favorite Apple Pie Recipe. Beautiful presentation, unique flavors make this an "Above the rest" pie. Certainly NOT your grandma's recipe...

See the glistening top. That's a Mango reduction turned into a thick version of a mango simple syrup that gets brushed on towards the end...

And the thick almost caramel looking center is actually sweetened Almond paste mixed with a few additional surprises for a very unique crumble.

But, no matter how glowing I can describe the taste, you are naturally going to come back to the beautiful presentation of the flowered apple top.

So... Here's my photo how to...

The most time consuming part of the recipe used to be slicing the apples. Almost as thin as you can get. I peel and core 3-4 Granny Smith apples, cut them in half an cut thin pieces.

I say that this used to be the most time consuming part of making the recipe because I just got a GREAT new product to review... The OXO Brand hand held Mandolin!

This made fast (and I mean FAST) work of slicing the apples thin, uniform thickness and well... Just perfect for the dish. I have used this several times for anything from sweet potato chips to pepper rings for a perfect look to a pizza. Here's what the OXO website has to say about their Hand Held Mandoline...

"Making cucumber salad, an apple tart or a potato gratin? Try the OXO Good Grips Hand-Held Mandoline. Use the soft knob to simply adjust to the desired slice thickness, and slide the food over the stainless steel blade for perfect, even slices. A clear surface shows slices accumulating below. Slice on a cutting board or plate, or hook the soft foot over a bowl. A food holder protects hands and covers the blade when not in use."

In short... I LOVE this and will be using it over and over!

And the good folks at OXO have even given me a second mandoline to give as a gift... but more about that at the end of the post...

Let's get back to the recipe...

OK, Apple Pie time...

Crust... Trust me when I tell you that you would be best to google someone else's pie crust recipe... Mine is still a work in progress. So let's just skip this step (although feel free to use a store bought frozen one and follow the directions).

To make the crumble, I bought a 7 ounce tube of Almond Paste. I sweetened it with 1 cup of powdered sugar and used a couple of TBS of corn syrup to bind everything together.

I made the crumble by putting the almond paste mixture into a food processor, adding 4 TBS brown sugar and process away until you get a nice crumbly mixture. Spread this around the pie shell.

And now, start adding the Apple slices. I did put the slices in some lemon water to keep them from browning.

You are forming the petals of a flower. Stand them up on the flt side with the rounded edges sticking up and just work your way around the pie edges...

Don't worry to much about being uniform, it's the rustic look that is so appealing.

And keep going... except...

I am one of those people...

I LOVE adding cheddar cheese to my apple pies. In this case, rather than a slice on top melted in a microwave (YUM), I added some grated cheddar inside each go around of the slices...

Also as you go around, keep pressing in on the bottom of the apples so that the slices come as close to standing up as possible.

And keep going... apples, cheddar and press all the way around several times, until you get a finished apple flower!

Sprinkle a TBS of sugar over the entire thing.

There's a step I did not photograph...

BUTTER... Butter butter butter! This makes the crumble incredibly DELICIOUS! DO that Meryl Streep as Julia Child impression... Butter!

Take half a stick of butter, slice it thin and spread the slices over the pie. As the pie cooks the butter will ooze down through the apple slices and flavor the almond paste crumble!

Bake at 425 degrees for @ 35 minutes, checking to make sure the apples are getting a delightful charred edge look without it getting a painful burnt look.

While the pie is baking, make some mango flavored syrup.

And again, I forgot to take photos, but it is very easy to do...

Slice a mango, peel and cut off the pulp. Slice, dice and mince as best you can to get small pieces. Toss into a sautee pan and begin to cook. Add 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup sugar and stir and cook for about 10 minutes until the mango breaks down and the syrup forms.

Last step is to run this through a food processor or blender to make it smooth and liquid.

Then, while the pie is HOT, fresh from the oven brush this on as a glaze...

I promise, nothing like your standard apple pie... Beyond delicious, memorable and a dessert highlight!

And now, as promised... the handy dandy slicer OXO HAND HELD MANDOLINE...

Can be yours for the low low price of FREE...

Just leave a comment below (be sure that I can contact you with either an email address or a blog link). Friday this week I will do the random number thingy and pick a winner. Sorry, but must limit this to US residents only.

Good luck to all and comment away!

Saturday Garden Photo - Cilantro Study in Sunlight

2012-06-09T04:29:00.000-05:00

What to give the Grill Man in Your Life - Chocolate Bacon

2012-06-08T05:08:00.000-05:00

Father's Day... A week away.

Have you started pondering the perfect gift for the man in your life?

Give him what he really wants. Something that acknowledges his unique tastes and a unique presentation for everyone's favorite food...

Chocolate covered bacon!!!

It really is very easy. I tried a new presentation that worked very well. I cut a slice of bacon into three equal sized pieces. Then I rolled each piece into a tube shape and secured with two toothpicks. Then bake 'em.

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees e
set each tube of bacon on a parchment sheet covered cookie sheet
Bake for 20 minutes until the edges are crispy
Allow to cool completely before dipping.

For the chocolate, select your favorite dipping chocolate, melt slowly in a microwave or double boiler. Be careful that the chocolate does not get above 88 degrees. Takes a little time and effort, but the slower you melt chocolate the better. Also "Temper" your chocolate by adding about 20% at the end without additional microwaving or off the heat. Do a google search for tempering for more details... Makes the best chocolates when it is done correctly.

And from there, dip away. I dipped, allowed the chocolate to drip off as much as possible. Air dried for about 30 seconds for each piece and then stood the piece on end.

When I had them finished and they completely dried and set I garnished with a drizzle of white chocolate.

Sweet Salty Delicious and.... BACON BACON BACON!!!

Cinnamon Rolls

2012-06-07T05:33:00.000-05:00

This is yet another leftover recipe... really.

Did you all catch my Peach Strudel post I did over at my sister blog... Inspired by eRecipeCards???

Have you seen the fresh peaches showing up at the grocery store lately.... And CHEAP! Sounded like strudel time to me. Well, the strudel came out terrific. But I planned ahead. I made a double batch of the dough, planning on left overs.

So, early one Sunday morning, I woke early, sneaked out of the bed so as not to disturb the rest of my long suffering (her with the inconvenient day job) wife. I took the spare ball of dough out of the fridge, and did a quick warm up (kneaded by hand for about ten minutes to get the dough warm enough to work with, yet still cold enough to roll out.

Form into a rectangle about 1/12 foot wide, 1 foot tall.

Mise en Place a melted stick of butter
The cinnamon mix of 2 TBS Sugar, 1 TBS ground Cinnamon

Brush the butter over the entire dough surface. As much as the dough will hold and sprinkle the sugar mixture over the butter... As much as you can with it all absorbing.

Moisten the far side of the dough (top edge in the photo) with more of the butter so that it sticks when you roll it up.

Starting at the bottom, evenly roll up the dough into a stick.

Slice the stick of sugared dough into about 1 to 1 1/2 inch circles... Like this...

Stand them up in a pie plate, allow to rise for about 30 minutes. This dough is not a heavy yeast dough, but they did come rise a bot, adding about 50% of volume.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 12 minutes (I like them a little dough and chewy, so underdone. Feel free to bake for 15 minutes if you like.

While they are baking, take 1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar, add a tbs of milk (more to get the thinner, less to get a thicker consistency) and stir into a drizzle.

And your long suffering spouse with those inconvenient day jobs can wake up to the smell of fresh made cinnamon rolls.

A pretty good use for leftovers... Be sure to check out my post on the Peach Strudel to get my recipe for the sweetened dough that I used. Worked pretty good!

Let Them Eat Quiche - Bacon, Spinach and Swiss

2012-06-06T11:33:00.000-05:00

I was in a quiche mood the other day... Eggy, custard canvas just waiting to be filled.

I made two this day, one a bit of a classic... this one filled with spinach and bacon and flavored with a classic nutty Swiss cheese. I also made the crust from hash browns with a bit of my garden peppers tossed in.

I also made a bit of a spectacular experiment...

Spicy Salami, sharp provolone cheese and sweet banana peppers to balance out the flavors..

I am not sure what happened, as I baked each an equal amount of time and basically used the same process. But in the bacon, spinach and Swiss version, the "fixins" rose to the top and the spinach caramelized (fancy name for that dark color, not quite burnt, but a bit crispy. In the spicier version, the top was more a golden brown... But you will have to check out today's post on my sister blog, Inspired by eRecipeCards.com to see the details of that quiche.

So, let's talk about this tasty treat... very easy to make and delicious.

The crust comes together easy with a food processor using the shredding blade. For each I shredded

3 medium sized russet potatoes,
1 medium yellow onion and
1 green pepper (picked fresh from my garden!!!

Once everything is shredded, squeeze as much of the liquid out as you can. There is plenty, well over a cup. If you skip this step you will get very soggy potato crust.

Preheat your oven to 375.
spray a pie plate with non stick canola oil
line the bottom and sides of the pan with an even amount of the potato mix... about 1/2 an inch.
Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.

This gets the potatoes crispy and firm. Again, if you skip this step you will have soggy potato crust.

While this is baking, dice up about 1/3 of a pound of bacon into pieces about the size of a dime. Saute these until they are just cooked and most of the fat has rendered out.

Shred about 4 ounces of Swiss Cheese

Whisk together
4 eggs
1 cup Half and Half (can use whole milk)

Cut your spinach into thin strips.

When the crust has finished it's par-baking time, line the bottom with half of the cheese. Again, this prevents the eggy liquid from making the potatoes soggy and losing their crispness that the par-baking session does.

add the bacon and spinach and fill to the rim with the eggy mixture.

Top with the remaining cheese.

Return to the 375 degree oven for about 45-50 minutes until the center egg mixture does not jiggle.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Add a dollop of sour cream, a few sliced green onions and salt and pepper (I used my Sodom and Gomorrah Low Salt Substitute mixture of Salt, Garlic Flakes and equal parts Black and White Sesame Seeds).

Breakfast lunch or in this case DELICIOUS Dinner!

Stromboli - More Pulled Pork Leftovers

2012-06-05T05:41:00.002-05:00

Ain't the little piggy plate cute??? Twenty Five cents at a garage sale.. Who could resist?

And my Strombli sandwich... Who could resist this?

It is mostly a Philly Cheese Steak inspired rolled pizza. I used my cold rise go-to pizza dough...

Pizza Dough...

4 1/2 cups chilled Flour
1 3/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp instant Yeast
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 3/4 cups COLD Water (40 degrees)

Mix the dry ingredients first

add the water and oil about a fourth of each at a time

mix well until all the flour is hydrated and you form a large dough ball in your bag

continue kneading for about 10 minutes, or if you use your kitchenaid, use the dough hook attachment, and allow the machine to knead for 7 minutes

And now, time to divide... Generously sprinkle a work surface with flour. Also, prepare 4 ziplock sandwich size bags (bigger works fine as well) by spraying the insides of them with spray canola oil.

The "guts" of the sandwich is a bit like that Philly famous sandwich...

Pulled pork in place of the steak

Grilled Peppers and Onions

Cheese sauce (I made a provolone sauce)

It is optional to add a bit of BBQ sauce, especially if the pork has dried out a bit while it morphed into leftovers. If your pork is still fork tender and juicy, I prefer to skip this ingredient.

OK... The sandwich is very simple to make...

Roll out a rectangle shape pizza

Top with your ingredients

gently roll the rectangle to form a tube

Moisten the edges either with water or an egg wash

Brush the egg wash on top, add some decorative tasty toppings... Me, I used my beloved SODOM and GOMORAH low salt substitute of equal parts coarse sea salt, garlic flakes, white and black sesame seeds.

Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes checking to make sure the dough is turning golden brown and delicious!

Like this...

Pulled Pork Savory Bread Pudding from Left Overs

2012-06-04T05:53:00.000-05:00

Left overs... My very favorite ingredient!

Omelets and pizzas come to mind as something that is usually (at least for me) something I never shop for. Time to clear out the fridge... Time for an omelet party. Just enough meat for a sandwich left... make a pizza instead.

But for this dish, I was inspired as I was hollowing out a Big roll of sandwich bread.

If you saw my post on, You've seen this sandwich before; you read where I hollowed out the bread in order to add more of the good stuff to a sandwich.

This is what I did with the leftover bread....

A trick to a great bread pudding is to use stale dried out bread. If you have to, cut into small pieces and dry it out in a warm oven for awhile. The Alton Brown science of this makes sense... If the bread is still moist tender and delicious, there is no room for the bread to absorb additional moisture. There is already saturated moisture in the bread. Once it has dried out, the internal moisture evaporated into the air, the bread is ready to absorb the creamy, eggy, custard mixture. If you have ever had a bread pudding where you can make out bread cubes, the cook used fresh bread.

As to a savory bread pudding... They are GREAT! Bread Puddings, They are not just for dessert anymore. Just skip the Rum Sauce ;)

I do not really measure anything for this dish. If you have more meat, GREAT
If you have more egg than cream... GREAT
If you make this with just vegetables... GREAT

But, for this particular one, here's (my best approximate guess) on what I did...

2 cups Stale Bread
1 cup Minced Pulled Pork
4 Eggs
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 diced tomato
1 small minced onion
1/2 cup grated Provolone Cheese
4 large Basil Leaves cut into strips
Salt and Pepper (and garlic flakes and some toasted sesame seeds)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
Spray a baking dish (Pie plates work great for this, or a 9X9 pan would work as well)
Whisk together the Egg, Cream and spices. Soak the bread. It should be the consistency of a wet stew, not too soupy, but wet. If you need to, add milk to the mix.
Add the Pork, vegetables, Cheese and 1/2 of the basil
Mix well and pour in the pan.
Bake for 40 minutes until the center is almost set, add the remaining Basil and bake for about 10 minutes more.

A good breakfast

A better lunch

and a WONDERFUL Supper!

Saturday Garden Photo - Cherry Tomato in the Rain

2012-06-02T05:55:00.002-05:00

2012-06-01T06:39:00.000-05:00

You've seen this sandwich before, but I improved on it...

Today's post is a tip, tomorrow will be a recipe

Dramatic presentation...

Ooozing and gushing with...

Pulled Pork
Lettuce
Provolone Cheese
Pickles
Cole Slaw
Raspberry Chipotle (my own) BBQ sauce
on a fresh made Bread Wreath

What could be better???

Look close at the next two photos...

See the difference???

I hollowed out the top of the "bun" so that it was an easier to eat sandwich (and held more of the good stuff).

BUT with the bread, it was just enough to make a...

Pulled Pork Savory BREAD PUDDING from the leftovers!

Now THAT's a BETTER SANDWICH when you make it easier to stuff more of the good stuff in, make it easier to eat AND have a beauty of a breakfast...

Come back tomorrow for the recipe to the puddin!