10
May
Avoid KFC in Franklin
admin

Why did the chicken cross the road?  To get away from KFC. 

 The KFC in Franklin, NC, does not know chicken and certainly doesn’t know how to take care of their customers.  I have been shorted chicken repeatedly.  They can’t count. And they don’t know that a chicken has two legs, two thighs, two wings and two breast halves.  You pay, you wait, and your order is still not right. Sad part is- they don’t care. 

I have decided it is time to say something about the eating establishments I visit.   For better or worse others should know just what I am finding in the area.  I am sorry to say that most of my visits lately have been bad experiences. Keep in mind, I live in a small town with fast food restaurants. We have no Olive Garden, no Red Lobster, no major chains that offer a better dining experience. The closest thing is FATZ Cafe. And that is marginal at best.

The worst restaurant in Franklin, in my opinion, is KFC.  I go there for the grilled chicken (when I need a meal fast).  It should not always be a bad experience – but it never fails to be.  The last four times I have been there have been the same experience – terrible.  I order the 12 piece meal, that way three people can eat with left overs for lunch, or you would think.  There should be at least two pieces of breast in this bucket, two legs, two thighs and two wings. Not true for what I have been receiving.  I get usually one breast, four to six wings, two to three legs and three thighs.  One time the chicken was so dry, and hard, we could not eat some of it. My husband convinced me to just let it go. I did log on the KFC website and tell them what had happened.  I have since purchased three times more with the same results. Last Sunday was the worst.  We decided on a picnic for Mothers Day and again went to KFC, placed our order, waited, and noticed we had sat in dirty chairs. (They are white metal frames and are filthy).  Anyway back to the chicken. I saw people who order after I did getting chicken. I went up and finally got the attention of the man who took my order. I showed him my receipt. He asked what I had ordered. Upon telling him, he walked around just looking, then started to fill my order. After he finished he handed me order, finally. I told him about being shorted before and asked if all my chicken was in the bucket. He assured me it was. Upon arriving  home, I had one breast half, 6 legs, one thigh, and four wings. I paid almost $25.00 dollars for this. I phoned and was told “to just bring it back if I didn’t like it.” My husband was already eating the nasty mess. The biscuits were not brown and were doughy in the middle. I did not get my slaw. 

Don’t eat there. You will be treated badly. Rotisserie chicken it will be- from now on.

Category: Restaurants, Review  Tags: , , , , ,  Comments off
14
Apr
What’s In That?
monicacollier

After many commercials reminding me that Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, Season 2, would be debuting on Tuesday, April 12, I couldn’t wait to see it. It was TIVO’d. Sorry Jamie, but Mark Harmon was calling on CBS. After watching the episode it still has me asking- what’s in that?

Our food, food supply, ingredients, each item we consume, and the source for those, is not even in our thought process. It should be. Where does your ground beef, purchased from a supermarket, comes from? Does it have sub par content (what normally goes into dog and cat food)? Probably. Jamie raised a good point to ponder – What’s in that?

The meat industry, which is overseen by the USDA, and is supposed to have our best interest at heart, does not require labeling of our meat, telling us if it contains ‘pink slime’ (look it up) processed with ammonia. Just the concept of cosuming this ‘stuff’ turns my stomach. Know your butcher. Know your food. Know where that cow grazed, what it was given, how it was slaughtered. It matters.

I’m calling Brasstown Beef, today, and finding out who carries their products locally because I know how they care for their beef. It’s organic and pesticide free. My food background is returning me to battle- for my health and yours too. Get on board with the ‘Food Revolution’ today. The health of our children depends on it.

Jamie is battling the Los Angeles school district for they are feeding kids there. He is going to battle for you too.

For more information about this Brit with a cause- our cause- http://www.jamieoliver.com

Post orginated from  http://monicacollier.com/blog/?p=108

Category: Health, News  Tags: , , , , , ,  Comments off
24
Mar
Change
admin

  

Change is all around us. 

Elizabeth Taylor died today, she symbolizes the past glamour age to me.  Times have changed. Glamour is not even looked at in the same way anymore, and I think it is a shame.  Once curves were thought to be an asset. But not anymore. It is thin, thin, thin.  Gone are the days when flirting was an art and you would go to mail box everyday looking for  mail from that someone special.  Not only can we hear from that some in an instant now, but we can actually see them and chat.  I embrace this. 

Even the way eat and cook has changed.  We are more health conscience, and presentation really counts.  I also love all the gadgets to make things in the kitchen better.  I love the change in cook books too. The nutritional information for the recipes is awesome. I haven’t picked up a cookbook lately that didn’t have great photography as well.

But one thing is for sure - to be happy - I believe you need to embrace change. I hope to always be like a child, running toward change, and not from it. 

Anyway, I guess this is my way of saying goodbye to Elizabeth Taylor.

Category: Musings  Tags: , , ,  Comments off
21
Jul
Biscuits- a thing of beauty
admin

I was so inspired today- by none other than biscuits. I will keep most of my musings for inclusion in my soon-to-be released cookbook.  Here an excerpt from my writings:

“I think bread is a thing of beauty.  I think even Picasso would have dropped his brush for warm bread just from the oven.  Growing up in the south there was bread every meal and sometimes in between.  With the modern technology we have today, you can have homemade bread and biscuits in no time. ”

I will be posting a biscuit recipe soon. Watch for it.

Category: Musings  Comments off
20
Jun
“Brushing” Up
admin

I love kitchen gadgets and have to be careful not to overrun my kitchen with them.  I love going to a store in Commerce, Georgia, called the Kitchen Collection.  You name it- they have it, things I didn’t know I needed until I got them.  I just got what looks like a small tube, you put garlic cloves into it and rub the tube between your palms. Voila!  The garlic is peeled.  I love it.  I also got some mini spatulas. They are great for getting things like sweetened condensed milk out of the can and things that require a slightly smaller tool.  It was buy three, get one free. I bought bright colors- orange, olive and red.  I also got silicon basting brushes in the same deal, orange, blue and olive.  I believe these bright colors make cooking even more fun for me.  I like the silicon basting brushes better than the pastry brushes. The type of pastry brushes I had looked like paint brushes.  Sometimes the hair will come out of these brushes and I hate that.  Anyway find a kitchen shop and browse. You are in for a real treat.

Category: Kitchen Gadgets, Musings  Tags: , , , , , ,  Comments off
20
Jun
BBQ Ribs No Grill Required
admin

Today is Father’s Day and  I wanted to do something special for my Dad and my husband.  My husband wanted me to make my oven baby back ribs.  My Dad likes these also.   I love to grill and smoke food, but you don’t need a grill to make great ribs.  You need the following: 

1 or 2 racks of baby back ribs

Dry rub:2 tablespoons McCormick Grillmates Barbeque seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste).  Mix and set aside.

Wash ribs in cold water and pat dry.  Remove the membrane on the back side of the ribs.  I use the tip of a small knife to start this membrane and pull it off.  It might seem difficult at first but with practice it gets easier.  By removing the membrane you allow the seasoning to get into the ribs better. 

Rub front and back, cover with plastic wrap and put into the refrigerator for at least two hours or overnight. 

To bake preheat the oven to 350 F.  

Make a tent for the ribs with heavy duty aluminum foil.  Place into the oven and bake for about 4 hours. Remove from oven and brush with your favorite barbeque sauce (I love Bullseye and Jack Daniels brand sauce).   Put back into the oven and let the sauce form a glaze on the meat.   Be generous with the sauce.  I made the ribs today and they were tasty.  Happy eating to all you Dads out there.

Category: Musings, Recipes  Tags: , , , , , ,  3 Comments
14
Jun
All Charcoal Is Not Created Equal
admin

As you can probably tell, I like to grill. In fact, I love it. I want to be like Bobby Flay. I also adore Alton Brown and have learned so much from them. Alton is a very smart man. I was using charcoal briquettes until watching his episode on grilling.

Charcoal can be toxic. It is made from pressed coal dust. You are actually cooking your food with that! If you must use it, wait until it is totally grey.

I like to use a brand called “Cowboy Charcoal” sold in Lowe’s stores. You can use any natural hard wood charcoal that has not been treated with chemicals. I have found that it does not require lighter fluid to get it going, thus removes the necessity of adding more toxic chemicals. Upon Alton’s advice with using natural charcoal, I purchased a chimney. It is used to light any charcoal without chemical intervention. It’s speedy and very effective.

If I’m ever fortunate enough to have either Bobby or Alton reading my musings, thank you both!

Category: Musings  Tags: , , , , ,  One Comment
14
Jun
Cooking Spontaneously
admin

I am not usually a spontaneous person, but I have started being so where cooking is concerned.  I had purchased some limes to use in salsa and had four left over.  It was really hot here Saturday and I wanted ice cream.  I have watched a show on the Food Network called Chopped.  If you have seen this show you know that you make a meal out of foods given to you in a basket.  Some of the cooks on this show really inspire me.  Anyway, I decided to make ice cream out of the limes.  I love Key Lime Pie, so though why not Key Lime Ice Cream.  I had recently purchased an ice cream freezer bowlid to use with my Kitchen Aid mixer.  I laid out my limes, found graham crackers to use (for the taste of a crust) and non-fat sweetened condensed milk.  My ice cream bowl was in the freezer and had been for about a week.  I squeezed the juice from the limes and had 1/2 cup, which I poured into an eight cup measuring cup.  I added 1 can non-fat sweetened condensed milk, 1 cup half and half, 1 cup fat-free evaporated milk and a dash of salt, stirring well. Then sat the mixture into the refrigerator to chill.  I placed two full sheets of graham crackers in a Ziploc bag breaking them into small pieces, laid them aside, and cleaned house for about three hours.   I put my ice cream freezer in place, started it and poured in my chilled mixture.  In about twenty five minutes I had soft ice cream.I stirred in most of my graham cracker pieces, reserving just a few to sprinkle over the ice cream, folded the crackers in and dolloped it into a container, then into the freezer, and of course I licked the agitator. Yumm!  I had delicious ice cream in about an hour and a half.  I am still enjoying it, as it made about two quarts.  I love making ice cream.

Today I had two left over baked potatoes, weighing about one pound.  I love loaded potatoes so thought I would try to create loaded potato salad.  I cut my potatoes into bite size pieces and placed them in a bowl.  I added 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, I/2 cup diced onion, and 1/2 cup chopped bacon (that had been fried crispy and drained).  In a smaller bowl I added 1 cup light sour cream, 1/2 cup light mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon white pepper, mixed and poured into the bowl with the potatoes, gently folding in.  My husband and daughter loved this and I was happy as well.  Next time I will add chives. You could serve a scoop over a bed of your favorite lettuce with a slice of tomato. A tasty, cool, meal for a hot day.

I purchase items and use them in new recipes. What is not consumed in the recipe is left.  I am challenging myself to create meals by using what I have on hand and cleaning out my pantry.

Category: Kitchen Gadgets, Musings, Recipes  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  3 Comments
16
May
Seasoning The Grill
admin

I bought a new charcoal grill. I got the idea from watching Food Network, specifically Alton Brown. He suggested a good heavy cast iron grate. I found this at Lowe’s, I got a Chargriller. I love it, but I have to season the grates. My husband and I put the grate together and I rubbed the grates down with vegetable oil and heated them up in the oven. I am ready to go.

Category: News  Tags: , , , , ,  6 Comments