revuesday - DBGB

Do you ever go out to eat at a fancy restaurant, look at the expensive, foreign menu, and just wish you could order a cheeseburger or a hot dog?  You're not alone.  Apparently there's a whole slew of people just like you meandering downtown wanting more than a dirty water dog from the corner but less than an outta control steak.  And thanks to Daniel Boulud's DBGB, you're all in luck!  His newest NY venture, a swanky gastropub on what was once a skid row of sorts, joins the likes of John Varvatos, The New Museum, and Whole Foods glamming up the formerly dingy underbelly of the city.  The Bowery has changed a lot throughout history, and it's changed an awful lot in the past five years that I moved to the city.  The epic CBGBs shuttered its doors for good (thankfully I was able to catch a few shows before this happened,) restaurants and retail shops started popping up, and even though the Mission and the folks who hang around there still exist, everything seems a bit cleaner and brighter... for good or bad, it's the up and up of a trendy town.

But I digress.  This isn't a post about the good old down and dirty days of punk rockers and junkies; this is  an ode to delicious food and drink.  And delicious food and drink is served up right at DBGB.  Though a bit out of my price range (this is the fancy new Bowery, not your neighborhood dive,) the food is well worth it, especially when your pops is treating you to welcome you back to the big bad city that landed you in crutches.  Like many of my restaurant choices these days this spot is not very well suited to the non-meat eaters out there but can you blame me - I need the protein to keep my out of work muscles alive!  So if you're into upscale, kinda pricey meats off the grill, this is the place for you.

yankee burger with fries

While the rest of the table indulged in beer and cocktails, I chose to have my beer in the form of a batter covering perfectly fresh and light calamari served alongside a thai-style lime cream sauce.  My only complaint about the calamari is that there were none of those spindly little pieces that look like tiny squid - those are my favorite pieces.  After bickering over the last few pieces of tasty calamari and being served a second round, our entrees arrived.  For mom and dad, yankee cheeseburgers with really yummy crispy french fries on the side.  The burgers were cooked perfectly medium rare and had that awesome charcoaled taste with all the fixins sandwiched in between two warm and soft buns.  Carolyn chose the Thai sausage flavored with curry and lemongrass served alongside a basil fried rice topped with a fried quail egg.  For a heavy meat and starch meal, the Thai style flavors made this dish taste light and healthy.  After a heated debate inside my brain about whether I wanted the DBGB dog or the Louisane, I settled on something out of my norm and went with the restaurant's take on a traditional New Orleans style supper.  In a small cast iron crock, I was served a garlic and spicy pepper Andouille sausage atop a crayfish and ham gumbo with little bits of fried okra.  Thankfully they put a basket of toasty delicious bread on the table so I could sop up every last bit of that flavorful gumbo.  Seriously, I don't know too much about Creole and Cajun cuisine, but if it's anything like the perfect plate I was served, I can't wait to haul ass down to New Orleans and stuff myself full of tastiness.  The dessert menu was unbelievably tempting with

thai saucisses

house made ice creams, sundaes and cakes but since my folks needed to get back to the Jerz, I just got a little something to go... and when I say little, I mean little.  Though the black forest cake was delicious and moist, it was itty bitty like the cakes I used to pull out of my Easy Bake Oven.  And when your shelling out the kind of loot for dessert that these folks are charging, I want a full slice of cake!  And even though I got it too go, I felt totally duped that I didn't get the side of chocolate ice cream that the dessert special advertised.  I guess every meal can't be perfect.

But if you're in the mood for some swanky bbq grub, head on down to the Bowery and embrace the modern world at DBGB.  The dim lighting and super soft leather banquets make this an awesome date spot.  It's a bit cavernous so it can get noisy which might be good for a first date if it's going poorly.  Check it out, but go someplace else for dessert.

* Again, I find myself camera-less and had to swipe these photos from New York's review of the joint

at least it's half veggie, right?

I made it through the day without eating any meat in honor and awareness of all the veggie folks.  My day started with cherry yogurt and chai tea.  Later on I enjoyed a banana before venturing out in search of ice cream (more on that later.)  My late lunch consisted of a salad with beets, cheddar cheese, tomato, avocado and a light vinaigrette.  It was all wonderful and totally substantial enough to get me through the day so I totally get where vegetarians are coming from.

Then I started making supper.  The pork belly was already cooked; Lizzie B took care of that with a little s&p and garlic cooked slow and low until it got nice and tender.  It looked really tasty and all I needed to do was toss it with the brussel sprouts.  I love brussel sprouts!  I prepare them lots of different ways but most often I halve them before tossing the sprouts with a little olive oil, some garlic and s&p and just let them roast in the oven until they get tender and crispy.  The oven at my current abode isn't in working order so I ended up sort of steaming the sprouts on top of the stove.  Either way it's a simple and easy recipe that can be served as a side or a main dish.  I hope you all enjoyed being vegetarian for the day and that those of you who went back to meat after a few hours enjoyed every morsel of meaty goodness!

pork belly & brussel sprouts
ingredients
3 c fresh brussel sprouts
1/4 c pork belly, cooked and cubed
salt & pepper
olive oil
1/2 tsp chopped garlic
directions
1. Heat about half a cup of water with garlic in a large fry pan over medium heat until it reaches a simmer.  Trim and halve brussel sprouts and toss with olive oil and s&p so that each piece is lightly coated.  Toss into the simmering water and let cook uncovered about 10 minutes or until lightly browned and tender.
2. Toss in pork belly to warm and crisp with the brussel sprouts.  Serve and enjoy.

*My apologies for the crummy photo; I had to use my phone because my camera remains in Brooklyn.

revuesday - St. Anselm

Though having a broken leg kind of sucks because it hurts a whole lot, I can't walk on it, people still don't give me seats on the subway (though folks on the bus are awfully friendly,) and I'm going to start setting off metal detectors, there are a few perks to being broken.  One of those perks is that I've been getting extra special treatment from my friends and family.  Not only have they been following me around to make sure I don't fall and break any more bones, they've also been fattening me up by taking me out to fancy, delicious suppers and making sure I get a bowl of ice cream before I go to bed every night.  My most recent restaurant field trip was taken with my mom and dad this past Saturday to Williamsburg's own St. Anselm.

Relatively new to the neighborhood, this restaurant exists on a stretch of Metropolitan Avenue that seems to get progressively cooler with each opening.  St. Anselm seems to be the neighborhood's quirky version of a steak house - traditional with a twist.  I'm not a huge steak eater but that by no means makes me any less of a carnivore.  Though beef may not be my thing (unless it's ground into a patty and slathered in cheese,) I love steaks of other sorts!  And though I'm afraid to partake in any booziness whilst on crutches, I also love a good bourbon or whiskey.  So I naturally selected the bourbon brined pork chop off of the menu.  The flavor was incredible and for such a large and thick cut of meat, was deliciously juicy and tender... so much so that I sucked all the meat off the bone.  Yup, I did that.

bourbon brined pork chop

The daddy-o indulged in an appetizer of grilled foie gras with figs, a smokey sweetness that melted in your mouth.  Though difficult to top that tiny morsel of yumminess, it was done with his lamb shoulder chop topped with mint butter.  Usually a tough cut of meat, this was cooked to perfection and didn't require any kind of overzealous chewing.  After an appetizer of iceberg wedge topped with warm bacon and bleu cheese dressing, Mom raved about the butcher's steak, a hanger steak with chopped garlic and butter.  Medium rare juices dripped out and were sopped up with perfect warm, crusty bread.

butcher's steak

Like a typical steak house, the meat came as is and sides had to be ordered separately.  Crispy smashed potatoes with truffle oil and anything but boring creamed spinach rounded out our meal.  I wish I could comment on the beer and wine selection but, like I previously mentioned, booze and crutches kinda scare me right now so I didn't partake in any of that.  But mom and dad seemed to enjoy the selection and since I've definitely thrown a few back at Spuyten Duyvil and Fette Sau (both run by the same awesome dude that is in charge of St. Anselm,) I can presume that everything was up to par and quite satisfying.

So yeah, the food was out of control delicious and satisfying and I recommend this spot to all of my meat lovin' friends.  Plus the atmosphere is great, like a rustic woodsy lodge where sexy lumberjacks might hang out.  And the open kitchen permits diners to watch their meals being prepared which is a neat concept that I always appreciate.  Also appreciated is the list of farms supplying the restaurant, both local and distant.  I love the whole farm-to-table concept and really hope that it continues because it promotes knowledgeable eating habits and community cuisine.  Next time you're in the hood, and in the mood for some meaty goodness, pop in to St. Anselm and hopefully you'll get a table and a great meal... well, you'll definitely get a great meal, but don't be surprised if you have to wait a bit for a table as this is quite the hot spot!

*I totally forgot my camera when we went out so these photos are courtesy of St. Anselm's facebook page... Like them!

revuesday - 25 Burgers

I'm quite certain that my family is trying to fatten me up while I'm crashing here in New Jersey.  Even though they know I can't exercise, they insist on stuffing me with all kinds of gluttonous snacks and home-cooked goodness.  Just yesterday I got a call from my soon-to-be brother-in-law, Danny.  He happened to have the day off and (correctly) figured that I was bored and in need of a field trip so he offered to take me out to lunch.  Now, I've known Danny for a pretty long time now, so I knew it was safe to assume that we wouldn't be heading anywhere too exotic or out there but I also knew that I should prepare myself for a hefty meal because holy cow can that boy eat!  So when he asked what I was in the mood for, I decided on a burger knowing that he probably had an excellent spot in mind to grab a big and greasy slab of beef, which is exactly what I've been craving for about a week now.

He picked me up and off we went towards Bound Brook, NJ so that I could be introduced to the "best burgers ever" at 25 Burgers.  When we pulled up to the red roofed burger shack, I thought to myself 'I can do this.  I'll get the same burger with cheddar and mushrooms that I always order everywhere else and it will be delicious and my craving will be satiated.'  Boy, was I wrong.


I walked in and was punched in the face by the smell of awesomely greasy grilled beef and the sizzling fried goodness of potatoes and onions.  Hobbling up to the counter, I was dumbstruck by the 25 burger choices that I was faced with.  The menu boasted everything from your basic cheeseburger to a meat lover's burger topped with pepperoni.  How was my concussed mind supposed to choose?!  After about ten minutes of stammering indecisiveness, I picked the #2 Bullseye BBQ Burger - an Angus beef patty topped with bacon, cheddar cheese, crispy onion straws, BBQ sauce, lettuce, tomato and mayo on a fresh onion and poppy seed bun.  It didn't stop there though.  It was totally necessary that I add a side of onion rings with dipping sauce.  Apparently, Danny always orders the exact same thing when he goes to 25 Burgers (which I think is way more often than he'd care to admit.)  Alongside my #2 with rings was his side of Boardwalk fries and a #5 Trenton burger topped with pork roll and American cheese.  Tall glasses of root beer and Dr. Pepper rounded out our insanely fattening and wonderful meal.  We were both pretty pleased, maybe Danny more so than me because he got to brag about introducing me to Jersey's finest burger joint.  Somehow between the two of us we managed to devour nearly the entire tray of food.  I almost felt like I needed to get back into a wheelchair in order to get out of the restaurant because I was afraid that my crutches wouldn't be able to hold me up!

As we walked/crutched back to the car and snapped a picture of the perfectly simple signage out front, I noticed a Burger King across the street.  I'm not sure what corporate genius thought that was a good idea, but they were mistaken.  Burger King has lost it's crown to Jersey's own 25 Burgers.  Thanks Danny, for introducing me to the greasy goodness and local flavor of this awesome joint!  And for a much needed field trip and for the awesome super hero movies that you let me borrow!

special guest post from kate, baking and crossword puzzle partner in crime

Baked Mac ‘n Cheese

Or . . . the remedy for a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day!

So, today (Tuesday) pretty much sucked a big one.  Normally I feel like Monday or Wednesday is the “bad” day of the week, but this week Tuesday decided to surprise me.  I won’t go into details, except to say that I got no sleep last night, had an awful morning at work, went to class, had to leave class early to go back to work because remote access decided not to work, and then had prescription insurance issues (which should have been resolved a month ago) to boot.  Anyway, all I wanted was gooey mac ‘n cheese.  I don’t have celiac disease - thank God - but wheat definitely does a number on my tummy if I have too much of it, so I do try to eat rice or quinoa pasta and the like.  Today?  Didn’t care one bit about that!  After finally making it somewhat back home I stopped at the grocery store, picked up some stuff, and walked the rest of the way home to start making yummy baked mac ‘n cheese, something I’ve never made before.  We also have fillet mignons wrapped in bacon (an Omaha Steaks present for when we moved into our house) that I learned to cook on the grill - also a feat, since I’ve never grilled before!  Oh, oh, oh - another note . . .we live in a duplex and the neighbors we share a wall with aren’t the most upstanding citizens; well, some of them aren’t, there are like a million people living in that house - do NOT even want to know what the bathroom situation is like in the morning.  Anyway, I digress...  so, while baking this Mac I had the pleasure of watching an “undercover” cop walk “his” dog down the street while stopping for verrryyyy long pauses in front of the house next door.  Oh dear!

Post-Meal Notes

• O-M-G → go throw a party or something and require every single person attending to bring the Omaha Steaks Fillets wrapped in bacon.  Seriously, while the mac was delish, those fillets wrapped in bacon MADE MY DAY!
• I would work to make the Mac more rich next time - maybe add more cheese, or maybe use parmigiana or Prima Donna Gouda (soooo yummy).  The husb even suggested adding a bit of the velveeta that I love and mixing that in.  Just some thoughts for y'all
• I like the crunchy of the smashed chips on top, but next time would probably just use the extra cheese and maybe breadcrumbs . . . or smash the chips more!
• Recipes, as they were actually made tonight, are below

mac 'n cheese

ingredients

3 cups pasta (uncooked) - I used fun shapes like shells and penne because, secretly, velveeta shells are my fave.  Ok, maybe not so secretly

3.5 - 4 cups shredded cheese.  I was lazy, because it was a bad day, and used the pre-shredded stuff from the store, but you could definitely just buy a hunk o’ cheese and shred it yourself.  I used “fancy sharp cheddar” - aka a mix of 3 different kinds of cheddar

salt and pepper - maybe about 1 tsp each?

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

1 cup of milk, plus an extra splash or two

2 tsp red pepper flakes - you can leave these out if you don’t want the heat

directions

1. Make your pasta!  While that pasta is going, pre-heat the oven to 350 and start to melt the butter in a sauce pan on the stove

2. Add the flour to the butter and mix to make a nice roux.  Add half of the milk and stir, throwing in about 1 C cheese

3. STIR - like you mean it!

4. Add the other half of milk, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes.  Add the rest of the cheese.  Add an extra splash (or two) of milk if you need it

5. Again - STIR like you mean it . . . it’ll take some time, but be patient (I know, I know, really hard after a horrible day.  Maybe some wine or beer will help with that.  I think it probably will - at least it did for me)

6. Butter/Cooking Spray/whatever a baking dish.  I used a round Corningware, but an 8x8 baking dish (like the kind for brownies) would probably be just fine

7. Add the pasta and cheese and mix it all up.  I topped it with extra cheese and some smashed up (ya know, to get out that anger and frustration from the day) blue tortilla chips

8. Into the oven for about 30 minutes

fillets

1. Umm - the husb started the grill (I watched and now know how - woohoo!)

2. Salt the fillets, plop on grill salt side down and salt the side that’s now facing up

3. Cook for a few minutes on each side.  

• Do you know the hand trick to tell when your steaks are to the temperature you want?  It’s pretty awesome! Medium-rare was the name of the game tonight (hold your non-dominant hand out, palm facing you, and lower your pointer finger towards your palm - the feel of the “squishy” part of your palm near your thumb is what medium-rare feels like.  want medium? lower your middle finger down.  crazy and like your steaks well-done (umm, who ARE you?!) lower your pinky down - make sense?)

4. Take off grill and top with butter

5. Let sit for a few minutes (5ish?) before cutting

6. Wear bug-spray!  I add this only because in the 10 minutes we were outside I got 3 bug bites on my right foot and 2 on my left - what the heck mosquitos?!?!

sausage party

In honor of yet another fabulous night of No Pants karaoke with Brooklyn's hostess with the mostess, Miss Isabelle at the Trash Bar, I thought I'd whip up a post that was just waiting for the right moment to shine.  Karaoke was totally wild Saturday night featuring a motley bunch of wrestlers, Irish tourists, leftover band members, me and Isabelle.  Yup, it was almost all boys singing their hearts out and it was awesome!  But karaoke isn't the only sausage party in town.  There's always a great selection of delicious, tasty and creative bangers at the Meat Hook, my favorite neighborhood shop.  They have some of the best choices of their own home-made Classy & Trashy Sausages that come in the most amazing flavors like Lamb & Rosemary, Traditional Italian, Chorizo, Verga Verde, White Pudding, Chicken Parm Pizza, and Papa Doc.  And since it's the time of year to break out the old charcoal grill, they also carry killer hot dogs, chili cheese dogs and taco dogs.

With the help of the incredible butchers at the Meat Hook, I've been able to create some simple and succulent meals with their sausages.  I love a stuffed chicken breast, so when I saw that they were carrying Chicken Cordon Bleu sausages, I knew I had to pick up a few.  So I cooked them up in a pan with some extra ham and topped them with a sprinkling of freshly grated Swiss and a little spread of creamy and spicy dijon mustard.  On the side, French cut green beans and my famous dijon roasted potatoes.  Perfect!

chicken cordon bleu sausage

dijon roasted potatoes

ingredients
2 large potatoes or 4 c baby potatoes
2 tbsp mayonaise
1 tbsp fresh chopped chives
1 tbsp fresh thyme
2 tbsp favorite seedy dijon mustard
fresh ground salt & pepper to taste
directions
1. Preheat oven to 350.  With a sharp knife, thinly slice potatoes (about as thin as a stack of 2-3 potato chips.)
2. In a small caserole dish, mix mustard, mayonaise, herbs and s&p together.  Toss potato slices with the mix to coat (add more mayo/mustard if needed to fully coat each slice.)
3. Bake at 350 for about 30-45 minutes depending on the thickness of your potato slices, tossing occassionaly so that all the potatoes get a little crisp.  I like to crank the oven up to broil for the last 10 minutes or so to get the top extra crispy!  Serve warm as a side or cool as a variation on the traditional potato salad.

In the mood for a more traditional pork sausage but with a little twist?  I recently tried out the Purple Goddess, a pork and herb sausage with beet greens that give it a pretty purple color.  Served up with a fresh spinach salad with bleu cheese and radishes, my super simple Confetti Cous Cous, and a scoop of fresh beet salad (really just chopped beets) from one of the many Polish shops in Greenpoint, this was a healthy and filling meal with all the food groups covered.
 

purple goddess sausage

confetti cous cous
ingredients
1 c Israeli cous cous (the bigger, beady kind)
1 1/2 c chopped veggies (whatever you have in your fridge)
1 can beans (any kind will do)
fresh ground salt and pepper
directions
1. Bring 1 3/4 c salted water to a boil and stir in cous cous.  Cover and let simmer 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until cooked thoroughly.
2.  Add chopped veggies and can of beans with fresh ground salt and pepper to taste.  Stir well and serve at room temperature.  (For this serving, as it was a kind of last minute meal, I chopped up a combo of all the veggies I happened to have in the fridge - radishes, yellow and red tomatoes, chives, red onion, sugar snap peas and a can of white beans.  I also tossed in some fresh parsley for an extra kick.)

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of my greatest sausage recipe yet - Buffalo Chicken and Bleu Cheese Sausage Corn Chowder.  If I had tried to capture a shot of this creation, I may have lost a hand since it was almost devoured before I even had the chance to set it on the table!  This started with a delicious surprise at the shop, Buffalo Chicken and Bleu Cheese sausages.  Rather than cook them up like a normal sausage, I cut the meet out of the casings and cooked it to get all crumbly.  I added it to a simmering pot of milk and chicken stock, some potatoes (to thicken up the pot,) corn and celery, and let it simmer for hours.  I served it up with some crumbled bleu cheese and Frank's hot sauce on top.  It was the perfect meal for those snowbound football Sundays.  Mmm, even in this heat I'm dreaming of soup.

buffalo chicken and bleu cheese sausage and corn chowder
ingredients
3-4 buffalo chicken & bleu cheese sausages (if you can't find these, just use chicken sausage and double the amount of hot sauce & bleu cheese in the rest of the recipe)
4 c chicken stock
2 c whole milk
2 medium potatoes
1 c chopped celery
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 small package (about 2 heaping cups) fresh or frozen sweet corn
1/4 c cumbled bleu cheese plus extra for topping
2 tbsp Frank's hot sauce plus extra for topping (or your favorite hot sauce that isn't out of control spicy)
fresh ground s&p to taste
a dash of red pepper flakes
directions
1. In a large stock pot, bring chicken stock and potatoes to a boil, cooking potatoes until the are almost compoletly cooked and tender.  Remove the potatoes but don't dump the stock, it's nice and starchy now so it should thicken up nicely.  Set the potatoes aside to cool.  Add the milk to the stock along with the hot sauce, red pepper flakes and s&p.  Lower the flame and bring to a simmer.
2. Cut the sausage meat out of their casings.  In a hot pan, cook the loose sausage thoroughly so it gets nice and crumbly.  Add the cooked sausage to the stock pot and continue to let simmer about 45 minutes. 
3. Add the chopped celery and cheese, continue to simmer until celery gets tender, about 15-20 minutes.  Cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces and add to the soup with the frozen corn, simmering until the potatoes cook completely, about another 20 minutes.
4. Let sit for about 15 minutes to thicken up some more before serving.  Serve topped with crumbled bleu cheese, a dash of hot sauce and celery sticks.

Don't forget, a good soup cooks for a long time so don't be afraid to let this one sit on the stove for longer than suggested.  Just make sure to save any veggies you're adding for the last 45 minutes or else they'll get way overcooked... a thick soup is quite different than a mushy soup.

Yum.  So much goodness stuffed into one little link!  Now, because I had such a rollicking good time at karaoke, I was neglectful at the beach yesterday and believe I may have turned into a hot dog.  My sunburnt legs are pink and my skin feels very tight.  But it was all worth it for such a killer weekend!  Thanks to Isabelle and Paula, you gals kick some serious ass.  And if next month's No Pants Karaoke is anything like this past one was, I'm pretty sure I'll have to belt this little ditty out -

mrs. buttermilk

After my Red Velvet success, I found that I was left with a carton of buttermilk in my fridge and no ideas for what I could do with it.  It's not the right time of year for soda bread, I haven't been in a pancake mood for awhile, and I certainly wasn't about to go and bake more cakes during this wicked heat wave.  After rattling my brain, I found the answer was right there all along in one of the Sweet Spot's favorite meals - fried chicken!


Fried chicken is one of my all-time favorite foods and a total guilty pleasure.  Ever since I was blessed with the gift of my grandmother's cast iron skillet, I've been attempting to perfect my fried chicken recipe.  I've gotten a little better with each try and this time, I think I finally did it!  After soaking the chicken in a brine of buttermilk and spices, I double battered it in seasoned flour and tossed it in some hot oil to fry up to golden crisp perfection.  I know you're all on the edge of your seats, waiting for me to give you the exact recipe I used, but my sincere apologies because that I cannot share.  Not because it's some new found family secret but because, like all the best fried chicken recipes, it was totally to taste and eyeballed.  But I can tell you what I put in the brine and flour mix so, here you go -


fried chicken brine & cooking instructions
ingredients
buttermilk
garlic powder
chipotle pepper
cayenne pepper
fresh ground black pepper
fresh ground salt
fresh parsley, chopped
Frank's hot sauce
directions
1. Mix all ingedients together to create a brine.  Let chicken pieces soak overnight in brine.  Remove the chicken and coat with flour mix.  Redip each piece in the buttermilk brine and then dunk in the flour mix again.  
2. Let air dry for about 20-30 minutes. (this was recommended by a few other blogs and recipes I consulted and I found that it led to less splatter and flaking of the batter.)
3.  In about 2" of hot vegetable oil (in your cast iron skillet,) place each piece of chicken and let crisp up until golden brown.  Flip and allow to cook on the other side, about 5 minutes each side.  Be careful not to crowd the chicken by only putting 2-3 pieces in the skillet at a time, depending on the size.


seasoned flour for fried chicken
ingredients
sifted flour
fresh ground salt and pepper
cayenne pepper
chipotle pepper
garlic powder
cumin (for that smokey flavor, if you like it)

I served this homestyle treat alongside some smokey collared greens, overloaded mashed potatoes, and buttermilk cornbread.  How did I do all that in the short amount of prep time I have after work you ask.  Here's how - Syvia's canned collared greens are almost as good as the fresh ones you get in Harlem.  Jiffy cornbread mix is something I am never without.  Just substitute the milk for buttermilk, add some s&p, a little extra sugar, maybe a teaspoon of oil, and frozen sweet corn, and it tastes 100% homemade!  

The potatoes, well they are homemade.  I had some baby Yukons leftover from my patriotic potato salad and some bacon since, well let's face it, I'm never without bacon.  Cook those up and then mash them up with a little bit of milk and every baked potato topping you could ever imagine - cheese, sour cream, chives, butter, s&p.  I totally thought of my gal Jenessa while I was making these because I knew she'd love them.  She thinks I make the best mashed potatoes in the world; so much so that I even made her a mashed potato birthday cake last year!

jenessa, i miss you!

Supper was ready to begin now!  And it wouldn't be fit to serve up a fried chicken meal on anything other than my pollo loco plate, right?

I sat down with a full plate of home style goodness and a tall glass sweet tea just as I heard a crack of thunder and the skies opened up with a perfect Summer storm.  I couldn't have asked for a better way to end the day.  And what would a good old-fashioned feast like this be without a little Southern Rock?  Well thanks to the awesomeness of Pandora genre stations, that's exactly what was blasted out of my weak little computer speakers every step of the way.  Free bird to fried chicken!

After this success, I think I deserve an extra treat in the form of a new condiment.  And what would go better with fried chicken than Mike's Hot Honey?  Maybe when pay day rolls around.