The other day I thawed out some chicken thighs for a meal the next day. But with my new job responsibilities I didn’t have time to cook the chicken the next day. I didn’t want to put them back into the freezer so I needed to figure out some way to make them keep another day or so.

I had just made some corn bread pancakes with some buttermilk so I put the chicken in a bowl and covered them with the buttermilk I had left over and added about a 1/4 cup of Louisiana hot sauce.

So the next day I get home from work and the wife had already ordered pizza but I was craving something home cooked so I decided to throw this quick meal together. I pulled the chicken out of the buttermilk marinade, shook off the extra liquid and placed it in a baking dish with some sliced sweet onions.

I put that into a 400° oven along with another baking dish that had some Brussels sprouts, olive oil and garlic. I cooked both of those for about an hour, maybe a little less. I also boiled up some corn really quick.

This turned out to be a really delicious dish that required almost no work. The chicken was super moist and tender with a great flavor.

The pizza went pretty much untouched that night.

This recipe was submitted by a friend of The Rock and Roll Geek Show and host of The Homemade Hit Show, Tony Butterworth. Thanks, friend!

Tomatillo Salsa

Ingredients:

2 pound tomatillos, husked

1 cup chopped onion

3 teaspoon minced garlic

3 Serrano chili peppers

2 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

3 teaspoons salt, or to taste

1 teaspoon pepper, or to taste

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1 lime (juice)

5 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Cut the tomatillos and onion into chunks and add into a blender with the garlic.

Place blended tomatillo mixture into a pot and add the remaining ingredients except cilantro.  Cook for 10 to 15 minutes under medium heat. When finished, allow to cool then add the cilantro and an extra chopped raw Serrano chili (if you like it spicy).

Optional:

Red chili flakes to taste (Can add before cooking)

Olive Oil (Can add after cooking – add a little richness)

Mirin (Japanese cooking wine, can add a little before cooking – sweet)

Roasted Anaheim chilies

Yesterday I finally got to cook some food so I spent all day in the kitchen. My favorite kind of Sunday.

I made a dish from the Cooking Up A Storm cookbook. The dish was Chicken and Sausage gumbo.

I’m going to try to take you step by step through my process with photos below.

Ingredients:

1   4-5 lb chicken cut into serving pieces
Salt
Cayenne pepper
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 cup chopped green bell peppers
1/2 cup chopped celery
About 2 1/2 quarts chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 lb andouille sausage sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/4 cup chopped green onions (white and green parts)
2 tbs chopped fresh parsley
Hot cooked rice for serving

First I combined the oil and flower to make the roux. I stirred it very often for about 45 minutes till brown.

Here it is after about 20 mins. It’s a little darker

This is after about 45 minutes. It’s pretty dark. I probably should have made it a little darker but I was getting impatient so I moved on to the next step.

Next I added the chopped onion, bell pepper and celery.

I cooked this for about 10 minutes till the vegetables were really soft.

I added the chicken broth, stirred to blend well, then I added the bay leaf, thyme and chicken and brought it to a boil. Once it was boiling, I lowered it to a simmer and cooked it for 3 hours.

After 3 hours I added the sausage, green onions and the parsley. I tasted it to check the seasonings. I then added some cayenne pepper and some salt. Boy was it good!

I also made a seafood gumbo that I’ll give the recipe for at another time.

So my Sunday dinner consisted of 2 kinds of gumbo and some delicious corn bread pancakes.
The corn bread pancakes were good but I still need to perfect this a little bit.

For lunch today I made corn chowder. I’ve never made it before but I needed to use the corn I picked up on Sunday from the Farmers Market.
I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out. I think it will be even better tomorrow. One thing I’d probably do different next time is to either use whole milk instead of 2% or cut down on the lowfat milk and mix some heavy cream with it.

The recipe is after the photos. Note: I quadrupled the recipe because I like to have a lot of leftovers.

The picture below is step 2 of the recipe. You add the stripped corn cobs to the soup to help make the broth. They get removed after 30 minutes.

Corn Chowder Recipe

[...]

Tonight  I made a great dish called Ficase De Pollo (Cuban Chicken Stew). I make this about once a month. It’s pretty easy to make and there’s a ton of leftovers. It’s even better the next day.

Recipe after the photo

Ingredients:

4 packets of Sazon Goya (mexican spice)

Preparation

In a large pot, brown chicken and set aside.
On medium high heat, add onion, peppers and carrots to pan and cook till tender (about 10 minutes)
Add garlic and cook for 1 minute
Add Sazon Goya, cumin and stir
Add wine and cook for about 2 minutes
Add chicken, potatoes, olives and water
Cover and cook on medium low for about 2 hours.

Serve with white rice

add potatoes,

Another place I frequent often in Japantown is a place called Tanpopo. I found out about this place from a Japanese friend of mine named Sonoo. I asked what the best Japanese noodle place was in the City and she immediately said Tanpopo. They specialize in ramen soup. They also have a ton of sake choices. I always get the same thing when I go here.

Karamiso Ramen, which is spicy miso flavor soup with boiled bean sprouts and sliced chashu pork. It is a huge bowl and really spicy. I am sweating bullets by the time I’m done eating it but it is delicious. It costs $8.50.

For appetizer I get Rebanira itame, which is sauteed beef liver & vegetables but since I didn’t have my glasses, I accidentally ordered Reba Karaage, which is deep fried beef liver. I was bummed out at first but it was actually very good. Cost – $5.50

I had a large bottle of Asahi beer to drink.

I left here tonight with a food high. Just enough beer to give me a slight buzz and just enough food to be quite full but not in a food coma.

Tanpopo on Yelp

Total cost: $21.90

Recipe after the break

A Christmas tradition at our house is a dungenes crab feast. I always make sure I get more crab than I need so O can make crab cakes the next day. This recipe is made Louisiana style with creole seasoning and the “holy trinity”, which is onions, celery and bell peppers. So far it is the best tasting crab cakes I’ve ever had. It is better and much cheaper than you will get in even the finest restaurants. As a bonus, I show you a quick and easy caesar salad recipe. I’m getting hungry just writing this!
Recipe follows:

Note: I had 2 lbs of crab so I quadrupled this recipe on the episode

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped celery
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallion greens
• 16 saltines, finely ground
• 1/2 lb jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• Accompaniments: tartar sauce and lemon wedgesCook onion, bell pepper, and celery in 1 tablespoon butter in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes.Whisk together egg, sour cream, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, and salt in a large bowl, then stir in scallion, cooked vegetables, and 1/4 cup saltine crumbs. Gently stir in crabmeat, then form into 4 cakes (2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter). Dredge cakes in remaining saltine crumbs.Heat oil and remaining 2 tablespoons butter in cleaned skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then cook crab cakes, turning once, until golden brown, 8 minutes total.

Michael Butler makes Barbecue Baby Back Ribs

Recipe

Ingredients:

2 slabs baby back ribs

Rub:
1 tbs mustard powder
1 tbs paprika
1 tbs dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tbs garlic powder
1 1/2 tbs celery salt
1 tbs cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

note: i used a store bought mix called Pappy’s Mix. Zataran’s creole seasoning is also a favorite of mine.

Sauce:
1 1/4 cups ketchup
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/8 teaspoon liquid smoke

1. Soak 1 cup hickory chips in water for 15 minutes
2. Trim membrane off bone side of ribs. Place on a baking sheet
3. In a bowl, combine rub ingredients
4. Set BBQ grill for indirect heat. Place Hickory chips on hot coals. If using a gas grill, place wood chips in an aluminum pan and place them on burner set to high. Set the other burners to medium. close lid and preheat for 15 minutes
5. Reduce burner under wood chips to medium and turn other burners off. Place ribs above burners that are turned off, bone side up. Cook 90 minutes, turning once halfway through.
6. Place a rack over a baking sheet . Pour enough water in bottom to just cover.
7. Combine Ketchup, molasses, vinegar, water, liquid smoke and some of the spice rub. Whisk together thoroughly. Mop ribs with sauce, using about 1 cup of the sauce.
8. Transfer ribs to rack and wrap tightly in foil. Place pan in preheated 250 degree oven for another 3 hours. Transfer to cutting board, tent with foil and rest 10 minutes.
Serve with remaining sauce on the side

Michael Butler makes Chicken n Dumplings
Recipe after the break:

Ingredients
Chicken:

* 1 (2 1/2-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces
* 3 ribs celery, chopped
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 2 bay leaves
* 2 chicken bouillon cubes
* 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of celery or cream of chicken soup

Dumplings:

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* Ice water

Directions

To start the chicken: Place the chicken, celery, onion, bay leaves, bouillon, and House Seasoning in a large pot. Add 4 quarts of water and in water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer the chicken until it is tender and the thigh juices run clear, about 40 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and, when it is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and separate the meat from the bones. Return the chicken meat to the pot. Keep warm over low heat.

To prepare the dumplings: Mix the flour with the salt and mound together in a mixing bowl. Beginning at the center of the mound, drizzle a small amount of ice water over the flour. Using your fingers, and moving from the center to the sides of the bowl, gradually incorporate about 3/4 cup of ice water. Knead the dough and form it into ball.

Dust a good amount of flour onto a clean work surface. Roll out the dough (it will be firm), working from center to 1/8-inch thick. Let the dough relax for several minutes.

Add the cream of celery soup to the pot with the chicken and simmer gently over medium-low heat.

Cut the dough into 1-inch pieces. Pull a piece in half and drop the halves into the simmering soup. Repeat. Do not stir the chicken once the dumplings have been added. Gently move the pot in a circular motion so the dumplings become submerged and cook evenly. Cook until the dumplings float and are no longer doughy, 3 to 4 minutes.

To serve, ladle chicken, gravy, and dumplings into warm bowls.

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