Beer Battered Fish and Better than Primanti's-style Slaw!

Some lads and lassies think corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's Day is the way to go. Not necessarily.
 I've never met an Irishman who didn't like fish and chips. Come to think of it,  I've never met anyone who didn't like fish-n-chips. I have, however, met those who do not like corned beef and cabbage- myself included... and I'm part Irish!

This particular dish is special because New Belgium Brewing Company, known for it's Fat Tire Amber Ale,  will donate $1 to their "glass that gives" program for every picture submitted to them with their ale- hence the bottle in my picture on the left. How often do you hear about a brewing company donating money to a non-for profit "do gooder" organization? Not often. So do yourself a favor this St. Patty's day (or ANY day) and buy some Fat Tire Amber Ale, take a picture with it, and skip the corned beef.  Go fish!

My Irish Dad @ Primanti's w/ a signature sammy

Start with your Better-than-Primanti's Slaw- Primanti Bros. is an iconic Pittsburgh Strip District dive known for it's loaded sandwiches with hand cut fries, meat and their famous tangy, mayo-free, slaw. They threw everything together on a sandwich for the iron workers, years ago, who had no time to sit and enjoy everything in a restaurant. The concept stuck and has made Primanti Bros. "a must eat" on your next trip to the iron city. It's awesome, believe me... and I was skeptical, at first. Their slaw is excellent... but not as good as this:  

1lb pkg or bag o' slaw. (Sure, you can DIY and thinly slice your own cabbage and carrots, but, save yourself the trouble and grab a package. I got mine from our local fruit market for .98. SCORE!)
2tsp Ms. Dash Original blend
1tsp salt
1pkg Equal (I dunno what it is about using artificial sweetener with this recipe, but, real sugar just doesn't work)
1/2 cup Rice Wine Vinegar (don't even bother making this w/out the rice wine vinegar)
1/2tsp Celery Seed
1/4 tsp dill (fresh or dried)
1tablespoon Olive Oil

Combine all of those ingredients in a large bowl, toss, cover, and let chill.


Beer Battered O'Fish
2-4lbs of Cod or Haddock (or any firm, hearty fish- Sea bass, Halibut, Snapper will work... unless I am coming over for dinner, in which case, please use Haddock)
1 bottle of oil. (peanut, canola or veggie)
11/2 of flour
3/4tsp mustard powder
2Tbs Old Bay (I used Lazy Susan's Hot Fat Crab's Seasoning)
1/2 tsp Paprika
1 bottle of FAT TIRE AMBER ALE (or any amber ale will do)

Step 1) Preheat your oven to 275- to keep the fish warm after frying.

**If you want to do some hand cut chips (fries) use Alton Brown's technique. It's exactly how I fry... um... fries. Or, just buy some frozen **

Step 2) Get your oil hot, super hot, and ready to fry

In a large bowl combine all of the dry ingredients and mix together in a large bowl. Add your beer and mix. Coat your fish pieces in the mixture and let them sit until you are ready to fry. Drop the fish in the hot oil one at a time for 2 minutes, each. For consistency, turn them on each side in the oil. They should be golden brown. Remove the fish and let it rest on a a bed of paper towels (drain the oil) and then transfer to a cookie sheet in the oven until you are ready to dig in with your slaw!


<-- Make these for the kiddies. Take any store bought white cake mix, prepare per pkg. instructions and separate the batter in different bowls. Add different food coloring in each bowl and pour them, individually, into the cupcake liners and bake. The inside of the cupcakes (and the liners) will be RAINBOWRIFFIC!  

Kertney's Kung POW! "Better than Buffet" Companion Piece.

I CAN'T EAT ENOUGH KUNG PAO!

I order this dish more than any human being should. I order it so often that I'll bet Taiwan 101 is sick of making it for me, so I'll do them a favor and attempt to recreate it. In my trial dishes, I realized that I had to get a little more authentic with my sauce- something always wasn't quite right. After some investigating I realized that I needed MORE Asian condiments. Chinese chefs must have a condiment pantry as long as The Great Wall!  If you want to get a little more fancy with your Chinese cuisine, pick up these next 3 KEY items at your Asian market. No, you won't find them at your run-of-the-mill grocery store: 

1)Dark Soy Sauce, 2)Rice Wine and 3) Black Vinegar.   

In my quest for the perfect sauce, I came across Martin Yan's book, "Martin Yan's China." In his book, one can find a handful of Chinese and Taiwanese staples. The ingredients I noticed THE MOST in Yan's recipes were the above condiments, including the one's from my previous blog, "Better than Buffet." The dark soy sauce, rice wine and black vinegar make the world of difference between preparing an at home, Chinese stir fry vs. a savory dish delivered from your favorite Asian restaurant. Of course Martin has his own version of Kung Pao, but, my rendition hits the spot in the Kertney household. Don't get me wrong, I would eat whatever that man put before me... but I would be hard pressed to see if he didn't ask for seconds of my Kung POW, first! 

Kertney's Kung POW! 

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts- butterflied, pounded flat and cut into bite sized chunks.  

2 tsp salt 

2 cloves of garlic- pressed

My youngest "stripping" the celery

1 tablespoon cornstarch 

2 tablespoons pre-seasoned vegetable oil
1/4 cup unsalted peanuts

1/2 can of water chestnuts, halved (freeze the other half) 

2 handfuls of your choice of MAIN veggie. Broccoli, green beans, sugar snap peas and snow peas work the best. If you use green beans, you will have to steam or boil them, first- for 5 minutes, then shock them to preserve the color and so they remain crisp. 

1/2 small package of fresh mushrooms, halved

1/2 red bell pepper, cubed

1 celery stalk, stripped

3 scallions, chopped

Prepare and pound your chicken in between wax paper for a thin consistency. Roughly cut up your chicken into bite size pieces and add the cornstarch, salt and pressed garlic. Let that sit while you prepare "the sauce."

2 Tbsp Dark Soy

2 Tbsp Oyster Sauce

2 Tbsp Teriyaki sauce

1Tbsp Black Vinegar

1 Tbsp Rice Wine 

1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar

1 clove of garlic, sliced

2- 3 whole, dried, chile peppers (depends on how spicy you like it)

1 scallion, chopped

2 small pieces of fresh ginger- a sliver or two will be just fine

In a separate bowl mix:
2 Tbsp corn starch

1/2 Cup Chicken Stock 

HOLY CRAP THAT'S A LOT OF SAUCES FOR JUST ONE DISH!

This is a fast cooking process, so be prepared with all of your ingredients. Prep-work is essential with Asian cooking.

Preheat a wok or a deep skillet on high heat and add of 1tablespoon pre-seasoned oil. What is pre-seasoned oil? Check out my other blog. Add your chicken pieces and 1 chile pepper and fry until golden, then remove from the pan. Next, turn your heat down to medium high and add 1 tablespoon of oil, chestnuts and mushrooms and fry for 3 minutes. Next, add the celery strips, the remaining scallions, peanuts, and reintroduce your chicken. Add "the sauce" and get it well incorporated with the other ingredients.  Next add the stock/cornstarch mix and let cook for a minute or two. The sauce should be deep brown and thickening. Not thick enough? Add more cornstarch to less broth and add to the wok.  The LAST ingredients should be the beans, red peppers and garlic slices. You want crunch... not mush, so always add these at the end. The same goes for broccoli or any other main veggie. Cook them LAST and they will stay crisp. You only need to cook them for a minute or two. This whole process shouldn't last more than 10 minutes, tops!

Serve immediately over a nice bed of steamed rice and enjoy!  Check out my page about how to make white rice without any measuring! 

W.T.F? Those Taquitos Are Good!

"Those taquitos are good!"  

-Sigfredo Sr. 

My brother-in-law's brother-in-law is right; My sister, Christine, makes some pretty tasty taquitos! Her husband of 25 years is El Salvadorian. In those 25 years, Juan and his family have introduced several different products and techniques to our family. One of those What The Food products is Sazon.

Sazon is a muy delicioso Goya-brand flavoring agent that acts in the same way traditional bouillon cubes do... but with a powdery latin flare. I'll be using it for the rice. Another WTF spice I use regularly is Tajin!

Tajin was introduced to me by another amazing cook, my beautiful, Mexican neighbor, Ivonne. Tajin is a natural chile and lime spice that is perfect for all kinds of recipes, not just Spanish cooking! You can easily find Sazon and Tajin in your major supermarkets. In fact, I just spotted Tajin at Wal-Mart!

Today, I am making my own, non-fried, chicken taquitos, with the above two Spanish seasonings. Don't get me wrong, I love fried, just not today. Besides, I have been craving some Chipotle Grill as of late... but on a less gargantuan-of-a-burrito scale.  I decided to make some chipotle taquitos to kill my craving!

Kertney's Chipotle Chicken Taquitos
Prep Time: 2.5hrs (depends on if you marinade the chicken)

Cook time: 3-4 hrs- slow cooker
Makes 10+ taquitos

2 large, whole, Chicken breasts, skin on, bone-in. (Any part of the chicken will work, really... unless I am coming over for dinner, in which case, please use breast)
1tsp Tajin
1tsp Salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 cups Chicken Stock
1 chicken bouillon cube
Zest of 1/2 Lime
1/2 Lime juice
1 chile in adobo sauce
1/2 jar of store-bought Chipotle Salsa (I use my husband's favorite, Guy Fieri's "Da' Spice is Right" Salsa AND it's gluten free)
5 shakes of Texas Pete (My FAVORITE hot sauce)
1tsp Salt

Condiments:
Flour tortillas- warmed
shredded cheddar cheese
Sour Cream
Cilantro - optional
Extra hot sauce
Lime wedges (for squeezing onto your taquito... and for your Corona)

In a nutshell, take all of the above spices, olive oil and lime zest and rub them onto to your chicken.  Be sure to rub the spices on and under the skin. If you have the time, let that sit for an hour or two. If not- no biggie, just know that the longer they sit, the more flavorful they become! Brown the breasts in a prepared skillet on med-high heat. Put the browned chicken breasts into a crock pot and cover with the stock, lime juice (throw the 1/2 lime in there after squeezing it), bouillon and adobo chile. Trust me, you only want one of those little buggers unless you like some heat. Be careful! They are super spicy!

Waste not want not: Put the rest of the chiles in a ziplock bag or a plastic container and freeze until you need them again. 

Cover the crock on high heat and let sit for 4 hours, or until the chicken pulls apart with ease. Remove the bones and shred the chicken.

In a frying pan on medium heat, add butter, Texas Pete and onions. Saute until translucent. Add your shredded chicken, salt and salsa. (My sis uses a product called Sofrito in lieu of Salsa... but that's hard to find around here. Dunno why? It's a Goya product, though)


Spanish Rice: 


2 cups rice- long grain
1 pkg. Sazon
1tsp olive oil
1tsp butter
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 chopped red bell peppers
1/4 cup chopped onions
2 cups water
1/2 cup of Stock from the crock
1 tsp. salt (optional)

Prepare your rice 30-40minutes before you serve your taquitos. On high heat, in that SAME skillet you used for the chicken, add your butter, olive oil, onions, rice and Sazon until everything is well incorporated and the rice is hard white and the onions are translucent. (about 3minutes) Next, add your peas, peppers and garlic and stir for only a minute- we don't want to burn the garlic!  Add your water and stock- you should hear a large sizzle! Reduce the heat to low, cover and let steam for 30minutes. You can add salt to this if you want to, say, if you were preparing this as a side dish, but, because I am using them INSIDE the taquito, I'll leave the salt optional.

Take a warmed tortilla and add your rice, chicken, a squeeze of lime, dollop of sour cream, cilantro... load it up and finish it with a nice, cold swig of Corona. If you want to make a huge batch of refried beans or frijoles negros, GO FOR IT! I opted to stay away from the frijoles this time... especially after the stomach flu invaded the Kertney household.  TMI, I know. The Corona, however, was necessary.