Savory Chicken Skin Recipe

I have been experimenting with crispier (but not too crispy) and tasty chicken and turkey skin recipes for awhile now. I finally created one with somewhat random ingredients that really work well together, and I always use it on chicken now. Depending on whether you use butter or margarine, and how much you use of either, it can be very smooth and savory or crispy and yet still have a very savory and flavorful taste. Here is a photo of the chicken before cooking so you get a sense of what it should look like:

• Here is my recipe:
• Half stick butter OR 1 cup margarine
• 1 tablespoon Cardamom
• 1 tablespoon Nutmeg OR Cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons Black Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• (If you want a kick) 1 Tablespoon Curry
• 1 Tablespoon Chives
• Simmer the butter or margarine and add in the ingredients. Stir until everything looks blended in. Note- the chives won't completely blend in. Make sure you don't overcook the butter or margarine. It should be smooth and easy to spread on the meat. Total prep time should be less than ten minutes. It's easy!
• Take a basting brush (I use an old fashioned whisk one as the plastic ones aren't as good) and generously slather the meat (both sides). If you want crispier skin, use less. I like to use it all up so it's very flavorful. I recommend poking a few holes in the meat and letting it sit for about 20 minutes before you cook it. If you want really crispy skin, don't poke holes or let it sit and be sure to cook it for about ten minutes at a slightly higher temperate toward the end of your cooking time. You can also use this recipe for pork, venison and steak. I tend to change the ingredients slightly if I'm using it on a red meat as nutmeg and cinnamon really don't taste that great to me on red meats.

Unexpected Cupcakes!

On a snowy day, after a long day of work, who doesn't love to receive a box of unexpected gooey cupcakes? Answer- no one! I was the very lucky recipient, and those cupcakes did not go to waste (or last more than an hour between the two of us). I've seen Cakes for Occasions in Danvers before but never had a reason to stop in. After the cupcakes, of course, I will find a reason to pop in! Spiffy box with only 1 cupcake left (where did the others go?!)

Look at that delicious, real cream topping. Nothing pre-packaged about these cupcakes! (You can also admire my Polish pottery dish)

One more just to make sure you're hungry now:

Chocolate Stroopwafels

Last October, I visited Amsterdam and fell in love with the stroopwafel. Usually, it's a caramel waffle treat but when I was at the airport trying to use up my remaining Euros, I found the tastiest and gooiest version: Chocolate Stroopwafels! I was thinking about them the other day and searched Amazon and voila! found them sold by a business called Diabetic Friendly (note- this treat has tons and tons of sugar and they make sure you know that when you read the product description thus avoiding lawsuits, I am sure). I ordered a box, reasonably priced, and it came in less than a week. Here is the nice package:

Top of the box:

Packaging of the individual stroopwafels:

Yum:

And more yum:

Don't be crazy and eat the box all at once. Savor! And, Amsterdam was great if you're ever thinking of going. I might post some reviews.

New Bread Maker!

I'm so sick of stale bread. You buy it at the store, and within a day it tastes stale. A lot of places actually sell about to expire bread at great prices, so that's something I always check before purchasing. I don't eat bread fast enough to purchase one that expires in a day or two! I finally decided to get another bread maker and make my own bread. Plus, it gives me a chance to try out some cool recipes. Would you believe it took three stores for me to find one? Checked Walmart- nada. Went to Sears- nothing. Popped over to JC Penney- nil. Finally, I got smart and checked my smarter than me phone and it said they had bread makers in stock at Target. Drove over there, and got the last one. It was on sale too- score!

It looked nice in the package, and even nicer once I got it out (tricky!) and set up

The first bread I made was a simple multi grain recipe. I totally forgot to take photos, oops. The next day, I decided to search online for some recipes and found one for cinnamon bread. I decided to modify it to include my favorite spice, cardamom, and use cherries and dried fruit instead of raisins: 1 cup water 2 tablespoons margarine 3 cups flour 3 tablespoons sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon cardamon 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast 3/4 cup cherries and mixed fruit (dried) After about 3.5 hours, voila!

Delicious, and it smells so good while it cooks. In fact, the final hour it smelled so delicious that I wanted to open the machine (a no no) and just eat it. I can't wait to try my next bread recipe!