CHICKEN YASSA

Uuuuh, Yup! My Saturday Night Flash Back, EX-Specially Good! I might just have to reneg on my divorce and we take this LIVE!

CHICKEN YASSA, a baked dish with an onion and mustard sauce, generally over jasmine rice. But, I find these days, I want less and less of meat and starch and more fresh vegetables; so, I overload the sweet onions, so’s you gotta look for the chicken, riiight! I like adding artichoke, mushrooms (and, yeah, zucchini woulda been good here, too), and oh, I did throw in a few baby new potatoes (I like to crust with Fresh Rosemary & Thyme), lots and lots of chopped garlic, and I’m salt sensitive, so, I tend to flavor with even more lemon, just a few caper berries and copious amounts of hot peppers!

The presentation, the colors & photography complements of my artistic background, all shine through in the mere creativity I endeavor to set on a plate! I mean, WOW! WHO KNEW!

The sauce was everything! Yup! Slurped it up from the bowl WITH MY FORK! And I almost went for the rubber spatula, as my tongue was too busy fending off that one-two punch of heat & tang! DO YOU EVEN GET WHERE UM COMING FROM!

NOTE, for those who don’t yet know, a most popular dish from Senegal, West Africa, I learned from My EX! He was the cook back then; that boy could put a hurt’n on some meat! His leg of lamb alone made me tremble, as I signed the divorce papers! Ain’t gon lie, some of my culinary moves come straight from him. Did I say, I miss his, uh, uh, cooking; so, well, I had to do something! You understand, not just any cook, uh, uh, I mean, not just any man will do! LOL

A girl gotta do! Yup! My azz had to learn how to cook...for myself! So, yeah, I got in a few good hooks and a little some'm-some'm to hold up my belt!

Anyway, all said, not exactly how I thought I’d be spending a Saturday night and I AM LIVE! DING! DING! DING! Now, that was just Round One! DO YOU HEAR ME! #ThingsThatMakeYouGoOom #TheGoodFoodLady

BROILED SALMON

D O N ‘ T !

Um, um sorry! No, really, I mean, I wasn’t even gon tease y’all, but MAN-O-MAN! Where do I begin with THIS FISH! NO, really, I DON’T like to brag, BUT, WOW, LIKE OFF THE CHARTS with flavor!

DON’T ever believe you can’t live without the added salt! Because, yes, I did use butter and balsamic vinaigrette. As I told you, Grannie and I are salt sensitive, so we DON’T do salt (for us, personally); so, I try to make up for it with fresh herbs, LOTS AND LOTS fresh-chopped Garlic, fresh-squeezed Lemon and fresh-cut Hot peppers! We DON’T do processed! You get what um saying, FRESH!

Grannie and I are not even hungry right now and, really, it’s just too late to eat! We DON’T waste any part of food! So, I had to cook it today and usually um not even too tempted to taste, because heck, I’ll be eating it for dinner tomorrow, right!

So, um standing staring with great admiration, as much in anticipation of the flavors, when I giddily run for the camera! Back at the stove snapping pictures and smacking lips! LOUDLY! Heck yeah, I ate some, but uh, only to taste, when sure enough, I yelled to Grannie, “GRANNIE, oh man, you gotta come taste just a little piece!” Next thang I know, we are both hovering over the stove justa grease’n, licking fingers and all! Straight from the pan! No plate! No fork! No napkin! DON’T judge! No sides! Nothing needed! Though, I did say grace! OH, MY GOD! THANK YOU!

WHEN I CAME TO, I said, “Wait now, Grannie, hold up! This is for tomorrow!” We giggle when Grannie looks up at me with greasy lips and fingers and says, “Oh, you want me to wrap this up?” Because, when it comes to some good eaten, Grannie and I DON’T play! DO YOU HEAR ME!

Oh, yeah, this is just Broiled Salmon, 10 minutes under high broil gives that char! DON’T make me call you over here, again! Just DON’T! #ThingsThatMakeYouGoOom #TheGoodFoodLady

ROASTED VEGGIE PASTA

THE BREATH OF GOOD SEX! That’s how you should feel after a good meal, too!

This morning, I added last night's Roasted (Spaghetti-Cut) Vegetables to my egg omelette, topped with shavings of Parmesan cheese! And OMG, when I was done, savoring the flavors, did I not push back my chair from the table, throw back my head and exhale! Riiiiight! LOL

ALL HAIL...! AND I’M NO VEGETARIAN! But well, at my age, won’t be the first time I’ve given up on some, uh, uh, meat! LOL

[Night before] So, I'm in a mood for spaghetti pasta with sauce! Meatballs, now only ever a consideration when my daughter’s home. Grannie and I are soooo past the heavyweight of sausage & meatballs [well, maybe could be one day] and I still can’t believe I am saying that. But, would you believe, I’m ALMOST past the pasta, too! WOW! I actually just admitted to the possibility of a no man, uh, uh, I mean, NO MEAT existence!

We always gotta refrigerator full of some kinda vegetables, and you’ve heard of Zucchini Pasta, right? DANG, only one left! Too lazy, or even too hungry to go to the market, the plan is TO MAKE DO!

With Bobby Flay and CHOPS in mind, I go on A FLAVOR-FILLED ADVENTURE! And I’m one of those girls that always gotta know, “SO, WHAT WE WORK’N WITH? Well, I gotta fresh basket of a zucchini, sweet onions, yellow and orange bell peppers, spinach, garlic, scallions, caper berries, sun-dried tomatoes, red hot peppers and lemon (rind on), ALL grated or thinly sliced (for the Spaghetti effect), a sprinkle of olive oil, cider vinegar, seasoned with my standards of Rosemary & Thyme, Grannie’s lemon pepper, tossed and spread out on a baking sheet and oven-roasted on 450 for 30 minutes!

On finish, top with a little Kimchi, caper berries, paprika, fresh-grated Parmesan Cheese - my mouth is watering as I say all this, plate and SAVOR THE FLAVORS! #ThingsThatMakeYouGoOom!

BEST PLATE OF ROASTED VEGGIE PASTA I’VE EVER HAD! Really making THE MEAT dance for it’s money! Y’all hear me!

ALL HAIL TO THE VEGETARIAN! My world without some, uh, uh, meat, I mean, WHO GREW! Uh, that lasted until the precise minute I heard of Jerry Lawrence of J. Law Artisan Meats!

RIBS & EGGS

YES, YOU CAN! Plan an I DREAM A BRUNCH EXPERIENCE with Grilled Spare Ribs or even Lamb Chops and not just bacon & eggs! My leftover for dinner tonight and I scrambled some eggs! And yes, I was SMACK’N harrrd on that one rib! Try’na be nice and save some for Grannie! Y’all know I gotta be love’n me some Grannie to be given some ribs! #ThingsThatMakeYouGoOom

CLOTTED CREAM

FRESH, HOMEMADE! And just when you think “those biscuits” couldn’t get any better!

In humble exchange for your donation, one of many splendid things I do, the ways I serve, what you deserve, a 5-Star private dining experience that makes you go, ”Oooooooom!”

Fresh-made CLOTTED CREAM (a simply decadent cream spread, not off the shelf, not quickly whipped, but slowly baked with care, patience and lots of love) with Strawberry Preserves atop my SLAP Biscuits! You ain’t tasted nothing yet! #ThingsThatMakeYouGoOom, #SlapBiscuits