WOOF!
This month, Rice, Garlic, and memories of Winter.
(If you would like to be on or off of this monthly cooking thread, please send a private masseage.)
-JT
The recipe sounds delicious.
That’s a lovely painting - I didn’t look closely & thought it was a photo!
With your recipe above, it seems that all you need are some hollowed out Bell peppers to make stuffed peppers.
Last I looked though, green peppers in my grocery store were marked $1.99 each. [Ouch!] >;D
Thank You. I will try your recipe.
WOOF!
Bonus: Cup of lard from boiling the ham. I cooled it and skimmed the pure white lard. Used it for eggs this morning. Works great.
Love this thread! Thank you!!!
Time for huge lashings of chili and beef barley veg soup.
Gorgeous painting! Thanks for sharing that artist.
I love Spanish Rice. Thanks for the reminder to make it. I’m going to dig out my recipe and see how much it differs. ;)
I was 16 years old in 1976. We had a horrific ice storm that winter and were without power for nearly a week. This was in the Madison, WI area.
Mom was freaking out about all the meat in the freezer going to waste, so dad dug off and chipped away at a portion of the patio, and we had something on the grill every night for a week.
There was so much ice, and so THICK, that we had to crawl on hands and knees, or slide on out butts down the driveway to get across the street! School was canceled, which was fine with me, but the worst part about it all?
A teenage girl with no telephone, LOL!
“The Great Ice Storm of March 1976 knocked television stations off the air, caused Madison’s reservoirs to dry up and left more than 600,000 Wisconsin residents without power for days. It started as rain on Monday, March 1, and kept up all week. Temperatures near freezing were too cold to melt the ice.”
“In the end, 21 Wisconsin counties were declared Federal Disaster Areas. Newspapers from the time say estimates of the damage were more than $8 million dollars, which is more than $34 million in today’s money.”
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/wisconsin/massive-blizzard-1976-wi/
Tonight I just used up my last package of frozen clams to make clam chowder. They smelled and tasted just as fresh as when I vacuum packed and froze them 20 months ago.
Clam tide coming up this weekend. I am also following the earthquake thread, so if those guys could hold off any big stuff till I get off the beds.
Or you can skip the cheese and the baking, add a can of drained and rinsed black beans or black eyed peas, a little chopped tomato cooked with the onions and pepper, some oregano and marjoram. A bit quicker and lighter, still cheap and good. And easy.
Thank you.
I think I’ll try this recipe out soon.
We’re expecting -4 this weekend...time for a pot of Red Beans and Rice. I think using chicken stock instead of water adds a little more flavor, but it’s good without it!
Red Beans and Rice
1 pound (450g) red kidney beans
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon (15ml) vegetable oil or lard
1 pound (about 450g) andouille sausage, cut into 1/2-inch disks and cooked
1 large onion, finely chopped (about 12 ounces; 340g)
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped (about 8 ounces; 225g)
4 ribs celery, finely chopped (about 8 ounces; 225g)
2 medium cloves garlic, minced (add more??)
1/2 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon (3 to 15g) ground cayenne pepper (depending on how hot you like it)
1 teaspoon (about 4g) ground sage
Freshly ground black pepper
1 smoked ham hock (optional: I don’t use it)
8 ounces (225g) pickled pork shoulder or rind (optional: I don’t use it)
4 sprigs fresh thyme
3 bay leaves
Cooked white rice, for serving
For the table:
Hot sauce, such as Crystal or Frank’s
Cider vinegar, to taste
Directions
1. The night before, place beans in a large bowl and cover with 6 cups (1.5L) cold water. Add 2 tablespoons (30g) kosher salt and stir until dissolved. Set aside at room temperature for 8 to 16 hours. Drain and rinse.
2. In a large Dutch oven, heat oil or lard over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add andouille and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add onion, bell pepper, and celery. Season with salt and cook, stirring, until vegetables have softened and are just starting to brown around the edges, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add cayenne pepper, sage, and a generous 10 to 12 grinds of fresh black pepper. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add beans, along with enough water to cover by about 2 inches (roughly 6 to 8 cups), ham hock (if using), pickled pork (if using), thyme, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and reduce to a bare simmer. Cover and cook until beans are completely tender, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. (Older beans can take longer.)
3. Remove lid and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has thickened and turned creamy, about 20 minutes.
If the pot starts to look dry before the stew turns creamy, add a cup of water and continue simmering. Repeat as necessary until desired level of creaminess is achieved. (I always take about 1/4 of the pot’s contents, move it to a small flat-bottomed bowl, and use an immersion blender to cream part of the mixture, then add it back to the pot. It doesn’t dilute the flavors like adding water does, as suggested above.)
Discard bay leaves and thyme stems. At the table, season to taste with hot sauce, a few teaspoons of cider vinegar (if using), and (perhaps) more salt and pepper. For best texture, let cool and refrigerate overnight.
Reheat the next day, adding a little water to loosen to desired consistency.
ING 7-4 oz cans whole green chiles, drained 3/4 lb Jack cheese, in strips
cup shredded Cheddar 5 lge eggs 1-1/4 c milk 1/4 c flour 1/4 tsp salt/pepper 1/8 tsp hot sauce
Directions Split chiles lengthwise; rinse/deseed. Drain on paper towels; pat dry. Stuff with cheese strips.
Layer in greased 11x7" baking dish; half stuffed chiles, 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar. Repeat layers.
Pour Batter over. Bake, uncovered, 350 deg 40-45 min (knife in center comes clean). Set 10 min. Serve.
BATTER beat eggs, milk, flour, s/p, hot sauce smooth.
I ate this for lunch. The red sauce was Hunts from a can with some fresh cooked shrimp and mushrooms I added. I rather have inferior pizza served red hot at home than lukewarm pizza at a good restaurant. One short cut for a single huge and loaded slice is to buy the cheapest frozen pizza at Aldis. Goes for a bit over two dollars. Cut in half. Put one half in large fry pan, cover on, lowest flame and it is ready in 30-35 minutes. Stick two old spoons under the pizza so it does not burn. Do this about 10 minutes in.
Meanwhile take the other half and scrape off all the toppings. Put them on top of the half that is “frying” about 20 minutes in. I always sprinkle bit of cayenne and salt on while it is “frying”.
Eaten red hot of course. This way the underside gets nice browned and crisp. No oven needed.
Just watched the Chef Jean Pierre vid. I’ve been using my food processer and freezing garlic for years. I put in a freezer bag, flatten it as much as I can and freeze it flat that way I can easily break off as much as I want.
For some reason, since the pandemic, I’ve been craving garlic bread.
When I was in college I dated a neighbor who introduced me to a garlic press and we did a lot of cooking together. He and I ate a lot of garlic.
Well my Grandparents who LOVED garlic smelled a bit funny. I assumed as a kid that was because they were old, until I realized my boyfriend and I started to smell just like them! We cut back on the garlic.