Angry Chicken: It will make you happy!

I have no idea why this recipe is called Angry Chicken.  It didn't make me angry.  It was super juicy and flavorful.  It made me happy!  My guess is it takes its name from "arrabbiata" which is Italian for "angry."  This is all due in part to the addition of red chile flakes.  It's not too spicy, it actually has the perfect amount of kick.  I served it with pasta and a yummy salad, but it would be delicious on a sandwich, in a salad or as an entree with any type of side dish.  Gotta love grilling season!

Don't you just love grilling season?

The Angry Chicken Party

In a large mixing bowl combine mustard, garlic,

Don't forget the cilantro,
red wine vinegar, salt, coriander
and  chili powder.

Don't forget the red chili flakes. 
That's the "angry" part.

Mix in the vegetable oil.

Pour over chicken and marinate 6 hours.

Remove chicken from marinade
and sprinkle with Cajun seasoning.

Grill chicken until cooked through.

Don't forget to occasionally
brush with butter.  Enjoy!

Salad Men Love (And Everybody Else Too!)

I love the name of this recipe.  And it's true.  I made it for my husband and my nephew and it passed the test.  My nephew is a salad junkie, and if he approves then we definitely have a winner.  I think they enjoyed it because it's a very simple salad, with just the addition of green onions, Parmesan cheese, and toasted almonds.  I enjoyed it because the dressing was made ahead and it made a lot.  The first time I tried this recipe, I used one package of mixed butter lettuce greens.  I had enough dressing leftover to make the salad again.  Try it!  Apparently men love it and you will too...

Yum!  A simple green salad...

The Salad Men Love Line-Up

Combine oil and sugar...

Add celery seed.

Don't forget the vinegar!

Add the onion juice and
minced garlic.  Shake well to combine. 
Refrigerate until ready to use.

Meanwhile toast the almonds
until just lightly toasted.
Watch them carefully so they don't burn!

To your salad greens,
add the chopped green onions
and toasted almonds...

Add the Parmesan cheese. 
(I used the whole carton.  What the heck! 
You can never have too much cheese.)

Add dressing and toss everything
well just before serving.

Hot Stuff: The Scoville Scale

We love hot stuff here at The Devilish Dish.  An entire shelf in our pantry is devoted to dried chiles and chile powders.  The shelves on the door of one our refrigerators is full of nothing but bottles of hot sauce.  I think it would be safe to label us Chile Heads.  For those of you that may not think a dream vacation is Hatch, New Mexico, or discussing the merits of spicy chili is pillow talk, I thought I would share some general information on peppers and hot sauces in general. 

The Scoville Scale measures the hotness or piquancy of a chili pepper.  The scale is named after its creator, Wilbur Scoville who developed a test for rating the pungency of chili peppers.  Chili peppers contain capsaicin, which is a chemical compound that stimulates nerve endings in the skin, especially the ones in your mouth!  The number of Scoville heat units indicates the level of capsaicin present in the pepper.  With that in mind, here is a small sampling of heat levels based on the Scoville Scale:

 15,000,000-16,000,000    Pure Capsaicin
     2,000,000-5,300,000    Standard US Grade Pepper Spray
        855,000-1,050,000    Naga Jolokia (Said to be the World's Hottest Pepper)
           350,000-580,000    Red Savina Pepper
           100,000-350,000    Habanero, Scotch Bonnet, Jamaican Hot Pepper
             50,000-100,000    Thai Pepper, Pequin Pepper
               30,000-50,000    Cayenne Pepper, Tabsco Pepper, Chipotle Pepper
               10,000-23,000    Serrano Pepper
                   2,500-8,000    Jalapeno, Guajillo, New Mexican, Anaheim, Hungarian Wax
                         100-500    Pimiento, Pepperoncini Pepper
                     No Heat 0    Bell Pepper

By looking at the scale, if you think those jalapenos on your nachos are hot, then you probably don't want anything to do with the habanero pepper!  We have a framed poster of the Scoville Scale, conveniently hanging by one of our pantries.  Incidentally it's the pantry that contains all of the hot peppers.  Not only is the poster decorative, it makes a great reference guide!

And here's the answer to the (pardon the pun) BURNING QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Q:  What is best to drink to cool the burning sensation of capsaicin?

A:  Milk products cools you off after eating chilies because the casein in the milk is a protein breaks the bond between pain receptors and the capsaicin.

Garlic Steak Sandwiches

This is one of my favorite recipes.  I am always excited when warm weather gets here and the soup pots go away and the grill comes out.  The recipe is simple, with just a few ingredients, but the garlic butter packs a lot of flavor.  And you can't beat the grilled onions.  Try this one for your next cook out!

The Garlic Steak Sandwich Party

Combine butter and garlic to create
the garlic-butter spread.
(This is known as a "compound butter." 
You can do this technique and mix
softened butter with herbs, peppers, citrus zest, etc.
to create flavorful combinations for rolls, fish and more.)

Season steak with salt and pepper.

Spread garlic butter on both sides of steak.

Spread garlic butter on rolls and set aside,
they get grilled last.

Spread garlic butter on onion slices.

Don't forget to season with salt and pepper.

Place onions on grill, and cook
until golden and caramelized.

Place steak on grill. 
Cook until browned and desired doneness.

Yummy yummy grilled onions!

Toast buns on grill. 
(Watch carefully so they don't burn.)

Let steak rest 10 minutes before slicing. 
(This helps it stay juicy.)

Serve steak slices on toasted buns,
topped with grilled onions.

Homemade Hot Fudge Topping

I'm pretty sure I'm the only person on the planet that would choose marshmallow or caramel topping over hot fudge.  Call me crazy, I know.  So don't shoot the messenger when I tell you that I didn't eat any of the hot fudge topping at the Make Your Own Sundae Night.  Oh, I tried it.  Just to make sure it tasted okay.  And it did.  And the way the other Moms were RAVING about it, well it was a hit.  My father-in-law asked if he could just eat the topping by itself, straight out of the pan with a spoon.  I was going to let him, but I didn't want to create a riot, as it turns out everyone else wanted to do that too!

Homemade Hot Fudge Topping...
Only 4 ingredients!

Combine the condensed milk,
chocolate and butter in a pan.

Cook over medium low heat
until chocolate is melted.

Remove from heat and add vanilla. 
It's that easy.  AND GOOD!

Happy Birthday Mr. President...

I'm a sucker for history.  I can entertain myself watching the History Channel or the Biography Channel all night.  History especially intrigues me when food is involved.  Several years ago, I went to see the Titanic Exhibit as a local museum.  It featured all kinds of relics brought up from the ocean floor as well as a re-creation of what the ship was like.  The most interesting part of the tour for me?  The Menu.  I bought a reproduction of the menu in the gift shop.  I got to see the difference in the meals served to First, Second and Third Class passengers.

On that same note, May 29, 2011 would have been John F. Kennedy's 94th birthday.  No matter your age, we've all seen clips of his infamous 45th birthday party, and the serenade by Marilyn Monroe.

What may seem insignificant to most people, would have been of great interest to me had I been at that birthday party.  And that my friends, would have been The Menu:

Crabmeat baked in Sea Shell
_____

Chicken Broth with Spring Wheat
_____

Medallions of Beef glazed in Madeira
Herbed Carrots ~ Woodland Mushrooms
_____

The Presidential Birthday Cake

The dinner was served at the Four Seasons Restaurant in New York; once completed, the dinner guest departed for a party at Madison Square Garden where Marilyn sang her provocative version of "Happy Birthday".

In an interesting side note to this story, part of the 48 year-old cake was put up for auction on November, 16th of last year.  The winning bid was $6,572.00:



$6,500 for dusty icing rosettes???  Eww!





 



Everything But The Kitchen Sink: Baked Beans

I've been making baked beans just like my Mom's forever.  I get lots of requests for the recipe.  The problem is I rarely make them the same way twice.  I kind of throw them together with what I have on hand.  It's a great time for me to clean out the fridge.  I'll dd part of a jar of salsa, throw in the half jar of green chiles or roasted red peppers.  It truly is everything but the kitchen sink.  AND we like them spicy.  Of course we do, we're The Devilish Dish.  Sometimes I use salsa, sometimes ketchup.  I might have fresh jalapenos or poblanos on hand instead of green pepper.  Brown sugar instead of molasses.  You get the idea.  The point is, you can customize these baked beans to suit your family's taste by playing around with the ingredients.  The recipe I'm giving you is only a guide.  If you like sweet beans, add more molasses.  If you want them HOT, throw in some habanero.  Either way, these are a must have side dish for any occasion.  Bonus?  They freeze well too, so make a double batch!

The quintessential BBQ side dish...

I can honestly say I've been making these
since I was a child.  Just stir it all together
in a giant bowl and taste for seasoning to your
preferences.

Pour into a greased baking dish
and bake until thick and delicious.

Ready for the oven, or at this point you can cover
the dish a refrigerate overnight if you need to make
ahead.  Just let the cold dish come to room temp
before baking in the oven.

These turn out thick, sticky and a little bit spicy
if that's how you like them...

Mr. Devilish Dish asks for baked beans every
time he makes any kind of barbecue ribs or
brisket.  And that's a lot.  Good thing these
can be made with almost any ingredients on hand.

 

BAKED BEANS

1/2 package bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped (or poblano, or jalapeno, or serrano, etc...)
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar (or molasses)
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1-2 small cans tomato sauce (or stewed tomatoes, or diced tomatoes)
pickled or fresh jalapeno slices to taste (or hot pepper sauce)
1 (31 ounce) can pork-n-beans
salsa (optional)

Saute bacon, onion and green pepper together.  I usually do this in a bowl in the microwave for about 5 minutes.  You don't want the bacon crisp, just starting to curl up.  In a large bowl combine all of the other ingredients.  Add bacon mixture.  Taste and season according to your preference.  Place in a casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees F for about 45 minutes, or until thick, hot and bubbly.


Prep Time:  Approximately 20 minutes     Cook Time:  Approximately 45 minutes

Note:  This recipe was originally published on 5/28/11 and revised on 4/29/26