Easiest way ever to peel a potato

Some of you have surely seen this, but if not, here goes!

Crock Pot – the 8th wonder of the world

So this past weekend Mike and Carol Richardson, and Pat and Don Miller (aka Grampy, Grammy, Poppy and Nonna) were all here in Philly to celebrate Anabel’s 4th birthday.  On Monday (the day we were going to celebrate — Anabel’s birthday was Tuesday, but everyone had to head back to Indiana for work) we were going to make taco salad as that’s what Anabel said she wanted.  So I thought it would be a good (and easy) idea to put some boneless chicken breasts in the crockpot with some homemade taco seasonings and a little bit of water.  So while I was taking Anabel to school, that’s what Jessica did. 

And the chicken turned out BEAUTIFULLY.  It shred in about 60 seconds (6 breasts!) and had a subtle taco flavor to go along with it. 

Try it out next time you want some shredded chicken or tacos or whatever.  It was great!

Bradley Smoker

Ok, so through a friend of a friend, I’m going to be getting a Bradley Original Smoker.  I really don’t need this, but as Jessica put it “It probably would be a dream come true for you.”   And it’s price can’t be beat:  FREE!

I’m looking forward to it arriving and then reading up on what needs to be done for my first smoke!

Amazon’s 4 for 3 deal

So I guess that periodically Amazon.com has “4 for 3 Deals” where you can buy any four items from a specific list and they’ll drop the lowest priced item. 

This is pretty sweet if you ask me.  Right now they have a TON of books and home and gardenstuff on sale.

Crispy Chicken Cutlets with Creamy Romaine Salad

So our family has really branched out this year in our new menu items (Soft Pretzels, Wings, Blue Cheese Dressing, Red Velvet Cake, etc.) and my wife has recently made a couple of new dishes that are THE bomb.  Not the BOMB, but THE bomb.  This one is from Real Simple Magazine.

• 1 cup buttermilk
• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• kosher salt and pepper (doesn’t have to be kosher)
• 8 chicken cutlets (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 6 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1 head romaine lettuce, cut into pieces 
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced (tomatoes are also a good alternative)

Place 3/4 cup of the buttermilk in a shallow bowl.

In a separate shallow bowl (we find a pie plate is easier to use for this step), combine the cornmeal, 1 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper.

Dip the chicken in the buttermilk (letting any excess drip off), then the cornmeal, pressing gently to help it adhere. (you could soak the chicken overnight in buttermilk for an even greater flavor)

Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Cook half the chicken until golden and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Wipe out the skillet.

Repeat with the remaining oil and chicken.

In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, honey, the remaining 1/4 cup of buttermilk, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

In a large bowl, toss the lettuce and bell pepper with the dressing. Serve with the chicken.

Crispy Chicken Cutlets with Creamy Romaine Salad

Gotta love free food!

So Quiznos is giving out free subs!  I love free food:

http://www.millionsubs.com/Reg.php?x=1

The Buffalo Chicken Cheesesteak (and general steak critiques)

Since I’ve been living in Steaktown USA for more than four years, I feel like I have gotten a decent grasp on the cheesesteak.  I am by no means an expert, and my top five cheesesteaks some might not agree with.  But I am not here today to talk only about the cheesesteak.  I want to talk about its cousin, the chicken cheesesteak.

For those of you that don’t know, a cheesesteak is very thinly sliced pieces of beef (think shaved lunchmeat) that is placed on a hot griddle (sometimes with oil) and then chopped into little tiny pieces, mixed with salt and pepper and sometimes onions or mushrooms or peppers.  All of this is then covered with cheese and a long “hoagie” roll is placed on top.  Then it’s all flipped over and you’re ready to go.  A chicken cheesesteak is prepared in the identical way.

A few problems I have with the way some people make their steaks:

1. Please chop the steak.  Don’t “grill” it on the flat top and then put these long pieces of meat in my roll (see Geno’s and Pat’s for examples of this “wrong” way to do it).
2. Please cook the onions before putting them on the steak.  I only want raw onions if I ask for them.
3. Please mix the cooked onions in with the steak.  Don’t place them on the top or bottom of the steak where I only get a bite of onion on 1/3 of my bites.
4. Please mix the cheese in with the steak.  I know that this can create a mess (if you do it improperly) on the grill as it gets all cheesy, but your customers will be MUCH happier for having a bite of cheese in each bite (see #3).  If I didn’t want cheese in every bite, I would have just ordered a steak, not a cheesesteak.

Ok, now that I got that out of the way…

When we first moved here, I worked down at UPenn and a lovely woman named Freda had a food cart just in front of our building.  One day I was down there and someone ordered a chicken cheesesteak.  I had never heard of such a thing.  So I ordered one as well.  It was great.  I like chicken a lot (I like beef a lot too though…) and this seemed to have more flavor that the beef.  I ended up branching out to add different sauces, veggies, etc. with the chicken cheesesteak (try a chicken cheesesteak hoagie with tzatziki sauce). 

Eventually I ordered a Buffalo chicken cheesesteak somewhere (I can’t remember where I had my first) as I love all things buffalo, and it was great.  But again, there is a right way to do it.  And Real Pizza in the tiny borough of Narberth, PA does it right. 

• They chop the chicken, they add the grilled onions and mix them in.
• They add the hot sauce right into the chicken and mix it up so every bite has sauce. 
• Next they spread out the meat and pour the blue cheese dressing in the middle. 
• Then they fold over the chicken so that the BC is in the middle. 
• Finally they add a few slices of cheese on top and finish it off with the roll. 

Amazing… blue cheese, hot sauce, and chicken in every bite.  Just the way it was meant to be.

Real Pizza Buffalo Chicken Cheesesteak
5 Burger Rating

G & M Seafood – Baltimore, MD

Last week I was in Baltimore on business and one night we went to G&M Seafood about 15 minutes south of the Inner Harbor.  This is supposed to be one of the three best crabcakes around, so I had to try it out.

First of all, the atmosphere in this place is like a  poor hospital cafeteria.  Grey walls with maroon chair rails and cafeteria tables and chairs.  But we didn’t go for the atmosphere.

The table ordered a couple of orders of crab dip.  It was served with saltine crackers and it was wonderful.  Chunks of jumbo lump crabmeat, cheesy and just enough garlic to kill a vampire.  They also had brought out these fist-sized yeast rolls, so I was dipping those in as well.

I ordered the Turf and Surf (yes, they reverse the name).  The small sirloin was almost well done even though I ordered it medium.  The crabcake though… Oh my.  First of all, G&M broils their crabcakes only.  None of this fried junk.  And if I had to estimate a crabmeat to filler ratio, I would say it was 4-1.  Most crabcakes that I have had have too much filler, too much mayo and breadcrums and old bay…  But not this.  This was crabcake bliss. 

So if you’re going to be in DC or Baltimore (G&M is nearly 1/2 way in between) then I highly suggest making the trek to G&M.

I won a Wii… And ate at PF Changs.

So last night I went to the ESPN Zone here in Baltimore and I played this crane game hoping to win an advertised Nintendo Wii. I had 20 “credits” and each play cost 5 credits. I was down to my last play when I pulled up with 50 more credits! So I kept playing and before the night was over I actually won a Wii!!! I was so excited and when I look around to celebrate, there was no one around! So anyways we are pumped! It came with the system, an extra controllers and everything!!

Oh yeah, and I ate at PF Changs too. Kung Pao chicken was good but not spicy enough and WAY to many peanuts. Lettuce wraps might be the best app around. Also had the wedge salad and was completely disappointed. Our server was just okay but it looked like she had a lot of tables.

Overall Changs would have a 3 burger rating, lettuce wraps a 5 burger rating and the night as a whole 10 burgers. I just wish Jessica could have been with me…

On another note, we’re headed to Indiana for Pat’s 60th birthday and I’m making my first red velvet cake. Any icing suggestions?

Baltimore, MD

So I’m heading down to Baltimore next Tuesday-Thursday on business and I thought I’d review any of the places that I get to eat (thank you per diem).

Here’s where I think I’ll head out to, and I’ll be able to squeeze in an additional meal or two. Any suggestions?

Faidley’s Seafood
Berger’s Cookies