Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving all.

As I said before Eat, Drink and watch some FOOTBALL!

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I'm sorry for my laziness today, no movie.  I do have a nice holiday recipe for Thanksgiving, a nice side to go with the turkey.  Mashed potatoes can be found at most tables on Thanksgiving, and I'm just adding a simple little twist, garlic.  So who can go wrong with that?  I'll go over the way I do this but honestly everyone makes mashed potatoes so if you like your way go right ahead.

What you need:

Potatoes, duh, about 5 large ones

Garlic this will come to personal taste. I LOVE garlic so I'll use about 3/4 a head chopped roughly

Butter 1/2 a stick

Milk 1/2 cup

Buttermilk 1/2 cup

Salt and Pepper

Large pot of boiling water

Before I get into the how to's on this I want to say one thing.  Do what you like.  Like I said EVERYONE has a mashed potatoes recipe.  I like a lot of garlic, I like smooth and creamy potatoes.  If you don't then make em the way ya like em.

The how to's:

Start peeling.  I never said this was easy but this is the only hard part.  Once you have naked potatoes you want to chop them into cubes, about 8 pieces each.  Peal and chop up the garlic.  

Boil the potatoes for about 30 minutes.  While they cook away in a small pot start melting the butter over medium heat. Once the butter is melted toss in the garlic with a little salt and let that go at low until the potatoes are ready.

When the potatoes are done drain them out and put them back in the pot but off the heat.  Mash.  This again comes to personal taste.  Like it chunky? Don't mash as much. Like it really smooth? Grab the whisk. Pour in the milk and buttermilk.  Keep an eye on this part.  There are a few variables that will determine how much you actually use.  Your own taste as well as humidity (yes humidity) will change the amount of liquid needed.

Finally, stir in the butter with the garlic and salt and pepper to taste.

I hope you enjoy and remember... Eat, drink and watch a ... Well it's Thanksgiving so watch football!!

Fried Turkey and the Goblet of Fire

Fried Turkey and the Goblet of Fire

Our Dinner: Deep Fried Turkey

Welcome back to Doc’s Dinner and a Movie.  I know I already ran this but it is Thanksgiving season so I'm going right back to my first features, Deep Fried Turkey and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  An interesting match I know but, honestly, that’s what you’re dealing with.  That’s right friends, the ancient method of torture and execution is the cooking method of the 21^st century!  Basically we will be dunking a dead turkey into a vat of boiling oil!

Ok first and foremost this can be dangerous.  So unless you have a sizable remodeling budget set aside do this outdoors!  If you are not careful this can turn into an explosive vat of boiling oil in excess of 350°.  Get a proper turkey fryer and follow its instructions.  Trust me this is well worth it. Here is what you’ll need.

·         1 Turkey 10-13 lbs

·         ¼ cup of Salt.

·         ¼ cup of Pepper.

·         ¼ cup of Garlic Powder.

·         Apple Juice and a meat injector (these are neat you can get them at any cooking or home goods store)

·         Canola oil or Peanut oil. This would depend on allergies.  You do not want to kill your dinner guests.  Make sure you get something with a high smoke point.

·         1 cooking companion

·         2 Beers your choice

Make sure that the turkey is completely defrosted.  It’s a good idea to rinse off both outside and inside of the bird. Then thoroughly dry and then you set it onto whatever gizmo your fryer came with to lower into the oil as it makes a nice stand. Mix the salt, pepper and garlic and rub down the bird.  Certainly adjust the rub to personal tastes. You can let the turkey sit and relax for a bit. Give it a chance to get to room temperature.

Now you can start getting the oil ready.  As I said before “vat of boiling oil” so please keep it a safe distance from anything flammable.  Set up on a flat surface with nothing overhead. If it is snowing or raining I’m afraid it ain’t happening.  You want to get the oil up to 350°.

So you are just about ready for the medieval torture.  First we’re going add some extra flavor.  Fill your meat injector with apple juice.  Inject half into each breast.  Feel free to issue any threats or offers of last requests to your victim.  Any will do.

Now it’s time.  Bring the bird out to your own little Goblet of Fire and slowly lower it into the oil.  This is not for effect; you don’t want to just dump it into the oil this can cause it to spill over.  But have fun with it.  Feel free to taunt, laugh maniacally, or relive some good James Bond moments in your own way.  You know, “Do you expect me to talk?” “No Mr. Bond I expect you to fry!”

Now we wait, but not too long and there is no need to do this alone.  Grab your companion and 2 beers.  Please do not get drunk next to the vat of boiling oil! It is important to watch this thing.  Monitor the temperature, “Constant Vigilance”.  There should be these convenient dials and thermometer on the fryer, please use them.  You want to cook this bird at about 3 minutes per pound. Times up and pull out slowly.  Let it drip back into the pot a bit then place it on a flat surface with paper towels and let the excess oil dry off.  Let it rest for about 10-15 minutes before carving.  Serve with your favorites and enjoy!

Our Movie: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Yeah I know I started with #4, what can I say, I grew up watching Star Wars. Harry and the gang are back for another adventure.  This time Harry is a Hogwarts Champion of the Tri-Wizard Tournament.  We also welcome two new members to the cast both doing a great job.  Brendan Gleeson as Alastor “Mad Eye” Moody the new Defense Against The Dark Arts Teacher and Ralph Fiennes as Lord Vol… I mean You Know Who. 

 

I really enjoyed this one.  They did a very good job about what to leave out from the book.  Though I was really looking forward to watching Mr. Weasley jumping out of the Dursley’s fireplace they made up for it by removing any references to SPEW.  Also anyone else who was sickened by the Twilight movies has something to look forward to at the end.

The beginning of the movie is very fast paced.  Short scenes and a lot of information and before you know it we are at Hogwarts welcoming the students from the two other schools making up the Tri-Wizard Tournament.  We have the Durmstrang Institute run by Igor Karkarov and championed by the Bulgarian Seeker Viktor Krum.  Next the Beauxbaton Academy of Magic headed by Madame Maxime (her flying horses drink only single malt whiskey, nice) whose champion is Fleur Delacour.  Harry and Cedric Diggory, the Huffelpuff seeker, both represent Hogwarts.

The dragon for the first task looked pretty cool.  Harry leads it on a chase around the castle before steeling the egg it was protecting.  Before the second task we get to see some awkward adolescent attempts at courtship.  This includes Harry and Cho, Hermione and Ron, Hermione and Viktor, Ron and Professor McGonagall, for a fun scene, Ron and Fluer, Harry, Ron and the Patel Sisters and finally Hagrid and Madam Maxime with a lovely attempt at an ass grab by Hagrid at the Yule Ball.  Ah high school. 

 

The second task we got to see some magical creatures that had been reference before but not shown.  The mermaids are not the beautiful sirens of legend but nasty little creatures and the grindylows look like squid on crack.  The only weird thing about this scene is that there are stands for people to watch and cheer.  Of course after they jumped into the lake you can’t see a damned thing, so I hope the tickets were cheap.

Right before the third task there is a fun scene which I guess takes place at study hall or a test that is supervised by Snape who take great delight in helping Harry and Ron focus on their work.  Snape is underused in this movie which is kind of a shame because Alan Rickman was just perfect as the greasy potions master.   

The third and final task is the massive hedge maze.  Old Jack Torrance would have hated this place.  And again more spectator stands that can’t see anything… While I was hoping to see the Sphinx that was in the book I still liked the scene as it focused more on suspense than creature power.  The maze leads to the Tri-Wizard cup and fame and glory to the one who captures it! Possibly, maybe well not really but it’s still fun to watch so enjoy.

Great Lines

Moody:  Ms. Delacour is as much a fairy princess as I am.

McGonagall: Professor Moody, what are you doing??

Moody: Teaching. (whilst bouncing Draco Malfoy as a little white ferret)

McGonagall: Is that a student?!?!

Moody: Technically it’s a ferret.

Neville: Oh my God, I’ve killed Harry Potter! 

Harry: Hey, my eyes are not glistening with the ghosts of my past! 

Moody: (Staring at Harry) The killing curse.  Only one person is known to have survived it, and he is sitting in this room.

Thanks and remember Eat, Drink and watch a Movie.

Grilled Birdcage Sandwich

Grilled Birdcage Sandwich

Today's Dinner:

Grilled Chicken with Pesto Mayo, Sorry no Sweet and Sour Peasant Soup.

You'll need

1/2 cup of fresh basil

4 cloves of garlic.

2 tbls pine nuts

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

salt

pepper

lemon juice

4 chicken thighs, boneless skinless

Fresh Mozzarella

Roasted Red Pepper

Ciabatta bread

First prep the chicken.  Lay out the chicken and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Smash 2 of the garlic cloves.  Grab a ziplock bag and toss them all in. Fill the bag with the lemon juice until it just covers the chicken.  Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal it.  Pop it in the fridge.

Next we can start the pesto mayo while the chicken marinates.  Basically this is a pesto sauce without oil.  If you have a pesto recipe that you like go right ahead and use that just stop at the point when you would add the olive oil.  First toast the pine nuts.  You can drop them on a frying pan on medium heat and keep them moving until they turn light brown.  KEEP YOUR EYE ON THEM. These will burn fast if you are not looking.  Now grab your food processor and toss in the basil, pine nuts, the other 2 cloves of garlic, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste and a splash of lemon juice.  Take em them for a spin.  Break everything down until it's like a gritty paste then pour into small bowl.  Add the mayo and stir together.

Slice up the bread and FIRE UP THE GRILL! We're going to cook the chicken on high heat with the lid open.  The boneless thighs cook great this way.  They are thin enough to cook through with the lid up and give a nice char on the outside.  Let the grill heat up and toss them on.  You want to do this for about 10 minutes per side but each grill will be different so keep an eye on it.  With about 5 minutes left toss the bread on, crust side up to toast. You can use chicken breast for this if you like.  I know some who would insist on this ;)

Let's put it together.  Smear (that's right Men Smear) the pesto mayo on the both pieces of  bread.  Place a slice of roasted pepper on the bottom, then the chicken and the mozzarella on top.  Enjoy!

Today's Movie:

The Birdcage

This 1996 comedy is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen.  Staring Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Diane Wiest, and most especially Hank Azaria who steels the show.  Our story begins, as most love stories do, at a drag club.  Young Val Goldman sneaks home from college to tell his father, Armand, he is getting married.  The subterfuge was needed to break the news to his "mother" Albert, the hyper emotional star of the drag show.  The young bride to be, Barbara Keeley, has also gone home to tell her parents the good news.  Daddy dearest is ultra-conservative Republican Senator Kevin Keely.  How conservative?  He feels that Billy Graham is less controversial than the Pope and that Bob Dole is too liberal.  Needless to say Barbara is a little worried about introducing her new fiance's gay, cross dressing, drag club owning, screaming queens, family to her parents, go figure.  

Let the games begin! As the Goldman's try to get ready for the impending visit we get to enjoy a group of drag queens work to redecorate the house so as to best fit for the church, their "loyal house boy" Agador tries to pull off being straight, and attempts to play off Albert as Val's uncle.  The dinner guests arrive and the awkwardness begins.  The greatest part of the evening is Agador Spartacus. He flops around half the time as a fish on deck and speaks like an over the top Ricardo Montalban. He can't actually cook but serves them his Sweet and Sour Peasant Soup in bowls with naked Greek boys humping on them.  Oh yeah and did I mention that Albert feels the best thing to do is to just act naturally and decides to dress up to be Val's mom?  Have fun.

Best Lines:

Armand: So this is Hell.  And there's a crucifix in it.

Armand Looking up at said crucifix : Look I know I'm not religious and I'm Jewish but if things could go smoothly tonight I'd really appreciate it.

Val: Oh yeah about the Jewish thing, Barb told her parents our name is Coleman.

Armand looking back at the crucifix: Thanks

Albert:  Whatever I am, he made me! I was adorable once, young and full of hope. And now look at me! I'm this short, fat, insecure, middle-aged THING! 

Armand: I made you short?

Armand describing dinner: It's like riding a psychotic horse toward a burning stable.

Agador: Armand, why won't you let me be in the show? Are you afraid of my Guatemalaness?

Armand: Your what?

Agador: My Guatemalness my natural heat.  You're afraid I'm too primitive to be on the stage with your little estrogen Rockettes, right? 

Armand: Yes, I'm afraid of your heat.

Armand to Agador:  Pull yourself together! Because you have to cook dinner. And I'm going after fucking Albert. (then leaves)

Val: You can cook, right?

Agador looking worried: Your father seems to think so

Armand: What the hell are you serving us?!

Agador: Sweet and Sour Peasant Soup what you say it's Seafood Chowder for?

Armand: What they hell is Sweet Sour Peasant soup?

Agador: I don't know, I made it up. I made it up!!

Armand: It's a nightmare (takes a drink of whiskey)

Agador slips and falls

So there you have it.  I hope you all enjoy.  Also if anyone has anything they would like to see on here please let me know and remember.  Eat, drink and go see a movie.

Chicken and 42 Cloves

Chicken and 42 Cloves

Our Dinner: Chicken and 42 cloves:

Welcome back to Doc's Dinner and a Movie!  Todays combination is Chicken and 42 Cloves and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  I love this dish.  First of all I LOVE garlic and the name does not disappoint, it literally has 42 cloves in it.  I will add that this is not a spicy dish, the garlic gets incredibly sweet and tastes like candy when finished and the chicken will fall off the bone.  It is also very easy. Here's what you'll need.

The first thing you will need is your towel.
Chicken: For this I like legs and thighs, on the bone.  About 5-6 pieces or what ever will fit on your pan

Garlic: 42 cloves worth...duh.

1/2 cup and a little extra of olive oil.  Do not use Extra Virgin
2 tbls of butter

Thyme, about 10 sprigs

Salt and Pepper

See easy ;)

Make sure that you have a frying pan that you can cover and put in the oven.  If it has a plastic handle I'm afraid you're out of luck. Dutch ovens are perfect.  The prep work on this is pretty simple but tedious.  First clean the chicken.  Just wash them in water and dry them with paper towels. Grab a fresh sheet and place on the skin side to sop up any excess moisture.  Next is the fun part... peel 42 cloves of garlic.  And unfortunately smash and pull is not going to work the cloves should be intact.  Find the hard end that attached the clove to the head.  You can start peeling from here as it is a good place to pick at.  Or you can snip that part and peel.  Either way this is a pain in the ass, but DON"T PANIC.

Time to start cooking.  First season your chicken, both side with just some salt and pepper to taste.  Turn your cook top to high and preset your oven to 350.  The way I like to see if the pan is ready is to drop a little bit of water on it.  If the drops kind of dances around you are good to go.  Believe it or not but if the water simply sizzles and evaporate right away it is not hot enough.Coat your pan with enough oil to coat the surface, not too much add the butter and the chicken in.  The butter helps to brown the chicken.

Start skin side down and brown.  Just keep an eye on it I don't have a set time.  Look for golden brown, not black.  Turn over and repeat.  Once both sides are done take off the heat.  Toss everything else in the pan the pan and cover.  Cook in the oven for about an hour and a half.  Remove from oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes.  I like to serve this over white rice.  You can pour as much as much of the sauce on top of the whole thing and rice just sucks it up.  And do NOT forget to grab all those lovely cooked garlic cloves, they are the best part.  Along with the chicken add a veggie of your choice and drink with a white wine.  Chardonnay is good but go with what you like and enjoy!

Our Movie: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:

Our movie was a long time in the making.  The Douglas Adams book was in development hell for decades before it was finally brought to the big screen. It stars Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent a human thrust into an adventure that spans the galaxy along with his guide Ford by Mos Def and his love interest Trillian played by Zooey Deschenel. The best parts are the narration by Stephen Fry and Sam Rockwell who plays the President of the Galaxy with great nods to Alan Rickman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren and Bill Nighy.  Altogether a great cast!

After Ford saves Arthur from a rather large catastrophe they find themselves aboard the star ship Heart of Gold. The ship is piloted by President Zaphod Beeblebrox, Trillian, and the manically depressed Marvin.  They are in search of the fabled planet Magrathea where the answer to the ultimate question is to be found.  Throughout their adventures they are in fact being chased by a race of intergalactic bureaucrats known as the Vogons who are pursuing Zaphod for kidnapping himself.  It is a playful story with some obscure jokes but I remember reading the book as a kid and simply loved it.  This not a serious tale nor is it extremely deep but that is not the point.  Just sit back and have a good time.

Great Quotes:

Arthur: Ford?
Ford: Yeah?
Arthur: I think I'm a sofa.
Ford: I know how you feel...

Marvin: I've been talking to the main computer.
Arthur: And?
Marvin: It hates met.

Zaphod: Trillian, are you wearing my underwear? Cus I'm wearing yours, and it ain't doin the trick.

The Guide:What to do if you find yourself stuck with no hope of rescue: Consider yourself lucky that life has been good to you so far. Alternatively, if life hasn't been good to you so far, which given your present circumstances seems more likely, consider yourself lucky that it won't be troubling you much longer.

Marvin: You can blame the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation for making androids with GPP...
Arthur: What's GPP
Marvin:  Genuine People Personalities. I'm a personality prototype. You can tell, can't you...?

The Guide: The best drink in existance is the Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster, the effect of which, is like having your brains smashed out with a slice of lemon... wrapped around a large gold brick. (I'm looking for the recipe on this one, stay tuned for more.)

So there you have it! I hope you all enjoy today selections.  Eat, drink and see a movie..
Oh yeah, so long and thanks for all the fish!

Welcome

Welcome to Doc's Dinner and a Movie!  I have stared this blog to share my recipes and my own spin on movies.  Content will be coming soon as we are under construction.  I hope you will enjoy what is to come.  Eat well and go see a movie!!