Trailer Days

In honor of my parents buying a used camper at Lake Norman, NC I thought I would post one of the more ingenious devices to ever cross my path. This little gadget is handy for camping out or just simply fun to throw on any grill. A friend once gave one to me and often times I will just pull it out of the closet to look at it and make sure I was not dreaming. Cooks a mean chicken to boot! Ladies and gents, the beer can chicken roaster. Add a cheap beer and simply slip this up the under-side of your bird... truly a de-Lite.

During these long, hot summer days, nothing feels quite so right as sitting down with a good book, a chilled beverage at your side. We hand out suggestions about good books like candy, but I feel we’ve been lacking in the beverage department. To remedy that, today we have a recipe for the Mojito, courtesy of Hemingway & Bailey’s Bartending Guide to Great American Writers (illustrated by Edward Hemingway and Written by Mark Bailey).

Hemingway (Ernest, of course) is associated with any number of cocktails, but perhaps none more so than the Mojito. The drink was invented at La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana, Cuba, where Papa drank them, as did Brigitte Bardot, Nat King Cole, Jimmy Durante, Erroll Flynn, and countless others. Enjoy!

Mojito
6 fresh mint sprigs
1 oz. lime juice
3/4 oz. simple syrup
2 oz. light rum
Lime Wedge

Crush 5 mint sprigs into the bottom of a chilled highball glass. Pour in lime juice, simple syrup, and rum. Fill glass with crushed ice. Garnish with lime wedge and remaining mint sprig. Sometimes a splash of club soda is added, according to individual taste.

Apricot Chicken W/ Pasta Primavera

5 oz. Chicken Breast

4 tbsp. Apricot Preserves (low sugar)

1 tbsp. Sweet chili sauce

1 teasp. Lime juice

1/4 cup chopped zuccini

1/4 cup chopped tomato

1/4 cup chopped mushrooms

1 teasp. minced garlic

2 teasp. Extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teasp. salt

1/2 cup whole wheat pasta (cooked)



Apricot sauce: combine apricot preserves with lime juice and sweet chili sauce (heat on stove)

Grill or saute chicken and brush on sauce while cooking

Past primavera: saute zuccini, mushrooms and garlic in olive oil

Add salt, tomatoes and pasta

So, if you are in Winston-Salem, NC and are a foodie, you have to check out Willow's Bistro (Shameless plug, I am a server there now). But for some great dishes made with local produce from the Yadkin Valley, cheeses from The Goat Lady, meats from Shore Farms and fresh NC seafood, this is the place to be. It has a great Sunday brunch (11-3) and half-price bottles of wine on Mondays.

Table for One

Kusheri is an Egyptian vegetarian dish that features rice, macaroni and lentils. Chickpeas can be added as well. The most difficult part of this dish is preparing the four separate starches and carmelizing the onions. And doing it alone. But we here at IGAGPTSIWYW will persevere and hope that our sous chef returns soon.

1 cu. cooked macaroni

1 cu. cooked chickpeas

1 cu. cooked lentils

1 cu. cooked brown rice

Garlic flavored vinegar

Carmelized onions

Sriracha (here is where she would have said 'Roosta Boosta')

To carmelize onions:

3 tbsp. oil

3 onions, sliced

1 tsp. brown/ white sugar

Salt

Heat oil on Med-High. Stir in onions and reduce heat to medium-low. Add sugar if desired. Stir until onions ate soft and dark golden, 30 min. or more.

1. Combine macaroni , chickpeas, lentils and rice in a bowl. Mix well.

2. Garnish with vinegar and carmelized onions and hot sauce (Sriracha)

Derby Daze

Coctails fit for a Queen

To sip while watching the fastest two minutes in sports.

Oak Lily

1oz. Vodka

1oz. Sweet & Sour Mix

3oz. Cranberry juice

Splash Triple-Sec

Serve in a tall glass with crushed ice. Garnish with straw, orange wedge, or cherry.

Mint Julep

3-5 mint leaves

1 T. powdered sugar

2 T. water

3oz. Bourbon

Crushed ice

In julep glass, mix/ mash powder sugar and leaves. Add water and stir. Add bourbon. Enjoy.

After Tax Day We all Could Use a Drink

RiverRun Intl. Film Festival is officially under way in Winston-Salem, NC. The focus this year is on Mexican filmmakers. So, to celebrate (like we need a reason) try this sangria recipe.

Also check out the new Claro beer , imported by Banks Channel in W-S.

The Last Supper?

A and T made a sovory feast of food . A continues to forget T. Will this be the last fest we share?

Bangers and Mash-ups

I hate snakes. So each March 17, I honor the hell out of St. Patrick. I came across this recipe which will no doubt aid in offestting the fifth of Jameson that will be spilled next Wednesday. (An aside: really never liked Boondock Saints.) Slainte!

Bangers and Mash with Onion Gravy

1.5 lbs small red potatoes (with skins)
8 cups chopped kale (about 1.5 lbs.)
1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. canola oil, divided
1 lb. cooked sausages (traditionally pork, but for healthier bangers use chicken or turkey sausages)
1 lrg. sweet onion, halved & thinly sliced
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth (healthy use reduced-sodium)
3 tbsp. coarse-grained mustard, divided
1 tsp. butter, melted
1/3 cup buttermilk (again healthy= non-fat)

Ground prepper to taste

1. Bring 4 qts of lightly salted water to boil. Add potatoes and kale (4-5 min.) Transfer kale to collander, rinse and drain.

2.Continue to cook potatoes until very tender, approx. 20 min. Drain & transfer to large bowl. Add kale.

3. Over medium-heat, heat 1 tsp. oil. Add sausages and cook until browned, about 2 min. each side. Set aside on plate.

4. Add remaining tsp. oil to skillet still at med. heat. When hot, add onion and saute until softened and slightly browned, about 5 min.

5. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 min. Stir in broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer, then stir in 1 tsp. mustard and return sausages to skillet.

6. In a small bowl, stir together remaining 2 tbsp. of mustard, the butter and the buttermilk. Pour the mixture over potatoes and kale and using a potato masher, smash coarsely. Season with pepper. Server the sausages and mash topped with gravy.