a nice big soon to be pot of chicken & dumplings steaming on the stove

a nice cold glass of beer

a new knitting pattern

So whatcha think?  Thick enough?

Boylan Bottling Co.

The Menu was:

Buttermilk biscuits
Collard greens
Fried chicken

Drink: beer

I made the biscuits this morning since Margaret was studying for her test (which she’ll be taking in 20 minutes). I used her big stand mixer for the biscuits, because I was making a double batch. Quite ambiguous since I’m a cook and not a baker. In the end, I got the wife stamp of approval. I didn’t fold the dough too much, they brown nicely, and they rose without any issues.

Later in the day I got these smoked pork neck bones boiling in some water. While they were boiling I put in a dash of salt, pepper, Cholula, and onion powder. While they were boiling I prepared the collard greens. Threw them in the pot and added very little water and cooked them all down. It was a 2 hour process. 1 for the meat and 1 for the greens. Took the longest to cook down most of the water.

While the greens were hot I cut up a whole chicken placed it in a bowl. Once I was able to discard the remains and clean up the kitchen a bit, I put some flour and seasoning in a big ole plastic bag. I heated up the iron skillet with some vegetable oil and once it was ready, I threw in the coated bird.

After all was said and done, we had a lovely meal. Margaret said the biscuits were perfect, the chicken had the right amount of breading on it, and the collard greens were like what momma used to make.

I have one criticism though. To me collard greens shouldn’t be so overcooked and salty. Next time, I’m going to reduce a lot of the water with the meat in it and then throw in the greens. I would prefer them to have a little crunch and not so much saltiness. Next time though, next time.

Overall I’d give this meal an 83%.

btw, Lucas is a collard green’s fiend. He likes them raw or cooked. Such a pups.

Margaret picked out all 3 for me.  She said she’d be happy if I liked at least one and fortunately I really like all 3.

The Rasputin beer was very tasty.  The Korbinian was almost the same as the Rasputin, but it was less hoppy.  The Belhaven had an odd taste that I couldn’t my finger on, but overall was a great beer and the lightest of the bunch.

Such good brews.  I’d recommend; in this order; Rasputin, Korbinian, and the Belhaven.

And this is what good bread should taste like

I got out all my ingredients, cookbook, mixed, kneaded, shaped, let rise, baked…..

I  love bread! The mixing, the kneading, the rising, the baking, the eating. Yep, I love everything about bread.

Everything except what happens when I try to bake bread while PMSing. I’ve heard my mama tell me for years “women should not bake during their monthly cycle” … I even believe it for the most part, and yet I keep trying to beat the jinx. Well I guess I’ll just keep trying like I did today.

So I trashed the bread and poured myself more wine…. I figure Darryl can always make me some bread tomorrow.

Lord were we in for a nice surprise, here are the culprits.

The one on the left is the spy. It looks like a chardonnay, maybe has a hint of pinot grigio, but when you crack that thing open your nose knows. The smell has a scent of Chinese food and it tastes like how some Chinese dishes taste.

Yeah, not good. In essence, this saké might be good for those that appreciate rice wine. For us Americano’s, we’ll stick with grapes. For us, this 40 dollar bottle of wine will make some expensive stir fry juice.

The bottle on the right; on the other hand; is quite the chameleon. When you sip this saké the smell isn’t as pungent as the former wine, but lighter. The taste is smooth while the after taste is reminiscent of vodka. The guy at the store said it’s a jack of all trades for replacing alcohol in cocktails, but let me tell ya: It’s not. It could not replace tequila or whiskey. Vodka yes. Rum maybe. Spiced rum, definitely not.

So for this review, you’re better off sticking with cheap booze than this stuff. Then again, if you’re a rice wine buff you might like it.

For us, we give them titties four thumbs down. The wine’s gone bad!!!