Mr. Bijoy Writes

Angelina Jolie is really skinny. Her arms and legs at the Oscars... mean, eat a cake. It's almost funny, if it wasn't so damn gross. So, here's a recipe for lean, baked chicken legs that I have decided to name after Angelina's skinny self. Here we go- What ya need: 10 chicken drumettes (the little chicken legs) 3 cloves of garlic 1 teaspoon of hot chili powder 2 tablespoons of olive oil 1/4 teaspoon of ground sage 1/4 teaspoon of salt 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper ok, so Preheat your oven to 375ºF. Combine all the ingredients in a large Ziploc bag and shake everything together. Make sure the wings are evenly coated. Arrange the wings on a cookie sheet and then bake for one hour, or so. Make sure the wings get a little crispy and are fully cooked. Oh yeah, I lied, just because these are baked does not mean that this is a "lean" recipe. Haha, get fat.

Cooking on the grill is just good fun. My friend, Al, loves his grill more than his wife. Ok, maybe not that much, but you get my idea. About 3 years ago, we found a way to simplify one of his restaurant stapes. So, here's a very easy recipe that tastes great. Enjoy! What ya need: 1, 2-3 lb chicken, quartered 1/2 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice 5 cloves of garlic, halved 4 oz of diced, canned jalapenos (4 oz should be one can) 1/2 teaspoon of salt 1/4 teaspoon of ground white pepper Ok, so: Get your grill to a nice, medium-high heat. Be sure to oil your grill very liberally. Now, throw the lemon juice, garlic, and jalapenos in a blender and blend until smooth. Set this aside. Rinse the chicken quarters and pat them dry with a towel. Then season the chicken with salt and pepper. Throw the chicken on the grill and brush on the blended mixture. Cook about 25 minutes on each side, continuing to brush on the mixture. Once the meat near the thigh bone isn't pink, you're done. It...

So sweet potatoes are good. Whiskey is good. So, logically, why not mix them together and see what happens? I tried. It's good. What ya need: 2-1/2 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes 4 Tablespoons butter, softened 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar Pinch of salt 1/3 cup Jack Daniel's Whiskey Ok, so: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a big bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, butter, brown sugar, salt, and whiskey. Spoon this mixture into a greased casserole dish or pie pan. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes. Oh hey, you're done.

Saffron. Saffron is expensive, luxurious, and contains crocin , which is thought to be an aphrodisiac.More importantly, it tastes great and goes really well with salmon. So here's a little Valentine's Day recipe for all of you, from me. What ya need: 2 pounds of salmon, cubed into bite-sized chunks 4 garlic cloves, pureed 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil 3 teaspoons of crushed red pepper 1 teaspoon of sea salt 1/2 cup of heavy cream 3/4 teaspoon of saffron threads, soaked in about 1 tablespoon of heavy cream. Ok, so: In a big bowl, mix together everything but the salmon. Once everything is well incorporated, add the salmon and toss it all together until the salmon is well-coated. Throw this bowl in the fridge for an hour to lett all the flavors become friends. Now preheat your oven to 350ºF. Place the salmon on a non-stick cookie sheet (or line a cookie sheet with foil, that works as well). Pour whatever marinade is still in the bowl over the salmon and bake for fifteen minutes. ...

Okay, before you can actually start learning how to cook, or for some, better honing your skills, you must have the necessary tools. So, let's go over a few tools that help to complete a kitchen. Remember, this is just a guide of suggestions , so you may not agree with everything. That's fine. Alright, so - Knives- You can have a lot of knives. That's okay. Seriously, though, you may never need more than two knives. A chef's knife of at least eight inches, no more than twelve inches unless you really know why knives that large are made, and a smaller utility knife. More than anything, these need to be sharp. Really expensive knives are complete shit if they are dull. Wood- A wooden spoon, spatula, and cutting board. Taste soup and don't burn the shit out of your tongue? Yeah, that's reason enough for a wooden spoon. The spatula is nice because spoons and corners don't always work well together. The cutting board is there because it's pretty, but you will...

Trail mix is pretty good stuff. The problem with trail mix today is that you can buy so many different trail mixes and so many of them aren't good for you. In fact, some are just bad for you. Here's a recipe for trail mix I acquired back when I used to go on hikes quite often. It's also great for runners. What ya need: 2/3 cup almonds 2/3 cup pecans 1/2 cup roasted soy nuts 1/2 cup dried blueberries 2/3 cup dried cranberries 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds 1/3 cup sunflower seeds Ok, so: MIx all ingredients. This keeps for about six weeks in a cool, dry place. Seriously, that easy.

So this morning I made my self a nice little breakfast and I tweeted about it. Soon thereafter about fifteen people wanted a recipe for this omlette, with manchego cheese and pickled scotch bonnet peppers. So here ya go! What ya need: 2 large eggs 1/4 cup of shredded or chopped Machengo cheese 2 teaspoons of water 2 tablespoons of white vinegar 1 tablespoon of bourbon 1 small scotch bonnet pepper OK, so: Slice and seed your scotch bonnet pepper. In a small saucier pan, heat the pepper and the bourbon until simmering. Once this is achieved, remove the pan from heat. Add vinegar to the pan and set aside. Now, in a small bowl, beat the eggs with the water. I prefer using a fork to do so. You now have all of your prep done. Grab an 8-inch nonstick pan and heat over medium heat. Add the eggs to the pan when the pan has sufficiently warmed. cover and let cook for 45 seconds. While it is heating, drain the liquid from the peppers. Uncover the pan, toss the Machengo cheese and the peppers onto...