Italian Style Baked Chicken

This is a Quick Recipe for Chicken Thighs or Chicken Breasts. There are a few things I like about this recipe. This is an easy recipe as there are only four steps to completion, Mix, Coat, Sprinkle and Cook. This recipe is low cost because a package of 5 or 6 boneless chicken thighs is usually under $5.00. The chicken tastes great, at least according to my family. Once you have cooked the chicken thighs you can freeze them for future use. Finally, and for me this is a key, you can use these chicken thighs as a starter for other recipes. In the next week I will post two additional recipes that use the cooked chicken thighs from this recipe as a base.

Italian Style Baked Chicken

3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1.5 pound boneless chicken thighs (this is about 5 or 6 thighs)
1/2 cup Italian Style Breadcrumbs

pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Use a jelly roll pan for baking these chicken thighs. (What is a Jelly Roll Pan ... it is a cookie sheet with sides. Usually 12 inches x 9 inches x 1 inch high.) I suggest a light spray of PAM or some non-stick spray.

Mix the Mayonnaise, Parmesan Cheese, Salt and Pepper in a small bowl. Lay the chicken thighs out on a piece of aluminum foil. Take the mayonnaise mixture and brush half of the mixture on one side of the chicken thighs. Take half of the Italian breadcrumbs and sprinkle over the mayonnaise coated chicken thighs. Turn the chicken thighs, one at a time, on to the lightly greased Jelly Roll Pan with the breadcrumb side down. Spread the rest of the mayonnaise on the second side of the chicken thighs. Sprinkle the remaining breadcrumbs on the chicken thighs. Place in the oven and let bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes until the chicken is done.

When is it DONE? It is done when you poke the chicken thigh with a fork and the juices run "clear". You can go further and use an instant read thermometer. When the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 170 to 180 degrees F the USDA says your chicken is done. (If you are inviting the USDA to eat with you let me know.) Remember that the meat (any meat for that matter) will continue to cook when you pull it out of the oven so make sure you pull it out of the oven a about 5 degrees early. What do I do? I cook the chicken thighs for 20 minutes and then poke one of them and watch the juice run out ... if it is clear I pull them out of the oven.

This is a great recipe that should go from start to finish in about 30 to 40 minutes. I usually serve this with rice and a salad. So, once I put the chicken in the oven I put some rice on the stove. Then I start my salad. This will put the completion of all three items at about the same time.

If you are freezing the chicken after you bake it. Then place the chicken thighs on a cookie sheet in the freezer for at least 8 hours. Remove the chicken thighs and put them in a Zip-Lock Freezer Bag and return them to the freezer. When you need to serve them you only need to heat them up in the oven at 350 degrees F for 15-18 minutes.

Ciao Mark

I Love Saturday's

I get to sit in front of the Food Network and wathc all day long. Today three or four of us sat and wathced Alton Brown for about 2 hours. I say three or four because our oldest (the teenager) would only peak from the other room ... so as to not watch and enjoy what Dad would watch. What was amazing to me is how much my kids know already ... we have worked so much in the kitchen together that it is actually rubbing off. But we also learned a lot ... I think we will be making wontons this week and most likely we will be making several other things that Alton was talking about.

My point in this post. Hang with your family ... if you can do it in the kitchen all the better ... but hang with your family and enjoy one another.

Ciao,
Mark

Dreams and Passions

I was watching the movie The Rookie the other night. I love that movie. It has such a great statement about our dreams and how important it is for us to follow our dreams and even more than that I think the movie teaches us that it is necessary ... no we are required ... to use the gifts that the good LORD has provided to us. The star of the movie is a gifted pitcher who is over 30 years old when he goes after his dream with his gift. All the odds are against him because of his age and his responsibilities ... but his gift is so great that he succeeds. One of the lines in the movies goes like this ...

it is ok to do what you want to do until it is time to do what you were meant to do

... when the line is spoken to Jimmy Morris (played by Dennis Quaid) his Father is trying to say that it is time for him to give up on his dream ... I actually hear the opposite ... Pitching was what Jimmy Morris was meant to do and now it was time for him to do it!

So I ask you, are you doing what you are meant to do? Are you using your gifts? Are you teaching your kids how important it is to follow your dreams? Think about how the LORD has given you a gift and think about how he wants to bless others by using that gift.

Enjoy the weekend and remember to use your GIFT!

Ciao,
Mark

Contest Time Again ...

OK, many of you who know me know that I enter a cooking contest for cheese burgers every year. Every year Sutter Home puts on the Build-A-Better-Burger contest. It is time for that contest again. So I have been experimenting with ingredients for use in a GREAT BURGER ... I have tried gorgonzola, avacado, olives (several different kinds), grilled onions, carmalized onions, peppers and many many others that I care not tell you right now! I am afraid that you might enter the contest and beat me!

If you love a great burger you should try the web site for Build-A-Better-Burger and download some of the winning recipes from the last ten years here:

Build-A-Better-Burger

Something about this years recipe is special. I have never seen Cindy quite so excited about one of my burger recipes. So wish me luck ... and if you are lucky maybe you will be invited over to the house for a burger!

Ciao,
Mark

Dinner for 100

Is this a good idea? For the longest time my friends and family have said, "You need to open a Restaurant," but it just has not been in the cards. I love our weekends with my wife and our family and I could never see giving that up to work in Restaurants again. Last night I was talking to a friend of mine about his passion for food. Then I thought we could do a one night restaurant. We thought it might be a good idea to put on a big 7-course dinner for a group of people at a large house in Charlotte. We could charge a big price and then use the money to go to a charity. It sounded like so much fun that I have been thinking about it ever since our conversation. I like the idea ... maybe we will have to take this one further.

Ciao,
Mark

Garlic ... what to use and why?

I know that many of us do not have enough time on our hands and because of this an entire industry has developed for fast convenient food. The convenience of prepared or partially prepared foods is all around us. You can make instant anything, rice, oatmeal, pudding or even baby back ribs. We can buy precooked and chopped chicken in the meat department of your local grocery store. A bag of salad from Dole Fresh Vegetables is available that includes lettuce chopped and washed; (most of the time?) dried fruits, croutons and dressing … just pour it all in a bowl and mix. This has all happened because we do not have enough time to cook when we get home from work.

As a result of all this need for convenience foods we have seen many new ways to bring garlic to our kitchens. You can by garlic fresh in bulbs. Pre-chopped and bottled in olive oil, cloves separated, pealed and frozen and of course you can buy it as garlic powder and garlic salt.

So the question is this, when do we use what? For the most part I only use three different types of garlic in my house.

Garlic Powder
Peeled-Frozen Garlic Cloves
Fresh Garlic.

I use the garlic powder when I am cooking roasts and seasoning meats before going in the oven or on the grill. I use a lot of the frozen garlic cloves when I am making quick sauces and maybe garlic bread. The frozen/peeled garlic has lost some of its bravado because once it has been peeled it starts to loose flavor. So it works well when I do not want to overpower a recipe.

Most of the garlic I use is fresh. I keep a head or two of garlic in a jar in the refrigerator with a top that has a few holes punched in it. (Similar to what you might do if you wanted to keep bugs in a jar.) The holes let the garlic breathe and it stays fresh longer. I keep it in the refrigerator so it will peel easier. When I am using fresh garlic I peel the cloves, smash it with the side of a French knife and then chop the smashed garlic into a fine chop. This spreads out the flavor in a recipe and also takes out aggressions for the chef!

As far as using the garlic salt I usually do not because then I am not in control of the amount of salt being used in the recipe. I have used the garlic in a jar on occasion but I think I have a problem with using a prepared food like this that will contain preservatives. It tastes ok but it always seems to have a chemical smell to it when I use it to cook.

So that is my dissertation on Garlic. I hope it has helped.

Ciao, Mark

Dominic .... You are My Hero!

I want to just say to Dominic that you are really my HERO! I was so proud to be your Dad the other night when you received the Christian Athlete Award from the YMCA. All season long you were an example to everyone on the team and the coaches of a great team player. You are becoming a great example of what a Man should be in the eyes of the LORD. You have made me so proud and I also know you have put a smile on our LORD's face by your attitude and effort at swim team. I Love you, Dad.

Making Sauce ... a Guide

OK, this is a difficult post. There really is not a recipe for my sauce at the moment. For those of you in New Jersey I think you might call it Gravy, but in my family in Buffalo we always called tomato sauce ... sauce.

For the most part I make sauce because I love to eat pasta and because I love the time and effort that is put into making it. In my mind that is what cooking is really all about ... LOVE ... when you take the time to cook or bake you are showing LOVE for those who will enjoy what you have made. In the case of making sauce everyone new I was going to make it because we had to make lasagna for another family. In order to make lasagna I have to start with a pot of homemade sauce. Sophie and Dominic wanted to help me cook. So we made it a family affair.

I have talked about the steps of making sauce below ... please remember that this is not a recipe but a guide to how to make sauce.

First I make the meatballs. I mix ground beef, ground pork, romano cheese, crushed garlic, diced onions, breadcrumbs, raw eggs and salt and pepper. We mix everything together in a bowl and then form the meatballs.

We fry Italian Sausage in olive oil until they are cooked in a large skillet. Then we fry the meatballs in the same oil until they are just cooked. In addition I sometimes use pork ribs, or beef ribs or stew beef or any other cut of beef or pork that is small enough as a cut to add a few bites to a person's plate.



Then I take the skillet and drain the oil. Then I de-glaze the pan using 2 cups of red wine and a small can of tomato paste. I pour all of this off into a large pot. Then I put into the pot a large can of tomato puree, two large cans of crushed tomatoes and a large can of chopped tomatoes. I add about a large can of water then I add all of the meat to the sauce and add 4-6 cloves of fresh garlic and salt and pepper to taste. I bring the pot to a boil and then turn the heat to very low. I cook this pot for about two to three hours. Then I add 1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil. Then continue to cook the sauce for an additional hour.



Normally when we are making sauce it will be used the next day ... not the day we are making it. So why not serve it the day you make it you ask? Tomato sauce needs to mellow. By putting the pot of sauce in the refrigerator for a day and then reheating it the flavors of the sauce will be both mellow and complex. Tomato sauce when you are making it fresh can be tart. Many people will add sugar to the sauce to take away the tartness of the tomatoes. By taking the time to cook the sauce, then refrigerate it and then retains it you will build a mellowness into the sauce rather than forcing it into the sauce with sugar. This process will also make the meat more tender by allowing the sauce to get to the core of the meatballs and the other beef and pork in the sauce.

I know that this is not an easy one. But you have to believe me that there is very little that will get your family to eat and compliment as much as a home made pot of sauce. Serve the sauce over your favorite pasta or ravioli then serve it with a crusty Italian bread and some great red wine.

Ciao, Mark

Simple Baby Back Ribs & Why They are Like Prayer Requests

Ribs & Prayer? Is this guy off his Rocker?

I know what you are thinking. Baby Back Ribs are not simple. They are difficult to handle, they take too long to cook and they are very easy to burn if you try to cook them completely on the grill. Someone told me a few years back (I think it was Cheryl & Kevin) a different way to make ribs. I have made some slight changes to the original description, but trust me this is an easier recipe than most and it will make mouthwatering ribs. It does not require a smoker. I know that the lack of a smoker is a big problem for some people and I am sorry for doing this to you, but the main objective for my cooking is trying to simplify ways to make great tasting food. So I apologize to the Baby Back Rib Smoker Purists out there ... this recipe is for those of us that are "smoker challenged"!

So why are Baby Back Ribs like Prayer Requests? This thought came to me after my wife and I were talking. I could take a few slabs of baby back ribs and just throw them on the grill. After 10-15 minutes I could throw on some BBQ sauce and after 20 minutes or so I could have them on the table. Quick ribs! Problem is that they would be hard to eat because they would be tough and tasteless. But if I take the time, as I have shown in this recipe, ribs made this way the mouthwatering delicious. The meat falls off the bone as you eat them. You taste the BBQ sauce in every bite. This seems to work in the same manner as our LORD answering my prayers. You see if I throw up a prayer request and then get frustrated with the LORD because my request is not answered in my time it is because I have not given the LORD time to impregnate my heart. I think the LORD wants to slow cook me and my heart like the ribs. HE wants me to simmer in his word. HE wants me to get tender because I am under a just enough heat to make me uncomfortable and to make me want to change. This is, I think, how the LORD strengthens us, over a long period of time he works us and makes things a bit hotter than we desire.

So as you make this recipe think about how the LORD works on you. Enjoy the ribs and even more than that enjoy the heat that the LORD has you under right now because he is making you into a great person that he is longing to love.

Mouth Watering Baby Back Ribs

4 Full Slabs of Baby Back Ribs
1 18-oz Jar of Hickory flavor BBQ Sauce
1/2 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
Salt & Pepper to Taste.
Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Mix together the BBQ Sauce and the wine vinegar and then set aside. Take ribs and remove the membrane from the under side of the ribs. The easiest way to do this is to slide the tip of a sharp knife under the thin skin of the rib. Then take your finger and slide it underneath the membrane you will see it start to separate from the ribs. Pull this membrane off and discard it. Rinse the ribs under water and pat dry. Lay the ribs out on paper towels on the work surface. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Then take half of the BBQ sauce and brush both sides of each slab of ribs. Wrap two slabs of ribs in two layers of the heavy duty aluminum foil. Put the wrapped ribs in a large backing pan or cookie sheet with sides. (This is to catch any dripping that may occur.) Bake for 3 1/2 hours. Remove the wrapped packages and then let them stand on the counter, wrapped, for about 45 additional minutes.

Prepare the grill so it is at about 350 degrees F or at a medium to low flame. Put the ribs on the grill and brush each side with the remaining BBQ sauce. Cook the ribs on each side for only about 5 minutes, brushing additional BBQ sauce on the ribs each time you turn them over. (Remember the ribs are already cooked all we are doing now is finishing the process.) Remove the ribs from the grill and cut the ribs into one or two rib sections.

I like to prepare the ribs the day before I will serve them. This makes serving ribs to guests much easier and quicker. I take the wrapped ribs after they have sat on the counter for about 45 minutes and I put them into the refrigerator. Then I pull them out of the refrigerator for about 15 minutes before I put them on the grill. Then just grill them and add sauce as I have explained.

I hope you will try these ribs and I hope that you will enjoy the way they taste and more than that you will see how the LORD is trying to change you!

Ciao,
Mark