Blog Dog Dan: COOKING IN THE DARK WITH COCHRAN & CHRISTIE

Christie and I had a very special Memorial Day. We were invited to a parade and a picnic afterwards. We were real excited when we heard the family say, "We need to get the bugs out of the house before we have company over tonight." So we took the hint and jumped into the car with them! Now, we don't have any pictures as proof like Fiamma, but we're pretty sure that our relatives were in the Civil War, since we've been around a long, long time!

We're going to whet your appetite (or not) and tell you about feeding the troops. This important and complex job went to the quartermasters. Vast amounts of food and supplies not only had be constantly acquired, but had to delivered under chaotic conditions. General Ulysses S. Grant (who ultimately led the Union forces to victory) spent much of his earlier military career as a quartermaster rather than an infantry or cavalry leader!

Are you "hungry" for more information? The most common staples were beans, rice, corn meal, salt pork, salt beef, and hardtack because they were easy to ship and easy to carry on a march or into battle. Fruits and vegetables were either dried or canned. Hardtack was the most common and most hated food of the soldiers, but they all carried it in their haversack. It was a cracker-like biscuit made from plain flour and water. It was described by the men as, "indestructible, imperishable, practically inedible, too hard to chew, too small for shoeing mules, and too big to use as bullets." Hardtack was also called "tooth dullers" or "sheet iron crackers." They were also called "worm castles," and I think you can guess why. On the softer side, hard-boiled eggs were often carried in their pockets on marches!

Idiot's Delight

The four items that caused the most food-related fights in the camps were bread, meat, apples, and pickles. Coffee was a great luxury, with the Union forces usually having a steady supply of coffee beans, but Confederate forces were not so lucky and had to roast acorns, chickory, and burnt corn to brew their coffee. One of the best liked dishes was "Idiots Delight," known as such because it was so simple to put together than "even an idiot" could make it. It was a dessert with biscuit-like drops with raisins and brown sugar in a thick cinnamon-raisin sauce. Gingerbread was given as a "comfort food" when available to the wounded soldiers in field hospitals.

While you "digest" all of that, we'll tell you what we're making tonight. It's barbecued chicken cooked in a slow cooker, but tastes like it was cooked outside on the grill. It is easy and delicious, and could be called "Idiot's Delight" because it's so simple to cook - and that's no crock!

SLOW COOKER BARBECUED CHICKEN

6-8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (depending on size)

1 17-oz. bottle barbecue sauce (we used K. C. Masterpiece Southern Recipe)

1/2 cup Italian dressing (we used Wish Bone Mediterranean Italian)

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
(you could add some liquid smoke, if desired)

In crock pot, pour in barbecue sauce, Italian dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce; mix until blended. Add chicken pieces and cover with sauce. Cook on low heat overnight, or until chicken is fully cooked. Take chicken out of sauce and shred or cut into pieces. Add enough sauce to coat chicken as desired, or place chicken back in sauce in crock pot. Serve on rolls.