Easter Bliss!

Easter is this weekend and strawberries are here! Now, I am not a baker, but I wanted to come up with something for my family other than the traditional leg of lamb. In fact, we are not having leg of lamb this Easter. We are having a great group of friends over and doing paella on the patio! Not exactly traditional, but tons of fun!!! As the perfect ending to such a great meal, and to make the most out of the strawberries, I have scoured my cookbooks to find the perfect dessert. And here it is!

CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

Take 2 pints of freshly cleaned and sliced strawberries and stir in 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of kirsch. If you can't get kirsch, use brandy or cherry schnapps. Cover and chill for 2 hours.

Heat your oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Sift into a large bowl 2 cups of all purpose flour with 2 tspns of baking powder and a pinch of salt. Ad 3 tablespoons of sugar. Mix well. Add 1 stick of unsalted butter and work it into the dry mixture with your hands until it looks like coarse crumbs. Wash your hands first. No butt scratchin' when you are doing this. Add 3/4 cup of chocolate milk and gently mix it all up. The dough will be sticky.

Dust your work surface with 1 tablespoon of flour. Turn the dough onto the floured surface. If you have kids or grandkids get them to help you. It is so much fun! Gently fol each edge to the center. Pick it up and add another tablespoon of flour to the surface. Return the dough to the surface and fold it again. Turn the dough over and lightly press it to a 3/4 inch thickness. Cut out 8 shortcakes using a 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter.

Place them on the prepped baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Let them cool on a wire rack.

To serve slice the shortcakes in half, like a biscuit. Put a scoop of French Vanilla ice cream in the bottom half and cover with the top of the shortcake. Spoon the strawberries over the top and cover with powdered sugar or whipped cream.

Peter Cottontail will be so proud!

My Oh My...Chicken Pot Pie!

Needing some comfort food tonight. I am so exhausted after this past weekend. HAPPY, but exhausted! Came home to find my husband and an empty fridge. He had eaten the last frozen casserole and Hot Pocket. I could see that he needed some comfort food, and a good smelling kitchen asap. Dug around and came up with some yummy stuff for a chicken pot pie! Fast, easy, and delicious!

CHICKEN POT PIE

Cut up 2-3 boneless chicken breasts. Sautee them in about 3/4 stick of butter. Add some chopped onion, some roasted garlic, some chopped carrots. Sautee for about 10 minutes. Add some frozen veggies. I added a Tuscan mix of green beans, corn, broccoli, red bell pepper, and mushrooms. Sautee 2-3 more minutes. Sprinkle with about 1//3 cup of flour. Add some cream, or milk, or half and half. Whatever ya got. A splash of white wine is good, too. Stir until it makes a white gravy and add salt, pepper, and some thyme.

Put a store bought pie crust into a deep dish pie plate. Pour in the chicken mixture. Put a pie crust lid on it. Vent the top and place on a cookie sheet in a 350 oven for 40 minutes or so.

Fast easy and guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser. Or, just a husband pleaser. Mine is grinnin' like a mule eatin' sawbriars right now. Or maybe he's grinnin' because he missed me. ;)

Pig Candy

I'm heading out to Jackson tomorrow for the 28th Annual Million Queen March! Jill has some crazy stuff planned, and I have to keep reminding myself that I do it all for the children. Last year I wrestled in Jello wearing a puppy costume. Don't ask. Anyway, I get to see my darling grandchildren, and my daughter is going to Jackson with me! I guess she thinks I need a chaperone........

So, in honor of George, and the Sweet Potato Queens, I am going to post the recipe for Pig Candy. We will be having it served to us by the butt load on Sunday morning! This is like crack. I'm warning ya.

PIG CANDY

Lay out some foil on a cookie sheet. This is because you don't want to end up scrubbing the damn thing for a week. Place wire racks on top of it. Lay strips of bacon on the racks. Cover completely with brown sugar. Sprinkle pecans on top. If you are daring add a pinch of cayenne to it. Bake at 375 until crispy. And don't blame me if you eat the whole damn thing yourself and have to make another batch.

Blame Jill.

Pork. It is SO not chicken!

Just had to share this because I am quite proud of myself. Tonight we are having an amazing dinner that we will get 2-3 more meals out of for $10 plus 3 onions, a $2 bag of baby carrots and a $2 sack of potatoes. A pork shoulder roast! Easy, delicious and so affordable! Here's what I did......

Heat 1 1/2 inches of oil in a dutch oven. Dredge your 5 lb. roast in flour, kosher salt, and coarse ground pepper. Reserve the dredge. Brown your roast for 4-5 minutes on all four sides, until it is golden brown. Remove and set aside. Now toss in 3 sliced onions. Stir until caramelized. Damn, your house should be smelling so good right now! My dog was crying. Now toss in the reserved dredge. About 1/2 cup. Coat the onions good and pour in about 32 oz. of chicken stock. Water, if you are out of stock. Wait until it thickens. Put your roast back in the gravy and put it in a 350 degree oven for about 3 hours.

Make mashed potatoes. Open a jar of sauerkraut if you like it. Heat it up to accompany the roast. Blanch the baby carrots in boiling water for 2 minutes. Plunge into ice water. Now melt some butter and add some orange juice to a skillet. Add the blanched carrots, some minced parsley and add salt and pepper.
Reduce.

Ya gotta love it.

Wham! Bam! Thank you, Clam!

This is one of my favorite appetizers. Hell, they are so good I can eat them as my entree! Perfect for a party on the patio. Anytime there is shellfish involved, I am a happy girl! This would be perfect for a shrimp or crawfish boil. Just add some friends and wine!

Clam and Corn Fritters

1/2 cup fresh shucked clams (You can either buy them fresh shucked, or steam them in the shells, or buy canned. Fresh shucked is the best for me. Besides, just saying "fresh shucked" makes me laugh out loud!)
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels
1 red bell pepper diced
1 yellow bell pepper diced
1 poblano pepper diced
1 cup of diced green onions
6 egg whites
2 qts. peanut oil

Chop up your clams. Combine the flour and the baking powder, salt and black pepper in a bowl.Stir in the corn and the peppers. Fold in your clams. Now, whisk up your egg whites in another bowl until they are stiff...(hehehe) and fold into the clam mixture.
Pour oil in pan until it is 2"deep. Heat to 360. Drop by tablespoons into the hot oil. Fry 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Serve! This recipe makes about 3 dozen, so you may want to double it, they are so good!

Loozyanner Chicken

I need a good chicken fix. Of course, a little Loozyanner influence would make it delicious. So, this morning, I put on a bit of Big Al Carson on the stereo, and got my mind to working. Smell the rubber? Only kidding! Here is what I came up with........

Loozyanner Chicken

Grill some chicken seasoned with salt and pepper, and set aside. About 6 breasts will do, or if you like dark meat, add some thighs.

First of all make a Cajun Cream Sauce. To do this throw 2 cups of heavy cream into a double boiler. Add some Tony's or Slap Yer Mama seasoning. Hell, I guess about a tablespoon. Throw in 2 tbspns of Worcestershire sauce and 2 tbspns of Tabasco. Add a dash of paprika for color if it isn't red enough. Keep whisking until it reduces by a third. Done.

Sautee 1/2 lb. of diced andouille sausage in 2 tbspns of butter. add 3 cloves of chopped garlic and about 2 cups of sliced mushrooms. Cook until tender. The mushrooms will start to stick to the pan. Deglaze with about a 1/2 cup of white wine. Let it reduce. Of course, in my true tradition, pour yourself a glass and crank up the stereo. Add about 3 chopped green onions and your cream sauce to the pan. Stir and when heated add about 1/2 cup of Parmigian-Reggiano cheese.
Spoon over the grilled chicken. Top with more cheese.

Now, call your friends and in your best Justin Wilson accent tell them to get their asses over for dinner. They will need to bring wine , of course. A nice Pinot Gris would be perfect.

Curry up and make this tonight!

I am so into curries lately! I wanted something fast and delicious, so this is what I can up with.....Now, don't cook a curry all of the time or your house will stink. But occasionally, it smells like heaven!

Lemon Curry Flounder, Redfish, Cod, Halibut.........you get the picture!
Melt about a stick of butter in a hot skillet set on medium heat. Season your fish du jour with salt and pepper. As soon as the butter turns golden, add the fish to the pan. Sautee until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Turn the fish over with a fish spatula and cook for 1 more minute. Transfer to a plate and keep it warm. To the sautee pan add 3/4 tspn. of curry powder, 3 tablespoons of capers rinsed and drained, 3 tablespoons of fresh parsley chopped, 1 tspn. of chopped garlic, and the juice of one freshly squeezed lemon. Sautee for 1 minute and spoon the sauce over the fish and serve.

This is so easy that if you can't do this, don't admit it. Seriously. Serve it with a fresh vegetable or some crispy cauliflower.

Crispy Cauliflower
1/2 head of cauliflower broken up into florets
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup of all purpose flour
1 egg lightly beaten
Veggie oil for frying
sea salt
cayenne

Blanch the cauliflower for 2 minutes and then plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain, and set aside. In a bowl stir up the cheese and Panko. Dredge cauliflower in the flour, then the beaten egg, and then the cheese Panko mixture. Fry in 2 inches of hot oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with sea salt and cayenne. Holy crap, this is good.