cpmatthew

Quick and Easy Corndogs

What’s Up Gamers? It’s been a while. This week we are cooking up an American summer time favorite, corn dogs. The key to corn dogs is the batter, you can use any old hot dogs as long as the batter has a good flavor and consistency. Here’s what you’ll need.

1 1/4 cups of flour

3/4 cup corn meal

3/4 cup milk

4 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

Oil for frying

Sift together the flour, corn meal, baking soda, sugar and salt

Mix in the oil, eggs and flour and stir until you have a consistent batter with no dry lumps.

Heat a pan of oil to 350 F (180 C). Pat the hot dogs dry with a paper towel. Dip the hotdogs in the batter and rotate to coat evenly. You don’t need much.

Fry them one to two minutes on a side to cook the batter. I used some bamboo skewers as sticks for these.

Serve them up with your favorite sides. You can use any leftover batter to make hushpuppies, just leave the oil hot, and drop spoonfuls of batter into it and let them cook until cooked through.

The Gamer’s Grill – Baby Back Pork Ribs

It’s been a while gamers! As a peace offering for my long absence, I bring you baby back ribs!

First, you’ll need to prep the ribs for the BBQ. Turn them over and look at the back. There is a thin membrane here that you’ll want to remove. Some people just score it with a knife. Others leave it in place. I prefer to remove it. The easiest way I have found is to slide a butter knife in between the membrane and a bone and work it loose enough to get your finger under it, then pull it. You may need to use a paper towel to hold it so it doesn’t slip out of your hand.

With that removed, rub down both sides with some BBQ Rub. I am going with my old stand-by, Basic BBQ Rub by Steven Raichlen.

Let it sit for a bit while you get the fire set up. If you are using a grill, like I am in this post, you’ll want to set the grill up for indirect heat. Put all the coals on one side and set a drip pan under where you are going to set the ribs.

Bring the temperature up to around 300 F and let them go until they are done. You may need to add some fuel from time to time to keep the fire going. They can take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours, depending on how thick the meat is, and what temperature you are cooking at. As with most BBQ, its done when its done. To quickly check, pick a rack up by one end with a pair of tongs. It should bend 90 degrees.

Slice them up and serve with some cornbread, mixed veggies and sweet potato fries.

The Gamer’s Grill – Chicken Taco Personal Pizzas

Hello Gamers,

I know we just did a pizza not long ago, but I was making these and decided they were too good not to share. As with any pizza, the key here is a good crust. I am going to use this one from Bobby Flay again. While the crust is rising, preheat the oven to 450 F. Brown some ground chicken in a skillet and stir in some taco seasoning.

When you brown the ground chicken, you may want to add just a bit of oil to the pan to keep it from sticking.

After the crust is ready, split it in half. You’ll need half of it for these pizzas, so freeze the rest for later. Divide the remaining half into 4 small pieces and roll them into shape.

Each is about six inches across, just right for a single serving.

Poke several holes in the top of each crust to stop them from bubbling up. Spoon a little bit of salsa, a little bit of the seasoned chicken and a little bit of nacho blend grated cheese onto each crust. Once the oven is up to temp, set them on a baking stone or sheet in the center rack. Let them cook until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown, about 10 minutes.

I added some banana peppers to mine (top left) for some kick.

Serve them up with some shredded lettuce, guacamole and sour cream and get back to rescuing those poor islanders.

Banana peppers have yellow leaves, so you should be able to make a hunting syringe out of them.

I am totally not a crap photographer, the lens flare is added for dramatic effect. That’s my story anyhow.

I hope you like them. My clan and I certainly did. I’ll be back with some more gaming, grilling greatness next time I get hungry.

The Gamer’s Grill – Hot Ham Sammies

Hello Gamers,

I am sure you are all well tired of pulling pork by now (apparently that means something naughty in the UK). So this week we are moving to the back end of the pig for some quick, easy and delicious ham sandwiches that you can whip together while your PS3 is updating.

To get started, you’ll need:

1/4 lb (one stick) butter, softened

1.5 TBS yellow mustard

1.5 TBS poppy seed

1/4 Tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 of an onion, finely chopped

1/4 lb sliced ham (also goes well with turkey)

1/4 Swiss cheese, sliced

8 sandwich rolls, preferably poppy or sesame seed

Soften the butter by microwaving for 10 to 15 seconds, and then mix in the poppy seed, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Stir it all up to make a smooth spread.

This makes a great sandwich spread and you can freeze what you don’t use for later.

Spread a little on each side of a sesame or poppy seed roll, add a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss cheese and wrap the sandwich in aluminum foil.

Wrap it in foil to heat, you can also wrap it and freeze it for later.

Place thawed sandwiches in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 F. If the are frozen, heat them for 20 minutes at the same temp. Serve the up with your favorite accompaniments and get back to splicing clones.

That pixel chef has nothing on The Overseas Connection!

Hope you like them, see you next week….maybe.