Category: Pork

A Delicious Sweet and Sour Pork, A Scary Motel, and Funky Denver Photos

9/28/2015

Sweet and Sour Pork
and the pork is crispy, people....CRISPY!

But only if you layer the dish correctly.

Now it's been a month since I posted. I've been cooking, though. Pretty decent stuff even (and a couple disasters of course) that I will be sharing.

We've also been busy road-tripping!!
Made a trip out to Denver over Labor Day weekend,
which was a blast!!
We stayed at a very nice hotel.

What?

It was super nice and
not scary
at all.

Yeesh, you guys are soooo judgey.

Heeeee.
Actually, we stayed at a Marriot in the
Denver Cherry Creek district and it was nice.
And safe.
:)

The other motel picture was taken in Nebraska or somewhere off I-80 in Colorado...can't remember.
I did think it was cool, though.
Scary, yet......
okay, it was just scary.

Know what wasn't scary and was completely adorable and who loved me as much as I loved her?

This old girl, who greeted me inside her human parent's antique shop in Denver.

I sat on the floor and this girl leaned into me and let me pet her endlessly.

She is 14 years old and was recuperating from several surgeries of which she wasn't expected to survive.
Oh she was a sweetheart and her human parents love her beyond words.

Okay, so besides visiting doggies at Denver antique shops and taking pictures of seedy motels along the way,

we've also been busy getting these vehicles
ready for listing...

2003 Chevy Tahoe LT 4WD 145k $8985

1998 Chevy K1500 Silverado 4x4 142k $6985 Sold

And these...

2004 Buick Rendezvous CXL AWD 122k $6385

2005 Pontiac Grand Prix
92k $6885 Sold

This is the Impala we drove out to Denver and back.
Very nice!
2005 Chevy Impala 132k $5685

Okay,

let's get back to this super yummy
Sweet and Sour Pork!

This recipe is from the food website
Rasa Malaysia.

Check her website out, all her recipes are authentic and uses ingredients that can be purchased relatively easy.

Here's the fixins for this delicious and crispy (if you do it right) Sweet and Sour Pork.

I just want to point out the following three items.

1. Sake.
Also know as rice wine.
Rice wine is NOT rice wine vinegar, it's an actual wine. This little bottle was $2.50 at the store. If you can't find sake (rice wine), use sherry.

2. Oyster Sauce.
It's in the Asian aisle at your grocery store.

3. Plum sauce.
Again, this is in the Asian aisle at your grocery. Hy-Vee carries both oyster and plum sauce.

RECIPE: SWEET AND SOUR PORK
Straight outta www.rasamalaysia.com
Rasa Malaysia has excellent, authentic recipes, check it out!
INGREDIENTS:1/2 lb. pork tenderloin (cut into bite size pieces)
1/2 green bell pepper (about 2 oz. and cut into pieces)
1/2 red bell pepper (about 2 oz. and cut into pieces)
2 stalks scallions (only the white part, cut into 2 inch length)
1 piece fresh/canned pineapple ring (cut into small pieces)
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
Oil for frying

MARINATE:
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon rice wine

FRYING BATTER:
1/2 cup water
2 oz. all-purpose flour
1 oz. corn starch
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 egg
1 teaspoon cooking oil
1 small pinch of salt

SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE:
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
1 teaspoon plum sauce
1/8 teaspoon Chinese rice vinegar (transparent in color)
1/2 teaspoon Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons water

METHOD:Cut the pork tenderloin into pieces and marinate with the ingredients for 15-20 minutes.

Mix the sweet and sour sauce ingredients well and set aside.

Strain the dry ingredients of the frying batter and then add in the egg, water, and cooking oil to form a thick batter.

When the pork is well-marinated, transfer the pork pieces into the batter and make sure they are well coated. In a deep skillet, add in the cooking oil enough for deep-frying. Once the oil is hot, deep fry the pork pieces until they turn golden brown. Dish out and drain on paper towels.

Heat up a wok and add in some cooking oil. Add in the chopped garlic and stir fry until light brown, then follow by the bell peppers and pineapple pieces. Stir fry until you smell the peppery aroma from the peppers and then add in the sweet and sour sauce. As soon as the sauce thickenens, transfer the pork into the wok and stir well with the sauce. Add in the chopped scallions, do a few quick stirs, dish out and serve hot with steamed white rice.

Click HERE to go to the Rasa Malaysia website to print off the recipe.

I used canola oil this time.

My usual go-to is avocado oil. Avocado oil is a high heat oil just like canola, only healthier, EXPENSIVE, but healthier I guess.

You can't really use olive oil for this recipe.
The coating on the pork will burn as olive oil is not a high heat oil.

The pork tenderloin I bought was $10.99/lb.

I don't ever really buy pork tenderloin so I don't know if that was high or what for that cut of meat.

Anyhoo, make up that quick marinade of soy sauce, corn starch and rice wine (sake) and throw the chunked pork in.

Now we'll get started on the sweet and sour sauce.
Ketchup is the base.
Can you believe it??

Also double the amount of the
sweet and sour sauce.

You will thank me later.

Easy peasy here for the sweet and sour sauce. Just mix up the ketchup, plum sauce, rice wine vinegar (different than the rice wine sake), Worcestershire sauce, oyster sauce, corn starch, sugar and water. Set it aside for a bit.

Next we'll mix up the frying batter ingredients for the pork.

This is water, flour, corn starch, baking soda, egg, oil and salt.

Chop the peppers, garlic, scallions
and pineapple.

Now I went ahead and made up some long grain brown rice in chicken broth.

Things are going to go quick now, so
WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!

Start cooking
the marinated, battered-up pork
in the frying oil.

BTW, I didn't put much oil in the pan, maybe just 1/2 cup.

Flip the pork
pieces over

and

cook until golden brown
both sides.

Make certain the pork is at least 160 degrees....

...and let them drain on paper towels.

See how they look crunchy here???

Well,

throw them into a dish for safekeeping...

Get your
sweet and sour sauce
heating up...

Now lets get started with the veggies and pineapple,
but first brown up the garlic...

...Now throw the veggies and pineapple
in.

Stir fry until just about ready....

Here's the straight scoop though....

DO NOT add the crispy pork into the veggies
and DO NOT add the sweet and sour sauce into the veggies either.

Keep everything separate like this IF you like crispy pork.

NOW plate up your dish with rice, pork,
then veggies and pineapple...

See how crisp everything looks...

NOW
you can drizzle that sweet and sour sauce on.

Mmmm...

Look at the crispy pork and vegetables,
the sweet and sour drizzled sauce....yum!

Okay!
This is a perfect Sweet and Sour Pork!!

And because we did not saute everything together in a pan,

everything turned out crispy!

Here's the link to this Sweet and Sour Pork from RasaMalaysia.com.
Just click over there to print off the recipe!

Okay, now lets get back to Denver for a minute...I just want to show you a few things.

This
1st floor,
old-school,
vintage
antique shop directed one up some stairs in the very back of the building.

Always up to an antique challenge,

Tim and I

proceeded

up

the

stairs...

I totally knew from the
get-go,

I was going to LOVE this place!!

Aisle
after antique aisle...

Okay, this room was a little different. Uh huh.

Tim did buy a few things there, including this carrying case with mainly Lesney Matchbox cars.

Down the street was this
bike shop.

There's a ton of bike shops in Denver.

Oddly enough, in the back of that bike shop was a display of vintage cameras for sale.

Of course
I had to hit every record store we came by.

And we
ate a ton of super excellent fresh food...

and had great conversation

Daughter is a PhD student and activist poet. Daughter's super nice boyfriend works in the Denver craft beer industry.

with
two
of our favorite people.

One of the restaurants we visited is a very popular
farm to table restaurant called
Old Major.
Old Major's owner/head chef was raised on a family farm in Iowa.

Their building clearly pays homage to Iowa farming with the logo or at least to the fantastic pork dishes they make there.

Here's a link to their restaurant. www.oldmajordenver.com

The restaurant sits right in the middle of a quirky, interesting residential district that has been renewed.

The rehabbed houses are so cute with lots of character and color.

As we were leaving the restaurant, I heard some loud music playing down the street.
We walked to where the noise was coming from and lo and behold, right smack in the middle of the district was this service station. Of course I had to take a picture!

Okay gals and guys,
tis all I gots for today!
Gotta get back to work,
there's a super duper nice 2006 Grand Prix waiting for me to button up the detailing and take pictures of it.

Thanks for checking in!!! I've been making a lot of dishes from more recipes so I'm looking forward to sharing them with y'all!
Have a great Monday and we'll talk at ya soon!!

Ham & Leek Empanadas, Abundant Sunshine, and Dishes That Just Will Not Clean Themselves

1/18/2015

Empanadas have been around forever!

How come I've never had one before, then????
These babies are fantastic!!!

The filling can be
sweet
or
savory.

They're usually deep fried but can also baked.

This is a savory one with ham, leeks &
Gruyere cheese.
These were baked.
It's like a warm ham and cheese in a flaky croissant!!!!!

This Ham & Leek Emapanada recipe
is from Ina Garten's
new cookbook
Make It Ahead.

Best part is,
these lovelies cook in
the oven,

NOT the deep fat fryer!

Ham & Leek Empanadas
Makes 12 empanadas
Straight outta oprah.com from Ina Garten's new cookbook Make It Ahead - a Barefoot Contessa cookbook.
Ingredients

1 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups small-diced leeks, white and light green parts only
1/3 cup crème fraîche
4 ounces smoked ham, such as Black Forest, cut into 1/4" dice
4 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated
2 ounces (2 cups) baby spinach, coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp. julienned basil leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper, plus more for sprinkling
1 large egg
2 Tbsp. milk
All-purpose flour, for rolling
3 sheets frozen puff pastry, defrosted (2 packages)
Fleur de sel or sea salt for sprinkling

Directions
Active time: 40 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Preheat oven to 400°. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.

In a medium (10") saute pan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add leeks and sauté until tender but not browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in crème fraîche and simmer 1 minute.

In a medium bowl, mix ham and Gruyère. Add leek mixture, spinach, basil, Parmesan, salt, and black pepper. Mix and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and milk.

Sprinkle a cutting board with flour, roll out 1 sheet of the puff pastry to an 11" x 11" square, and cut into 4 equal squares. Brush edges of each square with egg wash. Place 1/3 cup of the ham and cheese filling in the center of each square. Fold each square diagonally to form a triangle, lining up edges of pastry. Place empanadas on prepared sheet pans and press edges with tines of a fork to seal. Brush each with egg wash and sprinkle with fleur de sel and pepper. Repeat with remaining pastry and filling. (If making ahead, put sheet pan in freezer; when frozen, transfer empanadas to a resealable plastic bag.) Bake until puffed and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes before serving.

Here's the direct link to oprah.com and Ina's fantastic recipe...click HERE.

Okay, let's get started with the fixins here...

By the way: 1 1/2 CUPS of leeks = 1 1/2 leeks. Figure a cup a leek. You're welcome :)

Also: The puff pastry is frozen. It really did thaw out on the counter in under 30 minutes. Weird.

Um, now a disclaimer...

Sour cream is a fine substitution for creme fraiche. Frankly, I'm leery of anything that sounds too fancy anyway :)

Okay, now prep everything...chop up the spinach, leeks, ham, basil. Grate up the parm and that yummy expensive Gruyere. Beat the eggs with milk and get the flour ready.

Melt the butter in the pan and throw the leeks in...

Throw creme la-de-da-DO-DA-DAY
I mean the sour cream in there and stir.

Now take that yummy, salty diced ham and throw it into a bowl with the Gruyere cheese.

Hellllooooooo Gorgeous.

My life is complete.

Now throw the sauteed leeks
and
sour cream mixture in there...

We're really rockin' and rollin' now....
add the spinach, basil, parm, and salt & pepper into that lovely ham and Gruyere mixture!

Okay, now let's look at this lovely medley all mixed up.....

Dear Readers of My blog,

I forgot to take a picture of this colorful ham and cheese and spinach and basil and parm yummy medley all mixed up. Crap. I swear I didn't eat it. All.

Love, Angie

So anyway, you need to roll the puff pastry dough
out into an 11'' x 11" square.

When the pastry defrosts out of the package, it is 9" x 9.5".
I measured.
With a tape ruler.
Cuz I am a dork.

Just take flour and a rolling pin and do your thang...
easy peasy.

Divide that puff pastry into 4ths.

Line the baking sheets with parchment paper and get the egg wash mixture ready...

Okay, now brush the edges of each square with the egg wash...

Place 1/3 cup of the filling in the middle of each square.

Fold each square into a triangle...

Place the triangles onto the baking sheet...

Take a fork and crimp the edges...
this part was actually fun....cuz I am such a free wheelin' party animal who knows no boundaries of fun-ness and stuff. Duh. Shut up.

I admit, I only had two sheets of puff pastry so I threw all that ham mixture into 8 empanadas instead of 12. I am a rebel.

Can you see the egg wash that goes on the outside there? Well, do it. Brush that egg wash all over.

Then season each empananada with
salt and pepper.

So they're ready to go in the oven...

And here they are after 25 minutes...
now these look messy as a whole...

But single each one out and they are loverly golden brown and perfectly baked!

Open one up and this is the deliciousness inside, the ooey gooey Gruyere with the diced ham, the small hint of mild onion with the sauteed leeks and the bite of the spinach, all in that flaky pastry crust.
So good!!

Again I will say, it's almost like an artisanal ham and cheese croissant.
Several flavors meld together and you will have people ask WHAT IS IN THESE THAT MAKE THEM SO GOOD?

Now these empanadas would be good for lunch because they're not super filling. They're definitely snack material and maybe even as a solo appetizer before a meal.

Okay, it's a bee-utiful day out here today,
full of sunshine!!!!! See that light in the right hand corner? That's called sunshine, something that is not common a lot
in the winter here!!!

I love seeing the railing shadows on the deck from that awesome sun working it's magic!!

The snow is melting.......
too bad, so sad....NOT!!

The cats started to wake up out of their winter slumber too.

I'm planning on enjoying the day after I clean up this craptastic mess in the kitchen. I abhor cleaning, especially the kitchen!!!
Now I know you're thinking that don't look so bad, pffft.

Well, let's just piece this out, shall we???

A nice combo of
dirty wine glasses from
last night
and
coffee from this morning.

Next to that is more
dirty glasses,
cat treats, butter
and a precariously placed plate.

FOR PETE'S SAKE,
CAN NO ONE CLEAN UP AFTER THEMSELVES????

Oh wait, that was me.
:(

Next,
onto the other counter is a cookie cooling rack that's been hanging out on the counters for a week.

I've been planning on making cookies but it just occurred to me while I'm typing this, that the cookies I'm going to be making

are no bake.

This just makes my blood boil.

I hate washing pans. I think I'm allergic to doing dishes.

Lastly, let's take inventory of the island:

1. Message pad
2. Store receipt
(I always want to make sure I'm not being screwed out of being charged too much, ya know?)
3. More cat treats. Really? This is borderline embarrassing.
4. Italian seasoning.
5. Measuring tape. Doesn't EVERYONE have one of those on their countertop, though??
6. Earrings. Guess I can't blame those on Tim.
7. Towel and steak knife.

So I better close up the laptop now and go clean the kitchen.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I'm gonna go peruse more pictures like this

Source?

And this gorgeousness

bhg.com

And a droll worthy kitchen all day long

Domain Home...Benji Madden's LA kitchen

And when I get tired of perusing pictures like this

THEN I will go dishes.

Promise!

Girl Scout honor (does that count even if you weren't a Girl Scout?)

Okay, have a good rest of the weekend and we'll talk at y'all soon!!! :)

Dudes Love This Super Easy, Quick, Cheesy Skillet Gnocchi.....Also, Favorite Cookbooks....OH STOP SNORING...I CAN HEAR YOU!

1/10/2015

I am committed this year to cooking out of those cookbooks there on the shelf...

Yup, that's right...I already have begun cooking a few dishes which I will be sharing over the next few months.

These are the cookbooks Ima be concentrating on....

Ina Garten is
Barefoot Contessa.

This book is just recently out in Fall 2014.

All of the recipes can be made ahead of time.

I've made one recipe so far and it was dang good.

No surprise considering it is Ina Garten.

Ten Dollar Dinners with Melissa D'Arabian
of Food Network.
Published in 2012.

Melissa shares recipes for a family of four that can be made for $10 and under.

I've made a couple recipes and they're easy and pretty spot on!
No fancy ingredients here!

Thug Kitchen cookbook was born from a popular cooking blog.

Published in 2014, this excellent cookbook shares all vegan recipes but you would never guess they are vegan.

Entertaining and delicious, this cookbook uses naughty words in the descriptions, so buyer-cook beware.

Vegan Before 6:00
by famed New York Times culinary journalist and columnist Mark Bittman.

Mark has a style of writing that is friendly and interesting and relatable.

Vegan Before 6:00 was published in 2013 and narrates with recipes his journey to lose weight and reduce his cholesterol numbers, utilizing a vegan before 6:00pm philosophy, thus never feeling deprived.

Ahhh, how I love me the Nadia G with Bitchin Kitchen.

Nadia is an Italian Canadian and she uses humor in her show and this cookbook from 2009 to share yummy recipes.

She does often use ingredients not always commonly found in your pantry, so that is a barrier but other recipes are spot on for a fun meal/dish.

Plenty.
Yotam Ottolenghi is an Israeli chef, writer and restaurant owner.

This popular cookbook from 2010 shares vegetable recipes.

Ottolenghi has a new cookbook out in 2014 called Plenty More that also has done
very well.
I plan on making lots of these dishes this year.

And lastly, again,
Mark Bittman.
The Mini Minimalist.

Mark has a NYTimes column and food cooking show called The Minimalist.

These recipes are easy with few ingredients. This printing is small though, because the book set is very small.
If you are an old hag like me, you will def need your reading glasses :)

Okay, you would think that I would be sharing a recipe from one of these cookbooks but alas, I am not.

Am instead sharing this
Cheesy Skillet Gnocchi.
The mens of the world LOVE this!
I think it's the spicy Italian sausage.

This recipe came from the cool cooking blog DinnersDishesandDesserts.com
Erin has fantastic recipes and information, check it out, just click on her website there.

So why is this dish so special, you ask? Well...

Yummy gnocchi in a tomato sauce mixed with Italian sausage and mozzarella.

Spicy!
Bursting with flavor!
Filling!

Here's the simple fixins for this
hearty dish!

Okay, so gnocchi is thick,
soft dough dumplings.
Packages can be found on the shelf in the pasta section at bigger supermarkets OR in the refrigerated section by the fresh tortellini and such.
I imagine you can find them frozen too.

I buy the
whole wheat gnocchi that I find at Hy-Vee in the specialty pasta aisle.
These are made with whole wheat and
sweet potatoes.

Also I use
FIRE ROASTED
tomatoes in this recipe. Makes a HUGE flavor difference! The smokiness of these tomatoes with the sweet, spicy Italian sausage...yum!

Now this is going to go quick, so keep that in mind...a quick, hearty meal in 20 minutes!!

Start by browning up the gnocchi in a couple tbsp of
olive oil.

Only takes 5-8 minutes to get a nice color on these little dumplins'.

Remove the gnocchi to a bowl and brown the Italian sausage.

The guys loved this Italian sausage.

To make this a leaner meal, I may use a turkey breakfast sausage next time.

Remove the sausage to the same bowl as the gnocchi and wipe the grease out of the skillet.

Add
the fire roasted tomatoes
and garlic into the skillet.

Don't forget the seasonings!

Salt, pepper
and Italian seasoning.

Add the
gnocchi and sausage into the tomato base.

The dish
is coming together good, amIright?

Add a bit of cream,

1/4 cup...

Stir and simmer until completely warmed through...

Top with some yummy fresh mozzarella.

My preference is the fresh mozz ball instead of the packaged shredded stuff.

See, that's it!!
20 minutes and no chopping of a thousand vegetables!!

Plate some up....

This dish is bursting with hearty flavor of the Italian sausage, fire roasted tomatoes, the gnocchi dumplings and creaminess from the cream and mozzarella.

If you have men in your family, they will go back for seconds and thirds.
Tim called this dish "killer" and kept insisting that it can't be good for him cause it's so ding dang good.
Our son-in-law and 3 year old grandson LOVED it too!!
So see, it crosses three generations here.

Okay, here's the recipe straight outta the DinnersDishesandDesserts website...
Erin had adapted this recipe from Cooking Light.

Cheesy Skillet Gnocchi
dinnersdishesanddesserts.com
Cheesy Gnocchi Skillet is a one pan, quick and easy dinner. A healthified
version of pure comfort food.
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 (16 oz) package gnocchi
2 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
12 oz Italian sausage
1½ cups tomatoes, diced (or 1 can diced tomatoes)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
¼ cup heavy cream
½ cup Mozzarella cheese
Instructions
1. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil, and cook gnocchi for about 7 minutes, or until lightly
browned. Remove from pan.
2. Add sausage to the pan, and cook until browned. Remove from pan.
3. Add tomatoes, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to the pan. Cook for about 7 minutes, until
tomatoes are soft. Add gnocchi and sausage back to the pan. Pour in cream, and stir until everything is
warm.
4. Top with cheese, heat until melted.

Click here to go directly to the recipe on Erin's page.

Okay, so the night I made this Cheesy Skillet Gnocchi dish,
Little Boy Blue (our 3 yr old cutie patootie, one and only grandchild) and his mom and dad were staying over and I caught them in high spirits singing one of their favorite family songs, I've Been Working On the Railroad.

Little Cutie Patootie-He's-So-Adorable-I-Just-Want-To-Eat-Him-Up Little Boy Blue asked to sing it
over and over again!

The kids stayed over because the weather had gotten freaky deaky blizzardy unexpectedly. I tried to take a picture that night of the awfulness but this was the best I could get...

I think I was probably in my stocking feet out on the front porch in the middle of a nor'easter and was shaking from nerves and oh, I don't know, THE FACT THAT IT WAS A BLIZZARD OUT THERE and that is why this picture is so crappy and shows absolutely nothing of what I just talked about. Sigh...

OH WAIT!! DON'T GO YET!!!!
I have one more picture I want to show you!!
See, it has been sooooo cold and snowy,
the cats sit in the window sill alllllll day long....

....depressed and pale from lack of Vitamin D.

Oh wait, that's me.

KIDDING!!

They're actually depressed because a squirrel has been tormenting them every day from that
tree outside the window.

Hello playmate squirrel, come out and play with us, and bring your dollies three, climb up our apple tree, climb down our rain barrel, we'll open up the cellar door and we'll be jolly friends (hehehe) forever more, more, more more more more.

Note: My cats are wienies. Any squirrel or groundhog or butterfly could take any one of them :):)

Okay, that's all I have for today, kiddos!!
Stay warm this weekend (except for when you bake up a New York Style cheesecake and deliver it straight to my house of course, duh),
but other than that...stay cozy warm and we'll talk
at y'all soon!

Haste Makes Waste: Fried Pork Chop Vegetable Soup, A Cautionary Tale

1/25/2013

Hi Girls and Boys!

Thank you for letting me chat a bit about my
book-in-progress called:

Haste Makes Waste;
Fried Pork Chop Vegetable Soup,
A Cautionary Tale

Oh? You're excited to know more about it?
Okay then, I will share the picture book with you.

One day
a woman named Angie was possessed she was going to make

The Neely's
Grandma Neely's
Fried Pork Chop Vegetable Soup.

Now this woman, Angie, doesn't even like pork much,
which is why she rarely makes dishes containing pork.

But she had a hankering for pork chops
that day.

So Angie went to the grocery store and bought everything she needed to make this delicious meal.

This picture shows the ingredients.

Except this picture doesn't show that Angie actually doubled this recipe...see those four pork chops, kids?

4x2 = 8.
That's 8 pork chops she actually made.

Now Angie diced up her onions and her celery and her carrots.

Girls and Boys, never use a knife without parental supervision. and never buy a new set of Rachael Ray knives and think you're an expert and proceed to have a bloodbath on your first chop.

Just sayin' Girls and Boys, just sayin'.

The lady Angie, melted butter in the pan and threw the vegetables in and sauteed them.

She then added the flour into the sauteed vegetables. She did this as a thickening agent.
Now kids, never eat flour by itself. The lady in this story was never very bright and she used to do that...
eat flour as a kid.
And thought somehow, each time, the flour would miraculously taste different.

But it never did.

Anyway,

back to the Pork Chop story, Angie added the tomato paste and chicken stock into the pot.

And then Angie added the diced tomatoes.

And then the lady added the sweet potatoes.

The recipe calls for regular potatoes but Angie used sweet potatoes.

The lady in this story, Angie, she's a rebel, kids.
A real
color-outside-the-lines rebel.

While the soup was simmering, Angie added seasoning salt and
salt and pepper to the flour.

Now kids, what have we learned about flour today so far?
Number one: it is a thickening agent.
Number two: don't eat flour by itself. It's gross.

Back to the story, Angie set up the work station with the pork chops and flour.

Now kids, the lady used 1/2 inch thick chops instead of an inch.
Cause she was in a hurry and wanted them to cook faster.

Angie pan fried the pork chops until they were done.

The recipe says to DEEP FRY them but kids, really,

we save the deep fat frying for french fries don't we?

The lady took the chops out of the pan when they were fully cooked and let them rest on a paper towel lined plate.

Now Girls and Boys, this is where the story picks up.

Angie put all the pork chops in the soup like the recipe calls for.

Isn't that silly? Pork chops in soup?

But this picture looks tasty, doesn't it?

Well Angie let it simmer 30 minutes.

The last ten minutes the lady added the corn and beans.

Kids, you should always eat your vegetables!

Don't they look pretty?!!!!
No???
Well, they will when you're old like me and get a kick out of colorful vegetables you little

Anyway,

when the soup was all done simmering
Girls and Boys,

Angie ladled some up into a bowl and made sure to include a yummy pork chop.

And Angie and her husband Tim ate the soup for supper and really enjoyed it.

The soup did not pack a huge punch of flavor but is enjoyable. Both kids and adults would like it and you can add any seasonings as you see fit.

Isn't that nice kids? Eating good healthy soup with a
pork chop in it? Nice and silly, huh?
Yes?
Good.

Okay, so let me continue on with this story Girls and Boys.

Well remember when Angie doubled the recipe?

Well it actually didn't fit all into one pan, she had to use two pans but never pictured both.

So the lady had
A LOT of soup left over, a huge pan full.

And this is the part of the story Girls and Boys, where Angie recreates the events. Okay?
So Angie is reenacting, right kids?
Okay.

Angie went to put the soup away to store it in the refrigerator so as not to waste any of this relatively expensive soup.

Pork chops aren't cheap kids.

So she opened up her super old crapola fridge but there was no room.

But that was okay.
See, Angie has a summer kitchen and the night time temps were very low, so setting food out there would be like keeping it in a fridge, almost too cold, but just about right. Isn't that nice, kids?
Angie was very, very relieved.

So
Angie put the lid on this heavy cast iron pot.

And she walked it carefully...

....out the back door to the summer kitchen.

Angie thought to herself...

thank goodness the summer kitchen door is propped open,

it makes it easier to carry this big pot inside.

Angie looked around.

Because the pot was hot, Angie didn't want to put it on the antique commode there.

And it was FREEZING out there, Angie was cold and wanted to get inside!

Angie
didn't want to put the hot pot on the plastic tub.

Even though the pot wasn't super hot,

Angie didn't need a melting mess to deal with.

And Angie was smart enough not to put the pot on any of the chairs. Duh, kids, duh.

So the lady who was, uh,
ingenious enough to routinely eat flour when she was a kid,
well......

...she set the pot on the floor.

The covered pot was a heavy cast iron pot

and therefore
very safe there on the floor.

She reasoned.

And then Angie went back into the house and because it was late
and cold
and because she was soooo tired,
she went right to bed,
dreaming of pork chop soup for lunch the next day.

So the next morning, Angie wakes up and the first thing she does is clean out her refrigerator.

And then she goes to collect her pot of pork chop soup.

Angie realized the summer kitchen door was left

propped open all night.

Huh,

she thought to herself.

So Angie went into the summer kitchen...

...and this is how she found the pot.

Something (NOT HER PETS) had gotten into the HEAVY COVERED CAST IRON POT,
pushed the lid aside,

and had eaten most of the pork chops, there were bones everywhere.

And Angie went through her stages of grief.....

and

Yeah, that was about it Girls and Boys,
just two stages of grief for Angie.

Remember, this is the girl who ate flour.

So thank you Girls and Boys,
for letting me share my story.
I really appreciate it!

I hope you can learn something from
my mistakes.

NO! I don't mean the eating flour thing!!
Lordy, GIVE.IT.A.REST!

I mean from being in too much of a hurry and pretty much just inviting critters into your summer kitchen for a nice, late night snack.

Here's the link to Neely's recipe...it's pretty good by the way!
You just need to improvise on some additional seasonings!
Grandma Neely's Fried Pork Chop Vegetable Soup.

Okay, that's all I have for today guys....have a good weekend, stay warm and we'll
talk at ya soon!
:):):):):)

Balsamic Baby Back Ribs ala Nadia G of Bi*chen Kitchen

10/18/2012

cookingchanneltv.com

So this is
Nadia G of
Bi*chen Kitchen on the
Cooking Channel.

I love her!

cookingchanneltv.com

She's on Wednesday nights!

She's an Italian from Canada who learned cooking from her grandmothers.

Her co-stars are the hilarious...
1. Panos the Fish and Meat guy who is sometimes henpecked by his wife.
2. Hans, the Food Correspondent
3. The Spice Agent.

cookingchanneltv.com

Her show is awesome and her recipes are typically spot on!

I made Nadia G's Balsamic Baby Back Ribs.
The sauce looks burnt in this picture. It wasn't.
It was deep and rich and tangy and oniony sweet and
finger licking!!

Now I made these awesome ribs of Chuck Hughes last month, but they were very time-consuming.

But Nadia G's ribs were much quicker,
less prep, and finger lickin' to boot...

Now they didn't have the depth of Chuck Hughe's ribs, but sometimes a girl (Angie) or boy (Tim) just wants super tasty and finger lickin' food on. the. quick.

So here's the line-up for these awesome Balsamic Baby Back Ribs...

Oh, first of all, the recipe calls for maple flakes.

What???
Maple flakes??
What in the world are maple flakes??? Well, I googled, and maple flakes are common in Canada, but here in the rest of the world, the accurate substitute would be Sucanat, found in the baking section.

Okay, start the rub by mixing the parsley, sucanat and brown sugar together...

Now get out your smoked paprika.
Don't have smoked paprika?
Then buy some!!!

There is a HUGE smoky difference!

Add the smoked paprika, salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic and oregano together...

Mix up this super fantastic-smelling rub all together now!

See these nice baby back ribs?

Huh?

Do you see them??!!

Well, throw that nice rub on them!!!

Do it now before you eat the rub!!!
I can't wait,
it all smells so good!

And this is what the ribs should look like with the rub all over them...

Wrap the ribs up in aluminum foil and bake in a pan for 1.5 - 2.0 hours....

Meanwhile, let's start the sauce by chopping up the jalapeno or habenero, the garlic and the red onion...

Okay, start the balsamic sauce in the pan with the apple cider vinegar...

Add the ketchup, maple syrup, balsamic vinegar (and I used AGED BALSAMIC VINEGAR), (expensive but worth it), and the bourbon/whiskey.

This is the aged balsamic vinegar I use...it's $14 for this bottle and well worth it.

Aged balsamic vinegar can be found at like Hy-Vee and organic stores. Smaller stores like Fareway do not carry it which is ridiculous.

Aged balsamic vinegar is fantastic on salads with olive oil or mixed in with other vinaigrette ingredients.

Now add the onions, jalapeno and garlic...

Okay, everything's together here for the sauce...bring to a simmer for 1.5 - 2 hours.
This smells fantastic by the way.

And after 1 1/2 - 2 hours,

this is what the sweet, sweet sauce should look like.

It's tangy from from the apple cider vinegar and sweet from the onions, the star is the AGED BALSAMIC VINEGAR which brings the color and the depth.

Okay, so when the ribs are ready, take them out of the oven and remove the foil.

MMMMMM
mmmmmmm,

can't ya just smell them...that rub is fantastic!

Now scoop up that nice sweet, tangy sauce.

And cover the ribs...

Broil for a couple minutes until the sauce is caramelized.

So plate 'er up and start chowing down!

And that's it!
Super quick and easy!
Well, as quick as 2 hours in an oven goes by anyway.
Have plenty of napkins ready cuz you is-a-gonna-be licking your fingers, this is a nice sticky sauce that keeps you coming back for more. It's like, the madness must stop and you just have to put the ribs down and finish them for breakfast the next day :)

Here's the recipe....

Nadia G’s Balsamic Baby Back Ribs
From Bitchin Kitchen show on the Cooking Channel, Wednesday nights featuring Nadia G
Courtesy www.turnkeyqualitycars.com

Ingredients
    Rub:
    1/4 cup fresh flat- leaf parsley leaves, minced
    3 tablespoons brown sugar
    2 tablespoons maple flakes
    2 tablespoons smoked paprika
    2 tablespoons kosher salt
    1 tablespoon freshly cracked pepper
    1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
    3 cloves garlic, minced
    1 sprig fresh oregano, leaves minced

    Ribs:
    1 rack baby back ribs
    1 teaspoon canola oil

    Balsamic Barbecue Sauce:
    1 cup apple cider vinegar
    3/4 cup ketchup
    1/2 cup maple syrup
    1/2 cup aged balsamic vinegar, minimum 7 years old
    30ml whiskey (1 shot)
    1 habanero chile, minced
    1 clove garlic, minced
    1 red onion, minced

Directions
Cook's Note: Use latex gloves to chop the habanero or wash hands thoroughly with hot soapy water immediately after chopping.

For the rub: To a bowl, add the parsley, brown sugar, maple flakes, smoked paprika, salt, cracked pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic and oregano. Mix well.

For the ribs: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place the ribs down on foil, brush with canola oil and massage with the rub. Wrap the foil tightly around the ribs, place in a roasting pan and roast for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Unwrap the ribs and cover with the balsamic barbecue sauce. Broil, uncovered, at 500 degrees F until the sauce is bubbling and caramelized, about 5 minutes.

For the sauce: Heat a pot on medium. Add the apple cider vinegar, ketchup, maple syrup, aged balsamic vinegar, whiskey, habanero, garlic and red onions. Stir and bring to a simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Okay, that's all I have for today, kiddos.

Rainbow this past Sunday morning. Eventually this turned into a double rainbow.

THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE. THE THORN IN MY SIDE. THE FLY IN MY CHARDONNAY. THE SABOTOGER TO MY CLEAN EATING! THIS MUST STOP!!!! YEAH, AFTER FOOTBALL SEASON, THIS MUST STOP!!!!

Have a good Thursday evening!!
Talk at ya this weekend!!!
Stay warm!

My Attempt At Baking Double Cheddar Biscuit Sandwiches with Cajun-Spiced Ham And Why Doesn't MY Food EVER Turn Out Like The Picture In The Magazine???

9/29/2012

So I picked up this Better Homes and Garden

Holiday Recipes Magazine

the other day..

Inside the magazine was this picture and recipe for
Double Cheddar Biscuit Sandwiches.

Looks yummy, yes?

Lets take a closer look at THEIR picture of this biscuit in the magazine.

Now,
this was mine.

Now my biscuit looks NOTHING like THEIR picture and I made it exactly, exactly according to the instructions!!!

Theirs.

Mine.

Seriously, WTHeck????!!

And what are those red things in the biscuit in THEIR picture??
Cuz the recipe has nothing RED in the ingredients...
NOTHING!!!

And to top it off, MY biscuits came out thin and not thick like the picture.

I swear I followed the directions perfectly!!!

I
HATE
BAKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe I went into it with a bad attitude though.

But the Cajun-Spiced Ham I made from the same magazine rocked!!!!

Pure deeeeeliciousness is what this ham was.
Here's the recipe for the Cajun-spiced ham.

Here's the fixins for this super tasty Cajun-Spiced Ham.

Measure up the spices in a bowl here....
brown sugar,
garlic powder,
onion powder,
oregano, thyme,
paprika,
cayenne pepper,
salt, lemon peel,
black pepper.

Yup,

put that big ol'
5-7 lb. fully cooked ham
on a rack in a roasting pan.

And rub, rub, rub this delicious Cajun rub on all sides!

Cook for an hour and a half and remove from oven....LOOK!

YUM!!!

Slice this cajuny-spiced meat up.

Plate up that yummy ham between the Cheddar Biscuits of which I need therapy for and eat away!

Again, this is a delicious way to season up a fully cooked ham!!! Ima definitely use this ham recipe again.

Look at the biscuit recipe though; where is ANYTHING red in it...anything?

These biscuits, even though there were thin, were complimentary with this ham. On their own, not a ton of taste, but with this ham....fantastic!

So these are the fixins for the Cheddar Biscuits....

Shred up that yummy white cheddar cheese and yellow sharp cheddar cheese...

....like this!

Now mix up the dry ingredients...

Throw the cut up butter into the dry ingredients.

Cut in with a pastry cutter.

My pastry cutter is actually called
a

"blender."

I hate baking.

Mix the shredded cheese into the dry ingredients...

Add the buttermilk and
heavy cream....

So spread the dough out on a flour covered counter or surface.

And this is about the time this note came into play.

Yeah
Yeah
Yeah
Get out the rolling pin.

Yawn.

Roll the dough out on the counter.

The dough actually rolled easy,

I thought I was doing well.

Use your biscuit cutters and cut out biscuits.

Again, this was easy.

Spread them out on a prepared pan.

Add the thyme and spread some cream on the tops.

Bake 16-18 minutes until golden.
By the way, my biscuits never got golden either.

And this is what you get.

A saucer.

With some thyme on it.

You know, frankly, these biscuits were good,
not stunning, but good
and we did eat that DEEEELICIOUS AS ALL GET OUT HAM between the "biscuits" as sandwiches. I may have loaded mine up with mustard and drizzled with real maple syrup.

Let me tell you, it didn't matter that the biscuits weren't big and fluffy when I did that;
it was allll good!

Okay, sometime this week I'll share the drama-free wild rice recipe from the same magazine.

Fantastic and so easy to make!!!

Okay gotta go...
Heading to St. Louis shortly for a concert at this venue tonight...The Fox Theater.
Built in 1929 in all it's opulence,
this is a view from the stage.

A couple VIP tickets (tickets set aside for the promoter and band) came open to this sold out show two days ago and I lucked out and was the first to call in and see if any were available! A few had just opened up just moments before I called!
*insert Angie doing a happy dance*

Billboard.com

This is who we're seeing...
The Avett Brothers...
a rock bluegrass band out of North Carolina.

Our favorite band ever.
Besides AC/DC of course.

Bluegrasstoday.com

Soooo looking forward to seeing these guys perform live again!

Love it!!

This is off their new album The Carpenter...

This last video was taken at the Iowa City concert
in March.
This is a gospel "Just A Closer Walk With Thee."
...they'll usually do one gospel a show. It's awesome!

Okay guys, catch ya later...now I really have to go, running late!!
Again!
What's new!

Have a great Saturday!!
Go Hawks!

'Barbecued' Baby Back Ribs For Special Occasions Because They're So Awesomely Finger Lickin' Rich!

9/20/2012

SEE THESE
BABY BACK RIBS?
They were REALLY expensive to make!

The sauce is so deeeep and riiiich and smoooooth.

Barry White kind of smoooooth....

Actually I have a love/hate relationship with these ribs.

The sauce is so rich, so velvety good, you can't stop eating them, even though you hate yourself cuz you're eating them.

And eating them.

And eating them.

And eating them.

And eating them.

And eating them!
Aaaarrrgh!!!

It's almost like this recipe should only be used for special occasions,
it's that darn fantastic!

Okay, so let's recap the CONS.....

Cons
#1 Expensive to make - recipe feeds 4
$25 baby back ribs if not on sale
$3 celery, onions, carrots, garlic, apples
$1 cup of Worcestershire
$1 cup of soy sauce
$3 a whole cup of REAL Maple syrup
$2 can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
$10 bottle of red table wine, whole bottle!
$45 Total

#2 The sauce is so deep and rich and smooth, you overeat.
The sauce is so deep and rich and smooth, you overeat.

Okay, now here are the PROS:
#1 The sauce is deep and rich and smooth, Barry White smooth.
#2 The sauce is so velvety good, you can't stop eating.
#3 Sauce and meat is so special, perfect for special occasions.

Oh who am I kidding,
Ima not wait for a special occasion to make these again.
Unless a "special occasion" means it's Thursday.
Or Monday. Or Friday or Tuesday or Sunday....

Okay, here's the recipe...pictures follow :)
This recipe is from Chuck Hughes and his show
Chuck's Day Off on the Cooking Channel!

Direct link to Chuck's Day Off recipe:
Click HERE.

Barbecued Baby Back Ribs
From cookingchanneltv.com Chuck’s Day Off Show with Chuck Hughes…love this show, his dishes tend to be more flavorful than most, a tad gourmet and high end, and typically amazing

Ingredients
    2 stalks celery
    2 onions
    2 large carrots
    2 heads garlic
    3 apples
    3 tablespoons canola oil
    3 lbs. (2 racks) baby back pork ribs
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
    Flour, for dredging
    1 cup Worcestershire
    1 cup tomato ketchup
    1 cup soy sauce
    1 cup cider vinegar
    1 cup maple syrup
    1 (7 ounce) can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
    A few fresh thyme sprigs
    A few fresh rosemary sprigs
    1 (750 ml) bottle red table wine
    Water
    2 tablespoons potato starch
    Baby greens, for garnish

Directions

Cut the vegetables into nice thick chunks. Halve the garlic and quarter the apples. Don't worry about the skins, seeds, etc. All will be strained later.

Take the racks of ribs, and cut them in half, and season with salt, and pepper. In a large bowl, dredge the rib racks in flour on all sides. In a large wide pot, on high heat, add the oil, let it get hot, and sear the ribs, until brown on all sides. Don't tamper with them. Let their surface maintain a nice contact with the hot pan. It will take about 4 to 5 minutes, per side. Remove the meat, and drain the excess oil, leaving behind all of the solid meaty bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Add all the vegetables, apples, and a few sprigs each of herbs to the pot. Let them caramelize by leaving them to sit without tossing, for a few minutes, then toss to turn them, and let sit a bit longer. Return the ribs to the pot, and place them over the vegetables. In a large bowl, combine the Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, cider vinegar, soy, and maple syrup. Add the chipotle peppers with their adobo sauce, to taste. Stir. Add the liquids to the cooking pot. Add the wine, and add enough water, if needed, to ensure that the ribs are just barely covered. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover the pan with foil, and place in the oven until the ribs are barely fork tender - but not so tender they are falling off the bone, about 1 1/2 hours.

Remove the meat from the pot, and cut into rib sections, and set aside. Strain the solids out of the liquid. Return the liquid to the pan, and reduce by half (about 15 minutes), to make the barbecue glaze. When nearly done, remove a 1/2 cup of liquid and place it into a medium bowl, add the potato starch, and whisk till smooth. Whisk the mixture back into the pot. This will help thicken the glaze and give the shiny look and syrupy texture.

Toss the ribs back into the glaze to warm and coat them. Mound the ribs up on a platter, and garnish with a handful of baby greens or sprouts, and serve with Warm Potato Salad.

That's a lot of fixins for these 'Barbecued' Baby Back Ribs!

Schnikeys!

It's worth it though!!

Okay, there's a lot of steps here,
so let's get going....

Salt and pepper up these lovely goodies...

Dredge the ribs in flour...

And brown on one side...

And then the other side.

Chop up the apples, carrots, onions, celery and such...
these are just going to caramelize and be strained so it's okay to leave seeds in and skins on and such.

Throw the veggies in the pan....

And begin caramelizing..

So now in a separate bowl combine the Worcestershire sauce,
ketchup,
cider vinegar,
soy sauce
and maple syrup together.

Now add in those chipotle peppers in
adobo sauce.

So add the sauce into the caramelized veggies in the pan.

Bring to a boil.

Add a WHOLE GOSH DARN BOTTLE of red wine into the sauce and vegetables.

A WHOLE GOSH DARN BOTTLE!!!

.......I interrupt this super mesmerizing post to share...puleeeeeeze don't use a $5 bottle of wine!
Don't do it. You meal will taste like crap. I typically use Apothic Red which you can find anywhere from $8-11. Not bad! Any red will do as long as it's a
quality red. Okay, now back to enchanting you with my extremely winsome words and pictures.... *cough cough*

And this is everything melding together in the pan except....

...the pan kind of overflowed and I had to use a second pan too.

So when it came time to put the ribs on top of the veggies in the pan,

I had to recruit an even larger pan.

And I placed the ribs on top.

And poured just enough water in to cover the ribs.

So cover and throw everything into the oven for about 1.5 hours.

And this is the yummy goodness after removing from oven.

So take the meat out of the pan.

Now strain the vegetables out...

See the yummy liquid there that you're going to reduce.

Now add the drippings to the pan....and BE SURE TO SPILL ALL OVER THE FREAKING STOVE!!!

Unfortunately all these veggies will get thrown out. Weird.

Add a little bit of thickening agent into some liquid...in this case, potato starch is being used and whisk into the pan...

Okay, cut up the ribs...

Throw the cut up ribs back in the pan....

Ladle that yummy, rich, layered sauce over the ribs....

Looks a little ultra fantastic, yes??!!

Hey!!

Could someone clean my stove
please?

If you could only taste the
rich,
layered,
velvety sauce
on these ribs....Mmmmmm.

Here.

I'll plate ya some up.

Make sure you have napkins though,

because these are
super rich,
super textured,
super flavorful, and
super want to jump on that nice white blouse you're wearing.

Now this sauce is not sweet at all, that's why the name has 'barbeque' in parenthesis. I would say this is more like a wine reduction sauce. Truly fantastic.

All I can say at this point is

CAN SOMEONE GO GET ME MORE NAPKINS PLEASE??!!

Now, I took one for the team and made baby back ribs THREE TIMES in two weeks using
THREE DIFFERENT RECIPES

This recipe came in at.....

I will be sharing the other two recipes as well down the road. One was a sweet, oniony, finger-lickin' barbeque sauce and the other was just your standard, run of the mill homemade bbq sauce.

Okay that's all I got for today guys...gotta get on the paperwork now, selling lots of cars in quick spurts here.
Have a good Thursday!
Talk at ya soon!!!

Sausage Shepherd's Pie With Sweet Potatoes And Squash

4/22/2012

Sausage Shepherd's Pie
With Sweet Potatoes And Squash....YUM!
Do you see all that good stuff all up inside up there?
And those rich, creamy potatoes?

Here's a fork.

I haven't eaten off it yet.

Go ahead. Dig in!!!

Well, if you're not hungry yet, that's fine.
Let's go through the steps of making this wonderful Pie.
OH! By the way, Sherpherd's Pie and Cottage Pie are used interchangeably. However, technically Sherpherd's Pie is made with lamb and Cottage Pie is made with beef or back in the day, mutton.
HEY!
Remember the part in the movie Princess Bride where Billy Crystal plays Miracle Max and is trying to bring back Wesley and starts talking about an MLT, mutton, lettuce and tomato?

We're using pork so I'm not sure what that would be called. Barnyard Pie? Or Farmer's Pie? Pig Pie? Porky Pie?
I better quit while I'm behind :)

Anyhoo,
Here's the fixins for this really tasty, sweet AND savory, Shepherd's Pie.

Cut up your butternut squash, potatoes and sweet potatoes into 2 inch pieces.

Throw the potatoes in a pan and boil until tender.

Meanwhile, butter an 8 x 8 glass dish and then drain the potatoes when tender.

Throw the drained potatoes back in the pan and mash them up with a potato masher...

Okay,

get your Italian sausage started browning in the pan...

Okay.

Very important, people.
The next food picture will make you do the following...
Don't say I didn't warn you...

Okay. Here's the food picture now.
Second and final warning.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Oh be still my heart!!!
Real maple syrup with melted butter!!!
In the mashed squash, sweet potato and russet potato mixture!!!

I am not kidding you, this mixture with the butter and high quality maple syrup smells and tastes simply outstanding at this point. The "taste" part I know first hand. My suggestion is to use the biggest spoon you can find and just start slurping this lovely, buttery, silky concoction down..

Okay, moving on.

Remove the cooked Italian sausage from the pan and put into a bowl.

I actually didn't have enough of the Italian sausage (the recipe calls for 1.5 lbs. and I had 1 lb.), so I heated up some fully cooked Andouille sausage too to use in the dish as well.

Brown up the onions and garlic in a pan with olive oil.

If there's grease left from the sausage, use that for the onions.

Add the sausage back in, along with the corn, milk (cream), egg and hot sauce. Don't skim on the hot sauce.
Also, add the curry and coriander.

I added in the extra Andouille sausage.

I must admit that the sliced Andouille sausage brought a nice contraste flavor with the yummy Italian sausage.

Transfer the sausage mixture to the greased pan.

See that big spoon?That's the size to use to taste test out the potato mixture.

Start adding the potato mixture to the top...

No comments from the peanut gallery on the messy counter; the cats licked it up later. JUST KIDDING!.

Mmmmm,
once the potato mixture is on...put in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.

And 45 minutes later, here we have a super yummy Shepherd's Pie,

just made a little bit differently than the normal kind of Shepherd's Pie.

Plate yerself up a yummy serving of this totally fantastic Pie.

The saltiness and savory taste of the
sausage contrasts so well to the sweetness of those fabulous potatoes on top!

Do you see how silky and buttery those potatoes are?

I mean REALLY!!!

And that sweet Italian
sausage??!!

And sauteed onions and garlic and corn?

Such a fresh take on Ye Olde Shepherd's Pie!
Give it a try and let me know how it turns out!

Sausage Shepherd’s Pie with Sweet Potatoes and Squash
From www.epicurious.com
Bon Appetite Magazine / March 1998
Courtesy of www.turnkeyqualitycars.com

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds tan-skinned sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces (about 5 cups)
1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
1 medium russet potato, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
2 cups chopped onions1 tablespoon minced garlic
3/4cup frozen peas
3/4cup frozen corn ernels
1/3 cup whipping cream
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
6 drops hot pepper sauce

Directions
Cook sweet potatoes, squash and russet potato in large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain. Return all potatoes and squash to same saucepan and mash. Stir over medium heat until excess moisture evaporates, about 5 minutes. Add butter and syrup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mash mixture until smooth.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 8 x 8 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Cook sausage in large skillet over medium-high heat until sausage is brown and cooked through, breaking up with back of spoon, about 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to large bowl; reserve 1 tablespoon of drippings in skillet. Add onions and garlic to skillet and sauté over medium-high heat until
onions are tender and golden, about 7 minutes. Add onion mixture to sausage. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cool. Mix in peas, corn, cream, egg, curry powder, coriander and hot sauce.

Transfer sausage mixture to prepared baking dish. Spoon mashed potato mixture over; smooth top. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Bake until heated through and potatoes begin to brown around edges, about 45 minutes (or about 1 hour for casserole that has been refrigerated). Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Okay, we'll see ya next time!I've been a cookin' away.

Well, I've cooked like six days in a row, so that's same as cookin' for a lifetime, isn't it?!?!

Have a great
Sunday ya'll. Talk at ya soon!

A Delicious Sweet and Sour Pork, A Scary Motel, and Funky Denver Photos

Ham & Leek Empanadas, Abundant Sunshine, and Dishes That Just Will Not Clean Themselves

Empanadas have been around forever!

How come I've never had one before, then????
These babies are fantastic!!!

The filling can be
sweet
or
savory.

They're usually deep fried but can also baked.

This is a savory one with ham, leeks &
Gruyere cheese.
These were baked.
It's like a warm ham and cheese in a flaky croissant!!!!!

I admit, I only had two sheets of puff pastry so I threw all that ham mixture into 8 empanadas instead of 12. I am a rebel.

Dudes Love This Super Easy, Quick, Cheesy Skillet Gnocchi.....Also, Favorite Cookbooks....OH STOP SNORING...I CAN HEAR YOU!

I am committed this year to cooking out of those cookbooks there on the shelf...

Yup, that's right...I already have begun cooking a few dishes which I will be sharing over the next few months.

The kids stayed over because the weather had gotten freaky deaky blizzardy unexpectedly. I tried to take a picture that night of the awfulness but this was the best I could get...

Haste Makes Waste: Fried Pork Chop Vegetable Soup, A Cautionary Tale

Balsamic Baby Back Ribs ala Nadia G of Bi*chen Kitchen

My Attempt At Baking Double Cheddar Biscuit Sandwiches with Cajun-Spiced Ham And Why Doesn't MY Food EVER Turn Out Like The Picture In The Magazine???

'Barbecued' Baby Back Ribs For Special Occasions Because They're So Awesomely Finger Lickin' Rich!

Sausage Shepherd's Pie With Sweet Potatoes And Squash

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Empanadas have been around forever!

How come I've never had one before, then????These babies are fantastic!!!

The filling can be sweet or savory. They're usually deep fried but can also baked.This is a savory one with ham, leeks & Gruyere cheese.These were baked. It's like a warm ham and cheese in a flaky croissant!!!!!

I admit, I only had two sheets of puff pastry so I threw all that ham mixture into 8 empanadas instead of 12. I am a rebel.

I am committed this year to cooking out of those cookbooks there on the shelf...

Yup, that's right...I already have begun cooking a few dishes which I will be sharing over the next few months.

The kids stayed over because the weather had gotten freaky deaky blizzardy unexpectedly. I tried to take a picture that night of the awfulness but this was the best I could get...

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How come I've never had one before, then????
These babies are fantastic!!!

The filling can be
sweet
or
savory.

They're usually deep fried but can also baked.

This is a savory one with ham, leeks &
Gruyere cheese.
These were baked.
It's like a warm ham and cheese in a flaky croissant!!!!!