Sweet Sensation Rub

Well, let's talk about everything we've missed talking about. 

Connie had a birthday.  Not one of the big ones but we celebrated nonetheless.  Three dishes and three cocktails.  Loved the meal.  Haven't blogged about it yet...  In truth, I can't find the recipes now...

Drove the Natchez Trace to a conference in New Orleans.  Amazing food and drinks.  Except for the food at the conference hotel - Hyattt by the Superdome.  Go to Borgne but do not stay at that hotel.  The food was the worst conference food I've EVER had.  And, I go to a LOT of conferences!  New Orleans, however, was stellar.  Antiones, Commanders Palace, Arnauds.  Oh, yeah.

Had a party.  90+ people at our house for a pitch-in.  We did BBQ from Black Diamond.  Except, we found out on Friday that we'd have 90+ instead of 70+ and we couldn't add to our order.  On to Sam's to purchase six racks of ribs.  Many dishes that I want the recipe for.  YUMMM

Went to Michigan for a long weekend with our friends Chris and Mark.  Saugatuck and the Hungry Village Tour.  AMAZING!  Then, on to Grand Rapids for the Meijer Gardens and the Gerald Ford Museum.  One fabulous B and B and one we'll not be back to.

Family party at my brothers where he cooked the PERFECT summer dinner.  Yup, it just doesn't get better than bbq chicken, corn on the cobb, sliced cucumbers, salad, cheesy bacon potatoes and pickled beets. 

Now, if I was to do a blog on all of those I'd still be typing tomorrow morning when I'm supposed to be at the office for the first of six appointments.  With an internet that's running at maybe 25% of what it's supposed to be doing.  Painful.  So, let me tell you about the ribs and the leftovers from the party.  Oh, and a few photos from the party.  Of course. 

Back in 1994, Cheryl and Bill Jamison published Smoke and Spice.  I bought it that year.  It was my first true barbecue cookbook and is still my favorite one.  I've tried rubs, marinades, sauces, entrees, side dishes.  They've all been wonderful.  So, when we wound up with a herd of ribs to cook at the last minute, I turned to Smoke and Spice.  I'd already decided to use the Maple Mustard Porter mop and sauce we made a couple of months ago.  Nice warm spices, thyme, brown sugar.  Those were the flavors I was looking for.  They were there.  In a rub recipe called Sweet Sensation rub that I first used back in May, 1997.  It was labeled, "WOW" back then.  Same applies today.

Here are a few shots of the party:

Then, we had leftovers.  Lots of our friends left goodies.  Sue left half a pan of baked beans.  These weren't just any baked beans.  They were so good that Connie stopped me in the hall outside our offices and asked who'd brought them and could I get the recipe because they were the BEST beans he'd ever had.  I had to agree.  Sammy and Sarah left chorizo mac and cheese.  Killer.  Just killer.  There was another half pan of REALLY good mac and cheese.  And, Nancy and Roy left some of her German potato salad. That I don't share.  Connie says he's not that fond of potatoes so I take that as a green light to hoard the potato salad all for myself.  It's the best I've ever had.  There was a big tub of a yummy bean, corn and red bell pepper salsa.  I have NO clue who brought that.  We also had some of Becky and Dave's loaded baked potato salad.  Yummy!  Brett and Gabe left a huge bowl of pimento cheese.  Not only is this one of our favorites, but Brett kicks it up with jalapenos and other goodies.  Connie said please, please, please get the recipe.  I've already got it somewhere in my email.  Thank goodness!  We had part of a pan of mostly pulled pork with a few flecks of beef brisket mixed in.  The meat was a bit crispy and dried out but I'm too Scotch to toss that.  As Connie said, it was kind of reminiscent of burnt ends.  We had a few ribs left.  Last, but not least, there were a few dried out pieces of smoked chicken.  So, an overload of protein and carbs.  What to do?

Lunch Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday was ribs and baked beans.  Normally after two times I'm done.  Not quite sure I'm done after three even though we're out of beans...  Yes, I'll share the recipe as soon as I get it.  This will go to family dinners and be devoured!

Monday night was pulled pork and pimento cheese sliders.  On the side we had carbs, carbs and carbs.  And, boy oh boy was it all good!

Tuesday night some of the pulled pork got mixed into some of the mac and cheese along with some pimento cheese and milk.  The whole shebang was topped with toasted panko crumbs and baked.  The only thing missing was some red peppers.  Either roasted red bell or peppadews or another red pepper would've added a bit more pizazz.

Wednesday night was hot smoked chicken and pulled pork salad.  Topped with shredded cheddar and crumbled bagel chips that Brett had brought for the pimento cheese.  We paired that with a cherry cherry tomato salsa.  Yes, there are two cherries in that description.  I'll share those recipes in another post...

Sweet Sensation Rub

1/4 c ground allspice
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c onion powder
2 T salt
2 t ground nutmeg
2 t ground cinnamon
2 t dried thyme

Chicken PIccata by Fresh Artistry

You know you're busy when dinner is cheese and crackers.  Oh, and wine.  So, I tried something for busy people.  A company called Fresh Artistry sent me a free sample of one of their dinners.  Chicken Piccata on Pasta with Spinach.  They're a new company and will ship to anyone in Indiana.  Outside of Indiana, I'm not certain.  Here's what we got in a large cardboard box with a packet of dry ice:

Now, being one who tries to buy in bulk and save packaging, my first thought was, "Oh, my gosh, there's TON of packaging here."  Everything was in it's own little container.  Olive oil, salt, pepper...  The waste for a week's worth of dinners would send me over the edge.  Yeah, I know.  I'm close to the edge anyway :-)  Still, I think the idea is great for someone who wants to put a nice homemade meal on the table and has the disposable income to let someone else do the shopping and measuring.  All you have to do is assemble the dish.  Yes, there's a bit of chopping here and there but for the most part it just goes together. 

What did we think?  The flavors were good, but it was a bit salty.  Probably because of the boullion cube plus the salt that went on the chicken prior to browning it. And, following the instructions, the chicken was a tad bit overcooked even though I started it when it was frozen.  But, all in all, if you don't have the time to shop and measure and you've got the disposable income, this was a good meal.  And, we managed to turn one serving into two by adding a healthy serving of veggies on the side.   Would I do it again?  Probably not because I really enjoy coming home and talking with Connie and having a glass of wine and trying out a new recipe.  Would I recommend them?  Indeed!

Swiss Chard Slaw

Being home for dinner for four evenings during a week is cause for celebration.  And, cause for creating a menu.  Well, a semblance of a menu.  In reality it's a list of dishes I'd like to make during the week for dinners and lunches.  I had a Cuisine at Home and a Rachael Ray magazine in the car along with Gastro Grilling.  We were heading to Sam's so I knew a rotisserie chicken was in our future.  There's a package of lamb chops to use up.  Connie requested the linguine.  We've still got plenty of Swiss chard in the garden.  And, there's the rest of a bag of onion rolls to use up.  Here's what's on our list for this week:

lamb chops with pine nut, mint and goat cheese pesto
cherry turkey arugula sandwiches
eggplant involtini
quinoa tabbouleh
chicken salad sandwiches
greek salad
swiss chard slaw
linguine with clam sauce
roasted asparagus and cherry tomatoes
watermelon with mint cream
Secret Recipe Club baking project

Now, I need to turn that into a real menu! 

We started on Saturday with the usual after the office shopping route:  Penzeys, Trader Joes, Sams and Marsh.  Home by 6:30.  We both really wanted the eggplant involtini.  It's one of those dishes we both crave.  I pulled the recipe up on the blog.  But, along the way I looked at all the other eggplant dishes we've made.  YUM!  I'm looking forward to our eggplants from our garden!! 

What from the list would go well?  The Swiss chard slaw.  Actually, the recipe was written for collard greens.  I was, as usual, substituting.  I also substituted red onion for the scallions since the scallions I thought I had had been used up...

What did we think?  Fantastic.  The only thing I might think about doing differently is swapping some of the cider vinegar for balsamic to sweeten the dish just a tiny bit. 

Swiss Chard Slaw

Ingredients:

1 lb Swiss chard (I used two mongo leaves - see photo)
1 c julienned carrots
1 c sliced scallions (I substituted 1/2 a medium red onion)
1/2 c chopped pecans, toasted (see instructions for what I did with these)
1 t butter
1 t Cajun seasoning
4 strips thick-sliced bacon, diced
1/2 c cider vinegar
1 T each sugar and minced garlic
2 t dry mustard
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

In a small skillet, cook the diced bacon.  While it's cooking, one at a time lay the Swiss Chard leaves on a cutting board and cut out the center ribs. 

Once both leaves are de-ribbed, lay one on top of the other then roll the chard.  Slice it thinly. 

Then, slice once down the middle so you've got manageable sized strips. 

Wash the chard in a salad spinner or wash and pat it dry.  Julienne the carrots and onions.  In another small skillet, put about a teaspoon of butter.  Add the pecans and some Cajun seasoning (I use Emeril's recipe.) 

In a small bowl, mix the vinegar, sugar, minced garlic and dry mustard.  Now, you're ready to start putting this together.  Remove the bacon from the grease and drain it.  Add the vinegar mixture into the warm bacon grease.  Toss everything together and allow the slaw to sit for at least 30 minutes prior to serving. 

And, yes, that's really critical as the flavors blend and soften considerably over the 30 minutes.



adapted from Cuisine at Home

Orecchiette with Chorizo and Swiss Chard

Our garden is producing like crazy.  We put in six Swiss chard plants and only one made it.  But, it's glorious.  And, the romaine lettuce is so beautiful.  Peas are coming on.  We've got a few baby tomatoes.  The mesclun mix is taking over.  And, we've got almost a whole bed of arugula.  A veritable bounty of veggies.  Connie's been bugging me to please use the Swiss chard.  I'd thawed a pound of lamb stew meat from our friend's at Viking Lamb to make Giggles, The Kitchen Witch's lamb stew for later this week.  It's a dish that's better left overnight.  That meant I still needed something for dinner...  And, I really needed to be thinking about lunch too since what's left at the office is all frozen or canned. 

I knew there was a lamb recipe in Carnivore (Michael Symon) that son David wanted me to make.  My memory did not serve me well because I was convinced it was lamb stew.  So, I hunted for the cookbook to compare that recipe to Giggles.  Well, now, as I looked thru I saw a recipe for Orecchiette with Chorizo and Swiss Chard.  Score.  I didn't have chorizo but I did have about a pound of pulled pork.  My guess was that I could toss about half a pound of that with the chorizo spices and be good to go.  I went back to the chorizo recipe from Hoosier Mama.  We made this a couple of months ago and totally loved it.  And, since I was using pulled pork, I substituted pinto beans.  There.   I had a plan.  Dinner for Sunday.  Dinner for Monday.  And, lunch for Monday was on it's way...

What did we think?  We absolutely loved this.  I wasn't sure the flavors would all work together but they certainly did.  This was so easy to make and for us used mostly pantry ingredients or ingredients that could easily be substituted, my guess is it'll become one of our go-to meals. 

Orecchiette with Chorizo and Swiss Chard

Ingredients:

1 lb dried orecchiette pasta (I used half as much)
1 lb fresh chorizo sausage, removed from the casing (see spices below if you're subbing pulled pork)
1 lb Swiss chard with stems, roughly chopped
1 c cannellini beans (I used pinto)
grated zest and juice of one lemon
1/2 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c chopped fresh leaf parsley
2 T unsalted butter
1 T extra-virgin olive oil

spices I used for the pulled pork:
2 t sweet paprika
2 t finely chopped fresh oregano
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 t kosher salt
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 t granulated sugar
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1 T red wine vinegar

Directions:

Start a large pot of water boiling.  Once it's ready to go, add the pasta.  Cook it for a couple of minutes less than the package directions.  If you're using the chorizo, brown and drain it.  If you're using the pulled pork, toss it with the spices and set it aside. 

Either add the chopped Swiss chard to the chorizo or put a good drizzle of olive oil in a large skillet, heat it to shimmering and add the Swiss chard.  Once it's wilted, add 1/4 c of the pasta water, the beans, pasta and butter. 

If you're using pulled pork, add it at this time too.  Cook all of that until the pasta is al dente.  Then, remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and juice, the parsley, extra virgin olive oil and the parsley.

Basic recipe from Carnivore.  Chorizo spices from Hoosier Mama Book of Pie

Orange, Should've Been Chicken, Shrimp

I must've been a VERY good girl.  Why?  I got THE blog I wanted for Secret Recipe Club.  You read that right THE blog I wanted.  Last month, The Kitchen Witch got me.  She said we shared the same tastebuds.  She was SO right.  Life was insane (ok, it's been totally insane for years!) and I didn't get a comment to her.  Then, I got my Secret Recipe Club assignment.  Whoop, Whoop!  I now had an excuse to blow two hours reading a blog I wanted to read.  REALLY wanted to read.  Giggles is so right.  We do share the same taste buds.  We both love citrus.  We're both adventurous eaters.  So incredibly much fun to read her blog.  I felt like I was curled up in the cabin of my dreams just relaxing and reading.  Oh, and drooling :-)

So, what to make?  Guiness Irish lamb stew?  Marjitos?  Candied orange olive oil cake?  Lemon ginger elixir?  Orange chicken?  Did you notice how many have citrus?  Yeah, me too.  And, there are plenty more.  Oodles to be specific - lol.  Orange chicken it was.  If I was going to get this made in time, one of us needed to run to the store the evening before our cooking adventure.  I was going to be working in my Columbus, IN office so knew I'd be home late.  Connie got the grocery list that I'd left on the counter.  He got home from the grocery and got busy getting ready for our grandkids to visit.  About 2am he flew out of bed.  I heard the alarm being shut off then the back door opened then a racket in the kitchen.  It was one of those you are better off waiting it out than getting in the middle of it deals.  I waited.  Upstairs he trudged.  So, what happened?  He says, "I never took the groceries out of the trunk."  Ok, so we had rotten chicken.  Fine, we'd stop on the way home from the office the next evening.  Except when we  left the office the rain was pouring. A bar of soap in the back yard and I'd have been able to take a shower!   We got drenched just going to the car.   At that point I made an executive decision.  Giggle's orange chicken would be just fine with shrimp.  And, you know what?  It was.  We loved it.  I wouldn't have changed a thing.  Now, I'll know I can make it with either shrimp or chicken and it'll be great. 

Before I show you the recipe, here are a few of the photos of the epic water balloon fight Grampie had with Bradley and Rosie.  Daddy David sat in a safe zone making the water balloons.  He was also in charge of dousing anyone who didn't follow the rules.  Mostly Grampie who kept forgetting to go back to his safe zone after throwing a balloon.  Mommy Kara and I sat in another safe zone with our cameras.  We were dubbed the historians.  And, yes, that's our herb garden behind Kara.

Orange Chicken

Ingredients:

for the chicken:

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken, cubed (I substituted shrimp)
2 eggs
1 T water
1 1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/2 c cornstarch
1/4 c flour
peanut oil for deep frying

for the sauce:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1" piece ginger, peeled and minced
1/2 t crushed red pepper
4 green onions sliced, white and green parts separated
1 T rice wine vinegar
1 1/3 c orange juice
2 T cornstarch
1 1/2 T soy sauce
2/3 c orange marmalade

Directions:

This recipe comes together very quickly so you really want to have everything set up and ready to go.  Your mis en place.  You'll need two bowls for the sauce ingredients.  Put the garlic, ginger, red pepper and whites of the green onions in one. 

The balance of the sauce ingredients go in the other.  Start with the cornstarch and rice wine vinegar.  Stir them into a slurry then add the other ingredients. 

Then set up two wide, shallow bowls (think pasta bowls) for the chicken or shrimp dipping.  In one, put the egg and water.  In the other, mix the flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper. 

This is where you can add other seasonings if you'd like.  I thought about adding some Asian seasonings but decided to try that next time.  Put a smallish skillet on the stove with about a tablespoon of oil in it.  Last, but not least, pour peanut oil (I used vegetable oil because that's what we had on hand) about 1" deep in a wide skillet.  Now, Giggles recipe called for a wok or a deep fryer.  I like the skillet because it gives me more control over turning the protein to make sure both sides get browned.  If you've got a deep fryer and want to use it, that way you can get both sides brown at once...  Turn the heat on under the small skillet.  You want to use medium heat.  Heat the oil to about 350.  Now, you're ready to get going.   

Dunk a handful of the protein in the egg wash. 

Then, toss it in the cornstarch/flour mixture.  Put it in the hot oil in the big skillet.

 
 Put the garlic/ginger mixture in the small skillet.  Once it's sizzling, slowly stir in the orange juice mixture. 

Stir this occasionally.  Turn the protein if you need to get both sides brown.  The crust will be nice and shatter thanks to the cornstarch.  Drain on paper towels.  Once all the protein is done and drained, toss it with the sauce and serve over rice. 

Top with a scattering of the green onion tops. 

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