Reuben Sliders

Homemade (really made at work) rolls and corned beef helped make these delicious. Ganny phoned it in with the store-bought cheese though. If we're not going to make our own cheese I don't even know why we got that damn cow in the back yard.

It turns out that Reuben sliders pair perfectly with gin and tonic (no lime [they give you headaches]).

In addition to the dogs gleefully devouring their dry kibble, the quick prep of the sliders allowed time to take them for a long walk stroll in the neighborhood. This of course was paired with a triple gin and tonic (no lime!) for me and a triple vodka soda for the lady.

Dipso Tip Of The Week:
When walking around in public with booze, don't be an amateur. Red Solo cups are a dead giveaway. Use a 20 oz. foam coffee cup. And spend a couple bucks more to get a pretty design on 'em so you don't look like a hobo. Ganny and I have a case of these in the garage.

Chicken Under a Brick Recipe

Ganny is smitten with Mark Bittnam's blog at the New York Times. Evidently he's retiring the blog and has posted his 25 favorite recipes. So we're planning to cook all of them (at least the ones that sound interesting). Last night was Chicken Under a Brick. It turns out the chicken was under two bricks as well as a cast iron skillet, but who's counting.

She had already prepped and marinated the chicken earlier in the day and there was very little for the prep cook to do. So I drank beer and watched. I'm practicing for when we're married. By the time we sat to eat I had moved on to gin & tonic (see picture) and Ganny decided to finish off the Root : 1 Sauvignon Blanc from the night before. Thankfully that's gone now.

The chicken was juicy and wonderful with a nice crisp skin.


CHICKEN UNDER A BRICK

Time: 45 minutes, plus optional marinating time

1 whole 3- to 4-pound chicken, trimmed of excess fat, rinsed, dried and split, backbone removed
1 tablespoon fresh minced rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon peeled and coarsely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, optional
1 lemon, cut into quarters.

1. Place the chicken on a cutting board, skin side down, and using your hands, press down hard to make it as flat as possible. Mix together the rosemary leaves, salt, pepper, garlic and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and rub this all over the chicken. Tuck some of the mixture under the skin as well. If time permits, cover and marinate in the refrigerator for up to a day (even 20 minutes of marinating boosts the flavor).

2. When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Preheat an ovenproof 12-inch skillet (preferably nonstick) over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes. Press rosemary sprigs, if using, into the skin side of the chicken. Put remaining olive oil in the pan and wait about 30 seconds for it to heat up.

3. Place the chicken in the skillet, skin side down, along with any remaining pieces of rosemary and garlic; weight it with another skillet or with one or two bricks or rocks, wrapped in aluminum foil. The idea is to flatten the chicken by applying weight evenly over its surface.

4. Cook over medium-high to high heat for 5 minutes, then transfer to the oven. Roast for 15 minutes more. Remove from the oven and remove the weights; turn the chicken over (it will now be skin side up) and roast 10 minutes more, or until done (large chickens may take an additional 5 minutes or so). Serve hot or at room temperature, with lemon wedges.

Yield: 4 servings.

Recipe source : New York Times

And the dogs gave rave reviews to their bowls of dry kibble.

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN RECIPE

This was last night's dinner and it was hands down the best General Tso's Chicken I've ever tasted. It was so good in fact that Ganny and I decided to create a food blog to tell the world about it. We started with the idea of making some sort of Asian stir-fry with a spicy and sweet sauce. I wanted soy, chili, garlic, vinegar, sugar, etc. Soon this became General Tso's. We accompanied this with fried rice and stir-fried vegetables (red bell pepper, red onion, carrot, green onion, and mango).

As usual I played the role of prep cook and chopped all the vegetables. I paired this activity with several bottles of Labatt Blue. Ganny, in her accustomed role as chef de cuisine, paired her meal prep with Naveran Cava Brut Rose.

When we finally sat down to dinner we decided to open a bottle of Root : 1 Sauvignon Blanc. This turned out to be a mistake. Ganny pointed out that it tastes just like when you break into a nursery school and sneak into the changing room and lick a baby's butt. At least that was my interpretation of her tasting notes. I believe what she actually said was "it tastes like the toiletry aisle at Target...it tastes like baby powder." At which point all I could taste was baby butt. Ruined. Clearly the best approach with this wine is to use it to Christen your new skiff at the yacht club then have a martini.

After dinner we went straight for the standard cocktails, gin & tonic for yours truly and vodka & soda for the lady.

Meanwhile, the dogs enthusiastically enjoyed dry kibble.

The recipe:


GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN
Serves 3, with extra sauce for vegetable stir fry

Ingredients for the sauce:
1 tomato paste
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 tablespoons lite soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons dry sherry
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup pepper jelly
¼ cup chicken stock or water
1
tablespoon chili garlic sauce
3 bird chilis or 1 jalapeno or serrano, thin sliced

Ingredients for the chicken:

1 chicken breast (about 12 oz)
2 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 teaspoons peanut oil
peanut oil for frying
2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger

2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons sesame oil

4 dried red chilies
Scallions and toasted sesame seeds sliced thinly, for garnish.

Procedure:
1. Make the sauce: Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl, and set aside.

2. Make the chicken: Dice the breast and place in a large bowl. Add the soy sauces
and egg yolk; mix well. Stir in the cornstarch and 2 teaspoons peanut oil; let sit for at
least 15 minutes

3. Fry chicken in deep fryer at 375 degrees.

4. Place wok over high heat. Add peanut oil. When hot, add chile peppers and stir-
fry for a few seconds, until they just begin to change color. Add the ginger and garlic;
stir-fry for a few seconds longer, until fragrant. Add the sauce, stirring as it thickens.

Return chicken to wok, and stir vigorously to coat. Remove from heat; stir in the
sesame oil, and top with scallions and seeds