Oven Roasted Potato Wedges

French fries  in North America refer to any elongated pieces of fried potatoes as fries, while in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand, long, thinly cut slices of fried potatoes are sometimes called fries to distinguish them from the more thickly cut strips called chips.

French fries are served hot and generally eaten as an accompaniment with lunch or dinner, or eaten as a snack, and they are a common fixture of fast food. French fries are generally salted and served with ketchup; though in many countries they are topped instead with other condiments including vinegar, mayonnaise, or other local specialities. Fries can also be topped more elaborately, as is the case with the dishes of poutine and chili cheese fries.

Thomas Jefferson had “potatoes served in the French manner” at a White House dinner in 1802. The expression “French Fried Potatoes” first occurs in print in English in the 1856 work Cookery for Maids of All Work by E. Warren. In the early 20th century, the term “French fried” was being used in the sense of “deep-fried”, for other foods such as onion rings or chicken.

It is unlikely that “French fried” refers to frenching in the sense of julienning. Previously, Frenching referred only to trimming meat off the shanks of chops. Belgian journalist Jo Gérard claims that a 1781 family manuscript recounts that potatoes were deep-fried prior to 1680 in what was then the Spanish Netherlands (present-day Belgium). Some believe that the term “French” was introduced when American soldiers arrived in Belgium during World War I and consequently tasted Belgian fries. They supposedly called them “French”, as it was the official language of the Belgian Army at that time.

Variants of French fries include thick-cut fries, steak fries, shoestring fries, jojos, crinkle fries, curly fries, hand-cut friesand tornado fries. Fries cut into rough cubes instead of sticks are called home fries. Fries cut thickly with the skin left on are called potato wedges, and fries without the skin are called steak fries, essentially the American equivalent of the British chip.

Curly fries are characterized by their spring-like shape. They are generally made from whole potatoes that are cut using a specialized spiral slicer. They are also typically characterized by the presence of additional seasonings (which give the fries a more orange appearance when compared to the more yellow appearance of standard fries), although this is not always the case. This seasoning also gives the fries a slightly spicier taste than standard fries.

Tornado fries are made by skewering the whole potato, and then cutting with a specialized spiral slicer. The potato is spread evenly along the skewer and deep fried. The cooking process fuses the potato to the skewer and holds it in place. It is then sprinkled with dry seasonings or served with dipping sauce. Tornado fries gets their name from the tornado-like shape that the potato has on the skewer.

Baked Potato Wedges

Ingredients:

• 4 medium sized Russet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 tablespoons Sea salt

Scrub potatoes under running water until clean. Cut potatoes into 6 wedges each.

Place cut potatoes in a single layer on baking sheet that has been coated with non-stick cooking spray. Drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle liberally with salt.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until golden and crispy on the outside.

Serve with your choice of condiments.

Barbecued Pork Chops

Barbecue sauce (also abbreviated BBQ sauce) is a flavoring sauce used as a marinade, basting (cooking) or topping for meat cooked in the barbecue cooking style, including pork or beef ribs and chicken. It is a ubiquitous condiment and is used on many other foods as well.

The ingredients vary widely even within individual countries, but most include some variation on vinegar and/or tomato paste as a base, as well as liquid smoke, spices such as mustard and black pepper, and sweeteners such as sugar ormolasses. The most common barbecue sauce in the United States is a commercialized Kansas City-style which usestomato purée, corn syrup, molasses and vinegar and has a long shelf life. This style is less intense but similar to steak sauce, which is itself a direct relative of the ubiquitous British brown sauce. Other regional recipes elsewhere forgo the tomato sauce base in favor of a more penetrating vinegar-dominant marinade.

The precise origin of barbecue sauce is unclear. Some trace it to the end of the 15th century, when Christopher Columbusbrought a sauce back from Hispaniola, while others place it at the formation of the first American colonies in the 17th century. References to the substance start occurring in both English and French literature over the next two hundred years. South Carolina mustard sauce, a type of barbecue sauce, can be traced to German settlers in the 18th century.

Early cookbooks did not tend to include recipes for barbecue sauce. The first commercially produced barbecue sauce was made by the Georgia Barbecue Sauce Company in Atlanta, Georgia. Its sauce was advertised for sale in the Atlanta Constitution, January 31, 1909. Heinz released its barbecue sauce in 1940. Kraft Foods also started making cooking oils with bags of spices attached, supplying another market entrance of barbecue sauce.

Our recipe uses a dry rub and a barbecue sauce.

Barbecued Pork Chops

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• ¼ cup Paprika
• 2 tablespoons Onion Powder
• 2 tablespoons Garlic Powder
• 2 tablespoons Black Pepper
• 1 tablespoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• 2 tablespoons Chili Powder
• 6 Pork Chops, approximately 1 inch thick
• Barbecue Sauce of your choice

In a small mixing bowl, combine the first 8 ingredients. Mix well to thoroughly combine and then rub onto the pork chops. Place pork chops in covered dish in refrigerator for at least one hour.

Remove pork chops from refrigerator and allow to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking.

Grill over medium coals (or use a gas grill if preferred) for 6 minutes per side, or until done.

Restaurant Style Salsa

Salsa is the Spanish term for sauce, and in English-speaking countries usually refers to the often tomato-based, hot sauces typical of Mexican cuisine, particularly those used as dips. There are many types of salsa which usually vary throughout Latin America.

There are many other salsas, both traditional and nouveau, some are made with mint, pineapple, or mango.

Outside of Mexico and Central America, the following salsas are common to each of the following regions: in Argentina and the Southern Cone, chimichurri sauce is common. Chimichurri is “a spicy vinegar-parsley sauce that is the salsa (and leading condiment) in Argentina and Uruguay, served with grilled meat. It is made of chopped fresh parsley and onion, seasoned with garlic, oregano, salt, cayenne and black pepper and bound with oil and vinegar. In Costa Rica, dishes are prepared with salsa Lizano, a thin, smooth, light brown sauce. In Cuba and the Caribbean, a typical salsa is mojo. Unlike the tomato-based salsas, mojo typically consists of olive oil, garlic, and citrus juice, and is used both to marinate meats and as a dipping sauce. In Peru, a traditional salsa is peri peri or piri piri sauce: “The national condiment of Peru, peri-peri sauce is made in medium to hot levels of spiciness—the more chile, or the hotter variety of chile used, the hotter the sauce. Original peri-peri uses the African bird’s eye chile (the African word for the chile is peri-peri). Milder sauces may use only cayenne and serrano chiles. To a base of vinegar and oil, garlic and lemon juice are added, plus other seasonings, which often include paprika or tomato paste for flavor and color, onions and herb—each company has its own recipe. It is also used as a cooking sauce.

This salsa “recipe” is quite adaptable – add as much of each individual ingredient as you prefer. You can pulse the ingredients in a food processor for a chunky type salsa or run the processor for a  few seconds to produce a thinner sauce – which is what my household prefers.

Restaurant Style Salsa

Ingredients:

• Fresh tomatoes (or 1 – 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes in juice)
• Fresh green chiles (or 1 – 14 ounce can of tomatoes and chiles – Rotel brand)
• Fresh jalepenos (canned or jarred may be used)
• 1 small chopped onion
• Pinch of sugar
• Garlic salt
• Cumin

Place all ingredients in food processor and pulse until desired consistency is reached.  Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Kahlúa Baked Beans

Kahlúa is a coffee-flavored rum-based liqueur from Mexico. Because Kahlúa is made from coffee beans, it does contain a small amount of caffeine. According to the company, this is “approximately 4.85 mg in each 1.5 oz drink” or about 1/10 the amount found in the same volume of coffee. The drink also contains sugar, corn syrup and vanilla bean. Pedro Domecq began producing Kahlúa in 1936. It was named Kahlúa, meaning “House of the Acolhua people” in the Veracruz Nahuatl language spoken before the Spanish Conquest. (Kahlúa was Hispanicized as Ulúa, forming the name of modern San Juan de Ulúa fortress.)

The company merged in 1994 with Allied Lyons to become Allied Domecq. In turn, that company was partially acquired in 2005 by Pernod Ricard, now the largest spirits distributor in the world since its merger with the Swedish Vin & Sprit in March 2008.

Since 2004, the alcohol content of Kahlúa is 20.0% (21.5% alc. is still available only in Ohio); earlier versions had 26.5%. In 2002, a more expensive, high-end product called “Kahlúa Especial” became available in the United States, Canada and Australia after previously being offered only in duty-free markets. Made with premium Arabica coffee beans grown in Veracruz, Mexico, Kahlúa Especial has an alcohol content of 36%, has a lower viscosity, and is less sweet than the regular version.

Kahlúa is used to make cocktails and as a topping or ingredient in several desserts, including ice cream, cakes, and cheesecakes. Kahlúa can be used in a few notable cocktails, including Black Russians, Mudslides, White Russians, Espresso Martinis, Caribbean Mudslides, Baby Guinness and B-52’s.

It can also be drunk in cold milk or cream, or mixed with hot coffee or cocoa. A licensed line of chocolates, with Kahlúa-flavored centers, is sold in Mexico, as well as small chocolate shot glass-style “cups” in which the liqueur may be served.

Kahlua Baked Beans

Ingredients:

• 1 pound dried Navy Beans, picked over and rinsed
• ½ pound Bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces
• 2 cups Onion, finely chopped
• 1 (12 ounce) bottle Chili Sauce
• ½ cup smoke style Barbecue Sauce
• ½ cup Kahlua liqueur
• ½ cup strong brewed Coffee
• ¼ cup Dijon Mustard
• ¼ cup unsulfured Molasses
• 2 tablespoons Heinz 57 sauce
• 2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce
• ½ teaspoon Salt

Soak the beans, covered, overnight in 8 cups of water. Drain.

In a large pot, cover beans with 8 cups cold water. Set the pot over medium heat, bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring once or twice for one hour or until the beans are very soft but still hold their shape. Reserve 1 ½ cups of the cooking liquid and drain the rest of the water off the beans.

Cook the bcon in a large skillet until crispy. Remove bacon and pour off all but 1 ½ tablespoons of the fat. Add the onion to the skillet and cook until translucent, approximately 5 minutes.

Combine the beans, reserved cooking liquid, bacon, onions, chili sauce, barbecue sauce, Kahlua, coffee, mustard, molasses, Heinz 57 sauce, Tabasco sauce and salt. Transfer to a 5 quart casserole dish with a tight fitting lid. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Remove the lid, stir the beans and continue baking, uncovered, for 30 more minutes. Stir beans and continue baking for an additional 40 minutes or until sauce is very thick.

* Beans may be cooled, covered and refrigerated overnight. Reheat over a medium-low heat on the stovetop.

** The Kahlua may be omitted if you prefer a non-alcoholic option. Substitute an additional ¼ cup each of the barbecue sauce and coffee instead.

Crock Pot Wine and Tomato Braised Chicken

A Crock Pot, also known as a slow cooker is a countertop electrical cooking appliance that is used for simmering, which requires maintaining a relatively low temperature compared to other cooking methods (such as baking, boiling, and frying) for many hours, allowing unattended cooking of pot roast, stews, soups, “boiled” dinners and other suitable dishes.

The Naxon Utilities Corporation of Chicago, under the leadership of Irving Naxon, developed the Naxon Beanery All-Purpose Cooker. Naxon was inspired by a story his Jewish grandmother told about how back in her Lithuanian shtetl, her mother made a stew called cholent, which took several hours to cook in an oven. The Rival Company bought Naxon in 1970 and reintroduced it under the Crock-Pot name in 1971. In 1974, Rival introduced removable stoneware inserts making the appliance easier to clean. The brand now belongs to Sunbeam Products, a subsidiary of Jarden Corporation. Other brands of this appliance include Hamilton Beach,West Bend Housewares, GE, Magic Chef, and former American Electric Corporation.

There are many advantages to using a crockpot including being able to cook with cheaper cuts of meat. The slow moist cooking process softens connective tissue without toughening the muscle. The low temperature of slow-cooking makes it almost impossible to burn food even if cooked too long; however, some meats and most vegetables will become nearly tasteless if overcooked. Perhaps the biggest advantage for those who must be gone from home all day is that food can be set to slow-cook before leaving for the day and will be ready upon return. Better models include timers or thermostats which bring food to a given temperature and then lower it.

Cooking the meal in a single pot reduces the cleaning up process to just a few minutes and the low cooking temperature and glazed pot make cleaning easy. To make cleanup even easier, spray the pot with non-stick cooking spray before adding ingredients or better yet, use crock pot liners that are available in the foil and baggie section of the supermarket.

Crock Pot Wine and Tomato Braised Chicken

Ingredients:

• 4 slices Bacon
• 1 large Onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried Thyme
• 1 teaspoon Fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground Pepper
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 cup dry White wine
• 1 28-ounce can Tomatoes, with juice, coarsely chopped
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 6 boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts
• ¼ cup finely chopped fresh Parsley

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 4 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain and crumble when cool.

Drain off all but 2 tablespoons fat from the pan. Add onion and cook over medium heat, stirring, until softened, 3 to 6 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, fennel seeds, pepper and bay leaf and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add wine, bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, scraping up any browned bits. Add tomatoes and their juice and salt; stir well.

Place chicken in a 4 quart (or larger) slow cooker. Sprinkle the bacon over the chicken. Pour the tomato mixture over the chicken. Cover and cook until the chicken is very tender, about 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low. Remove the bay leaf  and sprinkle with parsley before serving.