Monday, May 18, 2009

The One With the Food Challenge

Hello. D/K here with a guest blog. One of the serious short- comings of internet commun- ication is smell. OK all other forms of communication from TV to telephone also have this lack—with the possible exception of the direct mail and magazines with their perfume ads and scratch and sniff. But I digress.

Every once in a while I like to surprise Cupcake (Victoria) with a food challenge. It’s a cross between Iron Chef and Hell’s Kitchen—but in a nice way, without all the swearing. The most recent challenge was a Buxted Chicken (that’s a brand name by the way) and shallots. If you want to get technical, it was chicken leg quarters. And at 88 cents a pound, I couldn’t pass it up.

While Cupcake is always up for a challenge, this one blew me away. You know how you are out at a great homestyle restaurant? Think Claim Jumper or Mrs. Knott’s Chicken back in the day. The first thing that hits you when the meal is served is the amazing aroma. So here…in Smell-o-vision… Cupcake’s Barbecued Leg Quarters and Shallot Mashed Potatoes. I have no idea how she made them, since she didn’t use a recipe, but just started throwing stuff into pans. So you will have to beg and plead and promise to comment more often, until she posts the recipes for these bad boys. Just from my observation--the chicken starts off on a hot grill and then moves to the oven with some homemade sauce.

Okay...here are the recipes, folks:

8 comments:

Rebecca Talley said...

Wow, your blog is making me hungry!

Stefany said...

YUM - I NEED a recipe.

Nan said...

Um...I am in total awe of such a talent that allows someone to just throw things together and make a sauce...now if I could learn to liked dark meat...that is my challenge

Victoria said...

I don't love the dark meat, either...I will see if I can figure out amounts and write out this recipe. You can make it with chicken breasts, too.

Anonymous said...

You cook like I do! Who needs a cookbook when you can taste it in your head!

CB said...

This looks good - I can totally smell it!

Love your nickname cupcake!!

Della Hill said...

Way to go Cupcake!
Another blog I read recently gave definitions for women who cook like a Grandma, a Mother or a Girlfriend.
My grab it from the freezer and toss in a few of my own spices is somewhere in the middle of Girlfriend and Mother cooking.
But it sounds like you, well, "take the cake" with your Grandma cooking. (And no, it is not required to actually be a grandma to cook like one).
I'm jealous. My famly should be too.
Well done.
-Della

Melanie Anne said...

This looks good! Thanks for the comment on sisters cafe. Do you have your monkey squares posted here! The banana bars with brown butter frosting sound amazing!!