It works! I'm typing this on my new and improved computer. It only took me five trips to Fry's. I replaced: the power supply, the motherboard (twice!), and the DVD drive. Had I properly connected the power supply the first time, I probably would have needed only one motherboard, and no DVD drive. Live and learn, I guess. I can now build a computer from components. That's got to be worth something on the open market, right?
Speaking of markets, yummy whole chicken in today's doodle. We cook chickens, ducks, and cornish hens about once a week (that's a bird a week, not all three in a week). They're very yummy and make delicious chicken salad. These doodles are almost like Chuck's food writing but without the yummy photographs or detailed descriptions.
We had amazing weather this weekend. Freezing cold at night, and wonderful during the day. We just returned from the dog park with Ziggy. We have dinner reservations tonight (we went out last night as well). We're rebels these days, I tell you.
We do love us some drunken chicken. My recipe:
- Heat seasme oil over medium heat in a large pot.
- Clean and roughly chop about a hand-sized piece of ginger into one-inch pieces, leaving the skin on.
- Cook the ginger in the oil.
- Chop up chicken legs with a cleaver (usually into two pieces around the meaty part).
- When the ginger is fragrant, add a single layer of chicken legs to the pot. Increase the heat to medium-high and brown the chicken. I usually brown at least two sides of each chicken piece for 3-4 minutes.
- After the chicken is browned, remove it to a dish. Add a few splashes of drinking-quality Sake to the pot. With a wooden spoon, scrape the chicken goodness from the bottom of the pot. You may want to remove it from the heat while scraping.
- Return the chicken to the pot and begin pouring the Sake and water. You will need enough liquid to cover the chicken. My rule of thumb is about 2:1 for Sake to water.
- Bring the soup to a light boil, and then reduce to simmer. I usually use the highest heat to bring the pot to boil, and then reduce it to about 2 or 3 setting to simmer.
- Cook for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the chicken is done.
- Eat soup and dance with lampshade on head.
Drunken Chicken makes great leftovers. If you leave the soup in the fridge overnight, the ginger infuses with the soup and it tastes much stronger the second time. When you remove it from the fridge, skim the fat off the soup, and remove the chicken. Heat up the soup until a light boil, and then lower to simmer. Add the chicken. It should take about ten to fifteen minutes to reheat the chicken.
