Hoppin' John by Frank Thomas - from "The Big Hurt's Guide to BBQ and Grilling" (2016)

RECIPE

1 1-pound ham steak

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 celery rib, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

6 cups chicken broth

salt and ground black pepper, to taste

4 cups fresh black-eyed peas

2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice

2 tbsp unsalted butter

3 cups water

Preheat grill to high.

Rinse the ham under running water, then pat dry and trim off any excess fat.  Season both sides with salt and black pepper.

When your grill is hot, use tongs to dip a wad of paper towels in vegetable oil and run them a dozen times across the grates.  Grill ham over direct heat until grill marks begin to appear and the ham is cooked through, about 5 minutes on each side.  Allow the ham to cool, then roughly chop.

Heat vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over direct heat, then cook onion, celery and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add broth, salt, black pepper, and peas and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer until peas are tender and creamy, about 45 minutes.  Add chopped ham and stir.

Add rice, butter, and water to a medium pot on your stovetop and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove pot from heat and allow rice to rest for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

Spoon rice onto plates and top with the peas and ham.

"A classic Southern dish" is how Frank Thomas describes Hoppin' John.  Sure enough, a quick online search comes up with a pile of Hoppin' John recipes that's almost as high as Stone Mountain.

Around the same time I prepared Thomas' recipe, I came across this near-rapturous exaltation of the dish in The Member of the Wedding by Georgia-born author Carson McCullers:

Now hopping-john was F. Jasmine's very favorite food. She had always warned them to wave a plate of rice and peas before her nose when she was in her coffin, to make certain there was no mistake; for if a breath of life was left in her, she would sit up and eat, but if she smelled the hopping-john, and did not stir, then they could just nail down the coffin and be certain she was truly dead.

Well, that's quite a statement, attesting to the powerful hold this simple dish has on people. It's one of those slow-cooking recipes that afford you time for contemplation of life and death, I guess.

But it is also delicious.  No southern cookbook would be complete without a Hoppin' John recipe, and the one presented by Thomas does not disappoint.  I could keep eating this until the time comes to nail down the coffin.  On that delightful note...

Put it on the board, yes!

Bookshelf - "Fowl Tips: My Favorite Chicken Recipes" (1984) by Wade Boggs

45 pp., paperback with plastic rings.

31 recipes, with tips for preparing, seasoning and cooking chicken

Here is the perfect convergence of baseball and cookbooks.

Back in 2014, I added one of the Holy Grails of baseball cookbooks to my collection: "Fowl Tips", the Wade Boggs chicken cookbook. Nothing but chicken recipes.  Yes, this was and still is an actual thing.

One of the legends attached to Boggs was that the Hall of Fame batting champ ate chicken before every game. In his own words:

"Chicken has been very good to me. It may sound strange, but I maintain that chicken has played a major part in the success of my baseball career.

"It all started back in 1977 when I was coming up in the minors... During spring training that year, I noticed something peculiar. On those days when I ate chicken before a game, I always got at least two hits... So when I started getting hits after eating chicken, I just naturally began eating more chicken. And I'll be doggoned if my batting average didn't continue to rise.

"Don't ask me to explain it. I won't even try. All I know is that now I eat chicken before every game we play."

And so was born Fowl Tips: My Favorite Chicken Recipes by the man whose twitter handle is @ChickenMan3010.

The book is scarce now and demands a new printing. I did a recent online search and the only copy I could find is from a seller who is offering a copy via Amazon with the asking price of $300.  That's cluckin' nuts!

After I was lucky enough to score a copy online, I immediately tried a bunch of the recipes.

The recipes are 30-plus-years-old, and very basic. Lots of grilling and frying.  Some offer a decent foundation to add and experiment with, others are more of a novelty than anything I would seriously serve to guests. You can decide which is which.

I'll keep an ongoing list of links to the recipes and photos that I posted below.

Barbecue Chicken Wings

Barbecue Chicken Wings by Wade Boggs - from "Fowl Tips: My Favorite Chicken Recipes" (1984)

RECIPE

2 lbs. chicken wings
1 bottle (18 oz) prepared barbecue sauce
1 cup honey
4 tbsp. butter

Preheat oven to 300.

Melt butter in skillet, brown wings on both sides. Drain on paper towel. Combine barbecue sauce and honey in deep mixing bowl using a whisk or fork. Dip each chicken wing into barbecue-honey mixture. Place wings in baking pan. Cover. Warm in 300 degree oven for at least one hour or until ready to serve.

I wrangled a copy of Wade Boggs' Fowl Tips years ago and have been working my way through his single-minded compilation of chicken recipes.  Here is the first of many that I'll be posting, with more to come.  

They say baking is better than deep frying - in fact, most things are better than deep frying - so here's a simple procedure for baked chicken wings.

This is more of a technique than a recipe, but a good way to use up some leftover barbecue sauce you have kicking around.  The honey and butter bring some sweet without any heat.  If you want to spice it up, or add another flavour note like smokey or garlicky, go ahead and use your own sauce of choice, or splash in some hot sauce, whatever.  The foundation for baked chicken wings is here, you can make it your own thing and enjoy with minimal effort.

Grilled Sweet Potatoes by Frank Thomas - from "The Big Hurt's Guide to BBQ and Grilling" (2016)

 

RECIPE

3 or 4 medium-sized sweet potatoes

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp Kosher salt

1/4 cup cilantro, minced

1 tsp cayenne pepper

zest of half a lime

Poke about a dozen holes in each sweet potato.  

Line a microwave-safe dish with paper towels, then place two potatoes on the plate and set the microwave on high for 4-5 minutes.  Do the same with the other two potatoes.

When cool enough to handle, cut the potatoes in half and then into wedges (or simply cut them into 1-inch circular slices).

Preheat grill to high.

Brush the potatoes with oil and season with salt and pepper.  When your grill is hot, cook the potatoes until slightly charred, about 2-3 minutes per side.

In a small bowl, mix salt, cilantro, cayenne pepper and lime zest, then sprinkle over the potatoes.

Thanksgiving in the year 2020 is a very different proposal from what most people are used to.  However that's no reason not to enjoy some food that's traditionally associated with this holiday.

With this receipe, Frank Thomas takes a staple Thanksgiving side dish and gives it an upgrade, making them, in his own words: "crunchy and charred on the outside, sweet and creamy on the inside". 

If you have a microwave and a grill pan, you can make this dish without having to step outside. Finish the sweet potato wedges on a smoking hot grill for a couple of minutes per side and the final result can be seen in the photo above.

Frank's suggestion of finishing with cilantro, cayenne and lime is perfect. So if you are downgrading your Thanksgiving this year, you can still make this quick and simple recipe as part of your meal.

Quick Pork and Pasta - Billy Pierce (White Sox Old Timer)

 

 

RECIPE

 

6 loin pork chops

3 cans tomato soup (10 3/4 oz)

1 16-ounce package thin spaghetti

Brown pork chops in electric fry pan.  Pour two cans of soup over the chops and allow to simmer.  

Prepare spaghetti according to package directions, drain and add 1 can of soup to the spaghetti.  

Place spaghetti in fry pan with pork chops.  Mix together and heat thoroughly.  Ready to serve.



White Sox legend Billy Pierce was a slight, soft-spoken southpaw from Detroit who played the bulk of his playing career with the White Sox.

Over his 13 seasons on the south side, Pierce was a seven-time all star, and in different seasons led the AL in wins and strikeouts, and in 1955 he led the majors in ERA. Pierce's #19 was retired by the Sox in 1987.

In keeping with his calm demeanour, one can imagine him sitting down to dinner over a plate of this no-fuss, nothing-fancy pork and pasta.  The recipe calls for nothing more than three main ingredients: pork chops, pasta and tomato soup - although I substituted a favourite pasta sauce instead.  Went really elaborate and threw some shredded basil over everything when it was done.  Maybe too wild for Billy, but it was just the right touch for this delicious dish.

Phillies Phinger Phoods - from "From Our Home to Yours: A Collection of Phillies Recipes" (2010)

Here are a couple of party-pleasing dishes for your next get together, whether it's in Philadelphia or not.  Let's start with Shane Victorino's Chicken Katsu with dipping sauce, shown above.

RECIPE

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness or 1 1/2 pounds of chicken tenderloins

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 egg, beaten

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1 cup oil for frying, or as needed

garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper.

Place the flour, egg and panko crumbs into separate shallow dishes.

Coat the chicken breasts in flour, shaking off any excess.  Dip them into the egg, and then press into the panko crumbs until well coated on both sides.

Heat 1/4 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Place chicken in the hot oil and cook for 3 or 4 minutes per side, or until golden brown.

Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

2 tbsp soy sauce

pepper to taste

Mix together Worcestershire sauce, ketchup and soy sauce.  Add pepper to taste.  Enjoy!

Below is plate of Pete Mackanin's Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeños.

RECIPE

12-15 fresh jalapeños

1 lb bacon

1 package cream cheese, room temperature

2 tbsp Herbs de Provence

toothpicks

1 pair of latex gloves

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Mix cream cheese and Herbs de Provence in a bowl.

Wash jalapeños and remove stems.  Cut jalapenos in half lengthwise, remove seeds.  Fill each jalapeño with cream cheese mix.

Fill completely.

Wrap 1 slice of bacon around jalapeño and cover all the cream cheese completely. (If jalapenos are big, use one slice of bacon, if jalapeños are small, cut slice in half.)

Put toothpick through bacon end to secure to jalapeño.

Place on a rimmed cookie sheet lined with non-stick foil.

Bake until bacon is cooked and golden, about 8-10 minutes.

Tip: wear gloves when handling jalapeños.

Serves 6-8.

"Chicken Katsu was a dish I enjoyed as a kid that my mom made," says Shane Victorino.  The Flyin' Hawaiian was part of Philadelphia's 2008 World Series winning club, celebrated in this cookbook.

Stripped down to its essentials, this is breaded chicken fingers or strips with a sweet and salty dipping sauce.  Easy to make and easier to enjoy.

The bacon-wrapped jalapeños (we call them jalapeño poppers up here) from bench coach Pete Mackanin are a little more labour-intensive.  The steps in his recipe are easy enough to follow, and you can get away without using gloves.  Just be sure to wash your hands immediately after you have handled the peppers.  Don't touch your eyes!  How many of us have learned this burning lesson?

Anyway once all the slicing and stuffing and wrapping is done, pop the poppers into the oven and soon enough their amazing scent will fill the room.

The photos of the finished dishes show that you don't have to be an expert in plating or photographic composition - or even an expert cook - to enjoy these Phillie Phinger Phoods.