Welcome to the Game-Night Kitchen!
I'm planning on buying some Kracken tomorrow... 
Rune
Once A Fool
Episode 31: White Chicken Chili.
What with all the difficulty with these boards, lately, I've fallen a bit further behind than I had anticipated or hoped. Therefore, tonight, I present a triple-feature!
Some of you may remember MonkeyDragon had a white turkey chili that looked very tasty, although more of a thick soup, than a chili (unless two of the spices you decide to add are cumin and chili powder, that is).
Tonight's recipe is a different take on a similar dish.
Here's what you'll need:
Saute.
Coat the bottom of your cooking pot with cooking oil. Heat the oil over a medium-low heat. Chop your vegetables and add the onions to the pot. After a moment, add the garlic on top of the onions. Once the onions have become almost translucent, add in the peppers, as well. Season with cumin and chili powder and add some lemon juice.
Throw it together.
Continue to cook until the onions are translucent, then add your white beans. Increase the heat to medium. Drain your tomatoes (save the juice--you can use it in soups, or--some claim--to cure hangovers). Add in the tomatoes to the pot and continue to cook. Add in the chicken and continue to cook, stirring occasionally to keep the beans from sticking--and scorching. Once heated, serve with some cornbread or corn chips, some sour cream and possibly some shredded cheese over the top.
Or, try a variant.
Consider substituting smoked sausage for the chicken in this recipe and topping with crumbled bacon.
Okay, that's the first one! Next up...
What with all the difficulty with these boards, lately, I've fallen a bit further behind than I had anticipated or hoped. Therefore, tonight, I present a triple-feature!
Some of you may remember MonkeyDragon had a white turkey chili that looked very tasty, although more of a thick soup, than a chili (unless two of the spices you decide to add are cumin and chili powder, that is).
Tonight's recipe is a different take on a similar dish.
Here's what you'll need:
- Pulled or chopped cooked chicken
- Cooked white beans
- Diced tomatoes
- Garlic
- Onions
- Peppers
- Chili powder
- Cumin
- Lemon juice
- Cooking oil
Saute.
Coat the bottom of your cooking pot with cooking oil. Heat the oil over a medium-low heat. Chop your vegetables and add the onions to the pot. After a moment, add the garlic on top of the onions. Once the onions have become almost translucent, add in the peppers, as well. Season with cumin and chili powder and add some lemon juice.
Throw it together.
Continue to cook until the onions are translucent, then add your white beans. Increase the heat to medium. Drain your tomatoes (save the juice--you can use it in soups, or--some claim--to cure hangovers). Add in the tomatoes to the pot and continue to cook. Add in the chicken and continue to cook, stirring occasionally to keep the beans from sticking--and scorching. Once heated, serve with some cornbread or corn chips, some sour cream and possibly some shredded cheese over the top.
Or, try a variant.
Consider substituting smoked sausage for the chicken in this recipe and topping with crumbled bacon.
Okay, that's the first one! Next up...
Rune
Once A Fool
Episode 32: Cornbread.
Cornbread. Eat it with chili. Eat it with soup beans. Eat it with greens. Eat it with butter. Eat it with honey. Eat it for dinner. Eat it for breakfast. As any southerner will tell you, cornbread is a fundamental food group.
In case you don't already know how, here's how to make it:
Here's what you'll need:
Before we begin, I want to say something about the value of a good well-seasoned cast-iron skillet. For southern cooking, there is no more important cooking implement. But, if you don't have one, don't fret. You can still make perfectly passable cornbread with a regular pan.
Start the batter.
In a bowl, add your cornmeal, egg and milk or buttermilk. Your batter should have roughly half as much liquid in it as the dry ingredients, so, for instance, one cup of milk to two cups of cornmeal. If you are using a cornmeal mix, it will probably had wheat flour and a rising agent in it already. If your cornmeal has neither of these things, you will want to add a little baking soda (half a teaspoon for the quantity mentioned above) and might want to add some flour, as well--otherwise you may have a courser cornbread than you would like.
Pour it in the pan.
First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Put your butter in the pan and melt it in the oven. Once melted, very carefully (with oven mitts or pot holders) tilt the pan so that you grease the sides and then pour the remainder into your batter. Stir it in and then pour the batter into the pan.
Bake.
Cook for about twenty minutes to half an hour (cook time will depend on the pan size--and type). When the cornbread is golden on top, remove it from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. If your pan is small enough, hold a sturdy plate upside-down over the top of it, then turn both the pan and plate over. Tap the bottom of the pan and, if your pan was greased well, the cornbread should slide right out.
...And that's cornbread! Next up, there's...
Cornbread. Eat it with chili. Eat it with soup beans. Eat it with greens. Eat it with butter. Eat it with honey. Eat it for dinner. Eat it for breakfast. As any southerner will tell you, cornbread is a fundamental food group.
In case you don't already know how, here's how to make it:
Here's what you'll need:
- Cornmeal.
- Egg
- Milk or buttermilk
- Butter
Before we begin, I want to say something about the value of a good well-seasoned cast-iron skillet. For southern cooking, there is no more important cooking implement. But, if you don't have one, don't fret. You can still make perfectly passable cornbread with a regular pan.
Start the batter.
In a bowl, add your cornmeal, egg and milk or buttermilk. Your batter should have roughly half as much liquid in it as the dry ingredients, so, for instance, one cup of milk to two cups of cornmeal. If you are using a cornmeal mix, it will probably had wheat flour and a rising agent in it already. If your cornmeal has neither of these things, you will want to add a little baking soda (half a teaspoon for the quantity mentioned above) and might want to add some flour, as well--otherwise you may have a courser cornbread than you would like.
Pour it in the pan.
First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Put your butter in the pan and melt it in the oven. Once melted, very carefully (with oven mitts or pot holders) tilt the pan so that you grease the sides and then pour the remainder into your batter. Stir it in and then pour the batter into the pan.
Bake.
Cook for about twenty minutes to half an hour (cook time will depend on the pan size--and type). When the cornbread is golden on top, remove it from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. If your pan is small enough, hold a sturdy plate upside-down over the top of it, then turn both the pan and plate over. Tap the bottom of the pan and, if your pan was greased well, the cornbread should slide right out.
...And that's cornbread! Next up, there's...
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Rune
Once A Fool
Episode 33: Soup Beans
Since we've done cornbread, now, let's get some soup beans cookin'!
Here's what you'll need:
Soak your beans.
Rinse and soak your beans overnight in a salt-water solution--twice as much water as beans (as these will plump up). Traditionally, pinto beans are used, but you have leeway to experiment with other types of beans.
Put it on to boil.
Drain and rinse your beans. Chop your onions and ham. Add to pot with beans, salt, and pepper. You can also add some hot sauce, if desired. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook until beans are soft, adding water as necessary. At this point, Dannyalcatraz points out, you would do well to crush a few of the beans with a spoon to help the broth thicken. Reduce heat and simmer until ready to serve, stirring frequently to prevent the beans from sticking and scorching.
Serve with cornbread on the side and with diced onions over the top. (Or chow chow. If you don't know what that is, you'd probably prefer the onions.)
...And that's it! Until next time, good gaming, y'all!
Since we've done cornbread, now, let's get some soup beans cookin'!
Here's what you'll need:
- Dried beans
- Ham and/or bacon
- Onions
- Salt
- Pepper
- Water
Soak your beans.
Rinse and soak your beans overnight in a salt-water solution--twice as much water as beans (as these will plump up). Traditionally, pinto beans are used, but you have leeway to experiment with other types of beans.
Put it on to boil.
Drain and rinse your beans. Chop your onions and ham. Add to pot with beans, salt, and pepper. You can also add some hot sauce, if desired. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook until beans are soft, adding water as necessary. At this point, Dannyalcatraz points out, you would do well to crush a few of the beans with a spoon to help the broth thicken. Reduce heat and simmer until ready to serve, stirring frequently to prevent the beans from sticking and scorching.
Serve with cornbread on the side and with diced onions over the top. (Or chow chow. If you don't know what that is, you'd probably prefer the onions.)
...And that's it! Until next time, good gaming, y'all!
Just as a FYI, vanilla cognac in eggnog tastes like drinking melted vanilla ice cream, so be careful.
Thunderfoot
Hero
BLESS YOU CHILD!!!!!
It still pains me when I get cornbread from places that think cornbread is sweetened cor cake with no icing. Cornbread should be brown on the bottom, hard on the top and crumbly in the middle without being dry (hard to do without that cast iron skillet). Tastes great with chili, ham and beans, bean soup or with a bit of butter all by itself. Also good as "cereal" with some milk or crumbled up in a glass of sweet Southern Tea (yeah I thought "ewww" when I first heard it too, trust me you will sing a different song afterward).
Thunderfoot
Hero
Wassail - From the Germanic "Vas Heil" the old-aged equivalent of "yo dog, what's up?", transferred to the Old English "Was Hale" leading to the middle-aged term Wassail. In actuality a drink of Medira wine, ale, eggs, apples and spice. Eventually becoming something closer to apple cider. Here is a modern version that you can make that your friends will actually drink.
2 quarts (1/2 Gallon) of 100% Apple Juice (don't use concentrate or sweetened apple drinks)
1 cup of clear Rum (brown run works, spiced rum is a no no)
1/2 cup of Lemon juice
1 cup of packed brown sugar
1 orange sliced (but not peeled) into three or four good thick rounds
18 - 24 cloves
1 or 2 sticks of cinnamon
Take a crock pot and turn it to High
place the brown sugar in the crock pot and slowly add the apple juice, lemon juice and rum, constantly stirring until mixed.
Slice the oranges as above and place six cloves in each slice through the peel - alternately you can put the cloves in and then slice, throw the top and bottom pieces away (too much peel) add to the crock pot.
Cover, let this cook until steam starts to form on the lid and add the cinnamon (you don't want to use powdered because it gets grainy, you want the flavor, but not the actual spice in your drink) Re-cover move setting to low until hot, place on warm and serve.
This is a great Holiday tradition, but also works for a light "fantasy feeling" drink that isn't as heavy as ale or beer, but has more "spirit" than wines or meads.
2 quarts (1/2 Gallon) of 100% Apple Juice (don't use concentrate or sweetened apple drinks)
1 cup of clear Rum (brown run works, spiced rum is a no no)
1/2 cup of Lemon juice
1 cup of packed brown sugar
1 orange sliced (but not peeled) into three or four good thick rounds
18 - 24 cloves
1 or 2 sticks of cinnamon
Take a crock pot and turn it to High
place the brown sugar in the crock pot and slowly add the apple juice, lemon juice and rum, constantly stirring until mixed.
Slice the oranges as above and place six cloves in each slice through the peel - alternately you can put the cloves in and then slice, throw the top and bottom pieces away (too much peel) add to the crock pot.
Cover, let this cook until steam starts to form on the lid and add the cinnamon (you don't want to use powdered because it gets grainy, you want the flavor, but not the actual spice in your drink) Re-cover move setting to low until hot, place on warm and serve.
This is a great Holiday tradition, but also works for a light "fantasy feeling" drink that isn't as heavy as ale or beer, but has more "spirit" than wines or meads.
I can report that:
1) Kracken dark rum is nice
2) it does go well with eggnog
1) Kracken dark rum is nice
2) it does go well with eggnog
