Kitchen Encounters

~ The History of the Italian-Style Spiedie Sandwich ~

The word Spiedie comes from the Italian word spiede, meaning skewered food that gets cooked on a spit.  As for their origin of this very unique marinated-then-grilled sandwich, three people seemed to have played a part in their creation and popularization.  An Italian immigrant, Camillo Lacovelli claims to have invented the original spiedie in Endwell, NY. Via his brother, Agostino "Augie" Lacovelli, who put spiedies on his Augie's Restaurant (located in Endicott, NY) menu in 1939, they gained local popularity.  Augie's son Guido Lacovelli, continued the family-owned business into the 1990's, operating as many as 26 restaurants at the peak of his career.

It was only natural for the spiedie sandwich to make its way to the big city of Binghamton -- its initial appearance was in 1947 at Sharky's Bar & Grill, owned by Peter Sharak.  The rest is history and Binghamton, is now the spiedie capital of the world, with an annual three-day Spiedie Festival and Balloon Rally that attracts over 100,000 people.  While the original Italian-style spiedie is still the most popular, spiedies have crossed cultural borders.  Variations in the marinade make it possible to make and serve them Asian-, Greek-, Jamaican-, Tex-Mex-, etc., style, and, eaten straight off the skewer or in salads or stir-fries, they're not limited to sandwiches anymore. 

As Philadelphia, PA = the cheesesteak capital of the world, &, Chicago, IL = the Italian-beef sandwich capital of the world...  Binghamton, NY = the spiedie capital of the world!

Visiting the Binghamton area not eating a spied sandwich would be like traveling to the Philadelphia or Chicago and not eating a cheesesteak sandwich or an Italian-beef sandwich.  Simply put, a spiedie consists of cubes of marinated chicken, pork, beef or lamb, skewered, char-grilled and served in a soft, hoagie-type roll (or a slice of Italian bread), with a bit of extra sauce (simmered marinade) drizzled on top.  The marinade is the star of the show and is similar to Italian dressing (containing oil, vinegar, paprika and a variety of Italian spices, including mint in many versions), which quickly caramelizes when it hits the grill, keeping the meat cubes tender on the inside.

 Use my Classic Italian Endicott-Style Spiedie Marinade:

To make my Italian Endicott-Style Spiedie Sandwich:

"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti

(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2022)

~ The History of Mexican-American Taco Bowl Salad ~

Serving taco salad in edible bowls is mealtime fun.  While they lend a festive, impressive "you cared enough to make the bowls" touch to the meal, they allow family and friends to add crunch to their salad as they work their way down, through and around all the goodies in the bowl. Speaking of goodies, taco salads come fully-loaded.  Pick and choose your favorite store-bought or made-from-scratch ingredients.  There's no right or wrong way to make taco salad -- just make it.

From a small tacup, the large taco salad was born. 

The history of the taco-bowl salad, as per this book, Taco USA, How Mexican Food Conquered America:

The earliest record of taco salad dates back to the 1960's, with its predecessor being the small teacup-sized Tacup:  Ground beef, beans, sour cream and cheese served in a small bowl made entirely of Fritos.  

The Tacup was the creation of Fritos founder Elmer Doolin*, who invented all sorts of "strange stuff" spinned-off his Fritos: Frito sauce for meat, Frito Jell-O pie, Frito salad dressing, and, the Tacup (short for taco cup).  

Tacups were first served in Dallas, TX (where Doolin headquartered Frito), in the early 1950's, and by 1955, he was selling them in Fritos' flagship restaurant, Casa de Fritos, at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.

The Tacup became popular enough that folks decided to make it bigger -- the taco salad, served in a full, main-dish-sized bowl was born.

*Doolin founded Fritos, bit its worth note that Fritos were a wholly Mexican creation, invented by an Oaxacon immigrant who sold his recipe and machine to Doolin in the 1930's.  It's also worth note that heading the Casa de Fritos were members of the Morales family, known for their XLNT tamale brand, and their family would go on to invent Doritos and the famous Doritos taco salad.

Try my version of the Taco-Tuesday Taco-Bowl Salad:

"We are all in the food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti

(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2022)

~Hot Stuff -- Deep-Fried General Tso's Chicken Wings~

If you are a fan of Chinese-American cuisine and have a place in your heart for deep-fried chicken wings, welcome to this party.  This is not so much a recipe as it is a semi-homemade way to show ya'll a new crowd-pleasing twist on Buffalo-style chicken wings.  I'm not gonna lie.  All I do "for real" is deep-fry the chicken wings.  Past that I sauce them with my favorite store-bought General Tso's sauce then serve them over chicken-fried rice from my favorite Chinese restaurant.

General Tso's chicken, a Chinese-American creation of the latter 1970s, traces its roots to Pang's restaurant in New York City.  This spicy dish has a great history, and I for one am grateful to its creator, a Taiwanese Hunan-cuisine chef, Peng Chang-Kuei.  The dish also has a fun (but debunked) legend that claims the dish is named after Zuo Zongtang (1812-1885), a Qing Dynasty military leader and statesman, who lived with his wife in Xiangyin County the province of Hunan.

The secret to any General Tso's dish really is in the sauce:

The basic ingredients of General Tso's Chicken are indeed basic: dark chicken meat, shallots, rice wine vinegar, hot peppers, garlic and ginger.  The chicken pieces are breaded then deep-fried, then coated with a thick-ish slightly-sweet and spicy sauce.  The sauce, a bit more complicated, contains, water, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sugar, garlic and ginger.  The dish (mostly the sauce), varies depending on the cook or chef preparing it, meaning, creative license is usually taken to place the emphasis on sweet vs. spicy and vice versa.

Over time, inventive cooks and chefs have come up with creative variations on the original -- General Tso's meatballs, General Tso's chicken wings, and, General Tso's pork ribs (to name my favorites).  The secret to General Tso's  really is in the sauce, and, luckily, there are store-bought sauces and dry seasoning mixes and that turn a laborious task into a "walk in the park".

Three components + a deep-fryer  = dinner in 16 minutes.

8  whole, unsectioned chicken wings

freshly-ground sea salt, for seasoning wings hot out of the fryer

1/2-3/4  cup store-bought General Tso's sauce, your favorite brand, for every batch of 8 whole, unsectioned chicken wings or 16-24 sectioned wings (flats and drumettes)

store-bought chicken fried rice, for accompaniment (optional)

 ~Step 1.  Line any type of baking pan with several layers of paper towels.  Preheat oil in deep-fryer according to manufacturer's specs to 375º. Working in batches of 2-3 unsectioned wings or 4-6 sectioned wings (it's important not to overcrowd fryer basket), one-at-a-time lift each wing up and carefully lower it into the hot oil.  Close the lid on the fryer and fry wings for exactly 16 minutes.  Remove fryer basket to transfer wings to the baking pan that has been lined with paper towels.  Immediately season wings with a liberal grinding of sea salt.  Repeat this process until desired number of wings are deep-fried.

~ Step 2.  To sauce the wings, while the wings are still warm, use a pair of tongs to transfer them to a 1-gallon food-storage bag.  For every 8 whole, deep-fried unsectioned wings or 16-24 deep-fried sectioned wings (flats and drumettes), add 1/2-3/4 cup General Tso's sauce to the bag.  Seal the bag and toss the still-warm wings around in the sauce until wings are completely enrobed in the sauce.  Using the same pair of tongs, remove the wings from the bag.  Arrange wings on a serving platter or portion onto individual plates (atop a bed of optional chicken-fried rice) and serve immediately.  

Serve atop a bed of your favorite Chinese chicken-fried rice & turn General Tso's chicken wings into a full meal: 

Try My General Tso's Slow-Cooker Babyback Spareribs too:

Hot Stuff -- Deep-Fried General Tso's Chicken Wings:  Recipe yields instructions to make and serve as many chicken wings.

Special Equipment List:  deep-fryer preheated to 375° according to manufacturer's specification for preparing chicken wings; shallow baking pan; paper towels; 1 gallon food-storage bag; tongs

Cook's Note:  Chicken and waffles was a childhood favorite of mine.  Fast forward to adulthood -- it still is.  I love the Southern-style crispy-fried chicken kind and, the Yankee-style PA-Deutsch tender pulled-chicken w/gravy kind.  Cluck, cluck.  In my food world there's also a third variation:  Pub-grub-style deep-fried chicken wings and waffles.  On paper, this might sound like a rather strange duo, but, in reality, a steaming hot waffle with honey butter melting atop it is the ideal foil for some hot-out-of-the-deep-fryer RedHot-sauced Buffalo-style chicken wings.  Try my ~ RedHot & Honey Butter Chicken Wings & Waffles ~.

"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti

(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2022)

~ My General Tso's Slow-Cooker Babyback Spareribs ~

General Tso's chicken, a Chinese-American creation of the latter 1970s, traces its roots to Pang's restaurant in New York City.  This spicy dish has a great history, and I for one am grateful to its creator, a Taiwanese Hunan-cuisine chef, Peng Chang-Kuei.  The dish also has a fun (but debunked) legend that claims the dish is named after Zuo Zongtang (1812-1885), a Qing Dynasty military leader and statesman, who lived with his wife in Xiangyin County the province of Hunan.

The secret to any General Tso's dish really is in the sauce:

The basic ingredients of General Tso's Chicken are indeed basic: dark chicken meat, shallots, rice wine vinegar, hot peppers, garlic and ginger.  The chicken pieces are breaded then deep-fried, then coated with a thick-ish slightly-sweet and spicy sauce.  The sauce, a bit more complicated, contains, water, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sugar, garlic and ginger.  The dish (mostly the sauce), varies depending on the cook or chef preparing it, meaning, creative license is usually taken to place the emphasis on sweet vs. spicy and vice versa.

Over the decades, inventive cooks and chefs have come up with creative variations on the original recipe -- General Tso's meatballs, General Tso's chicken wings, and, General Tso's pork ribs (to name my favorites).  The secret to General Tso's  really is in the sauce, and, luckily, there are  time-saving, store-bought sauces and dry seasoning mixes and that turn an otherwise laborious task into a "walk in the park".  These two are my favorites. 

Three components + Crockpot's casserole  = dinner in 4 hours.

1  full rack baby back pork spareribs

1  packet General Tso's dry seasoning mix (about 3 tablespoons), your favorite brand

1  cup General Tso's sauce, your favorite brand

no-stick cooking spray, for preparing Crockpot casserole

~Step 1. To prep the rack of ribs, remove them from the packaging and pat them dry in some paper towels and, using a paring knife, loosed then remove the silverskin from the underside of the rack. If you don't know how to do this, read my post ~ How to: Remove the Silverskin from Spareribs ~.  Using a large chef's knife, slice each rack into thirds or quarters (3-4 portions).  Sprinkle both sides, top and bottom with the dry seasoning blend, then, walk away for about 15-30 minutes, to give the dry seasoning ample time to "work its magic" and absorb excess moisture from the surface of the rib sections.

~Step 2. Spray the inside of the crock casserole with no-stick cooking spray.  Arrange the ribs to fit, in one row and slightly overlapping.  Using a back and forth motion, slowly drizzle 3/4 cup  General Tso's sauce over the tops of the ribs.  Using the back of a tablespoon, "smoosh" the sauce around over the tops a bit.  Put the lid on the crockpot casserole.  

~Step 3.  Cook on high for 2 hours, then, low for 2 hours.  The tip of a knife or the tines of a fork, when pierced between any two ribs will easily glide through and come out on the other side.

~Step 4. Preheat broiler with oven rack positioned about 5" under the heat. Line a large baking pan with aluminum foil, then place a sheet of parchment in the bottom of pan.  Open crockpot and remove the ribs, arranging them slightly apart on the baking pan.  Using a large pastry brush generously slather the the tops with the 1/4 cup additional barbecue sauce.  Finish ribs off under the broiler for 4-6 minutes, until sauce is bubbly and just starting to to show signs of light browning.  Watch carefully.  All barbecue sauces contain some form of sugar, which can and will go from lightly-browned to burned quickly.  Don't, just done, take your eyes off them after the 4 minute mark.

Plate & serve atop homemade or store-bought lo-mein:

My General Tso's Slow-Cooker Babyback Spareribs:  Recipe yields 1 rack spareribs/3-4 servings.

Special Equipment List: paper towels; paring knife; large chef's knife; Crockpot casserole; 1-cup measuring container; spoon; fork; 17 1/2" x 12 1/2" baking pan; aluminum foil; parchment paper

Cook's Note:  The machinations of making ribs in a slow cooker never seemed right to me -- kind of like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.  I've seen people bend entire racks, slice and stack sections, even cut them into individual riblets   Their rib abuse is why I never attempted it, but, there was never a doubt the slow cooker could achieve perfection.  Thanks to Crockpot's Casserole, I now have ~ The Best Way to Make Slow-Cooker Babyback Ribs ~. 

"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti

(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2022

~ The History & Four Recipes for Chicken & Waffles ~

Chicken and waffles might be well-known and popular throughout our American South and the Midwest, but, it does NOT have its roots in either venue.  It indisputably has its roots in the early Pennsylvania Deutsch communities that settled along the Schuylkill River.  Growing up in Pennsylvania Deutsch county, tender pulled-chicken served atop steamy-and-light hot-off-the-waffle-iron waffles all drizzled with gravy, it was a childhood favorite of mine.  Read on:

When you say PA Dutch, we correctly say PA Deutsch:

I am here to make it clear that Pennsylvania Dutch cookery does not belong solely to PA and it is not Dutch either.  The term "Dutch" was the early English settlers slang for the German word "Deutsch".  So:  When most people incorrectly say "Pennsylvania Dutch", they should be saying "Pennsylvania Deutsch", crediting the Germanic or German-speaking immigrants from Germany and Switzerland for this cuisine.  The majority of these people were either Amish, Mennonite or Brethren, all of which were considered "Anabaptist".  

In Pennsylvania Dutch country, chicken and waffles is a common Sunday supper (they call "dinner" "supper" there).  The concept most likely evolved from "fried catfish and waffle" dinners served in the Philadelphia area in eateries along the Schuykill River (whose supplying creeks were full of fresh catfish). The Schuylkill Hotel (founded in 1813) was the first well-known place, along with the Catfish and Waffle House, located at the Schuylkill Falls, which from 1848 into the early 1900's did a thriving business purely by word-of-mouth. It doesn't take much imagination to rationalize a reason for the people of the surrounding PA Dutch farming communities (a very close knit family-oriented people who kept to themselves and never went out to eat) to adopt this inexpensive style of hearty eating as their own by substituting perfectly-roasted or stewed farm-raised chickens served atop light and fluffy waffles.  It's a short leap to see them substituting fried chicken for fried catfish too -- to invent fried chicken and waffles --  and I am grateful for both.

Try my Pennsylvania Deutsch-style chicken & waffles...

... along w/my version of Southern-style fried chicken & waffles:

Kids & adults adore my easy RedHot chicken wings & waffles:

For a different twist, Thanksgiving turkey & stuffing waffles!

"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti

(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2022)

~ RedHot & Honey-Butter Chicken Wings & Waffles ~

Chicken and waffles was a childhood favorite of mine.  Fast forward to adulthood -- it still is.  I love the Southern-style crispy-fried chicken kind and, the Yankee-style PA-Deutsch tender pulled-chicken w/gravy kind.  Cluck, cluck.  In my food world there's also a third variation:  Pub-grub-style deep-fried chicken wings and waffles.  On paper, this might sound like a rather strange duo, but, in reality, a steaming hot waffle with honey butter melting atop it is the ideal foil for some hot-out-of-the-deep-fryer RedHot-sauced Buffalo-style chicken wings.  Trust me, skip the French fries -- the switch to waffles with wings will change your life, so invite some friends to the party!

Chicken & waffles is indeed well-known throughout the South, but it undisputedly has it's roots in PA Deutsch country:

In Pennsylvania Dutch country, chicken and waffles is a common Sunday supper (they call "dinner" "supper" there).  The concept most likely evolved from "fried catfish and waffle" dinners served in the Philadelphia area in eateries along the Schuykill River (whose supplying creeks were full of fresh catfish). The Schuylkill Hotel (founded in 1813) was the first well-known place, along with the Catfish and Waffle House, located at the Schuylkill Falls, which from 1848 into the early 1900's did a thriving business purely by word-of-mouth. It doesn't take much imagination to rationalize a reason for the people of the surrounding PA Dutch farming communities (close knit family-oriented people who kept to themselves and never went out to eat) to adopt this inexpensive style of hearty eating by substituting roasted or stewed farm-raised chickens served on waffles.  It's a short leap to see them substituting fried chicken for fried catfish -- to invent fried chicken and waffles.

Four components, homemade or stress-free store-bought:

For each serving:

2-3 deep-fried unsectioned chicken wings, or, 4-6 deep-fried sectioned chicken wings, hot out of the deep-fryer

1-2 waffles, homemade or store-bought, hot out of the waffle iron or toaster

honey-butter, homemade or store-bought, for generously slathering on each waffle

Buffalo-style RedHot 'n honey wing sauce, homemade or store-bought, for drizzling over each serving of wings and waffles

Wing it -- serve dinner for breakfast or breakfast for dinner, wings & waffles make everyone happy anytime of day.

RedHot & Honey-Butter Chicken Wings & Waffles:  Recipe yields instructions to serve as many chicken wings w/waffles as you want to.

Special Equipment List:  deep-fryer preheated to 375° according to manufacturer's specification for preparing chicken wings; waffle iron or toaster for preparing waffles; hand-held electric mixer for preparing honey-butter; saucepan and whisk for preparing wing sauce 

Cook's Note:  There are two types of chicken-wing aficionados -- those who dredge their wings in a  flour-based blend of seasonings, and, those who do nothing at all -- the latter group is know as the wing purists.  Trust me on this next point: One method is not better than the other.  One method, no matter what the claim, does not produce crispier wings.  Dredging wings in a seasoned-flour mixture prior to deep-frying, vs. deep- frying wings in the classic manner, naked in a bath of seething hot oil, accomplishes only one thing:  a bit of seasoning on your wings and a few more calories on your hips.  It's a matter of  preference.  You really gotta try my Buffalo-style ~ RedHot Seasoning Dredge for Chicken Wings ~.

"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti

(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2022)

~ My RedHot Seasoning Dredge for Chicken Wings ~

There are two types of chicken-wing aficionados -- those who dredge their wings in a  flour-based blend of seasonings, and, those who do nothing at all -- the latter group is know as the wing purists.  Trust me on this next point:  One method is not better than the other.  One method, no matter what the claim, does not produce crispier wings.  Dredging wings in a seasoned-flour mixture prior to deep-frying, vs. deep- frying wings in the classic manner, naked in a bath of seething hot oil, accomplishes only one thing:  a bit of seasoning on your wings and a few more calories on your hips.  It's a matter of  preference.  That said, if you are a person who prefers to eat your wings without them dripping in sauce, dredging your wings is the path you want to take.

If you like wings w/sauce to the side, the dry dredge is for you:

Feel free to make a big batch & keep it on-hand in your pantry:

1  cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

1  tablespoon coarse sea salt

2-3  tablespoons RedHot seasoning blend, meaning less hot or more hot to your liking

8-12 unsectioned chicken wings, or, 16-24 sectioned drumettes and flats

freshly ground sea salt, for seasoning finished deep-fry-cooked wings

~ Step 1.  In a medium bowl, place and stir together the flour, coarse sea salt and RedHot seasoning blend.  If you have a large cheese-shaker-type jar, transfer the mixture to it -- this will make it easy to apply.

~Step 2.  Line a 17 1/2" x 12 1/2" baking pan with parchment paper.  Arrange the wings on the parchment.  Sprinkle the tops of the wings (liberally, but do not overdo it) with the flour mixture.  Flip the wings over and season the second sides.  Flip the wings back to their topsides and give the tops a second light sprinkle of the flour mixture.  Set pan aside, uncovered and at room temperature, for 30 minutes.

~ Step 3.  Preheat oil in deep-fryer according to manufacturer's specs to 375º. Working in batches of 2-3 unsectioned wings or 4-6 sectioned wings (it is very important not to overcrowd the fryer basket), one-at-a-time lift each wing up, give it a quick shake to remove any excess flour mixture, and drop it into the hot oil. Close the lid on the deep-fryer and fry wings for exactly 16 minutes.  Remove fryer basket from the hot oil and transfer wings to a baking pan or casserole dish that has been lined with several layers of paper towels.  Immediately, aka ASAP, season wings with a grind of sea salt.

Toss w/sauce or serve w/sauce for dipping or drizzling...

... or eat 'em w/no sauce at all -- they've got plenty of flavor:

Crispy outside & pull off the bone tender inside:

My RedHot Seasoning Dredge for Chicken Wings:  Recipe yields 1 1/4 cups seasoned flour dredge/eough for 12 unsectioned chicken wings, or, two dozen drumettes and flats.

Special Equipment List:  2-cup measuring container; spoon; 2 cup cheese-shaker-type container; 17  1/2" x 12 1/2" baking pan; parchment paper; deep-fryer preheated to 375° according to manufacturer's specifications; 9" x 13" x 2" baking pan; paper towels

Cook's Note: Wander into a bar -- any bar, anywhere in America.  Buffalo wings are on the pub grub menu. No description is necessary.  You know you're getting unbreaded, deep-fried wingettes and drumettes coated in a vivid-red vinegar-based cayenne pepper and melted butter sauce.  They'll arrive with celery and carrot sticks, and either blue cheese or ranch dressing for dipping or drizzling.  You will likely be asked to specify if you want your wings coated in a mild, medium or hot version of their Buffalo-style sauce. Try my favorite version of ~ Frank's-Style Buffalo-Style Chicken Wing Sauce ~.

"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti

(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2022) 

~The Chinese-American General Tso's Chicken Story~

General Tso's Chicken is a staple on every Chinese-Americane eat-in and take-out menu.  I personally am grateful for that, as, every week or two I crave Chinese fare and rare is the occasion when sweet, savory and spicy General Tso's Chicken is not a part of my order. Sometimes I eat it with some chicken fried rice and steamed broccoli as a main course, other times I eat it as an appetizer or a snack, but, eat it I do -- it's addicting and I adore it.

The basic ingredients are easy-to-find & indeed basic:

The basic ingredients of General Tso's Chicken are indeed basic: dark chicken meat, shallots, rice wine vinegar, hot peppers, garlic and ginger.  The chicken pieces are breaded then deep-fried, then coated with a thick-ish slightly-sweet and spicy sauce.  The sauce, a bit more complicated, contains, water, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sugar, garlic and ginger.  The dish (mostly the sauce), varies depending on the cook or chef preparing it, meaning, creative license is usually taken to place the emphasis on sweet vs. spicy and vice versa.

The General Tso's legend & the real General Tso's story:

Legend has it this spicy dish is named after Zuo Zongtang (1812-1885), a Qing Dynasty military leader and statesman, who lived with his wife in Xiangyin County the province of Hunan.  It's said that the general's wife created the dish for him upon his return from a great battle, with the dish consequently becoming a favorite of his, which in turn got passed along to others in the local community and gained in popularity throughout Hunan province.  Unfortunately, there is no recorded connection of the dish to either the Province or to him, and, Zuo's descendants, who are still living in Xiangyin County, claim they've never heard of it.  That said, the legend is fun to know.

In actuality, this spicy dish was likely invented by Taiwanese Hunan-cuisine chef Peng Chang-Kuei, an apprentice to chef Cao Jingchen, a leading early 20th-Century Chinese chef.  Peng became and worked as the Chinese Nationalist Government's banquet chef, until he fled back to Taiwan during the Chinese Civil War.  There he continued his career as the government's official chef until 1973, when he moved to New York City to open Peng's Restaurant on East 44th Street, where Peng made his newly created dish (made from commonplace ingredients), General Tso's Chicken, the house specialty.  A 1977 restaurant review of Pengs, mention's" "the General Tso's Chicken was a stir-fried masterpiece, sizzling hot both in flavor and temperature." 

General Tso's Chicken -- a stir-fried masterpiece -- sweet, savory & sizzling hot both in flavor & temperature.

"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti

(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2022)

~The Story Behind City Chicken -- aka Mock Chicken~

What looks like a chicken leg and tastes like chicken but isn't made from chicken?  City chicken. So, if it's not made from chicken, what is city chicken made from?  Coarse-ground pork and/or veal.  Still confused? You're not alone -- nowadays, many folks, even those who love to cook, have no idea what this intriguing, vintage, working-class main-dish is, or, the important part it played in our American culinary history.  Behind almost every recipe, there is a good story:

Dating back as early as the early 1900s, by the 1930s and '40s and into the '50s everyone knew what city chicken was.  Fast forward to present day, not so much, and even the iconic The Joy of Cooking, doesn't exactly clarify the dish for home cooks looking for a recipe.  

If one searches the index looking for "city chicken", and looks under "chicken", city chicken will not be there. That said, if one is looking for a generic pork or veal recipe, and looks under "pork or veal", they will stumble upon it referenced as "mock chicken or city chicken" (the recipe is on page 469).

City chicken -- A depression era meal born out of necessity. 

A bit about chicken "sans volaille", which is French for chicken "without poultry":  City chicken is a depression era meal born out of necessity.  During the Presidential campaign of 1928, Herbert Hoover claimed that if he won, there would be "a chicken in every pot (and a car in every garage)" -- it was a promise of prosperity.  During that time period, unless you lived on a rural farm where you had the necessary space to raise a few chickens, chicken was very expensive to purchase, especially in the urban cities (chickens weren't raised in volume until the 1950's when refrigerated trucks could transport the poultry).  For city dwellers, it was only a wealthy man's family and guests that got to sit down to a well-appointed chicken dinner on a Sunday. That said, the slaughter houses (for pork, lamb, veal, and beef) were all located "in town", and the idea of fashioning the meat scraps into a makeshift faux-chicken drumstick became a cheap alternative.

Said to have originated in the city of Pittsburgh, butchers began placing inexpensive cubes of pork and veal along with a few wooden skewers in a package, so housewives could thread and fashion what (once dipped in an egg wash, dredged in breadcrumbs and baked or fried) mocked a chicken leg.  It was quite inventive.  Gravy was made from the pan drippings, mashed potatoes and a vegetable were served, and, the family enjoyed a very tasty, faux-chicken dinner.

In Eastern Pennsylvania, where I grew up, my grandmother called it "chicken-on-a-stick", and she, in fact, did skewer cubes of pork and veal to make it.  In my lifetime, the cost of veal sky-rocketed, so I stopped including veal a while ago.

Back in the 1980's I became  friends with a meat-cutter here in Happy Valley who managed a popular mom and pop butcher shop.  While they didn't sell city chicken "in the case", if you ordered it ahead, he and his wife would "make it up", and, a lot of caterers ordered large quantities to serve at big events.  Theirs was made from very coarsely ground pork (and veal too if you requested it and paid extra for it), and, it was formed in one of these nifty cast-aluminum gadgets (mine is pictured), with "chicken sans volaille" stamped on the side of it.

Coarse-ground pork &/or veal -- molded into the shape of a chicken leg, skewered, then sautéed in a skillet.

Try my City Chicken -- It Literally is the Other White Meat:

"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti

(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2022 

~ Cheese-Stuffed Sausage and Mushroom Omelette ~

Nothing fancy, surely not gourmet, just three available-to-everyone ingredients, sausage, mushrooms and onions.  All three together as one, well, they're my favorite topping combo on a cheese- or double-cheese pizza, and, they're my favorite add-in combo to a cheese- or double-cheese omelette. For those two reasons alone I always keep my favorite brand of fully-cooked breakfast sausage, generic canned sliced-mushrooms and a sweet Vidalia onion or two on hand. Yes, my favorite toppings for my favorite pizza or bagel-bites snack pizza and my add-ins to my favorite omelette are indeed, always right at my fingertips -- and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Diced sausage, mushrooms and onion -- my favorite add-ins.  Feel free to substitute your three favorite add-ins.

For my favorite American-style omelette:

3  large eggs

4-6 tablespoons cup heavy cream

1/4  teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4  teaspoon each:  freshly-ground sea salt and peppercorn blend 

6  tablespoons fully-cooked small-diced breakfast sausage

4  tablespoons well-drained small-chopped sliced mushrooms

2 tablespoons small-diced yellow or sweet onion 

a generous 1/2  cup shredded Danish havarti cheese

1  teaspoon salted butter

~Step 1. Prep the sausage, mushrooms and onions as directed, then use a box grater to shred the cheese and set it aside.  Crack the eggs into a 2-cup measuring container and add enough cream to total 3/4 cups total liquid (about 4 tablespoons). Add the spices:  the nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Using a fork, whisk vigorously, until thoroughly combined.  Add the add-ins:  the sausage, mushrooms and onions.  Whisk again.

~Step 2.  In an 8" nonstick skillet, melt the butter over low heat.  Use the fork to briefly rewhisk the egg mixture, then pour it into the warmed skillet. By patiently manually lifting, lowering, and tilting the pan on and off the heat, allow the eggs to set a bit up and around the sloping sides of the skillet -- about 45 seconds w/no pressure to rush.

~ Step 3.  Increase heat to medium.  In various spots around the entire perimeter of the skillet, slip a thin spatula under the setting eggs.  In each of those spots use the spatula to lift the eggs up, while, at the same time, tilting the pan in the direction of the spatula to allow the remaining liquid to flow down and into the setting eggs -- about 45 seconds over medium heat w/no pressure to rush.  The surface of the omelette should be semi-moist and glistening with no liquid or little liquid puddling on the top.

~Step 4.  Decrease heat to low.  Scatter cheese, in a half-moon shape, over half the omelette. Give it 35-45 seconds to melt w/no pressure to rush.  Using a large spatula, lift the empty side of the omelette up and over the cheesy side.  Slide omelette from skillet to plate and serve.

Serve immediately -- the moment it hits the plate:

Dig in -- no omelette waits for any man, woman or child:

Cheese-Stuffed Sausage and Mushroom Omelette:  Recipe yields instructions to make one large, hearty American-style, fully-loaded cheese omelette/1 large serving or 2 smaller servings

Special Equipment List:  cutting board; chef's knife; hand-held box grater; 2-cup measuring container; fork; 8" nonstick skillet; large thin spatula; large wide spatula

Cook's Note:  I am a lover of omelettes.  I've always enjoyed a savory breakfast more than a sweet breakfast, and, the omelette easily turns two or three eggs into a satisfying meal.  That said, I am a much bigger fan of the fluffy American-style omelette vs the skinny French omelette,  Don't get me wrong, I do like them both, and, while a French omelette is iconic, in my opinion, miracle of miracles, we Americans improved it. ~ For the Love of Omelettes -- An Omelette Oration ~.

"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti

(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2022)