Made this for dinner last night. I think my husband proposed to me twice while eating.
Before I start, I hear this is the way that most Southern Ladies I know make them, so if it seems like I'm plagiarising that's probably why. More reiterating than anything else.
You'll need:
I package of thin cut porkchops, bone in or out, up to you.
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 cups italian bread crumbs
2 tbsp garlic salt
2 tbsp black pepper (Worcestershire pepper if you can find it, Y.U.M.)
1 tbsp red pepper
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp water
Rinse and pat your chops dry. These are going to be dipped in 3 different mixtures for the breading. In your first bowl, beat the egg with the water, set aside. In your second bowl mix the flour with half the spices and set aside. In your third bowl mix the bread crumbs and the other half the spices. Adjust the spices as you see fit. You can add all the spices to the bread crumbs as well, I personally like mine with a lot of spice so I go for the double dip.
Coat each chop in the flour mixture, covering the entire chop, and don't forget the sides. Then place the chop in the egg mixture and coat. Transfer to the bread crumb mixture and coat entire chop in bread crumbs. Place on a wire rack. When all the chops are coated allow them to "dry" on the wire rack for about 1o minutes. Put about 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil in a frying pan and cook them on medium high on each side for about 3 minutes until they reach a nice golden brown. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook uncovered for about 15 more minutes or until all the pink is gone.
Gravy you can either make a packaged brown gravy (easy! I like this option!), or you can make your own Country Gravy from the drippings off the pork chops. To do this, add a bit more oil to the pan, maybe a tbsp, and use a wooden spoon to work the bits off the bottom of the pan. On medium low, add about 2 tbsps flour to the pan and mix well. Gradually add around two cups of milk, stirring constantly. Make sure the pan isn't too hot or the milk will curdle. Allow it to come to a simmer, stirring frequently. It will thicken as it cooks. If it ends up too thin you can add corn starch or some flour mixed with water (to avoid lumps). Pour gravy over the chops and enjoy the artery hardening goodness, like a real Southerner!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Observation
Funny how I can't seem to remember 80% of the recipes I normally make without looking at my pantry first. I find myself sitting here, 15 miles from my kitchen, and I've totally lost track of half the stuff I like to cook. Talk about a work in progress!
Four Twenty Bread
What?!?!
...
This is another one of my Grandma Ann's originals. She never told me what she called it, it was just "that bread stuff!" so we gave it a fitting name. 4 ingredients, 20 minutes.
You need:
1 french baguette, cut into 1/2 inch slices.
1 cup Parmesan cheese, the grated stuff in the green can, not the shredded style.
1 cup mayonnaise
1 bundle green onions, chopped
Preheat your oven to 350°
Combine the mayo, Parmesan and green onions. Go ahead and taste that. So nummy!
Spread about 2 tbsps of that mix on each slice of bread and place side by side on a cookie pan or jelly roll. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tops are nice and golden brown. Enjoy!
...
This is another one of my Grandma Ann's originals. She never told me what she called it, it was just "that bread stuff!" so we gave it a fitting name. 4 ingredients, 20 minutes.
You need:
1 french baguette, cut into 1/2 inch slices.
1 cup Parmesan cheese, the grated stuff in the green can, not the shredded style.
1 cup mayonnaise
1 bundle green onions, chopped
Preheat your oven to 350°
Combine the mayo, Parmesan and green onions. Go ahead and taste that. So nummy!
Spread about 2 tbsps of that mix on each slice of bread and place side by side on a cookie pan or jelly roll. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tops are nice and golden brown. Enjoy!
Hamburger and Mushroom Gravy
An old time favorite of my mom's while Dad was away on business trips, it's become a good standby for when you just want a lump of something comforting in your gut after a long day.
Alright, get ready to head to your specialty store for this one, it's going to get intricate up in this bitch.
You need:
1 lb ground beef. I try to do 85 or above
1 large can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 - 1 cup milk
salt and pepper
Brown the ground beef and drain off the fat. Add the entire can of mushroom soup and enough milk to thin out the mushroom soup with out making it too soupy to the beef, then salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to medium low, and when it simmers it's ready. Serve over mashed potatoes, wide egg noodles, rice, toast or even by itself.
Alright, get ready to head to your specialty store for this one, it's going to get intricate up in this bitch.
You need:
1 lb ground beef. I try to do 85 or above
1 large can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 - 1 cup milk
salt and pepper
Brown the ground beef and drain off the fat. Add the entire can of mushroom soup and enough milk to thin out the mushroom soup with out making it too soupy to the beef, then salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to medium low, and when it simmers it's ready. Serve over mashed potatoes, wide egg noodles, rice, toast or even by itself.
Kungaloosh, IRL!
Have to add this one for a friend of mine.
You will need:
1 large watermelon. A spherical seedless won't do it. You need to be able to use the watermelon rind as a vessel for your finished product.
1 fifth vodka. Ok you can use less, but you'll want to cry when you run out. Midgrade is fine, don't use high dollar stuff here.
1 gallon orange juice.
ice
Now, seeing as how your MO here is to get drunk, there are a lot of ways to go about tackling this delicous but work intensive cocktail. First off, cut that watermelon in half lengthwise. Remember, it's going to be a bowl of sorts, so try to cut it in a way that it will hold liquid without wasting too much of it. With a large spoon hollow out the flesh of the watermelon. If you have a food processor, just throw the chunks in there, seeds and all, and finely puree it. The seeds will pretty much disappear. If you do not, you'll have to do some de-seeding before you mash this stuff up. We found that using a potato masher through a sieve into a large pot worked pretty well. Just make sure it's not so fine that it takes you a hundred years or so large that all the seeds get through. Depending on the size of the watermelon, this is going to end up being A LOT of watermelon puree. More than you can use in one batch, so put it aside in the fridge until you need to make more... and you will need to make more. ;)
I like to start out with a 2-2-1 ratio of watermelon juice, orange juice and vodka. I'm also kind of insane and love the taste of vodka, you will probably want to alter this depending on your tastes. The point is to make sure it all fits in the hollowed out watermelon half (if you haven't destroyed it in a drunken fit of silliness yet). Add some ice to keep it chilled, and when it's to your taste, well, get out your gravy ladle and spoon it on top of some ice and get crunk! Krunk? Whatever.
Make more using your reserves as you see fit, but be careful! The high water content of the watermelon makes this stuff sneak up on you, however, it also helps you avoid the hangover!
You will need:
1 large watermelon. A spherical seedless won't do it. You need to be able to use the watermelon rind as a vessel for your finished product.
1 fifth vodka. Ok you can use less, but you'll want to cry when you run out. Midgrade is fine, don't use high dollar stuff here.
1 gallon orange juice.
ice
Now, seeing as how your MO here is to get drunk, there are a lot of ways to go about tackling this delicous but work intensive cocktail. First off, cut that watermelon in half lengthwise. Remember, it's going to be a bowl of sorts, so try to cut it in a way that it will hold liquid without wasting too much of it. With a large spoon hollow out the flesh of the watermelon. If you have a food processor, just throw the chunks in there, seeds and all, and finely puree it. The seeds will pretty much disappear. If you do not, you'll have to do some de-seeding before you mash this stuff up. We found that using a potato masher through a sieve into a large pot worked pretty well. Just make sure it's not so fine that it takes you a hundred years or so large that all the seeds get through. Depending on the size of the watermelon, this is going to end up being A LOT of watermelon puree. More than you can use in one batch, so put it aside in the fridge until you need to make more... and you will need to make more. ;)
I like to start out with a 2-2-1 ratio of watermelon juice, orange juice and vodka. I'm also kind of insane and love the taste of vodka, you will probably want to alter this depending on your tastes. The point is to make sure it all fits in the hollowed out watermelon half (if you haven't destroyed it in a drunken fit of silliness yet). Add some ice to keep it chilled, and when it's to your taste, well, get out your gravy ladle and spoon it on top of some ice and get crunk! Krunk? Whatever.
Make more using your reserves as you see fit, but be careful! The high water content of the watermelon makes this stuff sneak up on you, however, it also helps you avoid the hangover!
Dad's Birthday Cheesecake
I make this one for Pops at least once a year. While not a typical New York cheesecake, this one is creamier with hint of sour cream/citrus taste.
Graham Cracker Crust:
1 1/2 cups fine ground graham crackers
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 stick less 1 tbsp melted butter, unsalted if possible
Filling
2 8 oz blocks cream cheese, room temperature
3 eggs, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 pint sour cream, room temperature
1/2 lemon, zested fine
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 325°.
Combine the crust ingredients until well incorporated. Press into the bottom and sides of an 8 inch springform pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Place in refrigerator.
At this point I normally put 2-3 cups of water on to boil for the water bath.
For the mixture, beat your cream cheese on low speed until there's no more lumps. Add the eggs one at a time and allow each one time to mix well before adding the next. Gradually add the sugar, then the sour cream, vanilla and lemon zest. Pour the mix into the crust and smooth the top.
By the time you're done with your mix the water should be boiling. To make a water bath, you'll need a roasting pan that your springform pan fits in to with room on all sides and heavy duty foil. Once your mixture is done and the crust has refrigerated for a few minutes you take large squares of foil and set the pan in the center of them, folding the foil up around the outside of the springform, but without covering the top of your cheesecake. You may want to use 2 or 3 pcs of foil to ensure the springform is watertight. Then you place your foil wrapped springform into the roasting pan and fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it's about an inch and a half deep, or halfway up the side of your cheesecake. I find it's easier to get the foil ready before pouring in the filling.
Bake for 65 to 70 minutes. The center should be jiggly, but not wet. You will be able to tell that it's done on top but still very moist inside. At this point, turn off the oven and let the cheesecake sit in the oven for 45 minutes or so. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for about 3o minutes. Allow it to chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours at this point, loosely covered with saran wrap (try not to let the saran wrap touch the cake, it will mark it.)
I like to eat this cake plain, but my family likes to cover it with canned fruit filling, or you can make your own.
Chocolate Alternative: You can add 8 oz melted semisweet chocolate to the batter for a chocolate cheesecake, be sure that all the mixture ingredients are room temperature though, or your chocolate will not incorporate. For this type, I like to substitute the graham crackers with chocolate teddy grahams in the crust and substitute the cinnamon for 1 tbsp sugar.
Graham Cracker Crust:
1 1/2 cups fine ground graham crackers
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 stick less 1 tbsp melted butter, unsalted if possible
Filling
2 8 oz blocks cream cheese, room temperature
3 eggs, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 pint sour cream, room temperature
1/2 lemon, zested fine
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 325°.
Combine the crust ingredients until well incorporated. Press into the bottom and sides of an 8 inch springform pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Place in refrigerator.
At this point I normally put 2-3 cups of water on to boil for the water bath.
For the mixture, beat your cream cheese on low speed until there's no more lumps. Add the eggs one at a time and allow each one time to mix well before adding the next. Gradually add the sugar, then the sour cream, vanilla and lemon zest. Pour the mix into the crust and smooth the top.
By the time you're done with your mix the water should be boiling. To make a water bath, you'll need a roasting pan that your springform pan fits in to with room on all sides and heavy duty foil. Once your mixture is done and the crust has refrigerated for a few minutes you take large squares of foil and set the pan in the center of them, folding the foil up around the outside of the springform, but without covering the top of your cheesecake. You may want to use 2 or 3 pcs of foil to ensure the springform is watertight. Then you place your foil wrapped springform into the roasting pan and fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it's about an inch and a half deep, or halfway up the side of your cheesecake. I find it's easier to get the foil ready before pouring in the filling.
Bake for 65 to 70 minutes. The center should be jiggly, but not wet. You will be able to tell that it's done on top but still very moist inside. At this point, turn off the oven and let the cheesecake sit in the oven for 45 minutes or so. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for about 3o minutes. Allow it to chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours at this point, loosely covered with saran wrap (try not to let the saran wrap touch the cake, it will mark it.)
I like to eat this cake plain, but my family likes to cover it with canned fruit filling, or you can make your own.
Chocolate Alternative: You can add 8 oz melted semisweet chocolate to the batter for a chocolate cheesecake, be sure that all the mixture ingredients are room temperature though, or your chocolate will not incorporate. For this type, I like to substitute the graham crackers with chocolate teddy grahams in the crust and substitute the cinnamon for 1 tbsp sugar.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Carne Asada Tacos
This little gem is one I made up on the fly. The measurements aren't perfect, you may want to alter as you go. We find this amount is good for 3 people with a few leftovers.
1 package flank or skirt steak, also called aracherra I believe.
1 or 2 packages small white corn tortillas
about 1 quartered lime per person
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped white onion
Marinade:
1 tbsp white vinegar
juice of 2 to 3 limes
1/4 cup olive oil (adjust if you have more steak, you want it to be coated, but it doesn't have to be submerged.)
1/3 cup coarse chopped cilantro
3-4 cloves crushed garlic
1 small jalapeno, seeded and chopped finely (here you want flavor, not spice)
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp red pepper or cayenne
1 tsp cumin
kosher salt to taste
Mix the marinade ingredients together and let the steak sit in it for at least a day. The high acidity will help it marinate quicker I assume, but I like giving it a solid day for good measure.
You can either grill the steak, saving the marinade to baste it with or pour it all into a pan and cook it on the stovetop. Once cooked to your preference, cut it into thin strips, then small chunks. Warm tortillas, then spoon in meat and top with onions, cilantro and lime juice.
1 package flank or skirt steak, also called aracherra I believe.
1 or 2 packages small white corn tortillas
about 1 quartered lime per person
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped white onion
Marinade:
1 tbsp white vinegar
juice of 2 to 3 limes
1/4 cup olive oil (adjust if you have more steak, you want it to be coated, but it doesn't have to be submerged.)
1/3 cup coarse chopped cilantro
3-4 cloves crushed garlic
1 small jalapeno, seeded and chopped finely (here you want flavor, not spice)
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp red pepper or cayenne
1 tsp cumin
kosher salt to taste
Mix the marinade ingredients together and let the steak sit in it for at least a day. The high acidity will help it marinate quicker I assume, but I like giving it a solid day for good measure.
You can either grill the steak, saving the marinade to baste it with or pour it all into a pan and cook it on the stovetop. Once cooked to your preference, cut it into thin strips, then small chunks. Warm tortillas, then spoon in meat and top with onions, cilantro and lime juice.
Ham and Cheese Casserole
This is an old recipe of my Grandma Ann's that I've modified.
2 cups elbow macaroni
3 cups grated cheese, type is personal preference. I use 2 cups of medium cheddar and one cup sharp or extra sharp
1 1/2 - 2 cups cubed ham
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
Preheat oven to 350°
Cook macaroni in a large saucepan per package instructions. You want it to be al dente, or a little less done than al dente. Drain and place back in the saucepan at medium low with cheese, butter, and milk. Stir until creamy. Make sure the mixture is not too warm, add the eggs and mix well. When the cheese sauce is fully incorporated, add the ham cubes and stir.
Pour mixture into a baking dish and bake for 30 minutes. After 3o minutes put it under a hot broiler for 5-10 minutes to let the top get crispy. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn. Remove from oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving.
2 cups elbow macaroni
3 cups grated cheese, type is personal preference. I use 2 cups of medium cheddar and one cup sharp or extra sharp
1 1/2 - 2 cups cubed ham
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
Preheat oven to 350°
Cook macaroni in a large saucepan per package instructions. You want it to be al dente, or a little less done than al dente. Drain and place back in the saucepan at medium low with cheese, butter, and milk. Stir until creamy. Make sure the mixture is not too warm, add the eggs and mix well. When the cheese sauce is fully incorporated, add the ham cubes and stir.
Pour mixture into a baking dish and bake for 30 minutes. After 3o minutes put it under a hot broiler for 5-10 minutes to let the top get crispy. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn. Remove from oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving.
Experimentation with Self Importance
Recently I've come to the realization that I don't give myself a lot of credit. I consider my life boring and mundane, with a distinct lack of flair and energy. After I started talking to a recent new friend, I think I gained some respect for the things that I do, and have decided they're not as boring as I originally thought. I may not know how to embroider, but I can post recipes, current projects, pictures, and other musings as time goes by. Who knows, maybe one day I'll convince myself I'm able to learn how to embroider. :)
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