More Big Halloween Fun

A fun Holiday read by New Hampshire writer Lisa Rogak.

Yikes! A Chicken that Conquers the Chuck Horrors

Mom used to refer to those moments of compulsive eating or stress binging as the chuck horrors, a term fitting for the upcoming holiday. I love horror movies, but after a week of Army of Darkness, Dirt Boy, Eight-Legged Freaks, Hell Comes to Frogtown, Dreamcatcher, The Omen, Rosemary's Baby, Ninth Gate, Fearless Vampire Hunters and Ghost Story on DVD and Stephen King's Dark Tower VII on the ipod I had whipped myself into a Halloween Chuck Horror Frenzy. I needed something rich enough to appease my ferocious hunger but easy enough to prepare so I wouldn't miss any of the gory parts of Scream/Scream 2. Not that I didn't make excuses to check the pot when Drew Barrymore gets done in.

Chuck Horror Chicken (makes two servings. ok, four)

Package of 8 chicken thighs. Give up on the breasts. They have no flavor, they dry out, and they're expensive. The only good breasts are in Blood from the Mummy's Tomb.

Generously season the thighs with salt and pepper then brown them in 1/2 stick of butter and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Reduce heat to low and add 1 whole peeled onion, one celery stick, 3 crushed cloves of garlic, 1 ancho chile and 1 chipotle chile, 1 cup small carrots, 1 teaspoon each of Mexican oregano, cumin and coriander.

Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups of white rice, 1/4 cup of mixed lentils,two cans of chicken broth and 1/2 cup of wine. Simmer on medium to medium low heat for about 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the pot sit for about 10 minutes - it may be hard to wait, because it smells so good, but it would be like eating out of Mount Saint Helens.

Serve in big bowl and garnish with smoked Kosher salt.

Blowing the Gift Card

I visited Attrezzi this afternoon to spend down the cool gift card that's been burning a hole in my purse since the nuptial event. I didn't have anything particular in mind when I went in. I asked myself, "what do I buy for the girl who has everything?"

The practical: a cooking fork and a mezzaluna chopper, both by Rösle and far east down east by Bruce deMustchine of Newburyport

The indulgences: I'd struggle with paying for this stuff with my own swag, but since it's a gift...Alaea Hawaiian red sea salt, smoked kosher salt, white truffle oil, and Vidalia onion cranberry pepper jelly from Lollipoptree (support local vendors!)

I rounded it all off with a handmade Belgian chocolate bar with pecans and ginger from Cacao in Kittery (road treat), and a 1 oz. Scharffen Berger Nibby Bar (for later).

short ribs

I made short ribs last night for dinner and I was too lazy to take a picture of them, so I thought I'd borrow some cool image from the internet. I've made some interesting discoveries this way; the latest find is the Texas A&M Meat Science department website, particularly the Texas FFA Meat Judging Contest/Meat Identification.

Braising is my favorite cooking method; these short ribs can be put together quickly and ignored for a couple of hours.

Place 4 short ribs in a very hot, heavy pan containing a few tablespoons of oil and brown well on each side. Remove from the pan and drain out all but a couple of tablespoons of liquid and add

2 diced medium onions and 3-4 cloves of crushed garlic; saute until soft and golden.

Add 1-2 cups of sliced mushrooms, 1-2 teaspoons of fresh rosemary, 3 bay leaves and 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme and saute mixture another 5 minutes. I threw in a big old carrot for extra flavor and removed it after cooking.

Add one bottle of bargain Cotes du rhone or Shiraz and stir to get all those good brown bits off the bottom of the pan, and then add 2 small cans of tomato paste, a tablespoon of brown sugar and two cans of beef or chicken broth (enough to cover).

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer and go watch a dvd.
Cook for 2-3 hours, or until the ribs are tender and the movie is over. The ones I had last night were large so they took 3. If the pot is ovenproof, you could hurl it into the oven at 275-300 instead.

Add diced potatoes and carrots about 20-30 minutes before serving.

Serve over wide egg noodles or spaetzl, if you got it.