BROCCOLI CASSEROLE

2 bags frozen broccoli florets
1/2 cup butter
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups cooked rice
2 cans cream of celery soup
1 jar (15 oz.) Cheese Whiz

Cook the broccoli in the butter until just thawed. Combine broccoli mixture and remaining ingredients. Mix well. Pour into a 9x13 pan.. Bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Top with French friend onion rings and bake for 10 more minutes (watch closely so the onion rings don't burn).

This recipe took First Place in the Vegetable Side Dish category at the 2004 American Royal Barbecue Contest.

CRANBERRY WALNUT SLAW

16 oz shredded coleslaw mix
½ c chopped onion
1 stalk chopped celery
½ c dried cranberries
¼ c chopped walnuts
½ c white vinegar
1/3 c sugar
½ c vegie oil
1 ½ c tsp salt
1 ½ tsp dry mustard
Grd blk pepper to taste

Toss coleslaw, onions, celery, walnuts in large bowl. Mix vinegar, sugar, oil, salt, mustard, pepper and shake then pour over slaw and toss.

SAUERKRAUT W/APPLES

I used the following recipe recently and it made the best Sauerkraut I think I’ve ever had. Very simple to make and not many ingredients. With no wine we used ¼ cup of white cooking wine and ¾ cup of water instead of the 1 cup white wine called for and I don’t think it could have been any better.

INGREDIENTS

1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 pounds sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
2 Gala, Fuji, or Red Delicious apples, thinly sliced
1 cup dry white wine
1 to 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar

PREPARATION

Cook onion in butter in a 4-to 5-quart heavy pot over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 6 minutes. Stir in sauerkraut, apples, and wine and bring to a simmer.

Cover pot and reduce heat, then simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauerkraut is very tender, about 2 hours.

Stir in 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add more brown sugar, salt, and pepper to taste.

Pescado A La Veracruzana (Fish)

I first found this dish at a local restaurant where they used a nice big platter to serve the rather large and whole Tilapia, including the head (which my wife didn't particularly like).  They made several deep cuts in each side and dredged it in flour before pan frying it crisp.  After plating, it was covered with the vegetables like you here in my quick rendition of the dish.  The quick method is VERY good but doesn't come close to the original recipe mentioned above.  If you love fish and Mexican flavors you will love this dish and all you really need is the list of ingredients and you might could even guess what those are...for four med size fillets, and I used flounder, 1 onion, several cloves of garlic, one bell pepper or paplano, jalapeno fresh or pickled, large tomato, 1/4 cup rinsed capers, 1/2 cup large green olives, oregano, salt and pepper and use plenty of good olive oil to fry the fish first then using the same pan all the other ingredients.  Cover the fish with the other ingredients and heat in oven. Serve with flour tortillas and rice.   It's so good!

Fatties

We call them FATTIES.  Use your imagination and use a pound of sausage flattened into a rectangle as you see here and go wild with stuffing it with whatever comes to mind.  Bake or smoke it till done, slice and enjoy.

Lemon Aiole

3/4 cup Mayo
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tsp grated Lemon Rind
1 tbs Lemon Juice
salt and pepper to taste

Mix well

Tuna Cornbread Cakes

I found this recipe in Southern Living Magazine some years ago and it looked like something we were already doing with our canned Tuna or Salmon (I prefer a good quality Salmon), and with the list ingredients I thought it would be better than what we were doing, and it certainly was...

INGREDIENTS

1 (6-oz.) package buttermilk cornbread mix
2/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 green onions, thinly sliced
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 (5-oz.) aluminum foil pouches herb-and-garlic-flavored light tuna chunks
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Lemon Aioli (find recipe under labels / Sauce & Dressings)

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Stir together cornbread mix and 2/3 cup milk. Pour batter into a lightly greased 8-inch square pan.
2. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack 5 minutes or just until warm.
3. Stir together mayonnaise and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl.
4. Crumble cornbread to equal 2 cups. Reserve remaining cornbread for another use. Fold cornbread crumbs and tuna chunks into mayonnaise mixture until well blended. Shape tuna mixture into 8 (3- to 3 1/2-inch) patties.
5. Melt 3 Tbsp. butter with vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tuna patties, and cook, in batches, 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown; drain on paper towels. Serve cakes with Lemon Aïoli.

Sherry Little, Sherwood, Arkansas,
JANUARY 2008

Brisket & Potato Casserole

I have always been good at finding new things to do with leftovers.  This Casserole made with BBQ Brisket is a winner if you happen to have some Brisket, give it a try.  Start with slicing potatoes thin and parboil them.  While they cook saute some Onion and Garlic and add to a large mixing bowl along with the chopped Brisket, drained Potatoes and add a can of Cream of Mushroom Soup.  Add to casserole dish, cover with shredded cheese of your choice and bake till heated through and brown on top.

Deep Fried Olives Stuffed w/Blue Cheese

A favorite of ours...just stuff the biggest olives you can find with Blue Cheese, dip in egg wash, roll in mixture of finely grated Parmesan Cheese and fine Bread Crumbs.  Fry and enjoy.  I can't think of anything it wouldn't be good with.

Tacos de Chicharrones

I buy store made Pork Skins (Chicharrones) in a Del Ray Farms grocery here and make Tacos with them.  Easy enough to do...just get some Sauce (store bought or home made) sizzling in a frying pan and add the pork rinds and they need to be the real thing not the packaged and full of air kind.  Stir them until heated through and they have absorbed some of the sauce.  Tortillas, chopped onion, and cilantro and this makes as great taco meal.  or add hot wings and make a bigger meal.  make it a combo.

Pecan Crusted Pork Tenderloin Sliders

If you have never tried breading and frying anything with a mixture of bread crumbs and chopped pecans, you should try this.  Slice your pork tenderloin and pound with a meat mallet.  Use the simple method of breading the slices starting with a dip in milk, then flour, then egg wash. then the combination of bread crumbs and chopped pecans that you have pulsed in a blender or food processor.  Fry these and have your favorite sauce ready (store bought or home made) and small rolls (we use frozen Rhodes rolls because it allows us to let them rise to a size you like for sliders).

Squash & Mushroom Hominy

Ingredients

3 small yellow squash (about 10 oz.)
4 thick-cut bacon slices, diced $
1 cup chopped onion $
1 tablespoon olive oil $
1 (29-oz.) can hominy, drained
4 cups chopped fresh mushrooms $
1 cup chicken broth $
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind $
2 tablespoons lemon juice $
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Slice squash lengthwise, and cut into 1/4-inch slices.
2. Cook bacon in a skillet over medium-low heat 8 minutes or just until crisp; remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving 2 Tbsp. drippings in skillet.
3. Sauté onion in hot drippings with olive oil over medium-high heat 8 minutes or until tender. Stir in hominy, and sauté 5 minutes or until most of liquid is absorbed. Add mushrooms, broth, and pepper; cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 5 minutes or until mushrooms darken. Add squash; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in lemon rind and juice. Cook, uncovered, 3 to 5 minutes or until liquid thickens slightly. Remove from heat, and stir in parsley and bacon. Season with salt to taste.

Note: If preferred, omit bacon and add 2 Tbsp. olive oil in place of drippings.

Matt Lee and Ted Lee, from their cookbook, The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook

Pulled Pork Cornbread Casserole

This is a great recipe and easy to do if you have some Pulled Pork on hand you should try it.  It's amazing! Just make cornbread with onions and whole kernel corn included and pour it into the casserole dish of heavily sauced Pulled Pork.  It will surprise you how well the bread cooks.

Brisket & Fried Green Tomato Sandwich

This is a whole lot just experimenting...it was really good though.  Try it sometime if you have some sliced Brisket

Albondigas en Chipotle (Meatballs in Chile Chipotle Sauce)

Albondigas en Chipotle (Meatballs in Chile Chipotle Sauce)

1 lb    ground beef   1 lb    ground pork     salt & pepper to taste   1 cup    cooked rice   3   egg yolks   1 slice    bread, soaked in milk   3   fresh mint leaves, finely chopped   2   hard boiled eggs, diced   1/8 cup    oil   1 med    onion, ground   2 cloves    garlic, ground   8   tomatoes, roasted and ground   1 pinch    powdered cumin   2   chiles chipotles adobados (canned), ground   2 cups    beef stock     salt to taste   3   fresh mint leaves, finely chopped     tortillas     1 Mix the beef and pork together. Season with salt and pepper. Add cooked rice, egg yolks, bread and mint, and mix well. Make 1 inch meatballs, each with a piece of hard boiled egg in the center. Let stand. 2 Heat the oil in a deep frying pan. Fry onion and garlic lightly. Add the ground tomatoes, cumin and chilies, stirring constantly to form a paste. Add the stock, and stir constantly over a low heat until the sauce comes to a boil. Add the salt and the mint. Put the meatballs into the sauce one by one, taking care that they don't disintegrate. Simmer about 1 hour, until the meat is cooked. 3 Serve with hot tortillas.    Recipe Source

Spare Ribs

Beginners Guide To Spare Ribs

This is the simple procedure I use to cook Ribs.

1. Buy the whole rack instead of already cut down St Louis style and cut them down yourself or you won’t have the Rib Tips . Cutting them down to St Louis style is easy: lay the rack on cutting board meat side down with the bones laying in a straight line – find the longest bone, usually about center of rack and cut from one end of the rack to the other keeping that cut parallel to the already cut side making all your bones the same length.

2. Trim Fat and silver skin from the meat side and membrane from the bone side using a knife to lift membrane enough to pull it off using a paper towel to grip it with.

3. Lightly cover both sides with BBQ Pork Rub and wrap in plastic wrap the night before cooking.

4. When your grill / cooker is ready @ 225 place cold Ribs and Tips straight from fridge into cooker bone side down and cook 3 hrs or till a nice bark forms on the surface of the meat.

5. Make two double thickness hd aluminum foil boats and sprinkle two tbs of brown sugar, 3 tbs apple juice, 2 tbs of honey all across the foil where the ribs will lay and sprinkle with drops of Tiger Sauce or Smoky Chipotle Tabasco to taste. Place ribs in foil meat side down and wrap to return to oven or grill / smoker for 1 hour.

6. After one hour check the Ribs for tenderness, meat should have pulled back from end of bones about an inch and if you lift one end the rack should feel and look like it might break in the middle. The Tips should be left to cook 1 hour longer.

7. Let ribs rest with the foil partly opened while heating at least a cup of Williamson Bros BBQ Sauce with about 10% honey added – heat just enough to combine honey with sauce. Pour / brush sauce over meat side of the Rack and return to cooker or oven for 20 min to cook the sauce on the meat and repeat with second glaze. A higher temp can be used in this step and or set your oven to broil.

8. When the Rib Tips have finished that extra hour give them the same treatment in step 7 after cutting them in one inch squares and laying them in a disposable pan.

This recipe will make Rib lovers happy and the Rib Tips are to die for and in fact parts of the country prefer them over the St Lois Rack of Ribs. I cooked these for our Traditional New Year’s Day Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens dinner.

Pulled Pork and Potato Tacos

BBQ is one of my passions and it sure is nice to find something to do with some of the leftovers that is so good you can hardly believe it.  I made tacos out of some pulled pork but didn't use all the meat so the next day with fresh tortillas and all the other things I needed, I couldn't resist not making them again and thought of a couple of things I might add to make them even better.  I chopped the pork and sprinkled the meat liberally with Chili Powder, the lightly sprinkled with Lawry's.  To start I diced one small potato and fried it rather crisp and removed them to paper towels to drain while I fried the pork.  Another add was bottled or liquid Anchiote I added liberally to the meat after it began to crisp a little bit, then added the potatoes back to the pan and mixed with the meat.  I love Tacos about as well as anything and I will put these up against any you will find anywhere.

Caper & Anchovy Sauce

This is a great sauce for fish but can be I am sure a foodie can find other uses for it.

1 tsp finely chopped garlic
3 flat anchovy fillets, finely chopped
2 tbs finely chopped capers
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp mustard (your choice)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine garlic, anchovies, and capers with lemon juice, oil and mustard.  Season with salt & pepper and beat with fork.  That was easy. 

Brunswick Stew (Ga)

I have cooked this a lot and it truly is one of those recipes that you personalize. Most soups and stews are that way. Using pre cooked bbq meats to include chicken, pulled pork, and brisket is the way I have always done it, but I always seem to have plenty since I cook bbq so much. If you are lucky enough to be using the already cooked bbq, you will need to keep that in mind when following the recipe below. I love okra and it is always included because it seems to make a nice thick broth. I really like the tiny butter peas in place of the butter beans and some people don't add the potatoes but I do. After it has cooked as much as I think it needs to, I always add about 1/4 cup more vinegar than the recipe below calls for along with some heavy splashes



of worcestershire. The last thing I will say on cooking this stew is that a lot of folks have the idea that liquid smoke is not a good thing and maybe that's because they have the idea it is not a natural ingredient, but most certainly is and even though my meat has plenty of smoky flavor I still add a couple tbs of liquid smoke.

Brunswick Stew from "Georgia On My Mind" magazine

Ingredients:

1-3 lb Chicken
½ tsp Dry Mustard
1 lb Lean Beef
½ Stick of Butter
1 lb Lean Pork
3 TBS Vinegar
3 Medium Onions
2 can Small Butter Beans
4 can Tomatoes
2 can Cream style Corn
5 TBS Worcestershire Sauce
1 can Small English Peas
1 ½ Bottles Catsup
3 Small diced Irish Potatoes (Optional)
1 tsp Tabasco Sauce
1 Box Frozen Sliced Okra (Optional)
2 Bay leaves
½ Bottle Chili Sauce

Preparation Directions: Place Meat in large heavy pot. Season with salt and pepper. Add Onions and cover with water. Cook until meat falls from bones (several hours). Remove from heat and allow to cool.  Tear meat into shreds and return to stock.

Cooking Directions: Add next 8 ingredients and cook 1 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.