DESERTS : CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRY COBBLER

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/chocolate-covered-strawberry-cobbler

      Here is a desert I found in my Taste of Home magazine. (also available on line). I thought I would give it a try. It combines my favorite things. Strawberries, Chocolate, and Whipped Cream. You might want to have your Cardiologist on stand by, this is one rich desert. If you are not pre diabetic now, you sure as hell will be if you eat too much of this.

Dude, this only takes about fifteen minutes to throw together. Have a beer while it cooks.

Ingredients

1 cup butter, cubed (This works out to 2 sticks. “Hello Paula Dean”)
1-1/2 cups self-rising flour
2-1/4 cups sugar, divided into 1 ¼ and 1 cup
3/4 cup 2% milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup baking cocoa
4 cups fresh strawberries, quartered 





Cut strawberries into quarters. Mine seemed to be a bit on the sour side so I added a good dusting of sugar substitute.

2 cups boiling water
Whipped cream and additional strawberries

Directions

     Preheat oven to 350°. Place butter in a 13x9-in. baking pan. 


     Heat pan in oven 3-5 minutes or until butter is melted. 
 
     Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, 1-1/4 cups sugar, 
milk and vanilla until well blended. In a small bowl, mix cocoa and remaining sugar.


     Remove baking pan from oven and add the batter. Don't freak out at the amount of butter in the pan. Trust me on this. I have to admit that this is where I hit the panic button. WAY TOO much butter. (I thought) And it looked like a gooey mess. Buy Penny cautioned me. “Leave it alone”, she yelled as I started to pour some out.

     Sprinkle with strawberries and cocoa mixture then pour boiling water evenly over top (do not stir). 





 Strawberries added

Cocoa added

Add boiling water. Doesn't that look like a disaster ?? WAIT FOR IT..

Bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into cake portion comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes. 

THE MIRACLE OF COOKING !!! The dough comes to the top. Look at all the Cocoa!!

     The recipe says to serve warm with whipped cream and additional strawberries. But I made this ahead of time and actually ate it cold, with whipped cream, more strawberries and some Chocolate poured on top. This was freaking orgasmic !!!

         I wonder what this would taste like using cherries instead of strawberries.. Or peaches ??

I'll let you know...

OVEN FRIED CHICKEN

I love chicken. It might be my favorite thing. Really. This is my favorite recipe. Our oven fried chicken is easy, quick, and is tasty.

Here is what you need to make this marvel.

CHICKEN  3 LEGS 4 THIGHS

1 ½ CUPS BUTTERMILK

½ TEASPOON SALT

½ TEASPOON GROUND PEPPER

3 SHAKES OF TABASCO

2 CUPS FLOUR

½ TEASPOON SALT

½ TEASPOON PEPPER

Prep :

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees. Almost everything cooks at 350 degrees. And your wife said cooking was sooooo hard.

Place the buttermilk into a re-seal able plastic bag. Add the salt, pepper and Tabasco.

Add the chicken and 'squeeze' the mixture around all the pieces. Make sure it covers all of them.

Here comes the fun part. Place the bag in a bowl, so it doesn't leak out. And put it in the fridgerator.

Pop open a beer and go find a good John Wayne movie.

Now this should stay in the fridge at LEAST 6 hours. You can also do this step early in the morning before you head off to work, or even the night before. So I don't want hear any crap about you not having the TIME.

OK, the John Wayne marathon is over. Time to create. Place the flour along with the salt & pepper into a brown paper bag. You know the one you got at that store you don't want your wife to know about......

Set the bag aside, and oil the bottom of a large baking dish with a bit of EVOO and one quarter stick of butter cut into 4 parts. Ever wish you would have paid more attention in math class? Put the dish into the oven to melt the butter. 

While the butter is doing it's thing, pop open another beer.

When the butter is melted, remove form the oven.

Place the chicken in the bag of flour (2 pieces at a time)

Shake, Shake, Shake. (The flour and the chicken, not your booty)

Put the two pieces into the pan and repeat until all the chicken is properly floured 

More fun stuff. Put the pan of chicken in the oven and walk away for thirty minutes.

You can have a beer, play with the dog, what ever you want to do. Just make sure you come back in thirty minutes.

When you get back, open the oven and TURN the chicken 180 degrees. For those of you educated in public schools, that means TURN THEM OVER. (just kidding, no calls please)

Cook for another 30 minutes. Find something to do. Idle hands and all that nonsense.

After thirty minutes, check the internal temperature of said poultry. It should be 165 degrees.

Remove from oven (I do this before checking the temperature.) Let it sit for a few minutes then place the chicken parts on a serving dish and cover with foil.

NOTE: The safe internal temperature for cooked chicken is 165° Fahrenheit (75° Celsius). A meat or instant-read thermometer is your best bet for determining the temperature of your chicken.

It's ready to serve, and you spent maybe 20 minutes, minus the cooking and beer drinking time.

I assume here that you side dishes are ready to serve (more on side dishes later in our program)

ENJOY !!!!

RESTAURANT REVIEW ROMAS ITALIAN

ROMAS ITALIAN RESTAURANT

2775 NW 49TH AVE OCALA

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Romas-Italian-Resturant/130576747006963

'KILL IT, CUT IT UP AND COOK IT'  is more than just good recipes. Every now and then we will head out to a local eatery and see what they have to offer us food lovers. I love Steak and Burgers, and Penny likes all kinds of 'stuff', so no telling where we may end up. It will be mostly local venues, but I'll throw in a few national restaurants for you 'out of town readers'. 

 

This week finds us at Romas Italan NW of Ocala, FL just down the street from our new retirement home.

     Disclaimer: This place has a reputation for the owner (Lorenzo) being one of the rudest people on the face of the planet. Their customer service gets terrible reviews. So, be warned. For me, I don't go there to be buddy buddy with the owner. I go for the food. And frankly I haven't had any issues with him.

 

      My wife and I moved into our retirement home in the NW part of Ocala last fall. Long time residents of Ocala, we have been to many of the restaurants in town. But the move put us in very close proximity of Roma's.

     My favorite is the meatball sub and it is probably the best meatball sub in town.We will have to try out another local eatery (LaBellas) and do some comparisons. 

 Doesn't that look GOOD ??

And the dinner salad is top notch.

      Of course, these are just a sampling of what they have available. The last time I picked up our carry out, I noticed they also have Burgers on the menu. So one Wednesday night a friend and I decided to give them a try on our quest for the “Best Burger” in Ocala.

      I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and taste. Burgers are not something you would think of in an Italian Restaurant. I would have thought that a burger in a place like Romas  would be a 'second' thought on their part. How wrong I was.

Not bad !!!!

      It was very good. The fries were NOT over salted and piping hot. (Better than Hooters, a step below Lunch Box)

      One word of warning. My friend bought me a gift certificate ($30.00 plus 2.07 tax for the governor) for my birthday. When Penny and I went for dinner the total came to exactly thirty dollars. (How did I plan that??) Plus $2.07 for the governor. I explained to our server that they could not charge sales tax twice. She said she could not change it. I explained that the Florida Department of Revenue would probably take a dim view of this practice, and she responded. “Well, all I can do is get the manager. If you really want me to.” See disclaimer above. Obviously, she was trying to shield me from having to deal with him. In her mind, I would have been better off just paying the extra $2.07 and avoid the confrontation.  I told her I thought it would be a wonderful idea to go get the man. And she should probably show him my friends receipt, as well. She returned shaking her head. “He agreed with you.” It was a look of total surprise. I smiled and thanked her. A few minutes later, Lorenzo came to our table. He told me it was fine, he would take the tax off. Not a great apology, but I'll take it.  Looking up at the server I said. “I really don't care about the two dollars and seven cents. I am just adding it to the tip anyway. I just don't want the Governor to get it.” That bought a smile to her lips. 

 

      So if you buy a gift certificate for someone, make sure you give them the RECEIPT. No sense giving the Governor any more than we have to.

     All in all, it's a great little place if the food is more important then being friends with the owner.

I go there on a regular basis. He doesn't have to like me, all he has to do is cook great food.

THE BASICS - TURKEY AND CHICKEN BROTH

     Many home recipes call for chicken broth.

     OK, you may be tempted to buy it in a box or can at the supermarket. Don't do that !!! I will have to hunt you down and do terrible things to you. Do you have any idea of the crap and preservatives they put in that garbage? Not to mention the salt.

     Broth is by far the easiest thing in the world  to make. You should always have some on hand. We keep a ton of it in the freezer.

     After Thanksgiving, the last thing you do is throw away the Turkey carcass. DON'T DO IT ! Same with that huge oven roasted chicken your wife made tonight. DON'T THROW IT AWAY !!

     I remember when my step mother started to pitch one in the trash. Penny in a flash grabbed that puppy right out of thin air. It was move that would make Lynn Swan and Chris Collingsworth proud. She should have been a first round draft pick. But I digress.

     You can throw broth together on a weekend, and have it available through the week. Or freeze it for later So don't give me the "I don't have the time". Poor excuse, and I don't want to hear it. This takes about about 20 minutes and one beer to put together. You can do it during half time. Then you can have another beer and get back to the game while it cooks.

          

     Darn, it's March and you don't have  a chicken carcass? Do not

despair my friend, I have an idea.

     Let's go down to the store and get a couple precooked roasted chickens. Most larger stores have a deli section that offers these. Just don't get one from Wally World.

     Take it home and cut all the chicken off of the bones.  If you bought roasted chickens, save the meat for later (IE: SOUP) and throw the carcasses, the wings and legs into the pot.

 

      Also use any left over skin as well.

     Break two large carrots in half and add with 1 large Onion

onion  cut in 4 parts. Add 4 stalks of Celery and just a touch of salt and pepper. Don't over do it. You can always add more later but it's damned hard to take it out.

     Cover and bring to boil (about 15 minutes)

     Reduce to a simmer.

     Temperature should be around 208 degrees and you should see   an occasional bubble. Use your handy dandy temperature thing.

     Cook about 8 hours, then add 3 to 4 cups of water (if needed)

     Cook overnight

     Using a slotted spoon or strainer, remove all the bones, veggies

and chicken pieces.

     Strain remaining broth through cheese cloth into a container.

     Place a frozen water bottle into the container with the hot broth and let cool

     When the ice melts, replace the ice bottle .

     When the liquid cools to about 70 degrees, place in refrigerator.

You did keep the temperature thingy handy?

Doesn't that look good !!!!!

     The next day, remove the fat layer from the top of the container.

     NOTE: SAVE the fat in a separate container. You can use it 

later  to make GRAVY.

     Your broth is ready to use. YOU CAN FREEZE WHAT IS LEFT.

     MAKES ABOUT ½ GALLON, and you did it.

THE RULES

THE RULES: You have been warned !!!!

1) Be sure to read, understand and follow all 

of the rules of food handing. Knowing how to 

properly prepare your food will greatly reduce

the risk of food poisoning. Make sure you heat

your food to the proper serving 

temperature!!!!! 

 

2) Be extra careful with knives and other sharp

objects. And if you're not careful, just tell

everyone you added Catsup to the recipe. 

 

3) Remember to be careful around boiling

water and a heat source. Use pot holders when

you drain pasta. Be careful when removing the 

lid from a pot of boiling food. I SPEAK FROM

EXPERIENCE...

4) DO NOT LEAVE PAPER TOWELS or pot 

holders NEAR the STOVE, OR GRILL. IF 

YOU DO, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE

FIRE DEPARTMENT ON SPEED DIAL

5) I talk a lot about drinking a beer while

cooking. PLEASE do this responsibly. “It's

sarcasm Sheldon !!” It's NOT a part of the

recipe. I am not responsible for your actions,

only my own.

 

6) Remember, the time to learn safety is NOT

after the fire department leaves.

7) When a recipe goes bad, (AND THEY

WILL) FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU DID

WRONG, PUT ON YOUR 'BIG GIRL 

PANTIES' and try it again next week.

8) And B.T.W. Turn off that damn cell phone.

We do not tolerate interruptions !!!!! 

 

9) And the most important rule of all. NOTES,

NOTES, NOTES. Keep track of each recipe,

note any thing you would like to do different. 

How did it go? What troubles did you have. 

Note how everyone liked it. Penny's cook 

books are full of notes like. “This was 

GREAT”, “IT SUCKED” “Lee never will eat 

it again !!” The next time you want to make the

recipe, you can review your notes for a great 

reminder. 

 

10) You can never have too many

MUSHROOMS

Welcome to kill it, cut it up and cook it. The 

whenever the hell I feel like it cooking blog for


us guys.

I have a friend who eats out every day.

Sometimes three times a day. I can just 

visualize all that money for crappy food and 

crappy service. Not to mention hours and 

hours of waiting in line to be seated, waiting 

for food to arrive, and waiting for a check. 

And the gas it takes to go back and forth. But 

the biggest reason I am here is because I 

realized that when I retire, I will no longer be 

able to afford to eat out as much as I did. 

 

My friend and I eat out every Wednesday 

night. We have done this since 2003. Even 

with a coupon it costs me fifty bucks. Although

we alternate picking up the check, it still costs 

me twelve hundred (1200.00) bucks a year. 


After 13 years I have spent approximately

$15,600 eating out. Not to mention the dinners 

and breakfasts when my wife and I go out. My 

friend and I combined have spent over $31,000

 eating out one night a week. Can you imagine

 eating out two or three times a day. Everyday!!

 Do the math !!! LEARN TO COOK

Don't get me wrong, my wife is a GOURMET 

cook. She cooks every day. I know she enjoys 

it, and now I have time to help. And to learn 

along the way. Cooking is something I always 

wanted to learn and soon I will have the time to

devote to learning this new craft. And I know 

there are many of you in the same predicament,

so let's learn together.

If we cook together, we will be able to treat

ourselves once a month and go out to a good

restaurant and ENJOY it. And we will do that 

here as well.. 

 

We are going to keep it simple. If you want 

fancy French crap, or food ending in “ese”, 

(Chinese, Vietnamese, Koreanese, or 

Mexicanese) go somewhere else. This is meat

and potato land guys. Simple food for us 

simple people. 

 

I will be getting help from my wife Penny, who

I'm sure will tell you everything I have done 

wrong and why the food will taste like 

cardboard. But maybe she will teach me a 

thing or two along the way. I do value her 

opinion. Even when she is wrong.

And since some people call me an

 “opinionated old cermedgion” I may throw in 

some 'commentary' every now and then.

 

So join us as we muddle through our small 

kitchen and the grocery store in our search for

that special meal. We will also go down the 

'beer' isle.