Orzo With Sausage, Peppers & Tomatoes

I'm back from vacation. Well, I think I'm back from vacation, it took Delta Airlines so long to get me home I can't really recall what I was doing in Arizona.

Does it really take 15 hours to fly from Phoenix to Michigan? I know we had to stop and change planes in Minneapolis, or maybe it was Osaka, but more than half a day? Really?

We were traveling on MONDAY! That's right, not the Sunday at the end of Spring Break, but Monday. SSSal travelled on Sunday and was bumped along with 14 other people. Fifteen ticket holders refused a seat and mollified with a $400 travel voucher, $10 meal ticket and a hotel room for the night. That's an airline giving away $6,150+ to not fly!

When CrabCake 2 and I got to the airport Monday things were no better. The airport was already packed with bumped-grumpy travelers stuffing themselves with indifferent burritos and tepid hamburgers. When exactly did the airport turn into the bus station?

The thing is, we actually had it pretty good; some poor saps trying to get to Salt Lake City had been bumped twice and had no real prospect of getting home before Tuesday. Folks, you can drive from Salt Lake City to Phoenix and back in 24 hours!! "Delta, we love to fly and it shows."

The high point came when the gate agent announced that the latest SLC flight was full and the 20 people waiting standby wouldn't be making this plane and that the next flight had an "equipment change" to a smaller plane so they wouldn't be making that flight either.

Delta, their slogan should be "Delta Air Lines. We love to fly, just not with you on-board."

Ah well, vacation was nice, I think. I'll try and remember some stories for the next post. Since Delta had packed the planes like a cases of sausages I searched for an appropriate recipe. Orzo with Sausage. Peppers & Tomatoes is a Giada DeLaurentiis recipe that fits the bill. Alright, the food will be served in sections, please wait for your plate to be called, enjoy...

Orzo with Sausage, Peppers & Tomatoes

from Giada DeLaurentiis

3 roasted red peppers, rinsed, seeded and chopped

1 pound orzo pasta

3 cups chicken stock

3 cups water

1 TBSP kosher salt

2 TBSP olive oil

7 ounces (about 2 links) mild Italian Turkey Sausage, casings removed and crumbled

1 clove garlic, minced

2 plum tomatoes, chopped

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional

2 TBSP chopped fresh leaf parsley

Salt & Pepper to taste

1/2 cup ricotta salata cheese, crumbled

In a medium saucepan bring the chicken stock, water and kosher salt to a boil over high heat.

Add the orzo and cook until firm-tender, approximately 8-10 minutes.

While the pasta is cooking, in a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and saute until cooked through, about 10-12 minutes. Add the garlic and saute an additional minute.

Add the bell peppers, red pepper flakes and chopped tomatoes. Saute an additional 2 minutes.

Before draining the pasta, reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Transfer the drained orzo to a large bowl. Add the sausage and vegetable mixture along with the parsley. Adjust the seasoning. Toss all the ingredients adding as much of the reserved cooking liquid as needed to loosen the pasta.

Top with the crumbled ricotta and serve.

OK, this meal is much better than the stuff you'll get on any plane at at any airport. I think you need to double the amount of sausage for this recipe to really work, but it's a great bring along to your next pot luck or picnic.

Until next time crablings, remember, you can do it, you can cook; just make sure your armrests, seat back and tray tables are in their full upright and locked positions.

Chicken Thighs with Balsamic Onion & Leek Relish

Your long nutritional nightmare is over, I have returned.

Now, I could tell you that I have come back from roaming the desert, hirsute and messianic, but that wouldn't be exactly accurate. I could tell you that I've been on a sabbatical, contemplating ways to redesign and improve this page, but that would be a lie as well.

The truth is that for the last few weeks I've been throwing the internet equivalent of a hissy fit. That's right, I've been sitting in the corner with my pot and pan and pouting. For over 200 hundred posts, I've given you stories and recipes, trivial entertainment and food. What have I gotten in return?

That's right - Nothing.

No love. No hate. Barely a word. Ever!

I'm not doing this for the spare change that traffic generates. I'm obviously not doing it for the fame or else I'd let you know who I am. No, I do this because I like to write and I like to cook. But here's the catch - I can do all that without coming here! I don't have to post, I'll still have stories, I'll still eat. Without some feedback from CrabNation it feels like I'm just shouting at the ocean.

Well that changes today! I may be your Doyen of the Dinner Table, your King of the Cuisinart, but I am not simply some Pretty Pooh-Bah of Pot Roast. I need feedback. I don't care if you love the recipes or hate them. I don't care if you find my stories humorous, touching or offensive. I do care if you are breathing.

I am all things Crabby! I am Lord and Master of all I survey. I am your Suzerain of The Saute Pan. I am a benevolent tyrant but I still expect fealty. My initial idea was to demand annual tribute in the form of a jewel encrusted bird, a falcon, but SSSal felt that excessive. So instead I have deigned to give you one more chance. I will write, you will comment. That's the deal. Google accounts are free and anonymous. If you possess the computer expertise to visit this site then you possess the technical ability necessary to leave a note.

In an effort to show that I am merciful, today I give you a recipe that is easy and comes with a touch of sweetness. Chicken Thighs with Balsamic Onion & Leek Relish was a huge hit with CC2. Please enjoy...

Chicken Thighs with Balsamic Onion & Leek Relish

adapted and adjusted by Crabby from Cooking Light

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 leek, white & some light green parts, thoroughly cleaned and chopped

1 pound sweet onion such as Vidalia, diced

4 ( 6 ounce ) boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/4 teaspoon fennel seed

1/4 teaspoon dried sage

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

5 teaspoons Balsamic Vinegar, divided

Chopped parsley, for garnish

Heat the oil in a large non-stick saute pan over medium heat.

When hot, saute the onions until they are soft and golden, about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken and seasonings to the pan and sprinkle with 4 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar.

Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes or until chicken is done.

Uncover, increase heat to high and cook until liquid is nearly evaporated.

Remove from heat, sprinkle with the last teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and serve over steamed Jasmati or Texmati rice.

There, that wasn't so bad was it.

Alright, now it's your turn. Even after all this time, remember, you can do it, you can cook.

Honey-Ginger Chicken

First "real" frost of the year this morning. Oh, we've had a few frosts already, but they've mostly been the cover your plants variety. Last night was a good old-fashioned 25 degree turn the lawn white and crunchy frost.

I know that this frost was a manly frost because of the Pooch. During the week I get up early to get the newspaper and walk him. Most days it's still quite dark and I carry a flashlight to find the paper, warn passing drivers and illuminate a spot for him to "do his business".

I suspect we make quite a sight. Me shabbily bundled against the cold with a spectral light weaving in time to my stride suddenly stopping on the shadowy image of a slightly embarrassed canine trying to get a little privacy. Most days we dawdle a bit. He sniffs for deer, I yawn listening for sleepy drivers speeding down our street. But not today.

Today it was downright cold. Pooch hit the grass and it looked like he wanted to raise all four paws at once. This made for a difficult time trying to "get things done", especially when it came to squatting. Every time the little guy got set, another blade of ice cold grass hit him in just the right spot. He'd jump up and shuffle to a new location only to spring up again. He looked like a chicken scratching at the ground looking for a little comfort.

Of course that reminded me of a chicken dinner from a few weeks back. Honey-Ginger Chicken Breasts is one of those meals that ends up looking complicated on the plate, but is actually very easy to prepare. The key as always is to try and maximize marinating time. The reserved marinade gets boiled to kill off any nasties and then you add a thickener to get it to set up nicely

Honey-Ginger Chicken

adapted from Cooking Light

Marinade

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup orange juice

2 TBSP freshly grated ginger

1 TBSP lemon juice

1 TBSP cider vinegar

2 TBSP soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon orange zest

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

4 cloves garlic minced

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Combine all the ingredients into a re-sealable bag and shake well to distribute. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and preferably overnight, turning occasionally.

Additional Ingredients

1 TBSP cooking oil

1 TBSP cornstarch

1 TBSP water

Sesame seeds, for garnish

Chopped scallions, for garnish

Remove the chicken from the re-sealable bag and SAVE the marinade.

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. When hot add the cooking oil. Place the chicken breasts in a single layer in the pan and cook for 7-8 minutes. Turn the chicken and cook for an additional 7 minutes.

Transfer the chicken from the pan to a serving plate and lightly cover with aluminum foil.

While the chicken is resting, strain the marinade and discard any solids. Pour the remaining marinade into a small saucepan and boil or 3 minutes. As the marinade boils combine the cornstarch and water into a thin slurry.

After boiling for three minutes add the slurry and cook for an additional minute. The sauce will thicken.

Slice the breasts, arranging pieces on individual plates. Spoon some sauce atop the chicken and then garnish with sesame seeds and scallions pieces.

OK crablings, this is actually a very easy recipe. Well, now that the sun's been up for a few hours, the Pooch is looking to go back out at a more leisurely pace. Until next time, remember you can do it, you can cook.

Chicken Thigh Stew with Sweet Potatoes

Years ago when I was but a fledgling crabby cook, I was working for a major multinational computer company. Back then they hired college grads by the dozen, dumped them into an outpost on the frontier of commerce and waited to see what happened.

The result was an environment of creativity, aggressive thought and even more aggressive partying. But old college habits die hard and when Thanksgiving rolled around people assumed they could just buzz out on Tuesday and be back at their desk on Monday. Well it didn't and doesn't work that way in the real world. When a group of us realized we wouldn't be able to get home for Thanksgiving and be back at our jobs on Friday!!, we decided to have our own feast.

On paper this made all the sense in the world. Surely a group of college educated individuals could cook a turkey, mash some potatoes and whip up some gravy. Well by now you can guess that things didn't quite turn out that way. The bird had to be the greasiest thing Farmer Brown had ever created. There was a pool of fat floating atop the drippings sufficient to heat a three bedroom house for 6 months.

Lacking the utensils to skim this amount of fat we were left to our own creative devices. Somehow, in the stupor of a few glasses of wine, we fell upon an idea to use iceberg lettuce leaves (the only lettuce widely available back in the day, no fancy Romaine then) to scoop off the fat. This works fine for two scoops, or until the heat of the grease cooks the leaves, wilting them into a greasy, green mess. Two heads of lettuce later and the roasting pan still looked like the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez, but now with floating green bits.

In spite of that disaster, the meal became a tradition of sorts and I went on to internet fame and no fortune as a CrabbyCook. I still believe in creativity, but I admit to having more kitchen gizmos than I could possibly use. So stick to the basics, cook the ingredients the fridge gives you and remember there's always tomorrow's meal.

Today's recipe is one of my "boy it's late in the day, what am I making for dinner tonight" meals. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs can be substituted for just about any stew recipe you care to try. They cook up faster, but also taste great if you have the time to let them stew for a few hours. Please enjoy...

Chicken Thigh Stew with Sweet Potatoes

by CrabbyCook

1 TBSP olive oil

1 large sweet onion, sliced

1 small hot (jalapeno type) pepper, seeded, deveined and diced

1 sweet pepper (yellow or red), chopped

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 1/2 cups chopped carrots

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch cubes

1 14 ounce can tomatoes sauce

1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes

1 cup red wine

1 cup low sodium beef broth

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon fennel seed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 cup frozen peas

Heat oil in a dutch oven (Le Creuset) over medium heat.

Add onions and cook for 3 minutes. Add the hot and sweet peppers and saute an additional minute.

Add all the other ingredients except the frozen peas. Bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours.

Add frozen peas during the last 10 minutes.

Serve in bowls over rice.

OK, the thing about this recipe is that it's a great way to clean out the pantry. This meal is perfect for a cold autumn night.

Alright crablings, I'm outta here, remember, iceberg lettuce is a lousy fat skimmer and, you can do it you can cook.

Panko-Pesto Crusted Chicken Thighs

CrabCake1 has returned for a short visit before the start of his final semester of college. This is cause for great joy around the house as well as some consternation.

You see, it's tough enough keeping an adequate supply of food in the house what with Crabcake2 being a teenager. Adding a fit, 6'2", 175 pound male to the dinner table pretty much insures that the weekly food bill is going to approach the gross national product of a small island nation. I don't so much forage for food as I forklift it into the SUV.

Nearly every night I pop awake around 2AM because of the beeping of the microwave. Taco Bell may have a "fourth meal", but that's for amateurs, at Crab Central we think in terms of constant free feeding. Ahhh to be young again with the metabolism of an Indy Race car during Memorial Sunday.

The easiest, tastiest meal I can have lying around for CCs 1 & 2 is chicken. Since they are both into speed consumption, I tend toward the boneless cuts, (because the stuff cooks up fast). Panko-Pesto Crusted Chicken Thighs relies on a few simple i.e., store bought ingredients. Store bought basil pesto adds the flavor and Panko bread crumbs add a little crunch. Panko is an Asian style breadcrumb. They are a little larger that the standard milled-sawdust you usually see. Of course if you can't find Panko, sawdust will work just fine; enjoy...

Panko-Pesto Chicken Thighs

by Crabby

8 boneless-skinless chicken thighs (boneless, skinless breasts can be used instead)

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup prepared basil pesto

1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

In a large bowl combine the Panko-style bread crumbs and the pesto to form a thick paste.

Add the chicken thighs to the bowl and aggressively press the paste into the meat, covering as much of the chicken flesh as possible.

Drizzle the olive oil over the thighs and gently toss to cover. Re-apply any paste that may have fallen off.

Cover and refrigerate the chicken thighs for at least an hour and preferably overnight.

Remove the chicken from the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to grilling. Lightly salt and pepper the thighs.

Preheat your grill to medium.

When hot, place a sheet of aluminum foil atop the grill.

Transfer the chicken to the aluminum foil and grill, turning once, until done, approximately 10 minutes total cooking time.

Really this is so easy. It cooks fast and using the aluminum foil sheet, keeps the crust from sticking to the grate and burning.

I'm outta here crablings, got to find a side a beef to prepare for CCs 1 & 2. Until next time remember, you can do it, you can cook.

Rotisserie Chicken

A lot went on last weekend.

A lot of driving. A lot of eating. A lot of people. A celebration of a lot of years.

The Crabby family went "Up North" this last weekend. (Author's Note: Up North is a euphemism especially popular in states like Minnesota and Michigan. It refers to a watery-woodsy area at least 3 hours drive away that is plagued by mosquitoes, lousy TV reception and no wi-fi.). We were there to celebrate SSSal's father's 84th birthday, that's a lot of years.

Twelve members of the family came in for the event. Unless the name of your home includes the word "-Dome", 14 people and 2 dogs is a lot under one roof. But, thanks to the weather gods, we had a beautiful lakeside Saturday. There was swimming, boat rides and even a few sea plane trips. Better yet, with all the great outdoors to work with there was plenty of room to keep from getting on each others nerves.

Crabby cooked of course, but not for the birthday party itself. JeanneBean asked for some rotisserie chickens to feed the hordes on Friday night. So Wednesday and Thursday became cooking days at Crabby Central. I prepped and grilled 4 chickens. That's right, roughly 18 pounds of pullets, Rhode Island Reds and Frank Perdues. Normally if I'm roasting that much poultry I'm wearing a Pilgrim hat and walking around with a blunderbuss, but not this time.

Everyone seemed to love the birds, so I decided to publish the rub mix I used. Now I've tried to downsize the proportions to work with 1 chicken but I may be a little off. Anyway, it's a good start, so let's all enjoy...

Crabby's Rotisserie Chicken

by Crabby

1 Roasting Chicken (about 4 pounds)

1 TBSP kosher salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 TBSP dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1 TBSP herbs de provence

Rind of 1 lemon, grated

Juice of 1 lemon, (save the flesh)

1 TBSP cooking oil

In a large bowl combine the salt, pepper, brown sugar, chili powder, paprika and Herbs de Provence. Mix the dry ingredients well.

Add the lemon juice and oil to the dry ingredients and mix to form a paste.

Loosen the breast skin of the chicken and insert a small amount of the paste. Take the remaining paste and massage into the chicken. This is a messy process, so you may want to do it in your kitchen sink.

Insert the lemon pieces into the chicken cavity and place the bird into a large zipper top bag.

Refrigerate overnight.

Remove the chicken 30 minutes prior to the start of grilling.

Preheat your rotisserie burner on high, and place a drip pan beneath where the bird will be spinning.

Truss the chicken using kitchen twine and then insert the spit rod through the bird, using the rotisserie forks to firmly secure the chicken.

Roast the bird until done; depending on the size total roasting time will vary from 1 hour 15 minutes to 2 hours.

When done (thigh temperature of 180 degrees), transfer the chicken to a cutting board and allow it to rest at least 15 minutes before carving.

Carve and serve.

OK crablings, this is a slow meal, but you can prepare multiple chickens to feed a big crowd or to have plenty of leftovers. Also the drippings trapped in the pan can be used as part of the thickener for a quick gravy.

I'm out for now, until next time remember, you can do it, you can cook.

Leftover Lo Mein

Dog days. Three dog night.

Both of those sayings refer to weather (and yes, I know the second one is a reference to a vapid and tedious '70s "rock" band). Dog Days refers to the long, sultry stretch of summer running from early July to early September. For me it's always meant the three "H"s - Hazy, Hot and Humid. It's the time of year you don't so much wear your clothing, as much as it swaddles you like a wet warm towel.

A "three dog night" on the other hand, means it's so cold that you resort to using your pets as heating elements. I think the phrase comes from outdoor types getting caught out on cold nights and trying to survive by cuddling with their dogs.

Well this summer in Michigan the "dog days" are fast becoming "three dog nights". Hot humid days have been few and far between. The nights have been in the 50's and the family pooch wants to know why he's being allowed to sleep in King & Queen Crabby's bed. The spin doctors (also a band) have changed the name from "global warming" to "climate change", good thing, because there's no warming in sight.

Well the dog days can also refer to my cooking. Normally this time of year, I open the fridge door and stand there for a while. Of course normally I'm trying to cool off, but I'm also searching for inspiration. It's a must go time of year. Well here's my latest "must-go" creation.

Leftover Lo Mein is designed to freshen up things you find in the fridge that just have to go before they decide to go bad on their own. It's a fast and simple recipe, relying on a quick Asian style sauce to punch up the flavors. If you have fresh vegetables, use them, but frozen work just fine. Enjoy...

Leftover Lo Mein

by Crabby

1 package (9 - 12 ounces) Soba Noodles (for this recipe I prefer whole wheat to buckwheat Soba)

Leftover pork, beef or chicken meat, diced

2 cups total of assorted vegetables (peas, carrots, red peppers and corn work especially well)

2 scallions sliced thinly

1 TBSP cooking oil

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

2 TBSP soy sauce

1 TBSP oyster sauce

2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 1/2 TBSP cornstarch

Prepare the soba noodles according to the package instructions. When done cooking, rinse the noodles under cold running water and allow to drain. Set aside.

If you are using frozen vegetables, place them in a colander and run them under warm water until they are slightly thawed. Alternatively, microwave them for 1/2 the recommended cooking time listed on the package. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the chicken stock, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil and cornstarch. Mix well to fully dissolve the cornstarch. Set aside.

Using a large saute pan, heat the cooking oil over high heat for 60 seconds. When hot, add the meat and all vegetables, except the scallions. Saute for 90 seconds tossing occasionally.

After 90 seconds add the cooked soba noodles and toss to combine.

Mix the sauce once again to distribute the cornstarch and immediately add to the saute pan.

Bring to a boil while stirring the ingredients. The sauce will usually thicken within 60 seconds.

Remove from the heat, scatter the chopped scallions atop the noodles and serve.

I have to tell you crablings, this is such a simple recipe and the crowds love it. If you only have beef leftovers then I'd swap the chicken stock for beef stock.

OK, it's raining again, and we aren't going to get to 85 degrees for the foreseeable future, so I'm off to find some pot roast recipes. Until next time, just remember, you can do it, you can cook.

Cider Adobo

I haven't got a clue what to write about.

Some of you bop in here for the recipes. Others of you drop by to read the stories. Both can be easy. Both can be insurmountably hard. Today it's the story.

I keep an inventory of prepared recipes and photos that I pick and choose from. Sometimes a story reminds me of a meal, sometimes the meal jogs a story idea. Today, nothing. I have an ocean of photos, an encyclopedia's worth of recipes, an embarrassment of food, but "I got nothin'".

Maybe it's because of the long weekend. Maybe it's because of the heat. Maybe my brain is just empty.

That would explain the dull echoing sound.

So today I'm going to steal from the newspaper columnists. I'm going to write about nothing. It's the oldest trick in the book. Got nothing to write about? Write about nothing! No talk about Federer winning an epic match; no blithering about Palin quitting in mid-stream. Nothing.

Sigh, maybe the dog wants to go for another walk...

Sometimes cooking is like my brain: bereft of creative ideas. The easiest solution is to take something "normal" and add a different twist. That is the easy part - start fire, put meat on fire, turn over, eat. The twist, not so easy. Well, I scoured my cookbooks and print outs and found Cider Adobo. It fits today's conundrum of trying to make pate out of chopped liver. This sauce gives grilled meats a nice sweet-sour bite. Enjoy...

Cider Adobo

from Cowboy In The Kitchen by Grady Spears & Robb Walsh

3/4 cup red wine

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup apricot preserves

1/4 cup honey

2 TBSP packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon peeled & minced fresh ginger

1 scallion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Place all the ingredients in a large heavy pan and stir well to combine.

Place the pan over medium-high heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Pay attention, this sauce has a desire to boil over!

When boiling, reduce heat to medium and cook the adobo uncovered until it reduces by half; this will take approximately 20 - 25 minutes.

The sauce should have a syrupy consistency.

Serve with grilled meats, especially game (quail, duck, pheasant), pork and chicken.

Refrigerated, the adobo will keep for about 5 - 7 days.

See nothing to it. You can barely call it cooking - put stuff in pot, boil, don't let it boil over, reduce, cool eat. But in the end you've added another taste weapon to your arsenal.

OK crablings, time to go. Until next time, remember you can do it, you can cook.

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Spiced Yogurt

Do as I say, not as I do!

Do as I say, not as I do!

"Don't cry for me I'm in Argentina." - adapted for Gov. Mark Sanford, (R-SC) from the play Evita.

Just when the dog days of summer were about to start, a gift from the political gods. Yesterday, after a 7-day "hiking trip", Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC) admitted to the world that he was having an affair with an Argentine "friend". Now crablings, I've heard it called a lot of things, but never a "hiking trip”; and face it, Argentina is one long hike.

The conservative politician tearfully admitted the error of his ways. A staunch advocate of “family values”, he apparently got into trouble by valuing someone else’s family a little too much. But, believe it or not, I’m not here to pile on Mark Sanford. It's just that his transgression reminded me of one from many years ago.

No discussion of political affairs involving Argentines (yeah!, like you knew there was more than one), would be complete without at least a brief mention of Rep. Wilbur Mills (D-ARK) and the young Argentine (!) stripper Annabelle Battistella. Of course most of us remember her as "The Argentine Firecracker" Fanne Fox.

In October, 1974 the world was shocked when one-time Presidential candidate Mills was stopped for driving while intoxicated. The drunk, battered and scratched Mills was pulled over by Park Service Police. As he slowed his car, Ms. Fox jumped from the vehicle and dove into the Tidal Basin in an effort to escape.

While it probably seemed like a good idea at the time, Ms. Fox was quickly apprehended and the media frenzy was on. But unlike today’s politicians, Wilbur Mills didn’t shy away from being seen with his paramour, if anything he seemed to revel in being photographed with young Fanne. Ultimately Mills would be forced to resign, and Fox’s stripping career briefly “took off”.

Now that's a scandal! No crocodile tears shed at staged press conferences. No pained expressions on suffering spouses. Sex and booze, booze and sex. Drunk Congressmen and swimming South American strippers, that's what I'm talking about! The new guys are amateurs.

Do as I say, not as I do!

Well, we obviously need something spicy to go with this story. This news story broke so quickly that I don't have an Argentine recipe ready, so here's the best I have in inventory. Grilled Chicken Breasts with Spiced Yogurt has a Indian/Middle Eastern feel to it. The original recipe produced a very spicy result so the recipe you see here has been toned down a bit. Please enjoy...

Grilled Chicken Breast with Spiced Yogurt

Inspired by CDKitchen with some major tweaks by Crabby

2 cups plain yogurt

4 TBSP Olive Oil

2 ½ TBSP fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons salt

½ TBSP chile powder

31/2 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, pounded flat

1 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

1 ½ TBSP minced shallots

Whisk together 1 cup of the yogurt with the olive oil, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, salt, chili powder, cumin, coriander, pepper and cinnamon.

Place the chicken in a re-sealable plastic bag. Pour the yogurt marinade on top and massage into the chicken breasts. Refrigerate at least 20 minutes and preferably 8 hours.

Thirty minutes before cooking, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Pre-heat your grill over medium-high heat.

Remove chicken from the re-sealable bag and discard the marinade.

In a small bowl mix the1 cup of plain yogurt with the remaining 1 ½ tablespoons of lemon juice. Set aside.

Grill the chicken breasts until cooked through, turning once. Depending on the thickness of the breasts, total cook time should be between 8 and 14 minutes.

While the chicken is grilling, toss together the chopped mint, shallots and remaining 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil.

Remove the chicken from the grill, drizzle with the yogurt sauce and top with the mint-shallot salad.

Alrighty crablings, that's all for now. Remember to keep an eye on those politicians, you can tell they're lying whenever you see their lips moving. Until next time, remember, you can do it, you can cook.

Grilled Chicken with Pepper Jelly & Honey

A man's IQ drops at least 20 points the second he puts on a baseball cap.

I forget who made that observation but I won't argue with the sentiment. I have a similar reaction when someone asks me: "Do you Twitter?"

Twitter is the Internet rage of the moment. How do I know it's hot? Easy. Twitter has joined Facebook, MySpace and Google as internet nouns that have achieved the status of verbs.

"I Twittered for an hour last night."

"I Googled myself!"

"I Facedbooked you yesterday."

Not to be left out, and as part of my ceaseless search for increased traffic, I Crabby, will attempt to Twitter with my legion of fans. Never mind that Twitter is a monumental time suck; never mind that the vast majority of information shared is trivial and pointless, I will do it for you, my loyal visitors.

For those of you who don't know, Twitter, is a running online "conversation" site, spreading information and insight - 140 characters at a time. On Twitter, you sign-up for an account, and then find people you want to "follow". Maybe you start out with a list of your friends and throw in a celebrity or two and then you get to share in their daily existence, gems like: "will I ever get my latte? line sooo long.", or "boy, new Star Trek was great". Compelling stuff I agree.

To date, I only tweet to tell my peeps when there is a new update available. But now I have decided to conduct an experiment; I have decided to embrace the beast. On Monday, June 15, 2009, your fearless leader will make himself available to the masses with live tweet updates. Yes! From 3PM - 5PM (Eastern Time), prime cooking prep time, I will share the glory that is Crabby, realtime.

You will need to have a twitter account (they're free) and you will need to "follow" me. This is accomplished by going to twitter.com/crabbycook and clicking on the "Follow" button in the upper right corner. Then whenever I tweet, you'll see it real-time. Not only that, you'll be able to send me direct messages, and we'll be able to have a conversation without all that tedious physical interaction.

Twitter's logo is a bird. If I cooked it, it would probably taste like chicken. So let's jump right to it; Grilled Chicken with Pepper Jelly & Honey, is a perfect mid-week meal, as long as you remember to start the chicken marinating the night before. Enjoy...

Grilled Chicken with Pepper Jelly & Honey

by Crabby

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup jalapeno pepper jelly (or other sweet-hot jelly)

1 TBSP honey

1 TBSP dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon paprika

2 ounces sherry vinegar

Salt & Pepper to taste

Place the chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap. Using a kitchen mallet, flatten the breast to about a 1/2" thickness. The key here is not how thick, but that all the pieces are roughly equivalent in size.

In a medium bowl whisk together the pepper jelly, honey, mustard, paprika, sherry vinegar, salt and pepper.

Place the chicken breasts into a zip top bag, add the marinade and refrigerate overnight if possible.

Remove chicken from the refrigerator. Preheat your grill to medium-high.

Grill the chicken until done, depending on the thickness, anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes total grilling time.

Allow the breast to rest 10 minutes then serve.

There you have it. Simple and fast. All the real work happens the night before.

OK crablings, remember, Monday June 15th I'll be on Twitter. Think of some questions or complaints and we'll give it a go. Personally I can see only 2 possible outcomes from this experiment, either my followers list will grow into the hundreds, or this will prove to me that no one actually uses this stuff and I can go back to ignoring it.

Tweet you Monday, until then, remember, you can do it, you can cook.

Grilled Chicken with Tamarind-Orange Glaze

I need a goat.

It's Spring!  Tra-la, tra-la.

If you stick your head out the window you can actually hear my lawn growing. The big problem with weeding, watering and feeding your lawn is that then it starts growing.  Who thought that was a good idea?

When I run errands, it grows.  When I write a Crabby post , it grows.  When I sleep, it grows. It's relentless.  My lawn is the Terminator of Agronomy.  There's no where to run to, there's no where to hide. I can only hope the Terminator Salvation movie is about a John Deere Riding Mover going all Christian Bale on some turf farm.

If the weather doesn't cooperate or if I miss a day, the lawn explodes.  Within a few days my backyard goes from well kept to resembling a Vietnamese rice paddy.  Well, to hell with it. If my yard is going to resemble a southeast Asian landscape,  might as well eat that way too. Today's recipe is for Tamarind-Orange Glazed Chicken. I'll warn you, the toughest part of this recipe is finding the tamarind paste, but if you do, you'll end up with a tart, sweet, faintly exotic glaze for your chicken. Enjoy...

Grilled Chicken with Tamarind-Orange Glaze

from Bon Appetit,  September, 2002

1 chicken, halved lengthwise

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

2 TBSP chopped garlic

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 14-ounce cans low salt chicken broth

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup sugar

6 TBSP unsalted butter

2 TBSP tamarind paste

4 teaspoons grated orange peel

4 teaspoons grated, peeled fresh ginger

Place the chicken halves in a large baking dish.  Whisk together the olive oil, basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour over the chicken.  Turn to coat, refrigerate and marinade for at least 1 hour and preferably overnight.

For the tamarind glaze, in a large saucepan, whisk together the broth, juice, sugar, 3 tablespoons of butter, tamarind paste, orange peel and grated ginger.

Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.  Stirring often, cook until the mixture has reduced to 3/4 cup and the glaze coats the back of a spoon.  This step can take anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes, (the glaze can be prepared to this point up to 2 days ahead, cover and chill, when ready to use, re-warm over medium heat, whisking occasionally). Whisk in the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter.  Adjust the seasoning.

Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature.  While the chicken is warming, prepare your grill over medium-high heat.  reserve a 1/4 cup of the glaze.  Grill the chicken until cooked through, (approximately 45 -60 minutes), turning often and basting with the tamarind glaze.  

NOTE: The glaze will burn, so turn the chicken frequently and pay attention to the heat level, you may wish to cook this over medium heat and take a bit more cooking time. Alternatively, consider cooking a whole chicken on the rotisserie, basting frequently.

There you are crablings.  Plain old chicken gets a little less plain.  Until next time, remember, you can do it, you can cook.

Thai-Marinated Chicken

WARNING: The following post may contain material deemed inappropriate for the friendless or inexplicably dour. Those completely devoid of humor and therefore easily offended may wish to jump directly to the recipe because today's post deals with S - E - X.

Oh my!

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Slowly, achingly slowly, the temperatures are warming; robins are chirping a shivering din, only the bravest of daffodils have opened and the buds on the trees are desperate to burst. After an interminable winter, Spring with a capital S, finally appears to be at hand.

But there is more to Spring than warmer days. If you've been paying attention, you've seen birds bee-ing, bees bird-ing and of course, bunnies acting like bunnies. But the steamy and sensual are not limited to the great outdoors. No, there is a survival imperative being played out right here at Crabby Central.

The faithful amongst you know that we own a Meyer Lemon Tree. This gift, shipped from Florida, not only produced 8 lemons last year, but its very presence sustained me this winter, reminding me of warmer days to come. So it was with much hope and some trepidation that we all watched to see how it would survive our colder clime.

Fear not crablings, the tree has blossomed. Countless buds have opened and things were looking up. That is until the Boonsta brought up an inconvenient truth,

"With no bees in the house, how will the buds pollinate, how will we get fruit?"

So close, yet so far. LuAnn, our lemon tree, needed a date, and Craiglist looked unlikely to help: Single, green lemon tree looking for no questions asked cross-pollination buddy.

All hope seemed lost.

The Boonsta took away our fun, but then she came up with an idea to bring it back. Boonsta would be Mother Nature. Armed with a tiny paint brush, Boonsta played the role of worker bee, transferring fruit giving pollen from one bud to the next.

What has our in-house Dr. Ruth with a rake wrought? Has our Hugh Hefner of Horticulture saved our succulent citrus' love life?

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.

Actually the count of potential lemons is up to 10, with many more buds soon to be available for further breeding. I know nothing of Meyer Lemon genetics; I don't know if fruit pollinated from the the same tree tastes good or if we're hatching a cloned army of death lemons. All I know is hope and lemon scent is in the air once again. Ahhhh.

I need a shower.

Spring is in the air and a young man's fancy turns to the exotic. We need something to pique the senses. Something to tickle the taste buds. Something subtle yet promising. The weather's warming, so let's go to the grill. Thai infused chicken should do the trick. All the work is in the marinading, so have at it and enjoy...

Thai-Marinated Grilled Chicken

from delicious magazine volume 5 issue 11

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 lemongrass stems, outer leaves removed and then finely chopped

1 inch cube fresh ginger, peeled and minced

2 Serrano chiles, seed and chopped

3 TBSP fresh chopped cilantro

1 TBSP honey

1 TBSP fish sauce

Juice of 1 lime

Salt & Pepper

1 large chicken, quartered

Using a blender or small food processor, combine the garlic, lemongrass, ginger, and chiles along with 1 tablespoon of salt. Add the chopped cilantro along with 1 tablespoon of freshly ground black pepper. Process until smooth.

Stir in the honey, fish sauce and lime.

Rub the chicken parts with the paste. Place the chicken in a large re-sealable plastic bag, refrigerate and marinade for at least 3 hours and up to 12 hours.

Thirty minutes before grilling remove the chicken from the refrigerator and preheat you grill.

Turn the grill to medium and roast the chicken pieces. You want to cook the chicken slowly to properly caramelize the marinade. Turn the pieces every 5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through, approximately 40 - 50 minutes total cooking time.

Remove the chicken and allow to rest 15 minutes before serving.

Alright crablings, chicken with a few exotic flavors to get the blood flowing for Spring. Have this meal with a light salad and a glass or three of wine, listen to the birds chirp, watch the sun set, let nature takes its course.

Until next time, remember, you can do it, you can cook.

Duck Fried Rice

Crabby Quiz:  What's white, more or less 50 years old, wears glasses and weighs an average of 250 pounds?

Give up?  Why, it's everyone in Section F at last Saturday's Eagles concert.

If you are "of an age", the Eagles wrote the soundtrack of your youth. Love 'em or hate' em, you can at least hum along to everything from "Desperado" and "Take It Easy" to "Tequila Sunrise" and "Hotel California". Going to a concert now is both a pleasant stroll down memory lane and a stark reminder that time waits for no fan or band.

Saturday night brought their "Long Road Out of Eden" tour to the Palace of Auburn Hills. Given that the average age of the group is 61, it seems that the road out of Eden might be considered going in the wrong direction.  Especially unnerving was the resemblance between Timothy B. Schmit and the Cryptkeeper.  Schmit wasn't alone.  Don Henley, either setting or following the lead of his fans, hadn't missed too many meals.  It had me thinking that "Heart of The Matter" referred to a chat with his cardiologist.  

There were other changes.  I understand that Time is a merciless force, so I wasn't too surprised by the occasional cane or wheelchair.  What did set me off though was the handful of scooters.  Here's a bit of Crabby advice, if you need a scooter to get around at an Eagles concert, stop eating for a while, your heart and joints will thank you.

Speaking of joints, there was no smoking at the concert.  Beer and mixed drinks were being sold in comically large plastic glasses, but I saw no grass or cocaine.  But that doesn't mean the show was drug-free; there was a guy in the Mens room making a killing dealing Cialis and Flomax.

But no one cared.  The show lasted 2 1/2 hours with a brief break.  We heard all the old songs and only had to suffer through a handful of the new ones. Recognizing that we hadn't come to learn new lyrics, the Eagles turned into one big sing-a-long. 

Leftovers.  Some of the best meals are leftovers.  In that vein, today we're going to make that Chinese restaurant stalwart, fried rice.   This meal really exists to clean out the fridge. This can be made with any leftover meat or tofu, but in honor of the richness of the Eagles legacy, I'm making it with some extra duck breast, enjoy...

Duck Fried Rice

by Crabby

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 TBSP butter

2 TBSP Peanut Oil

8 ounces mushrooms, chopped into large dice

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 red or orange pepper, small dice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon minced ginger 

Pinch of red pepper flakes

8 ounces (or so) of leftover duck (or other meat)

1/2 cup thawed frozen peas

3 cups cooked white rice

3 TBSP Soy sauce

1 TBSP Sesame Oil

In a non-stick pan, melt 1/2 TBSP of butter over medium-high heat.  When foaming add the lightly beaten eggs and a pinch of salt.  Lift the edges of the pan to help the uncooked egg run to the sides.  

Once set, transfer the egg to a cutting board and allow to cool.

In a large saute pan or wok, heat 2 TBSP of peanut oil over high heat.  When hot add the scallions and diced peppers, cook for 2 minutes.

Add the garlic, ginger  and red pepper flakes. Saute 1 minute.

Add the duck and thawed peas, saute 1 minute.

Add the rice, soy and sesame oil.  Saute for an additional 2 minutes.

Serve.

This is great comfort food.  The spiced up leftovers not only remind you of previous meals but also inspire you to think of new ways of looking at ingredients.  It's ridiculously easy and tasty.  CrabCake2 sees to it that fried rice never lasts more than one meal.

Well crablings,  I'm outta here for now, got to try and get the ringing out my ears.  Probably should have bought those official Eagles earplugs before the show.  Joe Walsh can still bring it.

Chicken Piccata

Cooking can be dangerous. Cooking is not for the faint-hearted or the slow fingered. Cooking requires concentration, precision and cat-like reflexes. If you're not paying attention, cooking can kill.

Every now and then things don't go according to plan. Every now and then, the train jumps the track.

A few weeks ago, SSSal was working on a dessert while I assumed a pasha's repose on the sofa, mesmerized by some drivel on television. The first shriek was actually quite muted. The second a little less so.

Shouting into the kitchen, "Are you OK?"

"Ahhhh, wellllll, I'm not sure."

{Crabby Tip: "I'm not sure" should be interpreted as a bad sign}

Upon entering the kitchen I found two of SSSal's fingers entwined in the beaters of her hand-held mixer. The good news is that they were still attached to her hand. The bad news was that the mixer didn't look like it was going to let go and I don't particularily care for lady fingers as a dessert.

Who knows what causes good appliances to go bad? After years of faithful service the KitchenAid had gone all Christine on her master's hand. What had been a trustworthy, dependable tool had turned into the Death Mixer 3000. We popped the rotors and I quickly pried the blades open. At that point adrenalin wanes and pain rushes in.

No permanent damage. A few bruises, some recurring tingling and a general wariness of spinning objects seem to be they only fallout.

So, what to do when cooking gives you lemons? Lemonade? Amateurs! Piccata of course. Normally this meal is made with veal scallops but in today's troubled times SSSal chose to use Giada DeLaurentiis' chicken version, (See, even with the calamity she knew enough to get right back up on the cutting board). This meal is quick and tasty, but fair warning, this is one of the messiest cooking experiences out there. No matter what you do, there'll be splatter around the cooktop. Other than that, enjoy...



Chicken Piccata
from Everyday Italian by Giada DeLaurentiis


4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts halved horizontally
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 TBSP unsalted butter
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1/4 cup drained capers, rinsed
2 TBSP chopped flat leaf parsley


Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.

Dredge the chicken in the flour to coat lightly.

In a large saute pan melt 2 tablespoons of the butter along with 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat.

Add the chicken and cook until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

Add the chicken broth, lemon juice and drained capers to the pan. Bring the liquid to a boil over medium-high heat. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Retrun the chicken to the pan and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes or until just cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan.

Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to form a sauce.

Serve the individual pieces of chicken spooning sauce onto each piece. Garnish with the chopped parsley.


Now, I find this sauce a touch tart, so I've increased the amount of chicken broth in the dish. Otherwise this is yet another in the seemingly infinite Crabby arsenal of inexpensive, easy and flavorful meals.

Well crablings, I hear more screaming coming form the kitchen, so I need to go. Until next time, just remember, you can do it, you can cook.

Chicken Romana & The WellFed Network Blog Awards

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

The time for hope and change is upon us. Yours truly, your fearless leader and his peerless blog have been nominated for a Blog Award. The brilliant, beautiful and artistic people at the WellFed Network, have chosen CrabbyCook as a finalist for Best New Food Blog of 2008. Clearly this is a stupendous honor and I am humbled by their faith not only in myself, but in the wisdom shown by the regular members of Crab Nation.

But crablings, I need your help. This award will not be bestowed by the wise men and women of the WellFed Network. No, it is up to you, the voting members of the blogosphere, to make yourselves heard. You must all rise up as one and vote.

We live in a world where nouvelle cuisine is no longer novel, where fusion food is only confusing and where raw veganism is called cooking. With your vote, you are not just voting for me but you are voting for yourselves. You are voting for your belief and commitment to good food, good wine and good times.

Now the road will be long and the battle fierce, but we must not tremble before the challenge. I promise to all members of Crab Nation that I will not falter in my duties. I also promise to run a clean campaign. I will not traffic in the increasingly unsettling but, as of yet, unstated, unsupported and completely untrue rumors of moral turpitude and financial chicanery soon to be dogging my opponents.

Finally, as you go to the voting page, remember that Crab Nation is about inclusion and empowerment. Everyone is welcome at Crabby's table; everyone is encouraged to learn to be a better cook. With that spirit filling our hearts, today I offer you a simple but flavorful meal appropriate to feed a multitude. Please enjoy...


Chicken Romana
by Mario Batali plus some Crabby add-ons

1/4 cup olive oil
2 ounces pancetta, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 (3 1/2 - 4 pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 (28 oz) large can whole tomatoes and their juices (San Marzano if available)
1 yellow pepper, seeded and cut into strips
3 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into strips
Salt & Pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 TBSP capers, drained

In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.

Add the pancetta and cook slowly to render out the fat.

Remove all but 4 TBSP of the fat-oil mixture from the pan and add the garlic and chicken pieces, cooking until the chicken begins to change color and the garlic browns, 10 -12 minutes.

Add the wine and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and peppers, season with salt and pepper to taste and simmer, uncovered for 45 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

Just prior to serving, sprinkle with capers and parsley. I like to serve this meal with roasted potatoes and cipolline onions.


There you have it crablings, a repast fit for an inauguration. The original recipe didn't have the capers or the parsley, but SSSal and I think they add a little something to the dish. So, until next time, remember, you can do it, you can cook.

Oh, and remember, in that great Chicago political tradition, vote early and often!