Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader got to do some cooking tonight. And it was fun. But at the same time it reminded him that his form is slipping a little. And the experience prompted him to write about food and drink…

Cooking Stuff

So Mrs. Villain called tonight after picking up one of the Villainettes from camp and said she’d really ike to have some fried chicken. Once she mentioned it, your Maximum Leader suddenly had a craving for it too.

Now normally your Maximum Leader likes to have a little more prep time before frying chicken. The old tried and true method of frying chicken requires use of buttermilk in your liquid bath. So the normal process is to get out the old iron skillet, melt a few cups of shortening in it. While the shortening is melting you prepare your buttermilk bath and dredge. Your Maximum Leader generally mixes buttermilk and a beaten egg together. Puts the chicken in that liquid mixture for a few minutes before dredging it. Your Maximum Leader uses a dredge of corn meal, flour, salt, pepper, a good shake of paprika, and a bit of chili powder. The dredged chicken goes into the iron skillet where it cooks for 8-12 mins.

Excursus: Your Maximum Leader loves iron skillets. Has he ever mentioned this before? He thinks they are the greatest piece of cookware ever in all of history. Your Maximum Leader’s favourite iron skillet has been in his family for a while. In fact, your Maximum Leader stole the skillet from his sainted mother. His sainted mother got it from her mother. Your Maximum Leader’s maternal grandmother got it from her mother, who in turn had gotten it from HER mother. Your Maximum Leader’s maternal great-great-grandmother bought the skillet in Philadelphia before getting on a covered wagon and moving to Dayton, Ohio around 1855ish. Damn. That is a great skillet…

Anyho…

Tonight your Maximum Leader had no buttermilk. So he stole some of the wee Villain’s whole milk. Instead of shortening in the iron skillet it was peanut oil in your Maximum Leader’s cast iron wok. He figured that it might decrease the cook-time a little.

Your Maximum Leader was a little disappointed in himself tonight. He found it difficult to control the oil temperature. It fluctuated between 275 and 375 degrees. 350 is ideal for frying chicken. 275 is way too low. And frankly 375 is too high.

Damned electric range.

Yes… He hates to admit it… His range is electric. He had gas for nearly his whole life. But the Villainschloss uses electricity for cooking. Which is odd. Because the Villainschloss is hooked up for gas. Indeed, the Villainschloss has gas heat. He needs to get that line extended to the kitchen…

In the end the chicken turned out fine. But it wasn’t quite the same as the regular way…

Drink Stuff

As long-time readers of this space know, your Maximum Leader is a big Scotch drinker. Indeed for many years your Maximum Leader’s alcoholic beverage consumption consisted of beer and scotch. The Air Marshal turned your Maximum Leader on to some nice bourbons last year. This isn’t to say that your Maximum Leader hadn’t had bourbon before, but he didn’t try a variety of them before.

Well that has changed. Indeed, he now has just as many different bottles of Bourbon in his bar as Scotch. He’s got some Makers Mark, some Knob Creek, and some Wild Turkey Rare Breed.

Recently your Maximum Leader has been taken to drink some of that Knob Creek on the rocks with a splash of coke. He knows that a true bourbon connisseur may find that disgusting just as your Maximum Leader would say that adding anything but ice made from spring water to Scotch is disgusting. But he likes it. That bourbon and coke seems to be a very refreshing summer drink. In many ways it is more refreshing than a beer.

Perhaps, if you are lucky, your Maximum Leader will write a more comprehensive review of his bourbons in a later post…

On that note, your Maximum Leader is going to sign off and pour himself a bourbon and coke. Until tomorrow my minions.

Carry on.