Posted October 24th, 2012 by Chris
Hey kids,
In ancient times the native Chicagoans would hunt the elusive fresh water whale and slather themselves in layer after layer of blubber to ward off the ungodly cold we all eventually face. As time progressed and both the wheel and the warming pad were invented, we Chicagoans found a better way to deal with the winter. Instead, we spread layer after layer of human blubber between our skins and our guts by imbuing some of the tastiest and unhealthiest food on Earth. In order to prevent you all from suffering from hypothermia this winter, we at the cooking army vow to give you a good head start on this process. It will be the food we all know and love, but free and with significantly less hilarious accentage from the cooks.
Items!
When: This Wednesday, Rocktober 24th. Cooking starts at 6:30. Food by 7:45.
What: Homemade Eyetalian Beef, Polish Sassage, Pizzas of many varieties and maybe a couple, two-chree hotdogs.
I fear my beer cupboard is nearly bare. I’ll have to hunt down the alcoholic and overly-personified mice that have been filching from it. In the meantime, I suggest you bring whatever sort of liquid you like to imbue with sammiches and the like. Be there or be thin. It’s time to eat.
-Jeremy
Posted September 30th, 2012 by Chris
This week at the Cooking Army, we will be having a celebration of sorts. JeanPaul is having his annual birthing anniversary, reached a truly ancient and venerable age. We decided to let him make a few choices while he was still cogent for this week’s menu and he has declared we make soups and pasta. We shall therefore make soups and pasta for all. And a dip even!
Details!
When: This Wednesday, October 3rd. Food prep at 6:30. Food as early as 7:15.
What: Islander Artichoke & Spinach Dip, Thai-spiced Pumpkin Soup, Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, Gnocchi al burro e salvia
With Oktoberfest in full swing, it would be appropriate to bring any Oktoberfest style or fall season beers. I promise they won’t go undrunk. Oh, someone should bring some truly vile limoncello, I hear JP loves that stuff. Bring your friends, bring your bellies, bring your party hats, it’s time to eat.
/Chris
Posted September 17th, 2012 by Chris
This week we will be using you all as guinea pigs and combining Thai food with bacon grease. What could go wrong? (Other than grease fires and heart disease.) We are certain the strong flavors of Thai food will stand up to the wonder of bacon grease.
Thai curry with bacon grease
Pad Thai with bacon grease
Vegan Pad Thai without bacon grease (made to order)
Chicken Satay with bacon grease
Details!
When: This Wednesday, September 19th. Food prep at 6:30. Food as early as 7:45.
– Jason
Posted September 4th, 2012 by Chris
Just wanted to update that Cooking Army has been delayed again and is currently scheduled to return next week. The Summer always creates gaps like this when there’s too much fun stuff to do outside. Fear not though, we will return to fill your bellies soon.
Posted July 24th, 2012 by Chris
Sorry for the lack up updates over the past month, I’m going to try and at least get our past couple recipes up. On with our normally scheduled invite…
Normally when Summer approaches, those of us at the Cooking Army get a little gleeful in anticipation of the opportunity to douse our grill in lighter fluid, ignite fire in a manly manner, and roast meats of all varieties. Due to living arrangement changes and the fact that until this week, JP didn’t physically even have a deck, we have been unable to satiate this desire.
This problem has been rectified and we can finally have this year’s inaugural grilling! We’ll at least give a passing attempt not to burn the building down in our eagerness.
Lists!
When: This Wednesday, July 25th
What: Smoked Apple and Gouda Chicken sausages, Disappearing Pork, Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Vegetable skewers
JeanPaul’s beer supply has dwindled somewhat, so we encourage you to find a six pack or two of your favorite beer, crack open a cold one, kick back, and enjoy our grilled goodness. It’s time to eat.
/Chris
Posted May 22nd, 2012 by Chris
Sorry guys, but there’s no Cooking Army this week. With soldiers deployed far and wide, we just don’t have enough troops back here at home to get one in. We should be good for a Cooking Army on June 6th though, so stay tuned.
Posted May 22nd, 2012 by Chris
We didn’t BBQ this one and just oven baked everything and it turned out pretty good anyway.
Shoyu Chicken – http://allrecipes.com/recipe/shoyu-chicken/detail.aspx
Still a group favorite. Damn tasty.
Sesame Crusted Mahi Mahi – http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sesame-crusted-mahi-mahi-with-soy-shiso-ginger-butter-sauce/detail.aspx
This probably took the longest, but they turned out pretty good with just the right amount of bake time (15 min).
Manapua Short Cut – http://cookinghawaiianstyle.com/hawaiian-recipes?view=recipes&layout=detail&id=110#content
Everyone really liked these, they were great appetizers.
Pineapple salad – chop everything and mix in a salad bowl
diced fresh pineapple
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 onion
spinach
garden mix lettuce
This actually turned out better than the last pineapple salad we did because we spent way too much time on the homemade dressing when, the pineapple juice from the pineapple was more than enough.
Posted May 7th, 2012 by Chris
Aloha!
A number of the Cooking Army members and attendees are planning a trip to Maui in the near future and thought it’d be nice to have everyone join us, at least in spirit, a little. With your bellies. While Jeremy said we couldn’t dig a spit to roast a whole hog in his living room, I still think it would have been really tasty. Instead, we’re doing a couple recipes we’ve done in the past here that everyone liked, I’m lookin’ to see if we can refine them to be even better this time around.
When: This Wednesday, May 9th. Cooking at 6:30, Food ready at 7:45.
What: Shoyu Chicken, Sesame Crusted Mahi Mahi, Manapua Short Cut, Pineapple salad
PSA: For those not aware, Cooking Army has a website! Yes, you can go to HTTP://COOKINGARMY.COM and we post all these invites, as well as the recipes we use. Feel free to comment on things you like and if your friends aren’t on the email list, you can send them to the recruitment page. Now back to our normally scheduled program…
Come on over and bring your favorite umbrella drink mix or a frosty beverage of your choice. Bring your friends, sit back and relax at our little luau, it’s time to eat.
/Chris
Posted April 19th, 2012 by Chris
We had our first hospitalized troop this week. It’s actually impressive we’ve been doing Cooking Army for six and a half years and this is our first purple heart. But potato peeling? Really? Why can’t JP just get shrapnel to the ass like everyone else?
Schnitzel (chicken and pork)
For this, we didn’t really have much of a recipe, we took chick breasts and pork loin chops, tenderized them with a meat hammer, dipped them in egg (whisking the egg yoke and white together beforehand), then dipping them into breadcrumbs along with pepper and some other seasonings, then pan frying them in an oiled skillet on the stove until they were a solid brown.
These were pretty decent, standard fare shnitzel.
Oxtail Soup: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Oxtail-Soup-with-Red-Wine-and-Root-Vegetables-102123
This was made in a huge quantity, but it was mostly broth. Fairly tasty still.
Homemade Bavarian Pretzels: http://www.theoktoberfest.com/HTML/pretzel/index.html
This was best of the night, absolutely awesome. If you like pretzels, THIS is the way to make’em.
German Potato Salad: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/german-potato-salad-recipe/index.html
Pretty good, a bit sour, but then agian, that’s what german potato salad is supposed to be. There was no blood mixed in either.
Posted April 18th, 2012 by Chris
This week, we at the Cooking Army are celebrate the foods of one of the most belligerent nations in history. Yes, it’s time for German food once again. We will be serving some Schnitzel. We will be offering our oxtail soup. We will be passing the pretzels. You will be bringing the beverages (beer). Please partake in our perfectly prepared potlatch.
What: Schnitzel (chicken and pork), Oxtail Soup, Homemade Bavarian Pretzels (maybe some homemade mustard if we’re feeling adventurous)
When: Wednesday, April 18th 7:30 PM (cooking starts at 6:30)
A meal like this deserves some good German Bier. So be sure to bring some. Come one, come all! It’s time to eat.