Cooking By The Cards

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Cooking By The Cards - book excerpt

ACE OF HEARTS

(Regarding home and family)

Chicken Dinner

Preheat the oven to 275°F.

Use a cut-up chicken, wash and pat dry. If your chicken is from a modern grocery store, it is probably over a day old, so you must soak the pieces in cold water with one tablespoon of salt for two hours. Pat dry.

Dredge the chicken with 1/2 cup flour and 3 tsp salt, then dip in buttermilk and again in flour.

Put 3 tbsp of Crisco, olive oil, or peanut oil if you prefer the taste.

Put the oil in the pan.

Lightly brown all pieces over low to medium heat.

Remove pieces and set them aside.

Discard the grease and wipe the pan, leaving any light brown crumbs behind. If the crumbs are burned or even dark brown, discard them.

Return chicken to the cleaned pan.

Cover tightly with lid.

Bake for 45–60 minutes

The process should take about one hour, plus or minus.

There should be no pink showing, and none burned or hard. If you cover and cook slowly at a lower temperature, the chicken will be tender.

Ace Of Diamonds

(Regarding a letter)

Rock Cornish Hen

Heat oven to 550°F, then turn the heat down to 300°F.

Place aluminum foil in pan and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Place hen breast up. Sprinkle with favorite seasoned salt and place some inside the cavity.

I use regular salt here.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Turn the hen over and bake 10 minutes uncovered.

Turn hen over again, close the aluminum foil tightly, and bake an additional 35 minutes at a lower temperature of 275°F to 300°F.

For added taste, add 2 tbsp of your favorite jelly,

Add one half cup of fruit juice – peach or apricot

1/4 tsp Kitchen Bouquet (optional), and 2–3 tbsp water to the juices.

Correct seasonings to taste. Stir and serve over the hen.

Ace Of Clubs

(Happiness and Prosperity)

Meats Using Wine And Whiskey

(INSTEAD OF SALT)

To cook a meat roast, first, lightly brown all sides of the roast.

Browning sears in the juices. Remove from pan and save juices.

Return meat to pan.

In a bowl, combine:

1/3 cup whiskey or your choice of 1½ cup white wine (remember other wines may leave a taste that distracts from the meat.)

1½ tsp Kitchen Bouquet or 1–2 beef bouillon cubes. These are very salty, so best to use tsp pan juices.

If not enough juices, use Kitchen Bouquet and bouillon cubes and some water to increase.

2 tsp yellow mustard

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp pepper to taste

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground oregano

1 cup diced onions or a pinch of onion powder

1/2 clove of garlic or pinch of garlic powder

2 stalks of cut up celery and some leaves from the celery

Pour the liquid and vegetables over the roast. It should cover half of the roast.

Bake covered until done to your choice of tenderness.

Use of alcohol: It tenderizes the meat and adds tangy (not alcohol) flavor, and reduces the need for salt. The little bottles of wine come in 4 packs and are easy to store. Needs less room and stays fresh. A half bottle is perfect for most roasts.

Use 1/4 small bottle of wine for pork chops and or chicken. When the meat is done, taste the sauce and add seasoning. You should not be able to taste the alcohol.

Ace Of Spades

(Illness or injury)

Disaster Dinner

Can be cooked outdoors over an open fire if necessary, otherwise in the house in a pot.

Use a large pot.

Add enough water to boil several pounds of meat. You are boiling dinner including the water. Add meat ground or chopped.

Skim grease frequently.

Add vegetables, cut celery, cut onion, cans of tomatoes, green beans, yellow beans, carrots. You can use fresh or frozen vegetables.

Add 2–4 bouillon cubes or some Kitchen Bouquet.

Add seasonings to taste, salt, pepper, hot sauce, thyme and rosemary

Add additional water to come near the top of the pot.

Bring disaster pot back to boil and cook all contents for at least 20 minutes in a rolling boil.

NOTE: In the event of an actual disaster use only water that has been boiled so that it is free from contaminates.

King Of Clubs

(Important man)

Potato Pie

Make a crust of peeled and boiled potatoes, mashed finely.

Add a little salt and stir.

Firmly pack the mashed potatoes into a buttered pie tin, to a little over 1/2 inch thick.

Peel and slice several apples, enough to cover top of mashed potatoes.

Pile the apples on top the potato crust. Sprinkle some sugar generously on top.

Bake at 350°F until apples are soft and crust is brown on the bottom.

Raw potatoes may be used in place of the cooked ones. Grate the peeled potatoes and place on a towel. Quickly squeeze out some of the moisture. Apples will be moist, but the potatoes should be dry.

Add 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of baking soda.

Stir and line the pie pan, pack the potatoes down firmly.

Then add apples and sugar as above.