BadPopcorn

A Fabulous Dip

Written by Ben on January 9, 2007 |

2 Comments

[A filler post because I have been neglecting this blog during the holidays. More posts to come.]

Here’s a recipe I learned from a CouchSurfer while I was in Austria:

500 grams of Cream Cheese
3 Tablespoons of Sour Cream
200 grams of finely chopped ham. Or replace with finely chopped red or white onion.
Salt
50 to 100 grams of finely chopped green onions
A few dill pickles

Instructions:

Finely chop the dill pickles.
Finely chop the ham.
Finely chop the green onions.
Mix all the ingredients together until the dip is fine and smooth.
While mixing, add salt as you need. Stop, taste, add, repeat until desired flavor.

It’s super easy to make, and I love how it spreads over breads. It just took me two attempts to get the taste to my liking.

Close Bookmark and Share This Page

Save to Browser Favorites / Bookmarks

Email This to a Friend

Copy HTML:

If you like this then please subscribe to the RSS Feed.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

More »

Posted in Food

2 Comments

Fried Chicken Followup

Written by Ben on September 4, 2006 |

No Comments

I just tried the fried chicken recipe I learned. The two things of note from this solo cooking trial:

Don’t be afraid to let the chicken really fry up before flipping.
Keep the oil temperature high. Lower oil temperature makes for “less fried crispy” skin.

Otherwise, yummy.

Close Bookmark and Share This Page

Save to Browser Favorites / Bookmarks

Email This to a Friend

Copy HTML:

If you like this then please subscribe to the RSS Feed.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

More »

Posted in Food

No Comments

Fry em up

Written by Ben on July 28, 2006 |

1 Comment

It has been a long week at the European CouchSurfing Collective for me. There is an intensity in the work, the people and the fun. I have met many great people, and have learned a great deal about CouchSurfing and the values surrounding it. This was all well and expected, but the unexpected lessons one is confronted with are generally the most interesting and fun.

There is always someone in the kitchen preparing snacks or food to share with others. This particular day Beverly had begun making North Carolinian Fried Chicken– Yum! I got in and learned how to make this incredibly tasty food.

Ingredients:

Chicken. Cut pieces, not too big.
Flour
Pepper, spices
Salt
Vegetable Oil

Preparation:

Place a lot of flour in a mixing bowl.
Marinate the chicken by dusting the pieces with salt and pepper (spices) on both sides. A light coat will be good enough.
Coat the chicken pieces with flour by mixing the chicken pieces around in the bowl of flour.

Cooking:

Heat the vegetable oil to near boiling, but beware not to burn the oil. Vegetable oil is used because it is more difficult for the cook to burn the oil.
Place the chicken pieces skin (the side with the most skin and meat) face down in the pan. One should see and hear an immediate sizzle of oil.
Cover the pot, but have the lid tilted to allow some heat to escape (avoid burning the oil).
Indications that one must flip the pieces: After a brown crust form around the edges of the exposed chicken; the meat pulls away from the bone.
Flip the pieces.
Indications that the chicken is ready: The two pronged fork slides easily in and out of the chicken.
Pull out chicken and place on a paper towel covered place to help drain the oil.

Notes:

The chicken only requires two flips, but one may do a third flip to make the skin extra crispy.
Skin side is faced down first so the cook can control the crisp texture of the chicken skin.
Red Blood will bubble up out top of the chicken before the first flip.
The first batch is the best because the oil tends to burn after you start pulling out the chicken. The other batches will have a hint of darker and burnt grease.
Hide away the first batch, cooks do it.