Posts Tagged With: Arcadia

Boyhood Baseball Hero – Lou Johnson

Posted on June 21, 2024 by pauldelancey

There have many baseball greats. One of them, Willie Mays, has quite rightly received much praise, especially recently.

But I’d like to tell you about the player who has a firm place in my heart.

He’s Lou Johnson.

He was an outfielder during the 1960s. He played in 677 games, was at at bat 2,049 times, hit 48 home runs, and had a batting average of .258.

But he was very, very nice to me.

I believe it was the summer of 1966. I lived in Arcadia, California. Southern California suffered through about six days a week of heavy smog. I could not see mountains a mere mile away. I can still feel the horrible stinging in my eyes whenever I think of that smog. I’m suffering through such a flashback as I type.

I was an Angels fan; my brother rooted for the Dodgers. And because my brother followed the Dodgers, I felt obliged to hate them. So, I felt quite unhappy when my mother said we were going to a supermarket parking lot to get a signed poster of a Dodger!

The line was long. The polluted air stung my eyes. Tears rolled down my face. I could not keep my eyes open. My mom had to lead me forward.

I don’t remember exactly what happened. But Lou Johnson noticed my distress and talked to me. I really can’t remember what he said, my eyes were in too much pain. I made the effort to get a glimpse of this wonderful man.

Oh gosh, I’m tearing up something fierce, it must be from that onion I’ll be dicing for dinner.

 

– Paul De Lancey, The Comic Chef, Ph.D.

My cookbook, Following Good Food Around the World, with its 180 wonderful recipes, my newest novel, Do Lutheran Hunks Eat Mushrooms, a hilarious apocalyptic thriller, and all my other books, are available on amazon.com.

Categories: about me | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Blackened Turkey Dogs

Posted on December 24, 2022 by pauldelancey

Cajun Entree

BLACKENED TURKEY DOGS

INGREDIENTS

6 turkey hot dogs
6 hot dog buns
½ teaspoon paprika
⅛ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon Poultry MagicTM spice
¼ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon thyme
No-stick cooking spray

PREPARATION

Preheat skillet to 350 degrees. Mix paprika, salt, cayenne, poultry spice, cumin, and thyme on large plate. Coat all sides of the turkey dogs with spray.

Place the turkey dogs on plate and roll them until they are coated with spices. Place turkey dogs in skillet and cook for 8 to 12 minutes making a quarter turn every 1 to 2 minutes, or until spices blacken.

Toast buns. (Why do hot dogs and hot-dog buns come in different amounts? Why has no president done anything about it?) Put turkey dogs in buns. If you like Cajun cooking, you should need no condiments, such as ketchup. But as the French say, “Chaque à son gout.”

TIDBITS

1) I have never seen deliberately blackened hot dogs anywhere. This dish is a product of my feverish imagination. It’s good, though.

2) In 1755 and 1758, the British exiled French Canadians from Acadia. Many moved to Louisiana where they became known as Cajuns.

3) Cajun food is spicy. Canadian food is not. Nor is Eskimo cuisine. Eskimos do not have hot sauce.

4) I mostly grew up in Arcadia, California.

5) Cayenne is the capital of French Guiana. French Guiana is in South America. Why is this land not independent? Do the people love French cooking?

6) Cayenne is mostly grown in Mexico, Asia, Africa, New Mexico, and Louisiana. But apparently not much in a land that has a capital named Cayenne.

7) National Hot Dog Day is July 18.

8) Babe Ruth is believed to have once consumed twelve hot dogs and drunk eight sodas between games of a doubleheader.

9) Americans eat about 150 million hot dogs on the Fourth of July.

10) Humphrey Bogart was a big fan of hot dogs. Coincidentally, he won an Oscar for his performance in The African Queen.

11) Mustard is the favorite hot-dog topping among adult Americans. Kids, however, prefer ketchup.

12) Maybe this recipe will change that.

 

– Paul De Lancey, The Comic Chef, Ph.D.

My cookbook, Following Good Food Around the World, with its 180 wonderful recipes, my newest novel, Do Lutheran Hunks Eat Mushrooms, a hilarious apocalyptic thriller, and all my other books, are available on amazon.com.

Categories: cuisine, history, international | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Powegian Peanut Noodle Soup

Posted on August 22, 2012 by pauldelancey

American Soup

POWEGIAN PEANUT NOODLE SOUP

INGREDIENTS

3 chicken frankfurters
2 10.5 ounce cans condensed chicken noodle soup
2 10.5 ounce cans filled with water
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon Poultry MagicTM spice
3 eggs

PREPARATION

Chop frankfurters into pieces about 1/2-inch long. Pour condensed chicken noodle soup into soup pot along with the same amount of water. Add peanut butter, sesame oil, and poultry spice.

Peanut butter is sticky. It sticks to the roof of your mouth and to your measuring cups. You can overcome this vexing property by coating your measuring cup with a thin layer of vegetable oil before measuring. The oil should make the peanut butter slide easily out of the measuring cup and into the pot. If only all of life’s problems were so easily solved.

Cook soup for about 5 minutes on medium-high, stirring occasionally. Add eggs. Increase heat to high until soup boils. Stir frequently until eggs are cooked to your liking.

Keep cookbook open by placing soup  can in the space below.

TIDBITS

1) One of my favorite restaurants from my boyhood is The North Woods Inn near my boyhood home in Arcadia. The owners encouraged their customers to throw their peanut shells on the floor.

2) The restaurant still exists. It took awhile to convince my two sons that such activity was okay and that they were not taking part in a rumble by doing so. After all, such behavior was not tolerated at home.

3) After awhile, they warmed to the idea and soon peanut shells flew in every direction. And so, a fond childhood memory got passed onto the next generation.

4) Aren’t these tidbits more interesting than the “fun fact” I found online that the peanut is not a nut, but a legume related to lentils and beans.

5) Another “fun fact” is that peanuts are an excellent source of folate.

6) Oh, the excitement! I can’t go on.

– Paul De Lancey, The Comic Chef

My cookbook, Following Good Food Around the World, with its 180 wonderful recipes, my newest novel, Do Lutheran Hunks Eat Mushrooms, a hilarious apocalyptic thriller, and all my other books, are available on amazon.com.

Categories: cuisine, food, humor, recipes | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Blackened Turkey Dog Recipe – From Cookbook

Posted on July 2, 2012 by pauldelancey

Cajun Entree

BLACKENED TURKEY DOGS

INGREDIENTS

6 turkey hot dogs
6 hot dog buns
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon Poultry MagicTM spice
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon thyme
No-stick cooking spray

PREPARATION

Preheat skillet to 350 degrees. Completely defrost turkey dogs. Mix paprika, salt, cayenne, poultry spice, cumin, and thyme on large plate. Coat all sides of the turkey dogs with spray.

Place the turkey dogs on plate and roll them until they are coated with spices. Place turkey dogs in skillet and cook for 8 to 12 minutes making a quarter turn every 1 to 2 minutes, or until spices blacken.

Toast buns. (Why do hot dogs and hot-dog buns come in different amounts? Why has no president done anything about it?) Put turkey dogs in buns. If you like Cajun cooking, you should need no condiments, such as ketchup. But as the French say, “Chaque à son gout.”

TIDBITS

1) I have never seen blackened hot dogs anywhere. This dish is a product of my feverish imagination. It’s good, though.

2) In 1755 and 1758, the British exiled French Canadians from Acadia. Many moved to Louisiana where they became known as Cajuns.

3) Cajun food is spicy. Canadian food is not. Nor is Eskimo cuisine. Eskimos do not have hot sauce.

4) I mostly grew up in Arcadia, California.

5) Cayenne is the capital of French Guiana. French Guiana is in South America. Why is this land not independent? Do the people love French cooking?

6) Cayenne is mostly grown in Mexico, Asia, Africa, New Mexico, and Louisiana. But apparently not much in a land that has a capital named Cayenne.

7) National Hot Dog Day is July 18.

8) Babe Ruth is believed to have consumed twelve hot dogs and drank eight sodas between games of a double header.

9) Americans eat about 150 million hot dogs on the Fourth of July.

10) Humphrey Bogart was a big fan of hot dogs. Coincidentally, he won an Oscar for his performance in The African Queen.

11) Mustard is the favorite hot-dog topping among adult Americans. Kids, however, prefer ketchup.

12) Maybe this recipe will change that.

– Paul De Lancey, The Comic Chef

My cookbook, Following Good Food Around the World, with its 180 wonderful recipes, my newest novel, Do Lutheran Hunks Eat Mushrooms, a hilarious apocalyptic thriller, and all my other books, are available on amazon.com.

Categories: cuisine, food, humor, international, recipes | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

My Presidential Resume

Posted on May 30, 2012 by pauldelancey

The American electorate has the right to know if the presidential candidate for the Bacon-And-Chocolate Party has the experience to run this great nation.

Class President, 5th grade, Santa Anita Elementary School, Arcadia, California, 1967 – 1968

There, I do.

– Paul De Lancey, The Comic Chef

My cookbook, Following Good Food Around the World, with its 180 wonderful recipes, my newest novel, Do Lutheran Hunks Eat Mushrooms, a hilarious apocalyptic thriller, and all my other books, are available on amazon.com.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Blog at WordPress.com.