Recipe

Double Crunch Po Boys

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Yes I know you have seen the Double Crunch title from me a lot (trial 1, & 2), but it doesn’t seem to get old, so get used to it. I want to give credit where credit is due and well a lot of these stem from Mr. Barry Parsons over at Rock Recipes. I will say it again, this man is a genius! I love the double crunch flavor blend, and was thinking about this while watching Triple D (Diner, Drive ins & Dives). I saw a Po Boy flash on the screen, thought it looked delicious and that I should try it; try to make it with the Double Crunch recipe!

It was clear that chuck was not going to argue with me when I suggested this, so I set to work and gave it a shot. I did add my own little twist with the Fresh Tomato & Herb Salsa and lemon & Basil Mayo.

The Double crunch recipe can be found here. For the Po Boys, I divided the entire recipe in half. I used precooked frozen shrimp, removed the tails, battered with flour, egg dredge and flour again then popped them in hot oil for 2-3 minutes or until the turned golden brown. They were then removed from the oil and placed on a drying rack (or paper towels if you don’t have one) to cool while the other components are prepared.

Fresh tomato & Herb Salsa

8 cherry tomatoes, diced

½ red onion, chopped

1 tbsp chopped oregano, parsley, basil each

2 tbsp balsamic Vinegar

2 tsp oil

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and toss. Place in the refrigerator, and serve chilled.

Lemon & Basil Mayo

1 tsp basil and juice from half a lemon per 1 cup mayo

The American Ginger Po Boy Sandwich

Toast your French bread, or rolls as desired. Layer one side with mayo, spinach, and tomato & Herb Salsa. Place Double Crunch Shrimp and top with the other side of the toasted bread.

I am well aware that this looks like a lot of components for a single sandwich, but it’s really not. The Tomato and Herb Salsa is actually a leftover side form a meal I made with balsamic chicken, and the lemon basil mayo goes so beautifully on a BLT, buffalo chicken, or spicy ham sandwich it gets used up fast.

Together all these flavors mingle, mix, and create what feels like a dance party in your mouth. Seriously you should try this.

Challis Pond Camping

By Jessica

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The path from the lake side

Chuck and I decided to take advantage of the long Labor Day weekend and venture up north to one of our favorite spots. It felt great to spend the days lazing around reading, collecting firewood, fishing and chatting. I really love being able to unplug from society for a while and just enjoy our time together.

I spent most of my time reading, and cooking (surprise!). Chuck spent a lot of his time wondering the woods with his hatchet chopping at trees for our fire or fishing in the beautiful lake. We planned well and only had to go into town once to pick up some more water, which was more due to our laziness in carrying it all into the woods. We may look into a water purifier for future trips to alleviate this. Water is probably our heaviest item! It was only .6 miles in, but still every little bit helps.

We could not have asked for better weather. The skies were blue and the sun was warm. It was pretty chilly at night but a regular sleeping bag was plenty to keep us warm. We had a few visitors on Sunday, which is to be expected with the holiday weekend, but all were pleasant enough.

This boat has been here as long as i can remember. Last year we got to meet the guy who brought it in back in the day and he proposed to his girlfriend that night. Sooo cute!

I think it made Chuck feel better that everyone who came in to fish didn’t catch anything either. We ran into some chaps coming back from another lake with similar luck. I guess the fish are full and happy and don’t need to bother with our silly games.

Fisher Chuck

This recipe is perfect for an evening meal while hanging out near the camp fire, it does take some cooking time, but the results are well worth it. It can be made with simply 2 ingredients, or 15 depending on what you have on hand. This is my favorite version.

Best Ever Hobo Stew

1 lb stew meat

1 largep otato chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 large carrots chopped

1 package brown gravy mix

Brown stew meat in large skillet, with oil, butter, or bacon grease (whatever’s on hand). Add about 3 cups of water, and all other vegetables, and cover with foil, or pot top. Allow to simmer for about a half hour or until the vegetables are soft. Stir in gravy mix, and simmer of another minutes or two, stirring until all clumps are gone and mixture thickens slightly. Serve hot.

I also had some leftover parsley I threw in as well as a clove of garlic. Aromatics aren’t necessary, because of the gravy mix, but I had them and decided to throw them in this time around. This was perfect for the chilly nights, so warming and delicious!

Brown Sugar & Mustard Glazed Grilled Salmon

By Jessica

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Here is a fairly simple recipe that I really enjoyed, I think even better than the Maple Salmon one I posted recently, though Chuck doesn’t agree, then again being a Vermonter he has a special affinity for anything maple flavored.

This recipe is pretty quick and simple, though there are a number of ingredients. I paired it with what was supposed to be summer vegetable risotto (I’m still working on perfecting that one).

Brown Sugar & Mustard Glazed Grilled Salmon

3 tbsps brown sugar

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsps butter

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

2 tbsps soy sauce

2 tbsps olive oil

1 tbsp finely grated ginger (or 1 tsp ground ginger)

Vegetable oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 salmon fillets, 6 ounces each

Melt the brown sugar, honey and butter in a small sauté pan over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil and ginger. Let cool and pour over salmon. Allow to marinate for roughly 20 minutes. Grill on medium for 6 to 8 minutes to medium doneness, turning once after 5 to 6 minutes.

Fresh Tomato Sauce & Clams

By Jessica

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Sometimes when Chuck is out of town I treat myself. He’s not a HUGE fan of seafood like I am, so I take the time when he’s not home to indulge. I actually made this dish for my friend Amy who came over for the evening but since I have also made it for just myself a few times I decided to make it part of my Dinner 4 one Series.

This recipe I love for summer because I can so easily walk out to my garden and collect nearly everything for the sauce. In fact this time around everything in this recipe came from my garden or someone close to me. There is no lying when they tell you fresh is better. It is! And the delicious smell that continued to waft through my house the rest of the evening and into the next morning could not be more welcome.

The recipe for Fresh Tomato Sauce is below, for the clams I simply grilled them on medium heat until they opened up. It’s the same idea as steaming, or boiling them, but this is perfect for summer because it doesn’t heat up the house, and there is way less mess.

Once everything is done cooking I lay down some fettuccini, the warm clams and drown them in sauce. The recipe can be a little on the garlicky side for some (I can’t ever seem to get enough), so some may want to reduce it down to 1 or two cloves depending on taste. I really hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

Fresh Tomato Sauce

1 large tomato, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

½ a small onion, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

2 sprigs fresh oregano, chopped

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 cup dry white wine

Melt the butter in a skillet, add onion and cook until the onion has softened. Add garlic, and cook for roughly one minute. Deglaze with wine, and allow some reducing. Stir in fresh herbs, and simmer roughly 3-5 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced to half. Serve over prepared pasta.

Double Crunch Sesame Chicken

By Jessica

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Oh Barry! Do you know what you have done? Created a monster!

A monster for Double Crunch Chicken. I believe you will recall that I made this recipe before, and loved it. There is something about the spice mixture in this recipe that sends me over the moon. Well the genius that came up with that recipe recently posted a similar recipe with an orange sauce instead (found here).

This got me thinking, what about other sauces? I have been thinking of trying to make a sesame chicken, because Chuck seems to love it so much from the Chinese food place down the road. That’s when I came up with this recipe; Double Crunch Sesame Chicken.

Can we talk about deliciousness? One of the things I love about this is the way the crust keeps the chicken moist, while also providing a strong base of flavor. I made the Double Crunch Chicken as per the directions, with one alteration, I swapped sage for garlic. As many of you know garlic is one of my favorite things in life. Then I made the sauce separately and served the chicken swimming in a pool of it, with a side of broccoli, also learning to tread sauce.

Could I have been happier? I don’t think so! I want to say I am a genius, but honestly I have to say it was all Barry. Thanks you!

I have to warn you, while I was making this I came up with another idea; Double Crunch Fried Shrimp anyone? Recipe for that coming soon.

Sesame Chicken Sauce

½ cup chicken broth

¼ – 1/8 cup vinegar

1 tbsp corn starch

½ cup honey

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 cloves garlic crushed

1 tbsp sesame seeds, garnish

Whisk together all ingredients (except sesame seeds) and bring to a boil. Boil until sauce thickens and turns clear, roughly 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and serve warm.

Recipe

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