chicken – THE DUDE OF FOOD

Did someone say Chicken Cacciatore?

The old adage about ‘nice guys finish last’ comes to us from the world of baseball by Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher in 1946. In the cooking world it’s a bit different as a nice dish can finish first and be very popular among restaurant eaters. Having just returned from 2 weeks of hell in the Pacific Northwest I was craving a nice, easy home cooked meal and decided a chicken cacciatore style plate is what I’d like to eat to bring some joy back into my life.

Many things in life start with desire and once I set my taste buds on this plate my mind focused and this dish was easy to pull together.

Sauce is a big part of a pasta dish and making a good one from scratch usually takes the better part of a day or a second day to have it set right. The Dude of Food believes that sauce is always better the second day. I decided to cut corners and use Private Selection sauce made in Italy and distributed by Kroger of Cincinnati. I actually used 2 jars of sauce. The first jar was Porcini Arrabbiata and the second jar was Tomato and Black Truffle.

Below is the simple ingredient list and procedure for preparation.

Kroger Private Reserve sauce – 2 jars
1 Porcini Arrabbiata and 1 Tomato Black Truffle
1 chopped yellow onion
6 chopped garlic cloves
1 tray of rubbed chicken: 8 legs
salt
pepper

Mushrooms, grated carrots, celery, olives or any other favorites are ingredients that could also be added to this dish.

Start by chopping up the onion and garlic. Put a small amount of wine in a pan and warm. Once the wine has warmed, the alcohol will lift. Then add a little olive oil into the pan with a touch of butter, salt and the onions. Simmer the onions on low to medium heat. When the onions begin to clear up add the garlic and let them warm up together. Once the garlic has had a chance to expand and release its flavor it’s time to add the 2 jars of sauce. Stir, cover and let simmer on a low heat, stirring occasionally.

As the sauce does its magic it is time to start heating the rubbed chicken. Get another pan and add a small amount of olive oil and a touch of water and heat. As the pan heats add the 8 rubbed chicken legs, lightly salt and cover. Pan fry the chicken on stove top over low to medium heat. You are trying to heat the chicken thoroughly but not overcook it or dry out. Low and slow is the way to go.

Time to check the sauce and stir.

Next add a pot of water to the stove top to boil the pasta and begin to heat. Salt can be added to this water if you salt your pasta water. Some folks do.
Boil enough water for 1lb of fettuccine or your favorite noodle shape.

Now you have all the moving parts working and it’s time to clean up as you monitor and stir the heating pans.

The noodles will be ready first. Drain the pasta and add a little of the starch water to the sauce. Cover the drained noodles and let sit.

Once the sauce has simmered enough to be considered ready and the chicken is cooked enough to eat turn all of the heat off and prepare to plate these items.

Start by adding a lump of pasta in plate center.
Surround pasta lump with chicken legs.
Scoop sauce over noodles with plenty for the chicken too.
Sprinkle the top with grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

Bon appetit.

Historically delicious: Santa Cruz Chili & Spice Co

The boss of a film crew I was working with gave the 7 member’s of our team thoughtful homemade gift bags for Christmas.
One of the cool gifts in my bag included a bottle of Santa Cruz Chili & Spice Company Picante Sauce.
When used in a dish I discovered this product was pleasantly surprising and complimented the dish nicely. The flavor was unique and delicious. The bottle information said the company and sauce were located near my mom. I asked mom if she was familiar with this brand of sauce and she said she knew the brand and told me the family was a well respected part of the local business community. It turns out the granddaughter of the founders of Santa Cruz Chili & Spice Co and my mother had met her at an event somewhere in town in the past. My mom confirmed that the granddaughter was a very nice lady whose name is Jeanie England Neubauer.
Jeanie is the granddaughter of an international business agent named Beck Kibbey. Jeanie has done a great job maintaining the business her parents and another couple began in 1943. Her family roots are deep and have ties with the towns of Nogales, Arizona and across the border in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.
Her family history is amazing and the Anaheim chili became their friend. Gene England, Jeanie’s grand-father, had developed methods to stew and grind chili’s to make paste. They also ground chili pods down into powder for seasoning.
The folks at Santa Cruz Chili & Spice Co still support the family traditions of the founders and have employees generations deep maintaining these traditions.

Go visit their web page. https://santacruzchili.com/

The online sales page will show you the various sauces offered. Other pages will show that these folks support some really cool causes.
If you are near the Tucson area and headed to the Mexican border you can go visit the Santa Cruz Chili & Spice Co gift store in person which is located a few minutes south of Tubac. The drive from Tucson is roughly 60 miles and if you love chili, then it’s well worth the trip.

Santa Cruz Chili & Spice Company
1868 E. Frontage Road, Tumacacori, AZ 85640

520.398.2591
520.398.2592 Fax

Store Hours
8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Closed Sundays and holidays.

Muchas gracias Santa Cruz Chili & Spice Company

https://santacruzchili.com/

“Egg, chicken and potato salad is a delicious ‘super food’.” the Dude of Food

Body builders, fighters, athletes, nutritionists, historians, chefs, archivists and intelligent eaters everywhere all agree that eggs and chicken are good sources of protein and carbs are good for a body in motion. This group also would agree upon the fact that vegetables are good for folks. So when I mixed eggs, chicken, potatoes, celery and onions together, I made a super food. The recipe ingredients follow at the end of article.

I started by peeling, cubing and boiling 3 potatoes in salted water. I love my Oneida knife. I’m not endorsed by them but this knife and I have grown together in the kitchen and we both try to look good while staying sharp.

You can add steamed peas to the mix if you desire. If so now is the time to retrieve them from the freezer and steam a cup full of them. Once steamed, cover and let sit.

Next, time to chop the onions and celery, while warming the potatoes in water. I like to leave the onion a little chunkier and dice the celery up pretty small as you can see in the photo.

Peel and chop up the hard boiled eggs.

Remove the meat from the precooked chicken thighs.

Once the potatoes are cooked you need to drain them and return them to the hot pan. Add the chopped onions, celery, eggs and chicken to the warm potatoes. If you are adding peas, drain and add them now. Stir in the mayo, mustard, vinegar, relish and spices. No need to stir hard or use mixer as the potatoes are soft and will become mashed if you mix vigorously. It’s not bad, as some may prefer the texture, but personally I like the potatoes to maintain some of the cube shape. The taste is the same.

Once mixed you can enjoy warm with crackers or cool in fridge and enjoy in lettuce bowls or between toasted sourdough slices in the morning with a slice of cheese. It’s a bit like tapas and goes great with wine, anti pasta salads, appetizer trays, breakfast, snacks and parties.

Now getting back to the nutritional status of being called a ‘Super Food’. I think it certainly qualifies for the title as it tastes ‘Super’. The Dude of Food fully approves and recommends trying this. This new super food group deserves an all stars available rating and a Golden Fork Award if there any are to be given.

3 large gold potatoes
4 hard boiled eggs
4 chicken cooked thighs
3 chopped celery sticks
2 chopped green onion stalks
1/4 chopped white onion
3 spoon fulls of mayonnaise
3 circle squirt of yellow mustard
1 spoon full of dill relish
2 cap fulls apple cider vinegar
Add salt, pepper, paprika to your taste.

Additional options could include but certainly not limited to: avocado, peas, sour cream, ranch dressing or raisins. If you add grapes then we probably aren’t friends.

Enjoy, the Dude of Food

The Dude of Food likes Loveless Cafe Plain Ol’ Hot Sauce.

Off of Highway 100 in Nashville is a place called the Loveless Cafe. You may not be close enough to walk in but you can go to their web page and check out the stuff they make.

http://store.lovelesscafe.com/product/hot-sauce/sauce-seasoning

The Plain Ol’ Hot Sauce is one of the secret ingredients the Dude of Food adds to his homemade micheleada recipe. It adds the perfect amount of spice. Truth be told, the Dude of Food also likes Red Rooster from Louisiana hot sauce. They both go great in my micheladas and on my grits, greens, smothered chicken, gravy, stuffing and waffles.