Benihana

I could understand them coming back with any amount on the award. But to find that Benihana's not responsible, I don't get that.
~Jacqueline Colaitis, after losing a $16 million lawsuit claiming that Benihana was responsible for her husband's death 10 months after he had dined there

I didn't cook tonight because I had a late holiday business lunch at Benihana. Mmmmm...

Food Thoughts

I hadn't been to a Benihana for years. The food is still excellent - is there any better fried rice anywhere? - I had the chicken, it was delicious (albeit a little over salted). Everything, really, was as as tasty as I remembered.

The thing that seemed different was the service. It was kind of... lackluster compared to what it once was. The chef did a great job preparing the food, but he may as well have been on his own in a kitchen.

Maybe it's the "Flying Shrimp" lawsuit?

I don't know.

Breaded Baked Chicken & Mashed Potatoes

Remember what I said -if you want your mashed potatoes to be the tastiness, you have to use real butter and heavy cream!
~me

Probably the first meal I ever learned to cook, and I learned it because I loved it! It was actually shake-n-bake and boxed mashed potato flakes but I've modified the meal since then.

The Recipes

Breaded Baked Chicken
Ingredients:
Boneless skinless chicken breasts (1/serving)
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I use the 3 cheese variety)
1/2 cup crushed corn flakes
1 tbsp Tony Chachere's cajun spice
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375
Rinse and pat chicken breasts dry
Mix bread crumbs, corn flakes, and Tony Chachere's in a dish big enough to accommodate the chicken breasts
Beat the egg and milk in a dish of similar size
Dip each breast in the egg mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture
Be sure to coat the breast evenly and thoroughly with the breading
Place chicken breasts in an oven safe dish and bake for 40 - 50 minutes

Mashed Potatoes:
Ingredients:
Potatoes (1 lrg/serving + 1 "for the pot")
Note: The following measurements are based on 4 servings
6 tbsp butter
1/2 cup cream
Salt & pepper to taste
Preparation:
Peel and quarter potatoes
Boil for 20-25 minutes until very tender (but not breaking apart in the water)
Drain in a colander and return to pot
Use a masher to mash potatoes
Add butter and let it melt into the potatoes
Add cream, salt and pepper
Mash with a beater set on whip for 2 minutes more or less until potatoes have desired consistency

Served with:
Corn
Dinner rolls

Baked Potatoes

For me, a plain baked potato is the most delicious one....It is soothing and enough.
~Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher

This is an easy one! Pick your bakers, wash them, wrap them up in aluminum foil. Preheat the oven to 400 and cook potatoes for 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on the size. You can test by sticking a fork into the thickest part of the potato - if the fork slides in smooth, it's good!

Remove from oven, remove from foil, split, salt and pepper to taste. Top with any combination of:
Butter
Cheddar Cheese
Sour Cream
Chives
Chili
Bacon Bits

Chicken Quesadillas

It is not the fault of the mouse but of the one who offers him the cheese
~Mexican Proverb

I do get cravings for good tex-mex food from time to time. I've given up on finding any around here, unless I make it myself. So I do.

The Recipes:

Pico de Gallo
Ingredients
1 lrg tomato
1 small red onion
6 Cilantro leaves
Jalepeno pepper
Garlic
Lime
Salt & pepper
Preparation
Cut the tomato in half, remove seeds, and cut it into very small pieces
Cut the red onion into very small pieces
Cut the cilantro into very small pieces
Slice the jalapeno pepper into tiny pieces (to taste)
Put all into a bowl
Put about 1/8 tsp crushed garlic in
Salt and pepper to taste
Cut the lime in half and squeeze 1/2 juice
Mix

Chicken Quesadillas
Ingredients
6-8 large corn tortillas
Boneless skinless chicken breasts (1/serving)
Olive Oil
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
Cilantro
Garlic
Salt & pepper
Lime
Preparation
Cut the chicken into bite size pieces
In a large pan, saute chicken over med-hi heat in olive oil
When chicken is cooked and starts to brown add about 1/4 tsp garlic, chopped cilantro and stir
Squeeze the juice from the other lime half over the chicken and let sit on medium heat
Preheat oven to 325
Place 3-4 tortillas on cookie sheets
Spread the cheddar and jack cheese on the tortillas
Spoon the chicken pieces over the cheese
Cover each tortilla with another tortilla
Bake for about 12-15 minutes until the cheese is melty and the tortillas are a little crisp around the edges
Remove from oven and cut into triangular wedges
Serve with
Pico de Gallo
Sour Cream
Salsa
Avocado slices

The meal was nicely rounded out with black beans and spanish rice.

Food Banks, in a Squeeze, Tighten Belts

No Recipe tonight - it's pizza night. (recipe here)

Food Thoughts

Here is an article from the NYT about food banks in need. If you can, please think about donating to your local food bank.

Food banks around the country are reporting critical shortages that have forced them to ration supplies, distribute staples usually reserved for disaster relief and in some instances close.

“It’s one of the most demanding years I’ve seen in my 30 years” in the field, said Catherine D’Amato, president and chief executive of the Greater Boston Food Bank, comparing the situation to the recession of the late 1970s.

Experts attributed the shortages to an unusual combination of factors, including rising demand, a sharp drop in federal supplies of excess farm products, and tighter inventory controls that are leaving supermarkets and other retailers with less food to donate.

“We don’t have nearly what people need, and that’s all there is to it,” said Greg Bryant, director of the food pantry in Sheffield, Vt.

“We’re one step from running out,” Mr. Bryant said.

“It kind of spirals,” he added. “The people that normally donate to us have less, the retailers are selling to discount stores because people are shopping in those places, and now we have less food and more people. It’s a double, triple, hit.”

The Vermont Food Bank said its supply of food was down 50 percent from last year. “It’s a crisis mode,” said Doug O’Brien, the bank’s chief executive.

For two weeks this month, the New Hampshire Food Bank distributed supplies reserved for emergency relief. Demand for food here is up 40 percent over last year and supply is down 30 percent, which is striking in the state with the lowest reliance on food banks.

“It’s the price of oil, gas, rents and foreclosures,” said Melanie Gosselin, executive director of the New Hampshire Food Bank.

Ms. Gosselin said household budget squeezes had led to a drop in donations and greater demand. “This is not the old ‘only the homeless are hungry,’” she said. “It’s working people.”

Lane Kenworthy, a professor of sociology and political science at the University of Arizona, agreed, saying: “The overall picture is that household incomes are kind of stuck. There’s very little way to increase income, and most people have a very heavy debt load. Any event that increases your costs is really, really troublesome, because you’re already stretched thin.”

The food bank in Manchester delivers provisions to a housing project each week, and on a recent Monday, Matthew Whooley, 26, of Manchester, was waiting in line with his wife, Penny, and their four children.

“Every week there’s less and less food,” Mr. Whooley said. “It used to be potatoes, meat and bread, and last week we got Doritos and flour. The food is getting shorter, and the lines keep getting longer.”

More

Eggs, Benedict

Yet, who can help loving the land that has taught us Six hundred and eighty-five ways to dress eggs?
~Thomas Moore

Eggs Benedict is a tasty repast. Plus, I get to call everyone "Benedict." Do you like your eggs, Benedict? How are the eggs, Benedict? Hahaha! *guffaw* *snort* *giggle*

The Recipe

Ingredients:
Eggs (1/serving for the eggs benedict, 3 yolks for the Hollandaise sauce)
1 tbsp vinegar
Canadian sliced bacon
English muffins (1/serving)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 dash cayenne pepper
Preparation:
Boil about 3" of water in a large, deep pan and add the vinegar (this helps the eggs hold together)
Gently crack the eggs into the boiling water
Poach for about 3 minutes, or until egg is the consistency you like
Broil the canadian bacon slices
Split and toast the English muffins
To make the Hollandiase sauce:
Fill the bottom of a double boiler with water and boil
Put the butter in the top of the double boiler and melt
Mix the 3 egg yolks with the salt, lemon juice and cayenne pepper
Whisk the egg mixture into melted butter in the double boiler and stir until it starts to thicken
Remove from heat
To serve:
Layer from bottom to top: toasted english muffin, slice of canadian bacon, poached egg, hollandaise sauce.

Ribs & Baked Potatoes

Ribs must be America’s favorite barbecue dish.
~Anonymous

Baby Back Ribs were on sale the other day, so I picked up a couple of racks. It's like a summer barbecue, except it's freezing cold, and I cooked them in the oven.

The Recipes

Baby Back Ribs
Ingredients:
2 racks Baby Back Ribs
Bottle of Barbecue sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Tony Chachere's Cajun Spice
Tabasco
Salt & Pepper
Preparation:
Cut the rib racks into pieces that will fit into a big pot full of water
Boil for about an hour
Mix the barbecue sauce with the other ingredients until it has the amount of "bite" you like
Remove the ribs from boiling water and put in oven safe pan
Pour the sauce on
Cover with foil and cook at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes
Put under broiler for 8-10 minutes to make them crisp

Baked Potatoes

Ingredients:
Baking potatoes (1/serving)
Butter
Salt & pepper
Grated cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Chives
Preparation:
Clean potatoes and wrap individually in foil
Cook in oven at 350 degrees for about an hour (they can cook right alongside the ribs)
Remove from foil, cut open, and slather generously with any of the toppings you want

Served with: Blanched broccoli, and 3 cheese texas toast.