Carla Hall's Biscuits and Gravy 11.1.11

I am still recovering from my weekend cook session... 3 racks of ribs, 2 HUGE Pork shoulders for pulled pork and a wide array of side dishes.  Click HERE to see the post with photos of all the fun.

And by recovering, I actually mean I have a refrigerator filled with leftover and I am under very specific orders from the boss (my wife) to NOT buy any new ingredients until I make a serious dent in the food we have already cooked.

SO, in fairness to Carla's recipe, I made her biscuits exactly as she showed on the episode.  And indeed, they came out perfect.

The gravy however is nothing like what she showed on the episode... well, a little.

She used Turkey sausage... I used left over pulled pork (There will be peace with the boss tonight).

She used Butternut Squash... I used a small onion

She used Sage and Chili Flakes... I used some of my fresh made Cajun Spice mix I call "Big Easy In a Jar".  Has a few savory spices as well as plenty of heat...

BTW, I make my own Cajun mix I call, "Big easy in a Jar".  You will be seeing this ALOT.  It's a fast way to add that special heat to any dish.  I make about 2 cups worth a month and bit by bot, it is gone!  Tastes great on eggs to chicken and anything in between!

1 part Garlic Flakes

1 part Onion Flakes

1 part Dried Thyme Leaves

1 part Dried Oregano

1 part Black Pepper

1 part White Pepper

1 part Lemon Pepper

1/2 (one half) part Cayenne Pepper

1/2 part Ground Bay Leaves

4 parts Sweet Paprika

This is a great little spice to have around. Add brown sugar (1/2 the amount of spice mix) to make a BBQ rub. And add a little to a soup to zing it up or even to a gravy!

OK, I will admit that my gravy and Carla's are not terribly close, but the techniques and ideas are all the same.

Mine is just a little bit more redneck than hers.

Here's what I did...

Actually, I made this for my breakfast this morning.  So, it was just me.  I actually divided the recipe by 4 to come up with a single serving.  To see Carla's biscuit recipe, including her Butternut Squash Gravy with Sage, click the blue letters.

Here's my single serve Biscuits and Redneck Gravy...

pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees (HOT)

1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 TBS Butter (COLD)
1/2 TBS Shortening
2 TBS Greek Yogurt
3 TBS Milk

I used my food processor.  Combine the dry ingredients, pulse
add the butter and shortening, pulse
add the milk and yogurt, pulse

Now, on the show, Carla gave a great talk on the texture of the dough.  What not to do (These are drop biscuits, no rolling, no kneading, no punching of the dough).  If you are not an expert biscuit maker, please take a look at the video of the episode (click HERE).

This made 6 biscuits (Drop a heaping TBS on a silipat or a sheet of parchment paper)  Bake in the oven for about 6 minutes.

DELICIOUS, but wait till you get redneck on this...

For the gravy...

1/2 cup left over pulled pork, minced
1 small onion, diced medium
1 TBS Olive Oil
2 TBS Flour
1 tsp "Big easy in a Jar"
1/2 cup Milk

In a saute pan over medium high heat, heat the oil and then add the onions.  Saute for about 5 minutes, until they are clear and soft.  Add the Pork and heat for another couple of minutes

Add the spice, add the milk and then the flour.  Whisk together.  if you need to thicken the gravy, add a bit more flour as needed.

Salt and pepper to taste and just as delicious as you can imagine!

Michael Symon's Cast Iron Pork Pie 10.24.11

Kale... Where have you been all my life???  Doesn't it seem like Kale came out of nowhere as an ingredient?

Now, you can't read a blog without hearing about the benefits.  Here's the Wikipedia paragraph that lists everything it does for you...

Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium. Kale, as with broccoli and other brassicas, contains sulforaphane (particularly when chopped or minced), a chemical with potent anti-cancer properties.^[1] Boiling decreases the level of sulforaphane; however, steaming, microwaving, or stir frying do not result in significant loss.^[2] Along with other brassica vegetables, kale is also a source of indole-3-carbinol, a chemical which boosts DNA repair in cells and appears to block the growth of cancer cells.^[3][4] Kale is also a good source of carotenoids.^[5]

How can you not cook every recipe you find with this as an ingredient!

Like this.  Think Shepherd's Pie.  It's pretty basic, cooked meat, some type of filler for the meat and top with smashed potatoes and some cheese.  Reheat till the cheese is melted and just starting to char a bit.

Michael's recipe is terrific, click HERE to see The Chew website for his recipe.

I followed the recipe exact.  Then I started to think about it a bit.  Michael used nutmeg and cinnamon as spices.  Fine if you like savory, with just a bit of seasonings.  Me, I was after a kick.

A few days ago I blogged about Michael's spicy tomato blue cheese soup.  It was a terrific soup that uses sriracha sauce to add heat and I was in love with the soup.  I added just 1/2 a cup of the soup to the dish.  Not really enough to make it a stew at all, but enough to add that heat spice that I was after (and I love to use leftovers as an ingredient to stretch the foods I love).

I also had made some of Clinton Kelly's Texas Nachos a few days ago.  I used almost a whole jar of spicy queso cheese for the nachos.  I had maybe 1/2 cup left in the bottom of the jar.  I followed Michael's directions, but also added the leftover queso cheese on top of the cheddar.  Again, a nice little extra spice kick to the savory recipe.

And finally, as a tribute to Daphne, I doubled the amount of kale.  I had a BIG cast iron skillet.  needed to add something for volume, may as well add more of the healthiest ingredient.

And while I do not know about the taste of Michael's original recipe (I can only imagine).  I am sure it tasted just fine (think a really great Irish recipe).  I think I liked the extra spicy kick with my changes better.

It's just as good as you can imagine!

Paula Deen's Stuffed Pork Chops with Grits 9.29.11

By far, the best day on the Chew.  The pace has slowed (Thank you).  The recipes are just a tad more intricate (except this one). And best of all, the guests are allowed time.  Time for a story, time to get a little personal and time to fully cook a recipe.

This was a terrific recipe.  What else could you expect from Miss Paula?  I love the character of Paula Dean. I love the story (single Mom, making it work any way she could), and such a success story!  It was such a treat to see her interview.

The recipe was painfully simple.  She did call for a bone in chop.  My store had boneless chops on sale, so I lost a bit of the flavor.  I also Decided to add the slit myself, risking a finger or a knife through the side. Just be careful, cut slowly (SHARP knife of course) and you can easily cut this yourself.

I also add a rub to the outside of the chop.

I chose a simple rub, actually a store bought BBQ rub.  But I did add some brown sugar to the rub (about 2 parts (OK, 2 TBS) rub to 1 part (1 TBS) brown sugar).  The brown sugar melts as it cooks, leaving a beautiful glaze on the chop as it cooks.

Grilling is simple.  About 4-5 minutes per side.  You can get the diamond look by having a HOT grill ready when you start.  Cook for 3 minutes, then turn 90 degrees and cook for another three minutes.

Also, with this recipe, it is VITAL that you use a meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature.  The sausage MUST be 140 degrees to 160 (I recommend 140, Paula recommends 160).  The chops could be done long before the sausage is.  Big risk if you cook by time and the look of the outside.  Cook by internal Temperature.

I flavored the grits with a spicy pepper spread.

Paula's recipe and her comments on the show made a delicious grit.  She advises adding Cream Cheese and of course extra butter.  the cream cheese really added a lot with the sweet, creaminess contrasting with the grittiness of the texture of the grits.  Delicious.

But, a heaping TBS of ChiliDawg's brand MANGOnero (Mango and Habanero blend) spread really kicked the grits up a notch.  paired great with the milder seasoning I used for the chop.  Grits, on their own, are not very flavorful (although Miss Paula's were).  I like to add a spice to them, or a fruit jam to add just a bit more.

So, with these hints, tips in mind, this is one of those recipes I pretty much followed the recipe to the letter.  The good folks at the chew have a printable version of the recipe on their website (click HERE).  It's just kind of a throwaway direction as an option, but I really recommend using the Cream Cheese in the grits.  Adds a LOT.

Best episode yet.  The pace is settling in, the cast is settling in... Big changes in just 4 days!