Foster Farms Responds!

You might remember the post I did questioning what happened to the dark meat on chicken. To refresh your memory, you can see the post by clicking here! I was questioning what happened to the dark meat on chicken. The photo below shows a thigh and a breast and you can see very little difference in the color of the meat. I had sent Foster Farms a note questioning why the change.

Can you tell the difference?

Here is the response from Teresa Lenz at Foster Farms, which I was given permission to post:

“Thank you for your interest in Foster Farms. We wanted to help address your question regarding white and dark chicken meat.

Different parts of the bird may have differences in color due to the locations and types of muscles. Actual differences in color vary naturally from bird to bird. While dark meat parts are generally deeper in color due to the muscles containing more myoglobin, the actual amount of this natural protein and resulting color varies by bird. Physical appearance alone does not dictate whether the piece of meat is from a white meat or dark meat muscle, and color of the cooked meat may also be influenced by cooking method, temperature and lighting.

At Foster Farms, our chickens are raised in large poultry barns (without cages) that allow the birds to move around freely and to exhibit natural behaviors. Foster Farms prioritizes the care and wellbeing of its birds and all Foster Farms fresh chickens are American Humane Certified. For more information about our commitment to the humane care of our birds, please visit our website at FosterFarms.com.”

Thank you Teresa and Foster Farms for responding.

I do appreciate the response but I have been cooking their chickens for more than 40 years and have only recently experienced what the photo above shows us. My cooking technique has not changed, nor has the temperature at which I cook it. As far as lighting goes, I did not mess with the photo I took, and you can clearly see that the dark meat is no longer dark.

I am thinking free range and maybe organic is the way to go now for dark meat on a chicken!

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Oven Roasted Tri-Tip Recipe!

We were slated to have a grilled tri-tip and discovered that our propane tank for the gas grill was empty. This resulted in having to get creative with a tri-tip in the oven. I found a number of recipes on the internet, and the commonality to all the recipes was starting with a hot oven, turning down the heat, and then baking for a half hour. This recipe is so easy and it comes out tender and cooked perfectly! Here’s a preview!

A preview…

Now let’s go check it out!

Ingredients
1 tri-tip
Extra virgin olive oil
Garlic powder
Black pepper
Red pepper
Dill seed
Coriander
1 onion

Two hours before cooking take your tri-tip out of the refrigerator. Rub with a bit of the olive oil. Sprinkle on the garlic powder. Then grind your black and red pepper over the meat and rub in. Take a couple of pinches of dill seed and coriander, and crush in a mortar and pestle. Then sprinkle over the meat rubbing it in as you go. Then let this sit.

Once the two hours has whizzed by, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. While this is heating up, take the onion and slice it into 6 even slices. For easy clean up, line a baking pan with aluminum foil. Lay the 6 onions in the pan. Then set a baking rack over the onion slices. Place the tri-tip in the pan fat side down.

Rubbed and ready for the oven!

Place your pan in the oven, turn the heat down to 350 degrees and set the timer for 15 minutes.

When the timer goes off, using tongs, turn the meat. Do not pierce the meat as the juices will run out, and you want these juices!

Midway through cooking

Set the timer for another 15 minutes.

When the buzzer goes off you need to check the meat. Now I need to ask you to do something. Pinch the skin between your thumb and pointer finger. Feel the give? Now feel the tri-tip. It should spring just about the same for medium rare. If you are good with this, place the meat on a cutting board, cover with foil and let it rest for 5-10 minutes. Then slice it up, and you are ready to serve!

Dinner is served!

Now wasn’t that simple? And it is very tasty too! Thank you for stopping by and Happy Father’s Day to all you Dad’s out there!

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A Day at the Food Show!

Can you imagine all kinds of food, and you can try most of it? Cheeses, meats, crackers, breads, drinks, delicatessen items, desserts….MMMMMMM! How about spending some time with me at the “Tony’s Fine Foods” food show?

Our host

Ready to attend the food show with me? OK, let’s go! Here is how we are greeted when we arrive.

The entrance to the food show

We head into the building and are handed a bag for any samples we might receive! Samples? Yes, samples! Now this affair is held in the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento. Yes an arena! So we head to the doors leading into the arena and here are two photos of the floor!

One shot of less than half of the main floor

More of the floor

Now take a look at the photo above. There is another area, hidden from view, that houses the meats and seafood. That is on the left behind that wall! Yum! Let’s head on down the stairs.

Let’s stop and try some cheese, shall we? This company is called Fiscalini. They have some extraordinary aged cheddar cheeses. Shall we ask for a taste?

Two aged cheddars

I loved the one on the left the best. How about you?

Heading further down another aisle there are some hand crafted salamis. Shall we sample these too?

Salamis

As more people are showing up the aisles are getting more crowded.

Looking down one of the aisles

Wow! Check out this food vendors fare. These are all precooked meats which all one needs to do is heat and serve! They want us to sample some tri-tip!

One vendor’s display

Yummy!

Our sales representative meets us and tells us about the money booth. Let’s go check this out!

Win money!

We see the money booth behind this sign. Looks like folks have already won some of the money, but check this out anyway!

Money, money, money, money

The idea is you get 30 seconds inside the booth and you grab what you can as air is blowing the money all over inside the booth. I think we will opt out of this. Let’s continue on.

It’s really getting crowded.

Another aisle

Let’s stop here with this vendor who has fresh meats.

Another meat vendor

Boy I am full, how about you? We have tasted a variety of cheeses, meats, sweets, and beverages! And we have been here for more than 5 hours! Time to head back as we have quite a drive.

Thanks for coming along today! See you tomorrow?

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Sweet Raspberries!

One of the fruits in my garden that is prolific is the Raspberry!

Raspberries!

I began growing these back in 2008. I started with 2 red raspberry plants given to me by a friend, and then I added 3 golden raspberries a year later. If you are considering growing this lovely fruit, let me warn you: They are invasive! The plant sends root runners underground at a depth of about a foot. I now have about 50 plants and will be digging up the roots in the fall to help contain them. So if you want free plants just let me know!

The plants

Let’s take a look at the developing raspberries, shall we? The plant puts out lovely tiny flowers that can be easy to miss.

Raspberry blossoms

Once the petals fall, the fruit starts to develop.

Fruit starts to develop

About midway through the fruiting process the cone shape really starts to develop.

Midway

Then the color starts to come up in the berry.

The color starts to come in

Rather quickly the berries are ready to pick.

Ready for picking

When it comes to picking the raspberry, you gently grab the fruit and pull slightly. It should pop right off the crown. If it does not give, then the berry is not ripe enough. Here is what is left on the plant when you pull off a berry.

What remains after a berry is picked

Here is my second harvest of berries…there are quite a few, and I will be picking berries daily!

Healthy dessert!

After harvesting, refrigerate them, or freeze them. Do not wash the berries until you are ready to use them as the water will break down the berry. The best time to pick the berries, as with any fruit, is in the morning. The reason is that the fruit is highest in sugar in the early morning hours. As the day progresses the sugars turn starchy and will not be as sweet.

The raspberry actually has 1.5 grams of protein and are high in Maganese. They also contain a bit of vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, and copper. They also contain Omega-3. A one cup serving contains about 120 calories.

Well, I hope that you enjoyed this visit with the raspberries! I am now heading off to go pick more! Have a great Tuesday and thank you for visiting today!

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What Has Happened to the Dark Meat on a Chicken?

I don’t know about you, but I love the dark meat on the chicken. It is moister than the breast, and more flavorful, don’t you think? We have the perfect arrangement here at the house as my husband loves the white meat and I love the dark meat. No fighting over a piece of chicken. That is until the other night…

I baked a whole chicken, stuffing the bird’s cavity with parsley. I lathered it with EVOO and then Spiked the bird, adding garlic powder. One can never get enough of the lovely flavor of garlic! When my husband reads this I will not hear the end of it! I put it in the oven to bake, the aromas filling the house with the promise of a lovely meal to come! Checking on this bird it looked lovely!

Such a lovely looking bird!

Could you smell the garlic and spices?

When I took the chicken out of the oven it sat for 10 minutes before I started my magic carving technique. So, now, my dear readers, I have a quiz for you! “What?” you exclaim! Come on…this one should be easy….

The test is to guess what part of the chicken you are looking at in the next two photos! Ready?

Photo #1

This one is….

Photo #2

This one is….

Now add in the song from that popular show while waiting for the final answer…

♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫

But wait! Before I let you know whether or not you guessed correctly…some facts about what makes white meat white, and dark meat dark!

The difference is due to what is called “fast twitch” and “slow twitch” muscle fibers. Fast twitch muscle fibers are muscle fibers used for quick bursts of energy. One such activity using this energy would be fleeing from danger. The muscle gets its energy from glycogen, which is stored in the muscle. When it is cooked the proteins coagulate and the meat when cooked turns whitish.

Slow twitch muscle fibers are the muscle fiber used for extended periods of time for something such as walking. To have the energy needed, it must have a constant source of energy. It is myoglobin that stores oxygen in the muscle cells of say the legs and thighs, and the constant source of energy is the oxygen which is extracted from the the muscles for use in normal daily activities. When cooked the meat in these tissues are darker in color.

Enough! Did you guess correctly?

Photo #1 –

This is the breast!

So photo #2 must be…

This is the thigh!

What? The color looks the same! So, for me the question is why? Does this mean that chickens are not getting the activity that they need? Are they packed in at the farm so tightly that they can not move about? Or, are our food companies messing with our food? Inquiring minds want to know!

The chicken in this post came from Foster Farms, who by the way changed their thigh packaging from 6 thighs of relatively equal pieces down to 4 uneven pieces. I have had similar results with the thigh color recently from Tyson Chicken. I sent the question to Foster Farms as to why the dark coloring has disappeared from their chicken. When I get the answer, I will let you know!

Here are the two pieces side by side. Did you guess correctly?

Did you guess right?

What I think I need to start doing is buying a chicken that is free range so that I can have dark meat and white meat. Have you noticed a change in your chicken too? I would love to hear from you!

So stay tuned for a follow up when I hear back from Foster Farms. Until then, have a great day, and thank you for visiting today!

Information on the difference in white meat and dark meat from Exploratorium.Edu

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Baked Garlic Prawns

As you know, I love being in the kitchen and spend quite a bit of time there. For the last two weeks we have been waiting to get our range fixed due to a gas leak. Not having a stove has forced me to get creative in the kitchen! Finding some lovely prawns at the store, and having a hankering for them, I brought them home to join me at the dinner table. I have always done prawns on the stove top, and I had to get creative with baking!

I came up with a simple recipe that takes about an hour to prepare and cook! Want to see what I did? Let’s start with a list of the ingredients!

1# large prawns
2 TBS Sauvignon Blanc (do have a glass with dinner!)
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
Dash of salt
3 twists of the black pepper grinder
1/2 cup of panko (or you can use a garlic herb, or Italian seasoned breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup of butter
Cayenne pepper
Lemon pepper
Parsley

Peel and devein the prawns. Now I gently pull the tail shell off the prawns as I do not like having to deal with shells when I am getting down to business eating! Feel free to leave them on if you like messing with them at the table.

In a mixing bowl, add the prawns, garlic, wine and salt and pepper. I let them sit for about 30 minutes before doing anything else.

Prawns mixed with wine, garlic, salt and pepper

While this is sitting take out the butter to soften.

After the half hour, in a separate bowl add the butter and the panko. Using your hands, mix this together until you get a nice crumbly mixture.

Butter mixed with panko

Turn the oven to 425 degrees. Oh, I can hear you saying, “Really? That high?” Yes, that high. Assemble the dish by putting the prawns in a small casserole baking dish.

Prawns are added to pot

Now evenly spread the butter/panko crumbles over the prawns. Then sprinkle with a bit of the cayenne and the lemon pepper.

Panko added then topped with cayenne and lemon pepper

Bake this for 15 minutes only, then remove from the oven.

Right out of the oven!

Mmmmm….Smells so good!

Serve this up and then top with some fresh parsley. Don’t forget to have a glass of the Sauvignon Blanc!

Prawns served up!

When you bite into these lovelies, they will be perfectly cooked!

Please let me know if you try this dish! If you are having a dinner party, this would be a good appetizer served in shells!

Thanks for stopping by today, and celebrate the end of the work week!

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Maple Glazed Ham for Easter

With Easter coming up, I thought that today I would re-feature my top post, which is my Maple Glazed Rotisserie Ham Recipe! What could be better on Easter than a smokey, juicy ham? Shall we get to it?

Ingredients
1 – 8 to 10# smoked ham, shank cut, bone in
1 cup of real maple syrup

Center the ham on the rotisserie rods and load into the rotisserie. Allow 15 minutes per pound in cooking. Make sure that the ham does not hit the heating element.

The ham goes on the spit!

I am making a 10 pounder so I will be cooking this for 2 1/2 hours.

In the midst of cooking…

Check the temperature to make sure that it is done – it should be at 155 degrees when you turn this off. One half hour before turning off the heat, brush with the maple syrup. Do this a few times before shutting down the heat. Now here is the really important part: Once the ham has reached 155 degrees, turn the heat off and continue to rotate the ham for about 15 minutes. This allows the juices to remain in the meat. Leave the door shut so that the heat stays in.

When done, remove from the oven to your cutting board. Let it sit 5 minutes before carving.

Ham is ready!

I like serving this with acorn squash and cheesy au gratin potatoes! Serve this dinner up with a lovely Mourvedre or Grenache. Chill the wine for 20 minutes before serving!

Thank you to all for making this my top post! Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!

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Chicken Carbonara! A Recipe from the Foothills!

Who doesn’t love a dish that includes bacon? OK, vegetarians…so other than them, who doesn’t love a dish that includes bacon? There is just something about that smokey, salty meat that is just so good! It goes with chicken; it goes with peas; it goes with pasta; it goes with eggs and cheese…and the list goes on…Today, we venture into the kitchen to combine bacon, chicken, peas and pasta by making some chicken carbonara!

Here is the list of ingredients:
6 slices of applewood smoked bacon, cut into bits
2 TBS bacon grease
1 1/2 #’s chicken, cut into chunks
6 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 # fettuccine, uncooked
1/2 cup of pasta water, reserved
1/2 cup of chicken broth
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup each of parmesan, pecorino and asiago

I like getting all the ingredients ready first for this dish. I realized after taking this photo below, that I left out the cheese!

Lovely ingredients

We start off with the bacon.

Who doesn’t love bacon?

Cook this over medium high heat until just done. Then remove to a plate covered with paper towel so that the bacon can drain.

Can you smell the bacon Joe?

Get the pasta started. In your colander place the frozen peas. When you drain your pasta, pour it over the frozen peas.

Drain the pan of the bacon grease and reserve 2 TBS. Add one TBS back to the pan and then add the chicken. Stir this continually until it is just done.

Chicken is just done

Remove the chicken from the pan and add the remaining bacon grease. Next add in the garlic and pepper, and when the garlic is just softened, add in the chicken broth.

Another pouring shot Conor!

Get this hot. While this is doing its thing, take the eggs and whisk in the cheese.

Poor shot of eggs blended with cheese, but you get the idea!

Now turn off the heat and add in the hot pasta with the peas, chicken, and bacon.

Pasta, peas, bacon and chicken, oh my!

Slowly pour the egg mixture over the entire thing mixing well. Add a bit of the hot pasta water to achieve a lovely creaminess!

Dinner is done!

Carbonara!

Now wasn’t that a quick and easy dish? Please let me know if you try this dish!

Hey, thanks for stopping by today, and have a wonderful Sunday!

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Lunch at The Old Town Grill! A WordPress Photo Challenge…

It seems that the month of March has been dubbed the month of “Phonography.” Phonography is “taking photos with your telephone’s camera.” Again, which I think I said last week, I do not have a cell phone that takes good photos, which you saw in the really bad quality videos I posted. With camera in hand I enjoyed a lovely day with M in the town of Placerville, CA. And lunch? We ate at one of the best places in town: The Old Town Grill! Ready to see the charm, the lovely family, and the great food? Well, let’s get going!

We begin our adventure when we enter the door. This place is known for using only the best of ingredients, which includes free range hormone free beef and chicken, and vegetables that are organic. The prices? Very reasonable! Moving up to the counter, M and I both ordered the pesto chicken burger, and we split an order of fries.

Order up!

We are then greeted by the owner and chef, John Sanders.

The owner John greets us

We decide to head towards the back for some outdoor seating.

We head towards the back

We settle ourselves in on the patio.

Patio dining

A short time later our lunches arrive. Check out this lovely chicken pesto burger!

One lovely pesto chicken burger!

How about a closer look? Yummy!

Look at this lovely fare!

The flavors were incredible and all were well balanced! The bun was also amazing! The fries? To die for! The service was great and the young gal that took care of us was bubbly and vivacious!

With our bellies fully satisfied, we take our leave and are stopped to find out how our lunch was and to thank us for stopping by!

Thanks for stopping by!

We will be venturing back again! If you find yourself in my small town, be sure to visit this lovely place, and if you have a need for catering, well, they do that too!

Thanks M for lunch, and to John for the great food!

Be sure to check out some of the other posts to this WordPress Challenge!  You can view them by clicking here!

Thank you for stopping by, and have a lovely Saturday!

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Burger Challenge – One Man’s Meat!

I subscribe to a wonderful food blog written by Conor Bofin called One Man’s Meat. In his most recent post he challenges Americans to a burger challenge. His post indicates that here in the US we eat 40,000,000,000 burgers a year! He doubts that we have the best burgers and challenges us with his “Donegal Beef and Cashel Blue Cheese Burger.”

Well, Conor, here is my incredible Bacon Cheddar Burger! This is not your ordinary burger topped with bacon and cheese then slapped on a bun! It is an easy burger to make with simple ingredients! So let’s head on into the kitchen!

We have 5 simple ingredients! They are:

1 1/2# ground sirloin
1 cup of thick sliced smoked peppered bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup of Tillamook Medium Cheddar, grated
3 TBS of a good quality, creamy horseradish
2 tsp. garlic powder

I love peppered bacon!

Peppered bacon

Isn’t that lovely? Can you smell it? No need to add any pepper to this burger with this bacon! I cook this ahead of time so that I can crumble it for this burger.

Here is a gratuitous shot of all the ingredients.

Simple ingredients

With all the ingredients gathered and prepped, combine it all early in the day so that the flavors meld. Refrigerate.

An hour before cooking, take the meat out of the refrigerator and shape into burgers.

Lovely bits of bacon and cheddar abound!

I like serving these with oven fries so I get these going while the burgers sit. Get your grill nice and hot, and start cooking! Five to seven minutes per side should do it and then serve them up! Check out the lovely bits of bacon and melted cheese that you will experience in every bite!

One cheesy bacon burger!

Such a lovely burger with excellent, simple ingredients! This is one heck of a good burger! I challenge you Conor to try this one! I would try your recipe but suffer from allergies and cannot handle the blue!

Check out Conor’s recipe by clicking here! Do you have a really good burger recipe? Add a link to your recipe in the comment section!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week and a lovely Monday!

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