When in the south...

Baked Eggs, à la South Carolina

I've been back in South Carolina for a week know and loving every minute of it.  After a morning of exploring a local park, I wanted something easy, but still substantial, for lunch.  Spying some leftover collard greens in the fridge, I remembered the spinach baked eggs Ben had made me for Mother's Day and I thought, "why not?".  I popped the dish in the oven before popping myself into the shower, emerging to find lunch done.  This was so damn good that I called Ben to make him jealous of hat I was having for lunch, but with the promise to make it for him when he joins me next week.


Baked Eggs, à la South Carolina

For each serving:
1 heaping cup of your favorite leftover collard greens, preferably with lots of ham bits
1 or 2 eggs
coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat an oven to 400°F. Lightly spritz oven-safe dishes or ramekins with cooking spray.  Place a heaping cup of prepared collard greens into each of the oven-safe dishes, making a well or two in the center of each.  Break an egg into each well and season with salt and pepper.  Place the ramekins on one or two rimmed baking sheets and bake until the whites are set and the yolks are firm around the edges but still soft in the center, about 17 minutes or to your liking. Serve immediately. 

Serve this with a whole grain bread or English muffin and some hot sauce.  Texas Pete is very popular here.

WW PointsPlus:
2 points per egg, but the greens will depend upon how they were prepared.  Mine, made with lean ham and defatted ham broth, are 2 points for a heaping cup.

Another New Year...

Image courtesy of  
http://www.theprintblog.com/how-to-make-those-new-years-resolutions-stick/

Well, hello there.  It has been awhile and we have a lot of catching up to do.  First thing is a big thank you to to my longtime readers for sticking with me, and if you're a new reader, a big thank you for sharing your time with me.

 I have finished my master's degree, graduating December 14 and now face the questions about what I am going to do now.  The quick answer is that I'm not exactly sure.  For now I will be focusing on my home life, my blog (and the sister Facebook page), and The Caring Closet because we have grown so quickly and not yet three years old.

Those of you on Facebook have seen all the albums I have uploaded of my food photos and the updates I have posted there.  I have been mulling a name and layout change for the blog, but have decided to keep it as is for now, just changing some photos and doing away with some sidebar clutter.  I have also redone the recipe index, combining the former two into one that is hopefully easier to use.  Hopefully by tomorrow the switchover will be complete and the blog will have its own domain of casaenlacocina.com.

With a new year comes new resolutions.  Although I am already pretty organized, I will be striving for yet more order, and even after obtaining the graduate degree, still need to learn  to manage my time better.  Ben and I have also made the commitment to each other (the only ones who really matter) that we will be changing our eating habits.  Although we have a healthy diet overall, we share a love of food, and even a good thing can be overdone, leaving us both with some weight we'd like to lose.  We have joined Weight Watchers because it restricts nothing, designed for mindful eating.  I won't be boring you here with progress reports or any other such nonsense and this will not become a "diet blog, but I will start including the Points+ value for recipes as I go forward for those interested.

One last update from my absence is that we have realized a long held dream and purchased a second home on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.  In honor of our new "home," I will be focusing more on Southern regional dishes, especially those of the lowcountry.  But not to worry, I haven't lost my love of Latin American flavors to which this blog owes its name.

Until tomorrow, all my best,
Mary

Vacation dining...

Low Country Boil

When we vacation, we typically rent a villa rather than stay in a hotel.  Not only are we able to feel more "at home" where ever we may be, but we are also able to prepare most of our own meals ourselves.  This is not only a money saving gesture, for quite honestly, our own meals are usually as good (or better) than we would have if we dined out.  One dish we always make whnenwe travel south is the Low Country Boil pictured above (click here for the recipe).  A new addition to the southern repertoire will be the Key lime Pie of the previous post.  

Now don't get me wrong...we do enjoy eating out, we are just more selective about our dining dollars than we were in our reckless youth ("reckless" here meaning "before we could cook so well").  On one of our early trips to Hilton Head, we did like most other tourists and ate at the Crazy Crab in Harbor Town, a mediocre tourist trap in the truest sense (if anyone feels that it has improved in the last few years, please let me know.)

This trip we decided to try Chef Robert Irvine's eat!, just across the street from Shipyard Plantation where we were staying.  Ben and I are both fans of Chef Robert's antics on the Food Network, and even the little guy Christopher likes him from Worst Cooks in America.  In ten years of going to Hilton Head, our meal here was probably one of the best we have ever had on the island.  And yes, those are pictures of Chef Robert on the wall, and the waiters were all dressed in short sleeve black polos. showing off their "gun shows."  No one ever said the man had a small ego :)

Tried for photos, but the lighting was no good.

A basket of crusty bread was served alongside olive oil with a drizzle of balsamic reduction, quite a delicious start and Christopher was "forced" to finish the last piece.  We ordered the fried green tomatoes to share.  Ben does not normally care for this dish (that Chris and I love), but he found these to be quite delicious.  Supposedly the micro-sprouts that came with the tomatoes were very good too, but I wouldn't know since Chris swooped in so quickly and gobbled them up :)  Being a "real" restaurant, there was no children's menu, so Chris ordered the Carolina shrimp and house fries.  The fries (he reported) were good as fries go, but nothing special.  The coconut pecan crusted shrimp, however, he declared to be divine (and I can report that they were huge).  Ben ordered a pork and gnocchi dish he adored, while I ordered the blackened snapper.  I'd give just about anything to know how the red pepper and goat cheese coulis was made...yummy!!  To finish, we ordered the tabasco ice cream.  Ben and Chris said they got a hint of the tabasco; I didn't, but did find it to be a very delicious cinnamon ice cream.  Overall, a very pleasurable experience and we will be returning.

Another place i have to mention is the Palmetto Bay Sunrise Cafe where we had breakfast late one morning.  We will be sure to visit this busy little cafe again (and again).  It was homey, fast, cheap, and delicious...what more could one want in a breakfast place.  Chris had french toast, Ben had the shrimp hash, and I had a breakfast version of shrimp and grits, complete with red eye gravy and a fried egg on top...yum, yum, yum!!

Breakfast Shrimp and Grits

 Okay, looking at the photo now, I'll admit that this is not the prettiest dish ever, but it sure was good!

A southern delight...

Key Lime Pie

We love key Lime Pie and this is something that we ALWAYS get when we travel down south.  Just days before we left this year I read April's post at Mama Loves Food about this decadent treat.  "Could it really be so simple?" I asked myself.  Well, I decided that I would just have to find out.  On our first grocery trip to Publix I walked past the bakery special of the week, whole key lime Pies for a mere $6.99 each, and sought out the ingredients to make my own (and I ever so glad I did!).  This pie was one of the simplest desserts I have ever made, and undeniably, also one of the tastiest.  I started with the 3/4 cup of key lime juice, and after a taste added another 1/4 cup, resulting in a tarter pie than one will usually be served in a restaurant, but one perfect for us. Serve this pie chilled with a dollop of slightly sweetened whipped cream and you won't be disappointed (and DO NOT use Cool Whip...the real stuff is just sooo much better and a cinch to make).  I'm not ashamed in the least to share that I had the last piece for breakfast before we headed home, perfect with coffee.

Key Lime Pie

3/4ths cup key lime juice (or as much as 1 cup if you prefer a more tart pie)

2 cans sweetened condensed milk (14 ounce cans)

2 eggs

1 graham cracker pie crust

Whipping the cream for the pie.

Combine key lime juice, sweetened condensed milk and eggs in a bowl and whisk until the ingredients are well blended.  Pour into pie crust and bake at 375 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes.  Allow to cool, serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream. 

Mahogany's Cafe and Grill, Hamilton, Ohio

It was with much anticipation that I had lunch with my friend Tracey at Mahogany's Cafe and Grill, a new restaurant in Hamilton.  I was doubly excited by the prospect of this restaurant for it not only touted real southern style food (my oh my, heaven on a plate), but was opening in the second ward of Hamilton, an economically disadvantaged area of the city that would welcome a much needed new establishment with open arms.

I have found that anticipating a restaurant too much can lead to heightened expectations that can be hard to live up to.  I think this is what happened when I first ate at certain BBQ joint that opened on Hamilton's west side a few years ago...the food wasn't bad, but nor was it the BBQ nirvana that I so badly wanted, and I left disappointed.

Well, I am very excited to report that Mahogany's lived up to those expectations and we will be returning here often.  Even the 10 year old wanted to return to dine that very evening and bring his grandparents.  Christopher and I both love fried catfish, and because of that whole not frying at home hangup of mine, have had to get out fix at The Texas Roadhouse, which has proved satisfactory, until now that is.  Ben and I ate there last night and I could not even consider ordering it there again after having it at Mahogany's.  If you are anywhere near Hamilton you must stop in for a visit; meanwhile you can visit them at their website, or on their Facebook page.

We ordered the fried green tomatoes to share.  This was one dish that I came in knowing I was going to order (I do love fried green tomatoes, as does my 10 year old gourmand), and I was not disappointed.  The crisp breading around the tart tomato was perfect, and the chipotle spiced sauce was an unexpected, but very delicious departure.  Chris snatched one of these off the plate so quickly that I had to have him put it back so I could snap the picture :)

I ordered the fried catfish with buttery grits and fried okra.  As I said earlier, I won't be ordering catfish at the Roadhouse any more, this was just sooo good.  The grits were tender and decadently buttery (I didn't say this was DIET food), and the fried okra, which is often quite tasteless, was full of bright and tart okra flavor.  

Chris ordered the fried catfish with fries and mac and cheese.  All I can say is that the boy dug in and kept eating until he couldn't eat anymore.  Both the fish and the mac and cheese was "really good" (the boy's words), but despite his heroic efforts, he could not eat it all.  We both took food home (the portions were huge) where the boy later had a "catfish snack," eating not only his, but mine as well!

Tracey had the fried tilapia with mac and cheese and the basil corn.  She said that her food was as delicious as we found ours to be, and that the corn, fried with butter and basil, was a delicious and different take on the common veg.

Accompanying our meals were huge sweet potato muffins.  This was one of the best muffins I have ever eaten...Tracey and I were still talking about them days later.  Liz Rogers, the owner of Mahogany's, told us that they are filling take out orders of these heavenly muffins by the dozen, and I can see why...I think we'll have to get some for breakfast sometime.  I ended up taking half of mine home and Chris ate that too!!

Note:  This was a wonderful place and I will definitely return here often, but discovered a disappointing little fact after leaving the restaurant.  I received the bill and scribbled in a generous tip (the cute, friendly waiter did a great job) without really looking at the amounts (my bad).  The next day Ben was looking at the receipt and found that a 15% gratuity had already been added in...can't say I expected that as we were not a large group.  So all said, the cute, friendly waiter received a $10 tip on a $30 bill...not bad at all (for him).  This won't keep me from returning, but I will certainly pay closer attention to my bill in the future.

Gone camping...

Fried Chicken, Green Beans, and Biscuits with Pan Gravy

We went camping this weekend at Governor Bebb Preserve in rural Butler County (otherwise known as "the sticks").  While this park only offers primitive camping (no water, one port-a-let), it is one of our favorite places to camp, or to just spend a day, and you can find us here at least a few times during the spring to fall camping season.

We usually eat well while camping, because with a grill and a camp stove you can cook just about anything you can at home.  This time around we thought we would do something that we don't do at home.  The whole family loves fried chicken, but this is something I refuse to make at home, not in my kitchen, not on my deck (or anything deep fried for that matter).  We figured that using the campstove and cooking on a picnic table, we were safe from mess and odor.  Frying the chicken did indeed prove to be a messy endeavor, even using a splatter screen (reinforcing my stance against doing this at home), but the results were oh, so gooood.  After spooning off most of the frying oil, I made a pan gravy with the "leavin's" and served this over biscuits that we had brought along.  Uum, uum good!!

We did not have a thermometer for the oil and I believe we probably had it too hot, but we got delicious crispy skin while retaining  juicy flavorful meat, so mission accomplished.  There are several trains of thought about preparing chicken for frying...some think it should be soaked in buttermilk, some think it should be soaked in a brine...I decided to do both, and with the addition of salt and sugar, made a "buttermilk brine."  The night before we left I got the chicken soaking in this "brine" in a gallon bag, and prepared another bag with heavily seasoned flour in which to dredge the chicken (homemade "shake and bake",,,is that stuff even still around?).

Southern Fried Chicken with Pan Gravy

This recipe is for camp cooking

2 lbs. chicken parts (we used 6 legs)

1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk + 1 tbs. lemon juice)

1 tbs, coarse salt

1 tbs. sugar

2 cups flour

seasonings of choice- I used ground pepper, table salt, garlic powder, paprika, and dried parsley flakes

canola oil, as needed

2 cups milk (I used 2%)

Place the chicken, buttermilk, salt, and sugar in a gallon sized zip bag; seal and mush it around to combine everything; refrigerate over night.  If your chicken will be hanging out in a cooler like ours did, you will probably want to seal it in an additional gallon bag (unless you are VERY trusting that the bag won't leak).  Put the flour in another gallon bag and season VERY generously with whatever you like, but you should certainly include salt and pepper. 

Our breading station

When you are ready to cook, heat a cast iron skillet and 1/2 to 1'" of canola oil (we used about 3 cups) until very hot- you will want the oil to reach about halfway up the sides of your chicken.  Dredge the chicken heavily in the flour (a surprisingly thick amount will adhere) and place carefully, skin side down, into the hot oil.  Cook until richly brown on the first side and turn over (you don't want to turn it too much and risk breaking off the crust).  Cook the second side until brown, and remove when the chicken is cooked through (I can't give you a time here...Ben has a weird ability to just "know" when chicken on the bone is done...I don't share this ability).  Cook the chicken in batches so as to not crowd the pan, and remove to a paper towel lined plate when finished, just cover lightly with foil to keep warm (and keep the pesky flies off of it).

When all the chicken is fried, spoon off most of the oil into a heat resistant bowl to cool (then you can pour it into a plastic bottle to dispose of it, don't dump it on the ground).  Pour what is left of the flour into the pan with the oil and cook until a nice golden color (this will happen very quickly).  Using a whisk, stir in a small amount of milk until smooth, then slowly whisk in the rest of the milk, scraping up any brown bits from the pan too (that's the best part).  Turn off the heat and serve with the chicken and biscuits.  I found the seasonings in the flour to be enough, but Ben added some pepper, so have that handy for any who want it :)

We also cooked some green beans (with some bacon :) to go with this fried feast.

The next morning we made a Mountainman Breakfast, our third time making this dutch oven meal, but the first time to actually do it while camping.  We were also able to warm up leftover biscuits from the residual heat.

Mountainman Breakfast, biscuits with honey, coffee percolated on the campstove, and OJ...what a great start to a morning outdoors :-)

A view of the creek near our camp site.

Christopher, all on his own, decided to start weeding the playground.  Now he wants to go back with garden tools and finish the job.  I think this is a beautiful idea, as the parks in Butler County have suffered severe cutbacks and can use all the help they can get.  Chris and daddy are also scheming a service project for their Webelos den (the last cub scout rank)...I love my guys :-)

A frozen treasure...

 Cajun (Brown) Jambalaya with Ham and Shrimp

(And yes, I know that my place setting is mixed up.)

Finding all that 10 month old zucchini in the freezer last week sent me on search to see what else had been stashed for too long.  Uncovered...one meaty ham bone from Easter...not terribly old, but I felt I should use it anyway.  The first use that comes to mind with a ham bone is a bean or lentil soup of some sort, but it is really, REALLY hot and humid (75% yesterday), and who wants to eat a heavy, rib-sticking bean soup in this kind of weather? (Do rhetorical questions get a question mark?)

I considered the contents of the freezer (the one in the kitchen where things don't get "lost"), and a bag of shrimp made me think jambalaya (yes, I still seem stuck down south, I need to move there already).  I'm sure most are familiar with this rice dish of Louisiana fame, or at least of Zatarains fame (watch the commercial here)...

Jambalaya is an infinitely versatile dish (and one that can be made to fill the hungry tummies of many, if needed).  "Creole," or "Red," jambalaya is made with tomatoes, while "Cajun," or "Brown," jambalaya is made without.  I asked the boys which they preferred and they voted for the no tomato variety (I should have guessed that without asking), so Cajun it was.  This dish turned out every bit as rich and tasty as I had hoped, with the sweet shrimp contrasting beautifully against the overall "haminess" of the dish.  Chris thought it a bit spicy, so I would probably cut the cayenne by half in the future, especially considering that Ben and I added Tabasco anyway (Crystal Hot Sauce would have been a better choice).  I used okra here, but if you don't have it readily available, or don't like it, substitute a scant pound of whatever veg you do have.  Today I am just going to give you the jambalaya recipe, and the next post will cover the process to get here, as well as the shrimp stock I ended up making as well :)

9 ears of corn (continued)...

 Succotash, Grilled Turkey Tenderloin,

Buttermilk Biscuits, and Southern Cream Gravy

(and oh yeah, that's bacon on there too)

Thursday night was time for succotash!  Succotash is a dish made with corn and beans, usually lima beans, but really, any shell bean will work.  This is another beautiful, infinitely versatile and economical dish, in that as long as you have corn and beans, you have succotash...toss in whatever veggies you have around and you have a dish sure to please.  Succotash is not a "southern" dish per se, in that it is made all over the States, but it has that feel to me.   A dig through the freezer uncovered a package of turkey tenderloins, just as easy as chicken breasts marinated (canola oil, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and onion powder) and thrown on the grill, just bigger.  I felt the turkey needed some kind of sauce, and wanting to go with the southern vibe, I decided on Southern cream gravy (hey, it's a sauce!).  But what is cream gravy without buttermilk biscuits?  So we had biscuits too (I cheated here, because, alas, I do not possess the art of biscuit making, and it is, indeed, an art!).

Succotash

Corn...fresh off the cob is best if you have it, but I have made pretty good succotash using frozen corn
Beans...again, limas are usual, but use what you have and like (I used cannellinis)
Diced Veggies...onion, bell pepper, zucchini, tomato are all good 
Salt and Pepper, to taste... (I'd tell you to use a nice coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper, but my grandma used iodized salt and pepper from a tin and it still tasted damn good)
BUTTER, not margarine...it browns while you cook and adds a taste that you just can't get with margarine  (I used 4 tbs. with this big amount I cooked).
Cream...optional, but adds a very nice richness if you have it around...alas, I did not :(

Saute your corn and veggies in butter over med-high heat until cooked to your liking (I like them starting to get little brown caramelized bits).  Toss in the beans (rinsed and drained, if using canned ones) and continue to cook until heated through.  If using the cream, add with the beans (not too much), and cook it off until it has disappeared into all the other goodness (you'll know).



Southern Cream Gravy

Diet Warning...this is strictly delicious comfort food, no "diets" allowed...

In case you are not familiar, cream gravy is what you would get if you ordered country/chicken fried steak, and serves as the base for sausage gravy (of sausage gravy and biscuit fame).  This simple gravy can taste like paste if you don't treat it right, but if you take the care and time to get the roux just right, it is heaven on your plate.

Basically, you want to start with an equal amount of fat (bacon, sausage, or even butter) to flour and cook the roux over medium heat until it is a nice golden brown (if you don't, it will taste all "pastey").  Then you will want to slowly whisk in half your milk (no less than 2%),  Cook until VERY thick and then whisk in the rest of your milk...cook until it coats the back of a spoon very nicely.  Season with salt and pepper (be generous with the pepper) to taste (think about what I said with the succotash).  Serve over what ever in the heck suits you at the moment :)


Here is what I used this time around...

1/2 lb. peppered bacon, diced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper (hey, they are on my counter next to the stove!)

In a medium saucepan, cook the bacon over medium heat until brown and crispy.  Remove the bacon from the pan, leaving as much of the fat behind as you can (I held the spoon up against the side of the pan to drain it).  Add the flour and stir until smooth; continue to cook until nice golden brown, stirring occasionally (this will take a while, but this is the love).  Whisk in the remaining milk and cook until it thickly coats that spoon.  Season with salt and pepper (you gotta taste it for perfection) before serving it over whatever you wish...

Now for that bacon...you can put it away for another use (on a salad would be good), or you can say "what the heck," and scatter it over whatever you have covered in the gravy (that's what I did darn it, and the succotash too!)

A different take on a Southern favorite...

Shrimp and Bacon Pasta, 

aka, Shrimp and Grits w/o the grits

I had opened a pack of bacon earlier this week for the Country Captain and needed another dish to finish it off.  With my mind still stuck in the south, Shrimp and Grits was a perfect choice for this leftover bacon goodness...One problem, as much as Ben and I like grits, the kids just don't share this affinity. 

Having set my sights on this dish in that stubborn headed manner of mine, I decided to go ahead with it, but substitute pasta for the grits (easy fix :).  In a nod to the butter and cheese customarily found in the grits, I buttered the hot pasta and sprinkled the servings with some shredded parmesan.  I added a bit of white wine to the shrimp before tossing with the pasta to lighten things up a bit (I know, I can hear you all laughing at that one).  The only thing I would change in making this again would be to add some lemon juice to the pasta (and Ben wanted bigger shrimp than the mediums I used).  Chris, in particular, loved this dish, but when I asked him about eating the grits instead of the pasta I got a loud "NO."  Oh well, doesn't hurt to try...

Country Captain...

Country Captain Chicken

A while back Ben and I watched an episode of Throwdown! with Bobby Flay where he was competing against the Lee brothers of Charleston in making the southern specialty Country Captain.  This chicken and curry dish looked delicious (and the Lees won), so we decided that we would try to find it when we were in the Charleston area.  As it turns out, the Lees do not have a restaurant, nor did we see Country Captain on any menu of the places we did dine.  

Frustrated by not finding it anywhere in our excursions, and still wanting to try this dish, I decided to make it myself yesterday.  I found the Lee's recipe at the Food Network's website, purchased the ingredients I was lacking, and set out cooking.  I will say that the flavors in this dish were incredibly delicious, and Christopher seemed to particularly enjoy it, BUT...as delicious as it was, I have several issues with the recipe.  The recipe calls for a 4 to 6 qt. dutch oven, and as mine is a 5 qt., I thought I was good.  Once I started preparing this, I quickly determined that this food was NOT going to fit, so I prepared the steps in the pan, but transferred every thing to a VERY large baking dish (incidentally, the recipe stated that it was 4 servings, 6 to 8 is more accurate).  I don't normally like to make stew-like dishes using chicken with bones and skin, but as this was called for, I followed the directions.  I still am not fond of these in my stew, and wish I had subbed the skinless, boneless chicken, as had been my inclination.  We were left with more than enough food for another meal, but before stowing it away, I pulled the meat from the bones and discarded those along with the skin.  I will definitely make this again, but will probably cut the quantities (unless I want to make a LOT) and will use skinless, boneless thighs.  I also think this recipe would lend itself beautifully to slow cooking.

Fresh from the oven in my very large bakeware.

Home...

We have just crossed the Ohio River back into Cincinnati.

I didn't want to leave South Carolina, but we are back home in Ohio.  This past week has been truly wonderful, and I would recommend Edisto Island for any who prefer a more secluded and less "touristy" vacation.  We wrapped up the trip in Charleston with a visit to Patriot's Point (very appropriate considering the holiday weekend), a trip to Market Street for a fabulous dinner at Hyman's Seafood (Carolina Delight, yum!), and a night of Rockin' on the Point, an annual series of weekend concerts/parties at the Charleston Marina and Resort (check out the group The Plainfield Project, a cross between Phish and Bob Marley).

The most perfect beach, anywhere.

We did most of our own cooking in the condo we rented, but did eat out a few times and enjoyed some wonderful Southern specialties, including: soft shell crabs, low country boil, fried oyster (me) and shrimp (Ben) po' boys, fried green tomatoes, tomato pie, key lime pie, boiled peanuts, and grits, grits, and more grits.

Ben cooked dinner one night and made one of Christopher's easy favorites, sloppy Joes (not the disgusting Manwich variety).  I was sitting at the counter bar chatting with Ben as he cooked, and he asked (very indignantly, mind you) why I wasn't taking pictures and blogging when HE was doing the cooking (I've actually mentioned his cooking a lot here, haven't I?).  So I picked up my camera and obliged.  These sandwiches are super easy to make, and not to bad for you to boot, provided you use a lean ground meat (whole grain buns are a nice addition too).

My sweetie, hard at work.

Sloppy Joes, roasted potato wedges,

and mac and cheese.

Sloppy Joes

1 lb. lean ground meat (chuck, sirloin, pork loin, turkey, or chicken)

1 large onion, diced

drizzle of olive or canola oil

about 8 oz. of your favorite BBQ sauce (homemade or purchased)

yellow prepared mustard

coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper

burger buns of choice, to serve

In a large nonstick saute pan, sweat the onion with a drizzle of oil over medium heat until softened, but not brown, about 5 minutes.  Add the ground meat and brown, breaking up the clumps; season with salt and pepper.  Once the meat is browned, spoon off any fat (there should not be much, if any, if you used lean meat).  Stir in the BBQ sauce and a big squirt of the mustard (2 tablespoons or so).  Taste and adjust seasonings and add more BBQ and mustard, as necessary.  Serve on buns with additional mustard for those who want it (me).

Not quite a hoedown...

Grilled Chipotle Lime Pork, Loaded Hoecake, 

Cucumber Salad, and lightly dressed bibb lettuce

Yesterday's morning dig through the freezer found some nice boneless pork, and since it was a sunny (if not particularly warm) day, I decided to grill them.  Not in the mood to barbecue them, I concocted a simple marinade from pantry staples, and it turned out very tasty indeed (the little guy didn't even complain about the bit of heat).  I love to eat cornbread with grilled (esp. BBQ) pork, but Ben complains if I make it too often.  Undeterred (yes, I can be a bit stubborn), I decided to make hoecakes, but not any hoecake, a loaded, savory one.  For those who may be unfamiliar, a hoecake is merely a pancake made with cornmeal, but a favorite of the south, as well as the northeast, where they call they johnny cakes.  To finish out the meal, we had a simple cucumber salad and torn bibb lettuce dressed in the same vinegar as the cukes.

It is beautiful outside...

 Blueberry Pie with Vanilla Scented Fresh Whipped Cream

It has been beautiful the past days, and last night saw our first real thunderstorm of the spring season, complete with our first tornado watch.  All that blowing and noise sent my little corgi girl to the safety of her kennel, but the sound of rain (once the thunder died down) made for excellent sleeping.  Today, a bright and sunny 82, saw me outside removing the dreaded bagworms from one of our well established arborvitae (6 years old and 9 feet tall).  A check of the rest of the landscape did not reveal any more, but everything will be getting a good dousing with insecticide this evening (sorry, but I must fore go the organic route when trees this size are at stake).

The weather was gorgeous on Sunday, so we actually had our Easter dinner out on the deck.  I made the Bourbon and Brown Sugar Glazed Ham that I had last made at Thanksgiving, scalloped potatoes, and the green beans i made last week that Ben liked so much (now, forever, to be know as hillbilly green beans).  I don't often make dessert, but since it was Easter, I decided to make a pie with the blueberries I had hanging out in the freezer.  A quick internet serch found an easy recipe at About.com, indexed under southern foods (seems very fitting, considering the food it was following).  The pie was easy to make, set up very well, and was pretty to look at topped with some vanilla scented fresh whipped cream.  What was disappointing was the berries I had used.  We did not get the expected little bursts of tartness, instead the berries were, not bad, but a bit boring.  That said, I will use this recipe again, just with berries that had not been frozen too long.

Another visit south...

 Texas Style Beef Brisket, Southern Style Green Beans, 

Pinto Beans topped cheese and diced onion, and Macaroni Salad from the deli

I had a beef brisket that I wanted to make using a recipe that I have used before with flavorful success, and since I have been into pairing appropriate regional dishes together, I wanted something just right to go with the "Texas style" that I had in mind.  I have never been to Texas so I asked Ben's uncle Dave, who lives in south Texas, for some help.  Dave (a reader since the beginning, WAY back in October) came through for me and gave more suggestions than I could possibly make for one meal.  The interesting thing was the similarity between his suggestions and many of the foods I grew up eating (except we only put onions on our pinto beans, not the cheese); I guess those southern roots are strong :) Ben said he really liked my "hillbilly" green beans, and said that he had never had them that way before. 
I would like to thank Dave for both his input and support, it is much appreciated.

Snow >:-(

 This is NOT snow, in fact,

this is what I am looking forward to once summer va-ca arrives.

Photo courtesy of http://www.destinationvacationhhi.com/Forest-Beach.htm 

Snow >:-(   Yep, that's my Facebook status for today.  After a stretch of near 70 degree days, I awake this morning to a cold and windy 30 degree outside temperature, and, yes, snow on the ground (sigh...).  I had planned to grill some pork ribs yesterday, but found those plans derailed by rain, and now this.  Oh well, that's what we get for living in Ohio (someday, oh, someday...).

As I said, I had a nice package of country style pork ribs that I had marinating with the intention of throwing them on the grill for dinner.  These ribs, having been frozen and thawed, had to be used, rain or no rain.  Some slow and low cooking in the oven produced a tender rib that, while not as good as grilled (at least to my mind), was still very tasty.  To accompany these ribs I cooked up a pot of collard greens (couldn't be in a hurry now, could I?), and threw together a super easy and tasty corn pudding.  It may be cold outside, but our tummies were warm and satisfied...

Another southern favorite...

This is our own adaptation and we love to have this once the weather is warm and we can dine outside.  We always have this when we are vacationing in the low country.  This is an eat with your hands meal, and yes, you must peel the shrimp yourself.  Serve with cocktail sauce if you must.
Low Country Boil


2 lbs. medium to large shrimp
2 lbs. smoked sausage, cut into big bite size pieces
2 pounds small red potatoes, halved or quartered, as necessary
4 large ears of corn, cut into thirds
4 quarts water
1 (3-ounce) bag of crab boil seasoning, we use Zatarain's
4 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning


Add potatoes to large pot, then add 4 quarts water and seasonings. Cover pot and heat to a rolling boil; cook 5 minutes. Add sausage and corn, and return to a boil. Cook 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Add shrimp to stockpot; cook 3 to 4 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Drain and place in a large serving bowl family style; or if you are eating outside (the best way), dump the whole drained mix on newspapers spread on the middle of your table.   Serves 6 to 8.

No time to cook (much)...

Jury duty and scouts on Monday, and scout activities of some sort all day yesterday have not left much time for cooking.  Monday night I cooked up some pasta and tossed a salad to accompany the leftover spicy stuffed peppers, while last night we had our own version of the Double Decker Taco, accompanied with a simply seasoned rice.  Ben did note that he really liked the "taco meat."  I used ground pork instead of the usual ground turkey and he thought it more flavorful (although Chris said he liked the "regular" meat better).
With not much real cooking happening here I am going to share an old favorite that I really want to get in the recipe file, Shrimp and Grits. This southern comfort food combines shrimp and bacon over a creamy base of super rich grits...who could ask for more?  Look soon for another southern favorite, Low Country Boil.