Leftover KFC casserole (again)

Dear Reader,

Hello, I hope you’ve enjoyed a good week. In case you’re wondering, my post from last week has vanished. It was published, and then I saw an error message from WordPress, and it was gone. I had written about my fabulous weekend in Brisbane, visiting a couple of my daughters and my parents. Last week’s post focussed on the meal we enjoyed on Saturday evening.

It’s a time to reflect on 2022.

The end of this year has been different to the end of 2021. Last year the workload and the pace of work were close to being uncontrolled. It was frenetic. The nature of the work resulted from policy decisions made by different authorities, and the ramifications culminated in unforeseen and challenging to execute procedures. This year, the volume of work and the pace have been manageable. Yet, I feel exhausted.

It’s been a year of ups and downs. The highs have been extraordinary, and the lows have been painful physically, mentally, and psychologically. I will not expand here. That’s why I have a journal. Suffice it to say even though I’m on-call over Christmas; I’m looking forward to a week of escaping.

What about 2023?

There’s a lot on the horizon at work next year. There will be significant changes, including changes in the organisation’s structure. There will also be new ways of working. I usually approach substantial changes with a good measure of cynicism and some scepticism and apply as much sarcasm as possible. At least I do this internally. The only time I can let loose with dark, cynical sarcasm is with some colleagues in my unpaid gig who have a similar dark outlook. I battle the inner Gary and go with the changes in my paid job.

Next year, I need a break and a change in thinking. If I review my approach to life through a SWOT analysis, I tend to find comfort in my strengths and monitoring threats. Next year needs to be about weaknesses and opportunities. This year I’ve seen how I can hurt and be hurt. I have regrets and need to make amends and be a better human.

Through another lens, like the outdated comprehensive approach^[i] to emergency management, I like to live and work in “preparation” and “response”, and I tend to eschew “prevention” and “recovery”. Hats off to the people who relish recovery. That’s hard work.

Next year I need to think about prevention and recovery. That will mean more consultations with my general practitioner and heeding his advice more. I also plan to read more, go beyond the clarity of physical pathology, and explore psychological pathologies.

What about blogging?

This year, more than most, I’ve considered deleting my blogs. Some family members have asked me to remove and delete some references to them, considering privacy breaches that have occurred with some large companies in Australia. I’m grateful they are becoming more cybersecurity aware.

I’ve all but ceased to write in one blog, and I sustain Yummy Lummy and Random Yummy because of the interaction with people who read the posts. Yummy Lummy is for the weekly recipe, while Random Yummy will be for the short form of a weekday meal. That said, social interaction on social media is limited and limiting.

I still regard blogging as a hobby, and I need a hobby. We’ll see; I may post less frequently.

Recipe

I’m currently in a contrarian mood. Usually, at Christmas, I think about poultry and joints of meat plus custard and pavlova^[ii]. This year my mind is feeling a little differently. I’m home alone and ate a seafood extravaganza last weekend. I plan to watch TV and relax with a simple meal.

One of the most viewed posts on this blog is one for leftover KFC casserole. It gets visited every month. I must have hit a search engine optimisation sweet spot with that post.

I’m guessing during COVID-19, there was a lot more KFC being ordered and delivered during the period of restriction.

Ingredients

• Leftover KFC pieces. I use the breast pieces because they are usually tough and dry, and I figure stringy dry breasts could do with some extra moisture and slow tenderisation. Besides, I ate all the thigh pieces on Christmas eve. I’m very much a thigh person. I always have been.
• Parsley. The parsley is for the garnish.
• Portobello mushrooms^[iii]. I like the big brown ones.
• Green peppercorns. These peppercorns add a nice zing to the dish.
• White wine. White wine helps. I think water would be fine. I’m guessing there would be friends who would prefer red wine.
• Queensland nuts^[iv]. We’ve discussed this before on the blog. Queensland nuts are native to southeast Queensland and found in northern New South Wales. The trees which grow the nuts are in the genus Macadamia. The genus contains at least three species. Hawaiians imported the nuts, and Americans popularised “macadamia” to avoid referencing Queensland.
• Cream of chicken soup. A tin or packet of this soup is a time saver, so you can avoid making cream of chicken soup from scratch.
• Celery. Slice roughly.
• Celeriac. Dice roughly with a sharp meat cleaver.
• Onion. Chopped or sliced.
• Carrot. Diced into chunks.

Instructions

1. In a casserole or sturdy baking dish, place the leftover pieces of KFC.
2. Add some roughly cut mushrooms. You could also use tinned champignons in butter.
3. Toss in the celeriac, celery, carrot, and onion, and poke the vegetables between the pieces of KFC.
4. Give the can of soup a vigorous shake and pour over the food in the casserole. Rinse out the can with a bit of white wine, and run that in too. You want to ensure the liquid gets about halfway up the side of the baking tray, so there is sufficient water to keep everything juicy and moist.
5. Add in a couple of tablespoons of green peppercorns. These will add a nice zing to the dish, which seems fitting, although the KFC Zinger® is hardly spicy. I think I’ve only ever eaten one KFC burger.
6. Once everything is in the casserole or baking tray, add a lid if it has one. If there is no lid, use some aluminium foil. Make sure it is a snug fit. Tight is better than loose. The aim is to avoid moisture loss which will leave the breasts dry.
7. Place in a hot oven at 200 °C for one hour.
8. After one hour, remove the lid, sprinkle on a little grated cheese, and then return to the oven for 10 to 15 minutes without the cover.
9. Once the cheese has become brown and crispy, remove the tray from the oven and allow the casserole some rest.
10. Spoon the KFC casserole onto a dinner plate or into a shallow bowl and garnish with roughly chopped parsley.

Variation

• Depending on your circumstances, you can cook this a day or two before you plan to eat it. I’d stop at the adding cheese stage, transfer the casserole’s contents into an airtight container, and refrigerate it. When you reheat the food, use a thermometer to check the temperature of the chicken breast meat. I aim for about 76 °C.
• The flavours will intensify.

In other news

Twitter has suspended my Yummy Lummy account. I was updating the profile section and received a message that Twitter is for people older than 13. I’m attempting to appeal the suspension.

With Facebook banning this blog and not permitting an appeal, it seems social media platforms aren’t happy with this blog.

Final thoughts

1. How did you celebrate Christmas in terms of food? What will you be eating?
2. If you don’t celebrate Christmas, did you do anything special? I’ve read that Jewish people eat takeaway Chinese food or eat in Chinese restaurants in some parts of the world.
3. Do you want to share any reflections about your 2022? Feel free to add some words in the comments section of this post.
4. Are there Christmas movies or TV you like to watch?

Photographs

Here is a gallery of photographs. You can click on one and scroll through them.

Endnotes

[i] https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/handbook-australian-emergency-management-arrangements/

[ii] Mostly because my favourite Boxing Day breakfast is leftover pavlova. It feels naughty but at the same time, there’s usually fruit involved.

[iii] Agaricus bisporus

[iv] from the tree in the genus Macadamia.