people I know!
Actually, it is generally true that I don't tend to praise myself or
my work. And I know it seems like I've been doing just that lately.
So I hesitate to mention it, but today's lunch was another
masterpiece. I made a dish the family is quite fond of--homemade
fried chicken strips. It sounds like chicken fingers, but it's a far
cry from anything you get in a typical restaurant. The secret (don't
tell anyone else this, all right?) is to double-dredge the strips.
First, you dip them in an egg-and-milk mixuture, then in the secret
mixture (keep this to yourself, okay?) of flour, matzo meal, salt,
pepper, mustard powder, and other secret ingredients (let's not let
too many disclosures spoil a friendship, shall we?)--then you dip in
the egg-and-milk and the secret mixture AGAIN, and then you shallow-
pan fry them until they are crisp and golden. The children love them
plain; I love them in a sandwich with a bit of mayo, a lot of fresh,
thickly-sliced beefsteak tomato, some pepper (ah, pepper!), some
spinach, and a splash of French's yellow mustard (q.v.).
That was lovely, but what made everything so marvelous was the
BLUEBERRY COBBLER we made. For the most part, I followed this
receipt--but it needed a bit of modification. For example, we don't
have an 8x8 glass pan, so I melted the butter in a bowl and poured it
in our metal 8x8er. I also think there's not quite enough topping--
next time, I'll do 1.5x the amount of topping. We were also out of
vanilla extract (which is what I assume they meant by "Vanilla
flavoring), so I had to pour some kirschwasser in our old Penzey's
vanilla bottle (which still had the beans in it), swish it around for
a while, and then use that.
When it was done, we let it rest for an hour, which helped the
berries solidify. It was heavenly. I mean HEAV-EN-LEEEEE! We ate
it with a touch of vanilla ice cream. Oh, my. What a summer!
One of the things I like best about the recipe is that it is SO VERY
SIMPLE. It doesn't mess around with corn starch or anything tricky--
just good old fashioned butter.
And don't be afraid to use the butter, folks! Let's face it--how
often do you make blueberry cobbler? When you make it, go ahead and
make it right! No margarine . . . it would turn out horrible. Make
it the right way and blast the consequences!
ds
1 comment:
I forgot to mention Van's comment upon taking a bite of this most-magnificent blueberry cobbler: "Hmmmm . . . not bad."
That, everyone, is the highest praise of all! With his eating difficulties, even trying a bite of something is something of an accomplishment--but to earn that comment by way of praise just melted my heart.
ds
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