David Berner's Special Chicken Recipe

My mom insisted I try out some chicken she had made. She then informed me that it was "David Berner's Special Recipe". I asked her how she knew that. Apparently he gave out the recipe on his radio show a few years ago and she copied it down.
I've long known that Mr. Berner has inspired and informed countless Vancouverites but little did I know that this extended to their kitchens! Hopefully he can enlighten us all on this fabulously tasty chicken!

Update from Master Chef Berner himself:

I can tell from the photo that the dish shown is not exactly the recipe I was using, but that's the beauty of cooking. You take an idea and wing it...especially with birds. (Oy...)

Pour a little oil in a pyrex pan.

Cover with chicken legs and thighs, skin on.

Cut up two lemons into eighths and simply place them in, amongst, on top of and between the pieces of chicken.

Break apart a few complete garlic cloves and place those many pieces, skin on, amidst the chicken.

This is a comically simple preparation. You are basically putting chicken, garlic and lemon into a pan.

Heat on a low (say, about 225-250 for an hour or hour and a half, depending on your oven and how your cribbage game is going) and then, raise the oven to 375 for about 15-20 minutes. If you like, you could even put on the broiler for 5 minutes to brown a bit.

Take out and serve as is with veggies.

Eat the garlic cloves and pieces of lemon whole! They are wonderful!

The chicken is enough to make you crazy...

7-Layer Dip

Here's a fun video showing you how to make a delicious 7-layer dip:
You can find more recipes at StartCooking.com.

Thai Ravioli Recipe

I put together a little something that turned out to be quite delicious:

• 1 pkg frozen ravioli
• 1/2 cup of mushrooms (any type you like)
  
• 1/2 cup of frozen peas
• 1/4 cup of shrimp
• 1 pkg thai coconut sauce

Boil ravioli. At the same time, bring sauce to a low simmer (follow instructions on package). When the ravioli is a few minutes away from being done, throw in peas & shrimp and cook for 1 minute. Then throw in mushrooms and cook for 1 more minute. Drain pot into collander and empty mixture into serving bowl. Cover with sauce and serve.

How NOT to Make a Loaf of Bread!

A few years ago my Uncle Hector gave me his bread maker, along with this warning, "The only thing it's good for is making door stops. I hope it works better for you!"

And it has. I've made some terrific loaves of white bread, multigrain bread, and many other combinations. It's also proved highly effective at making pizza dough.

But I've always been VERY careful at using the precise ingredients called for by the recipe. Until now:

I tried making a loaf of white bread but decided to substitute the little bit of milk called for with Egg Nog. The result is what you see - a complete mess of what looks like crumble cake, combined with several 1 cm balls!

In retrospect, since the Egg Nog in question probably contained little to no actual milk, I highly suspect that it was the culprit. Oh well, I'll smash it up some, add some chopped apples, walnuts, and maple syrup, and have a dessert fit for a king ... well, maybe fit for a junior guard at the castle!

Day 2: Portland, Oregon

My friends, Ginette & Erik, live in a nice suburb of Portland. The second day of my trip consisted entirely of what I most love to do while I'm down here with them: staying around the home and relaxing! Besides their 2 little boys, Cade & Chase, they have two of my favourite dogs anywhere, Terra & Keisha. Plus this time around they had a guest dog, Rowdy.

The specific things I got up to during the day were:

• Photographing the 10 Hot Wheels cars I brought down for Cade.
• Keeping Chase generally amused.
• Making spaghetti sauce from fresh tomatoes.
• Making an appetizer consisting of sliced tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil leaves (the first and last came right from their garden!)

In the evening we attended the birthday party of Bruce, one of Erik's co-workers. He and his wife, Katie, live in a beautifully decorated home in a really cute neighbourhood.

A Pasta Recipe

My friend, John, made this fabulous pasta dish a few weeks ago and just shared the recipe:

• 10 crimini mushrooms
• 1 cup mixed mushrooms
• 1 grilled zucchini
• 2 grilled chicken breasts
• 1 big onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• Seasoning of choice (I use thyme, pepper, and ginger)

Chop onion and sautee for 1 min – add sliced mushrooms and sautee for about 4 min.

Add chopped zucchini and thinly sliced chicken and the seasoning.

Easy as that – after pasta has boiled, keep water and add enough to chicken etc to make a sauce and simmer for 2 mins.

Put pasta in separate bowl – add sauce ingredients and toss.

How To Make The Perfect Sandwich

Besides the amazing view, one of the best things about my friend's apartment is that he has a BBQ on the outside patio. You're probably not aware, but I was the BBQ King of Sudbury, Ontario when I had a house there between 1990 - 1994. So with a BBQ here and not one back in Vancouver, I'm seizing the opportunity to use it as much as possible.

One of my favourite things to BBQ are Argentinian sausages. I often place them into large Cuban-style buns. Here's a brief primer on how to to make the perfect sandwich:

Toast the buns.

Add your favourite vegetable toppings.

And some cheese, if you wish.

They taste much better than they look here!

Oh, don't forget the lettuce!

So where's the finished product, you ask? I was so hungry that I devoured two of these gems before realizing that I had forgotten to take a photo of them!! :-)