Crock Pot Cooking with Chicken.

While the crock pot is most definitely a kitchen tool of convenience; it can, for the cook, be an experimental lab. There are those days when I have no clue what to do with some ingredients; I get tired of making the same old, same old.  Take, for example, bone-in chicken legs and thighs; do I fry them up again or bake them in barbecue sauce?  See, I'm not a big fan of these pieces of chicken, but my hubby loves them.  I make many food items I dislike because he enjoys them; that's part of being in love.

I'd just purchased some new Knorr Noodles and Rice Sides (yes, I cheat), one being Teriyaki Noodle; and there was that bottle of sweet and sour sauce with only about 2 cups left inside....bingo!  How to prepare was the next question, and while digging in the kitchen closet for a baking pan, I spied the crock pot....second bingo!

Eight hours later I tried a chicken leg with the teriyaki noodles; even though I'm not fond of chicken legs, it wasn't half bad.  My hubby, though, loved it, and that was the most important taste test of all.

Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken

 Ingredients:

4 lbs. chicken thighs and legs, skin removed

2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 8 pieces
2 yellow bell peppers, seeded and cut into 8 pieces
1 (15.25 oz.) can pineapple chunks, drained
2 cups sweet and sour sauce
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds
2 (4.7 oz.) packages Knorr Asian Sides – Teriyaki Noodles

Preparation:

Spray a 6 quart crock pot with nonstick cooking spray.

Layer chicken in first; follow with bell peppers and pineapple.  Pour sauce over all; sprinkle sesame seeds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cover, set on low and cook for 8 hours.  A half hour before ready to serve, prepare noodles according to package directions.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Duke’s, the Real Bistro in Bluff.

 

Duke's Bistro at Desert Rose Inn and Cabins

701 West Main (Route 191)

Bluff, Utah, 84512

Phone: (435) 672-2303

              (888) 475-7673

Website: http://www.desertroseinn.com/

 

In 1997, Amer and Cindy Tumeh, invested in property, just outside of Bluff, to open up hospitality cabins.  Within two more years, the Desert Rose Inn and Cabins was created and has only continued to flourish, but something was missing.  In 2015, that something developed into Duke’s Bistro which serves lodgers, locals and visitors with amazing breakfast and dinner selections.

 

On a long trip back from gallivanting around Historic Flagstaff; AZ, the warm, welcoming lights of Duke’s was a beacon to we two hungry travelers.  Right now the bistro is in winter hours, 5pm to 8:30 (ish), as the sign states, Monday thru Sunday; and it was already busy.  Many tables were taken, and the rest filled up quickly as time went by.  Duke’s is what I would call a “high end” bistro with absolutely beautiful décor; exquisite tables, chairs and place settings.  Normally a bistro, in its original Parisian incarnation, is a small restaurant, serving moderately priced simple meals in a modest setting.  We were wondering if our casual dress would define us as “not belonging” in this type of dining environment.  Boy, were we anxious about nothing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were greeted with smiles, and our server, Nona, was awesome – attentive, friendly and extremely knowledgeable about Duke’s and the menu items.  While many items are not locally sourced, this is due to Duke’s policy of finding only the best, quality foods to serve its guests.  Desserts, soups and sauces are made in-house; the staff is well trained to know the ingredients which is very helpful for those on special diets, or with food allergies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I stated, I consider Duke’s high end, but the menu prices are not very much different than other local eateries.  So, let’s get to the food; we ordered burgers which come with oven roasted potatoes.  The Anasazi Burger is 7 ounces of ground Angus beef with all the fixings, and they’re not kidding.  Nona asked if I’d like Swiss or Cheddar cheese; to which I responded “Yes!”; in other words, I received both cheeses and at no extra charge!  The fixings were piled high, the burger was perfectly cooked at medium-well; the pretzel bun was not overly salty, toasted with wonderful flavor and texture.  The potatoes were lightly salted, rustic, fluffy inside and a great accompaniment to the burger.

 

Roy ordered the Pineapple Delight Hamburger; 7 ounces of Angus beef, grilled pineapple, slices of avocado, fixings, on that delightful pretzel bun with oven roasted potatoes.  Again, the burger was cooked to a perfect medium-well; the pineapple and avocado sliced thin to meld with each other, instead of fight for dominance.  I did have to swat at his hand as he kept trying to pilfer my potatoes.

 

 

 

 

While the described desserts sounded mouthwatering (homemade cinnamon ice cream…oh my!), we were very content with the meals we had just consumed.  We made sure to tip Nona well, she deserved it; and home we finally went.

While Duke’s will be closed on winter holidays, they do offer catering for a holiday party in a separate, private room.  Simply call them and speak with the manager who will happily work out all the details with you.

Personally, I’m looking forward to those warmer months when the breakfast menu comes into swing again.  Now who doesn’t love a great breakfast before going adventuring!

 

By the way, make sure the Bistro you stop at, when in Bluff, is Duke's; not that other so-called bistro that serves hot foods ice cold; has snobby staff that has no knowledge of menu items; and an owner that attacks anyone who criticizes by blaming the customers for not having a good time...and makes you pay the bill in full.  Check the poor, terrible and average reviews on Tripadvisor.com; consider yourselves warned!!!

 

Mary Cokenour

Pumpkin is Not Just for Pie Anymore.

During the fall and winter seasons, pumpkins often make an appearance from the maniacal face carved into them for Halloween; to the slice of pie decorating a dessert plate at a holiday meal.  While the Jack o’ Lantern pumpkin might be perfect for carving and placing a candle inside; the seeds roasted and salted for a snack; for baking and cooking, not so much.  When the Pilgrims first settled the eastern coast of North America, they learned from the Natives living here that Crooked Neck pumpkins were best, not just in storage, but for eating.  A meaty interior without all the stringiness those hollow Jacks have; and I can attest to this.  While living in Lancaster, PA; every fall was a trek to the Amish markets to find the largest Crooked Necks we could find.  One huge catch was two - 35 pounders which gave us many a bread, pie and canned pumpkin for later use.   Then again, there was that 50 pounder that measured about five feet long, and took two of us to carry; we were certainly a sight to see that day.

Out of curiosity, I tried looking up pumpkin cookbooks; 14 on the first page of Amazon.com alone!  Who doesn’t have a family recipe for pumpkin pie passed down from generation to generation?  Nutrition wise, they are low in calories, fat, sodium and carbohydrates; high in potassium, vitamin A and C; add a little spice and they taste so good.  There are many varieties of pumpkin, besides the Crooked Neck, that are prized for their meat: Baby Pam, Autumn Gold, Ghost Rider, New England Pie Pumpkin, Lumina (which are white), Cinderella, and Fairy Tale. Ready for this, besides pie, you can create bread, muffins, cake, cookies, soup and side dishes (roasted with onions, potatoes and garlic for example).  Pumpkin is showing up in cocktails; and who hasn’t heard of pumpkin spice coffee, tea, hot chocolate and creamers?  You don’t even have to wait any longer till fall harvest; canned pumpkin is available as pure pumpkin, or processed for pie filling.  Let me add a small word of caution on this; canned pure pumpkin is just that…pure cooked pumpkin.  Pie filling goes through a different processing and has many added ingredients, so anyone allergic to pumpkin can ingest this type, not the pure.

So, am I going to share a pumpkin pie recipe with you?  Oh come now, I love to play with food, so the typical shouldn’t be expected from me.  Instead I’m giving you my recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies; I bet you’re drooling already.  This is a cake like cookie with the dough being quite moist; I recommend using a small ice cream scoop for portioning it out on the cookie sheets.  While baking, it will not spread out much, so if you want a uniform, flatter cookie; use the rounded side of the scoop, or a spoon, to flatten it out to your desired appearance.

Living, Laughter and Love should be a year round mantra, not just in the holiday season. Perhaps nibbling on a pumpkin treat now and then will help remind us all of this.  Enjoy!

 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

 Ingredients:

1 (15 oz.) can pure pumpkin (not pie filling)

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. milk
1 and 1/2 cups Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

 Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375F; line cookie sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease; Airbake sheets work well (do not need paper or grease).

 

In a large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg.  In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt.  In a smaller bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the milk; add both of these mixtures to the pumpkin mixture; mixing well.  Add chocolate chips and nuts; gently combine to not break up chips or nuts.

 

 

Drop by tablespoonful on cookie sheets; bake for approximately 13 - 15 minutes, or until lightly brown and firm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Makes 3 dozen.

 

Mary Cokenour

Karen Rose Smith, Cozy Mystery Author Full of Comfort Cooking.

Facebook, sometimes I have to thank it for helping me establish contact with some amazing people.  I had joined a page called, "Chatting About Cozies", and through it found out about so many authors I didn't know existed.  Now I've told you on here before that I love reading mysteries, and what has been termed, "cozy mystery"; just an average person solving mysteries while going about an average life.  I so want to do this!  I sort of do actually, on my travel blog where I give details about places to visit that aren't in a typical tourist guide, plus photos of course.

Anyway, one author I discovered was Karen Rose Smith; I learned about her books and bought all the "Caprice De Luca" ones; a bonus, besides a good mystery, are the recipes included.  One day I received a friend request from Karen and gladly accepted; at the same time I became a little sad.  Karen lives in Hanover, PA; I used to live in Lancaster, PA; basically about an hour away from each other.  She and I have so much in common, and I have the feeling that if we'd met when I was in PA, we possibly would have become good friends in person, not just on Facebook.  Such is life, at least we finally met, in a fashion.

Once in a while Karen will post a recipe she's developed for the Caprice series, and one of these was from her newest, "Gilt by Association".  I decided I wanted to try it out, and write about it on this food blog.  However, I went one step further; from her recipe, I was able to develop one of my own, so thank you Karen for the inspiration.  Hint...maybe Caprice would like to make these in one of her stories one day?

Here goes, first will be "Caprice's Cran-Orange, White-Choco Cookies" which are light, airy, crispy and so delectable.  I told Karen that these were like a little piece of heaven.  Then will come my recipe for "Mary's Very Cherry Cocoa-Chip Cookies", again light, airy and crispy, but with a cocoa-cherry flavor and semi-sweet chips.  Now these I described to Karen as being a devilish style of cookie, while Caprice's were more angelic.  Now who doesn't enjoy a little heaven vs. hell in their baking?

Caprice's Cran-Orange, White-Choco Cookies

(Gilt by Association)

1/2 cup margarine (softened)

1/2 cup butter (softened)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 tablespoon grated orange peel  (I use one tablespoon fresh--   about 2 navel oranges grated--and 1 tablespoon dried.    Adjust for your taste!)
1/2 cup Rice Krispies®
1 cup dried cranberries (I use Ocean Spray Craisins®)
1 cup white chocolate chips

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preheat oven to 375̊

Mix softened margarine and butter.  Cream with sugar.  Add eggs and mix well.  Add baking powder, baking soda, salt and vanilla.  Mix in.  Add flour 1/2 cup at a time.  Mix in orange peel.  Stir in Rice Krispies®, dried cranberries, and white chocolate chips.

 

Cream butter, margarine, sugar

Add Eggs

Add flour 1/2 cup at a time

Smooth Batter

Add Rice Krispies, Craisins, White Chocolate Chips

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drop by rounded tablespoonful onto lightly greased cookie sheet.  Bake about 12-13 minutes until golden brown and set. 

Ready to Bake

After Baking

Cooling on Baking Rack

Makes 3 dozen.

Karen Rose Smith

(2015)

Now comes my new recipe...

Mary’s Very Cherry Cocoa-Chip Cookies

(Inspired by Karen Rose Smith, author of “Gilt by Association”, and her recipe, “Caprice’s Cran-Orange White-Choco Cookies”)

 Ingredients:

1/2 cup margarine (softened)
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp.  baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. unsweetened Dutch cocoa
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups flour
1/2 cup Cocoa Krispies®
1 cup dried cherries
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

 Preparation:

 Preheat oven to 375̊

 Mix softened margarine and butter; cream with sugar.  Add eggs, mix well.  Add baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt; mix in.  Add flour 1/2 cup at a time.  Stir in Cocoa Krispies®, dried cherries, and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Cream butter, margarine, sugar

Add powder, soda, salt, cocoa powder

Smooth Batter

Add Cocoa Krispies, Dried Cherries, Semi-Sweet Chips

 

Drop by rounded tablespoonful onto lightly greased cookie sheet, or Airbake sheets.  Bake about 12-13 minutes until golden brown and set. 

Ready to Bake

After Baking

Cooling on Baking Rack

 

Makes 3 dozen.

Mary Cokenour

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now on a side note, I love giving out new creations to my favorite guinea pigs; unbiased opinions are a great help.  Everyone loved both of these cookies, but the overall winner was my "Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies" which I had made on the same day.   So Karen, you might want to try out this recipe too.  *wink*  It will be posted on another day soon.

 

Mary Cokenour

 

 

 

 

 



Good Food, not Fast Food, at the Patio Drive-In.

Patio Drive-In

95 N Grayson Pkwy. (Route 191)

Blanding, Utah, 84511

Phone: (435) 678-2177

Hours of Operation: Monday-Saturday, 10:30am – 9pm; Closed Sunday






In the late 1950s, an A&W opened up in Blanding, Utah; with a secondary franchise in Monticello.  While the Monticello location went bust after only two years due to lack of business; the Blanding location was holding strong.  Not wanting to be reigned over by A&W overlords, the owner left the franchise in the mid-1960s and the Patio Drive-In was born.  Since then, as told by Steve Bronson at the Blanding Visitors Center, “The list of people who didn’t own it at one time is far shorter than those who did.”

Patio Drive-In is an example of the 1950s drive-in diner; not as large as “Al’s” on Happy Days, but just as busy with both happy customers and employees.  The current owners, Lana and Ricky Arthur, have owned the restaurant since 2009; they have developed a strict vision statement, “WE ARE NOT A FAST FOOD RESTAURANT. We are a food establishment reminiscent of a bygone era where the quality of the food meant more to America than how fast it could be served.”  Anyone visiting the Patio can see, and experience, the truth of this statement; people talking, laughing and eating without worrying about the time; no one is rushed out.  Warmer weather can find visitors and locals alike sitting under covered umbrellas at the tables outside, or even sitting on the grassy lawn. 

 

Where's Waldo and Carmen Sandiego; probably at Patio Drive-In.

Order Area

Menu and Server, Heidi

 At Patio, the food is made to order; there are no heat lamp units, the one microwave is for employee personal use only; the food is freshly prepped and freshly cooked…period!  To make the quarter, or half, pound burgers (dependent on type ordered), the meat is partially cooked on the grill, then take a bath in house made au jus before going back onto the grill.  Did you ever wonder why they tasted so beefy and juicy? Now you know the secret, and here’s one more; the grilled chicken soaks in Sierra Mist soda, and another ingredient I swore not to reveal, before hitting the grill.  Do you love melt in the mouth onion rings?  Thinly sliced, separated and soaked in a buttermilk bath; hand dredged through a seasoned flour mixture; then deep fried to a golden brown.  Excuse me while I wipe the drool off the side of my chin.

Cheddar Melt

Chicken Ham and Swiss

Chicken Philly

Lil Buff Burger - 1/4 pound real Buffalo meat

Buttermilk soaked, hand dredged Onion Rings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Orders can be called in for pick up, or use the drive-thru window, but be prepared to turn off the engine and wait.  Freshly cooked means freshly cooked; this ain’t no McDonald’s and everyone is so happy for that!  Welcoming atmosphere, friendly owners and staff, fresh made to order food; there is no way I could not put a positive perspective on Patio Drive-In.  Visit them, if you have not already, and I bet you will feel the same as I do.

 

Mary Cokenour