Beer-Eyed Blackeyed Peas

For the last couple of years, we have been lucky enough to have my sister's family here for Christmas and New Year's along with my parents.  My family is completely nuts, so the fun and good times just keep coming!  My brother in law, Jeff, is an great cook!  He will stand in the kitchen for hours over a big pot of gumbo, soup or in this case an awesome pot of fresh black eyed peas sure to bring in a prosperous and happy new year.    Give him a "beverage" and sports on the kitchen TV, and he's good to go!  I think most of us eat black eyed peas, not because we actually like them, I think we eat them because we are afraid not to.  In this case, we love them!  As you will find, it is all in his technique.

Here's my Amaaaazing Brother-In-Law Jeff's Black Eyed Pea Recipe.

I don't really follow recipes ...even when I write them... so this recipe from last year's batch is still just a "suggestive course of action". - Jeff

Black Eyed Peas


2 lbs dried black eyed peas
1 medium sized ham with bone
12 12 oz beers, on ice in cooler, placed near cooktop
3-4 medium onions
3-4 green bell peppers
1 bunch of celery
3 cloves of garlic
2 jalapenos
1 tspn chili powder
1/2 tspn cayenne pepper
1/2 tspn Tony Chachere's
1/4 tspn cumin


Directions:


Open 1 beer and drink half and set aside remaining beer.


Stock: Cut meat from ham and set aside. Place ham bone in large pot and cover with water. Add 1 onion, quarterd; 1 stalk celery cut into thirds, garlic and half of each spice. Bring water to boil until all remaining ham on the bone has fallen off, approximately 1-1 1/2 hours 2-3 beers.


Place black eyed peas in second large pot and add stock until roughly half inch above black eyed peas. Dice remaining onions and celery and bell peppers and jalapenos, add to pot and add remaining spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium keeping pot somewhere between a simmer and a rolling boil. Stir often until liquid reduces to level of black eyed peas, which should take approximately 30 minutes 1 beer. Slice ham that was cut from the bone into generous bite sized pieces and add to pot. Repeat the process of adding stock and reducing until black eyed peas are tender and stock thickens to liking. About half way through the cooking, add the half beer left over from the beginning. Overall, the process typically takes 3-4 hours 6-8 beers.


Control heat with additional cayenne or hot sauce of your choice. Serve in bowl over a large scoop of rice.


Open second 12 pack.

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Southern~Inspired Crawfish Fettuccini

Crawfish Fettuccine

Rich and delicious, crawfish in spicy cheese sauce in this Southern-inspired recipe!!

Crawfish Fettuccine 

The Chef In My Head 

Serves 4

1/2 C Butter

1 large clove garlic, minced

3 large shallots, sliced

4 green onions, chopped

1/4 pound sliced fresh button mushrooms

1/4 pound sliced fresh shitake mushrooms

3 T. flour

1/2 C dry white wine

3/4 C half-and-half cream

2 jalapenos, minced

1 C mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 (16 ounce) package cooked and peeled whole crawfish tails

1/2 tsp Creole seasoning (such as Tony Chachere's)

sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1/4 C Parmesan cheese, or to taste

1/2 (16 ounce) package fettuccine pasta

Melt butter in large pot over med-high heat.  Stir in the garlic, shallot, onion, jalapeno and mushrooms.  Saute until translucent.  Add flour and saute for a 1-2 minutes to cook off raw flour taste.  Deglaze pan with white wine.  Add half-and-half and mozzarella cheese, season with Creole seasoning, salt and pepper; reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes.  

Fill a large pot wit lightly-salted water and bring to a rolling boil.  Stir in the fettuccine and return to a boil.  Cook according to package directions.  Drain well.  Serve the crawfish over the hot pasta.

Enjoy!

Add a fresh salad and crusty French bread and you have a beautiful meal!

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Stuffed Grilled Jalapenos, aka Bullets

These are amazingly good!!  This is a recipe from my sweet friend Vernell.  You may remember her, I've swiped recipes from her before such as her Bacon Wrapped Apricots Stuffed with Almonds.  Then there is her sister Nina that I have swiped the world's greatest dip, my absolute favorite Radish & Jalapeno Dip.  These girls can party like rock stars and they are understandably great at party food! 

So here's the scoop on the prep for these fabulous appetizers.  I promise they will be a huge success for any event!  Which by the way, if you have any left over, although I can't imagine that, they would be out of this world diced up and added to scrambled eggs the next morning for breakfast.  Damn that sounds good!

The amounts are all estimates, just adjust to the number of folks you are serving.  This amount served about 12 to 15 people.  Make more than you think you will need!!  They are terrific!

Vernell's Rockin' Awesome Jalapeno Bullets


30 fresh jalapenos
2 pounds of breakfast sausage
2-8 oz. packages of cream cheese
2 pounds thin sliced bacon, cut in half


Cut off the stem end of the jalapenos and discard.  Slice whole jalapenos down the middle lengthwise.  Remove seeds and veins.  Good idea to use gloves for this part (Thank you Nancy!)
Take about 1 Tablespoon of cream cheese and wrap/mold about an ounce of sausage around the cream cheese.  This will help retain the cheese while grilling.
Place sausage/cheese filling into 1 half of jalapeno and cover with remaining half.  Gently press two halves back together to reform whole jalapeno.
Wrap 1 half of the slice of bacon around the reconstructed jalapeno and secure with wooden skewer.
Grill over low-med heat grill, or bake in oven at 350 degrees until bacon is crisp and sausage is cooked through.  This should be about 30-45 minutes. 


Best consumed with an ice cold brew!


Enjoy!

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Grilled Stuffed Jalapeno & Anaheim Chilis

Grilled Jalapenos and Anaheim Chilis

Last year a drought, and this year it won't seem to stop raining.  I'm not complaining.  I am happy to see green hillsides and fireworks without the stress.  Everything is growing out of control, including my tiny garden.  I planted jalapenos, Anaheims, Orange Bell Peppers, Poblanos, Serranos, Tomatillos and several varieties of Tomatoes, Tarragon, Cilantro, Parsley and Basil.  If you remember last year when the drought finally broke, I had Poblanos coming out of my ears so we had Augustine's Stuffed Poblanos with Perfect Rice.  And with more rain this year, my basil is going nuts.  I will probably be making a ton of Pesto and freezing it to have during the winter(you can only eat pesto so many times per week).

I have one small predicament, and maybe you know the answer.  My jalapenos are not very hot.  Actually, to my disappointment these weren't hot at all.  They do seem to gradually be getting hotter as the season progresses as I found in our Tortilla Soup we had for dinner last night. If you know the secret to hotter peppers, please share!!!

During Claire's visit to Texas, she suggested this recipe she found.  The flavor of the filling was wonderful even if the peppers were missing some heat.  I had a few Anaheims so we threw them into there too!  The parental units were here as well,  and this was our snack while waiting for my husband to get home from work.  Yes, we saved him some, but just barely.

I made this on my griddle in my cooktop inside since I forgot to get the propane tank refilled again.  I know, I know, propane in Texas???  I am not building a fire every time I want to grill something like an appetizer.  I guarantee if you had to stand in temperatures pushing 100+ degrees you wouldn't either.  Well maybe with a couple of margaritas on hand you might......sounds like a plan.

Grilled Stuffed Jalapeno & Anaheim Chilis, adapted from Bobby Flay

4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

2 oz. soft goat cheese
1 1/4 cups shredded white cheddar cheese
2 green onions (green and pale-green part), thinly sliced
Salt and black pepper
12 large jalapeño chilis, halved lengthwise, stemmed and seeded
1 heaping Tbsp ancho chili powder


1. Heat grill to medium.


2. Whisk together the cream cheese and goat cheese in a medium bowl until smooth. Fold in the cheddar and green onions; season with salt and pepper. Fill each jalapeño half with about 2 Tbsp of the mixture; sprinkle the top with ancho powder.


3. Place chilis on the grill, filling-side-up, and cook until slightly charred and tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Spoon the Grilled Red Pepper–Tomato Sauce (recipe below) onto a platter and top with the jalapeños.

I didn't know about the sauce recipe at the time, but this sounds really good!  I love sauces and these peppers would be beautiful served on top of a puddle of this!

Grilled Red Pepper–Tomato Sauce


1 large red pepper, grilled, peeled, and chopped
4 plum tomatoes, grilled and charred on all sides, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp red-wine vinegar
1 Tbsp honey
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper


Combine the red pepper, tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, honey, and cilantro in a food processor; process until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add oil and season with salt and pepper.

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JALAPENO SKILLET CORNBREAD

Several years ago, my mom, my sister and I were fortunate to attend a cooking class in Houston featuring a wonderful & gifted chef, Chef Jaime Shannon of Commander's Palace in New Orleans. Sadly, shortly after the class, the culinary world lost this amazing young chef due to illness. For months, before Christmas that year, our parents worked diligently to season two beautiful cast iron skillets, one for each my sister and I. They were ready to bake this cornbread as soon as we received them. Needless to say, this cornbread left quite an impression on us! This is not your grandma’s cornbread. What makes this one so much lighter than most is that we make it like a souffle. We lightly fold in the ingredients instead of stirring them in. We whip the egg whites to a peak so that we fold in lots of air. Then we fold in the sour cream, too. We bake it in a cast-iron skillet and when it comes out steaming and golden brown on top. Mmmmmmm good. 2¼ cups yellow cornmeal 1½ cups all-purpose flour 1¼ teaspoons kosher salt 1 tablespoon baking powder ⅔ cup sugar 3 medium eggs, separated 2½ cups buttermilk ¾ cup sour cream 4 jalapeno peppers, cores, membranes and seeds removed, in small dice 1 red bell pepper, diced 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, in small dice PREHEAT THE SKILLET SEASONED WITH LOVE BY MOM IN A 400 DEGREE OVEN. SIFT the cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl. In another bowl, mix together yolks, buttermilk and sour cream. Form a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the egg mixture and the diced peppers; stir without over mixing. Whip the egg whites to a stiff peak, and then fold them and the butter pieces in to the mixture. POUR the mixture into the skillet, and place the skillet in the preheated oven. Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

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Stuffed Deep Fried Avocados with Tomatillo Sauce

While flipping through my latest issue of Food Network Magazine, I noticed a Secret Ingredient Contest in the back of the magazine with Chiles starring as the main event. Chiles?? Well I can do that right, I am a Texan afterall! Wish me luck, here is the recipe I created and submitted for the contest!!

Rice/Chile Stuffing: 1 C Rice 1 garlic clove-whole, peeled ¼ C onion-finely diced 1 Tbl Spanish Rice Seasoning 2 C Chicken Stock, unsalted 3 Tbl Cilantro-roughly chopped ½ C Monterrey Jack Cheese, shredded 2 Hatch Chiles-Roasted, peeled and diced Juice of 1 small lime In medium sauce pan over medium-high heat, combine rice, garlic clove, onion and seasoning. Dry saute until rice is lightly toasted. Add chicken stock, bring to boil then cover and reduce to simmer for approximately 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, fluff and allow to cool at room temperature. Once cooled, toss together with cheese, chiles, lime juice, and cilantro. Taste for seasoning and set aside. Salsa: 6 Tomatillos-quartered 2 medium onions-quartered 3 garlic cloves 2 whole jalapenos (red if you can find them for color) remove stem 3 Tbl Olive oil + 1 Tbl Salt & Pepper Juice of 1 Lime ½ C Cilantro 3 Hatch Chiles- roasted, peeled and rough chopped Preheat oven 400 degrees. Toss all ingredients and spread on baking sheet. Roast approximately 20 minutes or until edges are roasted. Transfer contents of baking sheet to food processor. To the processor, add the lime juice, cilantro and Hatch Chiles. Pulse until combined to rough chop. Preheat remaining olive oil in saute pan over medium-high heat. Saute Tomatillo mixture for approximately 15 minutes, stirring frequently until all flavors meld together. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm. Avocados: 4 Ripe Avocados-peeled, cut in half and seeds removed 4 egg whites in medium bowl 3 egg yolks in small bowl 1 C flour 1 Tbl Ancho chile powder Salt & Pepper ¼ C Pepitas-toasted and ground roughly, additional ¼ C toasted & left whole 48 ounces Canola Oil Preheat oil in to 350 degrees. Combine flour, chile powder, salt, pepper and ground pepitas, in small baking dish, set aside. In medium size mixing bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Break up yolks and fold into egg whites by hand, do not over mix. After removing seed from avocados, scoop out a little more of the flesh to make room for more of the rice stuffing. Fill each half of the avocado with the rice mixture. Press halves back together to reform avocado. Roll each filled avocado in flour mixture. Dip in egg white mixture to coat and fry in hot oil until golden brown. Drain. To serve, Make puddle of tomatillo sauce in center of plate. Place fried avocado on top. Spoon additional sauce over top.

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Claire's Hot Spinach Artichoke and Jalapeno Dip - 15th Annual Christmas Party 2009 Menu

Thank Goodness for my amaaazing sister Claire!!  No, seriously. She flew down here and arrived the same day we got back in town to help me.  This year, the plan was to try to cut back some after Thanksgiving, all the traveling, wedding, Christmas lighting, etc.  It really didn't work out that way, but we had a blast, probably one of the best ever.  I think all but a very few attended, over 80 people in the house that evening.  Usually, I have my menu planned by the end of October.  Not so this year.  We got back from Hawaii on Wednesday (in a jet lag coma), planned menu and shopped on Thursday, cooked all day Friday and most of Saturday, for the party Saturday night.  Mom was an angel and did her "usual".  Beautiful sweets and treats that after this many years people head for that table looking for their favorites.  I will get her recipes for a later blog.  Delicious!

Here was the appetizer menu:

Claire's Hot Artichoke and Jalapeno Dip, served with crackers
Fabulous, the only dip like this I have ever had that wasn't swimming in oil
Vernell's Apricots stuffed with Almonds and wrapped in Bacon, served with Plum/Cherry Sauce
I never seem to make enough of these, they disappear fast!
Mushroom stuffed Phyllo Cups
My favorite, mushrooms should be their own food group
Mom's Olive, Pecan and Jalapeno Cheese Ball, served with crackers
Sounds like a strange combination, but out of this world!
Risotto Balls with Mushrooms, Pancetta and Parmesan with Marinara Sauce
Lotta work in a large quantity but scrumptious
Meatballs with Cranberry Chili Sauce
So easy, it almost makes up for the Risotto Balls
Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella
Many requests for this recipe, super easy

Parmesan Twist

These vanished quickly and were lots of fun to make

Chicken and Jalapeno Sausage Gumbo with Okra, served over rice

15 year long tradition and always a hit

Candied Jalapenos over cream cheese, served with crackers

My one and only make ahead item, disappeared before my eyes

Keg of Shiner Bock, Red Wine, White Wine and Coffee

So I don't overwhelm everyone, I'll give you these recipes is separate posts.  I hope you all are enjoying a wonderful and fun filled holiday season.

Claire's Hot Artichoke and Jalapeno Dip, served with crackers

4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 Cup mayonnaise
2 (4.5 ounce) cans chopped green chiles, drained (I use equivalent amount of Hatch chiles if I have them on hand)
2 Cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 (12 ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained very well and chopped
1/2 Cup jarred chopped jalepano peppers, drained
2 (10 ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained very well (I use my potato ricer to squeeze the moisture out)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together the cream cheese and mayonnaise in a bowl until smooth.  Stir in the green chiles, Parmesan cheese, artichokes peppers, jalapenos, and spinach.  Spoon the mixture into a baking dish.
bake uncovered until slightly browned, about 30 minutes.  Recipe can easily be halved, but why?

Merry Christmas - LeslieMichele

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