Buffalo Chicken with spicy blue cheese dip

After the Superbowl, I'm unsure what my husband will be doing with his weekends. He is always watching the NFL network. When he talks to his best friend, they are talking about which team will win. Since they have rival teams, it is a fun to listen to them talk smack to each other. I guess they will need this down time to recover from football season. I am hoping their jerseys can be put away for at least a couple of months. I don't even have a t-shirt with my favorite team but I do have a t-shirt of my husband's team. He even tells me how nice I look in the shirt. Since it is the end of football season, I wanted to make some buffalo chicken. This chicken isn't dipped in the traditional butter but I couldn't tell. It is so tender and I really liked it. My son made the dip for me. I must be influencing him since he asked where the cayenne pepper was since the recipe called for it. I told him it is with the spices and he said forget about that and he added hot sauce instead. I really liked the dip. If you are hosting a party, definitely make this recipe.

Boneless Buffalo Chicken
 3 Tbsp butter milk
3 Tbsp Frank's Redhot Original cayenne pepper hot sauce, divided
3 Tbsp distilled white vinegar, divided
2 lbs. boneless chicken breast, chopped into bit size pieces
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided 
2 cups carrot and celery sticks

Directions:

1.  In a large bowl, combine the buttermilk, 2 Tbsp hot sauce, and 2 Tbsp vinegar.
2. Add the chicken to the buttermilk mixture and toss to coat. 
3. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Stir occasionally.
4. On a plate, combine the flour with the cayenne pepper, salt, and ground black pepper.
5. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining 1 Tbsp hot sauce and 1 Tbsp vinegar. Set aside.
6. In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp vegetable oil over medium high heat. 
7. Remove the chicken from the marinade and evenly coat in the flour mixture. 
8. In the skillet, cook the chicken in batches until golden brown about 4 minutes per a side. Add additional vegetable oil if need. 
9. Once cooked through, remove the chicken and place onto a paper lined plate.
10. Drizzle the chicken with the hot sauce and vinegar mixture. 
11. Serve with the Spicy Blue Cheese Dip (recipe below), carrots, and celery.

Spicy Blue Cheese Dip
2/3 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 cup blue cheese, chopped
1 Tbsp distilled white vinegar
1 Tbsp Frank's Redhot Original hot sauce

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix the sour cream, blue cheese, vinegar, and the hot sauce.
2. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

*Note: I buy the solid blue cheese block and then I chopped it. I notice the quality of taste for the blue cheese is so much better. 

Recipe adapted from Eatingwell.com.

One year ago.....................................I made Fried Rice.
Two years ago...................................I made Cheddar Biscuits.
Three years ago.................................I made Fluffy Dinner Rolls.

Did you already know..........................
-In 1948, the Los Angeles Rams were the first NFL team to put logos on their helmet.
-The only NFL team to have their logo on one side of their helmet is the Pittsburgh Steelers.
-The NFL team Cleaveland Brown do not have any primary logos on their helmets.

German Potato Salad

I realized I hadn't posted a German Potato Salad. I make it every year. I even order it if I'm at a German restaurant. When I made this recipe, I didn't mention to my family that it was German Potato Salad so I asked how they liked it. My husband told me that he really liked it a lot. Then I asked him if I should have added more vinegar to the dish. Smiling, he said that is what gave the dish a little zing but he couldn't place the ingredient. He said it was great just the way it was made especially the bacon and chives.

German Potato Salad
2 lbs. gold potatoes
1 tsp olive oil
8 slices of bacon, cut into pieces
1 yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
salt and pepper, for taste

Directions: 

1. In a medium saucepan, cover the potatoes with water and season generously with salt.
2. Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes and the potatoes are fork tender.
3. Drain the potatoes and set aside.
4. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
5. Add the bacon to the skillet and cook until the bacon is brown and crispy.
6. Add the onions and cook for about 8 minutes.
7. Add the stock and vinegar to the skillet. Stir.
8. Add the potatoes and chives. Toss gently to coat.
9. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
10. Serve immediately.

Recipe by Anne Burrell.

One year ago..........................I made Plum Cake.
Two years ago.......................I made Apple Strudel.

I helped with the potato harvest this year.

Did you already know............
-The primary agricultural product of Northern Maine is the potato.
-Many variety of potatoes are grown in Maine including the Rose Gold potato.
-The Rose Gold potato has a red skin and a golden flesh. 

Pickles

I think I just might be doing a decent job in raising my son. He recently said to me that he was going to take over the world. I looked at him strangely. So, he replied, "I already know your answer-no."

My son loves pickles. If we are eating out, he will kindly offer to eat everyone's pickles. So, I figured I would try this recipe since it was a quick pickle. My son says these are not pickles but spicy cucumbers. I do not like cucumbers but I liked these "pickles". Now, I will admit I was hesitant to purchase dill. Once, I attempted to grow a garden outside my kitchen window. The only thing that grew was dill. I could smell dill all summer long. I was brave and decided I would go ahead and do it. I know I will never grow dill again. Why couldn't it have been lilacs? Why?

Pickles
2 cups champagne vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp ground mustard
1 Tbsp salt
3 cloves garlic, lightly smashed
1 bay leaf
1 English cucumber, cut into 1/8 inch slices
1 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, add the vinegar, water, sugar, mustard, salt, garlic, and bay leaf.
2. Bring the mixture to a simmer until the sugar dissolves. 
3. Add the cucumbers and dill to a heat proof container like a Mason jar.
4. Pour the hot pickling liquid into the container.
5. Allow the pickles to sit at least 1 hour or overnight.

Recipe adapted from Sandwich King.

Did you already know...
-Pickles were on Christopher Columbus's ships to help prevent scurvy.
-This week is International Pickle Week.
-Americans prefer dill pickles over sweet.

How about you? Do you like sweet or dill better?