craveytrain

Well, my B-day is coming up soon, Feb 26th. I thought I would make a list easily accessible for those interested. I don’t know how I can be more blantant, buy me stuff!

This is a working list

Cooking

• The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman
• 10” Steel Knife Sharpener
• My Weigh i5000 - Digital Kitchen Scale
• Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
• Non-Stick 10” Omelette Pan
• Stainless Steel Set of 4 Measuring Cups
• 4-Cup Angled Measuring Cup
• Stainless Steel 16pc Mixing Bowl with Lids

Movies/Shows

• The Lord of the Rings - The Motion Picture Trilogy (Special Extended DVD Edition)
• The Ultimate Matrix Collection
• Rescue Me - The Complete First Season

Music

• Gov’t Mule - The Deep End, Vol. 1
• Gov’t Mule - The Deep End, Vol. 2

Well, it appears I have been tagged by Kevin. I am a bit torn by this. In some degree, I feel it’s like a chain letter or a really annoying forward where you get to know your friends. However, I enjoy doing it, so here we go…

Four jobs I’ve had:

1. Ranch Hand - How cliche can ya get? Yes, I can ride a horse, yes I do own the hat, but I also possess the super power to find mud holes to stick the tractor in after months of drought.
2. Fast Food Cook - Believe it or not, I still eat at Chick-fil-a quite frequently. They are the cleanest fast food kitchen I have ever seen.
3. Laborer - Also know as Foreman’s Bitch, Go-Get-That Runner and Piss Boy.
4. Web Technologist - Current gig, and let me tell you, those other 3 were motivation to get to here.

Four movies I can watch over and over:

1. The Princess Bride
2. Better Off Dead…
3. Big Trouble in Little China
4. Real Genius

Four places I’ve lived:

1. Freeport, TX
2. College Station, TX
3. Austin, TX
4. uh… crap. only have 3.

Four TV shows I love:

1. Rescue Me
2. My Name Is Earl
3. How I Met Your Mother
4. Family Guy

Four places I’ve vacationed:

1. Maui, HI
2. Wales & London, UK
3. Grand Tetons, Wyoming
4. Santa Barbara, CA

Four of my favorite dishes:

1. Black Forest Cake at The Wurst House (closed)
2. Crab Au Gratin at Mike Anderson’s
3. New England Clam Chowder in a Sourdough Bread Bowl at Splash Cafe
4. Potato & Gruyere Fritters at Eddie V’s

Four sites I visit daily:

1. BoingBoing
2. Ars Technica
3. Savage Chickens
4. SinFest

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. Chilling in the warm waters at some Thai resort, Goa or pretty much anything in the region.
2. Europe - Pretty much anywhere, touring the Alps, checking out Madrid, Amsterdam, Paris or Prague, etc
3. Tokyo, Hong Kong or any other place that would really blow my hair back.
4. Outside - It’s like 70 degrees and sunny out.

Four bloggers I am tagging:

1. Emilie Sizemore
2. Jacob Sizemore
3. Shale
4. Leo Kau

Dinner tonight was a very tasty ordeal. Tonight we had:

• Panko-Crusted Chicken Milanesa with Soy Sauce Reduction,
• Basil Chive Red Potato Mash and
• Key Lime Pie.

I have been trying to get that soy sauce reduction right for a few months now. I was trying to emulate a local restaurant that closed down a year or more ago who had a very similar dish. I think I am really close now. Close enough that we all enjoyed what I have created enough to call it done.

But for months, I would turn out this black tar of soy scorched in the bottom of the pan. Bane of dish washers everywhere and a foul stench that no candle could over power. Finally, a friend of mine suggested instead of reducing the sauce all the way down, reduce it enough to get a good flavor and then use corn starch to thicken up the rest. You know, sometimes I forget I have that stuff in the pantry. Thanks a lot for that one, you saved me.

Anyways, if you do decide to make this dish, please drop a line and tell me how it worked out for you. Also, consider drizzling the soy sauce reduction on the potatoes, too. I found it to be very tasty.

• Prep: 15 mins
• Cook: 45 mins
• Servings: 4

I wish I would have taken pictures, but I’m sorry, I was too busy eating. That, and honestly, I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. I will take pictures next time.

I am still playing with the recipe format, just follow it down, it’s written in best order of operation.

Thanks to Krog, your idea of using corn starch to thicken the soy sauce saved me from yet another pan of black tar and days of stench in the apartment.

Ingredients

Panko-Crusted Chicken Milanesa

• 4 chicken breast cutlets (or 2 boneless chicken breasts)
• 7 tbsp Essence (substitute favorite season salt)
• 4 tbsp ground black pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• .25 cup canola oil

Soy Sauce Reduction

• 1.25 cup dark soy sauce
• .5 cup of sugar
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp fresh ginger root, minced
• 4 tbsp honey (preferably orange blossom)
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp chili oil
• 1 tbsp corn starch

Prep

Panko-Crusted Chicken Milanesa

Pound out cutlets to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. If you do not have cutlets (or don’t want to spend the money on them) simply cut the breasts in half. Lay the breast down on a cutting board, skin side down, and cut parallel with the cutting board, essentially giving you 2 thinner breasts (aka. cutlets).

Season the 4 cutlets with approx 4 tbsps of Essence and 4 tbsp ground black pepper. Put in fridge for at least half an hour (the more the better up to 4 hours). Anything more than 4 hours will usually results in in the chicken being “too seasoned” due to how thin it is.

Soy Sauce Reduction

Mince the garlic, ginger and shallots.

Cooking

Soy Sauce Reduction

Put shallots, garlic and ginger in a pot and set to medium-high. Give the items in the pan about 60 seconds then add everything else except the corn starch. Combine well with a wisk.

Bring to a boil. When sauce starts to thicken (easily identified by the bubbles getting bigger and starting to creep up side of pot) reduce heat to medium and add the corn starch. Make sure all the corn starch is dissolved (a wisk helps get the clumps out). Once the corn starch is dissolved, reduce heat to low until desired thickness is acheived. Remember, the sauce will thicken quite a bit once it cools. You want a syrup consistency once it cools.

Panko-Crusted Chicken Milanesa

Place flour and remaining Essence in shallow dish. Place panko bread crumbs in a separate shallow dish. Beat eggs and place in yet a third shallow dish. Dredge chicken in the flour then shake off excess. Dredge chicken in eggs then shake off excess. Dredge chicken in panko then press so panko adheres.

In a large saute pan over medium heat, add canola oil. When oil is hot, add chicken and pan fry until golden brown on both sides (few minutes per side).

Serving

Serve a fried cutlet on a plate and drizzle soy “syrup” over it. Be generous, and serve with lots of water…

First off, this is not my recipe. However, I found this to be some of the best mashed potatos I have ever had. The fresh herb taste and chunky texture helps offset the natural heaviness of mashed potatoes. I love my roasted garlic and cheese mashers, but these right here I will stack up against any I have ever tried.

First, let me give out appropriate props:
This recipe is from Good Deal with Dave Lieberman. The recipe is hosted by Food Network. Now, normally I would just link to their recipe, however, their recipes tend to disappear over time, so I wanted to keep this for posterity. Plus, I did make a few adjustments as I have found appropriate.

• Prep: 5 mins
• Cook: 35 mins
• Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2 lbs red-skinned new potatoes
• .5 cup heavy cream
• 1 stick (8 tbsp) butter
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh chives
• 3 tbsp chopped basil leaves
• salt
• ground black pepper

Prep

Wash the potatoes and quarter them. Place them in a stock pot and enough water to cover them by 2 inches. Add 3 tbsp salt.

Cooking

Bring the water to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender when poked with a knife, about 25 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and return to the pan. Add the cream and butter and let the whole pot sit over very low heat until warmed through and butter is melted (3-5 mins).

While potatoes are warming, chop basil and chives.

Add chives and basil to the pot with the potatoes and mash the potatoes coarsely. Season with salt and pepper.

Serving

The idea is to have the potatoes still chunky, not completely mashed up. Simply plate and eat.