Ruth Haffly wrote to Dave Drum <=-

Probably so. Today, while waiting for a doctor's appointment, I started
a book I'd downloaded before our big spring trip but never got around
to reading. It's another Philippa Gregory one, this time about Margaret Pole, cousin to Henry VII.

I familiar with her name - but never read anyof her swcrivening. I'm
not much on 15th century settings. Or the machinations of the British Royals.

My choice, your choice. It's a whole different genre than the Tom
Clancy books I also like to read.

Clancy has become too formulaic for my taste. Book Bub offered me a
deeply discounted Fletcher Knebel that I had not read - so I glommed
onto it. Nebel, who died in '93 wrote 7 Days In May, The Candidate,
etc. and many of his works became Hollywoods.

8<----- XXXXX ----->8

My "Echomail" database in MealMaster is over 23K recipes - all I have either downloaded or uploaded from/to the echo over the years. My
Taste of Home base is approaching 6K and the NYT base is over 4K.

I don't have nearly that many, and never will, because I only grab ones that I'm pretty sure I'll make, sooner or later. The past couple of
years I've pulled out some I've had for a while and made them up,
wondered why I didn't try them earlier as they're now keepers.

Since I post a recipe with every message and the daily "bulk" recipes like the five related to each date's "food" or event and 10 from a
list of topical recipes ..... like the 40 waiting to be posted as
"Best of 2025". Even though I already have many of those in my
archives I still bang in a fair amount of new stuff.

Most of them I'll go thru, just reading the recipe title. Occaisionally one will catch my eye, like the Marry Me Chicken. Our Auxiliary
President made a version of it for our July meeting, had enough that I
was able to bring a box home to share with Steve. It was just as good
the 2nd time around (for me), first time for Steve. (G)

Those are the best kind.

Here's a copykat from a joint you like ...

Title: Copycat Chick Fil A Sauce
Categories: Sauces, Condiments
Yield: 6 servings

Actually, I like my CFA fairly plain. If I'm getting a sandwich, I'll
just get a packet of mayo for it; if I'm getting strips, I'll ask for a side of pickles and also get some mayo. Basic but good; I'm not big
into ketchup or bbq sauce.

I'm not either. Popeyes offers all manner of goopy sauces for/on its
chicken wings. Since I generally order on their app I was beginning to
think I was going to have to pull a gun on someone to get "original"
spicy wings with no pre-applied sauce. But eventually my (and no doubt
other) complaints in "feedback" got listed to/read and now "original
spicy" (or mild) is the first selection.

Chick Filly has never been one of my go-to places. It's OK but Lee's Famous and Popeyes are better - ofthe fats food chicken joints. Then
there are Track Shack and Ritz' lil Fryer local to me.

Only one of the above close to me is Popeyes, and the closest one there
is in Raleigh, about 12 miles from here. Cook Out just opened a few
months ago in the old PDQ location; they're famous for 40 some flavors
of milk shakes (some only seasonal). We tried Cook Out a couple of
times; they make a pretty decent chicken breast sandwich. It's not
fried like CFA but good in its own right.

My nearest Popeyes is about a mile from my house. How does Cook Out do
their sandwich? Baked? Boiled? Broiled?

Certainly CF is popular. The local store is on a "out lot" for the
local maul. The out lots also have a Texas Roadhouse and Mission BBQ.
But CF isthe one with 2drive-up lanes *alway* so full of hungey diners that the lines back up well into the street. And my mental voice says
"No way we'll wait that long" Bv)= Fast food my patootie.

Go inside; you'll get served quicker. With the antennas on the truck,
we can't go thru the drive up lanes, nor can we when towing the camper. So, it's always inside to order, sometimes eat in, sometimes take home
and sometimes eat in the camper. But yes, the drive up lines at CFA are always busy. WF got a 2nd store a few years ago; now both of them stay busy.

I used to do that when I was a regular at Mickey D's. Pull up right outside
the entry door, go in, get my grub and be on my way home or to work before
the car that was at the speaker had advanced to the pay-up window.

Popeyes is currently offering a 3-piece for U$5. Leg, thigh and wing
is my usual selection. And with a side of coleslaw or mash & gravy
it's a nice evening meal.

If it's convenient to you, go for it. I'd probably eat the wing and
leg, save the thigh for another time, or vice versa, or try to get a breast as one of my choices. But yes, cole slaw on the side.

It's a rather strange selection. You can get dark meat - leg and thigh with
the wing making the 3rd piece. Or white meat - breast and two wings. Tuesdays they still do the "Tuesday Special". Sometimes I'll get four of those and do the drumsticks for supper, than do the thighs - two at atime, for two more suppers. Bv)=

And on Tuesday the drive thru looks like Chick Filly's so I generally park
and go inside to order.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Copycat Popeyes Chicken Sandwich
Categories: Poultry, Breads, Herbs, Chilies, Dairy
Yield: 4 Servings

2 Boned, skinned chicken
- breasts
1 1/2 c A-P flour
1/4 c Baking powder
2 1/2 ts Salt
1 3/4 ts MSG (Acent)
1/2 ts Ground white pepper
1/4 ts Ground black pepper
1/4 ts Cayenne pepper; or more
1/4 ts Garlic powder
=+OR+=
1/2 ts Garlic granules
1 lg Egg; beaten
1 1/2 c Buttermilk
Oil for frying
4 Brioche buns
4 tb Salted butter; softened
1/4 c Mayonnaise
12 sl (to 16) dill pickle

MMMMM----------------------SPICY MAYONNAISE---------------------------
1/2 ts Hot sauce
1/2 ts Paprika
1/4 ts Garlic powder
1/8 ts Ground cayenne

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup buttermilk, 2 teaspoons
salt, and 1 teaspoon MSG and whisk until they're well
mixed.

Trim off the thin, tapered end of the chicken and
butterfly each breast, slicing it in half crosswise to
create four fillets that are roughly 1/2 inch thick.

Add the chicken to the brine and cover it with a piece
of plastic wrap. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for
four hours.

Make the breading in a large bowl by combining the
flour, baking powder, remaining salt, remaining MSG,
white pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and garlic
powder.

In a separate bowl, beat together the egg and
buttermilk.

In a large Dutch oven or wok, heat 3" of oil over
medium-high heat. If you're using an electric tabletop
fryer, fill the unit to its MAX line. When the oil
reaches 325┬║F/165┬║C, reduce the heat to medium-low.

Remove the chicken from the brine and shake off any
excess liquid. Dip the brined chicken into the flour
mixture, pressing it lightly until the flour adheres.
Dunk the chicken into the egg mixture before returning
it to the flour mixture, pressing it down firmly into
the flour. Toss the chicken around in the flour mixture
a bit to create a craggly, bumpy flour coating.

Shake off any excess flour and carefully drop the
chicken into the hot oil. Be careful not to overcrowd
the fryer. Depending on the size of your fryer, you
should be able to fry two to four chicken pieces at a
time.

Fry the chicken until it's golden brown and crispy on
all sides, 8 to 10 minutes, and a meat thermometer
probed to the center of the chicken reads 165┬║F/74┬║C

Remove the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate and
allow the oil to come back up to temperature before
frying the rest of the chicken.

Meanwhile, heat a cast iron skillet or saute pan over
medium-high heat. Butter the insides of each top and
bottom bun with 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Place the buns
butter-side down on the skillet and cook until they're
golden brown and toasted, about 2 minutes.

Make the sandwiches by coating the bottom and top bun
with 1/2 tablespoon of mayonnaise. For spicy mayonnaise,
combine the mayo, hot sauce, paprika, garlic powder, and
cayenne before spreading it on the bun.

Add three or four pickles to the bottom bun (optional)
and top it with the fried chicken. Finish the sandwich
by placing the top bun on top of the fried chicken.

RECIPE FROM: https://www.mashed.com

Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives

MMMMM

... A penny saved is a Congressional oversight.
--- MultiMail/Win
* Origin: Phoenix BBS * phoenix.bnbbbs.net (1:320/219)

Hi Dave,

Probably so. Today, while waiting for a doctor's appointment, I started
a book I'd downloaded before our big spring trip but never got around
to reading. It's another Philippa Gregory one, this time about Margaret Pole, cousin to Henry VII.

I familiar with her name - but never read anyof her swcrivening. I'm
not much on 15th century settings. Or the machinations of the British Royals.

My choice, your choice. It's a whole different genre than the Tom
Clancy books I also like to read.

Clancy has become too formulaic for my taste. Book Bub offered me a
deeply discounted Fletcher Knebel that I had not read - so I glommed
onto it. Nebel, who died in '93 wrote 7 Days In May, The Candidate,
etc. and many of his works became Hollywoods.

I've heard of, but not read the books nor seen the movies. IIRC they're
a spy genre? Clancy passed away in 2013; his books are being written by
othes now under "...........A Tom Clancy book". Now most of them feature
Jack Jr or, if not him, some other member of the Campus group he works
for. Most of them are mediocre but once in a while, one will be pretty
good. "Fun" part is figuring out which book it will be. (G)

8<----- XXXXX ----->8

Since I post a recipe with every message and the daily "bulk" recipes like the five related to each date's "food" or event and 10 from a
list of topical recipes ..... like the 40 waiting to be posted as
"Best of 2025". Even though I already have many of those in my
archives I still bang in a fair amount of new stuff.

Most of them I'll go thru, just reading the recipe title. Occaisionally one will catch my eye, like the Marry Me Chicken. Our Auxiliary
President made a version of it for our July meeting, had enough that I
was able to bring a box home to share with Steve. It was just as good
the 2nd time around (for me), first time for Steve. (G)

Those are the best kind.

The ones to be made multiple times. I finally got the fig cake made
earlier today. Tipping it out on to a plate was a bit of a mess, tho not
as bad as it could have been. We'll have the first tasting with supper
but Steve did taste a bit of what fell off the plate and said it was
good. We need to look for a rimmed 11" or 12" plate if I'm to make it
again; the dinner plate just barely held it.

Here's a copykat from a joint you like ...

Title: Copycat Chick Fil A Sauce
Categories: Sauces, Condiments
Yield: 6 servings

Actually, I like my CFA fairly plain. If I'm getting a sandwich, I'll
just get a packet of mayo for it; if I'm getting strips, I'll ask for a side of pickles and also get some mayo. Basic but good; I'm not big
into ketchup or bbq sauce.

I'm not either. Popeyes offers all manner of goopy sauces for/on its chicken wings. Since I generally order on their app I was beginning to think I was going to have to pull a gun on someone to get "original"
spicy wings with no pre-applied sauce. But eventually my (and no doubt other) complaints in "feedback" got listed to/read and now "original spicy" (or mild) is the first selection.

I'd probably go for the original, mild if I were to get any sort of
sauce but I usually like the chicken without any sort of sauce. The
variety of sauces they're getting is soon going to rival Zaxby's which
is more of a southern chain, tho they do have an outlet in Salt Lake
City. Saw that on a map of their outlets when we were there a couple of
weeks ago.

My nearest Popeyes is about a mile from my house. How does Cook Out do their sandwich? Baked? Boiled? Broiled?

They're char grilled, with no coating. I've tasted a faint charcoal
flavor on them.

Certainly CF is popular. The local store is on a "out lot" for the
local maul. The out lots also have a Texas Roadhouse and Mission BBQ.
But CF isthe one with 2drive-up lanes *alway* so full of hungey diners that the lines back up well into the street. And my mental voice says
"No way we'll wait that long" Bv)= Fast food my patootie.

Go inside; you'll get served quicker. With the antennas on the truck,
we can't go thru the drive up lanes, nor can we when towing the camper. So, it's always inside to order, sometimes eat in, sometimes take home
and sometimes eat in the camper. But yes, the drive up lines at CFA are always busy. WF got a 2nd store a few years ago; now both of them stay busy.

I used to do that when I was a regular at Mickey D's. Pull up right outside the entry door, go in, get my grub and be on my way home or to work before the car that was at the speaker had advanced to the pay-up window.

With the camper we either try to avoid the super busy times or, if the
CFA place is an out property in a mall, park in the mall lot and walk
over. With the R-Pod, we could park in a double space, have to find
something a bit bigger now that we have the Grey Wolf and F-150. Not
quite as convenient as just pull up to the entry door, go in, grab your
order and head back out but we're pulling our (temporary) home with us.
(G)

Popeyes is currently offering a 3-piece for U$5. Leg, thigh and

wing DD> is my usual selection. And with a side of coleslaw or mash &
gravy DD> it's a nice evening meal.

If it's convenient to you, go for it. I'd probably eat the wing and
leg, save the thigh for another time, or vice versa, or try to get a breast as one of my choices. But yes, cole slaw on the side.

It's a rather strange selection. You can get dark meat - leg and thigh with the wing making the 3rd piece. Or white meat - breast and two
wings. Tuesdays they still do the "Tuesday Special". Sometimes I'll
get four of those and do the drumsticks for supper, than do the thighs
- two at atime, for two more suppers. Bv)=

That works. We went to a new to us place yesterday for lunch, The Curry
House. The tandoori chicken was good, but hot (tomato/cream sauce tamed
it) and Steve said that in his lamb dish, the meat was tougher than
expected, also hot. We ended up taking some home (supper tonight) with
an extra order of garlic naan and the sauce, plus some basmati rice.
We'll probably go back so we can try some of the other dishes.

And on Tuesday the drive thru looks like Chick Filly's so I

generally DD> park and go inside to order.

Makes sense. They're too far from us to do that on any sort of regular
basis.

---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net FIDO 1:396/45.28


... OH NO! Not ANOTHER learning experience!

--- PPoint 3.01
* Origin: Sew! That's My Point (1:396/45.28)

Ruth Haffly wrote to Dave Drum <=-

Clancy has become too formulaic for my taste. Book Bub offered me a
deeply discounted Fletcher Knebel that I had not read - so I glommed
onto it. Nebel, who died in '93 wrote 7 Days In May, The Candidate,
etc. and many of his works became Hollywoods.

I've heard of, but not read the books nor seen the movies. IIRC they're
a spy genre? Clancy passed away in 2013; his books are being written by othes now under "...........A Tom Clancy book". Now most of them
feature Jack Jr or, if not him, some other member of the Campus group
he works for. Most of them are mediocre but once in a while, one will
be pretty good. "Fun" part is figuring out which book it will be. (G)

That 'splains Clanky becomig formulaic. It's a franchise now. Bv)=

Knebel wrote some spy/espionage stuff. And a lot of poli-ticks/political intrigue. And apparently, from some of the howls from those whose ox was
gored, knew where the bodies were buried. Bv)= He was one of those
authors who got you immersed in the story within a few pages. My sort
of writer. I'm currently reading "Not This Way" by Blake Pierce - it's
a sort-of cops 'n bad guys yarn starring a Native American Texas Ranger.
I'm quite enjoying the way it moves right along, never dawdling over the
little stuff.

8<----- XXXXX ----->8

Here's a copykat from a joint you like ...

Title: Copycat Chick Fil A Sauce
Categories: Sauces, Condiments
Yield: 6 servings

Actually, I like my CFA fairly plain. If I'm getting a sandwich, I'll
just get a packet of mayo for it; if I'm getting strips, I'll ask for a side of pickles and also get some mayo. Basic but good; I'm not big
into ketchup or bbq sauce.

I'm not either. Popeyes offers all manner of goopy sauces for/on its chicken wings. Since I generally order on their app I was beginning to think I was going to have to pull a gun on someone to get "original"
spicy wings with no pre-applied sauce. But eventually my (and no doubt other) complaints in "feedback" got listed to/read and now "original spicy" (or mild) is the first selection.

I'd probably go for the original, mild if I were to get any sort of
sauce but I usually like the chicken without any sort of sauce. The variety of sauces they're getting is soon going to rival Zaxby's which
is more of a southern chain, tho they do have an outlet in Salt Lake
City. Saw that on a map of their outlets when we were there a couple of weeks ago.

We just recently got a Raising Cane's on the out lot of a strip mall in
front of our Barnes & Nobel - which is the only "new" book outlet in my
home town. I have yet to try them.

My nearest Popeyes is about a mile from my house. How does Cook Out do their sandwich? Baked? Boiled? Broiled?

They're char grilled, with no coating. I've tasted a faint charcoal
flavor on them.

Charcoal? Or smoke? If they're a commercial thing and reasonably busy
I'd be willing to bet that their char-grill is gas or 'lectic for the
heat with the smoke/charcoal flavouring added by some sort of smoke
generator.

Certainly CF is popular. The local store is on a "out lot" for the
local maul. The out lots also have a Texas Roadhouse and Mission BBQ.
But CF isthe one with 2drive-up lanes *alway* so full of hungey diners that the lines back up well into the street. And my mental voice says
"No way we'll wait that long" Bv)= Fast food my patootie.

Go inside; you'll get served quicker. With the antennas on the truck,
we can't go thru the drive up lanes, nor can we when towing the camper. So, it's always inside to order, sometimes eat in, sometimes take home
and sometimes eat in the camper. But yes, the drive up lines at CFA are always busy. WF got a 2nd store a few years ago; now both of them stay busy.

I used to do that when I was a regular at Mickey D's. Pull up right outside the entry door, go in, get my grub and be on my way home or to work before the car that was at the speaker had advanced to the pay-up window.

With the camper we either try to avoid the super busy times or, if the
CFA place is an out property in a mall, park in the mall lot and walk over. With the R-Pod, we could park in a double space, have to find something a bit bigger now that we have the Grey Wolf and F-150. Not
quite as convenient as just pull up to the entry door, go in, grab your order and head back out but we're pulling our (temporary) home with us. (G)

I've only done a cramper trip once. Borrowed my brother's pickup truck
and little trailer and set off for Denver with my GF to visit her aunt
and uncle. Decided that was not my cuppa tea. If I do something like that
again I'll drive my car and get a motel room. Ot take the Amtrak and rent
a ride at my destination.

Popeyes is currently offering a 3-piece for U$5. Leg, thigh and
wing is my usual selection. And with a side of coleslaw or mash &
gravy it's a nice evening meal.

If it's convenient to you, go for it. I'd probably eat the wing and
leg, save the thigh for another time, or vice versa, or try to get a breast as one of my choices. But yes, cole slaw on the side.

They also offer three for U$5 chicken tenders.

It's a rather strange selection. You can get dark meat - leg and thigh with the wing making the 3rd piece. Or white meat - breast and two
wings. Tuesdays they still do the "Tuesday Special". Sometimes I'll
get four of those and do the drumsticks for supper, than do the thighs
- two at atime, for two more suppers. Bv)=

That works. We went to a new to us place yesterday for lunch, The Curry House. The tandoori chicken was good, but hot (tomato/cream sauce tamed it) and Steve said that in his lamb dish, the meat was tougher than expected, also hot. We ended up taking some home (supper tonight) with
an extra order of garlic naan and the sauce, plus some basmati rice.
We'll probably go back so we can try some of the other dishes.

That sounds like our local Flavour of India. Their typical lunch buffet has lamb biryani, tandoori chicken, vegetable pakora, curry, etc. And, of course that killer mango I scream.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Lamb Biryani
Categories: Lamb/mutton, Vegetables, Chilies, Dairy, Herbs
Yield: 8 Servings

4 Serrano chilies; stemmed
8 cl Garlic; peeled
1 (4") pc fresh ginger, peeled
2 md Yellow onions; peeled,
- quartered
2 Roma tomatoes; quartered
1 c Full-fat yogurt
1 c Fresh mint leaves
1 c Fresh cilantro leaves
1 tb Ground coriander
1 tb Ground cumin
1 ts Kashmiri chile powder; more
- as needed
1/2 ts Ground turmeric
1 1/2 ts Salt; more as needed
3 lb Lamb chops (or lamb shoulder
- pieces)
3 (1/2")Indian cinnamon sticks
+=OR=+
1 lg Cinnamon stick
12 Whole black peppercorns
6 Cloves
6 Green cardamom pods
1 tb Garam masala

MMMMM------------------------FRIED ONIONS-----------------------------
1 c Neutral oil
2 Yellow onions; thin sliced
1/2 ts Salt

MMMMM----------------------------RICE---------------------------------
Salt
3 c Basmati rice

MMMMM--------------------------ASSEMBLY-------------------------------
6 tb Whole milk
1/2 ts Saffron threads
2 c Mixed fresh cilantro & mint
- leaves
6 tb Unsalted butter; sliced

PREPARE THE LAMB MARINADE: Add the finger chiles, garlic
and ginger to a food processor and process until finely
chopped. Add the onions and tomatoes, process until
smooth, and scrape into a bowl that will hold all the
lamb and fit in your fridge. Add the yogurt, mint,
cilantro, coriander, cumin, chile powder, turmeric and
salt, and stir to combine. Add the lamb to the bowl and
toss to coat in the marinade, then cover and refrigerate
overnight.

PREPARE THE FRIED ONIONS: In a Dutch oven or heavy pot,
heat the oil over medium. Add the onions, season with
salt, and saute until browned, stirring occasionally, 25
to 30 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer fried
onions to a paper towel-lined plate. Using your hands,
pull apart the fried onions to separate to prevent them
from sticking together, and set aside.

Add the cinnamon, peppercorns, cloves and cardamom to
the remaining hot oil, and fry over medium until
fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the meat, its marinade
and 1 cup water, and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender
and the sauce is very thick and dark, about 2 1/2 hours,
adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a low simmer.
Stir in the garam masala and taste, adjusting with salt
and chile powder as needed. Set aside.

Set the oven @ 350oF/175oC.

PREPARE THE RICE: Bring a large pot of lightly salted
water to a boil and add the rice. Stir well and cook for
3 minutes, transfer to a colander in the sink to drain.
Run some cool water on top to cool the rice; set aside.

PREPARE THE SAFFRON MILK FOR ASSEMBLY: Warm the milk in
a small saucepan over medium heat just until it steams.
Remove from heat and add the saffron, crumbling it with
your fingertips as you drop it into the milk. Set aside.

In a large, heavy, lidded pot, add about a third of the
meat mixture in an even layer covering the bottom of the
pot. Sprinkle the meat with a third of the herbs and a
third of the rice, assembling lightly without packing
the layers. Drizzle 2 tablespoons saffron milk over the
rice and add about a third of the fried onions. Build
two more layers of meat, herbs, rice, saffron milk and
onions. Top with pats of butter and cover the pot with
foil.

Put the lid on the pot of rice, transfer to the oven and
bake until piping hot, about 1 hour. Let rest for about
10 minutes, then serve hot, digging all the way to the
bottom of the pot with the serving spoon. To reheat,
warm the biryani covered in the oven, or microwave.

By: Tejal Rao

RECIPE FROM: https://cooking.nytimes.com

Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives

MMMMM

... The trouble with making mental notes is that the ink fades so fast!
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)