Scott Fed Kelly BBQ Fork Pulled Chicken

Its always interesting to me when I get a request through email that starts off with the saying "can we have this". I take it as a credit to my skills that there is never a question of do I know how to make it but more of a request of would you make this for me.

It wasnt until I was with my Irish Lass that I started to appreciate healthy cooking. When the public comes to me for a meal the last thing on their mind is healthy eating. Oh they want to give the appearance that the meal they order is healthy but to actually consume a healthy meal....well thats just Un-American. Hence the nations problems with obesity.

But hear lately I have been challenged to start looking at the meals I prepare at home. Watching the calories, fat content, how many carbs and most of all keeping it healthy.

The recipe was a crockpot dish of BBQ chicken. While I like using crock pots I know I can do better. Using the oven to handle the roasting of the meat as it cooks down will give the dish a richer deeper flavor. The addition of red onions also should help give the chicken a sweeter flavor without putting in any additional calories.

The seasoning of this dish is going to be fun as well. I like to make my own seasoning mixes. Its to the point now that Kelly knows when I make the seasoning mix and when I grab one of the celebrity hack chefs pre-made mixes.

The theory behind any pulled meat is that the meat is cooked down to the point that a push or pulling of a fork will cause the meat to fall apart. This is accomplished through several methods. The first and easiest is to use a peice of meat that is already naturally tender. The tenderloin of beef or pork comes to mind. The problem with using that cut of meat is its expense, up to $18 a pound. The second method is to marinate the meat and let the marinade break down the meat before the cooking process. The third way is to cook the meat at a very low temprature for a very long time. I like to use a combination of the last two.

The history of bbq meats is not from a single source. The French do something simular and call it confit, the British and Irish have been makeing stews using this method. But the origin of American bbq can be pointed to the deep south and pre Civil War. One theory is that the slaves used to take the cuts of meat that were detirmined to be unusable and cooked them over an open flame in and outdoor kitchen. Through the use of vinegars and mustards the meat would tenderize to the point of being enjoyable.

The recipe I got from Kelly was from a healthy weight loss website. I like seeing those recipes cause they let me know a direction to work towards keeping the dish healthy and fat free.

So on to the recipe

2# boneless skinless chicken breast
1 cup local lowfat ketchup (I was skeptical of this but found it to be a little sweeter than the normal ketchup, it actually reminded me of the Ketchup I used to eat with my fish and chips when I was in England)
1/2 cup of rasperry vinegar (it was all I had in the kitchen)
1/4 cup worsteshire sauce
1 16 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 cup of diced onions (white onions are ok red onions would be better)

SPICE MIX
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp garlic salt
2 tbsp dried basil

lay the chicken in a heavy bottom pan (preferably a cast iron skillet) mix all the ingredients in a bowl and pour over the chicken. Cover the top of the pan with aluminym foil and bake in a oven at 250 degrees for about 3 hours. Pull the chicken from the pan and break up with a fork. Place the skillet on the stove and turn on to high heat and cook the liquid down until it is nice a thick and pour the sauce over the meat. Serve on a low fat bun and a nice tossed salad.

Bonne Apetite

Fat Free Yogurt with fresh strawberries and coconut milk

I have been inspired with the summer coming on to make scratch ice cream. When I was growing up my parent used to throw ice cream parties. I remember helping my mom make the ice cream base and since this was 30 plus years ago we had to old crank ice cream churn that required lots of ice and rock salt. One spring break we went on a trip to Texas and we went into Mexico for a day trip. On the trip dad found a bottle of Mexican vanilla. It looked like a bottle of brown liquor. For years they hid that bottle from all their church friends. And for the longest time after that anytime mom cooked something that required vanilla she used that bottle. For those of you who do not know its a stronger flavor and the smell is a bit harsher than its asian sister. To this day I can tell just by the smell if the vanilla is Mexican or a south east asian. One of the other things I remember vividly was the fresh strawberry ice cream that we used to make as well. There is nothing like that fresh local grown strawberry flavor in your homemade ice cream on a hot July saturday afternoon. Remember the scene in Ratatouille when the critic has a flashback from eating that meal in the end. Same thing for me.

A couple of years ago I was fortunate enough to come across an Il Gelato ice cream maker. They stopped making them a while back due to the ban on the type of freon that it used. Needless to say its one of the peices of cooking equipment that I cherish.

My ice creams are legendary amongst my family. Probably cause I use the 42% butter fat heavy cream and egg yolks in the batter. But we dont tell them that. I have an Aunt who swears that she is allergic to butter... not lactose but butter. I have been feeding her butter for years. My partner on the other hand watches EVERTHING I cook and put into the dishes I make for her. She is very particular about her diet and I respect that. So when I asked if we could make some ice cream I was pretty sure I knew what the criteria was going to be. Fat free and lo cal was the response. And then if I recall since I was asking this on IM she sent me a link to a fat free frozen yogurt recipe. And we were off and running.

I started off with fat free greek yogurt. I like the rich flavor and Greek yogurt has the active enzymes that help facilitate the digestive system. I also purchased a large basket of strawberries, from Texas I think, and let them sit on the counter for a couple of days. This part is important. I want the strawberries to get good and ripe.

That means you are going to have some of that moldy fuzzy strawberries in the basket when you go to sort them. Now here is the special instructions part. You have to keep the soggy none brown strawberries. Those are the ripest and have the most flavor.

So here we go on the recipe.



16 oz greek yogurt fat free

3 cups extra ripe strawberries

1 tbsp (yes tablespoon) vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1 8 oz can coconut milk

1 8 oz can sweetened condensed fat free milk

sweet and low to taste ( I know I know she insisted)

mix all ingredients in a large bowl mix thoroughly and pour into the ice cream maker and mix till cold and thick.

I like to buy those ziplock disposable containers to put the ice cream in and put in the freezer. Once the mixture is in the freezer let it sit over night and cure (Ya right I was scooping a bowl out of the the machine while it was still churning)

I recommend having some sugar cookies to go with this but thats just me.

Bonne Apetite

Its been a year...almost...

Hopefully I will be able to start blogging more... I have not had much time and I found that I have missed this time.

The past year has been amazing terrific and amazingly stressful. I started the new job and was immediately thrust into the life of a university chef. If you dont know a university is its own little world. The kind of world that seems to be very unaware of whats happening beyond its grounds. I had a desire to make my presence known. That task proved to be easier than I thought. The previous chef was not as involved as I like to be. So to have an impact on the food and the operation as a whole was not that difficult.

I moved out from my long time g/f permanently in August this was after a long time separation that I think we both knew was coming. Coincide this with a new job finding a place to live and moving as well as still cleaning up from the catering company closing what a stressful year. But its not been with out its great rewards.

I found I have a knack for TV. I was able to do several shots this year including a week long series on healthy eating on a budget. That was quite a week up at 330am at the studio by 5 doing 5 live shots then going to work and working all day at the kitchen.

I also met someone. I wont go into details of the personal life but suffice it to say... I am very happy. Happier than I can remember being in a long time.

Returning to my past

In an effort to prevent a bloodbath and time in jail for serving my boss as the special on a buffet (anyone remember that movie "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover " where they served the lover for dinner, I was thinking of serving him with some basil and lemons, He didn't deserve the chianti) Anyway I went on the hunt for another position.

Unfortunately I am better at this than I would like to be. I started putting out word that I was looking. I was a little surprised at the mixed responses. Most were positive and seemed excited that I was available. Making that phone call to the network of friends and associates was not as tough as I thought it would be. Within a day of making the call I had a call back from my former publicist ( I love Abby she is the greatest). She let me know that there was an EC position at one of the private expensive universities in Indy. After two days of calling I finally got the GM on the phone.

Being quick I let her know my experiences and background. I was informed that she had another candidate and that his tasting was the next day. I offered to come in anyway. I emailed my resume and got ready. Oh did I mention I was also at the same time nursing a second degree burn on my left foot. A mishap on my last day at the hell pit. I spilled boiling water on my foot from a broken tilt skillet (its a long story dont ask)

The next day I get there. In a great looking suit and I was ready for anything. Sat down with the GM talked for a couple of hours and immediately hit it off. I was answering her questions well. Relating my previous university experiences and how they were so similar to their operation. Salary negotiations went much better than I thought. They would not be able to match my current salary immediately but within a year I would be back to what I was making. Their posted salary range was much lower than what they offered. I will take that! One of my better interviews. Next came the part I was most nervous about. The tasting. Considering my last tasting was an abortion there was some apprehension there.

The corporate exec chef was there and had a mystery basket prepared. I was ready this time. Approached it a little differently this time. No time lines, no computers. Just me, the knives, and a stove. Oh and some spices hidden in my tool box. Two hours, three entrees one being a vegetarian and an appetizer if I had time. Did I have time!!! Please. My only concern at this point was that I had a throbbing foot.

Shrimp Skewers with a mango slaw and brown honey vinaigrette

Fried Eggplant boat(always a crowd pleaser) stuffed with a warm spinach salad hummus and grilled chicken.

Tofu Napoleon with augratin potatoes and blue cheese cream sauce

Sausage roasted with a tomato creole sauce(using an interesting spice mix) over cajun rice and grilled vegetables.

While preparing this they brought in the other candidate. That was a surprise didnt see that one coming. They put him on the other side of the kitchen. I had setup right next to the stove and taken over pretty much the whole hot line. I kinda felt sorry for the other guy. If things had been reversed he would have done the same thing and I would have been on the other side. But I would not have changed my menu and would have made it work. So doom on him having to work a little harder. Sorry bastard. Besides from what I could see him prepping he was not in possesion of a fine dining background

They loved the food and the next day I got the job. So on Wednesday morning I was trying to call and get an interview and on Friday afternoon I was employed again. Pretty cool.

That was three weeks ago. I love the job not to hard. Staff is competent. Just needing some refining and streamlining. The previous chef was not very hands on. Seemed to expedite from his desk.....alot.

Buy the way I have been home for dinner everynight since I started and have had most of my weekends off.............Fuck You Bitches at Levy.

Has it been 6 months

Its been six month since I last posted.....I feel like I am at confession. My latest endevor has had me working 12-18 hour days 6 days a week. My relationship with T is in the tank and I am exhausted to say the least. And oh ya I am clinically depressed and maybe even a little bi polar. At least thats what the therapist says. They put me on some drugs but that just made it worse. I was feeling like a macy's day float all day. I am still in a funk and dont feel like myself. But things will change for the better I am told.

My job has me feeling in tatters and looking for something else. This is no way to live. More to come.

Lil Chef started day care today

Hey she insisted on the vente mocha with an extra shot. Who am I to deny her.

Just had to post this a friend of mine sent me

WHO IS JACK SCHITTFor some time many of us have wondered just who is Jack Schitt? We findourselves at a loss when someone says, 'You don't know Jack Schitt!' Well, thanks to my genealogy efforts, you can now respond in an intellectual way.

Jack Schitt is the only son of Awe Schitt. Awe Schitt, the fertilizermagnate, married O. Schitt, the owner of Needeep N. Schitt, Inc. They had one son, Jack.In turn, Jack Schitt married Noe Schitt. The deeply religious coupleproduced six children: Holie Schitt, Giva Schitt, Fulla Schitt, Bull Schitt, and the twins Deep Schitt and Dip Schitt.Against her parents' objections, Deep Schitt married Dumb Schitt, a highschool dropout. After being married 15 years, Jack and Noe Schitt divorced.Noe Schitt later married Ted Sherlock, and because her kids were living with them, she wanted to keep her previous name. She was then known as Noe Schitt Sherlock.Meanwhile, Dip Schitt married Loda Schitt, and they produced a son with a rather nervous disposition named Chicken Schitt.

Two of the other sixchildren, Fulla Schitt and Giva Schitt, were inseparable throughoutchildhood and subsequently married the Happens brothers in a dual ceremony.The wedding announcement in the newspaper announced the Schitt-Happens nuptials. The Schitt-Happens children were Dawg, Byrd, and HorseBull Schitt, the prodigal son, left home to tour the world. He recentlyreturned from Italy with his new Italian bride, Pisa Schitt.Now when someone says,

'You don't know Jack Schitt,' you can correct them.Sincerely,Crock O. Schitt