Home with Jim

I had a late event one evening and sent Jim an e-mail to let him know he was on his own for dinner. He replied with one sentence, "Home with Jim." I laughed, knowing that he would make one of two things and joked that he should photograph his HWJ dinner.

He did.

This is BBQ chicken which he fired up on the grill. A couple asparagus spears which he steamed in the microwave, and a generous helping of cheesy mac from the blue box - one of his FAVORITES.

I think my favorite part is that he picked up my camera and took three pictures from three different angles. He's obviously been watching me when I photograph my food because I take about a dozen or so pictures to make sure I got "the shot." I thought he did a great job on dinner and couldn't help but feature him on Home with Mandy - maybe you can become a regular contributor here babe?

Man Food: Spicy Garlic Chicken Wings

This is great happy hour food! I call it "Man Food" only because Jim loves this stuff and I don't care for this kind of snack very much - although I'm NOT judging the ladies out there who eat this on occasion or scarf it down at Buffalo Wild Wings. You know who you are...and to each her own.

The weather. Oh gosh is it gorgeous in Austin, TX. We've seen 80 degrees this week, how awesome is that? The temperature is rising so I'm also turning up the heat in the kitchen with these Spicy Garlic Chicken Wings that your MAN or woMAN will really enjoy!

The recipe comes from the back of the Franks Red Hot Sauce bottle, and I found it to be simple and surprisingly CHEAP. I couldn't believe these little chicken drummets were so inexpensive at the grocery store.

I rinsed the chicken and then patted down with a paper towel.

You could use any seasoning you like, I stuck with a simple salt, pepper and onion powder combo.

Give the chicken a moderate sprinkle of each.

I'm a tad grossed out here, I'm not a fan of chicken on the bone and these little guys... uggg. BUT, I'm not making these for me... but for a crowd of men who like this sort of barbaric food.

Next, put a little canola oil in a deep skillet (about an inch to an inch and a half) and heat to medium-high.

Meanwhile, in another sauce pan I dump a bottle of Franks Red Hot Xtra Hot Sauce.

Then throw in a stick of butter and heat over medium heat to melt.

Don't forget the minced garlic.

And add as many shakes of tobasco as you dare. That's why I call them "Spicy Garlic Chicken Wings."

Next, I tossed each chicken piece in some plain flour. I took this picture intentionally capturing the henna tattoo on my arm. Pretty cool huh? Makes me feel hard. (Tattoo wears off in a week)

Roll each one around to get a good coat of flour.

Then (carefully) add each one to the hot oil. You can't tell by this pictures, but I'm using tongs...not my bare hands.

It took me about four batches to cook the entire bag I purchased.

Once they were cooked through, about 10-15 minutes they should be golden and crunchy. I moved them to a paper towel to drain just a bit.

The fun part is dunking them in the spicy-garlic sauce we've created. I just roll them around a bit to cover evenly.

Pictures are awful, sorry I was in a hurry...but after they are "dressed" in sauce I put these in my crock pot so they stay warm.

What goes best with chicken wings? Ranch! I used one packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing mix and combined with 1/2 cup milk.

Then in a bowl I added 1/2 cup sour cream and 1 cup of mayo.

Combined the two, and voila - ranch! A perfect accompaniment for Spicy Garlic Wings. Like blue cheese better? Simply crumble some blue cheese into your ranch and you have blue cheese dressing. Serve with carrots and celery sticks! Man Food!

Lovey Dovey Breakfast

Oh my, where did February go? Just because the month of LOVE is behind us, we shouldn't miss the opportunity to tell the ones special in our lives how much we love them. I've found my voice in the kitchen, it's become my way to tell my friends how much they mean to me.
And more importantly I cook for Jim as a way to show him how much I absolutely adore him. I will forever be thankful that God has given me the love of my life.

Ever heard of egg in a hole? Well this is my lovey-dovey version I made for Jim.

Start with eggs (or egg beaters).

And I seasoned with salt and pepper.

Then whisk with a fork.

Next, I cut/tore a heart from the center of a piece of bread.

Cute!

You could spray with Pam, but I decided to melt a little butter (x-tra special for my man!)

Get the toast going in the pan.

Then I poured the seasoned eggs in the heart shaped hole in the bread.

I even reserved the heart cut outs, tossed in the eggs and threw in the frying pan.

For added flavor I sprinkled a pinch of garlic salt over the toasting bread.

Flip over and toast on the other side...and voila! Nothing says "I love you" like lovey dovey egg in a hole. ha ha!

Easy Entertaining: Shrimp with 3 Dipping Sauces

I love to entertain at my home, but the real pleasure is when I can set out yummy fair that I don't have to attend to all evening. A common appetizer is shrimp and cocktail sauce, but these homemade dipping sauces take this average hor d'oeuvres to new levels: Tangy Garlic Tartar Sauce, Smoky Remoulade Sauce, and Spicy Cocktail Sauce. These recipes were found in the Southern Living December 2008 holiday issue and I tested them all out at our 08 Holiday Party. Read to the bottom to find out which sauce was the best.

For the Tangy Garlic Tartar Sauce you will need: Mayo, Capers, Garlic and Dijon Mustard.

In a cuisinart mixer or blender combine 2 cups of mayo.

1 3.5-oz jar capers, drained.

3 cloves of minced garlic.

1/4 cup dijon mustard.

Blend until smooth, stopping once to scrape down sides. Cover and chill before serving. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 3 days.

The next dipping sauce for the shrimp is a Smoky Remoulade Sauce. The ingredients are: Mayo, Creole Mustard, Garlic, Parsley, Lemon Juice, Paprika and Red Pepper.

In a mixing bowl whisk together 2 cups mayonnaise.

1/4 cup creole mustard.

2 large cloves of minced garlic.

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley.

1 tablespoon lemon juice.

2 1/4 teaspoons smoked paprika (regular paprika may be substituted).

3/4 teaspoon ground red pepper. Here I used cayenne pepper.

Whisk together all ingredients until blended. Cover and chill 2 hours before serving. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 3 days.

Jim helped make the third dipping sauce - Spicy Cocktail Sauce. You will need: Chili Sauce, Ketchup, Horseradish, Lemon Juice, Worcestershire Sauce, Hot sauce, Salt and Pepper.

In a bowl Jim added 1/2 cup ketchup.

Next add 6 tablespoons horseradish.

1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce. Here Jim uses tobasco.

You also need to add 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 2 1/4 teaspoons worcestershire sauce, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

The winning ingredient is the bottled chili sauce. You need 3/4 cup and Jim used the chinese chili sauce we had in the fridge. SPICY! You could also use a chili sauce made my Heinz.

Whisk everything together.

Cover and chill 30 minutes before serving. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to five days.

For parties, set up a serving area for the shrimp and sauces on your kitchen island or breakfast table, and let everyone help themselves. To shortcut prep, ask your seafood monger to steam shrimp for you. Or you could do what I did and purchase shrimp that is already peeled, deveined and cooked ready to go. For a good laugh, read my blog post titled Firecracker Shrimp on handling raw shrimp. So you want to know which sauce was the best? The Smoky Remoulade Sauce was my favorite and the Tangy Garlic Tartar Sauce was a close second. In the future I would buy the cocktail sauce at the store and stir in a dash of worcestershire and some horseradish sauce to taste - just to spice it up a bit. No one would know the difference.

Peel, Eat and be Merry!

Here a few of my other shrimp recipes.
Shrimp Bisque

Kelie Shrimp

Firecracker Shrimp

Pan Fried Shrimp and Pork Potstickers

Ginger Marinated Shrimp