All posts by Drunken Chef

Recipe

Amish Friendship Bread

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When you give the bags away. Put the Day 1 date on them.

Important Preparation Tips:

  1. Do not use a metal spoon or bowl for mixing
  2. Do not refrigerate
  3. If air gets in bag, let it out
  4. It is normal for batter to thicken, bubble and ferment

Day 1:                        Congratulations – you received fermented batter – do nothing

Day 2:                        Squeeze the bag several times

Day 3:                        Squeeze the bag several times

Day 4:                        Squeeze the bag several times

Day 5:                        Squeeze the bag several times

Day 6:**                    Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk.   Squeeze bag

Day 7:                        Squeeze the bag several times

Day 8:                        Squeeze the bag several times

Day 9:                        Squeeze the bag several times

Day 10:   In a large non-metal bowl combine the batter with 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk.  Mix with wooden or plastic spoon.                          

Pour 4 1-cup starters into 1-gallon Ziploc bags.

 Give these starters away to family or friends with a copy of these instructions.

To the remainder of your batter in the bowl ADD:

            1 cup cooking oil

            1 cup sugar

            1 tsp vanilla

            3 large eggs

            1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

2 cups flour

1/3 cup milk

½ tsp baking soda

1 large box or 2 small boxes of instant vanilla pudding

2 tsp cinnamon

MIX WELL.

In a small bowl mix together 1 tsp cinnamon and 3 tbsp. sugar… sprinkle into well-greased loaf pans before pouring batter into pans.  Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until done.

Enjoy!

Extras you can add = 1 cup raisins, nuts, or chocolate chips.

** If you don’t want any starters to give away, on day 6 and day 10 only add ½ cup of each. That will give you 2 starters (one to keep and one to give away) and a batch to bake – or you can bake the two batches for 4 loaves.  Hope you enjoy!

Do not put in the sun.  Do not use any metal (spoons, bowl or measuring cups) plastic only. Use Pyrex loaf pans to bake

MyDrunkenChef.com

Blog Post

Day 8 – The Friendship Bread Adventure

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Good morning and welcome to day 8! It’s Sunday, it’s early and it’s dark. I’m always up this early (6:00 am) but now that it’s dark out, it feels even earlier. So I have been busy already this morning. Coffee is on the stove perking away. Laundry is in the dryer, drying and I flipped over my skirt steak that has been marinating since yesterday.

To catch those of you up who do not follow me on INSTAGRAM I made my meat marinate II for beef again. I am hoping my friends can join me today for dinner. The weather is cooperating so will be making skirt steak on the grill. Tonight I will add the sea scallop appetizer served on a beet cuscus along with a salad for the white wine course.

Yesterday I also tested my camera set up so if I’m brave enough on day ten I will bake my friendship bread live on INSTAGRAM. I just need to do one more test before then. I also made Chicken Teriyaki last night on the grill and served it with mac and cheese (from a box!) and asparagus. Jennifer loves this boxed shit (shudder), so I do it for her.  That’s LOVE!

  • Peeled Asparagus
  • Grilled Teriyaki Chicken
  • Looks like Tang but its not
  • Had to add REAL cheese
  • This is just two culets from my butcher
  • Jens Plate
  • My Plate

Well that all for now. Big day ahead. Lots of cooking to do!

Have a great day and may all your food taste good!

The drunken Chef (Russ) PS – Still looking for a camera crew and film editor for my YouTube Chanel if anyone is interested.

Blog Post

Day 7 – The Friendship Bread Adventure

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Welcome back! Today is day 7 of the friendship adventure. Many of you, for some reason, missed reading day 6.  Maybe I just made too many posts yesterday. Anyhow, if you missed it you should go back and find out why my bag is so big now. Today is an easy day, as far as the friendship bread goes. Today we just Squeeze, Squeeze, Squeeze the bag. Looking good! I’m getting excited for day ten and baking it. I’m sure everyone at my office will be looking to try a piece of this pound cake like substance with their coffee. Is it a pound cake? Is it a cake? Is it a very sweet sour dough bread? You be the judge. I hope many of you are joining me this fall in making FRIENDSHIP BREAD for all your family and friends!

Last night I made dinner. I promised chicken to you guys and Jennifer so chicken was made. It was nothing very exciting as you can see below but I will put up the recipe as it is newly cooked this year and that is the whole point of the project/hobby/insanity. To write a cookbook.

The baking section is coming. I’m working on writing the into to the baking chapter now. I will have it posted for you as soon as I can! In the meantime, enjoy CHICKEN TERIYAKI (from the chicken chapter).  

Recipe

CHICKEN TERIYAKI

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Chicken Teriyaki     

Serves 2

SPECIAL IMPLEMENTS

Large Pan

INGREDIENTS

2 chicken breasts (cubbed)

1-small head broccoli (steamed)

½ zucchini

½ can baby corn

1 small baby bok choy

½ stalk celery

1-small onion (cut into quarters)

Small carrot (sliced) (steamed)

Sauce

¾ cup Teriyaki Sauce

1-tablespoon cornstarch

1 tsp. Soy sauce

1 tsp sugar (optional)

¼ tsp ginger

DIRECTIONS

Heat oil in a large wok or skillet. Add the chicken. Add a splash of teriyaki to cook the chicken in. Cook on medium high until no longer pink. While the chicken is cooking steam your broccoli and carrots if you adding them (I am not a carrot fan when they are cooked like this so I left them out).

Once the chicken is almost done add the raw vegetables and stir. Keep the steamed ones to the side. I left out the onion because Jennifer does not like onion cook like this.

Now I guess you could call this a stir-fry so cook on high and stir.

While vegetables cook, make the sauce by combining the ingredients and whisking.

Now add your steamed vegetables (broccoli and carrots)

Pour sauce over top and cook until it thinkers.

Serve over rice, cuscus or quinoa.

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

Blog Post

Day 6 – The Friendship Bread Adventure

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We have hit day 6! Today we add 1-cup of milk, that I have sitting on the counter coming up to room temperature. 1-cup of flour and 1-cup of granulated sugar to the bag-o-batter. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze and mix it up. Ba-bam day six is done!

As promised I did make chicken last night. I went to my favorite butcher (Mathew’s) yesterday. I grabbed a bag of their leanest boneless chicken breasts (10lbs). Once back in my kitchen (after mowing lawn) I cut two of these huge cutlets into six fairly thin cutlets. I then proceeded to coat them in mixture of flour, spices and breadcrumbs (mostly flour) before frying them in vegetable oil and 4 tablespoons of butter. No one said I was on a diet here. Remember everything in moderation. After they were all a nice golden brown. I made chicken gravy in the same pan I fried the chicken. You can find the recipe here: Chicken Gravy.

Once the gravy was ready, (I double the recipe by the way) then I added the six fried chicken cutlets to the pan and turned it on low. I covered it and let cook. Then I checked on my rice. Oh, I forgot, I started cooking by making Brown Basmati Rice.

Rice cooking, check. Chicken cooking, check. When there was fifteen minutes left or so left for the rice cook, I started the Baby Zucchini.

I have found only one place that carries these fresh baby zucchini and that place is Trader Joes. I like his stuff. When I can’t get over Mathews I use his chicken. He also has some really good frozen stuff in the way of snacks too. The website does not have half the stuff they carry but you can get an idea.

So that’s three recipes today. I wonder what the hell I will make tonight. Probably more chicken. Have I made chicken teriyaki yet? Hmm I will have to get some baby corn at the store today….

Have a good weekend.

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

Recipe

Baby Zucchini  

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12 minutes  

Serves 2

SPECIAL IMPLEMENTS

Medium Pan

INGREDIENTS

1-package of baby zucchini

1-tablespoon of olive oil

1-tablespoon butter

Garlic or garlic powder

Onion powder

Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

Heat oil and butter in a medium size pan. Add the zucchini. Sprinkle with garlic powder, onion powder or use fresh if available. Cook on medium low to low heat. Turn a ¼ turn every few minutes (3). After 12 minutes test with a fork. They should just be tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

Recipe

Brown Basmati Rice   

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SPECIAL IMPLEMENTS

Small pot with lid

INGREDIENTS

2-cups chicken broth (I use Better then Bullion when I don’t have homemade)

1-cup brown basmati rice

2-tablespoons of butter

DIRECTIONS

Start by bring the chicken stick to a boil. Add the rice. Stir and cover. When the rice has returned to a boil, stir again and turn to low. Let rice simmer covered for 35 minutes. I check on it half way through and stir it to make sure all the chicken stock has not boiled away. I have not had to add more yet but I still do it. I turn off the heat the last five minutes and leave it covered to finish cooking without burning the bottom layer of rice. When done I stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of butter and serve.

Enjoy life, stay healthy, and have a great weekend!

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

Recipe

Chicken Gravy

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SPECIAL IMPLEMENTS

Large Frying Pan

INGREDIENTS

1-cup chicken broth (I use Better then Bullion when I don’t have homemade)

1-tablespoon flour

1-tablespoon butter

DIRECTIONS

I usually start by added the butter to a pan I have already cooked the chicken in. Then I add the four. I find by cooking the flour in the butter you do not get a flour taste in your gravy. The flour cooked in butter is called a rue. It’s French.  Most sauces are French.  Now you slowly add your liquid (chicken stock) while whisking it into the butter and flour (rue). As soon as the gravy or “sauce” come to a simmer, the sauce is done. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Most of time when using any store brought chicken stock you don’t need to add any salt. Its already in there.

Enjoy life, stay healthy, and have a great weekend!

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

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Day 5 – The Friendship Bread Adventure

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Welcome to day 5. I made the coffee and gave my goo a squeeze. Now to anyone who has not read this magazine article/blog before that might sound a bit odd but the rest of you following along know that my goo is the friendship bread starter that has been percolating for five days now, along with my coffee. It’s doing well so far as it sits on my counter. It is still just 1-cup of flour, 1-cup of milk and 1-cup of sugar that I added some yeast too. It all started 5 days ago here with this recipe:

Friendship Bread Starter.

Last night was not all that exciting either, unless you like the homemade hamburgers that I have cooked many times before. I did not make anything new so I am slowly falling behind in writing about 291 recipes. I goal I set out to complete in a year but fear not good readers. I see a great many fall recipes on the horizon! Mourn not for yesterday because it has passed nor yearn for tomorrow and all its possibilities but live in the moment that is now and enjoy it. All that just means my coffee is ready!

Today we are on the cusp between the end of summer and the beginning of fall. It is still barbeque weather and beautiful barbeque weather it is as the temperatures drop to the perfect mid-seventies.   Now is the best time to get my fire pit going but first I have to split some wood. Splitting all the wood in the great big woodpile in my back yard has been a project I have been working on for two years. The pile of wood is from when I had the last thirty feet of my yard cleared out of brush and trees. Leaving only one tree behind. I mistake I now regret as there is a pool there that I did not count on and every day the leaves fall in it. Anyhow, I have to get rid of this wood pile before it starts attracting termites. I have to split it by hand because I do not own a gas powdered log splitter. I could use the exercise too I suppose but that is completely off the topic of food. It does seem like Jennifer and I have been eating nothing but beef and pasta for the past two weeks so today I am in the mood for either chicken or fish. Jennifer is not a big fish eater so that leaves chicken. The question then will be what chicken dish have I not made that Jennifer will eat. People say there are so few surprises in life. To that I say – Ha!

On a side note. I am off from work today and it is going to rain. Therefore, I will have to find something indoors to keep myself busy. Like returning bottles and cans the recycling machines. I am living the dream people! Housework, yard work and bottle returns. It’s a good thing I didn’t dream big about being a celebrity chef or famous author or I would be sorely disappointed. I am just happy cooking for my family, friends and coworkers. Besides, I do not have the good looks of Chef Boyardee or the writing skills of Dr. Seuss or Charles Schulz so here I am in suburbia writing a blog and making Friendship Bread.  Take that Warren Buffet!

Until tomorrow, may your Thursday be pleasant, your food be delicious and your beer be awe-inspiring!

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

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Day 4 – The Friendship Bread Adventure

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Welcome to day 4. My morning routine now consists of me squeezing my friendship starter bag and its doing nicely. The starter is all foamy and smells yeasty. Is that a good thing? Perhaps.

Last night I made baked manicotti for dinner. It’s not what you think. I didn’t make it from scratch. I got home late so I stopped at Pats market in East Islip on the way home. They have lots of good premade stuff. I grabbed a thing of her marinara sauce for $6.00. pfft. When you have a case of lazy ass, you might not care about the price of stuff. I knew I was making the manicotti as it was in my freezer at home already but then I saw Pat’s meatballs and thought that would be a nice addition.  I looked at the price and choked. It was $9.00 for six meatballs. SIX! That is $1.50 a ball! F@$k that I thought! But, if I ever need money I know I could sell bigger and better meatballs for $1.50 off a food truck somewhere! That’s right, she has some ball I thought, but mine are bigger!

Anyway, needless to say, I didn’t get them. I picked up some mozzarella cheese as I was currently out. After what I said in a previous post about only getting the Polly-O brand I didn’t follow my own advice. I was probably still dazed by the price of a cold meatball for a buck and a half. Holy shit the American dollar isn’t worth much in terms of meatballs people! Make your own and become rich!

The mozzarella I got was from the brand, Kraft. It is not terrible but I like what I like and what I like is Polly-O.

I also made garlic bread because I had half a loaf of Italian bread frozen from last time. Lastly, I made fresh spinach to go with it. I think spinach goes well with the ricotta cheese in the manicotti. After all, I do use chopped spinach in my vegetable lasagna.

Long story short, there is nothing to making frozen anything. Just heat it up either in the microwave or oven. So of course, I used both. I began by placing the manicotti in a Pyrex baking dish and adding the $6.00 dollar sauce on top. ($6 + $9 = $15) $15 for sauce and six meatballs, without pasta! I might have to start charging more at work for lunch when I make it…LOL. Back to dinner. I covered the manicotti with the sauce and heated it up in the microwave for ten minutes. Then I covered it with the mozzarella cheese and baked it for another 20 minutes.  I like my food HOT.

While the Manicotti was cooking, I made Sautéed Spinach. Click here for the recipe for: the Fresh Sautéed Spinach recipe.

So much to cook, so little time.

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

If you knew to this whole Friendship bread thing. You can follow me and this whole process on INSTAGRAM here: