Baked Potato Meal

The baked potato morphed from a side item to the main meal after my brother left for college...and I think it's because my mother didn't really have to cook a full meal when Webster wasn't around (you know the son is always the favorite).

Anyway...my mother would set up a station on the counter (okay it was really the washer and dryer that we used as a counter) with the usual suspects: butter, sour cream, cheese, green onions and bacon. That's all you really need, but there were always other options...anything from the icebox and spice cabinet were fair game...olives, chili, hot sauce or A1...a favorite of mine!

With the counter full of fixin's my mother would announce it was time to dress our potatoes with caution in her voice meaning...You better hurry before your father gets his plate, you know it will take him an hour to fix his. I didn't listen to Mama, I got behind daddy and he made me watch as he explained every step in detail. People think we're crazy...you just put the stuff on the potato...what's the big deal? Well it is a big deal...you have to make sure that every single bite is delicious and has something good on it! Dressing a potato like this will change the way you eat a baked potatoes from here on out. I promise.

Daddy's Fully Loaded Baked Potato

1. Clean potato and rub with vegetable oil and salt (Kosher). 
2. Bake at 350ºF for at least an hour.
3. Cut your potato in half and let the steam rise. 
4. Take a knife and score the potato on the diagonal then cross it the other way. This is an important step...doing this will ensure that each bite has something good on it! Season with salt and pepper. 
5. Add a few pats of butter and keep cutting the potato with knife until melted. you actually don't need much...I should skip this step...but I don't!  
6. 2 or 3 dollops of sour cream to make it creamy. 
7. Shredded cheddar cheese is next, Daddy says, you put the cheese on top of the sour cream so that the cheese doesn't stick to the potato. 
8. Crumble bacon
9. Sprinkle green onions on top. 

And that is the way to make your side potato the full meal deal. If you can get to step 5...you can create your own masterpiece from there...it's all about the layering.

Thanks Pop, still enjoying it like this...25+ years later!

No Guts, No Glory!

I'm making guts! My friend Sara calls the stuffing in a stuffed bell pepper GUTS and now I'm hooked on the name. Is it a Southern thing? Stuffed Bell Peppers?

I seriously haven't had a stuffed bell pepper since my brother was regularly sitting at the dining room table. I'm guessing 1984ish. Anyway...I can't reach my mother to get "the family recipe", so I am winging it and not really trying to get that version now...mainly because Mama would kill me if I called it GUTS, so I might as well make something different or I will hear about it for sure! And until I get the Lott recipe there is no point in me trying to recreate it...because that recipe is the best. You know how you taste something once and love it, then any other doesn't taste as good even if it really is better. That's how this is. Mama makes the best Stuffed Bell Peppers hands down and no one will convince me otherwise. 

Another phone call to Mama but still no answer...it is cocktail hour, probably on the porch with the paper by now. I'm on my own. Scary! Now, mouth watering I think of what Mama's pepper holds. I'm guessing the basics are hamburger meat, onion, bell pepper and rice with a tomato base of either paste or sauce. Hmm, gotta make it different so I'm not too disappointed it's not the real deal.

My attempt at something called Guts:
Sauté onions (very obvious rich is not touching this) and bell pepper in olive oil. I had half of a squash and zucchini so I threw that in there too. The plan was hamburger meat except I had left over ground sausage from weekend brunch. Now it's definitely different. The guts are all in the pan sautéing but all looks a little dry. Um...no tomato paste or sauce (which is rare). I do have cherry tomatoes, but they don't have enough juice..hmm. AHA! ZingZang! Decided...cherry tomatoes and ZingZang equals a damn fine tomato paste/sauce, right?

I cook my cored bell peppers in the oven for about 15 minutes at 350º to get them started. When sauteing is done, I stuff it and top with cheese and cross my fingers. Hello! It's actually good! A total gamble paid off. It is nothing like the original but it's quite tasty. Am sorta glad I didn't have Mama's recipe holding me down. Proves I can do a few things on my own.

NO GUTS, NO GLORY.

I'm still going to get Mama's recipe and then maybe I'll remember to take a photo!

Brats and Rice

Bratwurst and rice with onion

I wasn't really prepared for the snow last week and didn't make it to the store...scouring the freezer and pantry were my only options. Rich's Aunt Patti sent us a whole box full of meat from the New Braunfels Smokehouse in Texas. We only had one item left...Bratwurst! I thawed it then started to create a very strange combination of flavors that turned out to be pretty tasty.

I wasn't sure how German meat and Spanish rice would go together, but I pulled melded the two flavors by adding a sweet note...the Woodchuck Cider. To balance the sweet...mustard and red pepper for some heat and tang. The dish came together and created a great one pot meal.





Brats and Rice
4 New Braunfels Smokehouse Brats
1 bottle Woodchuck Winter Cider
1 8oz. package Vigo yellow rice
1 medium yellow onion, peeled...keep whole
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

Heat oil and pepper flakes on medium in a heavy pot that has a lid. Roll onion in oil and season with salt and pepper. Cut the brats into 4 or 5 pieces and add to oil. Cook brats and onion until there is a good crust on the brats. Add cider, 1 cup of water, mustard and package of rice. Bring all to a boil, cover dish, turn heat to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes. It was that easy.

Onion Note: I have to keep the onion whole because Rich can't stand onions. For others who decide to make this I would suggest sauteing the onion in the oil before adding the brats.

Magnolia Day Cheese Soup

I have never had soup this good! After at least 3 months of not seeing the Southern crew who are referred to as The Magnolias, I sat in Patty's gorgeous living room and was served a luscious, velvety, not too creamy, perfectly seasoned cheese soup...in a McCarty bowl of course. This soup paired with best friends and you can never go wrong.

Magnolia Day Cheese Soup

Magnolia Day Cheese Soup
a.k.a. Dabney's Townhouse Cheese Soup Patty made this soup, but the recipe came from Dabney (who happens to be one of my Godmothers)

4 small carrots, cut in 1" matchsticks
3 stalks celery, cut in 1" matchsticks (note: I just put carrots and celery in processor and chop fine)
4 1/2 cups chicken stock, divided
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup flour
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
(1) 8 1/4 oz. can diced tomatoes,
    undrained and chopped
10 drops hot pepper sauce (optional)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
salt to taste
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups whipping cream, heated

You have to use a few pans, 3 to be exact, but it's worth it. Heat 3 cups of chicken stock on low in pan number one. Cut carrots and celery to desired small pieces (either matchsticks or in food processor). In saucepan number two bring 1-1/2 cups chicken stock, carrots and celery to a boil and simmer until vegetables are tender...about 15 min. Set aside. In saucepan number 3 (the bigger saucepan...5 quart), melt butter over medium heat and saute onions until transparent. Add flour and combine well. Slowly stir the 3 cups hot stock into flour mixture. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly until thickened. NOTE: Use the hot chicken stock saucepan for the heated whipping cream..that's one less pot for cleanup!) Blend in cheese, stirring until melted. Add tomatoes and undrained carrots and celery and season with pepper sauce, salt, nutmeg and wine. Just before serving, stir in heated cream.

This serves 4 to 6 people. Patty doubled the recipe for our get together...you'll want leftovers of this!

A Brief Rundown on The Magnolia's: Di, Patty, Edna (my mother) and Christine.
Long before the Ya-Ya's and Steel Magnolia, there was a group of four eclectic Southern women who came together as friends...friends with daughters (there are sons too, but let's be honest, mothers and daughters have a certain...kinship). These women have been in my life since I was born...telling me what to do, what not to do and what I can get away with (Thank you, Di!). Each one have had a role in rearing me to be the woman I am today. At least one if not all of them have been there through heartache, love, wedding and child birth. I am a better person because of these women. I raise a glass now to my best friends Di, Patty, Mama and Christine. Thank you for always being there.

My Mama's Football Chili

Mama's Football Chili.

Football is quite the "sport" in the South.

"Sport" usually signifies the actual act of a group joining together to form a team. It's different in the South. Yes, football is indeed a sport, but IN the South when you say Football the words sport and team change. When you are a fan...you are part of that sport/team, and being part of that means you have to cheer, wear the colors, do the dance, put on the lucky socks, don't wash the underwear (not allowed in my house!!) and above all BLEED your colors. If your from the South, know someone from the South or are a Yankee and THINK you know about the South...you understand that an allegiance to an SEC team is imperative.

My SEC story is twisted, and believe me, most aren't! I grew up in a divided household...my mother went to Ole Miss, my father went to Mississippi State. I was reared to be a Rebel, my older brother to be a Dawg. TWIST. My brother went to Ole Miss and I went to State (clearly the better school). As soon as I could attend a football game (Age 4), my family went to every Egg Bowl (Ole Miss vs Mississippi State). We would switch home team sides every year, but we went, as a family...a family divided!

Then, I got married and through a whole new dimension to the "sport". I married a die-hard Auburn fan (as if there is any other kind of Auburn fan?). And to make matters worse...I got married in October! "You CAN NOT get MARRIED or DIE during football season, you can't expect anyone to show up if you do." These words spoken by my grandfather, Hardy Lott, the BIGGEST Ole Miss fan you could ever meet. Not only did I get married during football season, but I chose the Ole Miss vs Auburn game as the date (October 27, 2007). Yes, my Grandfather rolled over in his grave, my brother was livid (Ole Miss lost) and my husband was mad that he wasn't at the game. But...we got married...had a baby and I am now hosting the party for the National Championship game! (Auburn vs Oregon...Tigers are better than Ducks any way you look at it).

So I bleed all colors. Maroon and White first, Blue and Orange second, and when those two aren't playing Ole Miss, I bleed Red and Blue (Mississippi is my home state, of course). I'm a different sort of fan than most, but it works for me.

On to the food...Every year on New Year's Day growing up, my father had a football party. Chris Cascio would come over and wire 5 TV's to play in the living room, a different game on each. EVERYONE would come over and my mother would make her "Football Chili". Since I now have my own family and we have invited everyone over, I too will make the "Football Chili". No matter what SEC team you pull for, there are some traditions that don't waver. The Chili is one of them.

My Mama's Football Chili
1 recipe makes enough for 8-10, double or triple for parties

2 cans tomato sauce
2 cans beef broth
1 1/2 lbs ground chuck
1 can hot chili beans
1 small head cabbage, FINELY chopped
4-5 dashes of worcestershire
2-3 teaspoons garlic powder
salt and pepper

Toppers

Cheddar cheese
Diced onions
Frito's (the munch-a-munch-a kind, old school small ones)

Did you catch that secret ingredient? Mmm-hmmm, you read it right. Cabbage! The cabbage completely disintegrates and you will never, ever be able to tell that it was even there. I really hope Rich doesn't read this far into the blog...I may get him to taste this dish tonight, but if he knows about the cabbage, I'm afraid I've lost before I've begun.

Brown the meat and drain most of the fat. Add broth, tomato sauce, beans and cabbage and season with salt, pepper, garlic and wooster (worcestershire). Simmer for 30-45 minutes until cabbage disappears. Serve with cheese, onions and Frito's. A guaranteed hit for an SEC football party and easy, easy to make.

WAR EAGLE!

Green Beans in a Mushroom Cream

Green Beans Swimming in a Mushroom Bath

Just DON'T Call It a Casserole! Casserole sounds so unappealing doesn't it? And green bean casserole just reminds me of the pot luck for the athletic banquet in high school. Don't get me wrong, I LIKE green bean casserole, but the word itself, casserole, makes me think of mushy food that all tastes the same. I wanted to make a more appetizing version of green bean cass (oh yeah, just don't use the word). I'll call it Green Beans in a Mushroom Cream. Sounds better already! Main goal was to figure out how to substitute Mr. Campbell's all-purpose unifier of most one-dish meals.

Sidebar I thought that the green bean casserole must have originated somewhere in France with fresh ingredients then reinvented in the '50s when one-dish meals became popular. WRONG! The Green Bean Cass&*#$+ was created by Campbell's Soup in 1955. Dorcas Reilly was part of Campbell Soup Company's recipe development team and brought Cream of Mushroom Soup and green beans together (two of America's common pantry items).

I did a lot of research and found that Alton Brown (my go to recipe starter) has also discovered a way around the "cream of..." soups. Using fresh green beans and mushrooms and making your own sauce...with cream...makes a world of difference. Result...you can taste each ingredient and the combination of flavors is incredible. Campbell's knew what they were doing, for sure. Now that I have the sauce down, I can update a lot of the old favorites...watch out chicken and wild rice, your next!

NOTE: I'm not trying to knock Campbell's Soup. I use it often. In this instance, I needed to find a replacement. And as my Granddaddy always said, "Fanny, why are you making vegetable soup? It doesn't get any better than how Mr. Campbell makes it". He's right too!

Green Beans in a Mushroom Cream
From Alton Brown's Best Ever Green Bean Casserole Recipe

The topping:

3 medium onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
2 teaspoon kosher salt
Cooking spray

The Beans and Cream:
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1-2 pounds fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
16 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cup chicken broth
1-1/4 cup half-and-half

Crunchy Topping Preheat the oven to 475ºF. Combine the onions, flour, panko and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss. Coat a pan with cooking spray and spread the onions evenly. Bake for about 25 minutes, but make sure to toss onions every 5 minutes so they won't burn (if they do, it's okay, they still taste good). Turn the oven down to 400ºF.

The Beans Bring a gallon of water and a few tablespoons of salt to a boil. Add the beans and until just tender, 5 to 10 minutes (they will cook longer in oven later). Drain beans and either dunk in an ice bath or immediately run cold water of the beans. This will keep the beans bright green, a big plus, people eat with their eyes first.

The Sauce  Melt butter in a big pan and add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper and cook until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, roughly  4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and let simmer for 1 minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.

The Final Touch Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly OR once you've put it all together, cover and place in ice box over night. That way, when you get home from work you can stick it right into the oven...20 minutes later, mmmmm, a little bite of goodness and reminder of how far you've come from that high school banquet.

Six Cloves of Garlic Never Tasted so Subtle

Pasta, Chicken and Garlic.

Tired from 4 days at the beach and a lot of seafood, I've decided to get back to our routine
and do a little feel good, stay-at-home cooking.
It's raining out and there's nothing  better than making my house smell good with food...easiest way...garlic!

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Garlic Chicken and Pasta

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2 chicken breasts
6 cloves garlic
olive oil
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup white wine
2 cups chicken stock
2 cup water
2 cups Campanelle pasta
salt and pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Season and Sear In a a small bowl, marinate oil with 2 cloves grated garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, tablespoons lemon juice and parsley. Set aside. Cut the chicken breasts into 6 to 8 pieces, I try to make them the same thickness so that they will cook evenly. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet and sear chicken on one side for 3 to 4 minutes. I'm amazed at how this works, but if you REALLY leave the chicken ALONE for 3 to 4 minutes and not move it, it will get an amazing brown, true sear on the chicken. Flip chicken and sear the other side for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat to a plate then cover with another plate (my version of tenting) and set skillet aside to cool for a minute or so.

Concentrate and Cook I'm not saying you have to pay extra attention now, I'm just expressing the fact that this is where a lot of the flavor comes into this dish. Once pan has cooled a bit add 3 tablespoons of oil and heat on medium-high heat, 5 cloves garlic and pepper flakes for about 3 minutes until garlic turns a tan color. Add wine and scrape up the brown parts left by cooked chicken with a wooden spoon and reduce liquid until almost gone. This is where the concentration part happens...make sure you cook the garlic and pepper flakes in the wine until the liquid is almost gone, the flavor in the end is amazing because of this step. Add water, chicken stock, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pasta. Pasta should simmer for about 15 minutes until liquid reduces and gets thick. 

Flavor and Flaunt Place chicken in pasta mixture and warm, about 1 to 2 minutes. Take off heat and add olive oil mixture marinating from step one. Flaunt your flavorful dish with a garnish of chopped parsley. 

The texture and flavor of the sauce will impress your taste buds. It actually looks like something from a restaurant. Six cloves of garlic never tasted so subtle.  

Recipe Ups and Downs

Okay, I have to admit, I have made this meal 4 times and finally I can write about it. The original recipe is from ATK Cooking for Two 2010 Skillet Shrimp Scampi with Campanelle Pasta. I made the ATK recipe to a tee the first round and it was delicious. I don't always have shrimp but I do have chicken, so round 2 I used chicken but realized I didn't cook the chicken at the right temperature or the pasta long enough...it was the right done-ness, but the sauce wasn't the correct thickness. Round three, also with chicken, I used WAY too many red pepper flakes and the whole dish ended up burning my mouth. The 4th round was a true success. I altered the original recipe by adding more wine, more chicken stock, less water and eliminating extra ingredient bowls. (there are only two bowls that are needed for the current recipe. Small bowl for marinating garlic in olive oil and a skillet for the pasta.) VERY little to clean up in the kitchen afterward.

Variations Since this is a one skillet dish, I was thinking about adding a 1/2 cup green peas at the end and possible a nut...maybe walnut? Just a thought.