Avocado Milk Shake and Cinnamon Smoked Pork Chops

Folks-
I've got one recipe, and one new grilling trick to relate to you today. Both are the result of looking ingredients up on Wikipedia.
In the first case, I looked up Cinnamon, and discovered an interesting story. According to what I read, the Roman Emperor Nero burned an entire years supply of cinnamon for the city of Rome to mark the death of his first wife. I wondered what that would smell like, thinking it might be sort of incense-like, so I tried burning a stick. I found it didn't smell like incense, but the smell was unique, and I wondered how it would add to grilled meat. Tonight I tried it, grilling pork chops on my gas grill. I soaked an ounce or two of cinnamon sticks in water for an hour and a half, drained the water, and wrapped them in aluminum foil in two bundles. The bundles of cinnamon sticks went directly onto the gas flames in the grill. Everyone in the family liked it at least as much as hickory smoking, with me liking it more for pork. I recommend trying it!
The second experiment I tried on my family (Zhenie went shopping before she had a chance to try it) is also the result of reading Wikipedia. I was looking up Avocados, and discovered that Avocado milkshakes are popular in Brazil. My kids all liked it, until I told them what it was. The flavor is very subtle, but good. Here's the recipe:

Avocado Milkshake
2 Cups Vanilla Ice Cream
1 1/4 Cup Milk
1 Avocado, skinned, pitted, and diced

Put all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Quick and Easy Fried Artichoke Hearts

Folks-
Two posts in one day? Yep. After posting my fried chicken recipe, I decided to add a note to the fried artichoke recipe I was sure I'd posted a long time ago. Guess what? I'd never posted it in the first place!
In case you're unfamiliar with fried artichoke hearts, they're often sold at county fairs in the central coast of California. They're delicious, but expensive, and only available for a week each year! Not good!
So, I had to come up with something. Now, the cheapest place I've found frozen artichoke hearts is Trader Joes.
Oh, and Aaron lost another tooth today. Congratulations, little Bob!
Here's the recipe!

Quick and Easy Fried Artichoke Hearts
1 Cup Beer Batter Mix
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
2/3 Cup Water
1 Package Frozen Artichoke Hearts

Heat up oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees. Mix together beer batter, Italian Seasoning and water. Coat the frozen Artichoke Hearts with the Beer Batter Mixture and drop into the hot oil. Fry for 5-7 minutes, drain, and allow to cool until edible on parchment paper or paper towels.
If you don't have a deep fryer, heat 1/2 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium heat until a drop of the batter bubbles freely when dropped in (or 375 degrees.) Fry the battered artichokes in one side for 4-5 minutes, then flip them and continue frying for another 3-4 minutes until a light brown. Remove from oil, drain, and allow to cool on parchment paper or paper towels.
Good served with drawn butter or mayo.

Edly Fried Chicken

Folks- it took me a few tries, but I think I got this recipe worked out pretty well. Zhenie loves it, so I recommend giving it a try!
I use a kitchen deep fryer to cook it. Here's the recipe:

Edly Fried chicken
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 Tbsp Italian seasonings
1 1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Tsp Paprika
1 Tsp Sage
1/2 Tsp Chili Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Pepper
2 Eggs, scrambled
Chicken parts

Mix together dry ingredients. coat chicken parts in egg, then dredge through the dry ingredient mixture and fry in 350 degree oil for 20 minutes or until core temperature reaches 170 degrees.