D'Artagnon products at HyVee

I was surprised to see D'Artagnan products at the grocery store.  They are usually too expensive when you add shipping but these were just there so I got some Heritage hog chorizo and Anoouille. I also got some duck fat but didn't use any of that today.  I made some Hollandaise for the asparagus and we used some homemade mustard that I made a while back.  We also had bacon, cream cheese and butter for the baked potatoes.  The hollandaise was good on the potatoes too.

Stuffed Crab, Killer Shrimp and Jerk Pork, Oh my.

Shrimp and stuffed clams were on sale but I thought the two together weren't going to be enough to make a whole meal so I got some pork chops too.  Served with rice, roasted brussels sprouts and a slaw-type salad.  Turns out it was more than enough for the two of us.

SALAD

chopped savoy cabbage, green cabbage, carrots, celery, green onions, cilantro, wonton noodles and sliced almonds with a Sesame Ginger Dressing.

Jerk  Pork Chop 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons canola oil

• 4 (8 to 10 ounce) thick pork chops

• 1/4 cup jerk seasoning, *

• 1/4 cup red onion, diced

•

• 1 jalapeño diced

• 2 cups pineapple, fresh, cubed

• 1/2 cup peach preserves

Directions

*Jerk Seasoning

Makes about 1/2 cup

2 tablespoons brown sugar

21/2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons allspice

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon granulated onion powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, salt, allspice, cayenne, black pepper, onion powder, cinnamon, garlic powder, cumin, and thyme. Store the seasoning in a lidded glass container or zipped plastic bag in a cool, dark place for up to 1 month.

Pork Chops:

1 Preheat the oven to 375°F. Prepare a medium-hot to hot fire in a charcoal or gas grill and oil the grill grates.

2 Rub the 1/4 cup of oil over both sides of the pork chops and then sprinkle them with the jerk seasoning, rubbing it into the meat. Grill the chops for 4 to 5 minutes on each side.

3 Transfer the chops to a baking pan and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

4 Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, jalapeño, and pineapple cubes and cook, stirring, until the onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the peach preserves and lemon-pepper seasoning, decrease the heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce comes together, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Serve the sauce with the pork chops

Br

Brussels Sprouts

Brussel sprouts cut in half tossed with salt & pepper, duck fat and chopped pecans and roasted 20 minutes.

Louisiana Killer Shrimp 

         Servings: 4 to 6 

2 tablespoons rosemary

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 teaspoon black pepper

5 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon celery seeds

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 quarts chicken broth

3 ounces tomato paste

½ cup butter

1 ½ pounds shrimp, peeled, tails on, save shells to boil with killer shrimp broth

Crunch up the rosemary and thyme using fingers. Place all ingredients, except shrimp and french bread, in a large pot. Simmer this mixture for 2 ½ hours.

Five minutes before serving add shrimp and cook about 3 to 4 minutes or until shrimp is done. Serve shrimp with broth and toasted French bread for sopping the broth.

Stuffed clams were store bought

PORK CHOPS

Bone-in cured pork chops didn't need cooking, just putting a little color on it in the pan. I cooked some brown mushrooms with them and had baked potatoes and noodles with  a light cheese sauce for sides and some strawberries with angel food cake for dessert.

Crab legs were on sale.

We had crab legs, homemade sausage, corn and potatoes all cooked together.Bred, pickles and drawn butter on the side.

Deviled Chicken Thighs

Dinner tonight was last minute. I made deviled chicken breasts and had a potato and cheese concoction from the store that wasn't very good and for dessert we had angel food cake with vanilla ice cream and  sliced, sugared strawberries

Deviled Chicken Thighs

• MARK BITTMAN Time 20 minutes Yield4 \

Jim Wilson/The New York Times

In cooking, the term ''deviled'' has several meanings, but it most often implies a preparation with a sharp flavor, most often derived from mustard, vinegar, cayenne or other chiles. In this dish, you don't need vinegar, because there is plenty of acidity in Dijon mustard. Nor, strictly speaking, do you need cayenne (and I omit it when cooking for children); the taste is strong without it.

You can make this dish with chicken breasts if you prefer; I recommend bone-in breasts, which follow the same procedure. For boneless, skinless breasts -- forget crispness, of course -- smear the meat all over with the mustard mixture, then broil it for just about six minutes, turning two or three times to prevent burning.

Featured in: The Minimalist; Tangy Chicken In A Crispy Skin. 

INGREDIENTS

8 chicken thighs, or a mixture of thighs and drumsticks

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

⅓ cup Dijon mustard

⅓ cup minced shallots, onion or scallion

¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce, or to taste

Minced parsley for garnish, optional

1. Heat the broiler to its maximum, and set the rack about 4 inches from the heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides, and place it in a pan, skin side up. Broil, watching carefully, until the skin is golden brown, about 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, combine the mustard, shallots and cayenne. (If you have a small food processor, you can chop the shallots by throwing them in with the mustard and pulsing the machine on and off a few times.)

3. When the chicken has browned, remove it from oven, and turn it. Spread just a teaspoon or so of the mustard mixture on the underside of the chicken, and broil about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken, and spread the remaining mixture on the upper, or skin side. Broil until mustard begins to brown.

4. At this point, the chicken may be done. (There will be only the barest trace of pink near the bone; an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meat will read 160 degrees.) If it is not done, turn off the broiler and leave the chicken in the oven 5 more minutes or so. Garnish and serve.

Garlic Pork Sausage

I have made sausage a couple times before but not this much and not this kind.  O Wow!,  was it a chore. If I ever make them again in this amount, I am going to invest in some sausage making equipment. I used a KitchenAid meat grinder and sausage stuffing tube to make these and it's almost a toy compared to a dedicated grinder/stuffer. It seemed to take forever.The stuffing tube was too small for the bigger diameter sausage and it seemed to take a really long time to do those.  Unlike the original recipe, I am smoking these before cooking.  Here they are after one hour on the smoker @ 225-230º.  In another hour, I'll take them off and cook up some for dinner tonight.  I will probably freeze the rest.  I was going to use a combination of beef brisket trimmings that I had saved from the last 3 or 4 briskets I smoked plus the pork trimmings from the ribs I did the other day but when I went to the freezer to get the brisket trimmings, they were gone.  I noticed the freezer was half full with tamale stuff so I wonder who threw out the brisket?  Hmm.  Anyway I pan sauteed a little bit to see how the seasonings were and it was really good. 

Garlic Pork Sausage           Recipe courtesy of Anne Burrell

Total Time 1 hr 15 min   Prep:55 min   Cook:20 min    Yield:18 to 20 sausages   Level:Advanced

Ingredients

5 pounds pork shoulder, a good mix of lean and fat, cut into 1-inch chunks

12 cloves garlic, smashed

1 large bunch fresh sage or 2 small ones, finely chopped

1/4 cup salt

2 tablespoons crushed red pepper

3/4 cup cold water

1 cup grated Parmesan

Hog casings, rinsed with water run through them and stored in fresh water

Special equipment: meat grinder and sausage stuffer

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the pork, garlic, sage, salt and crushed red pepper. Run the meat mixture through the meat grinder outfitted with the die with the largest holes. Repeat so that all of the meat goes through the grinder twice.

Place half of the meat mixture in the bowl of a standing mixer equipped with the paddle attachment. Add half of the water and half of the Parmesan and beat on medium-high for 3 to 4 minutes. Repeat this process with the remaining meat, water and cheese.

Make, cook and eat a test patty to make sure the sausage is delicious.

Attach the sausage-stuffing attachment to the meat grinder, keeping the grinder blade and die in place also.

Keeping the sausage casing very wet, slide a manageable length onto the sausage stuffer. Place a generous amount of the prepared sausage mixture into the grinder pan. Give the casings a slight bit of resistance by holding onto the sausage stuffer with your three last fingers and letting the casing slip through your thumb and forefinger. Turn the machine on a medium-low speed and fill the casings, being careful to avoid any air bubbles. To get the feel for stuffing the sausages, you might have to do a couple tries. The first couple might be too loose or too tight; that's ok--think of them as the first pancake (the one that never comes out right that you have to throw away).

Twist the casings to create sausages that are even in size. Tie each with butcher's twine to keep them nicely sealed. Prick the sausages with a pin or skewer all over to allow steam to escape while cooking (you don't want to have a blowout).

Preheat a grill or saute pan. Cook the sausages until cooked through, 7 to 8 minutes on each side. Serve immediately or at room temperature.

Cook's Notes: This is a BIG batch of sausage, but it freezes really well.

If you have casings left over, pack them in salt and store them in your fridge--they will last a REALLY long time.

Smoked spare ribs

Here are spare ribs I am smoking after 2 hours. and done.  I plan to freeze one slab for later. 

Ribs log April 9, 2916

Day before trimmed and rubbed ribs with Woodyard rib rub

11:30 started charcoal and wood

boiled water

12:20 put on ribs

  fire stayed at about 235º

1:00 checked temp.  @ 250.  Opened flue from 1/8th to 1/4th & added chunk of wood

1:10 @ 260º

Mixed mop: 1 ounce chicken broth, 1 ounce bacon fat, 2 tsp. NOKJ  rib rub and 1 oz. Cowtown BBQ sauce, couple dashes Bubba’s Hot Vinegar Sauce.

NOKJ rib rub

4 tablespoons sugar 

2 tablespoon packed brown sugar

1 T garlic powder

1 T spoons chili powder

1 T teaspoons paprika

1 T teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon onion powder

3 teaspoon black pepper

1: 30 mopped with NOKJ rib rub.  Opened flue until temp. got back to 250º,  closed flue back down to 1/4 open

2:00 - 215 : checked temperature. @ 250º. Started more charcoal. Basted with Cowtown BBQ sauce, added charcoal, brought temp. back up.

2:20-2:25  Wrapped, brought temp back up to 250º

4:00 taken off the BBQ, allowed to sit then carved and served with Mac & cheese, coleslaw & chips.

2 recipes from Sandra: Soy & honey glazed roast chicken and better than sex dessert

two recipes from Sandra

LUCKY PEACH’S LACQUERED ROAST CHICKEN

from Sandra

1 whole chicken (3 to 4 pounds)

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, set a rack inside it and place the chicken on the rack. Stir together the honey and soy sauce until the honey dissolves. Using a pastry brush, coat the chicken with a thin, even layer of the mixture. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes to let the skin dry slightly, then brush again with all of the remaining lacquer. Sprinkle with the salt and refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 12 hours and up to 2 days.

Between 30 minutes and one hour before you want to roast the chicken, remove it from the refrigerator. Heat the oven to 400 F. Roast the chicken for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until the internal temperature at the thickest part of the breast and where the thigh meets the breast is 165 F. (If you don’t have a thermometer, roast it until the skin is mahogany and the legs wiggle freely at their joints, like you could almost tear them off. Or snip the skin between the thigh and breast: If the liquid runs clear, it’s done.) If during the roasting process the skin darkens too quickly, tent with foil and continue roasting. Let rest for 15 minutes before carving. Makes 2 to 4 servings.

SOURCE: Adapted from Lucky Peach Presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes

Better Than Sex Dessert Recipe 

Call @response Meta hook          From Sandra

PUDDING INGREDIENTS:

• 2/3 cup sugar

• 1/4 cup cornstarch

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/3 cup cocoa powder

• 2 1/2 cups milk

• 4 large egg yolks

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place all dry ingredients in a saucepan and whisk together well (to prevent lumps). Whisk in cold milk & eggs. Cook on low heat only until you see it begin to boil. Take off burner immediately. Stir in butter and vanilla. Keep stirring as pudding thickens.

It’s a beautiful thing, really.

Place saran wrap over pudding & gently push onto top so that pudding does not form a skin over the top. Place in refrigerator until cooled.

Preheat oven to 350F. Place all crust ingredients into food processor and process on low speed until crumbly.

CRUST INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cup flour

• 1 cup walnuts

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 stick of butter cut into small pieces

Coat 9X13 baking pan with baking spray and then press crust into pan.

Bake for about 15 minutes.

Make whipped cream (this recipe will make the amount you will need).

CREAM CHEESE FILLING INGREDIENTS:

•  1 cup whipped cream (saving a couple cups of the whipped cream for top of dessert)

• One 8 ounce package cream cheese

• 1 cup powdered sugar

Whip together until creamy and shiny.

Spread onto cooled crust.

Remove chilled pudding from fridge & spread over cream cheese filling.

Use remaining whipped cream to decorate top of dessert. This is done with a large decorating bag and a large star decorating tip.

Beans, ham hocks, greens and corn bread, ya all. Yee haw.

COLLARD GREENS

2 bundles collard greens

water to cover

2 large smoked ham hocks

1 cup sugar

Salt

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

salt

tabasco sauce to taste added after cooked and drained.

Directions

Thoroughly wash collard greens. Be sure to pull leaves apart and remove any sand. Remove stems, chop collard greens.

In a medium saucepan, bring  salted water to a simmer. Place smoked ham hocks  and greens in salted water 

Cover and cook greens for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

HAM AND NAVY BEANS

1 (1 lb.) bag small white beans

6 c. turkey stock

Bring to boil, discard water, add 6 cups water, bring to boil, add

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1/8 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 can chicken broth

2 lb. cooked ham cut in pieces

Few dashes sherry

Salt and pepper to taste