Grant Wood Chicken bake

Soon Labor day will be here and the start of autumn cooking. Here is a different way to fix those good old chicken thighs. We dedicate it to a famous American painter that few knew was gay. So many of our LGBT luminaries have been white-washed in history in an effort to make them invisible. Check out the short story about this man.

 

Hearty baked chicken in a bed of corn can not be more of a precursor of the fall weather ahead. Practice this now and add it to your entertaining possibilities for the holidays.

Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs

1 (14.75 oz) can yellow corn drained

1 (14.75 oz) can of cream style sweet corn

½ sleeve of crackers, crumbled up

2 tablespoon butter or margarine cut into chunks

2 Tbs sugar

1 Tbs brown sugar

2 tbs flour

½ teaspoon SWEET paprika

Salt and pepper to taste.

Directions: 

 

Pre heat oven to 325 degrees and spray a baking dish.

In a skillet over medium heat, brown the chicken, top and bottom for about 5 minutes each side, just to give them a nice brown color.

In a large bowl combine the cans of corn.

With a heavy wooden spoon, mix in the crushed crackers, the sugars and the flour. 

 

Transfer to prepared casserole. Dot with pieces of butter.

Arrange the chicken pieces on top and dust with the paprika.

Cover.

Bake, for 1½ hours.

Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

This will give plenty of time to zap a quick green vegetable for your other side.

So excited to be serving this for my Master Indy.

For our music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri7-vnrJD3k

socialslave

To satisfy and restore.

To nourish, support and maintain.

To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,

to nurture, assist, and sustain

…..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by Dan White http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTMvia @amazon

 

 

=======================

Grant Wood 

 

   

1930

Did you know Grant Wood who created the USA’s first official style of painting known as Regionalism and was most known for American Gothic was gay?

Throughout his life, he used his talents for many Iowa-based businesses as a steady source of income. In addition, his 1928 trip to Munich was to oversee the making of the stained glass windows he had designed for a Veterans Memorial Building in Cedar Rapids.

At age 33 Wood lived with his mother in the loft of a carriage house in Cedar Rapids, which he had turned into his personal studio. Wood was married for 3 years. Friends considered the marriage a mistake for Wood.

Wood taught painting at the University of Iowa's School of Art from 1934 to 1941.

It is suspected that he was a homosexual, and that there was an attempt to fire him because of a relationship with his personal secretary.

Critic Janet Maslin states that his friends knew him to be "homosexual and a bit facetious in his masquerade as an overall-clad farm boy." University administration dismissed the allegations and Wood would have returned as professor if not for his growing health problems.

The painting above is known as Arnold’s coming of age. Arnold was his young 21 year old lover.

The painting has 3 distinct planes, one being the two male youths in the right hand corner in a Adam and Eve style with the one bent over depicting the gay struggle with religion and sex, the left plane shows a butterfly that was often used to label a person as gay, they also hung out at a bar named the butterfly cafe so it could also mean that.

The nude painting was considered so graphic the U.S. postal service refused to carry the prints, another interesting fact is the model used for that one was Eric Knight the author of Lassie Come Home. Gay culture swept under the rug.

The day before his 51st birthday, in 1942, Wood died at the university hospital of pancreatic cancer.

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Meatloafing Tonight

Never overlook the ordinary. Fancy exotic foods can be exciting on occasion but they can never replace the familiar and comforting for daily consumption.

Such is the standard meatloaf. Yes you've had them since you were a kid. Just don't settle for bland and boring. You are there supplying the loving care which creates fantastic taste for your dinner table. Simple formula to use is take the basics and tweek it with flavors that you and your family enjoy. 

 Here ground beef is mixed with a bratwurst sausage, honey mustard, onions, and yes even brown sugar to create a BBQ influenced main dish. Add simple sides of macaroni and cheese and a green vegetable. It will NOT be boring, but rather a dinner hour of love. It is a meal that shows you pay attention to your guests. 

 

Ingredients:

1 lbs ground beef

.75 lbs bratwurst sausage

1 cup crumbled crackers

½ cup beef broth

½ onion chopped

1 teaspoon salt + 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

2 Tbs honey mustard

¼ cup BBQ sauce

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

3 slices of American cheese

¼ cup ketchup

Directions

Chop the onion.

In a large bowl crush and crumble town house or Ritz type butter crackers until you have about 1 cup total. Pour in ½ cup of low salt beef broth. Stir in the chopped onions and let sit while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line a 9 x 14 baking dish with foil – for easier clean-up!

 When oven is at temperature, mix the ground beef and sausage into the bowl of cracker mix. Add the BBQ sauce, honey mustard, brown sugar, salt & pepper. Do not over mix. I suggest using a short wooden spoon for this.

Let that sit while you fold each piece of cheese in half and half again making cheese sticks by stacking four of the ¼ slices!

Fold out the beef mixture into the baking dish and shape into a loaf.

With your fingers, poke a trench into the loaf and insert the cheese. Pinch the meat back over this to cover. Brush the ketchup over the top and slide into oven.

Let bake for a full hour, then check with a meat thermometer to make sure the meat center reaches 160 degrees F. When done remove from oven and let loaf rest for 10 to 20 minutes.

Don't skip this step.

With this ample baking time, fix some macaroni and cheese and microwave a simple green vegetable.

Simple looking, yet a phenomenal taste that makes this old stand by a winner.

For our music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1G-5clACHI

socialslave

To satisfy and restore.

To nourish, support and maintain.

To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,

to nurture, assist, and sustain

…..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by 

Dan White http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTMvia @amazon

It's Not a Pizza

This week in preparing for our 7^th Anniversary, Master wanted slave to re-visit recipes that have already been posted. We have done some left-overs and some french toast. Also hit a re-make of smothered pork chops. Now it is time to re-work one from a few years back called “ferie morgenmad” – a Danish pizza. Here lets do another brunch dish featuring candied bacon, eggs and cheese on a pizza type crust.

Now this might take a bit of careful work but it is really as simple as can be. Pre-made crust, flavor and cook bacon in oven and mix up some cheese with yogurt. Num Num!

Ingredients:

3 slices of Candied Bacon, cut into small pieces -recipe follows

4 to 6 eggs

pre-made, ready to bake pizza dough

½ cup marscpone cheese

1 5oz container lemon flavored Greek style yogurt

drizzle of olive oil

For the bacon:

3 – 4 slices bacon.

¼ cup peach preserves

¼ cup brown sugar

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

 

Heat the preserves in microwave just until it is soft and stir in the brown sugar. About 15 sec.

Line a rimed baking sheet with foil and lay out the strips of bacon so they don't touch.

Brush each piece with the preserve mixture. 

 

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes and remove to paper towel lined plate.

Set the oven to 450 degrees called for on pizza crust and place pizza stone in to warm up for 15 – 20 minutes.

When the bacon is cool, chop it up. Mix the marscpone cheese and yogurt together. (You might want to heat the cheese for 20 sec in the microwave just to soften it.)

Follow the directions on the package of pizza dough. (This one just calls for baking 7 to 10 minutes. With no pre-baking)

Prick the dough with a fork. Brush lightly with olive oil.

Spread with the cheese mixture. Sprinkle the bacon all around. 

Slide it onto the heated stone.

The dough said it needed 10 minutes so bake for 7 minutes.

Then carefully slide out the pizza.

Fry your eggs sunny side up.

The trick is to cook the whites and still leave some of the yolk runny, so you can dip pieces into it. In fact they do not have to be all the way done yet. Remove the skillet from the heat and let the residual finish it.

Carefully cut around the yolks leaving enough white to hold it together and chopping the rest to mix with the bacon.

Place the egg yolks around so that each piece will get one.

Carefully place back into the oven for the final 3 minutes to warm.

Remove: season with salt and pepper, slice and serve. Oh what a wonderful aroma!

What a fantastic aroma and beautiful presentation for your next brunch. The hint of peaches on the bacon and touch of lemon flavor in the cheese will make for a memorial meal.

For our music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5McEdptRG8

Serving my Master Indy for 7 years! :-)

socialslave

To satisfy and restore.

To nourish, support and maintain.

To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,

to nurture, assist, and sustain

…..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by Dan White http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTM via @amazon

Bourbon & Brown Sugar Roast

When Master walks through the door, his senses will be slammed. He'll know that a burst of love is not long from being on his plate! With the bourbon, brown sugar and array of simple enhancements, this roast has spent spa hours in the oven basking in the secret juices. Go ahead smile! You know that you just scored an economic home run! Taking simple ingredients, you have transformed them into something chic and luxurious!

Turn a chuck roast into a special dinner. One that tastes like it came from an expensive restaurant, but the budget wont allow. Brown sugar & bourbon uses time in the oven to do your magic.

Instead of a heavy gravy, how about just home mashed potatoes? Balance it out with sugar snap peas and you have all of the best the fancy establishments could offer.

 

Ingredients:
2½ to 3 lb chuck roast cut into big pieces

2 slices of bacon cut into thirds
1 tsp. Each kosher salt + pepper
4 Tbs. brown sugar
½ cup bourbon

½ cup Triple Sec orange
6 cloves garlic sliced
2 Tbl. extra virgin olive oil
1 cup beef broth
1/3 cup flour

Directions:

Slice the garlic in a small bowl. 

 Cut the roast into 4 or 5 big pieces and sprinkle salt and pepper.

In a 9 by 13 baking dish, combine the brown sugar, bourbon, garlic, Triple Sec, and broth and whisk together blending it all together well.

Sit the meat in this and cover for at least 30 minutes. Then uncover and flip the meat to coat the other side. Recover for 30 more minutes. You want it to start at room temperature.

Make sure your dutch oven will fit, then pre heat oven to 275 degrees.

In a dutch oven over medium high heat cook the bacon until it releases its grease. Remove to paper towels.

Using tongs, remove the meat from the marinade, shake off excess, and put on a large plate holding the flour. Flip to coat each piece well.

Put meat into the hot bacon grease and sear on all sides. Reduce heat and slowly add in the marinade plus another ½ cup of broth. 
Throw in the cooked bacon.

Cover tightly with a lid and put in the preheated oven for 2.5 to 3 hours. During the last ½ hour check to see if it needs more broth.
Remove with a slotted spoon. If you like, you can make a gravy from the cooking juices in the pot, but it is not necessary. 
Dish out a cup into a sauce pan. Stir in a slurry made of 1 tbs corn starch and 2 tbs water. Stir until thick.

Serve with a side of home mashed potatoes and some cooked carrots.

If you like the taste here is a glaze you can make.

1 cup bourbon

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup ketchup

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

Big pinch of salt and pepper

Just bring this all to a simmer over medium heat and let it simmer until it reduces down to about a third of its original volume.  Stir it regularly so the sugars don’t burn. It’ll make your kitchen smell like a distillery which is just fine in my book.
Don’t rush the reduction process, just let it do its thing and eventually you’ll be left with this slightly thick, glossy sauce that will knock your socks off.

For music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCFG5rT4kbA

What a wonderful meal for my Master on our 7^th anniversary!

socialslave

To satisfy and restore.

To nourish, support and maintain.

To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,

to nurture, assist, and sustain

…..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by Dan White http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTMvia @amazon

Bacon Egg Cups

You don't really need a special occasion or even had a particularly fantastic night to fix a treat for someone's breakfast. This easy to prepare version of bacon and eggs also makes for a great brunch.

Four ingredients is all it takes. That and just a tiniest bit of effort, aren't you willing to do this for your special person?

Ingredients:

3 slices Bacon
2 Eggs

1 English muffin

2 slices American Cheese
Seasonings of your choice

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. If your muffin pan seats 12, that usually means each will be about 8 to 9 inches around. You will need 1 piece of bacon + ½ to 1/3 of a piece to set in the bottom of each egg cup.

Line a rimed baking sheet with foil and lay out the bacon in one layer but not touching. 

 

Cook your bacon in the oven until almost done but still pliable.* Make sure it doesn’t get crispy because it will continue to cook in the oven and it needs to be able to bend. It should take about 12 minutes.

Drain on paper towels and let cool.

When bacon is draining on paper towels, this is a good time to remind you NEVER pour grease down the drain! As soon as it cools, it will clog up that drain faster than you can imagine! 

 

Spray the muffin pan. Line the muffin tins with bacon slices. To make it easier, notice how bacon has one edge that has the fat and one edge that has the “meat”? Put the “meat” edge down. Place the ½ to 1/3 piece inside the cup first to create a “bottom” to the egg cup.

Crack an egg into each cup. Sprinkle with your choice of a seasoning. Slave prefers to use a tiny bit of dried Thyme for this. Sage, oregano, even poultry seasonings work just as well. Also a touch of salt and pepper.

Bake until almost set, about 15 minutes.

Toast the English muffin while the egg cups are nearly done, lightly butter them.

Loosen from cups by running a table knife around the edges. Carefully remove them and place upside down on a piece of American cheese and drape a half piece on top to melt while waiting to serve.

Serve this just like you would eggs, two per serving along with some hot toast or English muffins. Enjoy!!!

Here is a different way to wake up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXFKPMllPjA&index=9&list=PLUSRfoOcUe4YDabf_eWCPjS1hyIJthLuB

So happy to be serving my Master Indy for 7 years now!

socialslave

To satisfy and restore.

To nourish, support and maintain.

To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,

to nurture, assist, and sustain

…..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by Dan White http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTMvia @amazon