Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Remoulade Sauce




OK wife hates cooks.com since they took over recipe Zaar but we do have to hunt for recipes on there and we found this kick a$$ sauce now if you are afraid of the heat look for something milder but we like the heat. Thanks Rite at Recipe Zaar (this was posted there when it was the Zaar.)
We had some fried shrimp and I found a box of Calamari which we love. Hate that the favorite place to get this has closed down. But this will do in a pinch.
1cup mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons whole grain mustard. (we used Creole)
2 Tablespoons ketchup
1 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup scallions
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley (we can not tell you how much a difference this herd makes from the dried kind)
1 stalk chopped celery
2 cloves garlic minced
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1/4 ground black pepper
dash of horseradish to taste.
Blend all together and chill for 1 hour. Even better the next day.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Crystal Springs



Here are two of wife's paintings that was at the Crystal Springs Tomato Festival this year. The green tomatoes won honorable mention in their show. Wife found out from Ms Redneck we just missed each other at one of the vendors that we both bought goods from like the eggplant.
We ate the green tomatoes and they sure were good.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Eggplant Parmesan





We really hated to have to use our oven with the temps so high but we got some egg plants at the farmers market and this recipe was one we had to give a go and boy were we glad we did.
1 egg plant (we used two small) cut into 3/4 inch slices
1 1/2 Tablespoons salt
8 Tablespoons olive oil
8 oz ricotta cheese (we used cottage cheese and we thought it needed more than what was called for.)
6 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg beaten
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
4 cups pasta sauce. (We used left over spaghetti sauce we had in the freezer
we also added mushrooms
We also did a flour, egg wash and pan fried the egg plant.
1. Sprinkle both sides of eggplant with salt and place in colander over paper towels or in sink
Allow this to sit for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350
3. In a bowl mix ricotta,mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, mix in egg and Basil
4. Rinse eggplant till salt is removed and pat dry (here we did the pan frying like above)
heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil and brown eggplant on both sides
5.We buttered a 8 x 13 baking dish then put a 1 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce layer the eggplant over sauce. Top with 1/2 cheese mixture, repeat layering till eggplant and cheese is used. Pour remaining sauce on top and we used extra Parmesan cheese.
6. Bake 30 to 40 minutes till sauce is bubbly.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Sunday Cats


Its a triple decker bunk. The boys enjoy lounging on the porch even in this heat.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Watermelon smoothie



We also had a watermelon for the 4th and had way more than we could eat so we made a smoothie and froze the rest.
fill the blender with watermelon chunks

3 Tablespoons honey
8 to 10 ice cubes.
1 cup yogurt
Pulse till blended wife likes it thick so may need to add more ice.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Tn Pork Loin with Nashville Barbecue Sauce




This past 4th weekend we were watching TV and the show Barbecue University and they cooked this dish. I went to bed that night and all I could do was think about this piece of meat and cooking it. Luckily we had a last loin in the freezer and I knew I had to give this a try and boy was it worth it! I may cook this again it was so good and try it on some ribs.
It does have a lot of steps but don't let it scare you its not hard.

1 center cut pork loin about 21/2 to 3 pounds
5 Tablespoons Tn whiskey like Jack Daniels
2 Tablespoons Cold Mt. Rub or favorite barbecue rub (we used the Cold Mt Rub
6 Tablespoons Dijon mustard.... we used creole
1/2 cup firmly packet brown sugar + 4 Tablespoo
4 slices bacon
Nashville Sweet Barbecue sauce
Butcher's string
2 cups wood chips preferably hickory soaked for 1 hour in water then drained
Cold Mt Rub
1/2 cup kosher or sea salt(we used about 1/4)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup fresh ground black pepper (we used about 1/4)
1/2 cup paprika
Glaze
3 Tablespoons salted butter
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard(we used creole)
3 Tablespoons Tn. Whiskey
Nashville Sweet Barbecue Sauce (separate ingredients from top)
2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
6-8 fresh lemon juice about 3 -4 lemons
1 teaspoon grated lemon juice
2 Tablespoons molasses (we did not have any so left this out)
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 liquid smoke
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
we added a dash or a tiny pinch of cloves.
Combine everything together in a nonreactive pan and whisk to mix. Let the sauce gradually come to a simmer over med. heat and simmer till thick about 8 to 10 minutes.
Let cool to room temp and put in jar and refrigate until serving. Will keep for several weeks.
This was a great sauce we really liked it
A. Make the rub: place all ingredients in a bowl and mix using fingers. Store in airtight jar away from heat or light and will last 6 months
B. Make the glaze: Combine butter,brown sugar,mustard and whiskey in a saucepan and boil until syrupy, 4 to 6 minutes and set aside.
C. Using a sharp knife cut the roast almost in half lengthwise stopping about 1 inch from edge. Open like a book. Take a Tablespoon of whiskey and sprinkle over roast and let it sit for 5 minutes. Sprinkle a third of the rub on the inside of roast. Take 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard and rub on inside over the rub with spatula or spoon. Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon brown sugar over rub.
Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of whiskey over rub. and close. sprinkle remaining rub over meat on the outside.
D. Cut the butchers string into 4 pieces about 13 inches long. Position the pieces of string on work surface about 2 inches apart. Place a slice of bacon across the strings so that it is perpendicular to and in the center of strings. Set roast on top and place slices of bacon on each side and on top. Tie string starting at each ends and going to the middle last (May need two people to do this.) Set aside.
E. Set up the grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium. We used a charcoal grill grill. Place a drip pan in the center and place wood chips on coals
F. When ready place roast on hot grate and over the drip pan away from the heat and cover the grill.
We used a meat thermometer (best gadget I ever bought)
Cook the roast about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. the thermometer should read 160 to 165
Start basting roast after 30 minutes with the glaze every 15 minutes.
G. Transfer roast when done to cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes then remove strings and slice the roast and drizzle any remaining glaze over it. Serve with Barbecue Sauce on side

Monday, July 11, 2011

Still Here






It has been so hot down here this summer that we have been eating mostly sandwiches. A good thing I cooked the pork buts but they are about all gone now. we have had lots of tomato sandwiches, chicken and tuna.


We have not been able to grow any of our own tomatoes this year. We have three plants that have blooms but have never set tomatoes. Wife read that it has been too hot. We took some seeds of the ones we grew last year and have planted them and we were so surprised to see them sprout up in about 2 days. so we hope to plant them and maybe have a fall crop of our own. Thank goodness the farmers market still has some. Maybe the heirlooms are a little more picky.


We also have put up a little corn and asparagus and figs are cumming in but we are hoping to have pecans this fall as last year they didn't produce. The patio has little nuts buds (Is that what one would call them) falling off, maybe because it is so dry and hot so we will see if we have a fall crop or not.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Sunday Cat







This is our cat Tigger, He is a strange cat as he has this real long body like a dachshund. He is real sweet and likes to sleep on my head at night. Here he is on wife's drawing table and if you look at the photo on the porch he looks a little off but is the long body he has.