I don't use use recipes, I just cook. Some recipes are complete and some not so much. Got a question or need more detail? Ask me. If you try a recipe please leave a comment about how you liked it, or didn't, and any variations that you did. Recipes are not scientific formulas, and it is useful to see how ingredients and amounts can be altered to get a different result.



The Best Chicken Sandwich Ever

Here is a basic starting point. Chicken thighs are much better than chicken breast because they don't dry out! Use good rolls and toast em. Slaw works well but I have made them without and it is just about as good

Ingredients

6 chicken thighs, skinless, boneles2 tablespoon smoked paprika.
2 tablespoons garlic powder.
2 teaspoon chipotle powder.
2 tablespoon salt
2cups Flour
1/4 cup Cornstarch
1/4 cup cider vinegar.
Two eggs, beaten
Ciabatta rolls or hamburger buns 
Cole slaw
Bacon (optional)
Sliced tomatoes (optional)
Sliced onion (optional)

Mix the Spices together and use half for the marinade and half for the flour/starch mix. 

Marinade the chicken. Cut some gashes in the chicken thighs(See pic) add eggs, vinegar and 1/2 of the dry ingredients. Let chicken marinate for a few hours or overnight. 

Mix the flour and cornstarch and the remaining half of the spices. Dredge the chicken in the flour/starch mix. Make sure to get good coverage. Heat canola or peanut oil to 325F in a skillet.I use cast iron. Fry the chicken and let the temp drift down to 300F. Gently turn to keep from burning. When they are well browned, put them Lon a wire rack in the oven set to 350F. Continue to cook until the internal temp is >165F. You really can't overcook them. The wire rack keeps the outer crust crisp. 

Make or buy Cole slaw. A bag of shredded slaw mix can be mixed with some vinegar, mayo, salt, pepper, a little sugar, and Sriracha to make a nice topping.


Prepare the chicken

Fry the chicken

Finish cooking chicken on wire rack

Serve

Mac and Cheese Pre-view

Mac and Cheese is great comfort food, but it can be easily elevated to an incredible entree! I don't like to mix the extra stuff into the Mac and cheese; the presentation is so much better if you keep them separate. There are many ways to make Mac and cheese. I use the traditional approach that starts with a Roux (flour and butter) it is fast and simple. 

Ingredients
2TBS flour
2TBS Butter
1 cup milk
1 cup  cheese
Pasta 

1tsp salt

*Optional 
1 tsp tomato past
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/8 tsp Chipotle powder

Toppings
Shrimp, Lobster, BBQ, Chicken etc. Keep it simple and flavorful.

First we will make the Roux. Melt 2TBS butter in a saucepan on medium heat, then add 2TBS flour. Stir to mix the melting butter and the flour. Let the butter/flour mixture cook and bubble for a few minutes while stirring. It is ok if it develops a tan color, but for Mac and cheese the Roux should not be brown.

Add Paprika, salt, Chipotle powder, Tomato paste. This is totally optional and is one style that I sometimes make.

Add 1 cup of milk a little at a time and stir until smooth. It can help if the milk is warm before adding but this isn't necessary.

Add Cheese.  Add water as needed to get the consistency you want. This can range from thick to thin.

Cook pasta, drain and add to cheese sauce. 

Shrimp and Heirloom tomatoes with basil, garlic, and cream. This presentation uses a thin cheese sauce.

Crispy Korean Fried Chicken with chipotle cheese sauce

Korean Fried Chicken (updated 9/10/2023)

My new favorite thing!!! Don't wait to try this! Very little effort, with impressive results.

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Hobo Omelette 2

Making omelettes for a crowd isn't much fun. You can go out to a restaurant and empty your wallet for mediocre food and lousy coffee or make an incredible Hobo Omelette. Here is another version. Use what you have on hand. This is fast because you don't need a recipe.

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Open Face Omlette AKA "Hobo" Omlette

Making breakfast for a bunch of people can be simple and stress free, or it can be miserable. Here is a recipe and work flow to make it simple, and bullet proof. This is a great way to use leftovers as well.

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Killer Tacos (Early Release Article In Progress)

I have always liked the idea of tacos but have struggled to get a real Killer, "To-Die-For", epic result. The idea was always always better than the result; Jumbled flavors and tortillas that ripped apart. Don't even think about crunchy taco shells.

This has been a long journey filled with disappointing results and extended periods of dark emptiness buried under alternating layers of suffocating humiliation and soul-piercing embarrassment. However, I think I have found the light, or am at least in the right neighborhood.

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​Blueberry Pancakes - Secret Technique Revealed! Updated 2/5/2023

I love Blueberry pancakes. I don't love ordering them in a restaurant and getting ones that are pathetic or stupidly expensive. A place we used to frequently frequent charged $6/pancake, $2 for maple syrup, and $4.50 for coffee. Two adults could be be leaving $50 poorer without even trying!

Check out the movie HERE

I have tried all kinds of recipes to make great blueberry pancakes. I finally stumbled upon something that really really works, and is EASY

This technique creates blueberry pancakes with serious curb appeal. The blueberries are out front and smack you right in the face Boom!

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Beef Bourguignon

Super easy Beef Bourguignon. Typically, stewing beef is slow cooked to make it tender. In this version, we seared cubes of fillet to give them great color and cooked them to med rare. These are then added to the sauce at then end just before serving. It is incredible! The sauce can be made way ahead of time.

Once you do this a couple times, you won't need the recipe and it will become a go-to, stress free dish you can make for 2 or an army. The beef can be served on pasta, potatoes, rice or nothing at all. You can also use the sauce and just put a steak on it; The tenderloin could be slow cooked as a roast. There are lots of variations that will work. The key is a great sauce combined with perfectly pared meat.

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Baby octopus

Oh yea! surprise your guests with something a little off the beaten path! Tasty, unusual, delicious. serve alone or with another dish.


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Unbelievably Easy Dumplings and Ravioli

These are delicious and incredibly easy to make! The variations are unending; Crispy dumplings with something tasty inside and a sauce. You can make a mountain of these very quickly, especially with an extra set of hands. They can be used as an appetizer or even a main course. You can fry one side, both sides or neither side.

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How to Sear Scallops

I never order scallops in a restaurant. You can do them at home for a fraction of the cost. Cooking them is easy and you are more likely to cook them perfectly.

You have to start with "dry" scallops. This means no preservatives. Best is to get scallops that have not been frozen. Frozen scallops that have been treated with preservative, "wet scallops," constantly exude water when cooking so it is nearly impossible to get them to brown. I have tried to get a good crust on these and it is almost impossible. The scallops should look fresh. As with everything, if you can't find good product, cook something else! Good scallops can be served as sushi, ie raw. They do not need to be cooked through like chicken. As they cook, they become white/opaque. I cook them until they are not quite white all the way through. The most common mistake is to cook them too much in fear that failure to cook them super thoroughly will be a guaranteed trip to the ICU. The second most common mistake is to try to cook them in olive oil or some other oil. Forget it, it doesn't work. Use clarified butter. Period. Nuff said.

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Multigrain Bread

Artisan Bread

A note on the dough. I don't measure anything very precisely. My basic recipe is.

4 cups unbleached white bread flour (you can also use all purpose flour)

2 cups of other stuff

- whole wheat flour (regular or white)

-10 grain cereal mix (Bob's Red Mill), maximum 1 cup of this

- flax seed meal (Bob's Red Mill), maximum 1 cup of this

- Rye flour, maximum 1 cup of this

1 1/2 TBS kosher salt

1 TBS granulated yeast ( ie 1 packet of quick rise yeast)

250 mg vitamin C tablet crushed (optional)

3 TBS Vital wheat gluten

1 cup sourdough starter (optional)

Water - enough to make a wet doughPut a dutch oven with its top in your oven and heat to 450 degrees


Sprinkle some flour on top of the dough, to keep it from sticking to your hands. Grab a grapefruit size portion, or less, of dough. Hold the dough with the flour side in your palm and gently fold the sides upward to create a ball. Try not to crush the dough . Place the ball four side up in a bowl lined with non-stick aluminum foil or parchment paper. Cover and let sit at room temp for 90 minutes.

After the dough has rested, use scissors to cut the top in a few places and if desired, sprinkle with rye flour, flax meal , or rye flour. Lift the bread out of the bowl using the foil or parchment paper as a sling to carry it. Carefully lower it into the hot dutch oven, along with the foil or paper, and put the top on the dutch oven. Bake for 30 minutes and take the top off. Continue to bake until the crust is a nice dark brown. Remove from the oven an place on a cooling rack before slicing.

If you have to slice your bread before it cools, use a bread knife coated with oil. The slices will be a little gummy, so you will need to toast, bake or broil them.

A note on the dough. I don't measure anything very precisely. My basic recipe is.

3 cups lukewarm water

1 tablespoons granulated yeast

1 1/2 tablespoons kosher or other coarse salt

6 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose white flour

1 cup sourdough starter (optional)

sweet chili sauce

1/2 cup sugar
2cups water
2 tsp salt
2 TBS rice wine or cider vinegar
3.5 can Chipotle in adobo sauce
1 tsp Worcester
1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbs water to thicken

Perfect Strip Steaks

Another example of the incredible reverse cook technique. You cannot go wrong, and most of the cooking is done well before you serve! Perfectly cooked steaks every time.

finished steak


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Comments

Same Day Pizza Dough

This is a super fast dough that saves the day when you haven't planned far enough ahead to ferment the dough overnight. The beer and vinegar simulate the by products of longer fermentation of dough. This recipe uses a relatively high hydration % of 0.7 (water weight/flour weight). To calculate how much water to use, multiply the weight of the flour by 0.7 to get the weight of water to use. If you don't have a digital scale, get one here before you make your next pizza.

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