OoLaLa! Lasagna!

As you know, I am really into comfort food. Fortunately, I have a very broad view of what the term "Comfort Food" encompasses. Comfort food, in my humble opinion, is quite simply food that makes you feel good. It reminds you of home, and reminds you that the world really isn't going to h*ll in a hand basket. In the summer, that could be a dish as simple as a ripened tomato, sliced and sprinkled with course ground salt and fresh ground pepper. In the winter, it could be a hot bowl of chicken noodle soup, or chicken and dumplings. Every once in a while one comes across one of those dishes that transcends the seasons. It represents everything that a comfort food should, and is just as desirable in the heat of summer as it is in the chill of winter. One such dish is lasagna.

Lasagna! If there ever was a king of comfort foods, lasagna would certainly be a contender...if not outright champion. Nothing seems to say comfort like a giant serving of noodles, meat sauce, and both gooey and creamy cheeses, all layered on top of each other. Lasagna seems to be one of those comfort dishes though that appears to be daunting to many cooks. However, it really is easy to make. I think what makes lasagna so daunting is the fact that when it is a success, it is truly amazing. However, when it is a failure, it always seems to be a spectacular failure. There rarely ever seems to be a lasagna that is just OK. This past week I got a taste of both.

I found myself suffering from an insatiable craving for lasagna this week. I can often go months at a time without suffering from these cravings, but when they do hit they hit with a bang. I thought I would get to satisfy these cravings on Wednesday. The wife and I were at the store, looking at the frozen lasagnas. Please don't freak out. There are actually some very tasty frozen lasagnas. Of course there are some that end up on the other end of the spectrum as well. The problem with frozen lasagnas, is that if you are not accustomed to eating late at night, these are out of the question. They simply take too long to cook. There are some smaller ones that can be microwaved, but most of those fall closer to the disaster end of the scale than the amazing success end. Anyway, we ended up eating spaghetti and meatballs.

The next day, I thought my prayers had been answered. The mother in law had hosted a Christmas dinner the night before and served two frozen lasagnas. One was a meat lasagna. The other was a five cheese lasagna. Miracle of miracles, she had over half of the five cheese lasagna left over, and took pity on me. That night I could hardly wait for the leftover lasagna to heat up. Beep, Beep! The oven timer ended. I pulled out the lasagna and began to salivate. It looked really good. Then I took a bite. Mmmm! A very bright and tasty tomato sauce followed by the creamy texture of...

Dry wall spackling! I took another bite. Yep! Definitely spackling. I looked over to my left. The look on her face said it all. She was preparing to put up some drywall as well. I like ricotta cheese as much as the next guy. That was NOT ricotta cheese. Like I said, there is no inbetween. This was definitely a spectacular disaster. My insatiable appetite for lasagna had yet to be placated.

Now it is Sunday. The wife and I are finishing up on some Christmas shopping. We have to stop by Kroger to buy a gift card. I convince the wife to let me buy the ingredients to make a lasagna. Everyone should really try to make a home made lasagna at least once. We try to eat healthy for the most part. We aren't always successful. Okay! We are less successful than I would like to admit. One of the ways we try to be good is by usually cooking with ground turkey or chicken. However, tonight my wife found a pound of ground pork marked down for quick sale. We decided to blend that with a pound of ground chuck. Now I happen to be somewhat impatient with some cooking, as well as cheap. I don't have the time to make a home made marinara or spaghetti sauce. I also think it is ridiculous to have to spend five dollars or more on a simple jar of sauce. Heck! Spending two dollars on a jar of sauce chaps my hide. What do I do? I buy a one dollar can of Hunts spaghetti sauce and fancy it up with some basil, salt, pepper, fresh garlic, and cinnamon. Don't worry. You don't need to get your glasses subscription checked. I really did say cinnamon. Give it a try some time. Just a small amount can really add a truly inspired note to your next pasta dish.

Anyway, I won't bore you with a long drawn out story about baking a lasagna. I don't have a secret family recipe for lasagna. My family is as white Anglo-saxon as one can get. Not a drop of Mediterranean blood to draw from. As a result, no secret family recipe for lasagna, handed down from generation to generation. I simply took the recipe on the back of the Barilla no-boil lasagna box, and modified it to my own liking. I am happy to say that there was nary a small morsel of meat left over. That entire dish of lasagna disappeared in no time flat. So, without further adieu, here is my recipe.

Jim's Meaty Lasagna

Ingredients:
4 cups mozzarella
15 oz small curd cottage cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
One jar or can of your favorite marinara/spaghetti sauce
1 - 28 oz, or 2 - 14 oz cans petite diced tomatoes with juices
1 tsp cinnamon
1lb ground pork
1lb ground chuck
2 eggs
1 package of no-boil lasagna noodles

Brown pork and chuck in a skillet, seasoning with salt, pepper, and dried basil. Drain off rendered fat. Add the spaghetti sauce and diced tomatoes with juice. Stir in cinnamon. Heat to a simmer, seasoning to taste.

Mix together cottage cheese, 2 cups mozzarella, parmesan cheese, and eggs.

Spray a 9" X 13" baking dish with cooking spray. Spread one cup of meat sauce in bottom of dish. Cover with a layer of noodles. Spread 1/3 of cottage cheese mixture, followed by meat sauce, and one cup of mozerella cheese. Do two more layers of noodles cottage cheese mixture, and meat sauce. Add the final layer of noodles, last cup of meat sauce, and final cup of mozzarella.

Loosely cover with foil, and bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove the foil and bake an additional five to ten minutes, until cheese is bubbly, and just starting to brown. Remove from the oven and allow to rest up to five minutes before serving. Serve with garlic bread.

Bon Appetit!

Four layers of gooey heaven!

Happy Thanksgiving

It's that time of year again; the official beginning of the holiday season. Yep! It's Thanksgiving Day. What does Thanksgiving mean to you? For me, Thanksgiving is the first day when a special feeling comes over my heart. You see, I absolutely love the Christmas season, and Thanksgiving Day represents the beginning of the Christmas season. I will admit, I am a hopeless romantic. No matter what is going on in the world, this season always reaffirms my belief that anything is possible.

For the past four years, Thanksgiving has actually started a few days early for me. My son, Joseph, is in the Boy Scouts. Every year, his troop holds a family campout at Camp Yocona, in Randolph, MS. It is during this campout that the first glimmer of the Thanksgiving holiday begins. What is Thanksgiving? It is a chance for family and friends to come together and give thanks for all we have been given, and fellowship together. There's nothing quite like feeding a Thanksgiving feast for upwards of 70 smiling faces. I think that qualifies as fellowship. I was blessed to be one of the head cooks this year. Every bone and joint in my body was screaming in pain by bedtime on Saturday night, but the pictures below show why every pain was 100% worthwhile.

Food! Marvelous Food!

Please, Sir! May I have some more?

Smiling faces, and stuffed tummies!

The menu consisted of corn casserole, two types of green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole (are you seeing a theme here?), broccoli and cheese casserole, green beans, corn, potatoes, roles, two hams, and five turkies. All of this was completed with a propane powered oven, a cinder block oven, propane turkey friers, and two turkies suspended from a tripod. It is a true wonder to see a huge feast like this come together in the middle of the woods. It is even more of a wonder to see how quickly this stuff was devoured.

Just a few days later, and it was Turkey Day. Down here in the South, we like to fry things. On this day, there are thousands upon thousands of deep fried turkeys being voraciously torn into. Our family does not fry turkies. We might roast them in the oven every once in a while (maybe once a year). However, on Thanksgiving Day, it is our tradition to smoke our turkey. Okay, enough with the "smoking turkey" jokes. No, I don't hold the turkey up to my mouth and puff smoke through the butt, like a massive cigar. No, my friends. This is no joke. Smoking turkies is something best left to us professionals.

Iron Chef Jim Reporting For Duty

This year I found a 14lb turkey named Tom. That brings up an interesting question. Are turkies really so uncreative that they have to name every male, Tom? What's wrong with Hank, or Frank, or John, or Jim? Just how do they distinguish one Tom from another? Also, if all the boys are named Tom, what are the girls' names? Anyway, I digress.

Hello! My name is Tom. I'd like you to meet my brother...Tom.

I took Tom, soaked him overnight in a brine solution made up of salt, brown sugar, molasses, and black peppercorns. This morning, I slapped that sucker on my trusty Chargriller Pro, and then the miracle started. This year, the wood of choice was a combination of apple wood and oak. After just a couple of hours, Ol' Tom was sporting a tan better than anything that can be achieved in a tanning bed.

Eat your heart out, George Hamilton!

Finally! four and a half hours later perfection is pulled off of the grill. Beneath a rich mahogany skin is a plethora of juicy turkey meat full of the smokey goodness that only comes from the right blend of wood. The sweetness from the applewood and richness from the oak just can't be beat.

Oooo, Mama! It's feasting time!

Once the turkey was ready, we packed it up along with a scrumptious dish of dressing, and some green beans, and it was off to Memaw's house. Oh yeah! My daughter, Christina had a wild hair. Sometimes her wild hairs result it some delectable treats. This was definitely one of those times.

I think I will have to perform some quality testing here!

Anyway, I would like to close this entry by thanking all of my family, friends, and co-workers, for everything you have done for me. Finally, I would like to thank God for all of you.

God Bless & Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

The Other Vegetable! (Come on! You know you're wondering what the heck I'm talking about!)

What vegetable comes to mind when I use descriptions like hot & steamy; creamy, golden & delicious; sometimes stringy; ooey gooey! Do you have any clue? Think about it. This is something that almost every reb-blooded American kid absolutely loves. Ok. Truth be told, it's not really a vegetable, but it might as well be. I can't think of a kid, or adult that wouldn't love to find a heaping spoonful on his or her dinner plate. Maybe the picture below will help.

OOOOH BABY!

Oh yeah! That's right, Baby! We're talkin' mac-n-cheese today. Of course, some of you are probably rolling your eyes at me right now, since I am calling mac-n-cheese the other vegetable. Well...lump it! Why shouldn't it be called that? Isn't that where you find mac-n-cheese on 75% of restaurant menus...listed with all the vegetables?

Mac-n-cheese is just like society. It ranges all the way from the inexpensive, non-assuming, box of powdered mac-n-cheese dinners (think Kraft Mac-n-Cheese), to luscious casseroles of macaroni noodles baked in 40,000 varieties of cream and cheese (including cheeses made from milk that came from animals we never knew made milk). That's right, folks. Even mac-n-cheese has a social class structure.

My brother-in-law tells me that he fed his kids Kraft Mac-n-Cheese so much, they wouldn't touch anything else. I have to admit, there is something about that simple packet of powder that mixed with milk, butter, and boiled macaroni, just can't be beat. It is cheap. But, cheap does not always equate to bad. This type of mac-n-cheese is by far, the most versatile variety. There is no end to the possible dinner creations that can spring from that little cardboard box. Slice and saute some smoked or polish sausage, then mix in with mac-n-cheese. One simple ingredient and you have a new dish. What is Hamburger Helper? Mac-n-cheese in a box with instructions to add ground beef. Wow! That was hard...Not! However, after time, the masses revolted. "We're tired of ground beef!" they said. "We want something different!"

"Fine!" said the Hamburger Helper people. "Use a can of tuna instead!" With that, mac-n-cheese became a great seafood dish.

Add a can of chili, and what do you get? Chili Mac! Mac-n-cheese has gone Tex-Mex.

It is truly one of the great wonders of the world how versatile a box of macaroni noodles and powdered cheese is.

My son, Joseph, is an equal opportunity mac-n-cheese lover. His loyalties don't just lie with the cheap stuff. He'll just as gladly go for the gooey, stringy, fancy concoctions that come out of the ovens. He loves the stuff so much, that no restaurant is worth its salt if mac-n-cheese can't be found either on the entree menu or the side menu. I have to agree with Joseph, while the cheap mac-n-cheese in a box is absolute bliss to eat, sometimes one craves something with a little more glamor. While 40,000 cheeses might be overkill on flavor (and certainly the wallet) there is certainly something to be said for the flavor that comes from mixing the creaminess of cottage cheese, butteriness of provolone or jack cheese, and the sharpness of cheddar. Boxed mac-n-cheese will never give you the image of a spoonful of heaven with strings of cheese stretching from spoon to dish.

I know I am not the only one with opinions on mac-n-cheese. I also know there are other great ideas for elevating the boxed stuff out there, just waiting to be heard. Leave me some comments. Please! I beg of you! Tell me your favorite way to fix mac-n-cheese.

At the end of this post is a link to a recipe from the Food Network show, Diners Drive-ins & Dives. This recipe for mac-n-cheese is easy, and absolutely awesome! For all of you campers out there, who love to do dutch oven cooking, the recipe is perfect. Joseph and I have fixed it in dutch ovens several times, to rave reviews.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ruths-diner--gramma-claires-macaroni-and-cheese-recipe/index.html

Give us this day our daily...cornbread!

Today's diatribe is about turnip greens...

Ha! Admit it, you for at least one tiny nanosecond I got you to second guess yourself. No? Hmph! Fine! I still think I did, and you're just too chicken to admit it. Anyway, today we are going to discuss the fine southern delicacy of cornbread!

Cornbread is one of those great dichotomies of life. (I don't really know if that is the correct usage of the word "dichotomy", but durn it sure sounds good in that sentence.) While it is yet another gift to the rest of the world from the South, cornbread has gained more and more popularity throughout the entire US over the past few decades.

Yet...As loved a food item as it is across these great United States, it can also be the source of some of the most contentious bickering ever witnessed by man. I am here to set some things straight. What makes me the authority on cornbread? Quite simply, it's my blog. So Nanny-nanny-boo-boo!

There are two main bones of contention when it comes to cornbread. Should cornbread be sweet? And, what do you cook cornbread in? We'll briefly tackle both subjects in this blog.

Should cornbread be sweet?
No! No! No! Quite simply, southern cornbread should never be sweet. When you get a blueberry muffin or a piece of banana bread, do you add jelly to it? No! These items are already sweet, so you slap something savory, like a pound of butter on them. Cornbread is made for jelly, or apple butter. Since those toppings are sweet, you don't want the carrier to be sweet. Thus, cornbread should not be sweet. The interesting twist to this is that you can have savory with savory. Therefore, a nice, hot, steamy, slab of cornbread, soaked in rich, creamy butter (sorry if I just got those salivary glands pumping) is perfectly acceptable in today's society. Another combination that is quite acceptable...indeed encouraged, is pouring a ladle of hot white beans cooked all day with hog jowl over a slice of cornbread. All of the air pockets in the cornbread act as sponges, drawing the bean juices up, and creating a true gift from God. Just imagine how nasty that would taste if your cornbread was full of sugar. For Shame!

How should cornbread be cooked?
This is another very easy answer. Cornbread should only be baked in a well seasoned cast iron skillet. Any other method borders on blasphemy. It is actually a little known fact that there were eleven commandments handed down by God to Moses. In verse 17b of the twentieth chapter of Exodus, God tells Moses, "If you ever so much as pour cornbread batter in any thing but a well-seasoned cast iron skillet...so help me, Me...I will haul your butt behind the woodshed faster than you can say rubber baby buggy bumpers, and wear you out!" to which Moses replied, "What's cornbread?" The eleventh commandment was quickly stricken from the tablets, and verse 17b ceased to exist.

I happen to have a 12" cast iron skillet that has been used for nearly twenty years of marriage for no other purpose than to turn out the perfect cornbread. If you are worried about corn bread sticking there are two tricks. Firstly, as has already been mentioned multiple times, your skillet should be well seasoned. That means it will be solid black. Not gray. Not rust colored. The seasoned oil that has gotten deep within the pores of the iron will keep just about anything from sticking to the pan. The other trick is to place the skillet in the preheating oven. Then, when ready, pull the skillet out of the oven, pour in a little vegetable oil, and finally the batter. The hot pan will quickly heat the oil, and fry the very outside surface of the the batter, keeping it from sticking to the pan.

Now that I have cleared up the two main bones of contention between cornbread lovers, I wish everyone a huge slab of cornbread soaking in a bowl of hot white beans, and world peace. (Can you tell what I just had for lunch?)

Kiss My Grits!

I guess the title says it all. That's right, folks. This blog entry is all about what many of us true southerners just about consider manna from heaven. Grits! When I mention the word Grits, what comes to mind? Two things come to my mind.

Anyone my age or older will recognize those pearly whites!

However, the second image that comes to mind is what really gets me excited.

Oooh, Baby! Nothing starts the morning off right, like a hot bowl of steamy grits...unless, of course, it is accompanied by three strips of thick chewy bacon (Yeah, I know! Chewy or crispy bacon is a whole other story!), two eggs over easy, and biscuits with white gravy.
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...Sorry! My mind was temporarily enjoying breakfast. Anyway, I believe the subject was grits. Let's get one important fact straight. I don't care what Wikipedia says. No true southerner would EVER use the word grits in the singular form, or even imagine that there could be a singular form of the word. Got that, all you yanks! There is no such thing as "a grit", and "grits is..." ain't proper English.

Now, it is important that we have a little history lesson. Grits are one of those truly American food items. Before the discovery of the New World, porridge was made using such things as wheat. Let me state, right here and now that Cream of Wheat and Cream of Rice will never be eaten in my household, as long as I have the power to stop it! Thank the good Lord above we did discover America. Grits are one of the many heavenly products we get from corn. That is why the period before the discovery of America was called the dark ages. Those poor people in Europe didn't have any corn! Historians might try to convince you differently, but I truly believe that corn (and possibly butter beans cooked in a pound of butter) are what started the renaissance.

Grits comes in two colors, white and yellow. White grits, the most common variety in America, use hulled corn. Yellow grits, also called pollenta in other parts of the world, use the whole kernel. While I will happily eat a bowl of white grits, and thoroughly enjoy it, I actually much prefer the yellow grits. I could be wrong, but I think it has a richer flavor.

You might be asking yourself, "Self! How do I prepare grits?" In many cases, Self might tell you to mix 1 part grits with 3 parts water. However, I beg to differ. I personally believe milk must be used to create a truly creamy bowl of grits. In Charleston, SC, it is quite common to use only milk. My personal preference is to use half chicken broth, and half milk. Whether you use white or yellow grits, using the chicken broth and milk together produces a bowl of grits full of rich flavor and velvety creaminess. Trust me. You won't want to ever go back to water. The last tip is very important. Do NOT overcook your grits. Nothing is as unappetizing as a bowl of mortar, which is exactly what you will get if you don't pay attention. My suggestion is to pull the grits off the burner just when you think they are still a might bit too runny. They will thicken quickly. If you do let your grits cool before you are able to eat them, simply add a little milk and zap in the microwave for a minute. They will cream right back up.

So, please! I beg of you. Don't spend your next morning eating those little miniature bales of hay. Have a bowl of grits and celebrate the discovery of America!

Can We Talk Turkey?

I would love to have a little conversation with you concerning turkey. So many people only associate turkey with two times of year, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Folks! I am here to tell you that turkey can be our friend all year long. I highly encourage you to take advantage of Thanksgiving sales this year and stock up with three or four, or five, turkeys. If you don't have a deep freeze, find someone who does and rent some space. Turkeys aren't just for the holidays. All throughout the year, my family loves for me to smoke a turkey. Let's get something straight. Smoking turkey's and smoking cigarettes is NOT the same thing. Are we all on the same page now?

One of my scrumpdilyicious smoked turkies...done in the middle of summer!

 I know! I know! It takes more than simply smoking a turkey to make it our year round friend. But, consider this. You've just finished eating all of that delicious turkey up, and you have a carcass left over that looks like it was a victim of Cujo. Do you just throw it away? Heck, NO! You throw that sucker into the largest stock pot you have, throw in some carrots, onion, celery, and garlic, and boil the stew out of it. There's flavor in them there bones, folks! Oh! By the way. This is the perfect time to go rooting through the crisper drawers in your fridge, and pull out all of those limp vegetables you wouldn't feed your dogs. (Come on, people. You know you have 'em.) There is a big difference between limp and lifeless, and a full fledged science experiment. Limp veggies may not be appealing to serve, but they still have oodles of flavor in them. Once your done boiling everything, your going to throw them out anyway.

What you have left, after boiling the turkey carcass and veggies is a big batch of turkey stock that can be frozen in pint and quart containers. This stuff will add more flavor and goodness to your recipes than any store bought chicken broth. Guaranteed! This works, whether you smoke, roast, or deep fry your turkey. With smoking you get the added benefit of a slight smokiness in your stock. It is amazing how much of a difference that subtle flavor can make in any recipe.

So, come on, folks. This year, make those supermarket meat department managers quake in fear. Let's go on a turkey buying spree, and show that turkey is our friend ALL year long!

Chicken and Dumplings! Thank the Lord it's Fall!

 I absolutely love the fall. I think some of the best foods that scream comfort are introduced in the fall. One of those foods is chicken and dumplings. If there is any food that demands that you hold it in a big bowl while sitting in front of a crackling fireplace, it is chicken and dumplings. I have super fond memories of one particular chicken and dumpling recipe. There was a lady at our church in Ellendale, TN, named Inez Mayo. Each Wednesday we would have a potluck meal and prayer service at church. I absolutely loved her chicken and dumplings. It had huge pieces of shredded (not cut!) chicken, and these velvety smooth dumplings. Fortunately for me, her husband, Mr. Fred, loved my mother's spaghetti. Of course, I became the beneficiary of Mr. Fred's passion. My mom would make him spaghetti, and in return, Mrs. Mayo would make me chicken and dumplings. I don't really know if that is how it went, but that's what I remember, and I'm sticking to it.

Unfortunately, I have never been able to find a recipe for chicken and dumplings like Mrs. Mayo's. I have found many good ones, but none that evoked the same memories. Well...yesterday I got a hankering for some chicken and dumplings. But, how could I get a good recipe that would knock my socks off? when in doubt head on over to the Food Network website. With a little effort, I found a recipe from Emeril Lagasse. There was also one by Paula Deen. It had four stars. But! Emeril got five stars. Now, if his recipe can get more stars than one from the queen of southern comfort food, it had to be good! I was not disappointed. Oh my stars! Mrs. Mayo, I do humbly apologize, but you are now in second place! (When I get to heaven she is going to be waiting for me, and there is certainly going to be H-E-double-hockey-sticks to pay.) The link to the recipe is below. I think the secret to such luscious goodness is frying the chicken first, instead of just boiling it. This certainly brings out all of the hidden goodness that is in the chicken. The only changes I made were out of convenience. I had two bags of mirepoix (celery, onions, and carrots) that I used instead of cutting up veggies like he did. I also did not have any bay leaves or thyme. I used Italian herbs and celery leaf for the seasoning. I also forgot the peas at the end. Still! This chicken and dumplings will be made again...and again...and again. I also guarantee there will be a fire in the fireplace. Now, where is that number for the chimney sweep? I feel a hankering for some more chicken and dumplings coming on already.

Chicken and Dumplings on the Food Network

Welcome to The Great Food Junkie!

I'd like to start off by saying that I am not a junkie in the worst sense of the word. That is certainly not the case. I am not hopelessly addicted to food (well...maybe pizza). Another definition for junkie is an enthusiastic follower or devotee. Doesn't that sound much better? I can certainly think of myself as an enthusiastic devotee of food. I love to eat food. My family will attest to how much I love to cook food (sometimes to their great delight, other times, well...we won't go there). Some of my favorite reading involves cookbooks. But, it's not just food itself. It's everything that comes with food. Food is the one thing that brings people together, no matter where they live or what their culture. In all cultures there seems to be no greater force for bringing friends and enemies alike together than food.

So, join me as I journey through the fascinating world of food. This blog will, hopefully, take us on a wild ride full of food thoughts, recipes, pictures, and who knows what else. I hope you will have as much fun reading this blog as I intend to have writing it.

Okay! Okay! Enough of this philosophical blather! Do you know how hard it is to come up with a catchy title and URL in the blog world today? The real reason behind the title of this blog is because that was the word combination I finally came up with that nobody else had. There! Satisfied!?!

Speaking of recipes, here is a very simple one. My son, Joseph, and I absolutely crave garlic (more on that later). My Aunt and Uncle, up in Trout Run, PA, seem to be even more passionate about this member of the amaryllis family. They grow bunches of garlic in their garden every year. Fortunately, Joseph and I are the lucky recipients of some of that bounty. Yesterday, we planted some garlic and had about three cloves left over. Needless to say, we were really hungry, and wanted to use that garlic. I decided to make some grilled cheese sandwiches, but I just couldn't do them the way they are always done. I took about two tablespoons of mayonnaise, one tablespoon of Greek yoghurt, the three cloves of garlic, a pinch of salt, and fresh ground black pepper. I mixed all the ingredients together into a spread that I placed on both pieces of bread before building the sandwiches. Wow! Those grilled cheese sandwiches went from yummy to scrumptious with that little addition. Try it sometime.