Since the Swamp Chef arrived on the scene, he is getting to know the kinfolk, including his nephew Chef Zak.
We all meet up at Mom's in Gonzales, Louisiana as often as possible. Zak lived here for a few years in high school and a bit more after.
He worked restaurant kitchens to make ends meet and picked up some kickass cooking skillz, just watch the video below to see what I mean!
It's always a fun time when Chef Zakmakes an appearance here in the 99 Cent Chef's food blog, especially when he brings his big dog Marshal along for the ride.
So check out what happens when my brother from another Daddy, the Swamp Chef, runs into his nephew, Chef Zak, on a walk in my Mom's neighborhood.
Chef Zak Meets The Swamp Chef - VIDEO
Play it here, video runs 1 minute 41 seconds
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.
Please note, Justin Wilsonis a boiled crawfish and was not eaten alive!
I like my first groggy-eyed cup of coffee with buns. Just read on to see what I mean.
No fresh ground Starbucks left, maybe there's some old Folgers in the can way back in the cupboard. None left in the can, how about a couple of spoonfuls of freeze dried? No freeze dried, either...so how low can I go?
This seems to be an ongoing problem in the Cheap$kate Kitchen. You can see how I've dealt with this conundrum before by clicking here. And, I'm sure it will happen again!
Along with my desperate search for coffee grounds, I run across the remnants of the previous evenings' dinner of White Castle Hamburgers. The fast-food chain is strictly Mid-West and East Coast located - we don't have them out here in Los Angeles.
But you can get them frozen from deli cases from regular grocery chains, and at my local Dollar Tree, two burgers for a buck. They are more like small sliders with a sprinkling of chopped onion on a thin beef patty, between dinner roll buns. Nothing to them, but I've find them addicting.
I also will indulge once in a while and get a couple at my fave art-house movie theater, The New Beverly Cinema in West Hollywood. It's the only place I know of that sells them.
You can get them plain or with cheese. They zap them in the microwave for a couple minutes and then it's time to chow down.
Welcome to the NBA Playoffs, 99 Cent Chef-style, that is. This is basketball played by the rulebook of the Cheap$kate Dribbler. The matchup this year is between the returningGolden State Warriors and newbies, Toronto Raptors.
Great NBA All-Star match-ups have included Magic and Bird, Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant, and now: Pete versus The 99 Cent Chef! It's a triple-double of a basketball video event. One-on-one has never been so much fun.
In the video below I take playing with food to surreal and fanciful extremes. What starts out as a simple 5 basket pickup game turns into a food free-for-all, and you can be sure things go splat when there is a drive to the hoop.
During this week of the NBA Playoffs, be a sport and join me for my outlandish halftime entertainment event.
If you are looking for yummy eats for yourNBA Playoffs Finals, I got drooly double dribble recipes that will satisfy North of the borderCanadian Raptor tastes. There are no turnovers in this recipe list! Just click on any recipe name to be directed to my blog post with yummy photos and tasty text. Toronto Raptor fans will eat up my riff on an East Coast favorite Lobster Roll -- a cheaper Scallop Roll. This recipe is so scrumptious it was featured in the Huffington Post website! Click here to see the write-up.
Scallop Roll
If an evening game is played on a chilly night then throw another log on the fire and gather in front of the big screen with a steaming bowl of my cheap$kate Clam Chowder. Fans will throw off their warming blankets, peel off their gloves, and elbow each other for a big bowl.
As you enjoy and cheer on your team check out some classic basketball moves I've adapted.
First up is the Bell Pepper Bank Shot: a shot that hits the backboard before hitting the rim or going through the net.
Stuff your faceGolden State Warrior-style! You gotta have some Mexican cuisine during the NBA Playoffs. and I have a Cali Classic called, Carnitas. Hours of braising reduce a pork shoulder to a tender and succulent Mexican-style taco filling. I even throw in the pigskin for extra flavor. Carnitas are what I order for late night noshing at a taco truck. And dig deep from the bench for second string sides of Vegan Pinto Beans and Mom's Mexican Rice.
My recipe for an LA Street Dog is a freeway pileup of flavors that alley oops any hot dog out there.
AGolden State fan favorite is aCalifornia Roll. Like a stadium wave, this California spin on Japanese sushi has traveled to grocery deli cases all around the country. And it uses cheap imitation crab so you will save big bucks on expensive seafood.
Cucumber Chucker: a player who takes frequent, and often imprudent, shot attempts. The term was popularized by the television series Seinfeld.
Canadians and Californians love Pizza. You can avoid the long lines at Domino's or Shakey's Pizza and save your pizza delivery driver tips by making your own pies cheaply with my recipe that uses pre-made cooked pizza crusts from the Dollar Tree store.
What's great about making your own Individual Pizza, is everyone can add their fave ingredients. I like anchovies and an egg on mine -- I know no one else would order that one!
Just set out a stack of individual pizza crusts and a few bowls of pepperoni, shredded cheese, black olives, fresh basil leaves, Italian sausage, a fave jar of marinara sauce -- you get the picture. And it only takes 10 minutes or so in a hot oven and they're done. This is a slam dunk recipe!
Next to pizza and hot dogs, Fried Chicken is a fan favorite and no one fries chicken better than this Penny-Pinching Game Changer.
I've come up with a crunchy coating that will empty the bleachers and have fans storming the kitchen! GetPlayoff day going with my Fried Chicken Sandwich Recipe, or use my special flour and spice mix for regular bone-in chicken pieces. Fry up a batch of chicken to hand off when the jump ball starts the game.
Banana Cut: a wide, curving cut, as opposed to a cut that is a straight line. Also known as a 'C' cut.
Bring more Southern flavor to your kitchen, no matter what State or Country you are in. Fans will take a half-time break and huddle around your cast iron pot of my fragrant and spicy Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya and Cajun Gumbo.
Mom's Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
In Louisiana, we put a dollop of Cajun Potato Saladon our Gumbo. If you don't believe me just check out the video below.
Keepin' it vegan is Amy's longtime friend Ms. Patti. Her Red Beans and Rice entree is a swish, all net. Dig it here:
Onion Over the Back: a foul committed by a player who tries to rebound the onion by pushing, moving or climbing on a player's back who is already in a position to rebound the ball.
Apple Advance Step: a step in which the defender's lead footsteps toward their man and the back foot slides forward.
Tired of stale, soggy stadium hot dogs? I have a deliciously decadent and easy Corn Dog Recipe made with Vienna sausages -- but you can use regular wieners. Your hungry guest will not step out of bounds dipping these crunchy coated B-balls into a tasty Honey-mustard Sauce.
Since you have the fryer going you might as well make a batch of my Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. They're as light and airy as the Goodyear blimp.
All the above NBA Playoff recipes are easy free throws to do, so head down the court for an easy layup to the dinner table loaded with Pick-and-Roll Cheapskate's gameday eats.
Toilet Bowl Tomato: when the ball hits the rim at a certain angle and then circles around it, can go in or out.
Food lovers are celebrating Julia Child's birthday today. An in her honor the 99 Cent Chef's new palate-pleasing video, "Julian & Julia," introduces Julia Child's nephew, Julian Child. He's a real chip off the cutting board and a chef worthy of sauteing with Aunt Julia's copper-bottomed pot!
I had the good fortune to run into Julian Child at the Hollywood Farmers Market this last Sunday. We chatted about his "Aunt Julia" and the movie "Julie & Julia."
As we walked through fresh and fragrant stalls of produce Julian stopped at a stack of organic oranges and reminisced about his childhood summers in Paris, France, and how he would tug at Julia Child's apron and beg for his favorite dish: Crepe Suzette in an Orange Butter Sauce.
Aunt Julia eventually grew tired of always preparing it and soon taught it to her nephew, a budding chef. I seized the opportunity to invite Julian to The 99 Cent Chef's kitchen to cook his Aunt Julia's Crepe Suzette for everyone!
A delicious and decadent dessert made with loads of butter, this French classic is easy and of course, cheap to make. Flour, eggs, milk, orange juice, butter and a 99 cent airline bottle of cognac make up the main ingredients. (You can leave out half the butter, but then it would not be a trueJulia Child culinary experience. Try it this way at least once!)
Julian & Julia - VIDEO
Play it here. The video runs 6 minutes, 20 seconds.
1/2 cup of orange juice - fresh squeezed or carton pasteurize.
1/2 cup of sugar
1 stick of butter - OK to use less
99 cent airline bottle of cognac (or brandy) - about 1/4 cup
Directions for Crepes
In a large bowl mix together flour, milk, water, salt, eggs and 1 tbsp. of melted or soft butter. Whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes. Heat your medium (about 8 inches) non-stick omelet pan and coat with 1 pat of butter or oil.
When butter is melted, add 1/4 cup of crepe batter - enough to just cover the bottom of the pan. Hold up pan and swirl to coat pan evenly. It is better to have too much batter than too little - a thin crepe will tear when turning.
Cook crepe for a minute, then loosen around the edges and continue cooking for another minute. Peek before turning to see if crepe is starting to brown. Carefully turn crepe over and cook for another half minute. As my video shows, the first crepe may stick and be unusable. Instead of throwing it away, you might as well taste it to see how tender the crepe turned out. Don't worry, it takes a couple of crepes to get it right. Your crepes may not be perfect, but with a sweet Orange Butter Sauce no one will be complaining about the appearance. Set aside your cooked crepes to add to the Orange Butter Sauce.
Directions for Orange Butter Sauce
Use a large enough pan to dip a whole crepe into. Melt butter, then add orange juice, zest and sugar into pan, over a medium/high heat. Cook until sauce is reduced by half and thickened, about 5 minutes.
Reduce heat and add a crepe. Notice my use of a spoon and fork, in the video, to fold crepe into sauce. Fold in half once, then fold one more time and push crepe to the edge of the pan to make room for more.
I managed to fit about 3 crepes at a time to my pan. Allow crepes to heat through for a minute.
Now the fun part - cognac flambe! Have a long-handled match ready. This is when you want an audience. Your table should be set and the lights dimmed so you can serve the flaming Crepes Suzettes with a flourish!
When sauce and crepes are warm, pour in half the cognac and bring to the table. Place before your dazzled guest and strike a match, lighting the sauce.
Be careful: the cognac will flame up, so you don't want flammable items nearby (overhead curtains, paper, etc.) and your kids should not attempt this! Serve this first batch of crepes with a spoonful of sauce.
Finish saucing the other crepes, then flambe, and repeat. Bon Appetit!
If you are not familiar with the culinary icon, Julia Child, here is a scene from "Julie & Julia." Meryl Streep "chews" the scenery as larger-than-life Julia Child.
And the movie's Paris locale is intoxicating. You will find yourself leaving the theater with the booming voice of Julia Child in your head and your utterances will have her cadence. She is so fun to mimic you cannot help but bellow "Bon Appetit" every chance you get!
And 99 Thanks to Bob McGinness for his creative camerawork!
Welcome to the NBA playoffs, 99 Cent Chef-style, that is. This is basketball played by the rulebook of the Cheap$kate Dribbler. The matchup this year is between theGolden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Great NBA All-Star match-ups have included Magic and Bird, Kobe and LeBron...and now: Pete versus The 99 Cent Chef! It's a triple-double of a basketball video event. One-on-one has never been so much fun.
Like in my baseball video from years before, playing with food is taken to surreal and fanciful extremes. What starts out as a simple 5 basket pickup game turns into a food free-for-all, and you can be sure things go splat when there is a drive to the hoop.
As you enjoy and cheer on your team, see if you can see some of classic basketball moves I've adapted into the video at the end of this post.
First up is the Bell Pepper Bank Shot: a shot that hits the backboard before hitting the rim or going through the net.
Banana Cut: a wide, curving cut, as opposed to a cut that is a straight line. Also known as a 'C' cut.
Onion Over the Back: a foul committed by a player who tries to rebound the onion by pushing, moving or climbing on a player's back who is already in a position to rebound the ball.
Apple Advance Step: a step in which the defender's lead footsteps toward their man and the back foot slides forward.
Cucumber Chucker: a player who takes frequent, and often imprudent, shot attempts. The term was popularized by the television series Seinfeld.
Toilet Bowl Tomato: when the ball hits the rim at a certain angle and then circles around it, can go in or out.
During this week of the NBA playoffs, be a sport and join me for his outlandish halftime entertainment event.
Shooting Produce - Video Play it here. The video runs 4 minutes, 47 seconds.
99 thanks to neighbor Pete for a slam-dunkin' performance!
And extra thanks to my fellow Culver City art gallery hopping buddy Bob McGinness for additional creative camerawork.
I like a side dish that takes minimal prep - no peeling or need to clean it out. You can cook it whole or slice it and saute. I like to add a little onion and garlic with a dash of salt and pepper.
Play my video recipe below to see for yourself how easy it is to make my tasty vegetarian side:
Sauteed Crookneck Squash - Video
Play it here. Video runs 1 minute 58 seconds.
Also called Summer Yellow Squash, the skin is a bright hue and usually smooth, but sometimes it has a bumpy surface.
You don't peel this type of squash as the skin tenderizes when cooked. You also eat the seeds. All I do is slice off the tough squash ends, then cube the squash for cooking - so there is very little waste.
Squash comes in all shapes and sizes, some have a hard shell. Yellow Crookneck Squash is similar to green Mexican squash. Italian squash is called zucchini.
This recipe come together quickly. It only takes about 10 to 15 minutes of slow cooking to tenderize fresh squash.
I get whole fresh squash at my local Latin grocery and 99c only Stores for around a dollar per pound. I used 2 whole yellow squash for this recipe, a half onion and one small garlic clove. You can substitute zucchini or Mexican squash for Crookneck Squash, they taste similar enough.
Next time you are in your local farmers market or a regular grocery store make sure to pick up a few Crookneck Squash and try my brightly colored sauteed side dish.
Ingredients
3 cups squash - about 2 medium sized Crookneck squash. Roughly chop into bite sizes. Okay to use Italian squash (zucchini) or Mexican squash.
1/2 onion - about 1 cup chopped.
1 teaspoon garlic - chopped.
1 tablespoon oil - to saute onion, garlic and squash.
Salt and pepper - to taste
Directions
Chop half an onion. You can cut into larger or smaller pieces to suit your taste.
Add cooking oil to a pan over medium heat. Saute onion and saute until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. While onion sautes, you can chop squash and garlic (or use chopped garlic from a jar.)
Add chopped garlic to cooked onion. Mix and saute a minute.
Roughly chop yellow squash into bite sizes. Discard tough stem and end piece. Finally add chopped squash and season with salt and pepper. Mix cooked onion, garlic and squash.
Turn heat to low and cover the pan, or pot.
Now all you are doing is softening the squash by letting it steam for about 15 minutes total. Stir squash every once in a while.
The yellow squash will break down and release some liquid as it steams. I don't add any water, but do check on cooking squash in case the the liquid cooks out too fast. If so, add a tablespoon of water as needed. As long as the pan or pot is well covered, and the heat is not too hot, the squash will stay moist.
You can cook the squash as long (or little) as you like, to reach desired tenderness.
Serve hot when done. My Sauteed Crookneck Squash freezes and reheats fine, too.
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.
Summer corn is in season and my easy Fresh Boiled Corn video recipe is here just in time for you to try.
The only prep is cleaning the Fresh Corn and that is easy enough, although a little messy with all the silk threads under the Corn husks.
I break off any long stalk parts that are left on. You can boil the Corn whole. I like to break it in half, if the Corn is very large.
Fresh Corn is often on sale at my local Latin and regular grocery stores, and you can always pick up a few ears cheaply at your local farmers market or roadside veggie/fruit stand.
Once the Fresh Corn is boiled tender you can add it to your barbecue grill, right beside that steak or hamburger. Turn the Corn a few times to get a little char all around.
I spend my high school years in Louisiana and dug into many backyard Crawfish Boil that features crayfish, corn cobs and red potatoes boiled in a heady mix of spices that make up a typical spicy seafood boil.
After removing hot Fresh Boiled Corn from the pot, I simply add butter or a fave substitute, and season with salt and pepper. If you have a favorite seasoned salt then use that. You can keep it vegan with a fave butter substitute, or drizzle on a flavorful oil.
Now is the time to cook with Corn while it is in peak season and cheapest - just the way I like it!
Fresh Boiled Corn - Video Review
Play it here. Video runs 1 minute, 37 seconds.
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.
Ingredients (2 servings)
2 ears of fresh corn - I halved the ears of corn. Okay to add more corn to your pot of water. It will take about the same time to cook, whether it's 2 ears or 4.
Salt and pepper to taste - or favorite seasoned salt.
Butter - or butter substitute, optional. I used about a teaspoon per whole ear of corn.
Water - enough to cover the shucked corn.
Directions
Over a high heat, add enough water to a pot to cover cleaned corn.
As water comes to a boil clean the corn cobs. Remove the silk and husks that cover the corn. Silk are thin soft threads. They will take the longest to remove - a quick rinse of water in the sink will help take off the smallest strands of silk and boiling will get rid of any that's left.
You can break off any longer stems. Sometimes it's hard to remove, so it's okay to just leave it on. I like to half my corn cobs, if my pot is small. Also, kids may enjoy corn that is smaller and halved.
Add cleaned corn to water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low boil or simmer. Cover pot and cook corn until it is tender, about 10 minutes.
Some like their corn cooked less and others like it cooked longer - it's up to you.
When done, allow corn to cool for a minute before serving as it's very hot. Be careful handling hot corn.
I just like salt, pepper and butter on my hot Boiled Corn. If you have a favorite seasoned salt then use that. Okay to leave out pepper.
Hindsight
During barbecue season I throw a couple of Boiled Corn cobs on the grill when I cook a steak or hamburger. Depending on the hotness of your grill it takes about as long to cook a steak as grilling Boiled Corn.
Turn the corn when one side is slightly charred. You can char the corn as much as you like. Grilled Corn will dry out some.
