Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Fuzzy's Taco Shop - Cedar Park.

No.  2 out of 10, and one of those points is just a sympathy point.


Won't even be giving this place a second chance.  Ok, there is always something good you can say, the Austin Amber beer was really good.

Unfortunately the glass it was served in was way too heavy and too big for anyone other than a large man to lift with only one hand.  I found myself drinking beer as though it were the wine at a Mass or a vampire gathering, two handed with great care.
beer glass

So, why did it not get more than a 2 out of 10?  Starters, our seating of choice is a booth, these were uncomfortable wooden benches and were sticky with the food and drink spills of the last year - absolutely a bad way to start dinner.  I have no reason to believe the wooden chairs were any cleaner.

Next, the queso really looked, tasted and behaved like it was made from a mixture of milk and mozzarella cheese, it was white, tasteless thin and stringy. The flour tortillas were very obviously shop bought and no effort was made to warm them.

Two in our party had the Baja shredded chicken taco and while I enjoyed the salad - which was part of the taco filling and not a side, there was very little chicken, shredded or otherwise, it really didn't deserve the title of taco.  It was a small California salad sitting on an elderly, rubbery torilla, and we all agreed on that.  The tiny serving of garlic sauce was actually very nice - hence one of the points.

The third member of our party had a Taco plate, which basically was twice what we had, plus some really unpleasant looking beans floating in a discolored liquid.  I have it on good authority that they had absolutely no flavor or seasoning, personally, I didn't need to taste them to believe it, his second side was called Latin Fried Potatoes.  I am not sure why Latin? they were fried potatoes served with most of the fat they had been fried in and there was not much Latin about them.

As I said, NO.  We will not be going back to Fuzzy's.


Friday, February 14, 2014

Panko Chicken

(or fish - when I do fish I use striped pengasius)

Both my husband and my mother in law love fried chicken and fried fish.  I do not, and more than that, I don't consider it healthy, so I came up with a way to compromise.   I can eat this, and they say it tastes just as good as fried.

Serve with any vegetable of your choice, I use sweet potato 'fries' - also cooked in the oven
The following quantites are more than enough for the three of us, but we do not eat huge servings, you will have to figure out what suits your family size and appetite.
ready to eat

2 breasts of chicken
half cup of corn starch
half teaspoon of cayenne pepper
half teaspoon of chili powder
half teaspoon of ground cumin
half teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of paprika
salt
2 eggs (or you can use egg beaters)
4 oz panko bread crumbs - I have tried many brands and find Kikkomon to be the best

two gallon plastic ziploc bags

mix the seasonings and corn starch together in a plastic ziploc - shake well, this will barely flavor your chicken so don't worry that it will be spicey.  If you want spicey you will need to add a lot more.

beat the eggs well and pour into the other plastic ziploc
cut your chicken / fish into 'tenders'
2 medium sized chicken breasts (or two medium sized filets of fish)  = about 8 tenders

cut into tenders

line an oven proof pan / cookie tray with foil, I use non stick foil, but ordinary foil will do - just wipe it with a piece of paper towel and a spray of olive oil

preheat your oven to 425 F

put your chicken into the bag containing the corn starch and seasonings seal and shake  until all the meat is evenly coated
remove chicken and shake off excess
egg bath next

put chicken into the bag containing the egg and seal and shake
ensure that all the meat has been coated in the egg
pour panko onto a plate and roll the meat in the panko, patting in breadcrumbs so they are well coated.
Place on the foil covered pan and let sit for 30 minutes

ready for the oven

Place in center of oven and cook for 10 minutes on each side.  Do check to make sure your chicken is fully cooked, if your tenders are too thick they may need more time.