Weird Wednesday: Peanut Butter and Jelly Soup, Grilled BBQ Chicken Breast, Corn on the Cob

So my weird Wednesday offering this week is a "Peanut Butter and Jelly Soup" -- a savory concoction made with hot pepper jelly garnish, peanut butter, chicken broth, lemon juice, light cream, salt and sherry. I don't have any sherry so I omitted it, but in all other respects I stuck to the recipe. It was creamy (of course) and savory and smooth, but totally the wrong season for it. This soup would make a wonderful first course to any Fall meal, even Thanksgiving! But I am so glad I made it. It is going into the keeper file for me.

The chicken breasts I simply placed into a hot pan with olive oil and sprinkled them on both sides with BBQ rub. As they cooked I would occasionally deglaze the pan with some apple juice and then sort of baste them in the pan juices. I cooked them on medium heat until they were just done so they were juicy and yummy.

Easy-peasy corn on the cob recipe, simply shuck and rinse your corn, then wrap them in plastic wrap and microwave them for 5-7 minutes depending on the size of the cob. When you grab them with a hot mitt and they "give" a bit under pressure you know they are done.

I also made a simple tossed salad with shredded carrot and torn romaine leaves.

Southern Peanut Butter Soup with Pepper Jelly:

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons grated onion
1 celery branch, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons flour
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup light cream
2 tablespoons roasted peanuts, chopped
1/2 cup hot pepper jelly

Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat; add onion and celery. Saute for about 5 minutes. Add flour and mix until well blended. Stir in chicken broth and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove from heat, strain broth. Stir the peanut butter, salt and cream into the strained broth until well mixed. Serve hot. Garnish each serving with a teaspoon of chopped peanuts and a dollop of jelly.

Weird Wednesday: English Muffin Egg Strata

I love breakfast for dinner, which is weird because I will barely tolerate breakfast for breakfast. I am such a committed morning-phobe that I really can't eat until 10 a.m. or later because even if I am up, moving, feeding the kids, etc. my stomach cannot support the idea of eating until it is almost lunch time. So the only way I really get to enjoy breakfast foods is when we serve them at a normal wake-up time, like 5 p.m.

I miss being a night-owl.

Anyway, when I went to make my normal egg strata I had that sad, Florida realization. The bread had all gone moldy whilst still in the bag! It happens occasionally, you don't even get a chance to eat it because the humidity and heat are such that it makes normal shelf-lives laughable. So I pitched the bread and thought about what to do. My mother in-law makes a wonderful "oven omelet" by beating lots of eggs with milk, salt, pepper, a dash ground mustard and onion and cheese, but I had really set my mind on having a "strata" or layers of bread, veggies and cheese covered in beaten egg and baked.

I decided to use the English Muffins I had just purchased. Here's what I came up with for dinner.

English Muffin Egg Strata:

6 English Muffins
1-2 C shredded cheese
1 C of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 C of chopped onion
8 oz of sliced mushrooms
12 eggs beaten
1/3 C of milk
salt
pepper
dash of Tabasco
1 tsp of dried Italian herbs

I greased the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 inch pan with butter and set it aside. In a medium bowl I beat the eggs with the milk, salt, pepper, herbs and Tabasco. I cut up the english muffins into small cubes and took half of them and covered the bottom of the pan. I thawed the spinach in the microwave on low, just enough so I could wrap it in a towel and wrong out the excess water. I sauteed the onions and mushrooms in a skillet until the onions were fragrant and mushrooms had released their liquid (which I poured off). I put a good handful of grated mozzarella over the bread cubes and then put on all the vegetables. I topped that with the rest of the bread, then another good handful of shredded cheese, over all I poured the beaten eggs and let them sit for a few minutes and then right before putting them into the 350 degree oven I topped the whole thing with a bit more cheese. I set it in the oven for 20 minutes. Your oven might cook them faster or slower, check for doneness by seeing if the casserole has pulled away from the sides and if it is still slightly jiggly in the center; it will firm up once it is out of the oven and cooling. I served this with bacon strips I cooked in the microwave and wine glasses filled with orange juice.

It was delicious, I also think it would pair well with sliced Canadian bacon, or any of your favorite Omelet fillers.

Weird Wednesday: "Coke" au Vin and Chocolate Coke Cake

So, I had an excellent suggestion (thanks Carina!) to make Wednesday's theme "Weird" Wednesday. I started googling for "weird" foods and I saw several lists that contained okra, collard greens and fried green tomatoes. Um, how are those weird foods? I was literally raised on all of that. On the same list I saw kimchee, a traditional Korean dish made with the exotic vegetable CABBAGE. I've had kimchee, it was tasty. I came to the conclusion that somebody's "weird" food was somebody else's home-cooking; classing those things as "weird" seems disrespectful.

My next idea was to simply showcase unusual uses and treatments of familiar foods. In that vein I present to you, "Coke au Vin"! (I know, coq means rooster and all but since Coca Cola is sometimes called the house wine of the south I thought it was still pretty funny!)

I simply sauteed some seasoned (salt and paprika) chicken tenderloins in a few ounces of coca-cola. The sugar caramelized and turned the chicken tenderloins a nice brown color and kept everything very moist. For side dishes I steamed some frozen corn and tossed together some broccoli slaw. My go-to coleslaw sauce is super simple, a tablespoon of honey in a bowl whisked with a bit of apple cider vinegar and then add salt, pepper and mayonnaise until you reach the desired consistency. (It takes me about 3/4 C of mayo but I like my coleslaw on the dry side.)

I also made a Chocolate Coke Cake, something that used to be my specialty when I first started baking in grade school. I even won the baking contest at church when I was in 5th grade. The recipe is everywhere on the internet, but basically you add 1 C of coca- cola, 1/2 C buttermilk, 2 eggs, and a tsp of almond extract to a box of chocolate cake mix and mix it up. I top the batter with a few handfuls of chocolate chips. They sink down and melt into the cake as you bake it in a greased 13 x 9 inch pan for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Then you make chocolate cola frosting. 1 stick of butter, 4 TB of unsweetened cocoa powder, melted together over medium heat, then add in 1/3 C of coca cola, when it JUST starts to bubble mix it with 4 C of sifted powdered sugar. Whip it all together and spread/pour it over warm cake and then let both cool for 20-30 minutes on a rack. YUM!

If you have any good ideas for me for Weird Wednesdays please leave me a comment! Thanks!