ROTISSERIE CHICKEN

It's football time, and today we are preparing a ROAST CHICKEN on our gas grill rotisserie.

This is probably the easiest recipe I have ever done, so it's perfect for a football Saturday.

If you want this for halftime you need to get it on the grill about 30 minutes before the game starts.

So let's get started

First of all you need a 4-5 lb ROASTER chicken. Now this depends on your grill and how much room you need. In my case, the chicken was too big to use a drip pan. So I just threw some foil underneath the chicken. So look at your grill carefully.

Or you can use a smaller chicken if you so desire. Just adjust the cooking time accordingly.

Blot chicken with paper towels

Remove the innards from the cavities.

Reminds me of the time my ex mother in law made a huge turkey and forgot to take the innards out of the bird. Funny thing was, the next year the innards were in the other end and she cooked it that way as well. Funny story, but I digress.

Save these for making broth

Cut a half lemon in half. Put in cavity along with a slab of butter (seasoned butter 3 TBL)

Cut off the wing tips. Other wise they will burn

Put in fridge for 1 hour

Tie up the wings and legs

Baste with chicken broth and salt & pepper

Place on your Rotisserie, according to the directions that came with your grill

Try get your grill temp to 350. NO HIGHER

I turned gas to low and cooked for 2 hours

Baste with chicken broth after every touchdown. If the game goes flaky, baste every 15 to 20 minutes.

When internal temp hits 170 take off and remove from Rotisserie.

Cover with foil and placed in oven, while you get the rest of your feast set up. 

Internal Temp should rise on it's own to 180

This could not have been any easier. Great meal for any weekend. You can also good this in the oven as well. More on that later.

Cut it up and eat it.

My timing worked out just fine, far better than the Gators.

Goes with the Potato Salad we made this morning, as well as some Lima beans.

Great dinner but lousy games. Florida, Ball State and F.S.U. All lost.

But the beer was good

POTATO SALAD

You say POTATOE, I SAY POTATO... Who cares, let's eat !!!!

It's college football season. It's my favorite time of year because it leads into BASKETBALL season. (GO GATORS !!!)

So we are featuring some foods that go well during half time. Or while watching the Indy 500.

I love Potato Salad. It's a great summer time picnic treat, and is EASY to make.

Today we are making Chicken on the rotisserie , and Potato Salad. First up is the Tater Salad as this needs to be made ahead of time.

We have plenty of time as Florida, Ball State, and Florida State all play the late afternoon game.

Let's get it going. 

Here are your ingredients...

3 LBS RED SMALL POTATOES

¼ CUP DILL PICKLE JUICE

¼ CUP SWEET PICKLES (CUT UP SMALL)

1 CUP MAYONNAISE TO START

½ CUP OF CELERY CUT UP

2 TSP YELLOW MUSTARD

½ TSP SALT & ½ TSP OF PEPPER

9-12 HARD BOILED EGGS CUT IN BITE SIZE – ¼ OR ½)

½ TSP CELERY SEED

½ TSP CELERY SEED (GROUND UP)

Here we go. It's easy !!!!

Boil potatoes whole until done. Have a beer while you wait. (DO NOT OVER COOK THESE BABIES) When you can insert a fork into one and get no resistance, they are ready.

Drain and put on cookie sheet on top of paper towels

After they cool for a bit. Cut into desired size. Size is a personal matter. (OK, get your dirty mind out of the gutter)

I cut these in half. You might like yours a bit smaller. It's up to you.

Did we talk about knife safety? Guess not.

Mix Mustard and Pickle Juice in a glass container

Sprinkle the potatoes with pickle juice, and mustard and add some pepper

Place potatoes in bowl with eggs, celery & pickles

Add Mayo & Mustard

Add ½ TSP Celery Seed

Add ½TSP Ground up Celery Seed

STIR GENTLY (very gently)

Salt & Pepper to taste.

You can also add more Mayo if needed. I had to add more.

REFRIGERATE … Have another beer

You can add more MAYO to taste...

Goes great with burgers, hot dogs, or any kind of samwitch.

And we are ready for kick off !!!

Next up, we'll fire up the gas grill and do in a big ass chicken.

Enjoy

LOOSE MEAT SANDWICH with GROUND BEEF AND CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP

It was a noon kick off for the Gators this past weekend. It was a busy weekend as we were also packing for a few days R & R over in St. Augustine. 

So it's a quick half time lunch for us this week, and one of my favorites.

It's yet another Loose Meat Sandwich and is so damn easy, you'll wonder why you never made it before today.

Here is all you need

1 POUND GROUND CHUCK

1/4 CUP ONION

1/4 CUP GREEN PEPPER

8 oz MUSHROOMS

1 can Cream of Chicken condensed soup

and of course a cold beer

Its game time, and I am ready !!!!

 

OK, it's halftime, so lets get to cooking !!!

 

SAUTE MUSHROOMS THEN SET ASIDE IN A BOWL

SAUTE BEEF UNTIL BROWN THEN DRAIN GREASE

ADD ONIONS AND PEPPERS IN PAN CONTINUE TO SAUTE

Don't see the onions and green peppers ? That's cause dum dum forgot them.

WHEN BEEF IS BROWNED, SIMMER FOR JUST A MINUTE.

ADD MUSHROOMS AND  CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP AND STIR.

HEAT TO DESIRED TEMPERATURE

SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE

SERVE ON BUNS WITH CHIPS

We served ours with our standard baked Bean recipe. And a beer.

Really dude, you can't get it any easier. Give it a shot. You'll thank me later.

Now back to the game

GATORS WIN !!!  38-24  Bring on L.S.U.

CHICKEN AL LA KING

As I mentioned, I have a friend coming over for our bi weekly Wednesday Night Dinner.

I have the little Apple Pies all ready to go, and now it's time for the main dish.

This is another one I found on my ROKU Player from Foodwishes.com

It's Chicken A LA King.

http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/search?q=CHICKEN+A+LA+KING

I found this to be VERY similar to a POT PIE my wife makes. I love it.

In the video, Chef John serves this over Mashed Potatoes. I thought that was interesting. So let's try it. Maybe we should have some biscuits on the side?

Here is what you will need. There is a bit of preparation for this meal, so take your time and get all your stuff ready to go BEFORE you start cooking.

Ingredients for two large, or four small portions:

6 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/2 pound sliced mushrooms

2 large shallots, minced

1 cup diced sweet bell peppers

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/3 cup to 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, depending on how thick you want it

1/4 cup dry sherry (there is no substitute, except maybe a little splash of a mild,

sweeter vinegar)

3 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

pinch of cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons fresh thyme

1 tablespoon Italian parsley

1/3 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream

4 cups cubed roasted chicken

fresh chives to garnish

I added:

½ cup of Frozen Peas

1 whole carrot chopped

Couple of shakes of Celery seed

1 Stock of chopped Celery

how to make

As always, I start with a cold refreshing adult beverage

For the chicken, we bought two pre cooked roasted chickens at the store. We removed the meat and chopped it into bite size pieces. 

All the left over meat we will freeze and the bones and stuff we will use to make broth.

Add butter to pan and melt on medium high

When butter is melted, add Mushrooms & a pinch of salt

Salute then cook for 5 minutes

Add Onions, Celery & carrots

Turn to Medium to make a roux

Add Flour and cook for 5 minutes.

KEEP STIRING

Add Peppers and Sherry and cook for 1 minute

Add your chicken stock

Set burner to medium high

When mixture 'bubbles', turn to medium low

Cook for 15 minutes

 

Add Fresh Nutmeg, Paprika, some ground Pepper and Celery seed

Stir and add Thyme & Parsley

Stir and add Cream and the Chicken Pieces

Reduce Heat to LOW and cook for another 5-10 minutes

See how easy it looks? Just have your crap together when you start and follow the bouncing ball.

(I watched WAY TOO much Mitch Miller when I was a kid.)

Full disclosure. I used pre made mashed potatoes. I know, I know. It's against my norm, but I wanted this to be easy for you.

 This is not what I used, bit it's close enough. I forgot to take a close up.

 

 I also used the Pop N Fresh tube stuff.

SO sue me. But enjoy the dinner first, before you call your Lawyer.

Next up is tomorrows Game Day Lunch. Loose meat sandwiches, with chips and baked beans. See you next week

MINI APPLE PIES

It's mid week and sunny here in Central Florida. It's a busy day as I have company coming for our bi weekly Wednesday night dinner. 

It gives me a chance to try out some new things and tonight is no exception.

Tonight we are dining on Chicken A La King on Mashed Taters and Biscuits. Also our usual salad.

But I thought I would change it up a bit with a nice desert. One that is quick and easy.

I love pie, it's one of my favorite things. 

Some day I'll tell you my favorite pie story, but that's for another blog. Anyway, I was messing with my ROKU player the other day, and I found the “ONE POT CHEF.”

https://www.youtube.com/user/OnePotChefShow    (I LOVE THE AUSTRALIAN ACCENT)

In looking at his shows I found one on MINI APPLE PIES. They looked so damn good, my mouth was watering and I could not wait to get into the kitchen.

I have to be honest, his theme was 'cheating in the kitchen'. In other words he used pre made pastry dough and pre made pie filling.

Since pre made Pie Filling is grounds for divorce in our house, I had to compromise with pre made pastry dough and HOME made filing.

 

I am making these early, so let's go to the kitchen and get this bus a rollin'.

Don't forget your beer.

First, the FILLING

3 GRANNY SMITH APPLES

½ LEMON ZEST

1/8 TSP GRATED NUTMEG

JUICE OF ½ LEMON

¼ TSP SALT

1 TSP CINNAMON

¼ CUP SUGAR

¼ CUP BROWN SUGAR

Do I need to tell you to peel the damn things first?

CUT APPLES INTO SMALL PIECES AND ADD THE ABOVE

INGREDIENTS.

STIR

ADD 3 TBL PIE THICKENER, AND STIR

MICROWAVE ON HIGH FOR 3 MIN

STIR

MICROWAVE FOR 3 MORE MINUTES

SHOULD BE SOFT BUT NOT OVER COOKED

MAKE THE DOUGH (THAW IT OUT)

TWO SHEETS OF PASTRY DOUGH CUT INTO 8 EVEN PIECES

Depending on the thickness of the dough, you might want to roll it out a bit. I thought my dough came out a bit too think, so I will try it next go around. And there will be a next go around.

PRESS PASTRY INTO MUFFIN TIN (CAREFULLY)

FILL WITH THE APPLE MIXTURE

ADD A SMALL PAT OF BUTTER

FOLD PASTRY OVER, THEN PINCH TO SEAL

GLAZE

WHISK ONE EGG IN A SMALL BOWL, AND BRUSH THE TOPS OF EACH PIE .

SPRINKLE TOPS WITH CINNAMON SUGAR

(2 TBL SUGAR & ½ TSP OF CINNAMON)

BAKE AT 400 DEGREES FOR 20-25 MIN UNTIL GOLDEN BROWN

HINT: IF THERE ARE ARE “UN USED” SPACES IN THE MUFFIN PAN, FILL ½ WAY WITH WATER

And yes, that is a 'flip fold'. Thank you Sheldon Cooper. We use the laundry room to cool baked goods. (we have dogs and cats)

These min pies can be served warm or cold. I opted for cold with a scoop of Ice Cream.

(IT'S NOT BURNT, THAT'S THE CINNAMON)

But that was after I tried a warm one..... (I couldn't wait).

Damn they were good.

Here is a link to David's blog. Check him out. 

http://onepotchef.blogspot.com/

B.T.W.,    Notice his small stove. If he can turn out these kind of meals, it proves that it's not the size of the kitchen that matters. It's the person standing in front of it.

Next up, we'll tackle the main entree. Chicken A La King.

But first, I need a beer.