Simple Pasta Salad......Delicious!

OK, I love pasta salad and this is a good pasta salad recipe. I make different versions of this recipe by the adding and subtracting of ingredients but always leave the dressing the same. For example, I will use roasted red peppers instead of green ones. I leave out the carrots an add quartered up artichokes, finely dice a red chile pepper and add it to the salad. The tuna is wonderful in this dish, and I really like making it with the shells because they seem to gobble up the ingredients and each shell is a great little bite.

Now for the mayonnaise question! I'm sure most people will ask (if your not from the south) what is Duke's mayonnaise? Well its the only mayonnaise. Living up north I would buy the next best thing, Hellmann's and anytime I would visit family or friends down south I would load up on the Duke's. It is just a wonderful mayo, I think it has a little more lemon in it than the others. Anyway if you ever get the chance to try it, you will love it!
This is a really good side dish for any BBQ or picnic, so hurry up and have another one before summer fades away. Enjoy..........

16 oz box medium shell pasta, cooked 

1 can tuna packed in olive oil, drained

1 cup Dukes or Hellmann's mayo

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp honey
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp fresh chopped basil

1/4 cup pitted calamata olives cut in half, optional
4 oz feta cheese crumbled
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup diced green pepper
1/2 cup coarsely grated carrot
1/4 cup finely diced onion
1 hard cooked egg sliced for garnish

In a large mixing bowl, mix mayo, vinegar, mustard, honey,  pepper, salt, basil and mix dressing until smooth. Add pasta, tuna, olives, feta, celery, green pepper, carrot and onion. Toss all together mixing well and let sit in the refrigerator overnight so flavors can meld. When serving sprinkle with some good smoked paprika and top with sliced hard cooked eggs. Serve at once.

The Love of my Life



Banana Pancakes

Cooking has never been a task or a chore, it is a joy for me, it is a way of life. Food and cooking is a bond that everyone shares. For some people food is just a means of nourishment, but I believe for most it is an object of comfort, pleasure and a experience to be shared.
When I was a child watching my mother cook I was fascinated. It was like watching an artist. I would say "Wow! I want to do that" and she would teach me. When I got out of culinary school and started cooking in restaurants that fascination has never left me and I've always had this hunger to learn as much about food and cooking as I could.


Eggs Benedict



Today I cook not only because it is truly what I love to do most, but because I like to please people with my cooking. There is nothing more gratifying to me as to watch someone at home or the restaurant take a bite of the food I have made them, see them close their eyes and savour that bite, then the smile comes to their face and I know at that very moment, that in a very small way I have made there life a little better, even just for a second. That's why I cook.

My goal and hope for this Blog is to accomplish the same thing. By sharing these recipes and stories with people, I can in a small way make there life a little better with the enjoyment of food. To inspire people to get back in the kitchen to cook and share that enjoyment with others.

Peach Cobbler

As long as I can remember every birthday, holiday, day at the beach, family camping trip the food was the center of attention. There was always excitement around what Mom was cooking, what other dishes people were bringing and what time we were going to eat! Nightly dinners at my house growing up were as a family. My Mom would say "Eric, don't go far dinner will be ready soon". (My first name is Eric, but have been going by Michael for years) Trust me I didn't go far! We sat down at the dining room table, with no television on and had dinner together talking about our day. The only thing that has changed over the years, we still eat as a family when we all get together, but there are more of us.

Hot Chocolate and Toast



Spinach Quiche



I was born and raised in the south and southern cuisine has been a major influence in my life. I have cooked all over the United States and no matter where I cook or what type of cuisine, my southern roots come out in the food that I make. Those roots define my style of cooking and always will. I cook comfort food, I am not a food architect. Food can be cooked simply and still be beautiful. Southern food was and always will be about flavor and I cook for flavor. So enjoy these recipes, the stories and try to find the time to cook a little. It is my hope that you will be as happy cooking and eating this food as it makes me to share it with you! 

Carolyn Coleman Richardson’s Texas Chili.......

A little Chili history for you................

Chili Queens  From the article by Linda Stradley, from the website: What's Cooking America

1880s - San Antonio was a wide-open town (a cattle town, a railroad town, and an army town) and by day a municipal food market and by night a wild and open place. An authoritative early account is provided in an article published in the July 1927 issue of Frontier Times. In this article, Frank H. Bushick, San Antonio Commissioner of Taxation, reminisces about the Chili Queens and their origin at Military Plaza before they were moved to Market Square in 1887. According to Bushick:

"The chili stand and chili queens are peculiarities, or unique institutions, of the Alamo City. They started away back there when the Spanish army camped on the plaza. They were started to feed the soldiers. Every class of people in every station of life patronized them in the old days. Some were attracted by the novelty of it, some by the cheapness. A big plate of chili and beans, with a tortilla on the side, cost a dime. A Mexican bootblack and a silk-hatted tourist would line up and eat side by side, [each] unconscious or oblivious of the other."

Latino women nicknamed "Chili Queens" sold stew they called "chili" made with dried red chiles and beef from open-air stalls at the Military Plaza Mercado. They made their chili at home, loaded it onto colorful chili wagons, and transported the wagons and chili to the plaza. They build mesquite fires on the square to keep the chili warm, lighted their wagons with colored lanterns, and squatted on the ground beside the cart, dishing out chili to customers who sat on wooden stools to eat their fiery stew. In those days, the world "chili" referred strictly to the pepper. They served a variation of simple, chile-spiked dishes (tamales, tortillas, chili con carne, and enchiladas). A night was not considered complete without a visit to one of these "chili queens."

1937 - In 1937 they were put out of business due to their inability to conform to sanitary standards enforced in the town's restaurants (public officials objected to flies and poorly washed dishes). Unable to provide laatorial facilities, they disappeared overnight. The following is reprinted from the San Antonio Light of September 12, 1937:

Recent action of the city health department in ordering removal from Haymarket square of the chili queens and their stands brought an end to a 200-year-old tradition. The chili queens made their first appearance a couple of centuries back after a group of Spanish soldiers camped on what is now the city hall site and gave the place the name, Military Plaza. At one time the chili queens had stands on Military, Haymarket and Alamo plazas but years ago the city confined them to Haymarket plaza. According to Tax Commissioner Frank Bushick, a contemporary and a historian of those times, the greatest of all the queens was no Mexican but an American named Sadie. Another famous queen was a senorita named Martha who later went on the stage. Writing men like Stephen Crane and O. Henry were impressed enough to immortalize the queens in their writings. With the disappearance from the plaza of the chili stands, the troubadors who roamed the plaza for years also have disappeared into the night. Some of the chili queens have simply gone out of business. Others, like Mrs. Eufemia Lopez and her daughters, Juanita and Esperanza Garcia, have opened indoor cafes elsewhere. But henceforth the San Antonio visitor must forego his dining on chili al fresco.

They were restored by Mayor Maury Maverick in 1939, but their stands were closed again shortly after the start of World War II.

1930s - During the 1980s, San Antonio began staging what they call "historic re-enactments" of the chili queens. As an tribute to chili, the state dish, the city of San Antonio holds an annual "Return of the Chili Queens Festival" in Market Square during the Memorial Day celebrations in May, sponsored by the El Mercado Merchants.

This chili recipe comes from a high school friend of my mothers of fifty five years. It makes enough to feed 10 to 12 people easily. It is a wonderful chili recipe and I use it often.

Ingredients

1/2 c canola oil

3 # ground beef

3 c chopped onion

3 cloves garlic chopped

8 c beef broth

28 oz can crushed tomatoes

18 oz tomato paste

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 c chili powder

3 tbsp cider vinegar

1 tbsp cumin

2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp oregano

1 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

4 cans of lite kidney beans

Method 

In a large soup pot add oil. Brown ground beef and remove any excess fat from pot. Add onions, garlic and cook until slightly soft. Add rest of ingredients and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours stirring often to prevent the chili from settling to the bottom of the pot and scorching. Serve with cheese, sour cream, green onions, salsa, corn chips or your favorite toppings.

Pumpkin Bisque........Is it fall already?

I went into the grocery store today to pick up a couple of things and when I walked into the produce department the first thing I saw were PUMPKINS! Suddenly my brain was screaming, NO, NOT YET! Where did the summer go?
 It has just dawned on me that fall is less than two weeks away. Going from one season to another, I need some warning, just don't throw some pumpkins out there and make me have a panic attack for Pete's sake, it hasn't even been chilly here yet! So with autumn rushing at us I thought I would share with you my Pumpkin Bisque so that when you see those pumpkins you have a little ammunition for them!
Fall is maybe my favorite season of the year. When the leaves start to change and you wake up to frost on the ground, leaves rustling and the smell of a fireplace lingering in the morning air, its a wonderful time of the year. Time for making apple butter, fruitcakes, hearty stews and belly warming soups.
You can use pumpkin for this soup but any good winter squash will work just fine like butternut, acorn and the cushaw. I especially like the cushaw, a striped crook neck winter squash which is very hearty and will last you all winter and sometimes till the next harvest if it is stored right.
So one bright sunny crisp fall day put a pot of this on the stove and have this delicious soup for dinner with some great bread, a nice salad of bitter greens and a great glass of wine, you will be glad you did. Enjoy...........

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter
4 cloves garlic chopped
3 leeks sliced and rinsed
2 stalks celery diced
1 large onion diced
6 cups pumpkin or other winter squash
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1 tbsp fresh sage
2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cups heavy cream or half n half
1/2 cup brown sugar
Creme fraiche
Fresh chives

Directions:

In large soup pot melt butter and saute garlic, leeks, celery and onions until soft. Add pumpkin, bay leaves, thyme, sage, chicken stock, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Cook until veggies are soft. Add heavy cream and puree soup. Adjust seasonings as needed and serve at once. Soup is great with a dollop of creme fraiche and a few snipped chives.

Smoked Turkey, its a wonderful thing.......

Papa's Smoked Turkey

Smoked turkey is such a wonderful treat I ponder why I don't smoke one more often. I remember watching in awe when I was a child my grandfather smoking turkey's on a spit low and slow. With that bird spinning away slowly on the spit and the smell of the bird smoking was amazing and watching him baste it with his secret blend of ingredients, well I was fascinated. The anticipation of the turkey coming off the spit was agonizing and all of the family would want to reach in and snag a little crispy piece of the turkey every time he would lift the lid to mop it! His method of cooking his turkey was he used indirect heat and on a spit. He would put a drip pan underneath the turkey and build the fire around the bird. He would keep his fire around 250 degrees and baste the turkey every thirty minutes or so. The key to all this was what he used for smoke and the ingredients he used to mop the bird to give it the nice crust and flavor I remember. I can't give you the exact recipe for the turkey or my family would disown me but i will give you one that is very, very good and your family will love it! One secret I will give you is that he would only smoke his turkey's over hickory nuts. That's right I said hickory huts! It is what he used and the flavor it imparts is not the same as the hickory wood, the nuts are a sweeter smoke and really amazing. So this fall I would suggest that when the hickory nuts start dropping getting a sack and going nut hunting. Not only is it a nice way to spend the day in the woods but will bring you much enjoyment when using those gems in your smoker. The mop I am giving you is easy and will give your bird a wonderful flavor and skin is fantastically delicious. In a saucepan add one cup each of orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice, 1 tbsp chili powder, 1 tbsp of paprika, 1 tbsp salt, 1 tbsp black pepper and a 1/4 cup of olive oil. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat and use it to baste your turkey with about every half hour.  Enjoy.......

Note: if you don't have a spit you can use a Weber and place your bird in the center under a drip pan and build you fire around the pan, the skin won't be as crispy but still a great turkey. That's the way I did this one after I burnt up the motor to my spit.   :-( 

Cider braised pork steaks with apples, onion and garlic

Loving pork as I do, I thought I would share this recipe that I stole from a friend and tweaked when I lived in Pittsburgh. This friend of mine made a similar dish but was breaded like schnitzel and fried and served with the apple and onion mixture. I had these pork steaks and thought I would brown them and braise the steaks in my dutch oven instead and it worked fantastically. I lived in Pittsburgh for several years and grew to really like the town (don't miss the winters though) because of its ethnicity and the great food found in the city. This recipe is easy and delicious and a great dinner on a fall night. Since fall is right around the corner, thought I would post it early for your enjoyment.  

Ingredients

4 large shoulder chops

salt and pepper

3 tablespoon canola oil

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped into a large dice.

2 cloves of garlic minced

2 large granny smith apples

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 cups apple cider

1 tbsp cider vinegar 

3 sage leaves

Cooked egg noodles

Sweet pickles

 

Method

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Cut the chops in half leaving bone on.

Heat the oil and brown the pork on both sides and transfer to Dutch oven
Brown the onions and place on top of pork.
Peel, core and dice both apples and place on top of onions.
Stir mustard, vinegar and garlic into cider and pour over pork chops, apple and onion mixture.
Add sage leaves, cover with lid and put in oven and bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
When pork is tender remove from dutch oven and strain the cooking liquid and save apples and onions.
Add cooking liquid back to dutch oven and cook until reduced and is sauce consistency.
I boil egg noodles and once sauce is reduced I add the noodles to reduced sauce, folding in the cooked apples and onions.
Serve the egg noodles with the braised pork steaks.

Conch Salad....... I miss the Bahamas!

Conch Salad

Living and cooking in the Bahamas is a memory I will never forget. Not only was it so very beautiful but I fell in love with the people. Their traditions and culture are fascinating and I miss it to this day. My friend Tony has a conch stand called Tony Macaroni's Conch Experience at Taino Beach in Freeport on Grand Bahama Island. At this thatch-roofed shack he introduced me to Conch. The first time I ate it I was hooked! I had one day off a week and I made sure I had all my chores done so I could hang out on Sundays at Tony's. Let me try to describe the scene for you. The Conch fisherman would leave live conch on a chain that tony had in the ocean right off the beach, he would wade out and get the conch he needed. He had fresh lobsters and shrimp, fresh fish and conch all roasted in a drum over wood he would gather. But his specialty was his Conch Salad, my mouth waters when I think about it! He sold Kalik beer from the Bahamas and he made this drink called Gully Wash, which tasted SO good and after a few would sneak up and get ya!

My friend Tony

Gully Wash is made by mixing 1/2 liter of good gin, 1/4 liter of coconut rum, 1 can of sweetened condensed milk and coconut water to taste. Coconut water comes straight out of the coconut and is wonderful.

 My typical and very appreciated Sunday was when I would get down to the beach around noon and go for a swim. Enjoying the water I would catch a smell of the grill being fired up and I knew it was time. Watching him tend to everything was fascinating, what a way to make a living. I always ordered a conch salad first and I could hardly wait for him to make it. He would take a fresh conch and remove the snail from its shell (yes a conch is a sea snail) and clean it, mince it up and put it in a mixing bowl. He would dice up onion, tomato and add it to the bowl, then he would take the juice of a key lime, sour orange and his fiery bird pepper sauce and mix it all together and it was served. I would go sit in the sand with my Kalik beer and devour that bowl of goodness!

Tony would have a cooler full of these aluminum foil packages and some might have mahi, snapper, lobster, conch or what ever he could find fresh off the fisherman, and each package always had different veggies and a compound butter in them. He would put them on the fire and in ten minutes or so they were ready to enjoy.

Tony's Conch  Stand

After a half dozen Kaliks and a few Gully Washes I needed some dinner so I would order up and he would hand me my package and it was always delicious. As the sun went down, the bonfire was lit and it was another day in paradise. Experiences like that are treasured and don't come often enough. I haven't been back since I left the islands but as I am writing about it, it seems like I was there yesterday...........