Snow Day Cooking

With most of the Midwest under a blanket of snow my work shut down for the day. This left me with all sorts of free time to do important stuff like go into work anyways, run some errands, make dinner, and work on my taxes.

I haven’t cooked much more than frozen pizza or chicken nuggets recently because I’ve been so darn busy. I have nothing against frozen food but it certainly gets old. While at work I knew I wanted to cook so I started to brainstorm ideas. My brain went to either a curry chicken dish I had at a noodle shop in Kansas City or a miso glazed salmon I had at a New Years Eve party.

I settled with a curry idea and made a trip to a local Asian grocery for supplies assuming I’d do a coconut milk curry chicken. By the time I got home a friend suggested Panang chicken. It sounded tasty but some quick Googling made me realize I didn’t have the right ingredients. I’d have to improvise.

The problem with improvising is that I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve had curry anything. It wasn’t something that I recall as being part of my childhood. I went into the project with almost no reference point of what I should end up with. I was a bit nervous. Usually when I do something new in the kitchen I stick to the script the first time and adjust from there.

I smashed the ingredient list of a few recipes together and then adjusted the amounts as I saw fit. I’m not sure that there is an official name for what I ended up with but it was pretty tasty.

I started with a sauce of peanut butter, red curry paste, soy sauce, lime juice, coconut milk, and a squirt of sriracha. I added some green onions, sautéed chicken, and more coconut milk. While it simmered I put together a curry couscous with even more coconut milk, lemongrass, and shallots. (First time to make couscous as well)

Below is what I ended up with. I’m happy with the flavor and texture I ended up with. The chicken and the couscous were both good; together they formed a single tasty flavor. I think another flavor on the plate would have made the meal better. I also think the plate needed something to add another color. Any suggestions?

Another goal done: Gizzards!

I’m fairly adventurous when it comes to trying new things. Last weekend I got to expand my palate a little more at Joe’s Gizzard City in Potterville, MI.


I traveled to Michigan with Mom and the younger two sisters to visit my grandpa. My family doesn’t know how much longer he’ll be with us so I was extra glad to be able to make the visit. We stayed with an uncle/aunt in Lansing. I couldn’t help but notice that Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives made a visit to Joe’s Gizzard City, which is just a few miles away from my uncle’s house. I had to visit. After all, it is the only gizzard city in the world.

When at a gizzard city I just had to try the gizzards. I won’t lie; the concept of eating gizzards kind of grossed me out. I butchered my own chickens several years ago and the gizzard was one of the parts that typically got added to the scrap pile. We ordered the sampler platter of various fried gizzards. They weren’t bad. I don’t think I’m going to run out to get gizzards anytime soon, but I am glad I can now say I’ve had them. It just so happens that I had a goal of eating something I wouldn’t normally. Gizzards definitely fall in that category. Goal done.

I didn’t stop at the gizzards though. I tried the “Triple D” burger. The burger is a 1/3lb burger with pickle, cheese, and onion that is all breaded and fried. I can’t believe I ate it. I definitely now understand why America is overweight.