Creamy Beer Pasta Sauce

One thing that gets my taste buds going is eating pasta in creamy beer sauce. Very simple to make and has an absolutely divine taste. First off, you're going to brown whatever meat you use in olive oil and remove it from the pan. Next, you use equal parts flour and butter to make a roux(melt the butter and slowly scrape the yummies from the pan into it. Add the flour and stir). Continue stirring the roux until it reaches the light brown stage, add a lager beer, or an ale if you want it a little more bitter, 3 oz at a time. Stir in until the beer is completely finished. If the sauce is still thick you can add water, but I use chicken broth. It adds some more depth of flavor. Add 2tbsp of cayenne pepper sauce, 2 cloves of chopped garlic, 1 tbsp of parsley, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tbsp salt, and 1 tsp dill. Turn the heat down and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes in a covered environment. The flavors marry together and you will add the meat (I use smoked sausage and/or chicken usually) back in. Allow to simmer covered for another 8-10 minutes so the meat shoals up the flavor of the sauce you made and pour over noodles. Works well with linguine, fettuccine, or penne regate. This recipe works well with shrimp pasta as well and can also be used with black eyed peas and rice for a hoppin' john's type dish. Fantastic taste that you're sure to love. And don't worry,  the minute amount of alcohol in the beer will cook out. And another thing, the better beer you use, the better rate you will get. Please don't use light beers, the flavor doesn't come close to using something full bodied. Give it a try... I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as we do.

Invention

Invention... A fun word. Often, we seek new things that broaden our minds, senses, and adorations. We make things. Craft new ideas. Some for gain, some for entertainment. I love messing around with stacking flavors and researching how certain things are made. I make dressings that never existed, sauces that you can't buy, dips that will make you smack your momma, and even learned tricks of the trade to make the products I would normally buy, for my taste, better. For instance, I love pimento cheese. My favorite is Palmetto brand. But I'm not paying $6 a tub for it. I can make it at home for less than 4 and make it better.

2 cups sharp cheddar
1 cup pepperjack
2 roasted red bell peppers from a jar.
1/2 cup mayo
2 tbsp sour cream
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or 3 dashes of hot sauce.
Put ingredients in a food processor and let it ride for 10 seconds. Takes 5 minutes. Very simple to make and the taste is superb.

Chicken salad is another staple I have messed with. Roaster chickens from the grocery store make some darn tasty chicken salad. Quarter some onion and bell pepper, a little celery, and chicken, mix in some mayo and a half a bottle of Frank's hot sauce and you have buffalo chicken salad. I added some bleu cheese and bacon in it one time and made a bacon bleu chicken salad. Sweet and Sour sauce made a good one. Teriyaki, bbq, honey mustard, jerk, Cajun, and many others have been made. It's all about what you like and keeping it interesting. Some of these ideas are just reinventing the wheel. All part of food invention. New ways to try things that you love eating. The only limits you have in the kitchen are those that you stop with your imagination. Expand the universe and seek better. Making another post next week. Hopefully doing some projects on fried tastiness.

Here's to profiles

Have you ever thought of two different foods that you love and can't decide on what you want to eat? How about combine them and fuse the cuisines into one dish. Two things  that go surprisingly well together are Mexican and Asian.  Especially on chicken. Another is low country southern and Italian.  The flavors work very well together.  For example,  I put creole seasoning, smoked sausage, and Worcestershire sauce in my spaghetti sauce.  I know it sounds weird,  but it works. Another is to make meat loaves with Asian flavors like soy, sesame oil, fish sauce, garlic, and oyster sauce. Mix the meat with an egg and Panko Bread crumbs,  throw it in the oven and you have a magical Asian meat loaf.  That and play around with proteins like ground shrimp burgers,  chicken meatballs, turkey burgers, lamb chilli, buffalo taco meat, all different and funky combinations that you never thought of that work surprisingly well. Keep things interesting. Experimentation is the key to making your taste buds and your tummy happy.  Eating the same old stuff because that is the only thing you have a recipe for is a means to a very boring appetite. Try sandwiches with odd toppings. I put fried bologna,  two kinds of cheese,  collard greens, eggs, tomato, and mustard on a sandwich and it rocked.  Make your own sauces... You like a particular kind of soda? Make a bbq sauce out of it.  Same with fruity sauces. Don't follow recipes verbatim. Just play around and see what you can come up with.  Rules are meant to be broken.  Just remember to love cooking,  and quit eating outside trash from fast food restaurants. You'll be much happier.

Cotton candy flavored soda

Always looking at adding different things together and messing around with flavors,  I recently mixed Dr.  Pepper and Orange soda together and came up with Cotton Candy soda. Yes,  it does taste an awful lot like cotton candy. Try it yourself and enjoy it as a mix.  I mixed mine with slushed ice and made a cotton candy slushy. I'm sure cotton candy soda cake is now possible.

Low Country Chicken Salad

Sometimes I look at cookbooks and get ideas to use flavors for dishes that I read about and what I want to make instead.  I was looking through an old book of low country favorites that my mom gave me years ago, and came across a really good stew recipe that I used and loved.  So why not turn a stew into a salad? My favorite protein salad is chicken salad.  Laura also wanted something quick that she could put on bread and go.  The answer was using what I had on hand and making an awesome chicken salad out of it.  Really it's quite simple to make.  Here are the items you will need.

Two chicken Breasts (I used grilled, but you can use roasted chicken from a grocery store if you like)
1 whole red onion
1 cup chopped broccoli flourets
1 cup whole kernel corn
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup mild salsa (stew asked for diced tomato and pepper flake)
1/2 cup green bell pepper
2 tbsp Old Bay seasoning
1 tbsp raw horseradish
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp red pepper flake
1 tsp honey

Take all ingredients and place into a food processor and pulse chop until desired consistency is obtained. I personally like to have both creamy and chunky versions of chicken salad in one so it won't completely ooze out of a sandwich so I keep some chicken out and finely chopped it with a knife.  I then reincorporate the diced chicken back in to the creamy and mix with a spoon.  It turned out exactly as I'd hoped.  You  get a creamy punch up front with a peppery kick from the Old Bay,  then you get a little horseradish note with the celery salt from the seasoning and the Worcestershire sauce. The heat comes back in and the honey drowns it out with a little sweet hint at the end.  I was a little skeptical about using honey in a chicken salad,  but it worked like it did in the stew.  It just added another profile without being overbearing, and it is just enough of an element of sweetness to round out the heat from the red pepper in the Old Bay seasoning.  Please try this when you can.  If you prefer it to be a little spicier, take the honey out of the equation.  Hope you guys like it as well as I did.

New directions..

I'm going to start posting some healthier options on here as a way for you to eat healthier and not have to sacrifice flavor. I'm also a huge believer in making things at home inexpensively, that most people would buy for far more. So I'm going to save you all some money with homemade recipes. I've already loaded many of my dressings. They are tools to use to control what goes into your body as well. Many people can look at a nutritional fact label and get blown away by believing what they're eating is healthier. Wrong!!! Nothing at a fast food restaurant is healthy. NOTHING. Stay at home and learn to cook. Make things at home that you would buy at a restaurant. Just stay away from fast food altogether. I challenge anyone to not eat taco bell for two months. Go back once and realize how unhealthy it is and how bad it tastes. Your brain has been tricked into thinking that garbage tastes good. I did it and went back. I ate one bite and was just completely disgusted. 
     If you think you don't have time to precook and preprepare.  Do yourself a favor and find a way on your day off.  It's fun to do and having great food that can be reheated, is far better than throwing your well earned money down the drain on absolute garbage.  I've lost 50 lbs by cutting down on my sugar, fat, and sodium intake.  Calorie counting on my diet takes care of itself with cutting down on the other three.  I allow myself to cheat a little every now and then,  but I eat really good,  healthy food when I do it. No fast food garbage, and that includes the nasty trash at Subway.  Don't be fooled by their "Eat Fresh" campaign.  I assure you that the few things that they do that would classify as fresh, are things that are morally wrong and very misleading.  You want a sandwich? Go to a real deli and have someone cut real meat.  Real meat doesn't shine like a Christmas tree after it's cut.  If it does, don't eat it. Otherwise, make it at home and take it to work with you. 
I'm proof that if you put in the work and eat the right way, walk, and exercise a little each day, anyone can lose weight and be on your way to a leaner, healthier,  happier you. Take care and I will be posting more soon.
  

Mojo wings with herb crust

There's very few times that I can say that I truly surprise myself in the kitchen. This recipe for chicken wings was good enough for me to want them every day. I think I may do this a lot more from now on. The secret is the mojo. What is a mojo? It's a blend of citrus, oil, vinegar, spices, and other aromatics that you can marinate meat in. This one is quite simple. Here are the things you will need.

Mojo:
1 cup Orange Juice
1/2 cup lime juice
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp black peppercorn
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup Apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp white sugar
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp red pepper flake

Herb crust:
Italian seasoning blend
Garlic powder
Rosemary
Old bay seasoning
Steak seasoning

Preheat oven to 375°F. Put all of the mojo ingredients in a blender blender and blend until peppercorns are crushed and mixture is a cloudy orange/brown color. Pour the mixture over your segmented chicken wings, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Remove and line a large sheet pan with cooking spray. Arrange the wings on the pan and dust the wings with the herb mixture ingredients. Cook on 375° for 35 minutes and crank up to 425° for 15. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes. The taste is extraordinary. You taste the orange,  the lemon, the garlic, the herbs come through and punch you in the teeth, then there is the spice from the old bay seasoning. All of these flavors jump back and forth and hit you at different times. It's like a party hit your taste buds and knocked you in the back of the had all at once. Truly delightful. Will be trying this on some chops and turkey sometime soon too. Have some fun with this one. Mess around with the ingredients and create some more profiles. It's delicious.