3 lbs boneless chicken breasts
1 lemon, cut in half
1/4 cup ghee, melted
4 large garlic cloves, chopped fine
thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped fine
2 tbsp ground paprika
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2-1 tsp ground chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup plain yogurt
4 drops red food coloring
2 drops yellow food coloring
2-3 small (or one large and seeded) chili peppers, chopped fine
14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 400F (will be using top rack). Place cleaned chicken in large glass bowl  and  stab repeatedly with pairing knife. Rub in 1/2 lemon and 1/2 tsp salt. Add in 1/2 of the chopped garlic, 1/2 of the cumin, 1 tbsp paprika,  and all of: ginger, yogurt, food coloring, cinnamon, coriander, chili powder, cloves. Mix with your hands until everything is evenly coated up to your elbows. If prepping ahead, this mix can go into the fridge for up to a week just fine.

Put chicken on cookie cooling rack over a solid, rimmed cookie sheet (dripping on the bottom of the oven are not fun). Some people claim a roasting pan works too. *shrug* With turkey baster, or a spoon if you’re boring, splurt 1/2 of the ghee over the top of  the chicken mess. Bake for 45 minutes. Broil for 10-20 minutes until top coating visibly blackening in spots (not burning!!). While broiling, make the sauce (next paragraph).

In large cast iron skillet, add remaining ghee over high heat until drops of water cause sizzling. Add remaining garlic and chili pepper, sauteing for 30 seconds or so. CAREFULLY add cream, diced tomatoes (with liquid) – ghee will be hot and addition of liquid may causing flashing!! Stir in remaining spices except cilantro (a few grinds of salt and pepper, too). Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered, stirring regularly,  for about 10  minutes or until sauce visibly thicker.

After chicken is done, remove and allow to cool for a couple minutes. Cut into small chunks and add to sauce.  Cover and reduce heat to low, cooking about 5 minutes.

Serve with rice and bread, sprinkling cilantro and a lemon wedge around plate edges for garnish and extra seasoning.

Serves 4. Prep time about 1 hour (serial). Cook time 70-85 minutes.

Appetizer: Wine Poached Pears

Recipe was from an old friend of mine (from memory), melded with one from a cookbook for precision.

1 1/2 cup red wine or burgandy
1 cup raw sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 cinnamon sticks
6 cloves (whole)
4-6 pears (whole, peeled)

In a pot combine all ingredients except the pears over med-high heat until boiling. Reduce to low and simmer, covered for 3-5 minutes (should be noticeably thickened). Lop off the bottom of each pear so they will sit upright on the plate for serving later.

Add the pears on their side if possible, and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes or until tender, turning frequently.

Remove the pears to small serving plates, upright. Bring reserve sauce to a boil, uncovered, over med-high/high heat, until reduced to a thick glaze, ~5-8 minutes. Remove cinnamon sticks and cloves with tongs. Drizzle over pears and serving plate.You may serve chilled if climate dictates.

Serves: 6. Prep time: ~2 minutes.Cook time: 25 minutes.

Salad: Goat’s Medley w/ Walnuts

I can’t overstate the value of baby spinach, dandelion greens, and clover sprouts. Simply the best salad you can make. The ratios can be varied for taste.

1/2 lb baby spinach
1/2 lb dandelion greens (shredded or chopped)
1 bunch radishes (sliced, chopped, or shredded)
2-3 carrots (sliced or shredded)
1/2 lb sun-dried tomatoes
1 1/2 cups freshly cracked walnut pieces

Combine. Toss. Serve with your favorite version of raspberry vinagrette.

Serves: 6-8 humans, or 1 goat or llama. Prep time: 20-15 minutes.

Entree: Peppercorn-rubbed Filet Mignon

Purists and book-wise chefs would crucify you for rubbing down a tenderloin filet with anything more than simple salt. I’m neither.

Peppercorn Rub

Regular peppercorns can be subbed-in here, but it changes the dynamic. This rub is great on any cut of beef. Double, triple, etc. as needed. Keeps well in sealed container for several weeks. Omit sugar until just in time, to keep for several months.

2 tbsp szechuan peppercorns (whole)
2 tbsp coriander (whole)
1/2 tbsp raw sugar
1 tsp allspice (whole)
1 tsp sea salt

In iron skillet, over grill or med-high burner, cook szechuan peppercorns and coriander until you can smell them well, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, combine with rest of ingredient in a food processor or spice grinder. Pulse-grind until evenly-blended but coarse.

Coats 4-6 filet mignons lightly. Prep time: ~2 minutes. Cook time: 3 minutes.

Grilled Filet Mignon

If you don’t know the difference between tenderloin cuts, that’s ok. Filet mignon is the tip of the tenderloin: very small, and very pricey. I recommend 2″ cuts because that yields about 7 oz of meat. If you can’t afford all mignons (will run you about $50 for 6 little cuts) then you might want to purchase a whole tenderloin, which any reputable butcher will gladly slice up for you: 1″ cuts of the upper tenderloin with a single 2″ mignon at the bottom will run you about $40, but net 6 good-sized steaks plus the mignon. Do not buy packaged filets wrapped in bacon. If you’re going to pay for tenderloin, make sure it’s being chopped fresh just for you.

4-6 2″ thick filet mignon cuts of tenderloin beef
or
4-6 1″ thick upper tenderloin cuts

Preheat grill on high. Trim visible fat from filets. Rub down filets by hand with peppercorn rub, coating evenly but lightly. Turn grill down to medium. Meat should be flipped every 5 minutes. Should be served medium-rare (135 degrees), medium (145 degrees) at most… but well-done brutalizations are also possible (165 degrees). All temperatures are taken at the center of the meat.

Serves: 4-6. Prep time: ~5 minutes. Cook time: varies by thickness and doneness, 7-25 minutes

Dessert: Raspberry Tart

This lovely was made from scratch by my lovely, following a copyrighted recipe I can’t legally reprint here. Excellent ending to a great meal.

~2lbs sirloin tip
3-4 bacon slices
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. ground sea salt
1/2 tsp. marjoram
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
2 large cloves garlic, minced well
1 beef bouillon cube, crushed, or 1 packet beef ramen flavoring
1 cup burgandy wine
wide egg noodles

In large iron skillet, cook bacon until well-crisped (brittle). Remove bacon to small plate. Roll beef tips in flour and brown on all sides in bacon grease. Break up reserve bacon into smallish pieces, and combine with beef and remaining ingredients (not noodles!) in slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve over cooked noodles, goes well with a side of steamed veggies and good loaf bread.

Serves 4. Prep time: ~20 minutes. Cook time 6-8 hours.

2-3lbs boneless chicken breast
1/2-1 cup red wine or burgandy
2 cups Dinosaur BBQ Slathering Sauce
3-4 assorted hot peppers, chopped into large pieces
1-2 large cloves garlic, chopped
large tortilla shells
1-2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
olives/lettuce/sour cream/etc. etc. as desired

Add chicken, wine, bbq sauce, peppers and garlic to a slow cooker and cook on low. It’ll be done in 4 hours, and can sit for up to 4 more hours and still be wonderful. If you’re averse to pepper heat, remove seeds and any yellow interior lining from peppers prior to adding them to the cooker.

When done, shred chicken with a couple forks in the cooker to help soak in more juice. Make wraps as desired.

Prep time 10 minutes (5 before cooking, 5 after). Cook time 4-8 hours.

3lbs. pork sirloin
a few twists sea salt
a few twists ground pepper
2 onions, wedged
3 12oz. bottles Saranac Root Beer (or other non-diet root beer, I suppose)
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 cup Heinz chili sauce
6-7 dashes Tabasco sauce

Preheat a large iron skillet under high/med-high heat. Trim the loin, rubbing down with fresh ground sea salt and pepper. In the skillet, brown loin on all sides, grinding more salt/pepper as needed. Put pork, onions, 1/2 bottle of root beer, and garlic into slow cooker. Drink other 1/2 of root beet. Cook on low 8-9 hours, or high 4 hours.

With about an hour left on the pork, in medium/large saucepan combine remaining 2 bottles of root beer and chili sauce, and boil slowly, stirring regularly for about 30 minutes. Stir in Tabasco sauce.

Take pork out and put in glass serving bowl, shredding with two forks. Dump in sauce from saucepan, mixing well, and optionally onions from cooker (I serve the onions separate). Serve with toasted burger buns.

Serves 4-6. Prep time about 15 minutes before cooking, and about 15 minutes after. Cook time 4-9 hours (temperature depending).

Marinade:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 lime, peeled and crushed well
pinch of curry powder
1/2 tsp cumin (ground)
several twists of black pepper from a pepper grinder
1/2 cup fresh cilantro (chopped fine)
2 large cloves garlic (chopped fine)
1 jalepeno or 3 serrano peppers (chopped)
2-3 drops Dave’s Insanity Sauce

Fajita:

1 lb. flank steak, or very thin sirloin
8 oz sharp cheese (shredded)
1 cup salsa
8 medium-sized corn or wheat tortillas (flour if you must)
lettuce, olives, other veggies as desired

Lay out steak in glass pan. Thoroughly mix all of the marinade ingredients in glass Pyrex container, pour over steak. Cover steak and allow to marinade in refrigerator for 1 to 24 hours.

To cook, get grill or cast-iron grill plate sizzling hot. Add steak quickly, cooking 2-3 minutes, flip, cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully cut into strips using knife and tongs.

To serve, add 1/8 of steak, cheese, salsa and other toppings to each tortilla, roll, and serve aside 2 cups white or jasmine rice.

Serves 4-6. Prep time about 15 minutes, 1 hour -to- 1 day marinade, ~10 minutes cook time.

2-4 large eggs per person
1 tsp water per egg
1 drop Dave’s Insanity Sauce for every 3-4 eggs  (If you don’t have an even multiple of 3-4, round down)
several dashes of sea salt
little bit of butter or margarine
grated extra sharp cheddar cheese
several twists of black pepper from a pepper grinder
1 gallon orange juice

Crack eggs into Pyrex 2+ Cup measure or other glass bowlish-thing. Add one tsp water per egg, stir briskly with stainless steel fork (no wisk, please, thanks) until frothing and well-mixed. Carefully add  1 drop Dave’s Insanity Sauce for every 3-4 eggs, and sea salt. Coat large non-stick fry-pan with just enough butter or margarine to get it going. Pour in egg mixture and make a couple passes over it with a black pepper grinder. Cook  covered (with a cookie-sheet, if necessary) over medium heat until it looks “done”. From time-to-time, pop the “tumors” that will inevitably rise up with spatula, trying to keep things as even as possible.

When “done”, uncover, and add substantial gobs of cheese to exactly one-half of the omelette. You can, of course, add other things to the same one-half, but with Dragon Omelettes you’ll quickly learn that complexity is not your friend- cheese and large glasses of orange juice are. Fold the omelette with a spatula (or two, if necessary) such that the uncheesed half is flopped on top of the cheesed half. Make a brief pass with some sea salt and pepper grinder atop this gorgeous meal, and then cook covered over low heat for about 1.5 minutes, just to let the cheese melt.

Divide into appropriate portions, and serve with ample amounts of orange juice and breakfast pastries/English muffins/bagels/whatever.

Serves as many as you like (as long as you have a large enough pan), in about 20 minutes total.

2 lbs boneless chicken
1 pineapple (cored, juice retained)
2 large oranges
2 sticks of cinnamon
4 whole cloves (optional)
1 tbsp ground cinnamon (fresh preferred but pre-ground okee dokee)

Squeeze juice from one (1) orange, into reserved pineapple juice, and ground cinnamon… Mix. If less than a cup of liquid, add water to make a full cup. If there’s more, that’s great- add it all. Add chicken and juice medley to medium-smallish pan (just large enough for chicken to cover), cook covered over medium or medium-low heat until boiling. While this is going on, chop up the pineapple into bite-sized pieces, peel and split the remaining one (1) orange into its perforated parts. Once boiling, reduce temperature to a simmer, add cinnamon sticks and cloves (optional), and allow to simmer (covered) slowly until chicken is done, ~25 minutes, flipping chicken occasionally. When done, remove and discard cinnamon sticks, serve surrounded with pineapple and orange pieces.

Serves 4, hopefully. Prep time ~15 minutes (not counting pineapple coring, which is an art). Cook time ~30 minutes.

2 lbs boneless chicken
1 cup barbecue sauce (I recommend Dinosaur BBQ Slathering Sauce, or Wango Tango (hotter))
1/2 cup maple syrup
4 assorted smallish hot peppers (quartered)
1 tbsp ground chipotle, habeñero or cayenne pepper

Mix syrup, ground pepper and sauce thoroughly in 2 cup measure. Cut chicken into chunks or bite-sized pieces. In chef skillet mix everything together. Cook over high heat for 10-15 minutes. Serve with rice, potatoes or cous-cous and a side of seasonal veggies.

Serves 4 usually. Prep time <5 minutes, cook time about 15 minutes.

1 lbs boneless chicken
1/3-1/2 bottle Dinosaur BBQ Wango Tango sauce
3-4 assorted smallish hot peppers (quartered)

Cut the chicken in to strips, chunks or bite-sized pieces. In sufficiently large pot or pan combine, mix thoroughly, cook over medium-high heat until the chicken is done, 10-15 minutes. Serve with plenty of water and bread.

Serves 2. Prep time 2 minutes, cooks about 10 minutes.