Wine Braised Pork Loin

08 Monday Aug 2016

Posted by Keebug in Main Dishes, Soul Food, Uncategorized

Tags

Hey yall. Been busy. Here’s an easy little dinner that’s always super delicious to get you over the hump. Sorry about slacking on the picture taking. I promise to do better in weeks to come.

The ingredients:

1 small pork loin
8oz dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced white onion
1 handful baby carrots
1 head of garlic
1 handful cremini mushrooms
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

I buy these Hormel brand 1lb pork loins from the grocery and keep them in the freezer for a quick dinner every couple of weeks. You can get them pre-seasoned (as pictured here) or plain. I prefer the plain so I can season it myself. They’re not tenderloins, so they need to be cooked correctly to get a tender end result. Braising is the best way to do that, in my opinion.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Chop celery and onion.

In a covered pot that can go from stove-top to oven, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season pork liberally with your preference of seasonings. I just used salt and pepper for this particular roast, but get as crazy as you like. Rosemary-garlic. Lemon and herb. The possibilities are endless. Sear the meat on all sides.

Once the meat is browned on all sides, remove the pork from the pot and add the diced celery and onion. Season and stir a couple minutes or until translucent. Now, add a big ass glass of wine and a cup of chicken stock. Let that come to simmer and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan.

Now it’s fool proof from this point on. Put the pork back in, nestled in the wine reduction. Dump in a handful of carrots. Slice horizontally through an entire head of garlic and place that in the pot. Toss in the bay leaves. Your pot will look a little something like this before you put the lid on and slide it into the oven:

With the lid on, put it in the oven for a low and slow 2-2.5 hours. When you pull it out, it’s gonna look like this and your house is going to smell like heaven.

At this point, I add a handful of cremini mushrooms and pop it back in the oven with the lid on for about 20 minutes. You’ll be able to slice it like butter and I like to serve it over brown rice or mashed potatoes.

Enjoy!

Rice and Gravy with Sirlion

03 Friday Jun 2016

Posted by Keebug in Cajun dishes, Soul Food

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

acadian, beef, cajun, gravy, louisiana, rice, rice and gravy, sirlion, steak

Fewer things in this world will fall as close to any coonass kid’s heart as a steaming plate of rice and gravy. I have some friends from Breaux Bridge, LA–serious Cajun Country, that have recently made me aware that there’s a entire festival/cook-off hosted there annually where you can find what I imagine must be some of the best rice and gravy in the world. I’ve added next year’s event to my bucket list. In the meantime, whenever I get the craving, here’s one in about a million recipes (you can make this with beef, pork, poultry, seafood, wild game, or just veggies) to have it in the comfort of your own home, coonass kid or not. This is my sirloin version and it’s really delicious.

The ingredients:

1.5 lbs. (or somewhere around there) sirloin steaks
3 stalks of celery
1 large or 2 small onions
1 bell pepper
3 cloves of garlic
Mushrooms (your preference/optional)
Flour
Cooking oil (olive oil or vegetable oil)
3 beef bouillon cubes or 4 cups of stock
Dried thyme
Garlic powder
2 bay leaves
Salt, Pepper, Cayenne
Steamed rice (duh)

The first step is to thoroughly season your steaks, front and back, with salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne. Then, I lightly dust them with flour, reserving the remaining flour for later in the cooking process.

I use a cast iron skillet to cook this, but you can use any large heavy-bottomed pot or deep skillet. Brown the steaks in a few tablespoons of olive or vegetable oil until dark golden on each side and set them aside on a plate to rest while you cook.

Next, finely chop the bell pepper, celery, onion and garlic and toss them into the hot pan with the meat drippings and oil. Add more oil if necessary and stir until they begin to turn translucent.

Now chop and add the mushrooms and season everything with salt, pepper, cayenne, a bit of dried thyme leaves, and a pinch more cayenne. Stir that all around for a bit until the mushrooms warm up. If you’re not a mushroom lover they can totally be left out. Mushrooms are one of my favorite foods, so I add them to everything when I have the chance. Completely your call.

As I’ve been cooking, because I didn’t have any ready-made beef stock on hand, I dissolved three beef bouillon cubes in about 4 cups of water with 2 bay leaves until it came to a low boil.

Next I added the reserved flour from the steaks, about 1/4-1/3 cup, and stirred that in to the cooking veggies, allowing it to cook for about 2-3 minutes over medium heat.

Now begin to SLOWLY pour in your hot stock. Pour about a cup, stir, allow it to incorporate, come to a simmer, and then slowly add another cup. Adding it all at once will make your gravy too thin. Nobody likes thin gravy. Nobody.

Remember those steaks that you browned earlier? Those are going back in. And all that meaty juice that’s on the plate? That’s going back in, too.

Just nestle them right back into the pot, let them get covered with gravy, turn the heat down to medium-low or a very low simmer, cover the pot and let the magic happen. It’ll take about 45 minutes to an hour, but magic WILL happen. The steaks will fall right apart with the pull of a fork and make this blissful blend of meat, mushrooms and gravy right inside that pan.

Trust me, it’s worth the wait. This picture doesn’t do it justice. Enjoy!

Red Beans & Rice

20 Wednesday Apr 2016

Posted by Keebug in Cajun dishes, Soul Food

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Tags

beans, cajun, ham, red beans, rice, sausage, spicy

A Louisiana classic! Let’s make some red beans!

Your ingredients:

1 lb red beans, soaked overnight in cold water
3 tablespoons of bacon grease
2 small or 1 large yellow or white onion
5 stalks celery
1 1/2 lbs. smoked sausage
1 ham bone with meat or 1 lb. cubed smoked ham
4 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon chicken base (stock starter)
3 bay leaves
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
5 scallions
Seasonings: Tony’s, Cayenne Pepper, Black Pepper, Salt, Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, Hot Sauce

Soak your beans overnight in cold water (or follow the package instructions for the “quick soak”), then rinse and drain. Set aside.

Add about 3 tablespoons of bacon fat to a large heavy-bottomed pot on medium heat. Here in the south, we’re raised to save bacon grease and store it a mason jar in the refrigerator. I don’t know a self respecting southern cook who doesn’t have a jar of bacon grease looming in the back of the fridge. If you’re not one of us, just cook a little bacon and use the grease left in the pan. Yes, it’s an essential step in this process.

Next, finely dice your onion, celery and green onion and add that to the pot to cook.

Allow the vegetables to cook and soften and add the following seasonings, to your taste–but be liberal: Salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper, tony’s, and cayenne.

Now finely chop 4 cloves of garlic and add that to the party. The veggies should be getting soft and translucent by this point.

Now, it’s time to add the meat. I used about a pound of Cajun andouille sausage, and a few links of regular smoked sausage. Chop into bite size pieces and add it to the pot.

I made a ham for Easter Sunday and reserved the ham bone specifically with these red beans in mind. If you don’t have a ham bone lying in wait in your freezer, then you can simply grab a package of diced smoked ham from the grocery store. I just added the big, frozen bone directly to the pot.

Now toss in your beans and cover it all with water, by about an inch.

At this point, I like to add a big, heaping tablespoon of chicken base, which is the same as stock starter or bouillon. It adds more flavor along with about a dozen shakes of your favorite hot sauce and a few bay leaves.

Now bring the uncovered pot to slow, rolling boil and cook for about an hour. You’re looking for some of that liquid to cook out.

Give it a taste and reseason as needed. If it’s too liquidy (you know how you like it), remove a bit of the liquid from the pot with a measuring cup. Are the beans super soft? If yes, then you can proceed to the next step. If no, let the pot cook another half hour or so, continuing to stir often so nothing sticks to the bottom.

At this point, it’s safe to remove the ham bone (the meat should’ve all fallen off by now) and the bay leaves.

Once the beans are super tender, I take the back of a large spoon and SMUSH (technical term) about half the beans against the side of the pot. That’s how they get all delicious and creamy. You know how SMUSHY your like yours, so SMUSH to your own liking.

Then I add about 3 tablespoons of chopped parsley and let it cook over super low heat about another 20 minutes.

Serve with steamed white rice and enjoy!

*Note: Red beans freeze really well for up to six months. I spoon them into quart size freezer bags once cooled and lay flat to freeze for easy storage.

Rotisserie Chicken and Gravy

05 Tuesday Apr 2016

Posted by Keebug in Leftover Rotisserie Chicken Challenge, Soul Food

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celery, chicken, leftover rotisserie chicken, onion, rice and gravy, smothered chicken, soulfood

Ever buy a rotisserie chicken, eat half of a breast for dinner standing over the kitchen counter, then put it in your fridge to throw the rest away 3 days later? Yeah, uh huh, me either.

Actually, this used to be my M.O. until I started making a conscious effort to waste less food. When you live alone but love to cook, it’s not an easy thing to do. Especially when you’re not a fan of reheated leftovers.

I give loads of meals away to friends and my favorite bartenders, and I freeze what can be frozen for later, but still lots was getting tossed into the garbage. The leftovers from the go-to easy dinner grab, rotisserie chicken (found ready-to-eat in practically every grocery store), always seemed to end up there.

This post begins our series on great ideas for rotisserie chicken leftovers. There are tons out there! Tell us about yours in the comments below!

The other night after about 8 straight days of working without a break and surviving on Cheez-It snack packs and granola bars, I started craving rice and gravy…a southern girl staple. I happened to have a 3 day old rotisserie chicken in the fridge, mysteriously missing half a breast, so I got to work.

Your ingredients:

Leftover rotisserie chicken
1 yellow or white onion
4-5 stalks celery
2 tablespoons olive oil (or preferred cooking oil)
2 tablespoons flour
3 cups chicken stock (warm on the stove)
Seasonings: salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, thyme, kitchen bouquet

Start with your chicken. Separate the individual chicken pieces and then make slices with your knife in each piece. I leave the bones in the dark meat but remove the breasts from the bone. Set aside.

Next, finely chop one onion and 4-5 stalks of celery.

fizz22

Begin to saute the onion and celery in a large skillet over medium heat in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Add salt, pepper, and a pinch of thyme to season. Stir and cook until the vegetables soften.

Next, add about two tablespoons of flour and stir for a few minutes over medium heat until the flour is cooked.

Now, slowly, begin adding your warm chicken stock about a half cup at a time, whisking as you go to incorporate it without lumps.

Bring this back up to a simmer and allow it to thicken into a gravy. This should take just a minute or two of simmering. Now, add a capful (from the 4 oz bottle) of kitchen bouquet. I’d bet that’s about 1 teaspoon. A little of this stuff goes a long way. That’s going to make your gravy nice and brown and add great flavor, too. Once that’s mixed in and everything is simmering, give it a taste and reseason to your liking.

Now add in your chicken pieces, cover and simmer on low heat for about 25 minutes, or until the chicken is falling apart. Stir it often during this time to ensure nothing sticks to the pan.

Serve over steamed rice and enjoy!

Upside-down Vidalia Onion Cornbread

19 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by Keebug in Soul Food

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

bread, corn, cornbread, onion, vidalia onion

I hate to be immodest, but I make THE BEST cornbread. Actually, I don’t give a crap about modesty. I’m just a couple steps above Kanye on the humble-chart.

I always thought I hated cornbread. I was under the assumption that it had to be dry and crumby and bland. I’m here to tell you all today that these assumptions are wrong. It can be moist, sweet, spicy and delicious. And even though it looks difficult to make something this beautiful, it’s actually pretty damn easy. Here’s how…

Your ingredients:

3 boxes Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
3 eggs
1 cup cream-style corn
6 tablespoons of salted butter
2/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons sour cream
8 oz. cheese (I used white sharp cheddar)
1 large vidalia onion
Hot sauce
Salt
Crushed red pepper flakes

I included my cast iron skillet in the picture because it is a big part of this recipe. The heavy bottomed skillet will allow you to perfectly caramelize your onions then transfer your cornbread to the oven to bake. So, yes, for this particular recipe, the cast iron skillet is essential. Mine is 12 inches.

That being said, you can leave out the “WOW” factor of the upside-down onion cornbread and simply create the cornbread mix and bake it in a baking dish of your choice and everyone will still think you’re amazing because you’ve just blown their minds with the best cornbread they’ve ever eaten. Just hope I don’t bring this upside-down number to dinner on the same night. Because this one’s SO much better. The sweet, buttery onions really make a difference.

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Get yourself a big mixing bowl and dump out all three boxes of Jiffy mix. Some of you might think using Jiffy mix is cheating, and maybe it is. I know there’s great stone-ground cornmeals out there. Why, just right here in Pensacola, FL we have C&D Mill where CW and Dorothy Bruton, two of the coolest corn grinders you’ll ever meet, turn out every ground corn product you could imagine. And when it comes to grits, they’re the only choice for me. In this recipe, however, I just like the sweet flavor of Jiffy and the fact that it costs around 50 cents a box. So call it what you will.

Next, crack three eggs and add them in. Add a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce. I’m partial to Crystal.

Next, measure out a cup of creamed corn and add that to the party. Then you’ll need a 1/2 teaspoon of salt and about the same amount of red pepper flakes. I really think the pepper is important. It doesn’t make the bread too spicy for anyone to eat, but it does add a little, tiny kick at the end. So you get the sweet, the savory, and the spicy.

Now I add a couple of tablespoons of sour cream. It helps to keep it super moist along with all that creamy corn.

Now I grate up an entire 8 oz. block of sharp white cheddar. I said it’s delicious cornbread, I never mentioned healthy cornbread. Add that cheesy goodness to the mix.

**NOTE** I do make a “Mexican” version of this cornbread which is essentially the same. I simply substitute pepperjack cheese and add a small can of green chilis.

The final ingredient is milk. I used about 2/3 cup. Now get to stirring. Stir just until incorporated and be sure to not leave any clumps of cornmeal mix. That would be bad. Set aside.

Now for that onion. Vidalia onions are almost disk-shaped and have a tendency to be much sweeter. They’re grown in Vidalia, Georgia and are the state’s official vegetable. Who the hell cares, Keelea. You need one big one. Cut off both ends and take the skin off. Next, slice that onion into round disks about 1/4 inch thick, like so:

Over medium low heat, begin heating your cast iron skillet on the stove. Add to the warm skillet 6 tablespoons of salted butter. Once again…delicious cornbread, not healthy cornbread. Once your butter is melted and begins to get foamy, begin adding your onion disks. Your skillet should still not be too hot. You want these to caramelize slowly.

Arrange them as neatly as you possibly can. Think of this as a pineapple upside down cake. How you arrange these onions on the bottom will effect how your finished product looks. Mine never comes out perfectly, but with a little patience, it’s still a show stopper. You’ll have to quarter some of the disks to fill in gaps. Try to cover the entire bottom of your skillet in onion. That’s your goal. Here’s how mine looked:

Let those onions sizzle a bit over medium low heat–WITHOUT STIRRING OR MOVING THEM–until you see a bit of caramelization (see the photo on the top right). They don’t need to be cooked all the way through…the oven will handle that. Give your cornbread mix a fresh stir and slowly begin spooning it over the onions as they cook, taking great care not to disturb their pattern. Once you get it all in, you’ll notice the butter has risen up along the sides of the pan. This is good. It will keep the bread from sticking and help it to form a crackly crust along the rim. Yummmmm…

Now transfer the whole (super heavy) skillet to the oven…I recommend using two hands…and let it bake for about 35 minutes at 400 degrees. Your finished cornbread should be golden on top, crusty around the edges, and have no jiggle in the center. Basically, it will look just like this:

You’ve got to admit, that’s a thing of beauty. Perfection, really.

Now, just to be sure, take a knife and work it gently around the edge of the pan, making sure you don’t have any sticking there. The butter generally makes sure of that, but sometimes a little oozy pocket of cheese will cause a problem for you. The knife will ensure you don’t have that issue.

Now for the scary part. I do this alone all the time, but I’m a cornbread flipping professional. At this point, you may want to call in some reinforcements. I’d hate for you to drop this cornbread and have to eat it off the kitchen floor like some kind of savage.

Find yourself a large, round platter. I happen to have a plate I use specifically for this recipe. My Cornbread Plate. It’s a thing. Yours should be flat and larger than the rim of the pan. Those are really the only two requirements. Now get yourself siked up. You can do this.

Lay the plate upside down on top of the pan.

Deep breath in. Pep talk. Deep breath out.

Keeping the plate firmly pressed to the rim of the pan, flip that sucker.

Now, slowly lift your pan off the top. What reveals itself is your masterpiece. Congratulations to you. You are a success in life.

I have never once been able to let this cornbread cool down before cutting myself a slice, and topping that steaming goodness with a pat of butter and drizzle of honey. It’s a meal in itself. Enjoy it in good health!

Breakfast of champions:

Everyone will agree.

cornbread

thefizzlenet

~ Food and Funnies

Category Archives: Soul Food

Wine Braised Pork Loin

Rice and Gravy with Sirlion

Red Beans & Rice

Rotisserie Chicken and Gravy

Upside-down Vidalia Onion Cornbread