General Tso’s Chicken

For Mothers Day, Bev elected to cook Chinese for friends rather than have me cook for her and she chose General Tsao’s Chicken.  She used a recipe from Allrecipes for General Tsao’s Chicken II and based upon making it before, she modified it by reducing the sugar and doubling the sauce amount from what is shown in the recipe below.

General Tso’s Chicken

Ingredients:

4 cups vegetable oil for frying

1 egg
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 pinch white pepper
1 cup cornstarch 
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons chopped green onion
1 clove garlic, minced
6 dried whole red chilies (see note)
1 strip orange zest
1/2 cup white sugar (she used ¼ cup)
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons chicken broth
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons peanut oil 
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Notes - Bev bought the small dried peppers recommended at the Asian food store, but they are merely called red peppers.  The first time she added Sriracha for additonal heat, but omitted it this time for our guests.

Directions:
1. Heat 4 cups vegetable oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

2. Beat the egg in a mixing bowl. Add the chicken cubes; sprinkle with salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, and white pepper; mix well. Mix in 1 cup of cornstarch a little bit at a time until the chicken cubes are well coated.

3. In batches, carefully drop the chicken cubes into the hot oil one by one, cooking until they turns golden brown and begin to float, about 3 minutes. Remove the chicken and allow to cool as you fry the next batch.

Once all of the chicken has been fried, refry the chicken, starting with the batch that was cooked first. Cook until the chicken turns deep golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

4. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir in the green onion, garlic, whole chiles, and orange zest. Cook and stir a minute or two until the garlic has turned golden and the chiles brighten. Add 1/2 cup sugar, the ginger, chicken broth, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and peanut oil; bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.

5. Dissolve 2 teaspoons of cornstarch into the water, and stir into the boiling sauce. Return to a boil and cook until the sauce thickens and is no longer cloudy from the cornstarch, about 1 minute. Stir the chicken into the boiling sauce. Reduce heat to low and cook for a few minutes until the chicken absorbs some of the sauce.

Like homemade French fries the double cook of the chicken it the key to having a moist tender inside with a very crispy outside.

She served it over plain white rice and this is my dish.

I’d never had it before she made it the first time, which I thought was too sweet, but I thought this was very good and our sweet loving guests thought it was outstanding – our neighbors came by for dessert and cleaned up the chicken leftovers as well.

Remember the chili powder giveaway.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago: Maine Seafood In Tennessee

Two years ago:  A Short Road Trip To Oak Ridge

Larry

5/13/12  meal date

Our Little Trip To Paradise – Wrap-Up

It was a great trip to Sint Maarten and I’m glad I went this time but I don’t yet know if I’m at the “been-there-done-that” stage or if I’ll need another trip or two.  I thought I’d wrap up with a little geography using Goodge Earth beginning with a close up and working further away so you can see where we were.  But first here are a couple of shots of cruise ships that passed by nearly every day.

The first Google Earth shot is a close up of the Royal Palm Beach Vacation Resort at Simpson Bay in the center of the shot (V shaped).  The bay and open sea is at the bottom and the lagoon and boat moorage are at the top - note the large motor yachts.  Our room was just left of center and we watched the boat parade down the canal after the draw bridge opened.

This is a wider shot, with the resort still in the center showing more of the lagoon and the airport.

This view shows the entire Dutch side and part of the French side, including the Dutch capital of Phillipsburg and the French capital of Marigot, where we took the water taxi across the lagoon to dinner at the French restaurant.

This next shot is of the whole island including Grand Case where we had lunch at LOLO’s and Orient Beach.

Then a little bigger shot showing the islands in the immediate area.

An even wider view.

And finally a shot showing most of the Eastern Caribbean – that’s Cuba in the upper left. 

The island is about 1200 miles ESE of Miami.

I hope you’ve enjoyed going on vacation with us and I would definitely recommend a trip there if you like the islands.  And if you want a little more upscale place to stay, there is always La Samanna Luxury Resort and Spa on the French/Dutch border over-looking the ocean.  You’ve just got to check out their site (above link) for the shocking sticker prices starting at $995/night for a room.

Remember the chili powder giveaway.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago: New England Day 3 – North Of Portland ME

Two years ago:  Cajun Seafood At Almost Heaven South

Larry

Saturday Humor - Deer Camp

Four guys have been going to the same deer camp for many years. Two days before the group is to leave, Rocky's wife puts her foot down and tells him he isn't going.

Rocky's friends are very upset that he can't go, but what can they do.

Two days later the three get to the camping site only to find Rocky sitting there with a tent set up, firewood gathered, and dinner cooking on the fire.

"Dang man, how long you been here, and how did you talk your wife into letting you go?"

"Well, I've been here since yesterday. Yesterday evening, I was sitting in my chair and my wife came up behind me and put her hands over my eyes and said, 'Guess who?'" I pulled her hands off, and she was wearing a brand new nightie.

She took my hand and pulled me to our bedroom. The room had candles and rose petals all over. On the bed she had handcuffs, and ropes! She told me to tie and cuff her to the bed, and I did.

And then she said, "Do what ever you want."

So, Here I am…

Remember the chili powder giveaway.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago: Gardening Thursday – Protecting Your Plants, Part 1

Two years ago:  Asparagus Omelet and Fried Grits

Larry

BBQ Eggs Benedict

While doing my normal early morning blogging a while back, a dish on Robyn’s Grill Grrrl blog really jumped out at me - Chris Lilly's Brisket Eggs Benedict with BBQHollandaise Sauce.  Check out her site for the complete story.  Being the BBQ and breakfast food guy that I am, I knew this had to be tried and I finally ended up with some brisket - I keep selling everything I cook.

I went on line and found a recipe for BBQ Hollandaise Sauce from Brenda at A Farm Girls Dabbles and I decided to use the recipe as written – she even linked to a video.  Please check out her site for complete recipes and photos of her asparagus and bacon version of eggs benedict.

BBQ Hollandaise Sauce - From A Farm Girls Dabbles

1-1/4 c. unsalted butter, cubed

2 large egg yolks

2 T. fresh lemon juice
2 T. barbeque sauce (I used ???)
1/2 tsp. mustard powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ancho chili powder
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

1. Fill a blender with hot water and set aside while you gather your hollandaise ingredients. 2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until foaming. Remove pan from heat. 3. Drain blender and dry well.
4. Put egg yolks and lemon juice in the blender and cover. Blend to combine.
5. Working quickly and with blender running, remove lid insert (use a towel to help shield your hand and the insert opening) and slowly pour hot butter into blender in a thin stream of droplets. Blend until a creamy sauce forms, about one minute.
6. Add the barbeque sauce, mustard, cumin, and ancho chili powder. Blend just to combine. 7. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Sit the blender bowl in a pan of fairly hot water to keep the sauce warm.

For the dish, I used brisket deckle that I chopped and heated slowly in a covered skillet with a couple tablespoons of brisket juice from the Chris Lily brisket cooking process that I now use - also from Robyn's blog .  While that was heating, I toasted an English muffin and poached a couple of eggs, which I rarely do and not sure why.

I topped the muffin halves with the warmed brisket, then the eggs, and a healthy dose of Hollandaise.

It was very good and a nice change from the normal eggs benedict. 

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Remember the chili powder giveaway.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  New England Day 2 – Shopping In North Conway

Two years ago:  Crock Pot Roast

Larry

5/12/12  meal date

Scrapple At Home

I grew up eating a version of scrapple that my family made that was basically pork butt cooked in water, then shredded and added back to the water along with cornmeal. 

Per the Global Gourmet, “it originated with the Pennsylvania Dutch and I assume it was just a good way to use up the hog scraps. “It's dictionary defined as "cornmeal mush made with the meat and broth of pork, seasoned with onions, spices and herbs and shaped into loaves for slicing and frying."  After the ham, bacon, chops and other cuts of meat are taken from the butchered pig—what remains are fixings for scrapple—including the meat scraped off the head. Scrapple may contain pork skin, pork heart, pork liver, pork tongue—even pork brains. Those faint of palate needn't venture any further.” 

The few times I’ve ordered it in a Mid-Eastern USA restaurant, it obviously had the liver in it so it was truer to the original than our family version was – which I greatly preferred.

I was watching Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives recently and one of the recipes that got posted was a scrapple version closer to ours but with many more ingredients and it sounded too good to pass up and I just happened to have an extra pork butt from BBQ day.  I also remembered I had a recipe from Cowgirl Jeanie over at Cowgirls Country Life so I compared the two and, while they were similar, I decided to go mostly with hers.  The DDD one provided courtesy Bette Kroening, owner of Bette's Oceanview Diner, Berkeley, CA. (a big surprise for me) can be found by clicking on this link.

I used a slightly amended version of Jeanie’s recipe for the flavors, but I used the DDD one for the cornmeal to water ratio which has twice the cornmeal and I cut the meat into chunks and put the bay leaf, garlic, and peppercorns in a cheese cloth pouch.  Pop over to Jeanie’s site for her recipe and step-by-step pictures.  This is what I ended up with.

1¼ lb. smoked ham hocks from Benton’s Country Ham’s

5 lb. pork shoulder (bone in), split into pieces and trimmed of excess fat - wight is post trim

6 quarts of water

1 bay leaf

2 t. of whole black peppercorns

4 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 medium onion, thickly sliced and separated into rings

3 stalks celery, rough chop

1 T. salt 

1 t. of thyme

1 t. summer savory

1 t. cayenne

2 t. black pepper

1 t. ground sage

6 cups cornmeal *

Additional salt as needed after tasting broth and after meal addition

*I used White’s Mill All Natural Stone Ground Yellow Corn Meal

Add the first nine ingredients to a pot (I used a 16 qt pot) and simmer uncovered until the pork is falling off the bone tender, 3-4 hours.

Drain and reserve the stock. Pour the solid contents onto a sheet pan so that you can easily pick out the meat and discard the celery, onions, garlic, cheesecloth pouch, bones, and any fat chunks.

Add the meat to a food processor with blade attachment and pulse to coarsely chop. Don't over grind it.

Add 4 quarts of the broth back to the pan along with the meat and next five ingredients (taste for salt) and bring to a simmer.

Slowly wisk the cornmeal into the simmering liquid being careful to fully incorporate before the next addition to prevent lumps – I still got some.

Stirring nearly constantly, cook for 20-30 minutes until the mixture is smooth and thick (when done, it will resemble Yellowstone’s mud pots with little volcanos of steam burping out).

Pour in loaf pan sprayed with Pam, let cool some then stick in the fridge overnight –uncovered so it can dry out some.

I had some extra broth and of course froze it as very good pork stock.

Next morning, unmold, slice to your desired thickness  and fry in your favorite fat (a little bacon grease always works well here).  If it’s too wet and won’t stay together in the pan, just flour the slices before cooking. Since it already contains the protein and starch (chef lingo for meat and bread), all it needs is a couple of eggs your way.

Mine was a little too wet but still fried fine without flouring and I believe it may be the best tasting I’ve ever had and certainly the best I’ve made.  Thanks Jeanie for a delicious recipe.

Remember the chili powder giveaway.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago: Home From New England

Two years ago:  None

Larry

5/8/12 meal date

Is It Chile Powder Or Chili Powder and A Give Away

In looking around on the web, chili powder and chile powder seem to be used interchangeably – even Wikipedia failed me, but I believe they are very different spices.  But let me back up a step further, and remember this is just me and represents no official definitions - even though it should J

Besides a country, a chile is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum and when these fruits are dried and ground they are chile powder.  Chili, on the other hand is a stew made from meat and peppers and often many other things, but that’s a whole nother can of worms.  This stew is frequently seasoned with a combination of spices that when mixed together is called chili powder.

We make pretty good chili around here, but ours is more of a soup containing sweet peppers, tomatoes, onions, ground beef, beans, and seasoned with chili powder, additional cayenne, S&P.   So if you want to say that this really isn’t chili, I won’t argue – remember, I’m the same way when it comes to what is real BBQ.  And this chili should not be confused with hot dog sauce, which is also called chili in some parts.

Having said all of this here are some links and shots of some of our chili efforts.

Regular Chili

Brisket Chili 

Chili Pie

If you’ve been around my blog awhile, you know it is just a journal on which I avoid religion and politics and have no advertising or vendor associations. Obviously, others have a different role for their blogs, such as revenue generation, railing about issues, etc, becoming famous Ala Pioneer Woman, etc. - that’s just not mine, although I may occasionally do a little railing J. 

However, I like the idea of a giveaway to those of you who stop by my blog, so I am giving to three readers a one pint jar of the chili powder I’ve been making for several years and is enjoyed by friends and family. 

It contains the following dried ingredients chipotle chile powder, ancho chile powder (home grown if I have it), garlic powder, cumin, Mexican oregano, paprika, onion powder, cilantro, and thyme.  It contains no salt, pepper, or cayenne as I like to add them to the chili to taste.  I also see it as a base to build from by adding more of some of the ingredients, or other ingredients, to suit your taste.

To enter, just leave a comment advising you will try it - you could also tell us what type of chili you make, then I’ll get someone to teach me how to do that random number generator thingy to select the winners.  The drawing will be on Wednesday (5/24/12) and you can get one entry for each day you leave any comment (one/day) until 12am EDT Tuesday (5/23/12) – seven entries possible.  I'll make the chili powder fresh after the drawing.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  The Conway Scenic Railroad

Two years ago: Let’s Open The Dock For 2010

Larry

Asparagus Ham and Goat (Feta) Cheese Quiche

Since I grow asparagus, I love it when bloggers begin posting recipes for it and the moment I saw Cathy’s post for this meal, I knew it would be happening here soon - while I was still harvesting fresh asparagus.  Check out Cathy’s Wives With Knives site for her recipe and super shots of it.

Since Bev won’t eat goat cheese, but likes feta, I decided to make it Greek flavored and use ingredients on hand - here is the recipe I ended up with.

Greek Flavored Asparagus and Ham Quiche

Adapted From Wives With Knives

Ingredients:

9” purchased pie shell
½ lb. fresh asparagus, trimmed & cut into 1” pieces
¼ C. diced sweet onion
4 cremini mushrooms, sliced (for the asparagus I was missing)
2 T. olive oil
5 oz. cooked ham, diced (extra for the asparagus shortage)
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
3 eggs
1¼ C. half-and-half (I used equal parts milk and heavy cream)
1 T. finely chopped oregano
1½ t. Cavender’s Greek Seasoning, divided
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 375* and bake empty pie shell per package directions until lightly browned - remove from the oven and reduce heat to 350 degrees.

 2. I didn’t have enough asparagus to put some on the top so I chopped it all.  Heat olive oil in a medium skillet and add the asparagus, mushrooms, onions, ¾ teaspoon of Cavender’s, S&P and cook until asparagus is barely tender. Mix in the ham and spread mixture on the bottom of the partially baked pie shell.

3. Top asparagus mixture with the crumbled feta cheese.

 4. Combine half-and-half, eggs, oregano, remaining Cavender’s, and S&P, whip well and pour over ingredients in the pie shell

 5. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes (in our oven) until eggs are set. We decided it needed to be brown on top so we stuck it under the broiler for 5 minutes until lightly browned.  Remove from oven and let set on a wire rack for 20 minutes before cutting.

It looked beautiful and had a very good flavor but the feta made it too salty so next time I’ll use just 2 oz. of it and 2 oz of another white cheese, such as jack, and no other salt.  Also, I’ll mix the feta in with everything else as it doesn’t melt well and stayed on top.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

One year ago:  New England Day 1

Two years ago:  Strawberry Chicken Salad Ala Lea Ann

Larry

4/28/2012  meal date