Boiled some chicken thighs, used the broth for the gravy. The top crust is buttered pan biscuits, made in a separate pan then placed on top of the chicken filling. The assembly was just for show and to make it an official pot pie.
Grilled Chicken Leg Quarters
The day after Memorial Day, I braved going out into the world. I scored 10 lbs of chicken leg quarters for $4. (That’s $4, not $4 a lb). So I froze most and kept a few out to grill. I use a spicy dry rub and grill them until they are about 160 degrees F, then I coat them in a sweeter sauce (I love me some Sweet Baby Ray’s) and let them finish cooking, about 10 more minutes. That way the sauce doesn’t burn.
Other times, I’ll flip the process and use a sweet rub and coat with Sweet Baby Ray’s Spicy sauce. Either way, I get a nice sweet and spicy mix when it’s done.
And yes, those potatoes are sliced in half, coated in oil and salt and then grilled. Gives them a nice crust and they cook in half the time.
Picnicking Birds
Food In Fiction: Underway Recipes
One of my favorite things is recipes in fiction novels. I’ve featured quite a few of them here.
So when I began to write my own fiction, I wanted to include my recipes. Run Aground (Book 1 in the TJ Wilde Trilogy – for sale here) featured Smashed Potatoes and Lemon Piccata Chicken
My newest book, Underway (Book 2 in the TJ Wilde Trilogy) features two recipes. Tahini Walnut Rolls (recipe here) and Sausage and Grapes below.
Underway is on sale now, here. You can read Chapters 1 and 2 here.
…I decided to experiment with flavors I would have never thought of on my own. Facebook and blog friend Michael F, shared a recipe on Facebook from Italy, in Italian no less, and the photo intrigued me. I let google translate the recipe (which was a hoot) and went about putting my touches into it.
It was so unusual, my most reliable recipe testers politely declined my dinner invite. Totally understandable. But I will tell you I was pleasantly surprised how well this turned out. If you like pork and apples, this has a similar flavor palate. It was also quick and easy to prepare. I’m glad I decided to experiment.
All right, if you’re up for something new and different, here you go, tonight’s featured recipe.
Sausage and Grapes
- 8 links Italian sausage (I used spicy, but you could use any style sausage you favor)
- 1/2 sweet onion, finely diced
- 2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 cup green seedless grapes, washed, dried and halved lengthwise
- 1 cup red seedless grapes, washed, dried and halved lengthwise
- salt and pepper to taste (I used none, didn’t need it)
- angel hair pasta
- freshly grated Parmesan
skillet
Slice sausage links into four pieces each, add to skillet and fry on medium high for about 10 minutes. Add onion and fennel seeds, cook another 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent. Add grapes, stir until well mixed, cover and let simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes while pasta cooks.
Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain well.
You can toss with the sausage mixture, or serve separately. Serve with Parmesan.
The pasta was my addition. When I asked Michael what would be a good side, he suggested eggplant or roasted potatoes. Roasted zucchini spears would probably work well, too.
A Little Scout and Gabe
I needed a new profile picture for Facebook, and Scout obliged.
And here is Gabe doing his balancing act. He has been lying on the rail, which is adorable with all his, shall we say, floofiness (we do not body shame here 😉 ) but whenever I get the camera out, he bolts. I’ll keep trying.
Picnicking Birds
Loaded Baked Potato
This is, basically, a hot mess only with a big russet rather than a sweet potato. It has cheddar, butter, flavored sour cream, smoked pork, and bacon. I was going to do a hot mess as usual but could only find one sweet potato. I did have several nice, big, white, baking potatoes.
More Chili
It’s easy to stretch chili into another full meal by adding more beans. This time we put in more black beans and a can of red kidney beans. The white stuff on top is cotija cheese. It comes in brick form, or crumbled. This was out of a canister ala Kraft Parmesan.
