Full assembly required!

Now you're going to hear me bitch occasionally about the difference between cooking and assembling. Cooking requires some knowledge, skill and directions. Assembly means throw a bunch of crap together and heat (or chill or blend etc etc) and consume. I don't normally like to pass on assembly "recipes", but once in a while, you find one thats just too good to be snobby about. Thus, I give you a very Americanized version, of chicken enchiladas!

Friday Night Enchiladas!  9x13 - 400°

1                       Chicken breast/person

1can ea             Cream of chicken & mushroom

1                       Med container of sour cream

2-4c ea             Shredded Cheddar & Mozzerella

1 can                 Chopped green chili's

2tbl ea               Chili powder & Cumin powder

2tsp ea              Garlic powder & Onion powder

                         Pepper to taste

1 pkg                Large Flour Tortillas

Cook the chicken however you like. I bake mine, you can boil it, steam it, poach it, whatever you prefer, just cook it until it is just done. Allow the chicken to cool and remove the skin and bone. Yes you can use other chicken parts, but just for something to put down I wrote breasts. Now either shred, chop or cut your chicken into strips. Mix together in a large bowl the soups, sour cream, spices, chili's (they aren't hot, but they add some very nice flavour) and half of each cheese. Heat the tortillas a littel in the oven or in the microwave. Just enough to warm them to make them more pliable. Now comes the fun part. Portion out your chicken evenly into the tortillas, with a large spoonful of the sauce mix and roll (or tuck and roll) and place sideby side in the 9x13. After you have filled all your tortillas, spoon the remaining mixture over the tortillas and then cover with the rest of the cheese. Cover with foil and bake in a 400° oven for 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Top should be bubbly and loverly browned! If your cheese refuses to brown and you want it so, you can put it under the broiler for a FEW minutes, never taking your eyes off of it. Allow the dish to rest for 15 minutes before cutting, else your cheese top will melt inot the mix.

You may use any melting cheese you like in this, as well as any number. If you have the money and the will, throw 8 cheeses in there (just reduce the amount per cheese). You may also add a myriad of other items, jalapenos, olives, tomatoes, peppers of any kind you like, sauteed onions, etc etc. I also prefer a but more chili and cumin powder, but as most don't I reflected that in the recipe. Have fun!!

Banananannanananaa Bread

Yes dear readers, that is correct, Banana Bread. Now I know, some of you are already wondering... "Why?". Yes I know, there are about 1000000000 banana bread recipes out there and most people think banana bread is idiot proof. Well I'm here to tell you, as one idiot who knows, it can be screwed up! I'm not going to dwell on the hows and whys and the 27.36 lbs of bananas that brough us to this conclusion (don't ask). Suffice it to say, I think I have found not only the recipe, but the method. The method by the way, is as important if not more important than the ingredients.

Let me share with you the basic understanding of "the method". Alton Brown calls it the "Muffin Method". I use this method for muffins, most quick breads and pancakes. It simple enough, although as with anything there exceptions and tweaks. Here it is, mix you wet in one bowl, your dry in another bowl. Add the dry to the wet and ........... wait for it..............mix only enough to moisten most of the dry. See if you mix until smooth, you create gluten. Gluten is chewy, we want soft and tender. The more you mix the more gluten you produce. Now, with this recipe I do break that rule a little, but I have found that with a straight no gluten type of mixing, the breads has a tendency to be unable to support itself and turns either gooey or so dense as to be nasty. So, here it is.

Banananannananananaaa Bread 350°F / Greased 9x5 Loaf pan
2c Flour
1 tsp Soda
1/4tsp Salt
1/2c Butter
3/4c Brown Sugar (white will also work, add 2tsp molasses or maple syrup if you like)
2 Eggs, Beaten
2 1/3c Mashed bananas (very ripe) approx 3 bananas (3 is close enough)
1/4tsp ea Ground clove, Allspice, Nutmeg (all 3 spices optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan. Sift together dry ingredients (including spices if you opt for them) in a separate bowl and set aside. Cream together butter and sugar (3-5 minutes) until light and fluffy. Add each egg individually and incorporate each well before adding more. Add about 1/4c of the dry mix and blend till relatively smooth. Add mashed bananas and blend well, mixture will still be a bit lumpy but that's just fine. Now, stop using your mixer. Add dry to the wet bowl and with a wooden spoon, gently mix until just moistened. A small amount of dry still showing is ok. Scrape with a spatula into the loaf pan and spread relatively evenly in the pan. Place on the middle rack of your 350° oven for about an hour. Ovens vary and quite often you think it is burnt before it is done. I turn mine (gently) every 15-20 minutes to ensure even baking. A paring knife or toothpick inserted just off of center will not be clean when pulled but not be covered in goo. Cool for 15 minutes in pan, then de-pan and finish cooling on a wire rack. Eat (I recommend real butter on it).

Chippin in!

Yes my friends, cookies. I don't know anyone that doesn't like at least one kind of cookie. Spicy molasses, toll house, snickerdoodles, peanutbutter, lemon etc etc. There is a cookie for nearly any type of flavour you can think of in a dessert type fashion. Today however, we are speaking of chocolate chip cookies. Now, as we all know, Alton Brown is the the guy for all food knowledge. Well, I know it at any rate! Today's recipe is inspired by his classic The Chewy, from the ever favorite episode "Three Chips for Sister Sarah". Now I'm very big on the whole "learn the how, then you can put it to your own use" philosophy. Take the knowledge of how a thing is done so you can turn it to your own means in other words. In this case, the how is why a cookie is chewy rather than crunchy or cakey.

Now we prefer a nice chewy chocolate chip cookie here. Hell, we like a crappy chocolate chip cookie... It's chocolate chip fer cryin out loud!!! I have learned tho, with some minor tweaking, to get different results. I don't know about you, but my oven basically sucks. The whole range is as cheap as the landlord could find I would imagine. It has hotspots, cold spots and I think sunspots. If you look close enough it might even have a dog named spot in there somewhere. I have to rotate food so often it seems like it never gets a chance to cook. The has led to some interesting trial and error. Including today's "Crispy chewy chocolate chip cookie"! With a crispy edge and a nice chewy middle, best of two worlds.

Now you have to understand the why here. See, the fat you put in is a large part of what rise you're cookie gets. Shortening has a higher melting point than butter, so your cookie dough holds shape a bit longer allowing a puffier cookie. Cold butter in the mix melts relatively fast and makes for a nice crispy cookie. If you melt the butter and then make your dough, chill it and then bake, you get a nice chewy cookie. Here is the dilemma. I can afford margarine, and occasionally butter flavoured shortening, but rarely can I afford butter. Now margarine seems to be in-between butter and shortening on the melt point. If you have nothing else, it will make a decently chewy cookie. However, I have come up with a hybrid recipe that we find to be most satisfying!

Om nom Chocolate nom nom Chip nom nom om nom nom om Cookie om nom nom
375° F (190° C) 10-14 minutes

1/4c ea margarine & butter flavour shortening
2 1/4 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1/4 c sugar
1 1/4 c brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tbl milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 c semisweet chocolate chips

In a small bowl sift together flour, salt & soda. Melt the margerine & shortening (low heat on the stove or in the microwave). Add sugars and melted fat to a mixing bowl and cream well (3-5 minutes). Add eggs and blend well. Add milk and vanilla, blend until incorporated. Slowlyt incorporate dry ingredients with a wooden spoon. When well mixed stir in chips. Cover and chill for minimum 1 hour, overnight is fine.

Place by large spoonful on a parchment lined baking sheet, 6 at a time. Bake at 375° for 10-14 minutes. Check about halfway though and rotate as needed. Rememeber, if the edges are well browned they are most likely burnt on the bottom. Pull from baking sheet immediately upon exiting oven, but I allow them to sit on the parchment for at least 5 before removing them. I also reuse my parchment 3 or 4 times.

This recipe also lends well to other additions (coconut, nuts, candied fruit, other sweet chips, candy bar chunks etc). Remember, for maximum chewiness they need to cool completely...like that ever happens! I hope this finds you all well and happy. I'll have something else up in a day or two!