Shopping, shopping, shopping to turn up an ex-pat kitchen

[schnytzal]

ps a cheap stock from (raw) chicken bones, chicken feet and pork bones (chinese style) is divine and works with almost everything. including just drinking as broth

[ChiFlyer]

Xmas Dinner

We had another couple over for Xmas Dinner. I did the cooking. I did pretty well, if I do say so myself. Compliments were given and there were zero leftovers.

The main entree was Roast Duck.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pan-roasted-duck-breast-recipe0-2013578?desktop-device=true&desktop-device=true&

The link describes several side recipes. I did not make these, only the duck.

 

One side was Garlic Roasted Potatoes

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/garlic-roasted-potatoes-recipe-1913067

 

A second side was Honey Butter Roasted Carrots. I should have made more of these.

https://cafedelites.com/honey-garlic-butter-roasted-carrots/

 

All in all it was a nice table setting using the fancy dishes that are brought out maybe twice a year.

 

Not shown is the Belgium Chocolate Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream, which was also well received. Also not shown was a tart cherry sauce, which was an accompanying condiment for the duck. 

 

[davidge]

5 minutes ago, ChiFlyer said:

Xmas Dinner

We had another couple over for Xmas Dinner. I did the cooking. I did pretty well, if I do say so myself. Compliments were given and there were zero leftovers.

The main entree was Roast Duck.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pan-roasted-duck-breast-recipe0-2013578?desktop-device=true&desktop-device=true&

The link describes several side recipes. I did not make these, only the duck.

 

One side was Garlic Roasted Potatoes

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/garlic-roasted-potatoes-recipe-1913067

 

A second side was Honey Butter Roasted Carrots. I should have made more of these.

https://cafedelites.com/honey-garlic-butter-roasted-carrots/

 

All in all it was a nice table setting using the fancy dishes that are brought out maybe twice a year.

 

Not shown is the Belgium Chocolate Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream, which was also well received. Also not shown was a tart cherry sauce, which was an accompanying condiment for the duck. 

 

I made myself a more traditional offering here in Wales.

Parsnip Soup

Turkey, stuffing and 8 veg

Christmas Pudding with lashings of Brandy Sauce 

My choice of wine.

[ChiFlyer]

23 hours ago, schnytzal said:

ps a cheap stock from (raw) chicken bones, chicken feet and pork bones (chinese style) is divine and works with almost everything. including just drinking as broth

I make my own Chicken Stock. The Stock available at the stores in the Bang Lamung area is cr*p. The store stuff is loaded with salt and fat. I use this chicken stock for all my recipes (including Chinese), unless Beef or Seafood stock is called for. I make my own Seafood stock (shrimp in my case) as well. When Beef stock is called for I usually just use beef bullion. Yeah, too much salt, but I cut back on the salt in the rest of the recipe when doing this.

For Chicken Stock I use Alton Brown's recipe.

https://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/alton-brown/chicken-soup-la-pressure-reloaded-8750044

This recipe requires a pressure cooker. I use a 6 qt Instant Pot, which is not cheap especially in Thailand. Instant Pots are an American product so they are built 110 V. If you buy one (from Lazada as an example) the Instant Pot was rewired for 220 V in the UK and then shipped to Thailand. I think I paid over 15,000 THB for mine. In my case, it has been money well spent. I use it several times a month. In addition to Chicken Stock (I keep up to 12 cups in the freezer) it is great for making soups, and steaming veggies. The Alton Brown link gives instructions for going beyond the stock and also making a good chicken soup. I do not do that, as I got bored with that soup. I do make a pot of soup once a week to have for lunches during the week.

For a shrimp stock I use the recipe that is in this link for Shrimp Etoufee. The Shrimp Etoufee is also quite good.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/shrimp-etouffee-3645379?desktop-device=true&desktop-device=true&

This recipe is from Emeril Lagasse. I also use his Bayou Blast (also in the Shrimp Etoufee recipe) as my Cajun and Blackening seasoning. WARNING -> if one decides to make Bayou Blast, do not make a lot of it. The onion powder ingredient causes it to cake fairly quickly. Due to this, I have a dedicated blade grinder.

 

Edited December 25, 2023 by ChiFlyer

[ChiFlyer]

20 minutes ago, davidge said:

I made myself a more traditional offering here in Wales.

Parsnip Soup

........

I read past your identification of the soup as "Parsnip Soup" and was wondering as I started this reply if that were a "Pumpkin Soup". As you probably remember we were both fans of the Pumpkin Soup that was served at that restaurant (can't remember the name right now and gone for years) that we both liked.

I would guess that your Parsnip Soup recipe is adaptable to becoming Pumpkin Soup. I dislike parsnips. Americans, what can I say.

[davidge]

10 minutes ago, ChiFlyer said:

I read past your identification of the soup as "Parsnip Soup" and was wondering as I started this reply if that were a "Pumpkin Soup". As you probably remember we were both fans of the Pumpkin Soup that was served at that restaurant (can't remember the name right now and gone for years) that we both liked.

I would guess that your Parsnip Soup recipe is adaptable to becoming Pumpkin Soup. I dislike parsnips. Americans, what can I say.

I much prefer Parsnip Soup though it’s a lot of work just for me. I do eat pumpkin soup in Pattaya but never here.

[davidge]

13 minutes ago, ChiFlyer said:

I read past your identification of the soup as "Parsnip Soup" and was wondering as I started this reply if that were a "Pumpkin Soup". As you probably remember we were both fans of the Pumpkin Soup that was served at that restaurant (can't remember the name right now and gone for years) that we both liked.

I would guess that your Parsnip Soup recipe is adaptable to becoming Pumpkin Soup. I dislike parsnips. Americans, what can I say.

As for recipe, I did use one when I first made it but I just wing it now. Basically just Parsnips, onion, vegetable stock, milk, medium curry powder and olive oil to fry onion and parsnips to begin with. You can use ginger and or garlic if you prefer and whatever seasoning you want. 

[ChiFlyer]

1 hour ago, ChiFlyer said:

Xmas Dinner

We had another couple over for Xmas Dinner. I did the cooking. I did pretty well, if I do say so myself. Compliments were given and there were zero leftovers.

The main entree was Roast Duck.

.......

Just to add a little background to the Xmas Dinner post.

The husband of the other couple is French. He also is fairly deep in Stage-4 Alzhiemers. The doctors had predicted earlier this year that he was unlikely to make it to New Year's. Good chance he will prove them wrong it looks like. Probably not by a lot. 

I was amazed at how the taste of the food brought him out of his fog, especially the Belgium Chocolate Ice Cream. His Thai wife is about the nicest person I have met in my life. I initially met her at the VT2A pool and tried to hit on her. That was 7 years ago. She indignantly told me that she was married. OK, time to move on. A few months later, my now Thai wife and I were at the pool and I introduced the two ladies. Over the years they have become BFFs. 

Life remains a long song, I guess. All due accords to Ian Anderson.

 

Edited December 25, 2023 by ChiFlyer

[schnytzal]

11 hours ago, ChiFlyer said:

make my own Chicken Stock. The Stock available at the stores in the Bang Lamung area is cr*p.

strangely, a lot of the stock used by noodle shops and hot pot joints is crap. they can't be bothered to simmer up some bones for a long time and often resort to <gasp>cubes. i have a very short list of noodle shops and hot pot joints that are acceptable in my area. 

my go-to all-purpose stock is a chinese style chicken-pork stock: 1/3 chicken carcass, 1/3 chicken feet, 1/3 pork bones (with a little bit of meat).chicken feet will give you a ton of collagen, for a nice unctuous stock.

bring to a boil, and boil the fuck out of 'em for about 10 or 15 minutes. skim the crud that forms on the water. then dump the water, rinse the bones and stuff to get rid of those last bits of crud that stick. this will give you a nice, clear stock, and you can re-use any fat you skim as it won't be filled with crud.

scrub the pot, put it all back, add water, and veggies --i use ginger, and onions and/or scallions. if you want a nice orange color carrots will do that but i don't care about the color much.

simmer 9+ hours. skim any crud that blanching didn't remove. if your simmer temperature is too high, your stock will be cloudy.

remove bones and veggies, filter stock through cheesecloth. i salvage some meaty bits but the chicken feet will have turned to mush so i usually bin 'em.

let it cool, refrigerate. it'll be gelatinous when you wake up. skim most of the fat off the top and save it to use for something else it's good fat.

reheat the stock, stirring as it melts and season it with some soy sauce and Shao Hsing wine. this wine tastes like ass so there's no danger of you drinking it, but it has a really nice deep umami flavor that adds a special note to your stock. don't go overboard on the soy sauce as you don't want it too salty if you're going to make soup later (you'll be adding salt while making soup most likely).

aaaand there's your stock.

I also make a 'junk stock', saving whatever bones i have from cooking meats, and vegetable scraps (carrot tops, beetroot greens, etc). stock made from cooked meats has a VERY different flavor to raw bone stock.

i do the veggies as a separate veggie stock, you don't have to simmer veggies very long.

---

tip for condo dwellers: if you're limited to electric hobs, get induction. i live in a house and use the induction hob more than gas (gas hob mainly for searing steaks these days). most induction hobs pulse at lower energy settings, i don't like this for stock. Thai gas hobs tend to be geared toward high temperature cooking and it's difficult to get simmer temperatures, at least mine is. great for searing steaks and stir frying, simmer not so much. so i use a cheap electric hob that i basically only use for stock.

[ChiFlyer]

13 hours ago, schnytzal said:

strangely, a lot of the stock used by noodle shops and hot pot joints is crap. they can't be bothered to simmer up some bones for a long time and often resort to <gasp>cubes. i have a very short list of noodle shops and hot pot joints that are acceptable in my area. 

my go-to all-purpose stock is a chinese style chicken-pork stock: 1/3 chicken carcass, 1/3 chicken feet, 1/3 pork bones (with a little bit of meat).chicken feet will give you a ton of collagen, for a nice unctuous stock.....

We each all have our own preferred methods and results.

I like my Alton Brown Chicken Stock recipe in that it takes about 2 hours total including butchering a whole chicken. Sounds like the stock may not have the depth of your method, but it is more than good enough for my purposes and efficient for my needs.

I do think that the collagen from the chicken feet is more than I want to deal with. I also process the stock from my method through a cheesecloth drain to keep it cleaner.   

[davidge]

I mentioned ‘winging it’ earlier, well I really did wing it today. I had stuff in the fridge and I hadn’t used and some of it would end up being thrown away, so I made an extremely experimental soup this afternoon.

Onions, sweet peppers, tomatoes on the vine, plum tomatoes, carrots, chives, parsley, thyme. Prepared everything then sweated the onions and peppers in olive oil before adding the other ingredients. I added red wine stock (using a stock pot) and simmered before adding black pepper. Whizzed it all with a hand blender and stirred in some double cream.

Turned out to be delicious 😋 

[ChiFlyer]

NY Day Dinner - Rack of Lamb, Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes, Roast Broccoli, and Hagen Dazs Ice Cream

We had another couple over to start the New Year. I was the cook once again. All said that I did an admirable job.

Rack of Lamb - this dish drew the most compliments. There was a second serving dish at the other end of the table.

 

Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes - These were pretty good, but I prefer the Garlic Roasted Potatoes that I served on Xmas. The dark Liquid left of the potatoes is a red wine sauce for the lamb.

 

Roasted Broccoli - I was a little disappointed in this dish and will go back to steaming broccoli.

 

Plated

 

Well that's it for the Holidays. Time to put away the fancy dishes and become concerned about the 2 kg I put on.

 

[ChiFlyer]

On 19/02/2022 at 00:06, ChiFlyer said:

Basque-Style Chicken.

Had a success with a new recipe tonight. I noticed this recipe while putzing around one night and decided to give it a try. It turned out very well IMO. The GF agreed.

https://www.lovefood.com/recipes/78807/michel-roux-jr-basquestyle-chicken-recipe

A few changes were necessary because a few ingredients are not readily available in Thailand.

• I have never seen New Potatoes anywhere in the Banglamung area. I did find red potatoes at Villa Market. I peeled those (GF does not like the skin) and cut them into pieces approximating what the New Potatoe ingredient would have looked like.
• There is no way that anyone is going to find piment d’espelette in the Banglamung area. I substituted the recommended 50-50 combination of Cayenne Pepper and Smoked Paprika.
• I cut all ingredients by 50%. Otherwise, I would have had enough food for a small battalion. As part of this, I used 4 bone-in chicken thighs.

Like I said I was very happy with the way it turned out.

A few pics.

Ready to serve.

Plated

Basque Chicken Revisited

https://www.lovefood.com/recipes/78807/michel-roux-jr-basquestyle-chicken-recipe

Although I was happy with my first try at this recipe, I decided to make a few changes.

• Trim the chicken (6 thighs) of any overhanging skin and fat. Pad the chicken dry with paper towels. Season the chicken with Kosher Salt and Smoked Paprika as stated in the recipe. These steps will give the chicken a crispier and more flavorful skin crust.
• I browned the chicken in a separate stainless steel pan. I went with two batches, so as not to overcrowd the pan. I used 1 TBSP total of EVOO for this step. I made sure that the EVOO was just short of smoking before adding the chicken. Skin side down first and 4 minutes per side at a medium high heat.
• After the chicken was browned and removed from the pan, I de-glazed the pan with 1/4 cup of white wine. I moved the Liquid from the de-glazing step over to a Dutch Oven and added 3 TBSPs more of EVOO. I then began the main recipe at the soften the red pepper strips step.
• I used red pepper flakes (1/2 TBSP) for the substitution for the piment d’espelette.
• When I added the chicken back in for the oven step, I place it on top of the underlying sauce so that it would not get mushy.

I liked the way this turned out. The chicken was very tender and flavorful.

 

 

[talung66]

On 16/10/2023 at 03:49, ChiFlyer said:

I also prefer a gas stove top

Thought i did as well but no.
i not sure if you or others will fully get my replies below  as i only just learnt about it this week added explains it best to me 

On 16/10/2023 at 03:49, ChiFlyer said:

When I was renting at VT2A, I was very dissatisfied with the induction stove top

I wanted to reply a long time ago to all that prefer gas as i always heard  induction was better and now i realise it is.

It just a quick if not quicker to heat a boil  and as responsive to changing temperature's as gas  

Having one just installed. and the only down side ATM it knowing what numbers to use to reduce the cooking  temperatures  for me need this will come in time 

 i now realise  what  i had in Thailand burned red hot under the glass top and would work with all my pans.

i dont exactly know the difference between  them  but now have a  real induction cook top installed at home that only gets hot with the pan on top of it. and would cook  exactly as in photo added 

And it only works with some of my pots and pans or i will need to purchase an induction converter hot plate for it to work on  all of them . 

i also had to clean the build up from gas cooking on the base of all my pans for them  to work 100% as there was a lot of soot build up from gas cooking and  all  the metal was not touching the glass. it now comes to a rapid boil all over the base  of pan real quick.

 

 

On 16/10/2023 at 03:49, ChiFlyer said:

The stand alone induction hob worked well for me. As an example a pot of pasta water took 20 minutes to come to a soft boil on the stove top, but less that 15 to come to a rolling boil on the stand alone induction hob. btw - these stand alone induction hobs seem to have about a 3 year life cycle. I am on my third one. I think the better ones go for about 9.000. 

All up i dont think you actually have a induction cook as i have explained above  it should be quicker than gas. 

i am now unable to use my happy call wok and 2 other pans  as there not induction compatible.

 

 

 

[ChiFlyer]

12 hours ago, talung66 said:

Thought i did as well but no.
i not sure if you or others will fully get my replies below  as i only just learnt about it this week added explains it best to me 

I wanted to reply a long time ago to all that prefer gas as i always heard  induction was better and now i realise it is.

It just a quick if not quicker to heat a boil  and as responsive to changing temperature's as gas  

Having one just installed. and the only down side ATM it knowing what numbers to use to reduce the cooking  temperatures  for me need this will come in time 

 i now realise  what  i had in Thailand burned red hot under the glass top and would work with all my pans.

i dont exactly know the difference between  them  but now have a  real induction cook top installed at home that only gets hot with the pan on top of it. and would cook  exactly as in photo added 

And it only works with some of my pots and pans or i will need to purchase an induction converter hot plate for it to work on  all of them . 

i also had to clean the build up from gas cooking on the base of all my pans for them  to work 100% as there was a lot of soot build up from gas cooking and  all  the metal was not touching the glass. it now comes to a rapid boil all over the base  of pan real quick.

 

 

All up i dont think you actually have a induction cook as i have explained above  it should be quicker than gas. 

i am now unable to use my happy call wok and 2 other pans  as there not induction compatible.

 

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to document all of this. I may not have explained well enough where I was coming from in my previous posts. 

First off gas is a non-starter in Thailand. Other than a propane tank it is just not available. That may well be a good thing given the overall infrastructure.

What I like about gas over induction is I feel that I have better heat control. Over the last several years I have learned how to time my induction settings better, so I no longer feel as strongly about the heat control matter.

I have induction capable pans (cast iron and stainless steel). Also most of these pans were recently purchased over the last 4 years.

My experience is that an induction stove top will deteriorate over time.

Edited February 7 by ChiFlyer

[ChiFlyer]

Chicken Salad

Sometimes something rather simple turns out as tasting really good. I had a Chicken-Avocado Sandwich in my lineup, but wasn't all that happy with it. I searched around for Chicken Salad alternatives and decided to try this recipe.

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a54787/best-chicken-salad-sandwich-recipe/

I followed the recipe exactly as stated for the salad portion as this was a first try. I decided it to serve it over a bed of lettuce as opposed to on a baguette. I have enough carbs in my diet. This worked out really well and the Mrs liked it as well.

The chicken poaching step has endless options (Garlic, spices, ...). There are a lot of things one can do to pimp up the salad portion of the recipe as well. I have already decided to sprinkle in some raisins next time. Also there is a spice missing that I can not quite put my finger on. I will have to do a little more reading about Chicken Salad recipes.

A pic. The slice of cranberry walnut Sourdough Bread was obtained via Lazada. I thought it was quite good, but the Mrs did not care for that option, even though she very much liked the Chicken Salad.

[ChiFlyer]

Sweet and Sour Pork

I tried a new dish (for me) tonight.

https://pupswithchopsticks.com/sweet-and-sour-pork/

This turned out better than I was expecting for a first try. The Mrs. liked it better than I did. I saw several things in the recipe that I decided to change.

• I reduced the ingredients by 50% in most cases. Too much food for 2 people.
• The recipe calls for doing some prep and then starting the one hour long marinade. I started with the marinade and did most of the prep while the one hour marinade was taking place.
• Both the marinade and sauce call for 2 TBSP of soy sauce. I changed both to 1 TBSP soy sauce and 1 TBSP fish sauce.
• I added 1 TBSP of Sambal Oelek to the sauce for a little zing.
• I used Isan honey instead of sugar.
• I used Corn Starch instead of the recommended Potato Starch. I do not keep the later on hand and did not want to start when only one recipe that I use is calling for it.

Although it probably sounds like I was dissatisfied with the author's recipe, I will say she did a lot of things right. I regard it as a good base for my methods.

• The use of fresh Pineapple is spot on.
• The two step batter method works nicely.
• The two step deep frying method also works well.

Anyway we both like this dish and I have added it to my rotation.

Some pics

 

 

Edited March 1 by ChiFlyer

[tko]

On 06/02/2024 at 21:37, talung66 said:

Thought i did as well but no.
i not sure if you or others will fully get my replies below  as i only just learnt about it this week added explains it best to me 

I wanted to reply a long time ago to all that prefer gas as i always heard  induction was better and now i realise it is.

It just a quick if not quicker to heat a boil  and as responsive to changing temperature's as gas  

Having one just installed. and the only down side ATM it knowing what numbers to use to reduce the cooking  temperatures  for me need this will come in time 

 i now realise  what  i had in Thailand burned red hot under the glass top and would work with all my pans.

i dont exactly know the difference between  them  but now have a  real induction cook top installed at home that only gets hot with the pan on top of it. and would cook  exactly as in photo added 

And it only works with some of my pots and pans or i will need to purchase an induction converter hot plate for it to work on  all of them . 

i also had to clean the build up from gas cooking on the base of all my pans for them  to work 100% as there was a lot of soot build up from gas cooking and  all  the metal was not touching the glass. it now comes to a rapid boil all over the base  of pan real quick.

 

 

All up i dont think you actually have a induction cook as i have explained above  it should be quicker than gas. 

i am now unable to use my happy call wok and 2 other pans  as there not induction compatible.

 

 

 

At our place we have and use both.  A double induction set up in the inside kitchen, and just out side the kitchen door on a back covered patio we have a double gas burner setup.  Along with a lot of extra cabinet and counter space for all the little kitchen appliances you accumulate that would clutter up our smaller indoor kitchen.

Also handy for when the Mrs does one of those eye searing things involved in Thai cooking.  She can do it outside instead of in the air conditioned house.

Edited March 11 by tko

[ChiFlyer]

On 11/03/2024 at 17:44, tko said:

At our place we have and use both.  A double induction set up in the inside kitchen, and just out side the kitchen door on a back covered patio we have a double gas burner setup.  Along with a lot of extra cabinet and counter space for all the little kitchen appliances you accumulate that would clutter up our smaller indoor kitchen.

Also handy for when the Mrs does one of those eye searing things involved in Thai cooking.  She can do it outside instead of in the air conditioned house.

This is very similar to what we do. We have a 4 spot induction stove top inside. Outside we have two induction plates as well as a propane burner for the Mrs. We have a small kitchen outside by the pool. The Mrs does her heavier duty Isan stuff outside by the pool.

I also have a Weber Grill outside, but it almost never gets used. Just too damn hot for it most days.

Edited March 25 by ChiFlyer

[ChiFlyer]

Tortilla Pizza

This is a no mess - no fuss quickie that is on the table in 1/2 hour and tastes surprisingly good.

https://www.splashoftaste.com/tortilla-pizza/

The author wrote this to be veg. I declined to do so.

The pizza sauce and pepperoni that are available on Lazada are both quite tasty.

Pizza Sauce

Pepperoni

I bought Mission Tortillas and Pizza Cheese at Villa Market. I grated some Pecorino Romano to use instead of Parm. I baked the pizza in the oven for 6 minutes at 220 C. The longest part of the prep is waiting for the oven to come to temp. Do not use a heavy amount of the pizza sauce or you will have soggy pizzas. For a 10 inch tortilla a little over 2 TBSP of sauce works well.

 

 

Make sure to let the pizza cool for a few minutes coming out of the oven, or you will burn your mouth with the molten cheese. This is harder to do than it sounds as the pizza smells really good. Both the Mrs and I got singed. Surprisingly, she really liked the pizza and she is normally not a fan.

[tko]

11 hours ago, ChiFlyer said:

I also have a Weber Grill outside, but it almost never gets used. Just too damn hot for it most days.

As you may recall from some of my posts on another board, it's never too hot to fire up the 'Q' when it's damn near your state religion.

[ChiFlyer]

12 hours ago, tko said:

As you may recall from some of my posts on another board, it's never too hot to fire up the 'Q' when it's damn near your state religion.

Understood. I have relatives in the general area that I think you are referring to. My Dad's family is from TX. I grew up in the Chicago area, where Q is appreciated but not a religion. I have had TX Q and it is good. Seems that it is often made with Beef Ribs. In Chicago we preferred Pork Baby Backs.

I did enjoy grilling steaks, fish, and Italian Sausages outside during the more temperate times of the year in the Chicago area. The couple of times that I have tried it here in Thailand it was let's say uncomfortable working over a hot grill outside. Maybe during the November thru February time frame I will get back to it some. I do not have a high end propane fed machine, but rather a fire belly that takes coals. That is what I was used to.

I have bought a Lodge Grill Pan and it gets the job done inside the house for many things. This is not a very expensive piece of gear. I think it goes for about 1200 on Lazada.

[tko]

14 hours ago, ChiFlyer said:

Understood. I have relatives in the general area that I think you are referring to. My Dad's family is from TX.

Yep.  We lived in Fort Bend county Texas.  Okay for her as the climate is similar to coastal Thailand's most of the year.  

So heat doesn't bother me much.  I did a two year assignment in Norway that put me off ever wanting to experience winter again, though.

EDIT: added photo.

Edited March 27 by tko

[ChiFlyer]

On 27/03/2024 at 13:08, tko said:

.....

So heat doesn't bother me much.  I did a two year assignment in Norway that put me off ever wanting to experience winter again, though.

.....

 

I delivered newspapers during Chicago Winters during my early teens. My feet would hurt so bad by the time that I was done with my route, that I could only smile about being able to bear the pain. I swore I would not live in a climate such as that as an adult. I guess I finally succeeded.

[ChiFlyer]

Chicken Cordon Bleu - 2nd try

I have been a fan of ordering Chicken Cordon Bleu in restaurants for years. I decided to try making it at home. My first attempt (about 6 months ago) did not turn out very well, so I never posted about it here at PA.

Got my gumption up tonight and made a second attempt.

The result was much better presentation wise than my first attempt. The Mrs really liked it. Here are some items that I think led to the improvement.

• I butterflied the chicken breast before pounding it out. A butterfly cut of this nature needs to be done carefully. One wants to cut to within about 1/2 inch of the other side, but not all the way though. The breast should open up like a book. What works for me is to cut slowly and stop and check progress along the way.
• Pound the butterflied breast a little gently with the mallet. Really the point is do not smash it hard or else you may tear the breast and it will not roll well.
• Pounded out breasts will vary some in size. If you find that the ham and cheese are crowding the edge, cut off some of the ham and cheese.
• Roll slowly and get the ends tucked in. Have your toothpicks at the ready.