Thank you to everyone from all over the world who follow my blog. You’re wonderful.
– Paul R. De Lancey
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.
Irish Entree
INGREDIENTS
1 4-to-5 pound ready-to-cook corned beef brisket
6 russet potatoes
3 large carrots
1 large white onion
1/2 head cabbage
water
SPECIALTY UTENSIL
crock pot
PREPARATION
At the crock pot’s low setting, the brisket can take 10-to-14 hours to become tender. The high setting will cut this time by about half.
Put ready-to-cook corned beef brisket in crock pot. Add water to crock pot until it covers the brisket. You may need to cut the brisket into smaller pieces depending on the size of your crock pot. Cook for 10-to-14, possibly overnight, or until brisket is tender.
Clean potatoes and carrots. Cut potatoes carrots, onions, and cabbages in slices no thicker than 1/2″ inch and add them to the crock pot. and vegetables. Add water until it covers the brisket and vegetables. Cook on low setting for about 2 hours or until vegetables are tender. Serve to adoring guests.
This is an astoundingly versatile dish. See the following two recipes for delightful meals made out of this recipe’s leftovers.
Tell your spellbound guests corned-beef takes 10 days to prepare. This, of course, is the do-it-yourself corned-beef version. You used ready-to-eat corned beef brisket. But you needn’t tell them that.
TIDBITS
1) Potatoes make great French fries.
2) They’re nutritious and a great source of calories too.
3) They grow in the ground where they can’t be seen by hungry, foraging armies marching back and forth across peasants’ fields.
4) On July 14, 1689 Madame Farine du Blé of Poulet sur Marne noticed invading Bavarians ransacking the granary of her neighbors, the Herbes, while leaving her own field of potatoes completely untouched.
5) This fact kinda excited the peasantry of France who relied almost exclusively on food for eating.
6) Frederick the Great of Prussia noticed this fact as well. He insisted that all the Prussian peasants plant potatoes.
7) And boy, those peasants were glad they did. Massive French, Austrian, and Russian armies crisscrossed the Prussian kingdom from 1756 to 1763 carting off all the wheat they could find. But the Prussian peasants didn’t starve.
8) Why? These farmers simply waited for the invading soldiers to leave, dug up their potatoes, and cooked them. And if the peasants also had the proper spices and deep fryers, they dined on papas rellena, Peruvian stuffed potatoes.
9) When individual peasants don’t starve, the country as a whole doesn’t starve. A well-fed nation can afford to feed it armies in the field. And those Prussian armies did really well earning both victory and survival at the end of the Seven Years War.
10) Prussia united Germany in 1871. A united Germany caused World War I. A united Germany caused World War II. Both wars were unarguably unpleasant.
11) So think about that when you are asked, “Do you want fries with 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.
Authors Candace C. Bowen and Paul R. De Lancey invite you to fictionally “Bump Off” your enemies in 200 words or fewer. Please visit the event “Bump Off Your Enemies” on Facebook on March 15. Two winners will be crowned Kingpin/Queenpin. Winning entries will be posted. Good Luck!
I’d like to stress you must fictionally kill off your characters. Candace and I will look askance at anyone killing someone and describing what actually happened. That is so wrong. This is an exercise in imagination. Enemies do not have to be specific people. They can be types of people such as telemarketers or people who block aisles in supermarkets.
You may post your Facebook entry before March 15 but you run the risk of us not seeing it when judge on that date. My brain is particularly wobbly. Speaking of brains, zombies do not count unless you kill them in your entry. After that they may turn into the undead or not as you see fit.
The following should theoretically get you to the event, but most likely you’ll have to sign onto Facebook first. Probably you’ll find yourself at the lists of events page, why Facebook why? Now Ctrl-v this link again or type in “Bump Off Your Enemies” and you will be taken to this glorious event. Negotiations will soon be underway between this event and Facebook for easier access.
https://www.facebook.com/events/501973503178459/
Authors Candace C. Bowen and Paul R. De Lancey invite you to fictionally “Bump Off” your enemies in 200 words or fewer. Please visit the event “Bump Off Your Enemies” on Facebook on March 15. Two winners will be crowned Kingpin/Queenpin. Winning entries will be posted. Good Luck!
I’d like to stress you must fictionally kill off your characters. Candace and I will look askance at anyone killing someone and describing what actually happened. That is so wrong. This is an exercise in imagination.
Photo by Candace C. Bowen
– 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.
Indian Entree
BOMBAY POTATOES
(Aloo)
INGREDIENTS
4 brown potatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 white onion
1 tomato
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ginger powder (freshly ground is preferred)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 tablespoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
2 teaspoons coriander
1 bay leaf
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil.
PREPARATION
Put enough water in pot to cover 4 potatoes. While water is heating to a boil, wash potatoes. Cut each potato into about 12 pieces. Mince onion. After water comes to a boil, add potatoes and salt to pot. Boil until potatoes are done but still firm to the fork. This takes about 6-to-10 minutes.
Dice tomato. Put .vegetable oil and onion in frying pan. Sauté on medium-high for about 5 minutes or until onions are soft. Reduce heat to medium-low and add tomato, ginger, chili, cumin, garam masala, mustard, sesame seeds, coriander, bay leaf, lemon juice, and sesame oil. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add potato pieces. Stir potatoes gently until they are fully coated with oil and spices and soft to the fork.
TIDBITS
1) Ginger has been in the kitchen for 5,000 years.
2) Ginger, the spice, not anyone named Ginger. Goodness.
3) Ginger has been and still is used for curing upset stomaches and motion sickness.
4) Ginger reduces headaches by blocking prostoglandis, whatever that is, responsible for inflaming blood vessels in the brain.
5) Ginger brings other health benefits. It’s a truly amazing spice.
6) Ginger Rogers brought amazing grace and style to the movies. She really could act and dance.
7) Roy Rogers was a famous cowboy actor. He also owned a chain of restaurants called Roy Rogers.
8) They served hamburgers. You could put your fixin’s on them. I don’t think any of them were ginger.
– 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.
American Dessert
INGREDIENTS
DOUGHNUT
1 cup pastry flour or regular flour if not available
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
MAPLE GLAZE
1 cup confectionary sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons maple syrup
SPECIAL UTENSILS
doughnut mold, or tray, for 6 doughnuts
no-stick spray.
PREPARATION – DOUGHNUT
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in medium mixing bowl until all ingredients appear to be well mixed. Add milk, eggs, and vegetable oil to another medium bowl. Blend with whisk until mixture starts to get foamy. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and blend with whisk until all is combined.
Spray doughnut mold with no-stick spray. Scoop combined mixture into each dough form until half full. Put in oven and bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Doughnuts should be done when they spring back when gently poked.
Remove doughnut mold from oven. Let sit for about 3 to 4 minutes. Gently pry doughnuts from mold with knife or small wooden spatula and put on plate.
PREPARATION – MAPLE GLAZE
Combine confectionary sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and maple syrup.. Use blend setting on electric beater to mix these ingredients. Use ladle or large spoon to pour glaze over the doughnuts. Use spoon to smooth the glaze on the doughnuts. Cool doughnuts in refrigerator until glaze sets.
Eat your share before your family or friends do.
TIDBITS
1) Canada’s new $50 and $100 bills smell like maple syrup. Way cool.
2) It’s part of the bills’ anti-counterfeiting measures.
3) The maple leaf symbolizes Canada and appears on the Canadian flag.
4) Swedish meatballs smell great and symbolize that nordic nation.
5) It would be great if Swedish currency smelled like that.
6) I like the idea of baking money.
7) “Patty cake, patty cake, baker man, bake me a bill as soon as you can.”
– 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.
Fusion Snack
Berbere Potato Chips
INGREDIENTS
4 russet potatoes
water
2 tablespoons berbere spice
peanut oil
PREPARATION
Wash potatoes. Slice them as narrowly as you can. A thin slice will come out like a potato chip. A thick slice results in a thin french fry. Put slices in large bowl. Put enough water to cover potato slices. Let sit for 20 minutes. Drain completely.
Sprinkle berbere spice on potato slices. Mix until potato slices are thoroughly coated with spice. Put enough peanut oil in skillet to cover potato slices. Heat skillet to 375 degrees. (It’s a good idea to hold the top of the skillet between you and skillet while putting the slices into the skillet from the skillet. Hot grease splatter is nasty.)
Fry for up to 7 minutes or until slices are crispy like, well, a potato chip. (Note, the time needed to turn a potato slice into a potato chip varies considerably with the thickness of the slice, so you will need to monitor the frying after about 2 minutes.)
Remove chips from skillet using a spoon with holes in it. Put chips on plate covered with paper towel. Enjoy.
TIDBITS
1) The ancient Greeks thought the four basic elements of the universe were: earth, wind, fire, and water.
2) A famous rock and roll band from the 70s was Earth, Wind, and Fire.
3) Adding the fourth Greek element, water, would have made their name too long..
4) If the band had a time machine they could have named themselves after this recipe and been known as Potatoes, Water, Berbere, and Oil. Neat, huh?
5) But the band didn’t have a time machine.
6) If I had a time machine I’d never do laundry. I’d simply keep going back to the day when all my clothes were clean.
– 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.
French Entree
INGREDIENTS
2 small red potatoes
8 small brown potatoes
4 garlic cloves
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
2 teaspoons Sunny Paris seasoning
PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut potatoes into halves. Mince garlic cloves. Place potatoes into roasting pan. Pour olive oil over potatoes. Turn potatoes until thoroughly coated. Sprinkle garlic, herbes de Provence, and Sunny Paris seasoning over potatoes. Turn potatoes until coated with oil and spices.
Put roasting pan in oven. Bake for 1 hour or until they are fork tender. Stir potatoes three times while roasting so they don’t burn on one side.
Now you have those tasty potatoes you always admired in fancy restaurants. C’est bien.
TIDBITS
1) Sunny Paris seasoning consists of purple shallots, French basil, French tarragon, chervil, bay leaf, and dill weed.
2) The air we breathe is primarily nitrogen and oxygen.
3) The main ingredient in people is water.
4) This tidbit didn’t make sense. It’s gone.
5) We humans share quite a few of the same chromosomes as a banana.
6) Which prompted Freud to speculate about that fruit.
7)) You can buy a banana slicer, called the Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer, on www.amazon.com. Read the reviews. They’re hilarious.
– 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.
American Entree
INGREDIENTS
8 total tablespoons or a stick of butter
(You will be using butter four times.)
8 ounces bow-tie pasta
1 stalk celery
1/2 medium onion
1 clove garlic
2 5 ounce cans solid white albacore tuna
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Seafood MagicTM spice
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
1 2 ounce bag barbecue potato chips
1 cup shredded Four Mexican cheeses
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a medium baking dish with 1/2 tablespoon butter. (First use of butter.) Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add bow-tie pasta. Cook for 9 minutes or al dente-firm but not hard. Drain.
While waiting for the pasta to be ready, cut the leafy top and white bottom off the celery stalk. De-vein the celery. That is, remove the thin green threads, or veins, that run down the length of the outside. It is easy to get a start on these pesky threads if you first snap the stalk in half. The alternative to de-veining is living with thready celery or not having celery. (Both choices put the entire cosmos in its own alternative universe, perhaps resulting in Armageddon tomorrow. Choose wisely.)
Metaphorically destroy (mince) the garlic, celery, and onion. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in saucepan over low-medium heat. (Second use of butter.) Stir in the onion, celery, and garlic for seven minutes or until tender. The mix really should be tender. You have been warned.
Melt 3 1/2 tablespoons butter in another saucepan. (Third use of butter.) Add milk, mayonnaise, and flour. Stir with whisk. Cook for 5 minutes until sauce is smooth and thickened. Add tuna, onion-celery-garlic mixture, and bow-tie pasta. Mix. Pour all of this casserole into baking dish.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in yet another pan. (Last use of butter.) Mix in bread crumbs. Sprinkle mixture over the casserole. Top with grated four cheeses and Parmesan cheese.
Bake casserole 20 minutes in the oven at 375 degrees. Take casserole out of the oven and sprinkle potato chips on top. Bake casserole for another 10 minutes or until it is bubbly and lightly browned. This dish is crunchy and yummy.
You generated lots of dishes for your companion to wash. Be sure to say thank you.
TIDBITS
1) My grandmother always said the outstanding chef would have everything cleaned and put away by the time the meal was ready to be eaten.
2) I actually did this for this meal. My grandmother would have been proud. My mother would have been astounded.
3) This is not a good meal to make if your dishwasher doesn’t work as happened to me. Grr!
4) 75 percent of all fish eaten comes from the ocean. Within a generation the percentage will drop to 50.
5) Only 1 percent of all tuna is sold fresh. The rest is canned.
6) “Tuna” spelled backwards is “a nut.” It is also an anagram for “aunt.”
7) Tuna can cruise up to 55 miles per hour and never stop moving. Cars in the heart of the world’s big cities move at an average of 8 miles per hour and are often stopped.
8) Most of the world’s oil supply comes from OPEC nations. Most of the world’s tuna is caught off California.
9) Tuna in France is canned in water, vegetable oil, tomato juice, and lemon juice.
– 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.
Mexican Entree
INGREDIENTS
4 russet potatoes
1 14.5 ounce can refried beans
1/2 cup milk
1 medium onion
2 Roma tomatoes
2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons Meat MagicTM spice
1 1/2 cup grated Four Mexican cheeses
8 tostada shells
1 1/2 cups lettuce
1 1/2 cups salsa
PREPARATION
Put water in large pot until water level exceeds the height of a potato on its side. Heat water on high setting. Peel potatoes. Cut them into eighths. Put potato pieces into large pot. Cook for about 10 minutes or until water is boiling.
While water is boiling, mince the onion and dice the tomatoes. Mix together refried beans and milk in sauce. Cook beans on medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid burning. After water comes to a boil, start mashing the potatoes with a potato masher. Mash until the potatoes have the consistency of mashed potatoes and excess water has boiled off. (This should take about 10 minutes.) Shred lettuce by hand or chop into medium-sized pieces with a knife.
Lazy Susans are fantastic. (See the Lazy Susan in the above picture.). Fill the sections with refried beans, mashed potatoes, onion, tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, and salsa. This makes it simple for your guests to make their own tostadas.
TIDBITS
1) The tostada shells are not in this recipe’s photo. They were camera shy.
2) Mr. Eastman is a big name in the development of the camera.
3) Kodiak bears are big as well.
4) But they never developed a camera, preferring to spend their time fishing instead.
5) Give a man fish for lunch and you’ve fed him once.
7) Teach a man to fish and you’ve fed him for a lifetime.
8) Unless he doesn’t have a fishing rod or doesn’t live near water.
– 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.
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