Neely's warm bacon potato salad

It's friday, for some reason, I am remembering Madison WI's fish fries. It was great going to my neighbor, Pete's church, waiting in line for the fish fry. We had never encountered the organizers giving us beer while we wait in line. Of course, we paid for the beer. How's that for service. I loved warm german potato salad. When the Neely's featured their warm bacon potato salad, I knew that I had to try it. I am pretty sure that there's a typo on their recipe because I remember Gina saying 1/4 cup of white wine vinegar instead of 1/2 cup of white wine vinegar.
The basic recipe, is cut 6 strips of bacon into 1 inch pieces while you boil 5 cut up potatoes in plain water. Do not add any salt. The bacon has enough salt. I whisked 1/4 cup of white wine vinegar, 1 Tbsp and 1 tsp sugar, and 1 Tbs coarse brown mustard together in a measuring cup. Take out the bacon, and leave about 1 Tbs bacon grease in the pan. Add one chopped red onion and minced clove of garlic to the bacon grease. Once the onions have sweated, add the white wine vinegar mixture to the bacon grease too. Add the potatoes, a generous sprinkle of dried dill (about 1 tsp). I did not have fresh dill. After you dish out the potato salad, sprinkle the crispy bacon on top. The Neelys combined the bacon with the vinegar mixture and potatoes. I like crispiness of the bacon. I paired the dinner with my turmeric pan fried tilapia fish. So, dinner is nothing like what we had at the WI fish fries. I did not get their recipes. By the time we got to the beginning of the line to eat, the beer may have kicked in and I just wanted to eat. I hope that you try Neely's warm bacon potato salad soon, it's the best potato salad that Jeff and I have ever eaten.

Brass Compass Cafe's "King of Clubs" lobster club sandwich for breakfast

Every week, my husband and I said that we should not watch the food network shows late at night. The shows always make us hungry late at night and that leads to snacking before going to sleep. We ended up watching Throwdown with Bobby Flay show featuring lobster club sandwich. After deciding last night to wait until next week to make the sandwich, we could not wait. Jeff went to the store at 7 am this morning. We were not disappointed to have this for breakfast. I fried up the bacon and steamed two lobster tails. Once the lobster tails were steamed, I rough chopped them up into big chunks and added about two tablespoons of mayo, a light sprinkle of salt and pepper. Although we did not make our own white bread, we just toasted three Sarah Lee white bread and assemble the sandwhich.
Mayo was spread on the toasted, then lettuce, tomato, and crispy bacon. If you are interested in the Brass Compass Cafe restaurant, here is an article about Lynn the owner. The original recipe is listed in the article. Afterwards, Jeff declared the lobster club sandwich is one of the best sandwiches that he had ever eaten. Since we will not be going to Maine soon, we were happy to settle for this sandwich at home. After reading on restaurant review, if you order the sandwich at the restaurant, it is about $17.00. If you make it at home, it will set you back about $12.00.

Haiti

Hi,
I know that this is usually a food blog and do not usually have anything else except recipes. I wanted to share on of my favorite blogs that I follow...The Give Blog. If you would like to contribute to an organization to help people in Haiti but did not know where to give, the Give Blog has a great site with a list of organizations and their ratings. Thanks you for giving me your 2 minutes of your time so that I can pass along some great information. Sincerely, Tien

Chicken vegetable stir fry

One of the new cooking oils that I love to use is avocado oil. The claim is "Avocado oil enables the body to absorb up to 17 times more carotenoids and nutrients found in salads and vegetables." It has a high burn point: 500 degrees F/255 degrees C. This recipe is my Mom's recipe.

1-2 Tbs avocado oil
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 Tbs of oyster sauce
1 chicken breast or 2 chicken tenderloins (cut into bite size pieces)

Saute onions until caramelized. Add chicken and saute until cooked. Remove the chicken and set aside.

1 Tbs avocado oil
1 (12 oz)bag of California stir fry (Cut up broccoli, carrots, snow peas)
1 cup of water

Some of the broccoli are a bit big so cut them to bit size pieces so that everything will cook evenly. Saute the vegetables in avocado oil to brown slightly. Add the water and cover with a lid to steam the vegetables. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the chicken back into the skillet.

1 cup water
1 Tbs cornstarch
1 tsp low sodium La Choy soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
Sprinkle of garlic salt
1 Tbs oyster sauce

Combine the above ingredients and add to the skillet. The stir fry is done when the sauce thickens.

Catherine's spicy chicken soup

I am always trying to find new soups to try. I have been wanting to try Catherine's spicy chicken soup for a while. I modified the soup quite a bit so here is my version and below is the original version. It's a bit thicker soup because I did added about 1 cup of water and the juice of the beans. My husband loved it so it will be a part of the regular rotation.

• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (cut into bite size slices or cubes)
  
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 5 cubes chicken bouillon
• 1 (16 ounce) jar mild chunky salsa (use medium if you would like more heat)
  
• 1 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes in puree
  
• 1 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 (11 ounce) can Green Giant vacuum freshness packed super sweet yellow and white corn, drained
  
• 2 (16 ounce) cans chili beans, undrained
• 1 cup of water
  
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream or Greek yogurt to add to the soup on the side
  

I cut the chicken breasts into bite size slices or cubes. In a skillet, saute the chicken with the onions in 3 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the rest of the ingredients into a soup pot except the sour cream or Greek yogurt. Add a tablespoon of the sour cream or Greek yogurt, if you would like.

Catherine's original spicy chicken soup recipe:

• 2 quarts water
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 5 cubes chicken bouillon
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) jar chunky salsa
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans peeled and diced tomatoes
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 2 (16 ounce) cans chili beans, undrained
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

Directions

1. In a large pot over medium heat, combine water, chicken, salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley, onion powder and bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 1 hour, or until chicken juices run clear. Remove chicken, reserve broth. Shred chicken.
2. In a large pot over medium heat, cook onion and garlic in olive oil until slightly browned. Stir in salsa, diced tomatoes, whole tomatoes, tomato soup, chili powder, corn, chili beans, sour cream, shredded chicken and 5 cups broth. Simmer 30 minutes.

Thomas Keller's salmon tartare on sweet onion crackers

After finding Thomas Keller's smoked salmon crisps recipe on the Food and Wine website, I decided to skip making the tuiles. It seems so much work to make them from scratch. I experimented with some wheat/gluten free Crunchmaster multi-seed crackers crunchy oven baked. After a side by side taste test, the sween onion flavor beat out the original flavor. These crackers are a nice substitute because they already have the sesame seeds baked in. To make it healthier, I replaced the crème fraîche with Greek yogurt.

1. 4 ounces sliced smoked salmon, finely chopped
2. 1 teaspoons very finely chopped shallot
3. 1 teaspoons very finely chopped chives, plus a few snipped, for garnish
4. 1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
5. Crunchmaster multi-see crackers, sweet onion flavor
   
6. 3 tablespoons of Greek yogurt for garnish

Combine the first four ingredients, place a small spoonful on each cracker and garnish with chives and greek yogurt. Here is the salmon that I used.Original recipe

1. 4 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2. 2 teaspoons sugar
3. 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4. 1 chilled large egg white
5. 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
6. 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
7. 4 ounces sliced smoked salmon, finely chopped
8. 1 1/2 teaspoons very finely chopped shallot
9. 1 1/2 teaspoons very finely chopped chives, plus a few snipped, for garnish
10. 1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
11. Freshly ground white pepper
12. 1/2 cup crème fraîche

Preheat the oven to 400°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the sugar and salt. Add the egg white and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the butter until smooth and creamy.

Spoon teaspoons of the batter 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets and spread to 2-inch rounds. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and bake in the upper and middle third of the oven for about 15 minutes, shifting the pans from top to bottom and front to back, until the tuiles are golden and fragrant. Let cool.

In a medium bowl, combine the salmon with the shallot, chopped chives, lemon zest and a pinch of white pepper. Spoon the salmon onto the tuiles and top with a dollop of crème fraîche and a couple of snipped chives. Serve right away.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

I tried the cranberry salad on the Allrecipe site but I like the Strawberry spinach salad more. I will post a picture of the salad soon.

• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced onion
• 10 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 quart strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
• 1/4 cup almonds, toasted
  

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour.
2. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.