Its a bit nutty!

Over the past weekend I had the chance to visit my favorite Amish food stand to pick up a few things (for some reason they were out of whiskey and condoms). While I was getting ready to check out, a large box of Acorn Squash had caught my eye. I had heard of using it in different recipes but never considered making any myself. So, for 2 for $1.00 I decided to try 'em out.

After roasting them in the oven, I then sauteed the typical soup base of onions, garlic, parsley and celery in some butter. Adding some of the family of "c" spices (cumin, curry and cayenne), then some broth and evaporated milk, I began to work on more and more of the base for my soup. Now I've learned in the past not to add too much curry, otherwise it gets pretty potent. I love curry, however Val doesn't. So lets just say should our jobs be outsourced to India, guess who won't have a problem with the cuisine?

After mashing the squash and adding it to the base I added it to the food processor for a few spins and voila: baby puke! OK, maybe not, but it certainly didn't have the consistency of any non-bodily fluids. Then again, what soup does? The taste was pretty unique. Other than the hint of curry and other spices, it had a bit of a nutty flavor...

Wait, wait, no! I really meant it actually had a nutty flavor. Didn't taste like scientifically-modified-man-of-mystery-poop at all! Anyways, with some almonds to garnish and some olive oil drizzled on top, here's the end result:

So would I make it again? Yup! Would I skip the stupid movie references next time? Nope!

Admiral Ackbar would be proud

There's nothing quite like the sheer delight of good tasting food cooked to perfection. As this should be the expectation each and every time you find yourself out to dinner, nothing says "let's take a roll of the dice" quite like calamari.

To some, the thought of eating a squid conjures up images of chewing on a ball of squishy and fishy mucous. Actually its quite the opposite. When cooked properly, it can be one of the tastiest foods out there. With a little squeeze of fresh lemon and a dip in some homemade marinara, fried calamari is perhaps the #1 appetizer on my list. And if you're lucky enough to find a Japanese restuarant that serves calamari on the egg-spinning, shrimp-flipping, lil-volcano-turned-into-choo-choo-from-a-stack-of-fresh-onions circus stage that is the Hibachi bar, don't pass up the opportunity (wait, did I just write choo-choo? How old am I?)

But when its over cooked? Lets just say I'm not a fan of eating fried rubber bands. Office supplies do NOT make the tastiest treats (besides, my Liquid Paper casserole always comes out so bland!).

Perhaps the best calamari I ever had was at a friend's engagement party in Jersey. Since the whole state smells like seafood and grease anyways, I gave it a try and was not disappointed in the least. Of course this was made by an Italian family so I knew I was in for a treat before I even tried it. The sad result is now when I order fried calamari in an Italian restaurant, I gotta call it "Da Calamaaaaaad!" Then I continue to speak some of the complex Italian phrases I learned from Peter Griffin: "a boppity boopy!" (it means, 'thank you fine sir, are you a fan of The Godfather?')

So, I got a chance to try out a new restaurant this evening where I had noted the fried calamari on the appetizer list. It's now come to my attention where if I'm trying a new restaurant, I'm going to test them on the most difficult of foods. Tonight's calamari at Prime Steak House in Bethlehem? They passed with flying colors. Perhaps next time instead of prime rib for my main course (also mouth-watering), I'll just get 2 orders of the calamari. That is, if they stay consistent...

Chicken with leprosy?

Nothing says "gourmet dinner" like your food looking like a Biblical plague. Heck if Job Chicken (as in the Biblical reference, not what a Mexican looks for in Home Depot parking lots or the name of a character from "Arrested Development") ends up being a hit, then all is good with the world.

Actually it was my own laziness that led to the dish looking bad but luckily it still came out tasting great. I made Lemon Chicken with Cream Cheese and Oven Dried Tomatoes. It was even accompanied by a side of homemade Scalloped Potatoes I tried making for the first time, but more on that train-wreck another time.

Ever since I've eaten lemon chicken while visiting Buca Di Beppo a few years back, its been a favorite dish of mine. Mixing it with a chicken dish I tried at Carrabas made it better: cream cheese and sun-dried tomatoes. So, I've cooked the original dish a few times at home, usually just the lemon chicken over some rice (perhaps with a few capers thrown in for good measure). Many times the dish has come out tasting great and I've found myself wanting to drink the leftover juices directly from the frying pan (I won't confirm or deny if I've actually done this). So, when I was looking for dinner ideas last evening and found myself with a plethora of cream cheese left over from our morning bagels, I decided to take the next step in my lemon-chicken relationship (no, I didn't give the chicken a promise ring).

Since I already had the chicken and cream cheese, I figured it would be an opportune time to break open the homemade oven-dried tomatoes that I made and canned previously with Val (my wife: don't tell her about the promise ring I didn't give the chicken, all I need is some weird discussion about my lack of commitment to poultry....and we all know where THAT leads!). So what's the difference between sun-dried and oven-dried tomatoes? About 500 watts and a higher electric bill (thank you! I'll be here all week!). Actually found a recipe using garden grown tomatoes and the result is similar to sun-dried but sweeter and tastier. Unfortunately the yield you get from 8 pounds of garden-grown tomatoes isn't much, but great-tasting nonetheless.

So in all my infinite laziness, after carefully marinating the chicken breasts in Cayuga wine, olive oil, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and garlic for about an hour, what do I do after dredging them in flour? I don't let them set in the fridge for the mandatory additional 30 minutes to allow the flour to adhere properly to the chicken. As I pan fried them it had looked like they were getting over bad sunburns and were peeling (and now I've got the image of Goldmember peeling off and tasting his own skin...sorry to pass along that image!)

Yummy, huh? In the end, they still came out great but taught myself to be a little more patient when it comes to pan frying chicken. Sure I've made the mistake before but I thought I was above those rookie mistake. Apparently not.

Welcome

Well if you've come here you obviously think I've got something worth reading. I've created this blog specifically to chronicle my foray into new recipes, tried-and-true personal favorites and restaurant "reviews". I know, I know: "way to be really original and create a blog about food, fatty." Well, regardless if the site is visited by many or if it just ends up being for my own personal record, I've at least made the first step into sharing my love of cooking.

Feel free to comment with ideas, suggestions or personal takes on your own recipes and experiences (it is a blog, after all).

Oh and poems/songs/haiku about bacon are always welcome!