Happy Blogaversary to Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

One year ago today, the movie "Julie and Julia" inspired me to create this food blog.  Funny to think how often I had had the desire to write a cookbook, but no publisher would consider my work as deserving.  Yet, with this blog, I have done exactly that, written a cookbook online and through a popular media format...the blog.  Within my "cookbook" I have shared many a recipe from my life and explored new cuisines to share with my readers.  The year itself, as with any life, was full of ups and downs, happiness and sadness, gains and losses; there are no regrets and happy memories overshadow any negativity which tried to invade my life.

I increased my own culinary knowledge and potential by adding restaurant and product reviews to my lineup of posts.  While many enjoyed, and found helpful, these reviews, I found that many a coward tried to bash me with anonymous comments.  These cowards, of course, caused me much laughter at their sheer stupidity, so I must thank them for their lack of manners and intelligence.

Another adventure I started a journey on was the world of baking.  I must admit that I have not ever truly enjoyed baking due to the strictness of measuring and preciseness required.  However, by daring to learn I have acquired a new talent.

All in all, I have loved this journey, this series of culinary adventures.  I must however give thanks to those who were my guinea pigs, the many people who were often called upon to try my experiments and were required to give critiques.  I give thanks to all those people who have been reading my blog and hope that they will eventually join the rank of "Follower".  I especially thank my husband Roy who has had to taste, eat and critique every recipe; who has had to duck and cover when complete chaos erupted in the kitchen.  I love you dear and my life is totally complete with you in it.

To celebrate this day, a fine feast was prepared of roast chicken, cornbread stuffing and a steamed vegetable medley; simple and oh so comforting.  I hope you will make it yourself and join in the celebration of "Food Adventures with a Comfort Cook".  Thank you and Bon Appetit'!!!

Roast Chicken with Corn Bread Stuffing

Ingredients:

1 (5 lb) chicken
1 Tbsp butter
¼ cup each diced onion, celery and carrots
¼ tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp fresh minced parsley
2 ½ cups coarsely crumbled corn bread
1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth, divided in half
¼ cup olive oil
1 tsp each coarse sea salt, ground black pepper, onion and garlic powders; mix together
2 cups water
1 Tbsp flour

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray roasting pan and rack with nonstick cooking spray.

Wash chicken with cold water and make sure to remove any organs stuffed inside; discard or use for gravy making. Tuck wings over neck opening and skewer skin flap over to close opening and keep wings from over browning; set chicken aside.

In a small skillet, medium-low heat, melt butter and sauté onion, celery and carrots until softened; mix in ¼ teaspoon pepper and the parsley. While vegetables are sautéing, combine corn bread and half can of chicken broth in large bowl; add in softened vegetables and mix thoroughly. Stuff chicken with corn bread mixture and seal opening with skewer; tie legs together with butcher twine. Rub olive oil over all of the chicken and sprinkle seasoning combination all over; place chicken on pan rack (breasts side up). Pour remaining broth and water into roasting pan; place pan in oven and roast chicken for 2 ½ to 3 hours, or until internal temperature reaches 165F and juices run clear.

Remove chicken to platter to rest; pour drippings from pan into small saucepan, set on high heat; whisk in flour and bring to boil. Carve chicken and serve with gravy.

Serves 4-6.

Mary Cokenour

How Authentic is this Chinese General?

For dinner the other night, I made General Tso's Chicken over steamed white rice and wondered...who is General Tso anyway; was he a real person?  Not having any books on China's history, it was to the internet I turned for research.  From what I could find, there was a general named Tso Tsung-tang or Zuo Zongtang, not sure why two different names, who lived from 1812 to 1885.  He came from the Hunan Province and was a general during the Qing dynasty.  There is no record of his inventing a recipe named after himself; nor can any living relations now trace back this recipe to him.

Seems that a Taiwanese chef named Peng Chang-kuei (or Peng Jia) made up the recipe in the 1970's.  He opened up a restaurant in New York City and introduced his updated versions of Hunan cuisine, including General Tso's Chicken.  Normally Hunan cuisine is spicy, but not sweet.  Peng Jia altered his original recipe by adding sugar to make it more appealing to American taste buds.  He did open up another restaurant in Taiwan in the 1990's which featured his altered recipes; it failed as the diners were not too keen on the sweetness of many of the dishes.

General Tso's is similar to Sesame Chicken or Crispy Orange Chicken with slight alterations in ingredients and taste; sometimes it is served with sesame seeds, sometimes not; depends on the person making it.  Another difference is the hot peppers; they may be finely diced before addition, or the entire pods can be seen in the dish.  The chicken is cut into bite sized pieces and batter fried; once again, depending on the cook, I have seen the chicken (same for Sesame and Orange) in thin slices and unbattered.  The original version is battered fried chicken and whole hot pepper pods, no sesame seeds and the only other vegetable is broccoli or scallions.  Nowadays you can order General Tso's with pork, shrimp, even tofu and a variety of vegetables will be incorporated into the dish.

General Tso’s Chicken

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1” pieces
¼ cup cornstarch
2 large eggs, beaten
1 ½ tsp minced garlic
1 ½ tsp minced ginger
1 cup soy sauce
½ cup rice vinegar (if unavailable, substitute white vinegar)
½ cup sherry
2 tsp sugar
canola or peanut oil (1/2 cup if using Wok; 2 cups if using skillet)
2 dried cayenne peppers, seeded and minced (2, 3 = mild, 4, 5=medium, 6 or more=hot)
1 cup each red bell pepper and carrots, sliced
1 cup snow pea pods or sugar snap pea pods
1 cup broccoli, chopped
white, brown or fried rice

Option: substitute Thai chili paste for the sugar and cayenne peppers; 1 Tbsp=2 peppers

Preparation:

In a large bowl, mix together the chicken, cornstarch and eggs. In a small bowl, mix together the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, sherry and sugar.

Heat the oil in a Wok, or large skillet; fry the chicken pieces (7-8 at a time) until crisp (4-6 minutes); drain on paper towels. Discard oil, except for 2 Tbsp; pour in mixture from small bowl plus chicken, cayenne peppers, and vegetables. Mix and cook for 3-4 minutes; until all vegetables are heated through. Serve over rice.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Sorry Elvis, Your Sandwich is not King for Me.

Now lets get something out of the way before you start trying to post hate comments or emails to me; I love Elvis Presley.  He is the King and there will never, ever be anyone who can top him.  I just don't like his "fried peanut butter and banana sandwich", but with good reason...I don't like bananas.  No, I don't like bananas; as a small child, I would spit them up; I've tried them in cereal, with ice cream, pudding, cake, even bananas foster and have not been able to tolerate the taste.  My husband likes bananas, so buy them for him; when he eats one I will try a bite and can't get it out of my mouth fast enough.  So, if you must hate this post of mine, hate it because of my banana phobia.

The recipe for this sandwich is located on thousands of internet sites, has been featured on culinary based television shows and mentioned in probably every book ever written about Elvis.  So the recipe I'll be posting is nothing original and I am most certainly not claiming it as my own; just another item I'd like to get straight, so thank you, thank you very much...the sandwich has left the kitchen.

Elvis Presley's Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

Ingredients:

2 slices of white bread
2 tablespoons of smooth peanut butter
1 small ripe banana mashed
2 tablespoons butter

Preparation:

Spread the peanut butter on one slice of bread and the mashed banana on the other. Press the slices gently together. Melt the butter over low heat in a small frying pan. Place the sandwich in the pan and fry until golden brown on both sides.

Makes one sandwich.

Mary Cokenour

This Recipe is a Crossdresser.

I was going through one of my many cookbooks (I have enough to fill a 4 shelf bookcase) and came upon a recipe for "Beef Tips".  As I read the ingredient listing, I noticed how similar it was to beef stroganoff, but without the sour cream.  So I got to thinking (that can be a dangerous thing when it comes to cooking) that I have a package of beef cubes, but, don't want stroganoff, just made chili two weeks ago, stew would be nice, but I don't have too many veggies on hand this week.  Alright, lets go with the beef tips idea and play with that; what if I take part of the ingredients from beef stroganoff plus part from pepper steak with onions and create a monster?

The monster ended up being a tasty beast of beef, peppers, onions, mushrooms over egg noodles which sopped up the rich brown sauce. The scent throughout the home was drool making. However, I did do a little more experimenting by adding some sour cream to a cup of the creation...yep, just what I thought it would become; beef stroganoff with peppers. So there you go, how to take a couple of basic recipes and create a classy, sassy impersonator.

Beef Tips over Egg Noodles

Ingredients:

3 lbs beef cubes, about 1 inch pieces
3 Tbsp flour
1 large onion; cut into strips, cut strips in half
1 large bell pepper (red, yellow or orange); cut into strips, cut strips in half
1 (8 oz) carton of sliced fresh mushrooms
1 (10.5 oz) can beef broth
2 (10.5 oz) cans cream of mushroom soup
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp crushed dry thyme
2 tsps ground black pepper
1 lb cooked extra wide egg noodles

Preparation:

Spray a 6 qt crock pot with nonstick cooking spray; set on low heat. Coat the beef cubes with the flour; layer the beef, onion, bell pepper and mushrooms inside the crock pot.

In a large bowl, mix together the broth, soup, garlic, Worcestershire, thyme and black pepper; pour over ingredients in crock pot. Cover and cook for 8 hours; serve over cooked egg noodles.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Rotisserie Chicken from Your Oven.

We've seen the oval shaped containers in the supermarkets, better yet, we've smelled the contents and started to drool. Rotisserie chicken is placed on a spit and rotated in a special oven, so the dripping fat can basically baste and moisturize the chicken. Besides selling the chicken as whole or in pieces, many places will shred the meat, mix it with mayonnaise and sell it as chicken salad at a high price per pound. Is it worth it? Not always; there might not be enough seasoning, or too much; same goes for the mayonnaise; and the extra benefits of veggies is iffy.

Besides the local supermarket, a rotisserie chicken can be done on the home barbeque. Just purchase the rotating spit, set it up, plug it in; yes you'll need an electrical source, and start cooking. Not everyone wants to do this though, but there's another alternative...your own oven.

While the recipe I'm going to post focuses on boneless, skinless chicken breasts, bone in chicken can also be used, but you just have to up the cooking time to 55-60 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165F. Coating the chicken with mayonnaise and covering with foil ensures that the chicken will stay moist inside as well as outside. Yes, light mayonnaise can be used if you're watching the fat content. For the veggies, I use diced onion and celery, but a little shredded carrot or diced bell peppers work too.

So if you're in the mood for rotisserie chicken, don't stress out over where to buy it, or on setting up your barbeque; just make it in the oven and enjoy an easily done meal.

Rotisserie Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves; trimmed of fat
3 Tbsp mayonnaise

Seasoning Mix

2 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp crushed dry thyme
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 ½ Tbsp brown sugar
pinch of ground cayenne pepper

Salad Mix

¼ cup diced red onion
¼ cup diced celery
¼ cup mayonnaise

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400F; line a roasting pan with aluminum foil and place rack on top of foil.

Mix together seasonings and spread out on large plate. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat both sides of the chicken breasts with the 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise; lightly press both sides of chicken onto seasoning mix. Place chicken on rack; cover pan with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F.

Let chicken cool before cutting into one inch pieces. Place in large bowl; add onion, celery and mayonnaise; mix completely. Serve on rolls, breads, inside pita pockets, rolled in tortillas or as the center piece of a green salad.

Makes 6 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Stouffer's Sautes for Two not Impressive.

A growing trend in the frozen food aisle is "Meals for Two". I'm not sure if this is geared towards young married couples where cooking is still a mystery, or just couples in general who don't feel like cooking or going out to dine. Since it is just my husband and myself, and we like trying out new products, it was decided to give Stouffer's Sautes for Two a try.

The chosen meal was "Grilled Chicken and Asiago Tortelloni" and as you can see from my photo, what is pictured on the package looks quite different from the made at home meal. The tortelloni on the package has a lovely golden egg yolk color, but my photo shows stark white. In fact, there was so much cream sauce, that it drenched all the ingredients in whiteness. Their photo also shows grill marks on the chicken slices, but none of the pieces in my package had any marks. The few mushrooms were lost in creamy whiteness, but the green of the spinach certainly stood out.

I have a problem with one of the ingredients listed on the package - brown sugar. Why would brown sugar be in Alfredo sauce? I believe the brown sugar was probably used to obtain the grill marks on the chicken and make them stand out more. A good grilled piece of chicken doesn't need brown sugar. Then there was the cooking instructions - first step was to put the Alfredo sauce pouch in a bowl and run cold water over it until it thawed. I am perplexed on why gallons of water should be wasted in thawing a sauce pouch, when leaving it in the refrigerator overnight (which I did) would achieve the same goal, and save water. In my opinion, this instruction is one of the stupidest, and most wasteful, I have ever seen.

As the ingredients cooked, the scent of the butter and cheese within the sauce was enticing; it took 15 minutes to come to a completely heated state. The taste however was disappointing; I found it to be bland and too oversauced. A dash of nutmeg and ground black pepper helped it to be a true Alfredo sauce. The chicken had no grill flavor; no marks either, so why should I expect the flavor? The tortelloni was made and cooked very well though, and while the spinach flavor was lost in the cream sauce also, it was a nice touch.

Overall, I would have to give this product a "C" rating; not totally horrid, but not something I would like to spend good money on.

Mary Cokenour

Pizza Dough - There's an App for That.

Now put away those cell phones; I'm talking appetizer, not a networking application. Saturday night, New Year's Eve, we spent with friends Heidi and Sean, their children and another couple. Nothing fancy, just good people getting together to celebrate the end of the old year; and looking forward to lots of laughter. Oh, we laughed and laughed till our sides hurt; it felt great!

Even though it was a small get-together, it was an opportunity to do a little showing off in Heidi's kitchen. No dips or prepackaged appetizers to end the year; I was going to make something yummy to remember. First thing I did was get a 4 quart crock pot of homemade pasta sauce going. Actually, I did that on Friday, so besides having a dipping sauce for my appetizer, I made stuffed shells for dinner that night. No, it wasn't the typical meat sauce I use with stuffed shells, but they came out yummy just the same.

So Saturday rolls around and it was a lazy kind of day. Roy was engrossed in "SkyRim; The Elder Scrolls 5" and I watched reruns of "The Marx Brothers" movies. When it was time to make the appetizer, I was raring to go. I got all the ingredients together in order of preparation; set up the jelly rolls pans and went to work. By now you're wondering, "what the heck are you making anyway?" Thanks for reminding me to tell you...Sicilian Pepperoni Rolls similiar to those served at "Old Chicago".

To get two trays of rolls together, 20 on each, only took about a half hour; they are that easy and quick to make. It takes a lot longer though when someone is carrying one of the trays to the refrigerator and drops it. No Roy, you are not going to be hearing the last of this for a long while. "But it just slipped out of my hands" he says and since I did not see him do it, I can't really say how it happened, but I can imagine. He was doing the Italian accent thing as he carried them and I could picture him carrying the tray one handed like a waiter when suddenly.....all over the floor.

What to do, what to do, since I'm out of pizza dough and off to the store, which was luckily still open, to get a roll of Pillsbury Classic Pizza Dough. It worked out fine and while the Pillsbury dough baked up thinner than my dough, the rolls tasted amazing and the dipping sauce went great with them. There was not one left and Heidi has requested the recipe, so here you go girl.

Sicilian Pepperoni Rolls

Ingredients:

flour
12 oz. homemade pizza dough or 1 canister of Pillsbury Classic Pizza Dough
1 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp Italian herbal mix
1 cup Italian cheese mix
1/2 cup diced pepperoni
grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425F. Spray a jelly roll pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Lightly flour a wooden board and roll out the dough to a 14"x20" rectangle; mix the olive oil with the herbal mixture and lightly brush the rolled out dough. Sprinkle the cheese and pepperoni over the oiled dough. Starting at the top edge of dough, carefully begin rolling towards the bottom edge; make sure to keep the roll tight; the oil will help seal the roll.

Cut off a little of the far ends of the roll; cut the roll into one inch pieces. Carefully transfer each cut piece to the jelly roll pan, cut side up. Lightly dab the herbal oil mixture, and sprinkle a little grated Parmesan cheese, onto each piece.

Bake for 15-20 minutes; until dough is golden brown. Remove to serving plate and serve with dipping sauce.

Makes 20 pieces.

Mary Cokenour