Camping, Princess Style

[Smithy]

Smithy, we've been craving fried fish, too. The only thing holding me back is the gigantic mess it makes in the kitchen. My husband likes to fry the fish and....well, let's just say he isn't in to cleaning up as he goes lol.

Andie!!!! I'm so glad you're back. I hope you are able to get home soon. Nothing quite like being home

Shelby, I hear ya.

Shelby, when I fry I put newspaper down on the nearby exposed surfaces. I have an induction cook top so it's safe. I would use foil if I had gas or electric.

This sounds like excellent advice, although I'm not sure how I'd get the walls and overhead areas lined without defeating the purpose of the range hood.

I confess: I hate frying indoors. When I contemplate the mess, the lingering smell and the subsequent cleanup I work myself into such a tizzy that I probably make things worse than necessary. My mother, bless her memory, used to make wonderful fried chicken in an electric skillet. She did it often, as it was a family favorite and a never-failing guest treat. Years later, she confessed to me that she'd hated the cleanup. She did it for love of the meal (it was also one of her favorites) and of the family, and she gets points in my book for being a good sport.

Someday, I may overcome my aversion to frying and work out ways for it to be less messy. If I do, I'll write about it and name my book "Fear of Frying". (bada-BUMP)

[Shelby]

I need to get an electric skillet.  My grammy had one and I think mom did too.  

 

Cyalexa, I'll try to remember the foil trick.  When my husband fries he gets crazy with the flour.  You wouldn't believe the places I find flour. 

 

YES, Smithy, I'm the same way--and I seem to be getting worse about it the older I get.  The lingering smell doesn't bother me too much. My main problem is smelling it all during the prep and cook.  By the time it's all done, I no longer am hungry for it.  However you could probably find me around midnight, while I'm letting the dogs out, sneaking a piece from the fridge lol.  Oh and the clean up.  I swear I use the hottest water I can and grease still just smears around.  

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Shelby, I hear ya.

This sounds like excellent advice, although I'm not sure how I'd get the walls and overhead areas lined without defeating the purpose of the range hood.

I confess: I hate frying indoors. When I contemplate the mess, the lingering smell and the subsequent cleanup I work myself into such a tizzy that I probably make things worse than necessary. My mother, bless her memory, used to make wonderful fried chicken in an electric skillet. She did it often, as it was a family favorite and a never-failing guest treat. Years later, she confessed to me that she'd hated the cleanup. She did it for love of the meal (it was also one of her favorites) and of the family, and she gets points in my book for being a good sport.

Someday, I may overcome my aversion to frying and work out ways for it to be less messy. If I do, I'll write about it and name my book "Fear of Frying". (bada-BUMP)

 

I believe the NY Times just beat you to the title.  I wish I could fry but I cannot deal with the mess.  There has to be a way.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Take your electric skillet outside to the deck to have a fish fry.

 

You'll probably need an extension cord, and an ordinary light one won't suffice. A good hardware store will have something called an "appliance" extension cord that is safe for stuff like heaters, refrigerators and an electric skillet. This cord is heavier and designed to safely carry more electricity without overheating. I need all this stuff anyway to run off the generator during hurricane and ice storm power outages.

 

Also, if you don't have a covered patio or deck, be sure to only fry outside on clear days with no threat of rain. I've you've ever accidentally splashed a few drops of moisture into hot oil, you know why this is critical.

 

I put a cheap vinyl tablecloth over the table on the deck, clamp it down against the wind (this is important for safety around hot oil) and I'm in the fish fry business. This is a lot of fun, and makes clean up much easier.

 

Also use a clean empty recycled produce bag to shake your seasoned fish or seafood with flour, cornmeal or other breader, then throw out the mess!

 

I like to do things the easy way.

[Smithy]

No frying tonight!  The wind blustered and gusted all day, to the point that we had the awning down for all of 5 minutes before retracting it.  It was a great day for walking, a fair day for cycling, and a fine evening for cooking indoors.  

 

Many years ago we stayed at a DoubleTree in West L.A. for a conference.  Their in-house restaurant served up a dish they called "Tequila Chicken".  I wheedled them into giving me the ingredient list and rough instructions, thereby setting me off on a merry but fruitless chase for 'manufacturing cream'."Oh," they said, "you can get it anywhere!"  I've seen the same assertion on these forums.  I have yet to see the stuff in the wild.

 

Nonetheless, we've morphed this into a home recipe that never comes out the same twice but is always good.  Tonight may have been better than usual.

 

 

We need to keep a steady strain on green vegetables.  This didn't exactly go with the chicken, but we usually like it:  brussels sprouts halved, browned in bacon, cooked down with honey, vinegar and (this time) chicken broth.  Get your Vitamin K here. The photo is from roughly the halfway stage.

 

I was also determined to bake bread - partly in honor of andiesenji's return, and partly because of my success last week at rosemary olive oil bread.  I swear I used the same proportions (by weight) during the mixing. The mixture was much firmer and drier than the last time around.  As I kneaded, stretched, waited and folded (lather, rinse, repeat as necessary) I kept adding more water and olive oil in stages, trying to get the sort of dough texture I've come to expect.  I still ended up with an unruly stiff loaf.  The loaf split, but it tasted good and the texture was quite nice.  What a happy surprise!

 

 

Dinner:  

[Darienne]

Looks lovely...and now, maybe, you'll share the ingredient list and rough instructions with us, your loyal fans. :rolleyes:

[blue_dolphin]

I second Darienne's request for a little more info on that Tequila Chicken.  Please.

I buy Alta Dena manufacturing cream at Smart & Final but I've never seen it anywhere else. 

 

Schlepping around in an RV has never really appealed to me but I'm very much enjoying the opportunity to go along with you!

[JohnT]

Yes please, that recipe for Tequila Chicken sounds good!

Surely you could use just plain old heavy cream in place of the manufacturing cream - manufacturing cream just consists of abut 5% more butterfat than heavy cream? Or maybe just thicken heavy cream with some acid (lemon juice) 15 minutes before use would suffice!

[Smithy]

Thanks, everyone, for the request!  I'm happy to share, and flattered that you asked.  JohnT, thanks for the suggestions.

 

It isn't a precise recipe.  I'll begin by showing you what I was given, in spring of 1998.  I don't think I'm giving away any restaurant secrets at this point, since the hotel has changed hands and the restaurant, if it's still open, is under quite different management.

 

Over the years I've tried to duplicate it, kept careful notes, and - as with so many of my attempts to recreate some great restaurant dish - eventually forgotten what the original was like but come up with something we like anyway. 

 

 

Last night went along these lines (note the substitution of orange juice for lime juice, which took it in a very different but delicious direction):

• 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2-4 Tbsp butter
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces. (More would have been fine, but it's what we had.)
• the juice of 1 medium orange (Note!  The usual citrus is lime, but we didn't have any; this was different but good)
• the juice of 1¹/₂ lemons
• a good glug or two of tequila (no more than 1/4 cup)
• about a quarter cup of soy sauce
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced, then the rings quartered
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded, deveined and diced
• 1 Anaheim chile, seeded, deveined and diced (I didn't like the flavor and may have used only half)
• 8 - 10 oz fettucine (I started with 1/2 lb, then added more, but probably didn't need to)
• 1/2 - 1 cup half-and-half (the heaviest cream we have)
• small green onions thinly sliced, for garnish (I think I forgot to add them)
• a handful of fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish (cilantro haters can use fresh parsley, or omit the greens)
• salt, Aleppo pepper, dried oregano, and possibly thyme for seasoning

Cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks and marinate in the citrus juices, soy sauce and tequila while the rest of the prep is under way.

 

Do the chopping and slicing of the vegetables as noted above.

 

Start the pasta. This will no doubt sound heretical, but I've taken to using minimal water (1-2 quarts in this case) and putting the pasta in while the water is barely warm.  It saves both energy and water, and for our purposes does not produce gummy pasta.  YMMV.

 

Remove the chicken from the marinade (save the marinade), pat dry, season.  

 

Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat - we use a nonstick heavy skillet, so it doesn't take much oil - and when the oil gets that characteristic "hot" sheen add the vegetables.  Note that for crunchier onions one can soak them in ice water and add them toward the end.  I didn't do that last night. As the vegetables start to sweat, add the chicken (with a little more oil if necessary) and brown it slightly. Deglaze with the marinade, and cook down slightly.  Add more herbs and spices as you see fit.

 

By this time the pasta should be mostly done.  Remove it with tongs from the pot and add it, dripping, to the pan.  Stir.  Add butter and cream; stir and pull the noodles through to coat; add pasta water to lengthen and thicken the sauce.  When the pasta is fully cooked and the sauce is the right consistency, garnish and serve.

[FauxPas]

Sounds interesting! I make variations of what I call Margarita Chicken or Tequila-Lime Chicken, but never use either soy sauce or cream. (or make it with pasta). Maybe I should try adding those? Your meal looks lovely! 

 

The recipe I follow (loosely) might has a couple of hot peppers (or a fresh pepper + some red pepper flakes) and garlic and cilantro (or some other herb) and onion, with relatively generous amounts of citrus and tequila. Add some oil and marinate it and maybe add more fresh (hot or sweet) peppers while cooking. If I make wings, I often just marinate and bake. Those are really good when cooked in the Cuisinart Steam Oven. 

Edited March 16, 2015 by FauxPas (log)

[Smithy]

That sounds like a nice variation on the same theme, FauxPas. I remember the original Tequila Chicken as being spicy-hot in a way that ours isn't, and the addition of hot peppers or red pepper flakes would get closer to that memory.

I swear...between you and rotuts, I may end up giving counter space to a Cuisinart Steam Pro yet, once we get home.

[Porthos]

I buy Alta Dena manufacturing cream at Smart & Final but I've never seen it anywhere else. 

 

Schlepping around in an RV has never really appealed to me but I'm very much enjoying the opportunity to go along with you!

 

 

I buy Alta Dena manufacturing cream at Smart & Final but I've never seen it anywhere else.

 

California law changed last year., Manufacturing cream as a product was originally created by Berkeley Farms up in the San Francisco area. Last year thanks to our intrepid state lawmakers "manufacturing Cream" become illegal to use as a product title. So for now Alta Dena HEAVY whipping cream is their 40% butterfat product. I have to acquire this in the springtime for use in our Ren Faire Tea With The Queen kitchen.

[Smithy]

I have two mystery products for which I'd like to solicit ideas.

 

I picked up this Texas Two-Step Tortilla Soup Mix bottle a few years ago, probably at Big Bend National Park, and its traveling time will come to an end this trip.  It didn't come with any directions.  I've been wondering whether to rehydrate it with water, beef broth or chicken broth, and not even sure what's in it.

 

 

I had planned to ask here about what to do with it, but decided to try the wonderful world of the Rest of the Internet first.  It didn't take long to find answers... on Amazon, of course.  I'll admit right now that I wouldn't have come close to what Bear Creek Kitchens had in mind for this mix.  Anyone else want to play along?  Without looking at the link: what do you think is in this bottle, and what would you do with it?

 

 

The other product is a spice package I picked up in Capetown, South Africa last year after discovering Cape Malay cookery.   So far I've used this to coat chicken and make a butter-cream sauce around it to serve with rice.  The label calls it a marinade, and makes me wonder whether the chicken is supposed to be marinaded in this spice with some liquid before simmering it in a cream sauce.  

 

 

My questions about this are, for anyone who may be familiar with the cuisine:

• How would Cape Malay chicken be made by people who know what they're doing?
• What's in this spice packet, aside from turmeric?  It has a nice spicy heat, with intensity according to the amount of spice used.  Sooner or later I'm going to exhaust this supply, and I'd best work out how to make it for myself.

 

[rotuts]

re TTS :

 

Id empty the bottle and mix it up well, that way you can divide it in 1/2   

 

if you feel there are tortilla chips in there, well then rehydrate it with what you like and go.

 

if not, as you are in the SW  find some fresh tortillas ie just made and use those.

pick your favorite meat

 

Id suggest  Pork !  grill the pork strips then add it to the soup just at the end after it rehydrated with stock or water

 

Ck stock would be better 

 

re Butter Chicken

 

add some of the spice to ck stock, and let it gently cook   taste  add more or not

 

add the chicken after the chicken has been cooked so it does not get tough.  just before adding the chicken, add

 

a cornflour slurry to the spice mixture to get it to your desired consistency then add the cooked chicken but just heat up

 

love to see what you do !

[Darienne]

Re the Tequila Chicken.  It puts me in mind of Roberto Rodriguez' recipe for Puerco Pibil...except for the soy sauce, of course  .  Puerco Pibil is my go to recipe for pork these days.

 

Thanks so much for the recipe.  I AM going to make it, although I have only chicken breasts in the freezer right now and that won't add to the deliciousness of the dish I fear.

 

Thanks, Smithy.

Edited March 16, 2015 by Darienne (log)

[Shelby]

I will be making that tequila chicken.  I need some thighs, though.   Wait, I have quarters....I could just debone them.....

 

 

Regarding the tortilla soup mix, I'd definitely use chicken broth.

 

Now I'm off to look at the amazon link so I can see how wrong I am lol.

[Smithy]

Great ideas, folks!  Keep 'em coming!

 

Re the Tequila Chicken: I think the original was done with chicken breasts.  I tried it for years with chicken breasts, but we always thought they ended up too dry.   The answer might be in simply simmering the breast meat in the pan sauce instead of trying to brown it first, but I'm partial to those maillard reactions. Meanwhile, we've decided that we prefer breaded chicken cutlets (see earlier post) as a use for chicken breast.

[Darienne]

The chicken will not be browned and all will be well.  Thanks again.

[JohnT]

Smithy, that "Chicken Butter Marinade" actually looks like a mixture of leaf masala and normal Malay curry masala. Normally, for a Cape Malay Chicken Curry for 2, you would dice an onion and soften in a pan with a bit of butter, a crushed clove of garlic, a teaspoon crushed ginger, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 star anise and 4 cardamom pods until just cooked - about 5 to 10 minutes. Once the onion is soft, add a tablespoon of your masala and stir until heated and the aroma is flooding your trailer. Then I add 2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized cubes and tossed in a pan to brown them first, together with a can of coconut milk. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes and serve with yellow rice (or just plain rice if you do not feel like making a yellow rice). Just remember, when serving, to remove the cinnamon stick, star anise and the 4 cardamom pods. If you enjoy the flavour, add a bit of chopped cilantro (coriander leaves) as a garnish and a squeeze of lemon juice. Some peach chutney goes well with it on the side.

I will give Cape Spice a call tomorrow for you and see what recipe they suggest. Remember that a Cape Malay Curry is not as hot as an Indian Curry but has a spicy flavour and aroma.

[Smithy]

Tonight we had a large dinner salad:

• The usual salad greens - chopped, washed and spun
• The usual salad crunchies (peppers, peas, celery, radishes, carrots) - washed and chopped
• Cherry tomatoes
• Steamed eggs, sliced
• Sliced scallions
• Croutons

 

Supplemented by:

• Bacon ends and pieces - cut into chunks, partially cooked, drained, and cooked to completion with...
• one of our precious Alaskan salmon filets - skinned, dusted with flour and spices, then cooked with the bacon, then...
• deglazed with balsamic vinegar, mixed with olive oil...

• ...and tossed with the salad, juices and all.

 

I'd originally intended some sort of panzanella with the remnants of my latest rosemary olive oil bread serving as croutons, but it seemed simpler to slice the bread and toast it.  I'd also intended to dress said panzanella with the Caesar dressing that I made yesterday, from David Ross' post on the eGullet Cookoff: Citrus topic.  Instead, the dressing was at the table to use as we saw fit.

 

 

We both agreed that the salad would have been wonderful with more of the hot pan dressing, if only there had been enough.  We also agreed that David's Caesar Dressing is excellent: it took the flavors in a different, but still delightful, direction. 

 

The beauty of a meal like this is that it gave us time to sit outside, look at the stars, listen to the coyotes, and contemplate more intricate meals for another evening.

[Smithy]

JohnT, the simple phrases "leaf masala" and "Malay curry masala" took me into new domains of the Internet today.  I hope Cape Spices gives you some information...but if they don't, I'll still have new ideas to explore. Thank you!

[JohnT]

Had a chat to Hossain (Sp?) at Cape Spice. He confirms my thoughts and recipe except he says they use buttermilk instead of coconut milk. However, he says that you can use either standard cream or coconut milk, which produces a thicker sauce, or the buttermilk, which produces a far thinner sauce. I have always used coconut cream and buy the cans in bulk as I make a large amount of Cape Malay Chicken Curry for both catering events and in my frozen food products.

I do have the recipe somewhere for making your own Cape Malay Chicken Masala from scratch, which I used to do when I was only using it in small quantities. However, I go through so much of it lately that I find it easier, and cheaper, to get it mixed from a spice merchant in bulk. Hope the above helps!

[Smithy]

Thanks for that information, JohnT.  We had a surprise extra couple of days in Tucson, so we were able to get the necessary ingredients.  Sometime in the next week I expect to try that Cape Malay chicken.

 

We ran errands yesterday and went back to Babylon Market, to see if they'd gotten our preferred Greenland feta cheese in stock.  They had!  We stocked up, and bought some other items we'd either overlooked or decided we needed.

 

 

Lunch was beef shawarma, one wrap each.  It was as good as we'd remembered.

 

 

Another purpose of visiting the Babylon Market again was to bring them a copy of my earlier post about them, as a thanks for letting me photograph their store.  Mr. Rashid, the partner in my first photo, was so pleased at the writeup that when we made our purchases he gave us two pieces of that lovely baklava!  It was at least as good as it looked: lightly sweet, with what seemed like a slight touch of lemon. (My darling didn't notice that flavor, so it may have been my imagination.)  The pastry was light, flaky and deliciously crunchy.

 

 

Here's our haul from yesterday.  The jar with the greenish contents is an Arabic pickle with mango, lemon and lime juice, and chili. I couldn't contain my curiosity.

 

 

Note the "sweet lemons" we found there.  I asked whether they might be the same lemons one typically gets in Egypt (Clifford Wright referred to them as 'daq' lemons).  Nobody knew the answer to that question, but they all said these are sweet lemons as opposed to sour lemons.  The lemon at the bottom right of this photo is a more typical lemon: Lisbon or Eureka.

 

 

We're looking forward to trying these with fish, to see how well they match our memories.

 

 

[Smithy]

Oh, the luxury of electricity!  It helps compensate for the congestion of a developed campground.  

 

Yesterday we set up dinner before we left for the afternoon on errands. We loaded our small crock pot with chunks of potato as insulation, loaded a pork roast atop that (seasoned with cumin, coriander and a touch of rosemary), and left it on low.

 

 

When we got back and the thermometer said the roast was nearly done, we opened our last jar of sauerkraut from home.

 

 

(Another supply finished!  Not that I'm making headway against our supplies, given our stocking-up at places like the Babylon Market ) The kraut was given a small dose of brown sugar and caraway, and loaded atop the roast.

 

 

We went outside to admire a rare sight: clouds overtopping the hills, hiding the peaks and promising the rains that would come soon.

 

 

Dinner - well, maybe this belongs in the Gallery of Regrettable Results, but we loved the flavors.

 

 

 

[rotuts]

might those lemons be Meyer lemons ?

 

I grew up w several trees in CA

 

if you left them on the tree  ( there were two crops / year ) they got quite sweet

 

miss those threes and all the other trees i grew up with