Rustic Ham and Navy Bean Soup

Bacon, thick cut

Leftover Ham (cut into cubes)

4 stalks of Celery

Celery Leaves (pulled from the stalks and minced)

Medium Yellow Onion, diced

4 Carrots, sliced
Fresh minced garlic

Mini Creamery Potato sliced or two Red Potatoes diced.

Half a bag of Navy Beans (soaked overnight and rinsed)

Better than Bullion Ham's base

Black Pepper

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Bay Leaf

Liquid Smoke

Water

Note* I do not add salt; it comes from the bacon, ham, and stock base. Be cautious.

Cut up bacon and saute till crisp and fats are rendered. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. If you use fresh garlic, saute in two tablespoons of the bacon fat for a minute or two. Saute cubed ham in the same pan. Add beans, bacon, ham and garlic to a large stock pot, add about six cups of water for every 2 cups of the pre-soaked beans. (1 cup of dried beans equals 3 cups of soaked beans). Add condensed ham base. Cook for 1 and 45 minutes, add chopped vegetables, celery leaves, onion powder, garlic powder (unless you are using fresh garlic) black pepper to taste, bay leaf, a little liquid smoke. You should note, I have added no additional salt, that is purposeful, salt will pull from both the ham and bacon, additionally, the ham base and condensed Knorr's bullion contain salt. You can adjust this recipe if you are using fresh homemade chicken stock. You can always add salt and pepper to your personal taste in the bowl, but you cannot remove it from the soup. This is a filling soup, so I would serve it with cornbread or a salad.

Please keep in mind that I made a full soup pot of this recipe and will be freezing half of it.

CarveMaster Ham's, My New Favorite Ham.

CarveMaster sty hams are natural hams that are cut from the bone creating a flat shape perfect for carving. They're smoked with apple-wood. Several brands exists, Smithfield, Wright's, CarveMaster, Kirkland... those are the ones I know of. After buying the first one of this variety of ham that is all I buy now. It comes with a packet of red current glaze, they recommend that you brush the glaze on 20 minutes before removing it from the oven, but I did not do it that way. I cut the pouch of glaze openand poured it over the cold ham before baking, I also filled the pouch with water and poured that over the ham to thin the glaze. It is my preference to cook the glaze into the ham and baste it while baking, then the natural juices from the ham mix with the glaze making it rather smokey and slightly salty juice. At the end of baking, I used the baster to transfer the glaze juice to a saucepan and then thickened it with a little cornstarch slurry, thus making a ham gravy. It is incredible dripped onto sliced ham, drizzled on potatoes running into your rolls or biscuits, You make gravy from all other meat juices, why not ham?

If you don't want to use the glaze packet, you can make your own. I would recommend applying brown sugar to the scored surface of the ham and then pouring pineapple juice and maraschino cherry juice over the ham (I reserve the pineapple and cherries for ambrosia salad). You can add a little water as well, only a little. Then baste the ham while baking for 15 minutes per pound at 325 °F. 

Salmon Patties w/mini heirloom tomato salad.

Skinless, boneless canned salmon

Panko bread crumbs

Onion

Celery

Green bell pepper

Red bell pepper

Dukes mayo

Egg

Old bay seasoning

Lemon Pepper

Paprika

Fresh squeezed Lemon juice

Drain canned salmon and transfer to a mixing bowl, mince all veggies fine and saute in a little olive oil/butter combo, add two tablespoons Dukes, fresh squeezed lemon, ½ teaspoon or more of old bay seasoning, paprika, couple of shakes of lemon pepper, ¾ cup Panko bread crumbs and a whipped egg. 

I mix it with my hands. Using an ice cream scoop and your hands, roll even amounts of salmon mixture into a ball, roll the ball through additional Panko crumbs to coat all over, move the coated salmon ball to a large plate until all are done. 

Heat a pan with an oil that can take the heat, like peanut or vegetable oil. Add 4 salmon balls to the pan, using the back of a spatula, smash the salmon balls into even sized patties. Let them brown on one side until golden, only flip the delicate patties once. Serve with your favorite sauce. 

I use the above method of creating the patties because it is fool proof, the salmon cakes never fall apart on me. Using an ice cream scoop, rolling them into balls, coating them in crumbs and smashing them with the back of a spatula will give you uniform sized cakes that cook evenly and don't fall apart.  

Spicy Chili-Garlic Tartar Sauce

Couple of tablespoons Duke's or other Mayonnaise

Minced Onion

Minced dill relish

½ teaspoon of Durkee's dressing or Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon paprika for good appearance

Couple of squirts of Sriracha to taste

White Pepper

Squeeze of lemon or malt vinegar

Mix this up ahead of time and chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours for a better flavor. 

Easy Mini Heirloom Tomato, Cucumber and Sweet Onion Salad.

Wash and slice mini heirloom tomato's in half, 

Peal and slice a cucumber into fourths down the middle

Chop the cucumbers into bite sized pieces.

Slice onions thin and then in half

Dressing for the salad is lemon,olive oil, red wine vinegar, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.

Toss together and enjoy.

Hamburger Soup in Pictures

Ingredients you will need

Hamburger

Cabbage

Celery

Carrots

Onion

Garlic, Fresh or Jared

Rutabaga and Turnips or Potatoes

Frozen or fresh Green Beans

Tomato Paste

Diced Tomato

Beef Stock or a good bullion like Better than bullion and water

White Pepper and Black pepper

Bay Leaves

Onion Powder

Kitchen Bouquet

Once you get everything chopped and sauteed and everybody is in the pool this only need cook for about an hour.

1972 Original Seasoning Style, Kentucky Fried Chicken "Extra Crispy Chicken"

I loved the Kentucky Fried Chicken of my childhood, the aroma was intense, the flavor was off the charts and I really miss the cracklin' gravy and soft rolls it came with. I used to go with my mother to pick up dinner from the store just so I could hold the warm bucket on my lap and inhale the aroma on the ride back home. Somewhere along the way as the company changed hands, the spice intensity "seemed" to diminish in volume. The KFC of today does not meet the aroma and flavor intensity of my youthful memories and it is sadly missed. Recently KFC has opened a campaign to "put the Colonel back in the chicken", my recommendation is that they "Put The Spice Back in the Chicken", that is all the campaign they need and word of happy mouths would give them back a larger share of the fast-food chicken market. Col. Harlan Sanders had a pride of product approach to his chicken, he was said to be equally picky about his gravy, and it showed. I don't think KFC will increase that spice to flour ratio again because that cuts into the profit, so those of us with a memory of that chicken, are forced to try and duplicate the chicken of our memories at home.

To recreate Original Recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken, I would have to know the blend of the seasoning that goes in their chicken. I have a pretty good pallet, however, isolating each spice in a big blend is beyond me. I would also have to own a pressure fryer which is only sold in commercial form and cost thousands of dollars, so unless I grab one at auction, it isn't happening. I decided to shoot for recreating the Extra Crispy Recipe of 1972. Going on my research, so far as I can tell, the following five ingredients are in the spice/herb blend that original recipe contains: White Pepper, Black Pepper, Sage, Coriander and Savory as well as a healthy hit of salt, so as you can see I come short of the 11 herbs and spices. Still, the above blend is a great base from which to launch a seasoning of one's own, but that is not my goal. I want the taste of my childhood.

In 1964, Colonel Sanders sold his chicken franchise to John Y. Brown, Jr, Jack C. Massey, Pete Harmon, and investors Lee Cummings and Harlan Adams, who in turn sold it to Pepsico, who in turn spun it off into Yum brands. I am not going to go into the entire history of the changing of the guard that brings us to today's KFC, you can read about it here: WikiPedia, HistoryofKFC. My concern is a 1984 lawsuit between KFC Corp and Marion Kay Co,. Inc. You see, Harlan Sanders was still operating restaurants up in Canada and felt the seasonings had been watered down. He turned to an Indiana company, Marion Kay to reverse engineer his seasoning blend. He was not able to tell Marion Kay what was in the blend for contractual and trademark reasons but to my taste buds, they hit the nail on the head in their recreation of the secret blend. You can read the lawsuit that later ensued here: KFC CORP. v. MARION-KAY CO., INC.

So what is the spice blend that Marion Kay created for Harlan Sanders? That I do not fully know, however you can purchase a container of it here: Marion Kay, Chicken Seasoning Plus 9 1/2 oz. Chicken Seasoning 99 X 25 oz. Now Marion Kay recommends 2 tablespoons of the spice blend be mixed with 4 cups of flour, I actually bumped it up a bit and did 3 heaping tablespoons of the spice mix with 1 tablespoon of fine popcorn salt. I used a deep fryer and some of the Colonel's breading techniques based on the way he did it in a YouTube video, which can be seen here: Colonel Sanders making chicken at the Clinton KFC

Joshua Ozersky a food writer and historian wrote about all of this in his book Colonel Sander and the American Dream. He is the source from which I heard about Marion Kay Spices, 99x Chicken Seasoning. You can purchase his book here: Colonel Sanders and the American Dream.

White pepper

Black pepper

Ground Sage

Ground Coriander

Savory

The first four ingredients are listed on the Marion Kay 99x Chicken Seasoning. He said "Savory" was an ingredient in a 1967 commercial which was pretty funny. Here: 1967 Scary Kentucky Fried Chicken Commercial Lie Detector full). He did not specify if that was winter savory or summer savory, so that is anyone's guess. Monosodium Glutamate is also an ingredient in the 99x,  as well as copious amounts of salt. The rest of the ingredients are a mystery. You may want to try experimenting on your own if you are unable to purchase the Marion Kay blend. Below is a suggestion:

White Pepper
Black Pepper
Ground Sage
Ground Coriander
Ground Savory
Ground Rosemary
Ground Thyme
Ground Marjoram
Ground celery seed
Paprika (sweet)
Fine Plain Popcorn Salt

Accent Flavor Enhancer (monosodium glutamate)

White pepper, Black pepper, Ground Sage, Ground Coriander, Savory, crumbled dried rosemary, thyme, marjoram, celery salt, and fine plain popcorn salt. Accent Flavor Enhancer (monosodium glutamate)

For those who live in Indiana, Marion Kay does have a store for the public. It is located at:

The Marion-Kay Spice Store

1351 West Hwy 50, Brownstown, Indiana 47220

Mondays – Thursdays, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm. (Eastern Time Zone)

(1-800-627-7423) or locally (812) 358-3000 

So, to make the chicken here are the tools that I used:

The formula:

.
3 Tablespoons Marion Kay 99x Chicken seasoning.
1 Tablespoon Fine popcorn salt. (my preference, though Marion Kay sells a flake salt)
4 Cups of A/P flour, I used Gold Medal All Purpose Flour.

A good quality Pilgrims pride bird or any good quality chicken.

The brine:

Water.

Morton salt (table salt, for brining)

The equipment

Shallow, wide bowl for the egg/milk mixture

A large stainless steel bowl.
At least 2 raised cookie racks.
Sufficient number of casserole dishes to place under each rack to catch the flour and oil.
A deep Fryer (you can use a deep cast iron pot, cast iron conducts and hold heat well). 

The Oil:

Peanut Oil (though I believe Sanders used vegetable oil).

Since I cannot duplicate the pressure frying process that forces the flavor of the seasoning and moisture into the bird I used a brining method. After cutting up my chicken, I took my large steel bowl and created a brine using a tablespoon of Morton salt and 2 tablespoons of the chicken seasoning in enough water to cover my bird. I first placed the spice in a small glass bowl with enough water to cover and microwaved it for one minute. Then I stirred the mixture and added ice to cool it. I then place my chicken in the large steel bowl, poured in the spice/water mixture and added cold water till the bird was covered. I let this brine in the refrigerator for 5 hours. After that, I rinsed the chicken in a colander and ran plenty of fresh water over the chicken to remove the salt and excess spice from the chicken. I dried the chicken with paper towels as a wet chicken will create a soggy crust. 

Now you are ready to bread your chicken. Wash and thoroughly dry your large bowl. Place four cups of flour in your bowl and add 3 heaping tablespoons of 99x seasoning mix and a little less than a tablespoon of popcorn salt, whisk all ingredients well to incorporate. Keep in mind if you are using a different salt you are going to have to adjust this. Regular table salt tends to be heavy and falls to the bottom of the flour and doesn't make it onto the chicken, so I do not choose to use that. I did not buy any of the Marion Kay flaked salt so I felt that popcorn salt was a great alternative. 

Toss your chicken in the flour/seasoning mixture to coat, you want to work it for about 7 turns to cover completely, moving each piece onto one of your raised racks as it is coated. Once all of your chicken has the initial flour coating, you are ready to build that crispy crust. Dip each piece of chicken into the egg/milk mixture and then place it back into your flour, I did this in batches of two pieces at a time, you do not want to crowd your chicken. Toss the chicken around using your hands to coat evenly and heavily, about 7 turns, move to the other raised rack. Allow the chicken to sit for about 10 to 15 minutes until the chickens coating begins to look like a moist batter. Toss each piece of chicken back through the flour/spice mixture to build an additional coat onto the chicken. Fry your chicken in small batches, again never crowd your chicken and cook for 20 minutes, 10 on each side with the exception of the wings which I fried for about 11 minutes at a consistent 350°F. 

So now you might be thinking, what about that crackling gravy. This first time around I did not make the gravy, however, once my oil cooled, I removed the heating element from the fryer and rescued the crackling from the bottom of the oil and placed them in a container in the freezer. Each time I make this chicken I will rescue those crackling for the gravy with each preparation. 

Update: I made some of the gravy and yes, it is the real deal. 

If you would like to make Kentucky Fried Chicken Cole Slaw, I have posted a recipe on this site here: KFC Coleslaw, not a copycat... the formula is more simple than you think.

Drunken Beef and Carrots

2 beef chuck roasts
1 ½ bulbs fresh garlic
1 large grapefruit sized yellow onion
5 bay leaves
Fresh Cracked Pepper to taste
10 carrots, skin removed and chopped in half
4 stalks celery, cleaned and chopped in half
3 dashes ground clove
1 packet Lipton Onion Soup Mix
3 cups beef broth (from better than bullion)
2 cups burgundy
2 tablespoons kitchen bouquet
(no added salt)
1 tablespoon of oil
(You may add a cup of water to dilute if desired)
For those who like mushrooms- clean mushrooms, leave whole and saute in pan, add to dutch oven at the start of cooking. 

Cornstarch Slurry
3 tablespoons corn starch and the same amount of cold water. Whip with a fork until it loosens, add more water if needed. 

Heat frying pan on medium high heat, add oil and 1 chuck roast, sear beef in a hot pan on both sides, transfer to lg dutch oven, repeat with second roast. In the same pan sear the onion after you have skinned it and cut it in half, transfer to dutch oven with beef. Turn down heat on pan, break apart garlic, shell, remove ends and saute whole, rough chop on a cutting board and place in dutch oven. Add black pepper, ground clove, Lipton onion soup mix, bay leaves, beef broth, wine (water if adding). Cover tightly with foil and cook several hours at 350 degrees. The last hour of cooking add celery and carrots, re-secure the foil. When carrots are done, tip pan carefully and add the cornstarch slurry slowly, mixing it rapidly with a fork or whisk. Re-close foil and allow the gravy to thicken for 5 to ten minutes. 

Red Skin Whipped Potatoes

4 pounds red skin potatoes, scrubbed and halved
Fresh ground sea salt to taste
Fresh butter to taste (about 1 stick)
dash of white pepper 
2 cups half and half warmed in microwave

Scrub, halve and gently boil 4 pounds red potatoes. When potatoes are fork tender, drain, return to pot, add butter salt and white pepper and half the ½ and ½ . Use a hand mixer to whip potatoes, adding more half and half as needed. Do not over-whip, leave slightly lumpy.