Pickapeppa Chicken

I have known about Pickapeppa Sauce (you can usually find it in your local grocery store) for awhile now, but the only time I have had the pleasure is when one of my friends wifes has topped cream cheese with it.  Now it is delicious that way, served with a few tasty crackers or veggies.  But that was it for me and Pickapeppa.  When I came across this recipe on Food & Fire, a great blog by the way, I was dying to try it.  It looked simple enough, but it took planning.  I am not a great planner, more of an impulse cook. However, I am a great bargain shopper.  I came across a great deal on chicken thighs a week ago, so I naturally bought them, I took them out and froze them in bags of two and four.  Byrd doesn't really like chicken on the bone, well she likes wings, but thats about as far as it goes.  She was skeptical this time.  I took a pack of four chicken thighs out of the freezer and let them thaw and then marinated them in the Pickapeppa based marinade.  I did make a few changes to the original. First I cut the recipe in half since we were only doing 4 thighs.  I also added a little crushed red pepper, just because I like a little extra spice every now and then.  Food & Fire said to:"Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, overnight is better, 48 hours rocks." They were allowed 24 hours, because I just couldn't wait any longer.

I put them on the grill skin side down for 20 minutes, then flipped them and let them cook indirectly for 40 minutes.  I did add some apple wood chips for a little of that sweet smoky flavor.

To go with the chicken I made some green beans.  I started by rendering  a slice of bacon and some red onion, then adding a can of beans.  

This was by far the best chicken I have ever cooked.  It was just that good.  A perfect blend of sweet, tangy, and spicy.  We did serve it with a side of the Pickapeppa Sauce, but agreed that it was not needed, the flavor was perfect.  Byrd actually said we can have this again this week, maybe she has finally come around to the chicken thighs.  I guess it is good that we have 36 left in the freezer.

Herbed Strips

Night two of the red meat diet, calling it this makes it sound better to me.  I looked around several sites to find a quick steak rub or some way to change up the flavor a little bit.  I came across a few herb encrusted steaks, but nothing matched what I had time for, bad planning on my part, they looked delicious.  I did come across a jar of herbes de provence in my pantry.  This particular blend was: Winter savory(no idea what that is), thyme,rosemary,basil, tarragon, and lavender flowers.  Everything sounded great except the lavender, which reminds me of lotion for some reason. The blend smelled good, so I used it. I was really looking forward to getting these on the grill, but oh the wonderful weather of Alabama.  It started to rain. I am glad I have the grill pan.

I wish we could have had potatoes, but Byrd wanted me to try her mom's creamed spinach recipe.  Creamed spinach from my childhood was not a pleasant memory to bring up, so I steamed a little broccoli just in case. The creamed spinach was easier than I would have thought.  Cook frozen spinach, squeeze out all the water, return to pan, then add butter and 1/2 a package of cream cheese.  Very simple. 

The steak was delicious.  The herb blend added a great flavor that I really enjoyed.  The creamed spinach was great, it did not give me nightmares like it did when I was a child.  I am now over that food phobia.  When being forced to eat a lot of steak, I know tough life, it is nice to find new ways to flavor the meat.  

New Diet

Until yesterday I haven't had much to say about my wife, Byrd, being pregnant.  A few things have changed:

Her steaks are now med/med well, instead of rare/med. rare

She doesn't have wine/beer while we are in the kitchen, or anywhere.

She eats all the sweets she wants, well she did that before she was pregnant, so no change there.

She loves potatoes, which she never really cared about before.

Yesterday the doctor told her that she is anemic.  Low iron count in her blood.  So 1st hiccup and not a big one, well for me.  New rules:  Very limited intake of sweets, this is a big one for her.  Lower carb intake, no more potatoes, no more wedges, her favorite side item as of late.  She also has to take Iron supplements, which we have been told is like adding concrete to the stomach.  The good news is the doctor told her to "eat lots of red meat" and "leafy green vegetables"  So we are looking at a high protein, low carb diet.  This part works for me. I will miss the carbs, but I get to have a lot of steak, so I think I will be ok.

I have always loved a spinach salad, with hot bacon dressing.  So for tonights dinner I set out to finally make homemade bacon dressing.  I found a simple recipe from Paula Deen for the dressing.  I followed the recipe, except I used Dijon mustard instead of the honey mustard, I had it in the house.  As for the salad, thin sliced white button mushrooms, red onions, hard boiled eggs, and of course bacon.

For our red meat, Publix had top sirloin filets on sale so that's what's for dinner.  I don't normally marinate steaks, but in order to get a little flavor in the sirloins, I used some Pilleteri's Original Marinade.  This is a product of Mr. P's Butcher Shop and Deli, which is a great little local place.  My little Hibachi doing its job.

I tossed the fresh spinach, onions, bacon, and mushrooms in the dressing.  Then plated them and topped with the egg.

  

The steaks were definitely not the star of the show, the spinach salad was.  Now that I have a bacon dressing under my belt we will have it more often. I know it is possible to cook a sirloin where it is tender and juicy, I just haven't figured it out yet.  This I will work on. I have a lot of red meat to cook in the upcoming months so I am up for the challenge.