chicken strips and fries

This one is too pretty, too easy, too tasty to not cook while camping. Sure, you have to stand over the stove and fry, but it is so worth it. I know what you're thinking - "it's only chicken and french fries!" Seriously, I know, but there is something about this recipe that is just ridiculously good!

The best part of this meal just may be the chef - my pops. You see, growing up, if my dad had the day off, you pretty much knew you were getting the one thing that he knew how to cook: scrambled eggs, toast, OJ. It is literally the only time I can remember my dad making a meal. So imagine my shock when my family came back from camping last year (I was unable to make the trip) and everyone went on and on about Dad's chicken and french fries meal. I said exactly what you're saying right now - "it's only chicken and french fries!" - but everyone assured me that they would live up to the hype.

He made me laugh. This is my dad. My mom is fishing in the stream in the background. He wanted to make absolutely sure I got documentation that he was prepping dinner.

So when it came time for the meal, my expectations were high. My dad sat down on the old picnic bench, picked up his knife and went about his potato slicing. He was in the zone. If there is one thing my dad is, it's thorough. He is a masterful woodworker, mechanic, painter, handyman. You name it - if my dad does it - he does it well. The same is true for slicing potatoes. He slices those puppies up like a champ! No thick cut steak fries for his diners, these were pomme frites!

*chicken strips and fries*
1 cup Bisquick
1 cup flour
2 tbsp seasoned salt
chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 cup milk
3 eggs

potatoes, slice thinly into fries
onions, sliced into rings
salt
lots of veg oil

*equipment*
pot for frying fries
pot for frying chicken
2 large plastic baggies
tongs

Put the milk and eggs into the plastic baggy. Mix it together and put in your chicken. Let it sit while you prep everything else.

Bread your chicken in the flour/salt/Bisquick combo. Fry to deep golden brown on each side. Fry your fries and onions at the same time.

Serve immediately.

Yes, *that* good.

chicken tikka masala

I kind of don't know where to start this post. This would be a good place. I came across Alosha's blog one day, before I had subscribed to Cook's Illustrated online. I was googling "Cooks Illustrated" + "Potato Salad" and boy, I got an earful about ATK and their PR department! Kind of disappointing, actually.

Now, I'm sure I don't have to worry about the ATK cops lurking behind one of my 12 unique visitors. I have to admit, a good part of this recipe was 'inspired' by the cooks illustrated recipe that I've used several times, but it is by no means an exact replica. Lucky for me, no one reads this blog! Woot! :*(

*Chicken Tikka Masala*
Chicken Marinade:
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
3/4 cup yogurt
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp garlic (3 or 4 cloves)
1 tbsp ginger
4-6 chicken breasts or better yet, thighs
Masala Sauce:
1 large onion
1 tbsp garlic
1 tbsp ginger
1 jalapeno (seeds and ribs in if you like it with a bit of a kick)
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp garam masala
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
handful of cilantro

For the marinade: Sprinkle the chicken with the spices and let them mellow for a few miniutes. In a plastic bag, combine the yogurt, ginger, garlic and lemon juice. Put the chicken in the bag and put it in the fridge for an hour to marinate.

For the sauce: cook the onions on medium heat for 10 minutes or so, or until they are just browned. Salt and pepper those puppies to deepen the flavor. Dump in your garlic, ginger, jalapeno, tomato pasta and garam masala. Let those mellow over the heat for 3 minutes or so, then add in your crushed tomatoes and sugar. Cover and simmer.

Now, start your chicken. You can either grill it on a grill pan or BBQ or broil it if the mood strikes. I prefer grill pan, but it does leave quite the mess. Anyway, take your chicken out of the marinade and cook it however strikes your fancy.

Just before the chicken is done, add in the cream to the sauce and bring it up to a simmer. When it is just there, take it off the heat and adjust your seasonings.

When the chicken is done, cut it up into bite size pieces and put it into the sauce. Serve over rice. Not too difficult, right?

zankou, zankoo, zankow?

Fancy to-go box, eh? Zankou chicken makes a styrofoam box look like a golden platter from whence the gods eat. Ok, maybe not, but it sure made my tummy happy.

Finger licking delicious, tender chicken tarna? Check!
Addictively tangy, crunchy, yummy pickled turnips? Check! (I ate all of mine AND Brandon's)
Smooth, lemony, not too garlicky hummus? Check!
Pita bread to wrap it all up in? You betcha!

Zankou really is a Glendale, and quickly becoming a more widely known Southern California, institution. Everyone around knows about the legendary chicken and garlic sauce. Dude, it's even in Wikipedia! You ain't no one until you make Wikipedia. It's also in the Beck song, Debra ::clears throat::

"Like a fruit that's ripe for the picking'
I wouldn't do you like that
Zankou Chicken
'Cause only you got a thing
That I just got to get with"

I hear the whole roast chicken is really the piece de resistance, but the tarna was very, very good. My mom got the trip-tip shawerma and my bro for the falafel wrap. Both were very happy with the meal, although the tri-tip was a bit dry, like it had been sitting around for a while maybe? You don't go to Zankou for the beef, though. Go for the freaking fabulous fowl!

easy, yummy din din

I love my mom. I really do. We have a somewhat contentious relationship, but it is often times hilarious and we can laugh at ourselves, and do, often. Growing up, my mom was always good about making sure that we were fed, usually fairly healthfully, but the meals themselves were usually simple things that a working mom with 5 kids could whip up in no time.

Since I started cooking back in college, I have cooked many dishes that I never had growing up. An unanticipated side affect of all of this cooking has been that my mom has been more willing to try to cook a wider variety of things at home. If I make her a meal that she really likes, she'll make that meal again. And again. And again. Like, 2 times in a week, 8 times in a month, again. She's a creature of habit and if she finds something she likes, she'll stick with it.

This is one of those meals that my mom makes all.the.time. It's a combination of easy, reasonably cheap, requires little forethought, uses a very few ingredients (of which most are usually already on hand) and is really very tasty.

*Chicken Piccata*

4-6 pounded chicken breasts
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons of capers
1-2 lemons for juice
1/2 cup of white wine
1 cup of chicken broth
1-2 tablespoons of parsley
4 tablespoons of butter

Salt and pepper your pounded chicken breasts. Dredge them in flour and fry them up in a pan with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and 2-3 tablespoons of butter until they're brown on the outside, and not quite done in the middle. Take them out of the pan and set them aside.

In the hot oil, add the crushed garlic and let it sautee for a minute. Then, add your white wine and lemon juice and let it cook down for a just a sec. Add in the capers, chicken broth, 1/2 of the parsley. Let it cook together for a few minutes. Put in the 1/2 stick of butter.

Add back in your chicken and any juices that have accumulated. Cook the chicken through. Sprinkle with the rest of the parsley. Serve with thin spaghetti, garlic bread, and a veg.