Rotisserie Chicken

Rotisserie Chicken

Prep Time:

5 minutes active, 4-6 hours inactive

Cook Time:

1 hours (cook to an internal temperature of 170)

Serves:

6 to 8 servings

2 – 4 lb chickens

1/2 cup butter

4 heaping tablespoons Cajun Seasoning (Tony Chachere’s)

Melt the butter and add in the seasonings. Use an injector to liberally season both chickens. Place in the refrigerator for approximately 4-6 hours. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes prior to cooking.

Preheat the grill to 400 degrees

I use a three burner gas grill, so I cook the chicken with only the two outside burners lit. I place a tray directly under the chickens to catch any drippings.

Thread the chickens on the spit. I place one breast up, and the other, breast down to get a more even rotation during cooking.

Truss the legs and wings.

Cook for approximately 1 hr or until the juices run clear. Insert an instant read thermometer in the meatly part of the thigh or breast to get an accurate reading, the desired temperature is 170 degrees.

Let rest in the warm grill for approximately 10 minutes prior to serving.

(Each chicken can be cut into 6-8 pieces depending on how you wish to serve it)

　

 

Homecoming…

High overhead the carrion eaters drifted on the warm air currents, slowly heading east as the sun beat down on him, sweat glistening on his back,  his arm moving up and down, rhythmically drawing the lure ever closer to him.  Off in the distance, a bird called out to his mate in a long deep note, only to be answered with silence.  The lush foliage encroaches on the shoreline, threatening to completely overrun the narrow space of sand on which he stood.  Soon enough, he thinks, and this to will be gone.  Running a heavily calloused hand across his chin, he frowns as the coarse stubble reminds him of the neglect he has shown himself over the last several days.  Kneeling, he slowly replaces each piece of equipment back into its compartment in the tackle box as his mind replays the events leading up to his arrival on this planet.

The klaxon sounded throughout the ship in a harsh shrilling note as she shuddered coming out of warp, the viewport filling with Gallente armada splayed out before him.  Calmly he thumbed off the alarm as he keyed the microphone, “Jump Complete.  All hands to battle stations, look alive boys and girls, the game is afoot”.  Slowly he allowed his consciousness to expand, drinking in all the sensor data the Ishtar was whispering to him through the cybernetic links running throughout the ship.  Systems were nominal, weapons online, drones ready to deploy, scanners at maximum intensity, lock times almost negligible, smiling, he keyed the fleet channel, “Whiskey Bravo in  position” as he looked at the Astarte sitting a few kilometers off his port bow.   Watching the view screen, he shook his head in amazement at the fleet assembled on the gate; Domi’s, Megathrons, and Hyperions by the score, HAC’s, Dictors, and Battlecruisers flying tight formations in their assigned squadrons.  The overlay indicated several of the newer Black Ops ships were in system, their cloaks hiding their actual location, waiting to open up the cynosurial fields that would bring their counterparts into the fray should they be needed.   All in all, some two hundred ships in system, with another hundred or so ready to be jumped in at a moment’s notice to deal with what Intel reported as a small Caldari fleet of twenty or so mixed ships, with but a handful of Battleships thrown in.  Smiling ruefully, he cycled the air lock, “Nothing but efficient”, the whisper of the escaping air barely perceptible above the hum of the ship’s machinery.  He had long cautioned his peers about their reliance on sheer numbers to achieve their goals.  The more and more ships added to the fleets, the less one was able to track, each pod pilot resorting to tricks on their overview displays to minimize the amount of information they had to sort through.  The bodies floating off his ship bore stark testimony to his assertions; biomass was one of those items no pilot could afford to track in this day of information overload.  Glancing at the display clock, he noted the time and dutifully reported in, “Whisky Bravo copies, Drones out” as he relayed the command to drone launch bay.  The ship seemed to shudder a bit as the sentry drones departed, taking up station around his craft, “Five minutes people, five minutes.

Ducking his head low, he takes a moment to permit his eyes to adjust, as he looks about the room, “Honey, I’m home”.  Only the gentle hum of the various machine at work greeted him as he moves deeper into the bowels of the subterranean facility automatically taking in the various readings and settings flashing on the display screens.  Pressing his palm against cold metal plate, he takes note of the fact that he no longer feels the prick as the blood sample is drawn, his DNA being quickly scanned and codified, as the door slides open silently.    “Well gentlemen, did you miss me?”  The question goes unanswered as he meticulously checks the readouts of each of the men in the room.  Without preamble, he draws the sidearm from its holster and with a quick flash of his wrist; he releases a blaster bolt, ripping through the chest of the captive nearest him.  Reholstering the gun, his voice soft, “Now I need to know a little information, and I’m afraid I’m in a little bit of a hurry.”

The gate flashed with the speed of a strobe light as the Caldari fleet jumped into the system.  The battle controllers calmly started calling out targets as the ships materialized within the stasis bubbles surrounding the zone.  The Caldari, much to their credit, flew with a practiced precision aiming straight up, hell-bent on escaping the trap, but it looked as if the amassed firepower would be too much to bear for the outgunned fleet, when the overview display lit up in a dazzling brilliance.  It seemed as if the Caldari had a trick or two up their sleeve as well, as dozens of Widows appeared on the overview, the telling chaos resulting from the jammed ships on the comm channels brought a wry grin to his face.  With a deft twist of his hand, he slipped the Ishtar closer to the Astarte as more ships jumped through the covert ops cynosurial field.  The shields on the command ship starting flashing with a brilliant intensity as the mega pulse lasers of the Redeemers found and locked onto their target.  “Thirty seconds people, thirty seconds.  Recall drones”, his voice echoing calmly throughout the ship.  The seconds seemed to click by agonizingly slow as he waited for the signal light that would indicates the air locks were closed.  Finally the telltales turned green and he reached out with his thoughts with the tenderness of a lover’s caress and initiated the microwarp drive moments ahead of the dazzling flash that signaled the death of the Astarte.  “Fleet, Whiskey Bravo, Boss is down, all hands assumed lost.  Bugging out”, the Ishtar shot out into the darkness, seeking a deep space safe spot to wait out the remainder of the battle.

“You probably are telling yourselves at this point that there is no sense in answering me.  What’s the worst I can do?  Kill you?  You’re a Pod pilot, immortality is your destiny, your fate”.  Pulling up a chair, he continues on, “See, that’s the rub isn’t it?  Immortality at the cost of death.  If I kill you, you’ll just wake up on some distant planet, rubbing your temples and cursing me I suspect.”  Lifting his chin towards the wrecked corpse, he drones on, “We sorta took that into account when we snatched you lads off your ship.  If you run your tongue over that hole in the back of your jaw, you’ll realize that your emergency release button has been removed; my dental team was quite thorough.  Likewise, this facility suffers from a rather unusual problem.  The ionizing cloud from the nearby pulsar shuts down all electronics.  It took us years to tunnel this deep into the planet just to be able to shield the equipment you see around you.  Between you and me, it scares me to death.  If I have one simple accident, I won’t wake up.  There will be no resurrection for me, or for your Captain”, as he again inclines his head to indicate the corpse between the four men.  “Now that you understand your situation here, I need to fill you in on a few more details before I let my team take over.  All this equipment you see and hear around you, services our cryo facility.  If you balk at answering our questions, we’ll simply put you into stasis.  The nuclear plant powering  this facility should last hundreds of years, but I’m certain we’ll revisit this spot well before it should fail.  Don’t hope for rescue.  Your deaths were orchestrated perfectly.  The lack of reanimation of your clones will be attributed to equipment malfunctions.  You are lost to the Gallente Federation.  You all have died a hero’s death, making the ultimate sacrifice.  Medals were awarded to you posthumously.”  Lowering his voice, he fixes them with his gaze, “Give us want we want and you will spend a few years in stasis, and then we’ll release you.  If not”, allowing the remainder of the sentence to go unfinished, he lifts his blaster and deftly shatters the skull of the Lieutenant on the far left with the blast.  “Alright Henry, yell if you need me, I’ll be topside for a bit”, he calls out as he turns and strides from the chamber.

“So we’re finished now?” his voice barely audible over the music blaring over the speakers.

Nodding, the man slides a folder across the table, “That was the last one for you mate.  Those three gave us everything we had hoped for and much much more.  We couldn’t have done it without you.”

“No”, he hisses, “You couldn’t have done it without the hundreds of lives you threw away to make that bit of subterfuge work.  Was it really worth it?  Was the price we paid in Caldari blood worth what you got?”  Not waiting for the answer he rises and makes his way quickly from the bar.

Days later, clean shaven, back straight, he walks through the entrance of the recruiting station for Caldari Independent Navy Reserve, Home, he thinks as he approaches the woman at the desk.  “Eacham Graeme here Ma’am, I’d like to speak to someone about reupping?”

A Fresh Start…

Ok, I’ve really been failing at this blog thingie, so I’m going to make every attempt to actually keep up with it.  Only time will tell if I’m successful.  In light of this effort, I’ve gone back and deleted almost all post related to EVE.  Much like this blog, I’ve neglected EVE as well.  While I’ve never let my primary characters lapse in their training, I just couldn’t get myself interested enough in the game to log back in and get reacclimated.

In the elapsed period, I’ve played several games and maxed out characters on them as well, but none of them hold the appeal for me that EVE does, so I’m back to give it yet another shot.  As an aside, it has never been the game, rather the people I was playing with/or lack thereof that caused me to leave the game.  EVE is about interactions, in a wide variety of forms, for me at least, the game is not about solo play.

I’m starting fresh, with a new/old approach…wish me luck.

Smoked Boston Pork Butt

Smoked Boston Pork Butt

Prep Time:
15 min

Cook Time:
10 hr 30 min (cook to an internal temperature of 190-200)

Serves:
4 to 6 servings

1 (7 to 8 pound) Boston pork butt
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
4 ounces spice rub (recommended: Tony Chachere’s)
1 cup apple juice or apple cider

Coat the pork butt with the mustard. Apply the spice rub all over the pork butt, creating a paste with the mustard. Place the pork, fat side up, in a preheated 225 to 250 degree F smoker for 10 1/2 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 190 to 200 degrees F. During the smoking process, leave the smoker closed for the first 2 hours and then spray the pork with a small amount of apple juice or cider every 2 hours thereafter.

Remove pork butt from the smoker and let rest for at least 15 minutes before pulling apart.  Coat with your favorite barbeque sauce and serve.

(The outside temperature was 22F today, you have to love Pulled pork to be cooking in weather like this.  I cut a path in the snow from walking back and forth)

Chicken Etouffee

Chicken Etouffee

Ingredients

* 1 4-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
* Salt
* Cayenne pepper
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 3/4 cup flour
* 1 cup finely diced yellow onion
* 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
* 1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper
* 2 bay leaves
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 bottle dark lager or amber beer
* 1 quart cold chicken stock
* 2 teaspoons brown sugar
* 1/4 cup hot sauce
* 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
* 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Instructions

Season the chicken pieces with salt and cayenne pepper.

Heat a large dutch oven over medium high heat and sear chicken pieces on both sides until golden brown. Remove to a platter and reserve.

Add butter to pan and when melted, add flour and stir to combine well. Continue to cook roux, stirring constantly, until chocolate brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Immediately add onion, celery, bell pepper and bay leaves and cook until soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes, then add the beer and stir well to loosen any brown bits from pan bottom. Add the stock, brown sugar, Crystal Hot Sauce and Worcestershire Sauce and stir to combine well. Bring to a boil, return chicken pieces to the pot, and simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until chicken is very tender. Remove chicken pieces to a platter and when cool enough to handle, remove chicken meat from the bones. Return chicken meat to etouffee and continue to cook another 30 minutes, until sauce is thickened and flavorful and chicken is beginning to fall apart. Add chopped parsley and stir well to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary and serve immediately over rice or other starch of choice.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Lobster Bisque

Lobster Bisque

Prep Time:
10 min
Inactive Prep Time:
hr min
Cook Time:
30 min

Serves:
5 to 6 servings

2 steamed fresh lobster tails
4 tablespoons butter
1 small white onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups lobster stock (see note)
1/2 pound steamed medium size fresh shrimp, peeled, deveined, and chopped
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon Creole seasoning (Tony Chachere’s is what I use)
Cayenne Pepper to taste

Remove lobster meat from shell; coarsely chop and set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and garlic; cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour, and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in lobster stock; cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened.

Add lobster meat and shrimp. Stir in heavy whipping cream and Creole seasoning; cook for 10 minutes, or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Serve immediately.

Note:  If you are unable to get lobster stock, an easy substitution is to buy a Lobster Base such as Minor’s.  It’s an easy matter to make the stock from the base.

My son loves this recipe…I’m sure you family will as well.

Removing the Shackles…

I’ve been playing EVE for some time now and have enjoyed it immensely.  I started out in the usual manner, running missions in empire while I got a feel for the game.  I was addicted from the start, and while I have purchased a few other games since my entry into EVE, I’ve never really played them.  EVE has been, and will be, my primary game and source of enjoyment from a MMOG for the foreseeable future.

I created my main character three years ago in February.  Old by some standards, a mere child by others, but for me, he’s still fun as all get out to fly.  With each passing day, I learn more about his capabilities and weaknesses.  I’ve also travelled the EVE landscape quite a bit with him, and I have several more places I would like to visit.  I’ve lived in Deklein as a member of FLA, Feythobolis and Drone space as a member of IRC, Catch as a member of AAA.  I have been in battles ranging from empire to Delve, and everywhere in between.

Regretfully I have been an avid reader of CAOD and Scrapheap.  My Foxfire Bookmarks are littered with various EVE-related links.  The vast majority of my personal emails are related to EVE.  My days and weeks revolve around training skill sets, reading the new issue of EVE-Tribune each Thursday, checking the alliance website each morning, scanning CAOD/Scrapheap each evening, and invariably checking the Influence map and EVE-Maps for changes in the lay of the land.

Most of that has changed recently with my joining AGONY.  Now the purpose of this post isn’t to sing the praises of Agony, rather it’s to describe one of the overriding benefits of belonging to an alliance/corporation like AGONY.  I have complete and utter freedom right now in my game play.  The Sov map holds little interest for me.  I don’t care if IRON is in Drone space, Deklein, or anywhere else for that matter.  I don’t care where BOB is marching to and who they are bringing their armada against.  Refueling POS’ no longer concerns me.  Nor any of the other of hundreds of headaches that are associated with a space-holding alliance/corporation.

These days, when I undock, I simply look to see where my corp mates are flying and head out.  Targets always present themselves within a few jumps.  I don’t have to fly 20 jumps through friendly space, only to have ISK farmers scurry into their holes before we can lock them down.  I don’t care about NAP lists any longer, or whose toes I step on by killing their player.  I am free to shoot whoever I wish, whenever I wish, and I don’t have to travel across half the map of EVE to do so.  I have finally come to appreciate why Pirates enjoy their lifestyle so much!  But for my tastes, I’d rather take on players in 0.0 than sitting in low-sec hijacking the uninitiated into the treachery of EVE.

If you’re looking for PVP and can’t find it,  If you’re tired of the Blob and are sick of it,  If you no longer enjoy sitting in a support ship while the capitals do there thing,  If you’re tired of tanking for multiple DD’s, then you need to reconsider what you are doing.  Sometimes by slipping off the shackles of Alliance Naps, you gain a measure of freedom that few have, and you regain that enjoyment that first drew you to this game.

I’ve heard rumors that there is a “Twelve Step” program for folks like us out there, but I haven’t been able to locate a link to it as of yet.

(In Training: Energy Pulse Weapons III , Connections IV, Signature Analysis V, Social V…I sold my Dread pilot, and I’m currently training one character for resale and a Research Alt.)

Another One Bites the Dust

As has been our standard procedure over the last few days, we were camping the RMOC gate in Hemin and chased a gang into RMOC and the surrounding area. On our return to Hemin, one of our scouts reported a Scorpion jumping into system. The returning forces quickly aligned and warped to the Scorpion’s location, but the team on the gate had already had the battleship well in hand. The call went out loud and clear over Vent. “Cyno Up”. The Scorpion pilot, for reasons I’ll discuss later, opened a cynosural field, and in jumped a lone Archon.

Agony pilots, whether by design, intent, or God-Given rights, are not foolhearty. When the Archon pilot yelled in local, “Dead Meat”, I’m certain each and every AGONY pilot trembled…

As they locked down the carrier without hesitation and brought the battle right down on his blasted ship. There wasn’t a moments hesitation on anyone’s part. That carrier had sealed his own death warrant, and AGONY was going to be the Executioner. The Scorpion was dispatched before the Archon finished loading grid, and all ships turned their attention on the Carrier. It was quickly identified by our pilots that we were going to need to drain his cap if we were to have success on taking him out. Pilots rotated in and out of ALS swapping ships for more DPS and those who could drain his cap. All during this time, our fearless pilots kept the carrier jammed, damped, webbed, warp disrupted…essentially shutting him down completely. On several occassions, the carrier kicked out fighters, which were quickly dispatched and sent to the scrapheaps of EVE. The fight lasted roughly nine minutes. On a few (rare) occassions, some ships capable of lending the carrier pilot came into system, only to turn tail and run as soon as they saw what we were about.

The carrier died a slow death, but a glorious one (from the perspective of AGONY pilots at least). Unknown to us, at the time, there were three other carriers that were suppose to come into HEMIN with the Archon pilot, but did not. It’s unclear whether our quick dispatch of the cyno pilot, unwillingness to hot drop, game mechanics, or some other reason prevented the additional carriers from coming into the fray, but it didn’t matter, AGONY would have enjoyed the combat all the same.

A link to the Archon Pilots KB: http://exe.vizarts.de/kb/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=55983

And something you might find equally amusing, a link to a MP3 file that the pilot’s corp made: http://eve.drome.nl/speedies_balls_by_chez.mp3

All in all, a nice outing for the pilots of AGONY. I tip my hat to my fellow pilots, “Well done, well done indeed”

My Best,

Sawmill Gravy

Sawmill Gravy

Prep Time:
5 min
Inactive Prep Time:
0 min
Cook Time:
20 min

Serves:
2 1/2 cups gravy

1 pound bulk breakfast sausage
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook sausage in a cast iron skillet. When done, remove sausage from pan and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat. Whisk flour into the fat and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in milk a little at a time. Return to medium-high heat and stir occasionally while the gravy comes to a simmer and thickens. (Be sure to scrape up any brown bits that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan, that’s where the flavor is.) Check seasoning, add crumbled sausage and serve over toast or biscuits.

Red Wine-Braised Beef Shanks with Mushrooms and Basil-Mashed Potatoes

Red Wine-Braised Beef Shanks with Mushrooms and Basil-Mashed Potatoes

Prep Time:
30 min
Inactive Prep Time:
0 min
Cook Time:
5 hr 30 min
Serves:
4 servings

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 (1-inch thick) “soup cut” beef shanks, about 3 pounds total
1 tablespoon Essence, recipe follows
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
2 large carrots, finely chopped
1/2 pound button mushrooms, stems trimmed
8 cloves garlic, minced, or 2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 bay leaves
8 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs rosemary
2 1/2 cups dry red wine
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 cups beef stock
1/4 cup chopped basil
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Basil Mashed Potatoes, recipe follows
Sauteed Fennel and Leeks, recipe follows

In a large Dutch oven, heat vegetable oil over high heat until very hot.
Season shanks on both sides with the Essence, transfer to Dutch oven and cook until browned on both sides, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer shanks to a plate and set aside. Add onion, celery, carrots and mushrooms to the Dutch oven and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft and beginning to caramelize, about 7 minutes.
Add garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and rosemary and cook for 2 minutes. Add red wine and stir well with a wooden spoon, scraping bottom of pan to loosen any bits. Add tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, beef stock, basil, parsley, crushed red pepper, salt, and black pepper and stir well to combine.
Return shanks to the Dutch oven and bring sauce to a boil. Cover Dutch oven, lower heat to a simmer and cook for 5 hours, stirring occasionally, or until shanks are tender. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately, with sauce ladled over Basil-Mashed Potatoes. Serve with Sauteed Fennel and Leeks.

Basil-mashed Potatoes:
2 1/2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup milk
2/3 cup sour cream
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped basil

In a saucepan combine potatoes with enough water to cover by 1 inch and add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until potatoes are fork-tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Drain potatoes in a colander. Add butter and milk to the saucepan and heat until butter is melted. Return potatoes to the saucepan, add sour cream, and mash with a potato masher until desired smoothness is achieved. Season with more salt (if necessary) and black pepper. Stir in chopped basil and serve immediately.
Yield: 4 servings

Sauteed Fennel and Leeks:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bulb fennel, top removed, cored and sliced thinly
1 large leek, greens removed, cleaned and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon butter

Heat a medium sized saute pan over medium high heat. Add olive oil. Add fennel and saute for 3 minutes, until translucent. Add leeks and season with salt and pepper. Saute until fennel and leeks are tender, another 4 minutes. Add lemon zest and butter and toss. Adjust seasoning and serve.