If you’re a regular here at My Kitchen In The Middle Of The Desert, you already know that I am a simple local gal from Kaneohe Oahu Hawaii; one of my past times in ten years or so since leaving my birthplace, is to try to re-create dishes of my youth.
I had some chicken leftover, imagine that … so I expanded on that … I made some Mac Salad, a fresh pot of Rice, some warmed-up-from-frozen-Zippy’s Chili that I brought back from Hawaii this past May, and the rest as they say is legend!
First, let me apologize for being absent for so long, but, we’ve been awfully busy. To start with, we spent the month of May on Oahu Hawaii to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary… we had the best time! I mean, who wouldn’t?
I brought back a 50 pound suitcase FULL of goodies that can only be found in Hawaii. One of the items was from Zippy’s Restaurant, Fried Chicken Mix. Yeah, so what you’re probably saying to yourself… oh no my friends. Zippy’s Fried Chicken is some the best both DH and I have ever had.
I guess about December of last year, Zippy’s came out with Fried Chicken Mix, as well as Mochiko Chicken Mix, Pancake Mix and their own blend of Coffee. WELL! As soon as we got ourselves going in Honolulu, we had lunch at Zippy’s, and what do you think I bought? That’s right… two packages of their Fried Chicken Mix.
For dinner tonight, I made us what some might call a Zippy’s Mini Fried Chicken Plate
Oh my gravy all over my two scoop rice (that’s OMG! in my world)!! That was just like having dinner at Zippy’s, and I’m not kidding you!
This was a test run to see if I could replicate this meal that we love from back home and I hit this one out of the park! So … next time we’ll make a Chicken and Chili Plate !!!
Oh my gravy all over my two scoop rice (that’s OMG! in my world if you haven’t been here before).
I finally took the plunge and got myself a Weber Rotisserie for my ‘big girl’ grill. I’ve wanted one of these for the longest time, really!
I racked my brain for a while as to what I would make for my maiden voyage on the spit… WELL! It just had to be a Hawaiian Style Huli Huli Chicken, of course. Huli, means to turn in Hawaiian, thus making Huli Chicken seemed the natural choice on my new electric rotisserie.
I had a bottle of Hawaii’s Famous Huli Huli Sauce in the pantry; I went out and bought a fresh, whole yardbird (unbrined, that sauce is soy based and could be salty) … so we’re good to go!
I should probably point out here that Huli Chicken as we call it back home, can be found on most weekends in just about any neighborhood as fundraisers, or just because. Let your nose be the guide, you’ll know when you’ve found it … the smell is like no other. Keawe Wood (which is in the same family as Mesquite) smoke is in the air and cars are flocking around a particular parking lot. Large rectangular open grills are set-up with the coolest home-rigged rotisseries you’ve ever seen. You pull your car up to ‘the lady’ who asks you how many Huli Chickens you would like, quarter, halves or a whole one and hands it off to you in a brown paper bag, piping hot of the grill, MMM!!
Let’s grill some bird.
I marinaded the chicken for 24 hours in the sauce and then trussed and skewered that birdie for the grill.
As the grill was preheating, I trussed the chicken and attached it to the main rotisserie rod and impaled the two forks through the flesh. My grill was all ready, as instructed on the “how to” video seen on Weber.com. I was a bit anxious, but I got through it.
The smells that came wafting along were so heady, I sat outside with an adult beverage, even though it’s still Winter and freezing cold and windy out, just to enjoy that smell of HOME!
An hour and fifteen minutes later, it was all over with…
MAN!
Earlier in the day, I had made Zippy’s Macaroni Salad, Quick Cucumber Kim Chee and a fresh pot of steamed White Rice … or as we would say in Hawaii, we had one Huli Chicken Plate with one scoop mac and one scoop rice (vegetables are always optional 😉 ).
This chicken was so moist and flavorful. The soy sauce in the marinade acts as your salt, no need to add anything else, I’m not kidding, just remember to keep turning it while in the `fridge.
MMM!
I’m very happy.
*Cook’s note: Also, please take a peck at my You Tube channel 😀
One of the food forums that I belong to has a long standing thread where members share what they’re making for dinner. One dish in particular sounded pretty yummy, well anything that has to do with bacon will always catch my eye.
My Friend’s Smothered Chicken
2 Boneless-Skinless Chicken Breasts
4 Bacon sliced, cooked
2 oz. Cheese, I used Sharp Provolone and Swiss
2-4 Tbsp. Olive Oil, divided
Spices of your choice
1 C. Sweet Bell Peppers, sliced
½ C. Sweet White Onion, sliced
Salt & Pepper to taste
*Cook’s note: Lately, the b/s Chicken Breasts that I find are HUGE!!! So what I do is split them in half horizontally and give them a bit of a flattening with a rolling pin to even out their width.
In a skillet over medium-high heat, sauté the Peppers and Onions in about 1-2 tablespoons of Olive Oil until they are crisp-tender and slightly colored, season to taste with S&P; set aside.
You can use leftover Bacon or cook some up at this point; set aside.
Preheat the broiler with the rack set at the second potion.
I have been chomping at the bit to try this particular seasoning from Miners Mix, seeing as I make so much chicken, you’d think that my husband and I cluck!
The wind died down a bit and gave me a small window to grill up some boneless/skinless Chicken thighs along with some veggies. The prep was simple. I dried the meat with some paper towels and sprinkled on some Miners Mix Poultry Perfection Seasoning and Rub.
What a great combo! That kiss of smokiness from the grill set everything off perfectly!
Round two…
A recipe or should I say technique that I’ve heard so much about over the years is Beer Can Chicken. Let’s give this a whirl.
I washed and patted this whole chicken down with paper towels and then applied some softened butter and a generous amount of Miners Mix Poultry Perfection seasoning. Over a half can of beer this went, butt side down in a roasting pan, with the other half of the can of beer in it. It got windy here in the middle of the desert again, so I slide this birdie into the oven at 350⁰ for, oh, about 45 minutes to an hour or so, until the internal temp got to 165⁰.
Look at how pretty this came out will ya?!
I loosely tented the chicken with tin foil and let it rest for 30 before carving, to let all of the juices redistribute back into the meat.
This came out so moist and yummy! I roasted some Fingerling Potatoes the last 30 minutes with the Beer Can Chicken, and served it all up with some steamed Green Beans.
Two delicious meals courtesy of Miners Mix, thanks Ole’ Miner!
It’s delicious, plentiful, reasonably priced and best of all (IMHO anyways), it’s BYOB!
My husband and I have been to La Bruzza’s many, many, many times and it never disappoints. That’s saying something coming from my American-Italian husband, if he likes it and we keep going back!
Each table will get a large bowl of House Salad (which is excellent!) to share and Bread with Garlic Butter as soon as you sit down. There is always a large board with the day’s specials that the gals take around the restaurant.
Wine glasses are provided should bring your own wine; they’ll even open it for you.
Chicken Parmesan with Spaghetti and Red Sauce
Cheese Raviolis with Garlic and Olive Oil
We’ve tried just about everything and it’s all good!
They do not except reservations (I think if you have a party of 8 or more they will), so come early to avoid waiting, but you won’t terribly long, they turn their tables quickly.
I was introduced to Miners Mix brand a coupla years back by some fellow bloggers, Patrons of the Pit. They have been utilizing several of the Miners Mix seasonings and rubs.
Grilled Strip Steak and roasted Potatoes with Miners Mix XXX-Garlic Seasoning & Rub
I had found the Original XXX-Garlic Seasoning & Rub back when I was visiting my Mother in California.
This stuff is good on/in anything that you would use granulated or powdered Garlic, and I use a lot of Garlic!
Recently, The Ole’ Miner himself contacted me and asked if they could send me a box, SURE!
One of the bottles in my box was Wholly Chipotle Seasoning & Rub. I took a small taste of it on my finger, boy howdy, that’s got some heat to it, but in a nice way. So, what to do, how shall we apply this? Let’s grill up some boneless-skinless Chicken Thighs for Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas.
I minced up the grilled yardbird, along with some Hatch Green Chiles; heated that up in a pot with some Hatch Green Chile Enchilada Sauce for the filling.
Next, I heated some flour tortillas, filled and then topped them with more chiles, sauce and shredded cheese, popped the whole plate under the broiler to a melty GBD and it’s time for dinner.
Chipotle & Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas.
I made just a bit too much chicken, so do you do with that?
Chipotle Chicken Salad for lunch tomorrow, that’s what!
I had to taste it to make sure it was ok, dontcha know. I added a small pinch more of the Wholly Chipotle to the mayo for more of a kick, MMM!
