MUTE MONDAY - (Time) TRAVEL

MUTE MONDAY - LOCAL

Throwdown - Fire

The Troll is having another Culinary Throwdown Challenge this week and the theme is Smoke and Fire. Some (the Mrs. in particular) may say that's the way I always cook. Hmmmm

Well, I knew what I was going to do for this throwdown last week but, as usual, I'm down to the last minute. The Mrs. is on travel this week, so it's just me, the boy and the pudge. I was going to do both smoke and fire, the smoke being grilled smoked potatoes. That never materialized. The Fire, however, I got done.

I decided to do a Bourbon Chicken which gets flambeed for the fire aspect. This is a recipe I've made before, formulated from several other recipes and mishaps so I don't have a formally written recipe and it changes every time.


For this version, I have boneless chicken breasts that I salt and peppered and seared in butter, oil and garlic. I added onion, rosemary and thyme. Then I doused the whole mess with Jim Beam and set her ablaze.

MOMMY!


After the firemen left, I covered the pan and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. I removed the chicken and added a cup of cream. I let it reduce and thicken for about 5 minutes.


For sides I have rice and green beans with orange rind.


This came out good. The kids really liked it and went back for 2nds (mostly because the Mrs. wasn't here to say no). The boy thought it needed cheese - so I promptly smacked him in the back of the head.

And there you have another Mid-Week Madness Dinner that took about 45 minutes from in-the-door to the table.

I don't know why the last 2 pics are sideways because they look OK in the viewer. Turn your heads.

MUTE MONDAY - FAVORITES

MAKE IT STOP! THE LEAVES, THAT IS. PART DEUX

Leaf Collection Week on my street. Actually not as bad as previous years. But I have blisters on my fingers.

MUTE MONDAY - TOUCHING

Moi's Beet-the-Band Throwdown

Somehow, Troll roped Moi from Bite the Apple into hosting the culinary throwdowns that he started. So, with a theme of beets, we have Moi's Beet-the-Band Culinary Throwdown. With this challenge in mind last week, I did a double-themed dish that I could enter in this challenge and Big Shamu's Dim Sum Sunday Challenge last week with a pumpkin/squash theme. Confused? I was the one that had to sort this out and put together a dish. And this is the payoff because all I have to do is put together a one paragraph blog and link the crap out of it. So, with out further gilding of the lily or fanfare, I humbly enter my Beet Soup in Roasted Acorn Squash for the amusement of all those who didn't make sport of it last week.

An extra bonus (and something that just hit me like a bolt of lightning in the middle of my large forehead) is that the beets are in fact, beet red. I'll take that one step further and call it Phillie's Red - Go Phils!!

MAKE IT STOP! THE LEAVES, THAT IS.

Leaves are fallin' all around, time I was on my way
Thanks to you, I'm much obliged for such a pleasant stay
but now it's time for me to go, the autumn moon lights my way
for now I smell the rain, and with it, pain
and it's headed my way
Aw, sometimes I grow so tired
but I know I've got one thing I got to do...

-Ramble On by Led Zepplin

Kenneth: Is everyone there dead?
Steve: Well, dead-ish.
Kenneth: Is everyone there dead?
Steve: Yeah, in the sense that they all sort of, uh... fell down... and then got up... and started eating each other.

The Pudge (left) and his buddy on Halloween.

MUTE MONDAY - (Fall) CLASSIC

Note to Readers: I know I'm inviting Blogger Jinx on this one but it's how I'm spending my time right now.

The Phillies in 6 (prediction made October 27th)

GO PHILS!