P-P-P-PARDON? Do I stutter? I said Panko Parmesan Poultry and Potato Panckes

There is nothing to eat in this house!!! How many times have you said that when you're thinking about what to make for dinner? You open the fridge, arrgg, some veggies, a tub of sour cream, eggs, bleck...nothing looks appealing. Look in the cupboards...who the hell lives here, Mother frickin' Hubbard? God what am I gonna make? Better decide soon, kids are looking like they're gonna eat ME if I don't get moving...I have this chicken all thawed out but blaaand...hey, Panko bread crumbs, I could make a shake n bake chicken, oh and I have a bit of parmesan in the fridge, OK, that'll work...now the starch...hhmmm...roasted potatoes? Ugh, not again...but potato pancakes, yes, I think I've got a few eggs left, Ok, this could work....

The joys of having a well stocked pantry-not! I buy mostly fresh because I like to grocery shop on the weekends (Ok I do have a hobby!) so I tend to buy what I need for the week. But there are a few key things I always make sure I have, one of them is a block of Parmesan cheese. No I'm not a millionaire, I know the stuff is expensive, but truly, it's worth it. I buy a $15 triangle and it lasts me probably a month or more. I use it for all sorts of things, salads, potatoes, pasta sauce, etc, but with such a strong flavour you only need a little bit. I use one of those micro-plane thingys (Ok there's another hobby, collecting kitchen tools, but that's another blog for another day) so you get a nice fine grating and very little waste. So there's your little nugget of wisdom, now let's get to the recipes.

Panko Parmesan Poultry

3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup regular bread crumbs
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
good pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper
handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped.
2 tbsp of mayo - you could use a beaten egg, but I only had three eggs left and needed them for the next dish. This is a little trick I learned from my Mom so, here I pass along the wisdom, it's makes your chicken nice and juicy.
6-8 chicken thighs/drumsticks, whatever you have.

Heat oven to 350 and grease a baking dish.

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a large ziplock or other bag.

2. Rinse and dry the chicken pieces then brush with mayo. Seriously, you'll know why if you try and skip it - the crumbs won't stick. Once all of your pieces are slathered in the mayo, shake one piece at a time in the bag till coated. I press the crumb mixture on really good so they end up with a nice crust when done.

3. Place in greased baking dish. Bake for about 30- 40 mins. I always use a meat thermometre, if you don't have one get one, it will save you ruining your meat by over cooking. There's another little nugget for you.

While that is in the oven....get out your electric frying pan. If you don't have one, the largest frying pan you have, you might need two if they're average size.

I cant believe I'm doing this so soon, but I feel like I know you already so I'm going to share one of my most prized recipes....my potato pancakes. What's the big deal you may ask, but have you ever had really good potato pancakes (aka Latkes), better yet have you ever tried to make them? HHmm, well, if you have made them then you know what I'm getting at...if you haven't, then...well just read on and you'll see....

Potato Pancakes (Latkes)

3 eggs
2 tbsp four
1 tbsp grated onion- not minced, you must grate it with a cheese grater!
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 small, 3 medium or 2 large potatoes peeled - you need a good 2 cups when grated, once again, use your brain here...

1/4 cup veg oil for frying

2 apples - they can be the ones floating around the bottom of your crisper, you're just making apple sauce with them.

sour cream

cheese cloth or a very clean dish towel

1. Peel, core and chop the apples. Place in a small pot with a bit of water and a small pinch of salt. Bring to a boil then cover and turn down to a simmer on low. Watch that they don't burn dry, add a bit of water if you need to.

2.In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the flour and whisk till the lumps are gone. Add the GRATED onion and salt, whisk all to combine.

3. With a regular old, large hole cheese grater, grate the peeled potatoes as quickly as you can- they oxidize quickly. Like I said, you will need a full 2 cups, I use a Pyrex 2 cup measure almost full to the top then packed down Now this is the most important part.PLACE THE GRATED POTATOES ONTO THE CHEESE CLOTH/DISH TOWEL AND WRING THOSE FUCKERS OUT LIKE YOU WANT THEM DEAD. You want to get as much of the liquid out as possible (This is the one time I could use a man around the house, but that another blog for another day) Please tell me you're doing this over the sink. If you don't squeeze well, they will turn out all soggy and oily and yucky...you have been warned. When you're sure you've got all the water out, dump them in the bowl with the egg mixture and stir it all together well.

3. Heat the oil over medium high, 325 if using an electric pan, and drop 2-3tbsp portions of the potato mixture and flatten a bit with your spoon. You want them to be about 2-3 inches across, and about 1/2 an inch thick. Cook on the first side about 8-10 mins till nice and brown, then turn and do the other side about half that time. If they're really brown in only a few minutes, turn the heat down and chill. You can smell it when they're ready to turn, like a nice hot french fry. They're done when most of the oil has evaporated...that's right, I said evaporated, if I let myself think that all of the oil has soaked up into the pancakes it ruins it for me. Should be nice and brown on both sides.

4.The best part - when ready to serve, top with sour cream and apple sauce. But you MUST do it in order- potato pancake, dollop of sour cream, dollop of apple sauce on top of the sour cream, sprinkle with s&p. Do this and post a comment and tell me what it looks like!!

While these are cooking check the chicken. If it looks dry on top, baste with the juices or sprinkle with a bit of oil. Should be fine though, thanks to that MAYO.

Your apple sauce should be ready by now, please don't tell me you forgot about it!! If there's a lot of water, drain most of it off. Mash with a potato masher or blend with a hand blender. Again, use your...? Good, you're catching on.

By this point the chicken should be about done. Check the temp and let rest.

I served this tonight with a salad. Ok here's one more little nugget of wisdom for you, but this is it for one blog!

THE Salad

lettuce - I always buy a variety so use what you like.
purple cabbage, finely sliced
1/2 carrot grated
1/4 of a cucumber peeled and sliced
1 pear, peeled cored and sliced.
handful of pea sprouts - they seriously taste like peas.
2 tbs of capers, chopped
1/2 lime
1/2 lemon
olive oil
maple syrup
s&p
bit o' grated Parmesan

Put all the veg, fruit, capers in a large salad bowl. Squeeze the lemon and lime over top. Drizzle about 1 tbs of maple syrup and and 2 tbs of olive oil over top. Add s&p. Toss very well. Finish on the plate with Parmesan. See, no need for a bottle of salad dressing, no measuring 1 part acid to 3 parts oil and whisking till emulsified just pour on and toss, I promise you will like it. As long as you do it right ;)

So that was dinner when I had nothing to make for dinner. See what I was talking about, taking a pre-packaged product like Shake n' Bake and making it yourself, only waaaayyy better. And the salad dressing, don't even get me started...that's another blog for another day...