Daddy can cook

New NEI fact sheets on Japan nuclear sites

2011-03-16T11:40:00.001-07:00

UPDATE AS OF 1:15 P.M. EDT, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16:
NEI has posted an updated version of the fact sheet Used Nuclear Fuel Storage at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Also available is a new fact sheet called Industry Taking Action to Ensure Continued Safety at U.S. Nuclear Energy Plants.

Stop the panic (Japan's nuclear plant issues)

2011-03-14T11:16:00.001-07:00

The following is a short description/ explanation as to why the media should keep their mouth shut about things they don't understand.

First. The reactors reported on the media have been shut down. Meaning the nuclear chain reaction that is used to generate electricity has been stopped. This happened automatically when the earthquake happened.

Second. The nuclear fuel continues to generate heat after the reactor is shut down due to the decay of fission products that are produced while the reactors were operating. This is the issue faced by the Japanese plants. They need cooling water to remove this decay heat. They lost power to their cooling water pumps so they were unable to provide the cooling that was needed which is why some of the fuel melted.

These plants are built with 3 layers of containment. The fuel pellets made of Uranium Oxide which are like little cylanders about the size of a cap from a magic marker are put into a round tube made of Zircaloy. This Zircaloy "cladding" is the first barrier or containment. The fuel melts at about 3000F and the Zirc at temps greater than 2000F. These fuel rods are put into assemblies and then into the reactor vessel. The reactor vessel is like a large pot. This pot is designed to withstand temperatures and pressures in excess of the normal operating temps and pressures. This is one heavy duty pot. This pot is sealed and is the second barrier or containment. The reactor vessel and associated piping and systems are inside a steel and concrete building designed to hold the pressure from an accident inside and not leak. This is called the containment building and is the third barrier. These plants in Japan have and additional structure built around the containment that is not built to be pressure tight. This is the structure that exploded. While not a good thing it would be like your shed in the back yard blowing up. Not required to keep the radioactive stuff inside.

As to the United States flying "special, important, coolant" over to Japan. You've got to be kidding me. Water is the coolant and last time I checked Japan was an island. They already put saltwater in the reactors which will prevent them from ever being operated again. The media is just making stuff up. As far as radiation released. The stuff if any that has actually been release is most likely Nitrogen 16 which has decayed to non radioactive isotopes in less than 30 seconds or noble gasses like Xenon which decays in a couple hours and once again poses little to no threat to the public. If you have every been to the beach, flown in an air plane, gotten an Xray, or God forbid gone to a tanning bed you could probably camp for a week or two right outside these plants in Japan and still not get the exposure you recieved from any of the fore mentioned activities.

If you have any questions, ask. or check out this site http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/03/13/fukushima-simple-explanation/ and please just turn off the news. Bunch of booger pickin morons trying to scare the public.

Mini scalloped potatoe thingies

2011-03-11T12:56:00.000-08:00

Last night we made these awesome mini scalloped potatoe thingies.
You need a muffin pan
Clean some potatoes. Put them in ziploc baggies and microwave them for about 10 minutes. (not completely done but still firm). Take a stick of butter and cut off thin little pats and put one in the bottom of each muffin hole. Slice the potatoes about 1/8-1/4 inch thich and put one slice on top of each butter pat.
Salt and pepper maybe some garlic powder if you like. Then sprinkle some diced up cooked ham, grated cheese, and some diced green onions. Add another potatoe slice, salt, pepper, ham, green onions, cheese and put another pat of butter. Then top off with a tsp of half and half on each muffin cup. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes.

Very good. Kind of like little mini single serving size heart attacks. But they taste very good. Guaranteed to make your cholesterol go up by at least 20 points.

Test results

2011-03-09T11:43:00.001-08:00

Finished my test and looks like i aced it. Won't be sure until Friday when we get the key.

Been busy

2011-03-09T08:05:00.000-08:00

I haven't been posting or cooking lately. I picked up a new hobby and have been studying for my NRC GFES exam which is in 30 minutes. Hopefully I will do well and will have some more free time after the exam is over. If I do good maybe I will pick up some new fish for my new saltwater aquarium (my new hobby). I have my eye on a jellyfish aquarium as well. Very cool. You can see it at jellyfishart.com.
Wish me luck.

Pizza night

2011-03-02T16:09:00.000-08:00

Tonight Paige is out having dinner for her friends birthday. I did cook tonight. I made two frozen pizzas. Freschetta. They were pretty good...........................not. But at least there are a couple pieces left over for a sorry lunch tomorrow. Well looks like I have some interest in a brisket or two so as soon as it warms up I'm gonna have to fire up the smoker. I will keep the locals posted as to when the I will dust off and I'm sure de-stink bug the smoker. I hate those stupid bugs. Been catching them in the house all winter and flushing them down the toilet.

Daddy ain't been cooking lately

2011-03-01T06:32:00.000-08:00

Well recently I haven't been cooking anything. Paige has been doing most of the cooking or we have been eating out. Did go to this place down in Bridgewater which had a pretty good philly and some very good chocolate brownie things that were filled with fudge. Well I am hoping to get out the smoker soon and make some brisket. Will post about that when it happens. Paige is not a huge fan of smoked meat or barbeque which is strange as she is from Texas. I won't pretend to understand her taste in food.

Beef Fajitas

2011-02-18T09:07:00.000-08:00

Ok so last night we made fajitas

We took a flank steak (way over priced for the cut of meat) about 6 bucks a pound
Marinated it overnight in olive oil, cilantro, lime juice, and chipotle peppers mixed up in a blender. (I just kind of eyeballed it didn't measure) Next time will need a food processor because the chipotle peppers didn't really blend in.
Then put the whole flank steak on the grill for 5 minutes a side (not long enough) had high heat but didn't even come close to cooking it through. Paige of course yelled about the pink content of my meat so I cut it up and then cooked it on the stove for a few more minutes. Cut up bell peppers and onions and fry them in some olive oil. then put in some tortillas (shredded cheese, sour cream, hot sauce etc.) I also put some garlic salt on mine because they lacked a little flavour. But they were very good and the kids loved them except for Jenna who refuses to eat meat (a vegan at 4,.........you got to be kidding me.......must get that from Paige's side of the family)

PF Changs Lettuce Wraps

2011-02-05T19:58:00.000-08:00

Paige loves PF Changs particularly the Kung Pao Chicken. Last time we were there we had the lettuce wraps. We both liked them so Paige wanted PF Changs but can't go out becuase she has pneumonia. So I cooked her some lettuce wraps here at home.

I got the recipe from a cook book and changed it up a little.
I cut up some chicken titties 1.5lbs real thin slices.
Put them in a bowl with 2 tsp sherry, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp corn starch, 1 tsp H2O some salt and pepper. and 1 tsp vegetable oil. Stir it all up to coat the chicken and stick in fridge to marinate.

Need some dried shitake mushrooms. I used two packages next time probably only one. These need rehydrated. Hot water in a bowl. Soak the shrooms for about 25-30 minutes. I warn you they stink. I've smelled stuff that came out of our dogs that smells better.

Mince up two or three cloves of garlic, 2 green onions (next time I will double the green onions and garlic) Also about a tsp of fresh minced ginger and a tsp of chopped up dried chilli. Put all this in a bowl and set aside.

Chop up a cup of bamboo shoots and a cup of water chestnuts. Also chop up the mushrooms. All this should go into another bowl.

In another bowl put 4 tsp hoisin sauce, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sherry, 2 tsp oyster sauce, 2 tsp H2O, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp sugar, 2 tsp corn starch. Mix it all up and set aside.

Also need to cook a cup and a half of cellophane noodles. (not really necessary they just go on the plate for the chicken stuff to sit on) I won't do them again

Once everything is ready put 3 tbsp vegetable oil in wok, when hot add the chicken and cook until done. Remove the chicken. I chopped up the chicken into small bits and put aside in a bowl.

Add 2 tbsp oil to wok and heat it up. Dump the bowl with the green onions, garlic, chillis, and ginger into the wok and stir fry for about a minute. Then dump the bowl with the shrooms, bamboo, and water chestnuts into the wok and stir fry for a few more minutes. Add the chicken and then dump the bowl with the sauce into the wok and stir fry until hot and thickened.

Put the cellophane noodles on the serving plate and then dump the chicken mixture on top.
Use Bibb or iceberg lettuce leaves to wrap the mixture in.

Also for dipping sauce I put some potsticker sauce in a small bowl 4-5 tbsp. Then added 1 tsp or more of chinese hot mustard and red chilli paste. More can be added to taste. I spoon this stuff over the chicken stuff in my lettuce wrap. Some people dip it but I can never keep the chicken in if I dip it.

Chicken Marsala, Roasted Garlic and New Potatoes, and Green Beans

2011-02-05T19:29:00.000-08:00

So I made some chicken marsala.

Take 4 big chicken titties and slice them in half length-wise (make them thinner)
Mix some flour and Emerils essence in a bowl (about 1/2 cup and a tbsp or two of the essence)
I used a wok to cook everything. so enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the wok. add 2 tbsp of butter and heat it up. Dredge the chicken in the flour and shake it off. Put it in a couple pieces at a time and brown flip and brown the other side then remove and set aside for later. Add another couple tbsps of olive oil and a tbsp of butter to the pan. Add a container of sliced white mushrooms (you know the foam container wrapped in plastic) Brown the mushrooms.
When the mushrooms are browned add 3/4 cup marsala. When marsala has reduced by 1/2 add a cup of chicken broth. Let it cook down a couple minutes then add the chicken.
Let it cook until the chicken is done and the sauce thickens up a bit. I ended up adding a little corn starch and water to thicken it in the end. Salt and pepper to taste then serve.

The potatoes took a little longer.
I used about 3 lbs of potatoes and quartered them up (the larger ones I cut up a little more about 1 inch pieces). I also took 6 heads of garlic and chopped the tops off (leave the head whole just chop off the top so you have all the cloves exposed and their tops or chopped off) I arrange all this on a large baking sheet with sides on it. Mix the garlic heads around with the potatoes (i.e. don't put all the garlic on one side) Then i dripped some olive oil all over the potatoes and spooned a little into the tops of the garlic. Then I followed this up with some Reisling I made last year (about 1/2 cup of the oil and the wine.) Any white wine will work (since you can't have mine unless you come get it) just sprinkle on the potatoes and spoon into the heads of garlic. Then I sprinkled some sea salt and black pepper and a touch of smoked paprika on everything. I then took some fresh rosemary and chopped it up and sprinkled it over everything. Cover everything in aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Then remove foil and bake another 20 minutres or until the potatoes are done.

The green beans were fresh. I fried 3 pieces of bacon in a pan. Removed the bacon. I then added about 1/2 a white onion chopped up and fried it in the bacon grease. Then I added the green beans, some minced garlic, salt and pepper. After about 2 minutes I added a cup of chicken broth (hot water and bullion cube) and let it cook. I chopped up the bacon and added it to the beans. I cooked it all down until the beans were cooked and the broth was thick (about 15 minutes).

Plate it all up and dig in.

Oh yeah just like the pictures show I forgot. Chop up some green onions to put on top of the chicken.

Chicken Parmesan ala Hank

2011-02-03T17:39:00.000-08:00

Well tonight went pretty well. Everyone ate it. Not to bad if I say so myself.

What I did was take 4 chicken titties and slice them in half to make them thinner.
Then I had a plate with flour on it, a plate with bread crumbs on it, and a bowl with 2 eggs and a little milk in it. I sprinkled some sea salt and Emerils Essence on the chicken (both sides) and started pre heating the oven to 400 degrees (make sure your rack is near the top of the oven second slot down from the top). Also started heating some olive oil (2-3 tbsp) in a pan and boiling water for the pasta.
Then coated the chicken 2 at a time with flour, egg wash, then bread crumbs and put the smooth side down in the olive oil. Cooked for about 3-4 minutes until browned then flipped and browned the other side. Then I put them in a big glass baking dish. Once all the chicked were browned on both sides and in the baking dish. I spooned some Prego sauce on them. Then sprinkled some parmesan and topped it off with mozzerella cheese. About this time the water was boiling so I started the spaghetti. And started warming the rest of the sauce. I generally add a couple of tbsps of sugar and some minced garlic to the sauce (we like garlic and a sweeter sauce in this house) The chicken then go into the oven for about 4 minutes until the cheese was melted. Then set the oven to broil until the cheese was bubbling and starting to turn golden and browned a little. Then pull the chicken out plate up the spaghetti and chicken and serve.
I have to say tonight I shoulda been on Iron Chef. I kicked butt.

Dinner tonight

2011-02-03T11:15:00.000-08:00

I have been told I am making chicken parmesan tonight. Not sure how that will turn out. Keep your fingers crossed. I will let y'all know how it turns out. (after I figure out how to make it)

Breakfast Tacos

2011-02-02T17:31:00.000-08:00

So tonight my wife is down with pneumonia. On the menu for the night is breakfast tacos. They have eggs bacon and potatoes in them. I try something new with the potatoes and it did not turn out so good. I took the potatoes and used a grater on them to make hashbrowns. Then Paige always puts onion and garlic in them so I did that. I then tried to fry them in butter and it just turned into a mess. Needless to say I don't think daddy can cook tonight. The good news is I still have some beer.

Bean Dip

2011-02-01T08:55:00.000-08:00

Paige was sick last night.
Which meant dad had to come up with his own dinner unless he wanted hotdogs.
Had ham sandwiches for lunch so thought he needed something other than processed meat for dinner.

Bean dip.
2 cans of refried beans
1 can of nacho cheese (Mexican aisle of grocery store Giant Eagle here in PA)
1 large bottle of taco sauce.

dump it all in a pot and heat it up.
Dip chips in it.
Then you get it for lunch the next day also. And will still have some left. (and probably chase Paige out of the bed at night)

Best pulled pork I ever ate (Paige and I made)

2011-01-29T14:34:00.000-08:00

2 pork tenderloins (somewhere around 2-2.5 lbs each)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
salt
pepper
garlic powder
(i don't measure just sprinkle to taste) (can never have too much garlic)
1 can of Coke or other cola product (I used Faygo cola $2.50 a 12 pack at Shop and Save)

Sprinkle the spices on the meat and put in the crock pot. Pour in the coke and brown sugar, cover, and marinate for 4 hours or just leave it overnight.

Add water and cook 6 hours on high (until pork can be shredded)

Pull out the meat, shred it, and dump the water from the crock pot.
Put the shredded pork back in the crock pot.

Add:
2 cans of coke
1 can of tomatoe sauce (2 if you like a thicker sauce)
2 small cans of green chillies
2 cans of chipotle chillies in adobo sauce
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of chilli powder
1 tsp of cumin
salt and pepper (again, just add it. you can also adjust the other seasonings)
If you like a little sweet with your heat add 1/2 cup brown sugar.

Stir it all together, cover, and put the crock pot back on high for 2-3 more hours ( long enough to get the mixture bubbling)

Served with this we made some Chipotle Burrito place type rice.

2 cups basmati rice

4 cups water

2 tsp salt

2 tsp vegetable oil.

Put in pot and boil on high heat until water is just to the top of the rice. Then reduce heat to low and cover for 15 minutes. Then shut off the flame and let sit for 5 minutes.

In a big bowl put in 6 tsps vegetable oil, 6 tbsp fresh chopped up cilantro (thats a lot of cilantro, and chopping), and fresh lime juice (1 lime worth). Mix it up and then add the cooked rice and mix it all together.

To serve we used small flour tortillas and put some rice on the tortilla then added some pulled pork. It was awesome but a little spicy for the wee ones. However my 6 and 8 year olds scarfed it up.

First blog

2011-01-28T20:55:00.000-08:00

Started this blog to go with my homebrew blog. Figured it fit. Beer and food just go together. Paige is going to have to help me with this one some. (she cooks most of the time and complains about my messes when I do) Going to have to figure out how to link the two blogs together as well.