Spicy Lady Saves the Day
It took a long time before I fell in love with chicken. I usually avoided chicken because it always seemed so dry. Desperate to impress my new husband, but trying to pinch pennies, I bought chicken thighs. At $1 per pound, I figured I could probably find a way to keep them juicy and not kill my new husband with salmonella. I'm still unsure if I succeeded at making a good chicken thigh or he was being a good newlywed husband and sufferring through the worst piece of chicken in his life, but he's alive so I know the salmonella didn't get him. My near obessive habit of watching cooking TV and youtube chefs brought me to a whole chicken. I was so enthralled with a recipe for a slow cooker whole chicken that I just had to give it a try. Eight hours after putting this beautiful bird into the slow cooker, I came home to a scene from Law and Order. A pale figure was semi-floating in murky, suspicious water. I attempted to retrieve the body, but eneed up pulling just bones out of the heavily seasoned hot tub. With the help of my trusty strainer, I pulled out MOST of the meat from the slow cooker. Unlike Law and Order, the night wasn't wrapped up with a tragic, but punny bow. The night required a call to the quickest Italian I know: Little Caesar. I'm still shocked how they translated black olive pizza from "uhm... I, uh... (high pitched wail) wwaaaahhhh (snort, sob) pullease..." One day, long after the nightmares stopped, I was watching Good Eats. On the episode, Alton Brown brined a turkey before roasting it. A renewed sense of "I can do that!" came over me. I decided the next Saturday to include a whole chicken on my shopping list, along with ingredients for a buttermilk brine and beer can chicken. Making the brine was simple: milk, vinegar, spices, olive oil, a shiz ton of salt, celery, carrots and onion. After rinsing and patting dry the chicken (and removing the included guts) I sank that chicken in the brine. About 18 hours later, I rubbed and beer canned the chicken and an hour later, was pleasantly surprised. The bird was so full of flavor and the most juicy chicken I'd ever scarfed down. Of course I got an "it's good" from my husband, but after I got back from a vacation a few weeks later, found out that he'd bragged about my beer can chicken to his dad, who is a master chef. No joke, he could cook the pants off Curtis Stone. (I've contacted Curtis's people and will let you know if I hear back.) The brine I used for my latest beer can chicken recipe is different because I'm attempting a gluten-free, dairy-free brine. I have a good friend who can't have gluten or dairy, although throw a beer at him and he'll suffer through, for a few hours at least. Since Save the Day Seasonings are gluten- and dairy- free, it's given me a good opportunity to test some recipes. So far, everything I've done is delicious. 1 gallon warm water 3/4 cup kosher salt 2/3 cup sugar 1/4 cup soy sauce or amino acids (not totally needed, but it adds some umami) 1/4 cup olive oil 1 1/2 tbsp Super Strong A.R.M. 1 tbsp Alvi's Incredible Mix it all together in a container large enough to hold your 2-4 pound chicken. Then make sure you've removed all the organs left in your bird and rinse it well before placing it in your brine, feet up. Let the bird soak for 12-24 hours before baking, grilling, or smoking (although I've yet to find rolling papers big enough...) Stay tuned for Part Two: Party Fowl
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Although this is a new blog, I'm ready for a confession... I'm a recovering Montreal Steak Seasoning addict. Over time, I started noticing it was kind of bland. I wanted some deep flavor, like a Texas Roadhouse rub. I tried a Copy Cat Texas Roadhouse recipe and it still didn't hit the spot. The minute I tasted Strong A.R.M, I knew I'd found the Droid I'd been looking for... spice rub, I mean spice rub I'd been looking for. Since there was some Friday preseason football on (Go Packers!), I thought steaks would be a winning idea. I wanted something easy for my steaks. I used top sirloin rubbed down with Save the Day Seasonings Strong A.R.M, a universal rub blend, and a splash of soy sauce and worcestershire sauce. While those beauties spent some time enjoying their rub down, I started on the most amazing oven fried potatoes. Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Add one tablesppon olive oil and two tablespoons butter. The key to this recipe is preheating the oven with the pan of olive oil and butter. it You can't see the olive oil but I promise it's there. Place the pan in the cold oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. While the preheating is going down, clean and cube four potatoes and place in bowl. Drizzle remaining one tablespoon on the potatoes and add one tablespoon of the Save the Day Seasoning of your choice. I went with Jamacian. Check the potatoes at 15 minutes. Don't move the potatoes around. They will have a perfectly crispy bottom at the end of 30 to 45 minutes. Right before they are done, I bunch them together on the pan and add cheese. Let them bake a few more minutes and you'll have the most delicious, easy potatoes.
After checking on the potatoes at 15 minutes, grill those delicious steaks to your liking. Then let those bad boys rest for at least ten minutes. Cut them too soon and you'll lose a ton of delicious juiciness. By the time the steaks were done, i was so hungry that I may ha e forgot my after picture... oops! I love beef. It is my favorite protein. There are so many things you can do with a good cut of beef. Recently, I've become obsessed with skirt steak and flank steak. Because it comes from the diaphragm muscle of the cow, skirt steak is very, VERY tough. Overcooking skirt steak results in a very chewy piece of meat. Skirt steak should be cooked rare to medium rare. It takes marinade very well and the addition of lime or pineapple juice helps to break down tough meat fibers. Flank steak comes from the bottom abdominal muscle region of the cow. Due to the hard-working muscles in the abdominal region, flank steak is another very tough cut of meat. Again, not overcooking your meat is the best way to ensure a delicious, tender piece of flank steak. Flank is exceptional for stuffed or pinwheel applications, as long a it is butterflied. In the photos below, you'll notice the only half of the flank steak in the process of rolling has the mushroom, onion, and spinach mixture. That's because my dear, sweet husband hates mushrooms and onions. This recipe is versatile enough that you can omit or add roll ingredients and still end up with a very impressive, dare I say mother-in-law worthy meal. For the potatoes, I just slice and pan-fried them with Alvi's Incredible, which is a seasoning salt blend. Flank Steak Pinwheels
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil. Heat one tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Sauté onions, mushrooms, and spinach until onions are caramelized, mushrooms are soft, and spinach is wilted. Drain excess liquid and set aside. Butterfly flank steak and pound as needed until flank steak is 0.5 inches thick. Spread softened cream cheese over flank steak, then sprinkle one tablespoon Alvi's Incredible* Save the Day Seasoning over the cream cheese. Add vegetable mix over the surface of the steak and cream cheese. Roll the flank steak tightly from the bottom, making sure the grain is running horizontally. Secure steak roll with skewers, about two inches apart. Sprinkle with one tablespoon Strong A.R.M.* Save the Day Seasoning and slice between each skewer. Sear both sides of each roll over medium high heat with remaining olive oil for two minutes, flip, and sear other side for one minute. Place rolls on prepared baking sheet and place in oven for 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 10 minutes. *Alvi’s or Strong Arm are recommended, but any Save the Day seasoning can be used. |
The Spicy LadyHi! My name is Amanda and I'm the Spicy Lady. I have had a love for cooking since I saw my first episode of Emeril. Although I've worked mainly in the customer service sector, my love of cooking and recipe development was sparked by a friend and I'm here to share my recipes! ArchivesCategories |