Me and Mr. James Got a Thing Going On...

And it involves lots of food!!!

 Like scrambled eggs cooked in bacon grease over the camp fire....

 and smoked salmon enjoyed at Devil's Lake... 

 Along with skewers of veggies and beef. 

 And then there's beer cheese soup enjoyed in New Glarus.... 

With the thickest summer sausage sandwich you've ever seen. 

And fabulous supper clubs Up North.... 

 With sizzling steaks. 

Or you can stay home and enjoy crab legs.

There's also Halloween parties to go to... 

Dressed like Burt Reynolds and some random 80s chick. 

Going on honeymoon cruises is fun too, 

with the all-you-can-eat buffets at all hours. 

And the fancy dinners at night... 

Then it's back home and back to homecooking.... 

(Moroccan chicken tagine) 

If you go out afterwards, nothing is better 

at bar time than gyros and fries from Parthenon's...  

Sometimes you may forget to take your food photos 

before you eat... like when it's delicious Peruvian food.  

To work off those calories, 

ride your bikes to a frozen custard place.

You can start all over again the next day with a gigantic prime rib. 

And maybe some more crab legs at home...  

For Valentine's Day of course!!! 

Pizza with prosciutto and a fried egg is nice way to celebrate

a graduation from college. 

But when you're in the Upper Peninsula, only a pasty will do. 

Or some very large steaks you grill outside, 

surrounded by tall trees and beautiful silence. 

Then you can go fishing while looking like a gigantic dork. 

Unless it's winter -- then you REALLY look like a dork. <3

Pistachio-Crusted Pork Chops

Power to pistachios! They're good for combatting heart disease, diabetes, and aging. And more importantly, I recently discovered they're good on pork chops!

Grinding the pistachios, garlic, and lemon peel. 

 

Browning the chops in olive oil before throwing them in the oven.

I used butterflied boneless chops, mainly because I don't like paying for bones when I'm just frying or baking, rather than simmering/slow cooking.  

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup shelled pistachios
• 1 clove garlic (I used 3 cuz I LOVE garlic)
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• Salt
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• Pepper
• Four 1-inch-thick pork chops (or two 1-inch butterflied chops)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Using a food processor, finely grind the nuts, garlic, lemon peel and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Transfer to a shallow bowl; whisk in the breadcrumbs.
2. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Dip each chop into the egg, then coat with the nut mixture; transfer to a baking sheet.
3. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chops and cook until golden, about 2 minutes on each side; return to the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 140°, about 20 minutes.

 

Cornbread-Topped Bourbon BBQ Chicken

This is a fun recipe because you get to set it on fire! Very exciting for a pseudo-pyromaniac like myself. 

I took photos of almost every step...Sometimes blogs like that annoy me, but I'm testing it out. Enjoy!

Sauteing the red onions and garlic.

Adding tomato paste and smoked paprika. 

Adding the broth, brown sugar, hot sauce, worcestershire, and orange peel. 

Cooking the chicken. 

Pouring the sauce and bourbon over then taking a match to it. The blueish steam below is actually flames. 

Topping it off with the cornbread mixture and shredded sharp cheddar. 

Wholla! 

The final result was real good, although I might do a bit less bourbon next time. I've never been a fan of an obvious liquor flavor. 

The recipe is below. I actually cut it in half when I made it, because my cast iron skillet is medium sized and you'd definitely need a large or extra large size for the original recipe.

Cornbread Topped Bourbon BBQ Chicken

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel, plus 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 2 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts and thighs, coarsely chopped
• 3/4 cup bourbon
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Two 8.5-ounce boxes corn muffin mix, such as Jiffy, batter mixed according to package directions

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon EVOO, 1 turn of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and red onion and cook until tender, 4 to 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomato paste and smoked paprika and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, brown sugar, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, orange peel and orange juice and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer the barbecue sauce until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large cast-iron skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper and cook until golden brown on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes. Pour the barbecue sauce into the skillet and drizzle the bourbon on top. Remove the pan from the heat and light the alcohol with a match. Return the pan to the heat and cook until the flames subside.
3. Fold the scallions and 1/2 cup cheese into the mixed corn bread batter. Spoon the mixture evenly over the barbecue chicken in the skillet. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup cheese on top. Bake until the corn bread is golden-brown, about 30 minutes.