Cocktail Sauce

This is the red sauce that tastes great on shrimp. I originally started making this in college from the condements they put out in the cafeteria and added that to the recipe from the "Joy of Cooking," 1974 edition. Of course, I have been fooling with it for a few decades. Funny how this doesn't have that "whoosh" taste that horseradish often does.(If you want it spicy add some hot sauce or cayenne pepper.)

• 1 cup ketchup 
• 1 T parsley flakes
• 1/2 tsp lemon pepper
• 3 T prepared horseradish (not the mayonaissey kind)
  
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (juice of 1/2-1 lemon)
• 2 tsp capers (optional)

 Just stir it all together and let it set an hour or more in the refrigerator.

Shrimp or Crab Boil Seasoning

I like to stop by the Asian grocery stores on my way home from church Sunday's around noon. The variety of seafood beats all the other stores. Here is how I fix any sort of shrimp or crab.

Take a large stock pot and fill it 2 inches deep with cold water. Put it on the stove on high heat. While that is coming to a boil you can mix up this combination of spices. Note that various online recipes add ground ginger, chopped chives, whole garlic cloves, celery seeds, thyme, oregano and others. You may want to add these. I don't much like the way dried flake spices bubble up and coat the seafood but you may like the taste.

• 4 T salt
• 1 T ground cayenne pepper
• 2 T whole mustard seeds (yellow)
• 1 T crushed red pepper flakes
• 8 bay leaves (crumbled)
• 1/2 T whole cloves
• 1/2 T whole allspice
• 1 T whole black peppercorns
• 2 T whole coriander
• 1 T dill seeds (not dill weed)

Add 6-8 T (about 2/3 of the above amount) of spice mixture to a stock pot that's 10" in diameter. A 12" pot needs the whole amount (10-12 T) as it holds 50% more water when 2" deep.

Bring this to a boil covered.

Add 2 lb of seafood. It should not be frozen. Leave on high heat unless it starts to boil over. (In that case, turn the heat down or adjust the lid to let some air in.)

2 lb or shrip, crawfish or crab need to cook for about 5 minutes. Don't overcook.
A 2 lb lobster take about 10 minutes. 2-1 lb lobsters would be somewhat less.

Remove the seafood with tongs or a strainer. Bring the pot back to a boil and cook some more. You can use the seasoned mixture 2 or 3 times.

(On a side note, with shrimp or crawfish, you can cook whole corn on the cob or small potatoes in the same water if you like. Corn takes about 10 min. Potatoes about 15 depending on the size. Add them first and then add the seafood for the last bit.)

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This is mild or hot depending on the chile you use. Notes below allow making a vegetarian version.

Spray some oil on a large casserole baking dish. If you are going to cook immediately, set oven to 375 degrees F.

Make a crust with

• tortilla chips (Like Doritos) crushed a bit and lining the bottom of the baking dish
• 1/2 cup of chicken broth poured over the chip bits

(You will use a large bag of tortilla chips before you finish plus a whole can of chicken broth. Substitute vegetable broth or water for a vegetarian version.)

In a mixing bowl stir together well

• 8 oz sour cream
• 4 oz cream cheese (chop of this is not already soft)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 lb of grated cheese (cheddar and/or Monterey Jack) Note: You will use another 1/2 lb later to top the dish.
• 1/2 cup green onion tips chopped (the green part)
• 1/2 medium red onion chopped finely (3 inch diameter)
• Chopped cooked chicken (1-2 lb frozen cooked chicken fajita meat OR 3 large frozen breasts cooked and cut in 1/2 in (1cm) cubes. Grill, broil, fry, boil or even microwave unseasoned. Grill tastes best.) Vary to suit your taste or leave it out (but add another 1-2 cup of cheese to replace the chicken if you leave out the chicken. )
• 8 oz frozen kernel corn
• 3 chiles (Cut in half and place under the broiler out-side up until the skin begins to burn. Chop medium. Use Anaheim or Hatch or Poblano fresh chiles. Add Jalapeño or Habanero for heat. Use mild chiles for mild enchiladas. 2 or 3 cans of green chile are an acceptable substitute.)
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp Mexican oregano
• 1 tsp garlic powder.

Stir together well

Spread 1/2 of the mixture evenly over the tortilla chip crust

Crush another 3-4 cups of tortilla chips evenly for the next layer.

Follow with the rest of the mixture. And another layer of crushed chips.

Sprinkle another 1/2 lb of grated cheese on top and evenly spread another 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Sprinkle some more Mexican Oregano flakes or parsley flakes to make it pretty. (Slices olives on top look nice too.)

So the layers in the baking disk look like this (from top to bottom):

• Grated cheese (top)
• Crushed tortilla chips
• Cheesy-chickeny mixture
• Crushed tortilla chips
• Cheesy-chickeny mixture
• Crushed tortilla chips (bottom of the dish)

It is best to let the flavors blend for 12-24 hours in the refrigerator. Cover with foil or a lid to the dish.

Cook covered at 375 degrees F until bubbly hot throughout. About 1 hour seems to do that but it will take longer if the contents of the dish aren't room temperature.

Serve hot.

Serves 6 a large portion each.

A Smooth Margarita

Pretty strong, this drink is smooth and just sweet enough. The fruity taste is enhanced with a good tequila and all the citrus.

(Note that two ounces is 1/4 cup.)

Add this to a glass with salt on the rim

• 2/3 oz agave nectar (or one ounce sugar)
• 1/4 cup (2 oz) water
• 1 tsp frozen orange juice concentrate
• 1/2 oz lemon juice
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 of the squeezed lime
• 2 oz tequila (Don Julio Reposado)
• 1 oz orange liqueur (Gran Marnier)
• Fill the glass with ice

Stir well and share with a friend.

Seven Layer Mexican Dip

Ingredients

What is it about with tortilla chips? Some people like the thin ones. Some people swear by the thick ones. Some people only like the white corn. However you like the chips, serve this with your favorite tortilla chips.

Oh, and the title calls this "Seven Layer ..." but its sort of hard to tell how many layers there are the way I make it. For example, the typical recipe calls for guacamole but I prefer to sort of construct this from avocados and stuff in place. Does that make one layer or three? But if you take the "Seven" metaphorically, it all comes out fine.

On a large plate (14 inches) or a large casserole dish you spread these layers:

Layer 1 - beans and chile

Beans, Chile, Onion and Avocado

• 20.5 oz can refried Black Beans - The first layer is formed by spreading the can of refried beans evenly across the plate. (I saw some recipes where the beans were mixed with sauteed shallots or onions and green chile before cooling and spreading on the plate. I didn't try it, but it sounds good even though it adds a lot of work.)
• small can green chile, chopped - sprinkle the bits of chile around over the beans. You can use more than one can or use 1/3 cup of the frozen chopped green chiles available some places. In the pictures, I used a jar of Poblano chile strips chopped up.

Layer 2 - guacamole (sort of)

• 1 Tbsp finely chopped red onion - Spread around over the beans.
• 2 Med or Large Avocados - Cut in half, remove the seed, peel and chop coarsely. Then spread this around over the beans.
• ground paprika - sprinkle a dusting over the avocado
• salt - sprinkle a bit over the avocado
• 2 Tbsp Lemon juice - drizzle this as evenly as possible over the avocado and then spread the avocados around to even them up 

Layer 3 - taco dip

•  1 cup sour cream - put this in a small mixing bowl or large measuring cup
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise -  stir in
• 1 Tbsp powdered New Mexico red chile - This is not the typical "chili powder" which is a mixture of red chile powder, garlic, cumin and such. If you must use that, put a bit more and remove the garlic powder.
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp Mexican oregano flakes
• 1/2 tsp ground paprika
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

Note that I really use whole cumin and black pepper and put all the dry spices in my spice grinder and pulverize them. It's fresher. But you can use the already ground spices too.

Stir this together until mixed evenly. It should have a light, brick red tint. Then spread it carefully over the avocado mixture in layer 2.

Layer 4 - Cheese

Taco Dip and Cheese

• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese - sprinkle evenly over the top
• 5 oz Cotija cheese, well crumbled - sprinkle over the top. This is a crumbly Mexican variety of cheese with a tangy flavor. Substitute half Feta and half cheddar or just double the mozzarella if you don't have it available.

Layer 5, 6 and 7 - vegetables

•  6 oz can sliced black olives, drained thoroughly - disperse evenly over the top.
• 2 or 3 medium tomatoes chopped coarsely - sprinkle with salt and pepper, let set for a minute or two, drain off the liquid and then spread evenly, again, over the top
• 1 bunch green onion tops, chopped - spread artfully over the top

You can serve this immediately. Or you can put a wet paper towel over the top, seal it in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for up to a few hours. Leave it too long and the avocados start to darken while the tomatoes wilt and give up their liquid.

Serve with tortilla chips (of your own choosing).

Rice w/ Indian Spices

I put a few recipes together for this one. Because of the turmeric, the rice turns a festive yellow color. This is really good with the "Indian Chicken" recipe from Feb 2012.

Put the following in a large skillet over medium heat.

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped medium
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp minced fresh ginger which is about an inch of ginger root(or add 1/2 tsp powdered ginger when you add the spices in a bit)

Saute until the onion is translucent. Then add the following all at once.

• 1 tsp cardamom (or 8 whole cardamom seeds)
• 1 tsp crushed coriander seeds
• 1 tsp whole cumin seeds
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• (optional: some red pepper flakes for spiciness)
• 1 or 2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
• 10 whole cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger (if you didn't chop up the fresh ginger previously)
• 1 bay leaf  
• 3-4 whole Indian green chile pods (small and very hot)

Stir together and then add

• 2 cups basmati rice

Fry the rice in the oil mixture stirring and turning. The rice will lose its white and become almost clear. Some will get a little brown. Stir enough to not let it get too brown.

Add the following and stir:

• 1/2 cup white wine (the drinking kind)
• (option: add a handful or raisins, craisins or some coarsely chopped apricots at this point for some sweetness.)

Then add the liquid a cup at a time. Stir and bring it to a simmer. When the rice absorbs most of the liquid, add another cup. At the end, you may need a bit more or less to cook it to the right softness for you. Taste the rice to see when its soft all the way through. (Hint: It goes a little better if you microwave the liquid so it is warm already when it is added to the pan. You have to warm it all up at the start as there is no time while working.) This process is the similar to that used with some Spanish Rice recipes and Risotto.

• 4 cups water or chicken broth or vegetable broth

 When the rice is soft, remove from heat and add the following.

• Salt to taste
• Ground pepper

Serve from the pan or move it to a suitable bowl and serve immediately.

Alternative:

If you want, you can take the rice off when it gets to where it isn't crunch in the middle. Then put it all in a casserole dish, cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. This may work better for timing your meal if you have other things to prepare. You can also fill the casserole dish, cover with foil and keep in the refrigerator. If it starts cold, you are going to need to bake it at least an hour at 350 degrees F. Serve directly from the dish.

Nanny's Banana Pudding

My wife got this recipe from "Nanny" and has been the only one to make it for years. I made some for St Patrick's Day and added green food color to the pudding for a festive look. It still tastes just as good and is really easy to make. (Oh, and Nanny is our daughter's local adopted grandmother since the real ones lived far away. She really, really spoiled them just like a real grandmother.)

Collect up these ingredients to use when constructing the pudding in a 9x13 baking dish. Of course, there will be no baking going on but the clear pyrex dish looks pretty with the cookies showing on the sides.

• 1 package vanilla wafers - The right size holds about 80 cookies. I think the Nabisco Nilla brand tastes better.
• 1 small bowl of Cool Whip - Again I have preferences. I like the "more creamy" kind that says it contains real cream. You could also whip up a cup of whipping cream with some powdered sugar and vanilla.
• Small bag of small marshmallows - Make sure they aren't hard or overly sticky.
• 6 bananas - Get them not green and not brown. If they are too green they aren't as sweet and the brown ones look nasty in the pudding.

Prepare in a large mixing bowl:

• 2 Large pkgs instant vanilla pudding - I use Jello brand as it seems to be more fluffy and has a better taste.
• 5 c Milk - The back of the pudding box says to use 2 1/2 cups for the pie recipe. Using the smaller amount makes it a bit thicker which works well for banana pudding. (You can replace a cup of the milk with cream if you want.)

Stir well together as described on the box for two minutes. (This is the point at which you add the food coloring. Just add some and stir until you like the color.)

Then stir in half of the Cool Whip but don't stir too well so there are white streaks in the pudding.

Now to construct it. You take the large flat baking dish (9x13) and put layers as described below. Note that the top item in the list goes on  the bottom of the dish. Funny that.

•  Vanilla wafers at the bottom. Since it's glass, you put the pretty side of these cookies down (in case anyone looks at the bottom of the dish). I put enough in to completely fill the bottom one cookie thick. Save the broken ones for the inner layer.
• About 1/3 of the pudding. Try to spread it without stirring the cookies around too much. Spread it flat from side to side and corner to corner.
• Vanilla wafer around the sides. Again the pretty side of the cookies goes out. Use whole cookies and just stick them down into the pudding so they stay vertical. and visible through the glass.
• Peel 3 bananas and slice round sections. Spread the banana rounds evenly over the pudding. Press then down gently to seat them in the pudding. (This makes the next pudding layer easier to spread.)
• Another layer of the next 1/3 of the pudding. Be sure no banana is visible and try to minimize air pockets that will allow the bananas to turn brown.
• Spread a layer of marshmallows over the pudding.
• Spread a layer of cookies over the marshmallows pressing down gently to seat the cookie and marshmallow in the pudding.
• Slice up the other 3 bananas and spread those over the cookies.
• Another layer of pudding should use it all up.
• Spread the rest of the Cool Whip on top of the pudding. I like to leave some of the pudding visible around the sides of the dish.
• Add a few marshmallows and some more vanilla wafers on top to make it look nice and give a bit more crunch.

Put in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours to give the cookies time to soften and time for the pudding to set up.

Pizza Crust

Some time back I put in the recipe for Red Sauce that you can use to turn this into real Pizza.The crust recipe was on the back of a Gold Medal Flour bag sometime back in the '70s. We pasted it to a 3x5 card and have it to this day. (Jack asked for this recipe and here it is.)

Basic pizza recipe: 

If you don't know already, you make a crust, spread a thin layer of red sauce or canned tomatoes and spices, sprinkle fresh or grated Mozzarella cheese to cover, sprinkle a little dried basil or parsley or pepper to make it look pretty and cook at 450-550 degrees F for around 10 minutes, watching to make sure it doesn't burn.

You can probably guess at the variations:

• Different kinds of cheese added to the Mozzarella - Provolone, Parmesan, fresh Mozzarella and Feta are all good.
• Toppings - I like them on top of the cheese but under the cheese is also good.
• The order - Put the cheese on top and the sauce under it.
• Other sauces - Pesto or an Alfredo sauce in place of tomato sauce. Or even Queso.

How to make a crust:

12" Crust		16" Crust
1/3 c		1 c		warm water (100 F)		Measure water in measuring cup. Add yeast with just a pinch of flour and a pinch of sugar. Let stand for a few minutes until frothy unless you get impatient.
1 1/2 tsp (1/2 pkg)		1 Tbsp (1 pkg)		dry yeast
1 c (100 g)		2 1/2 c (300 g)		Flour		Add to mixing bowl and stir together
1/2 tsp		1 tsp		Salt
1/2 tsp		1 tsp		Sugar
1 Tbsp		2 Tbsp		Olive Oil (or any vegetable oil)		Add to dry ingredients and stir.

Add the water mixture to the dry ingredients and stir together as best you can. Then pour it out onto a floured surface. (A counter top works well.)

Knead the dough but not too much. Roll it into a ball and  coat with olive oil. Let it set for at least 10 minutes. that gives the liquid time to soften the tiny bits of wheat. If you can, wait about 30 min for a better yeasty flavor. You can make it the night before and let it rise at this point in the refrigerator. (But I never seem to think ahead.)

After the interminable wait, knead it a bit more. The more you knead it, the tougher the dough gets. Tough isn't really a bad characteristic for pizza dough. You could split the larger recipe in two and knead half a lot and half a little. A/B testing on pizza is always fun with friends.

Now you want to roll it out flat and, preferably, round. The round shape is traditional but any shape actually tastes the same. Put just a tiny bit of new flour on the countertop to keep the dough from sticking. Use more flour as you go but only if it seems sticky or too wet.

Squash the ball of dough flat to start.

Sometimes I use a rolling pin if I have one handy. Roll the dough out flat, turning as you go. Turning helps keep it round. I've found that after a bit of rolling you need to pick it up and sort of stretch it over your knuckles trying not to put holes in it. There is definitely a knack. Lay it back on the counter and roll it to be more even one more time once it gets to the right diameter. You have to decide how thick or thin you like it. (Its hard to get it really thin without getting holes. If this is your goal, be sure to knead it more ahead of time.)

Sometimes I gently poke the ball with fingers spreading it out into shape by hand. You can pick it up and stretch it on your knuckles. Again, avoid holes. Make it thinner in the middle and a little thicker around the edges.

Your pizza crust is now laying on the counter and it the shape and thickness you want. At this point, you need a carrier of some sort. The easy solution is to grease a cookie sheet or pizza pan and put the new crust on it. This will make good pizza but the crust will not be crispy. I never found a way to fool with the oven temperature to make it work out.

In a real pizza restaurant, they would have a pizza oven that is basically a thick plate of iron. You heat up the oven and the iron holds the heat. They place the prepared dough on the iron plate and the heat stored in the metal make sure the crust is crispy. They have special, giant spatula things they use to position the pizza. It only goes into a pan once they remove it from the oven.

So, how do we get our crust crispy without a special oven and tools?

I have done it three ways and all three are based on the idea of getting the heat built up in something and placing the pizza on it.

• Use a baking stone - This is a round, flat piece of ceramic, terracotta or stone. I've found a 16" ceramic tile from Home Depot works very well (and it's cheap).
• Use a heavy, flat, oven-safe glass pan - We had a perfect one. Round, flat, Pyrex, about 14-16 inches across.
• Use the bottom of a cast-iron skillet - In this case, you put the skillet in the oven upside-down. The pizza cooks on the side usually reserved to sit on the burner. This limits the size of pizza you can do.

So, put one of these in the oven and turn to setting to 450-550 degrees F. Do this far enough ahead that it gets to temperature and then it will collect heat for about 15 minutes after the oven finished pre-heating.

Meanwhile, back at the counter, spread out a sheet of foil or parchment in a square. I make my pizzas just the size that matches the width of the roll (or a little oblong). Tear it off just long enough so all four sides of the square are equal. (See, high school geometry wasn't totally useless.) Cover foil with a thin sheen of olive oil. Not parchment. (I use the spray on kind because I'm lazy.) Put the crust on top of it. You will use the corners sticking out to lift the pizza into the oven and remove it. (The parchment or foil is so thin that you won't need a hot pad. It doesn't hold enough heat to hurt you.) Parchment isn't quite as strong as foil so be careful.

Once the crust is on the carrier (whether its the cookie sheet, parchment or the foil), you can repair any holes by stretching one side over the other and pressing down. You can adjust it to be just the right size. Also, fold a half-inch of the outside edge over to make that little lip that gets no sauce. You can also just pinch it a bit to raise up a bump of dough there on the outside. Or, if you aren't putting very much in the way of topping, just leave it flat around the edge.

Here is my favorite way to make it:

• Add the tomato "sauce". Choose one:
1. Spread a thin layer of red sauce. Not too much to be soupy or soggy. Just enough to add that italian spice flavor.
2. Take whole canned tomatoes and gently poke and stroke to remove the seeds and juice. Put these randomly around the crust. Sprinkle with thinly sliced onion or onion powder and thinly sliced fresh garlic or garlic powder. Sprinkle with basil, dried or chopped fresh.
• Sprinkle grated Mozzarella cheese over the "sauce". Just enough to almost hide the red of the sauce. Or use random chunks of fresh mozzarella in a pleasing pattern.
• Add a liberal number of fresh Mushroom slices.
• Be generous with those tiny donuts of black olives sliced.
• Grate a bit of fresh Parmesan over the top.
• Sprinkle some dried basil around to make it look pretty.

If you are using something like the baking stone or heavy disk, it should be in the oven and already fully heated. In that case, work quickly to open the oven, make sure the rack is far enough down to get the pizza in and pick up the pizza by the foil corners. Do this carefully so it won't tear and won't fall apart. Then put the pizza on top of the baking stone (or whatever). Don't touch the wall of the oven. It hurts. [If you are using a cookie sheet or pizza pan, just put it in the oven quickly to avoid letting it cool down too much.]

Cook for 5-10 minutes. It might be 8. It might be 17 minutes. It varies a lot depending on the temperature of the ingredients and how much water is in them, as well as your particular oven.

It will be done when you can see a bit of bubbling going on, the crust is brown around the edges and there might be just a hint of brown here and there on the cheese.

Remove carefully and slice into triangles.

Garlicy Bisquit Topping

This stuff is sprinkled on top of a large pan of biscuits and is suitable for serving with a dinner stew or fried chicken. Originally it was designed as a dipping sauce for bread, rolls or bread sticks.

Back in 2010, I documented my bisquit recipe. It is titled "One or Two Biscuits" but later I added the ingredient quantities for 28 buiscuits, which is a whole cookie sheet full for my large cookie sheet.

I found the basis for this at http://www.controllingmychaos.com where you can search for "carino" and find it.

Mix the following together in a small food processor or spice grinder:

• 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, tough stems removed keeping the leaves and soft stem ends and chopped
• 1 tsp dried parsley (twice that if fresh and chop it)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (like for pizza)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper (or 1 tsp whole pepper corns)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (or dried garlic shavings or slices)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Pulse just enough to thoroughly mix and chop/grind things finely.

Make the pan of biscuits and cook for 5 minutes. Do the next steps quickly.

1. remove from the oven
2. spray to top with olive oil
3. sprinkle the dry mixture evenly across the top. Use it all.
4. rush it back into the oven

Finish cooking the biscuits as described over there.

Indian Chicken

The secret of this chicken is the marinade. It gives it a distinctly Asian-Indian flavor. Mix up the marinade and soak a chicken for at least an hour--maybe overnight. The turmeric will make it a bright yellowish color.

Create the marinade in a one-gallon zip-top bag:. If you use whole spices, put all dry spices (up to the coriander but not including the ginger, if its fresh) in a spice grinder together and pulse it to turn them to fresh powder before adding.

Marinade

• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper (or 1 tsp whole black pepper)
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground paprika
• 1 tsp ground cardamon (perhaps whole black cardamon would work)
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cumin (or 1 rounded tsp whole cumin)
• 1 tsp  ground coriander (or 2 tsp whole coriander)
• 1 tsp ground ginger (or 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh peeled ginger)
• 1 Tbsp finely minced garlic
• 2 tsp olive oil (or other vegetable oil)
• 1/2 cup lemon juice (or lime juice)
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste (optional)

Zip the top shut and "massage" to mix the spices into the lemony yogurt.

Take one whole chicken that is not frozen and

• optionally remove the skin
• optionally cut along the side of the backbone so it can open flat

Then put it in the bag, zip it up and get the marinade all around the chicken.

Then let it set in the refrigerator. 20 minutes is the practical minimum. Overnight works well. I don't know how long you could leave it and still get a good result.

There are several ways you can cook it. You want some variety of baking and/or broiling. All the usual checks for doneness apply. (Check the temperature or cut it open in the thickest part and make sure its not too pink or, on an unopened chicken, check the way the thigh joint feels for looseness.)

Three options for cooking

•  A whole, unopened chicken can be roasted or baked, breast up in a convection oven for about 1 hour and 10 minutes. If baking, use 400 degrees F. That time covers a normal 5 pound chicken. Add about 15 minutes per pound above that. Cook until done. (In a conventional oven, it will take a bit longer and won't be just right in the crispness.)
• An opened chicken can be broiled in the oven or over a gas flame or charcoal. The heat goes on the bony side first. So put bones up in the oven or down on a grill. Cook that one side until the tips become blackened. That would be between 15 and 30 minutes depending on the temperature. Turn it over and broil (or bake if in an oven) the other side toward the heat until done. 
• You can bake at 235 degrees F for about three hours. At that point, turn up the heat or broil until done. It won't be too long. This turns out very tender but its hard to get the outside properly crisp.

Beans (the sequel)

Last year, I put my bean recipe in and suggested I might expand on it later. It's later.

Here is the original Beans  recipe from Aug 2011, so follow that recipe until you have them mostly cooked.

This doesn't work if you put the beans on to cook in the morning and head off to work. You have to be able to doctor the pot about two hours before you are ready to eat. Here's what you add for 2 cups of dry beans (when you started):

• 3 Tbsp finely chopped red onion (or substitute yellow or white onion)
• 1/2 c chopped green chile (better if you don't use the mild, canned ones)
• 1 - 16 oz can whole stewed tomatoes
• 1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp white pepper (or black pepper)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Feel free to estimate those quantities as it doesn't matter much as long as you are close to what's listed.

Stir well and finish the last 2 hours of cooking on high.

I still don't put any salt in the beans. Sometimes they get some from the meat. It's hard to tell how much to add. Most people like to salt their own beans the way they like it. Mostly, these have enough flavor that nobody misses the salt.

One Loaf of Bread

I like "The Joy of Cooking" so much, I have three copies. One from the 1940's. One from the 1970's. and one from the 2000's. This recipe is adapted from a recipe there (the 70's edition) for plain white bread. My wife used to make it a lot and perfected the process. Most changes are just reducing the quantities and ordering the mixing to reduce the number of dishes to wash.

In 1 c. measuring cup stir and set aside. This needs to set long enough to form a bit of foam from the yeast coming alive.

• ¾ c. warm water
• 1 TB sugar
• Large pinch of flour.
• 1 TB yeast

Add in to a glass mixing bowl:

• ½ tsp salt
• 4 TB sugar
• 3 TB lard (or shortening but lard tastes better)

Microwave just long enough to melt the lard. Add in:

• 3 c. flour
• 1 egg (beaten)
•  The contents of the 1 cup measure (yeast, sugar and water)

Stir togethr. Knead and add 1 c. flour at a time until gluten is formed and dough gets that stretchy, rubbery feeling. (It also gets harder to knead.)

Form a single ball, cover with some oil or shortening or maybe just a warm wet towel and let set for 1 ½ hours. It should double in size. Notice that letting the dough rise in a warm place will take a shorter time than a colder one. Somewhere between 70 and 85 F is a good temperature. Cooler will just take longer.

 

For rolls:

After the dough doubles in size, punch down and knead some more. Then form into rolls--which means they should be balls around the size of a golf ball--about 1.5 inches (3 cm). The rolls go on a heavily greased cookie sheet just close enough to barely touch. (Helpful hint: If you stretch the surface of the ball smooth on top and poke the edge of the smooth part into the bottom of the roll, they will be prettier and you will avoid overdone sharp edges.)

Let rise 1 ½ hrs more.

You can serve from the cookie sheet or let it set about 3 minutes before removing the rolls to a cloth covered serving pan or basket.

Bake at 350* for 5-10 min.

Reduce to 325* for 15-25 min. until done.

For a loaf:

After the dough doubles in size, punch down and knead some more. Then form into one loaf. Put it in a heavily greased bread pan. (Helpful hint: If you stretch the dough around one side and poke the edges in on the bottom, it will look prettier.)

Let rise 1 ½ hrs more.

Bake at 375* for 10-15 min.

Reduce to 350* for 15-25 min. until done.

(The loaf will sound hollow if you tap it on the bottom when it is done. Test this way quickly in case you have to put it back. You don't want it cooling in that case.)

Remove from the pan immediately. Let the loaf set on a raised rack for about 5 minutes before slicing.

Orange Shrimp

Eat these with your fingers by removing the shells and popping the shrimp in your mouth. Its a mess. There is enough to serve two or three in a pinch.

I came up with this a couple of years ago when dining alone. I just put stuff I liked in with some raw shrimp and fell in love with the taste -- who could not like garlic, shrimp, orange and salt with that touch of sweetness from the white wine. But its not for everyone. You have to not hate peeling shrimp as you eat.

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp crushed red pepper
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp chicken bouillon (or 1 cube chicken bouillon crushed or 1 tsp salt)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 lb raw shrimp in the shell with heads removed OR 3/4 lb raw shrimp with the heads on

Melt the butter in a skillet on low heat and stir in all the other ingredients except the shrimp. Stir well, increase to medium heat and add the shrimp. Saute around 30 seconds on each side.

Add

• 1/2 c white wine (drinking wine, not cooking wine)
• 1/2 c chicken broth (optional)

Bring to a simmer and cook for a minute more on each side and remove the shrimp to a serving bowl. Do not over cook.

Increase the heat to medium high and reduce the sauce left in the skillet until it thickens slightly. Be sure to stir continuously to keep it from boiling. Remove from heat. Pour it over the shrimp and serve immediately.

These are eaten by popping off the head, removing the shell by hand, dipping the shrimp meat in the sauce and eating. Like I said, its a very messy dish.Serve with plenty of napkins.