STEWED CHICKEN WINGS WITH NOODLES

This evening's culinary project: stewed chicken wings with noodles, with the noodles cooked in the stew to provide a thicker gravy and a richer texture.

First you make a roux, then drop in a diced onion. Add bone broth (32 oz.), bring to a boil and then add thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper to taste, a jot of cayenne and a jot of curry powder, three bay leaves, and stir. Drop in chicken wings, followed by three chicken livers for an earthy flavor, then add 32 ounces of water and bring to a boil. Lower flame to low and allow to simmer uncovered. As the wings begin to soften, drop in 4/5 of a bag of your favorite noodles, stir, and add water as needed to facilitate the noodles as they expand during cooking. Once the wings begin to come off the bone, remove the livers, mash them to a paste, and return the paste to the pot and stir. The pot is done when the noodles are super-soft and easily digestible, and you end up with enough for meals for the next few days.  

The finished pot.

Make sure that the noodles are soft, the opposite of al dente, as this is a Black southern American dish and nothing posh. This is earthy slave cooking, a rich childhood favorite that's ideal for the damp and cold days of this season.

THE ULTIMATE BACON, EGG, AND CHEESE BREAKFAST SAMMICH

                                                                  Heaven in a hero roll.

Bacon, eggs, and toast were a daily breakfast staple of my life between the ages of six and eighteen, so that combo ranks very high on my short list of all-time favorite comfort meals. I recently swapped out the toast for a fresh hero roll and made what is perhaps the ultimate variant on the venerable NYC bacon, egg, and cheese on a hard roll, a deli favorite since time immemorial. Here's the formula:

6 slices thick cut bacon (I favor either 1906 Butcher Shop brand or Boar's Head)
3 jumbo eggs
3 slices Boar's Head yellow American cheese
Black pepper
1 hero roll
1 tbsp salted butter (I favor Kerrygold)

Cut hero roll open lengthwise. Set aside.

Divide each slice of cheese into two halves. Set aside.

Whip eggs and black pepper (to individual taste) in a small, deep bowl, using a three-tonged fork. Whip until you have folded in enough air to make the eggs bubbly/frothy. Set aside.

On a griddle, fry the bacon over medium heat to desired level of done-ness. Take your time with this and turn bacon periodically to allow for proper cooking without burning. (The curing medium on thick cut bacon can burn if not watched with care, and no one likes burnt bacon. Especially not if you were willing to shell out the extra scratch for quality thick cut bacon.) When bacon is done, plate onto a paper towel to drain, then arrange the still-hot strips of bacon into open hero roll. cover the bacon with the half-slices of cheese from end to end.

Heat butter in a small sauce pan, preferably non-stick, over medium-low heat. Give eggs one more good whip to fold in more air, then pour into pan. Cook slowly, turning with spatula as the eggs firm up a bit. Individual preferences vary, but I suggest cooking the eggs to a soft consistency, then drop them into the hero roll straight from the pan. The heat from the eggs, coupled with remaining heat from the bacon, will melt the cheese to a semi-solid creamy consistency, and once you have arranged the eggs from end to end atop the cheese and bacon, close the roll. Press down a bit, so that any excess of the soft eggs comes out. Any excess that comes out is to be scooped back into the roll's interior, and then the roll is pressed again, so that the contents properly fuse together. The soft eggs will partially absorb into the bread. Cut sandwich in half at the middle, then enjoy.

For accompanying beverage, I recommend pouring a can of chilled seltzer (preferably Schweppes), into a deep tumbler, topping it off with about an inch of orange-pineapple juice. The effervescence and citrus offer a delicious counterpoint to the protein and salt of the sandwich.

It's admittedly excessive, but I have found that this belly bomb not only shamelessly satisfies, it is also ideal as fuel when one will be stuck in place for 9-8 hours. I first made one of these with the intent that it keep me sated from about a half hour before I was picked up for the drive to that day's dialysis through the end of the session and the drive home, so about six hours, give or take, and it absolutely did the trick. When I eat one of these first thing in the morning, my food needs are met until the early evening, so no lunch is needed. Anyway, it's my ultimate homemade comfort breakfast sammich, and I fucking love it.

DUCK FAT OVEN FRIES

While in Chinatown on Tuesday, I picked up a whole roast duck to serve as reheated meal components for a few days. (I can get three days worth out of one duck.) Though most of the rendered fat from the duck is drained before it gets cut into sections and packed up to take home, a duck is still a very fatty critter, so when its meat and skin are reheated, the remaining fat renders out and can be collected from the bottom of the reheating pan. I pour it off into a small vessel, seal it, and fridge it for future cooking use. When at room temperature, duck fat liquefies quickly, and it is VERY greasy, so pour carefully and fridge the stuff immediately.

One handy hack that duck fat is good for is perking up frozen fries. My go-to freezer fries of choice are Ore-Ida Extra Crispy Crinkles, for when my body craves something starchy that I won't have a problem keeping down. (When eaten around 11:30 last night, a plate of them saved the day after yesterday's three rounds of vomiting due to post-dialysis low blood pressure and light-headedness.) What I do is lay out the desired amount of crinkle cuts on a foil-lined baking pan, then I driz a bit of liquid duck fat over the potatoes (seen here before hitting the oven). It gives the fries a bit of a coating that responds well to the oven's heat once the fries are inside. Upon completion the fries will not only be as crispy as their marketing proclaims, they will be just as firmly crisp as fries fresh out of a proper deep-fryer, only minus the submersion in gallons of cooking grease. Once out of the oven, hit them with the customary pass of salt, and bon appetit! :)

THE ARCANE SIMPLICTY OF "EGGBURG"

 
After yesterday's post-dialysis illness and subsequent inability to keep down anything more substantial than some Popeyes biscuits, I awoke this morning in a ravenous state. My body craved protein, so I resorted to a dish that has been a staple since my childhood, and I now record its simple formula for posterity.

Toward the end of his time living with my mother and I, my dad began cooking meals for himself (my mother was fed up with his ass by that point) and in the process revealed a hitherto unseen cook who was quite innovative. One of his favorite go-to quickie meals was an unnamed scramble of browned ground beef and eggs seasoned with salt and pepper, and when I saw him make it for the first time, I asked for a taste. I loved it, and in no time it became the first meal I learned to cook for myself. It's a simple protein bomb that was especially helpful during my serial weekend hangovers in the '90's, but today it's a comfort dish that requires little effort and takes no time to prepare.

Brown the amount of ground beef that you want to eat, seasoning the meat with salt (to taste), then drop the skillet temperature down to low. 

 

Add 2-3 eggs and season with black pepper. 

 

Fold the eggs into the ground beef, cooking slowly until they reach the level of firmness that you prefer for your scrambled eggs. I find that it comes out more delicate and flavorful with a soft scramble, as there is no need to overcook the eggs because they continue to set from their own heat once plated. 

 

Usually served with buttered toast (which I opted against this morning), from start to finish this dish takes about seven minutes to make.

The origins of this scramble remain arcane and are probably lost to time, but going from what little my dad revealed about past, I'm guessing it was born out of necessity and affordability during his upbringing in rural segregated Mississippi. My parents' generation of southern Black folks were extremely close-mouthed about their families' dire histories, so even something as simple as a recipe may have had its roots in painful memories. All I can say is that I know he grew up poor, so his family likely got their protein any way they could. The times I asked my father for even the smallest details on his history, he would always avoid discussing any of it (with the exception of the entertainment that he enjoyed in his childhood), and when I asked about the name and origins of this meal he directed the conversation elsewhere, though he did attempt to humorously attribute its source to a rare (made-up) animal called the "eggburg," which even at the tender age of eight I knew was total bullshit, but I nonetheless deploy that ridiculous moniker whenever I am called upon to give a name for those I tell about it or whom I serve it to.

A plate of this was just what my stomach needed, and I can feel the protein boost working its way into my system. A solid comfort breakfast that also makes for an easy and convenient meal at any hour.

THE FLAVOR OF COCK

After today's treatment, I waited five hours until making something to eat, an amount of time that allowed my stomach to settle. There are some days when I come out of dialysis absolutely ravenous, and that's because I often do not eat breakfast before going, but this morning I ate before treatment, so that is probably what allowed me be able to eat a meal five hours after treatment rather then eight or nine hours later. (For those who do not know, after treatment I usually hurl my guts up several times before my stomach settles and I can eat something. It's highly unpleasant but I've gotten used it, and I kind of zone out when it happens.)

Tonight's meal could not have been simpler: I made slow-roasted chicken legs and thighs that fall off the bone, a roux from which I made a rich gravy that incorporated some chicken stock and the copious drippings from the legs, and a small pot of sticky rice. The star of this meal was the seasoning, specifically Caribbean Traditions Cock Flavored Seasoning. (You there! Stop that giggling!!!) The stuff lends the perfect flavor accent to fowl, and I cannot recommend it enough.

SUPER-SIMPLE BONELESS FRIED CHICKEN THIGHS

Fried chicken is something that pretty much everybody loves, but it's also one of the easiest things to make that people regularly screw up. Here's the simplest way to do it, as taught to me by my grandmother Irene, Miss Williie Mae (my grandfather's second wife), and my mother. Here's what you need:

• Chicken thighs, with the the skin on
• A freezer bag 1/3 of the way full with flour, seasoned to taste with salt and pepper (this is the most basic dredge, but feel free to add garlic powder, paprika, ground cayenne for a "kick,"or whatever your favorite spices may be) 
• Cooking oil (I favor either lite olive oil or canola

 

Dredged and ready for frying.

First, leave the skin on and make sure the thighs are are de-boned and dredged in flour seasoned simply with salt and pepper (to taste). Then put about a half-inch of oil in the pan and let it sit for approximately 15 minutes over medium heat. That length of time allows it to gather proper heat without being too hot for the frying. Put three pieces in at a time, as this cooks better if the pan is not over-crowded. Place thighs in the hot oil skin side down and allow to cook for ten minutes, occasionally shifting the position of the thighs. That length of time allows for perfect crispy skin while cooking the meat most of the way through. At the ten-minute mark, flip the thighs and allow the meat side to fry for another four minutes or so. Since they have been de-boned, they will cook the rest of the way through swiftly. Remove thighs from the oil with tongs, thus allowing any excess oil to drip off into the pan, and then allow to cool on either a draining rack or paper towels on a plate.

 Ready-to-eat deliciousness.

The skin will be golden brown and spectacularly crispy, and the meat will be juicy, even fork-tender if you did it right. It takes practice to master this, so don't kick yourself if it does not turn out perfect on your first go.

CHICKEN EXPERIMENT (Saved for posterity, if not for eventual refinement)

The result of today's wingette experiment. 

As the pandemic rampages on and I diligently quarantine hard, my cooking practice and experimentation has gone crazy, and part of that is this chicken process that I just gave a shot.

T sectioned some huge chicken wings and used only the wingettes — the drumettes were saved and frozen for eventual soup deployment — and instead of the usual plain salt & pepper method, I seasoned the shit out of the dredge with a melange of numerous spices in an experiment in technique and seasoning, dredged the chicken, and fridged it overnight to let the seasonings absorb, which they certainly did. Sitting overnight allowed the dredge to form into a crust around the individual wings, and when deep fried that aspect soon becomes apparent. 

When done and cooled to the point of being edible, they were quite good and needed no further seasoning, though hot sauce would definitely be a welcome accent. That said, the average fired party snacker or bar-muncher would destroy these and love them, but I think they are a case of overkill in all aspects. 

Chicken is a simple food and its preparatioon as a snack item should be kept just as elementary. From now on I'm sticking to a standard salt & pepper dredge and not overnighting, just straight into the oil, with crispy skin rather than the crunchy crust/batter. But all of that is just my usual bitchy kitchen perfectionism. They are perfectly tasty wings and can be enjoyed by all audiences.

TWO NOTES: 1. The crust effect unexpectedly allowed the chicken to hold in its juices, so it has cooked all the way through but remains delightfully juicy, and the juices carry the flavor of the seasonings. 2: The crust effect unfortunately overwhelms the tips, making them mostly useless, so keep that in mind. Had I known, I would have saved the tips during prep, bagged them, and frozen them for later use in soup stock.