Blues and Late-night Munchies

Last night, I was planning on spending the evening ironing, watching back episodes of Top Gear and getting ready for a long trip. Kitty was watching a Judy Dench movie upstairs and Whit was already in bed when my phone rang. On the other end was my friend Michael Frank who manages of some of the best blues artists in the world. He was in town most of this week for receptions and award ceremonies honoring his client Honeyboy Edwards. The 94-year-old legend won a Grammy this year along with an Excellence in Arts Award from Governor Haley Barbour. I weighed the options of ironing -vs- Honeyboy and left my wrinkled clothes for another day.

The 930 Blues Cafe was packed, loud and smokey...just like a blues club should be. The beer was cold, the people were happy and the whole crowd seemed to throb in unison with the heavy beat emanating from stage, punctuated by Honeyboy's guitar and its plaintive wailing. Yes! This was so much better than ironing! While Honeyboy was on stage, I got a chance to catch up with Michael and heard all about their whirlwind tour since the Grammys. For a near-century-old guy, Honeyboy travels like Tony Bourdain or some college kid with a backpack and a Eurail Global Pass.

The night ended with a short visit with Honeyboy and Jackie Bell announcing to the audience that she thought I was "...sexy as richard Gere." My friend John Horhn was quick to let me know that I looked more like him that Richard Gere. I think John was right, but Jackie is still sweet for the flattery.

Back at home, Kitty was finished with her movie and we were both hungry. While I regaled her with the stories of the night, I whipped up a plate of grilled Andouille sausage and three hand-crafted mustards (rustic Brown, Guiness and Dill). We at the sausage in bed abandoned the plate on the nightstand. I'll get around to cleaning it up today, right after I finish the ironing.

Bon Appetit!
~Tom

Frito Pie Lesson

Have Knives, Will Travel

I was in New Orleans Monday evening and Tuesday meeting with several people about a project that I have to keep under wraps until everything is all ironed out. My good friends John and Jennifer Rowland were kind enough to offer room and board for the evening and knowing how much I enjoy Jennifer's company and John's cooking, how could I pass this up? John had two huge slabs of Amberjack and Tuna ready to grill so I offered to handle the sides. Jennifer and I went to the market to pick up asparagus but found the Brussels sprouts to be much more appealing. John crusted the fish with wasabi peas, garlic, black pepper and sea salt and put them on the grill. I cooked the Brussels sprouts in butter with garlic and chopped, smoked almonds. Jennifer and I also found some nice tasso at the market so I chopped it up nice and fine and mixed it, along with parsley and green onions, into the rice and made a lovely timbale. With a great bottle of Zinfandel decanted on the table, there was little left to do but eat and talk about the Saints. With evening like this, I can't wait to get back to NOLA. Satchmo and I think alike and I nod in agreement when he asks the musical question "Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?"
Bon Appetit!
~Tom

Busy Saturday

This Saturday, I had two lessons, trained my newest Chef/Instructor, and came up with a new menu that will be taught for the first time on Tuesday. All in all, it was a good day. My first lesson was with Seth & Rachel Misnear. Their son Jude also pitched in and learned a thing or two. Mainly he learned that he isn't a big fan of radishes. Here's a pic of Jude working hard in the kitchen. I'll put up more later today or tomorrow when the tornado stops tossing me about.
Bon Appetit!
~Tom

Date Night

The photo below explains why there was no post on Wednesday. My wonderful wife, Kitty, treated me to a night of bluegrass and cold beer (my Valentine's Day Present) at the Eudora Welty Commons. The band was Della Mae from Boston and they put on a great show.

Sorry I've Been so Absent

This has been a crazy week. I've been preparing the same dish, over and over to perfect it for an upcoming project and didn't think y'all would want to see repeating pictures of Deconstructed Hoppin' John. So far, I've made a few changes to the peas and the sauce, but the premise of the dish is still the same. I PROMISE that I will have some new pictures and more interesting things to say after this weekend. In the meantime, here is a photo (again) of the dish I've been working to perfect and a gratuitous picture of a cute puppy (not mine or an ingredient in any of my food) just to make you smile.
Bon Appetit!
~Tom

Valentine's Night Pot Roast (Because nothing says "I love you!" like Pot Roast)

I am generally a pretty romantic guy. As a matter of fact, I'm a bit of a softie. So it might surprise many of you that when I proposed to Kitty, it was perhaps the most un-romantic thing I've ever done. Seriously. Two words...speaker-phone. That's right foodies and gourmands, the guy who writes all of these love stories to food, pressed speed dial #1, called his girlfriend and said "How does October 8th look for you?"

To which she replied "For what?"

"For getting married." I said, as if she should have known.

"Why, are you proposing to me?"

"I just want to make sure that date is open. I'm going over my calendar and trying to get some things planned in advance." I said.

"Looks fine to me baby." She said, surely holding back either venom or tears.

"Thanks hon." I said as I reached for the "call cncl" button.

It wasn't until hours later that I was cognizant of my terrible, terrible mistake. But Kitty is a real trooper and, aside from good natured ribbing that I fear will never cease to be funny, she let me get away with my faux pas unscathed. 

In honor of my actions, worthy of the anti-cupid, I decided to have a sweet but decidedly unromantic dinner for Kitty on Valentine's Day. Card with a monkey face? check! All the boy-kids at home (plus a cousin)? check! Pot Roast? check! We didn't sweep her off her feet but she definitely felt loved. And isn't that what Valentine's Day is all about? The cards full of bad poetry in soft shades of pink? That's the stuff of men who cant say how much they love their wives in their own words and actions. Fancy, expensive meals in posh restaurants? Merely make up dates for all the times she was left at home while the fellas whooped it up on "guy's night out." Expensive sparkly-things? They scream "I'm compensating for affection with this gift that someone else suggested." As for me, romance is found in the sweet, silent smile and the soft touch on the arm as we pass each other in the kitchen while one is doing dishes and the other is getting back to homework. Passion is found in the kiss on the neck, from over the back of the sofa that says "The kids are asleep and you can watch Top Gear tomorrow on Hulu." Love is found in the ordinary times. My cupid haunts the daily routines. Our life is love.

With all of that said. Here is the recipe for Brandy Pot Roast. Cook it with love.

Brandy Pot Roast

1  5 lb. pot roast

2 large yellow onions

4 carrots

4 stalks celery

6 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp. oregano

1 Tbsp. thyme

½ cup brandy

1 32 oz. container beef stock*

1 Tbsp. olive oil

3 Tbsp. butter

Salt

Pepper

Prep

Roughly chop onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Season roast with salt and pepper.

Cook

Pre-heat oven to 350°. Heat a large iron skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and continue heating until oil smokes. Add seasoned pot roast and brown on both sides. Add chopped vegetables and transfer to oven. With the oven open and the skillet on the middle rack, add brandy, herbs and ½ tsp. black pepper. Add beef stock until liquid is almost to the rim of the skillet. Top loosely with foil and cook for 2 hours. Slide out the oven rack, turn the meat and stir the vegetables. Add more liquid to cover vegetables an cook for an additional 3 hours or until the meat tears apart with a fork. It is really better if you can allow it to cook for eight hours, basting with the liquids every 30 minutes.

When cooked, transfer the meat and vegetables to a serving bowl and cover with foil until ready to serve. Place the pan on the stovetop and cook over medium-high heat until reduced by ½ of original volume. If there is any liquid standing in the serving bowl, drain it into the reduced liquid and reduce again to ½ of original volume. Remove from heat and slowly whisk in the butter.

Plate

Serve meat over some form of starch (toast, rice, mashed potatoes, or mashed cauliflower) and top with vegetables and reduction sauce.

(Serves 6)

Early-morning Cooking and Sunday Leftovers (Including Chili Dish #3)

I bought a little too much shoulder roast when I was making Chili on Friday so I woke up this morning and started a Pot Roast. For some reason, I thought about brandy and decided to make a Pot Roast with some of it. Never tried this before, but I can't imagine that it won't be good. I'll let the family be the judges on that one.  I left the potatoes out of the roast, deciding instead to whip some creamy Yukon Golds as a side dish later this evening. I think I'll use some of the pan liquid in a brandy reduction sauce. Sound good to you?

Since Kitty was feeling like she had been hit by a garbage truck falling off the top a a garage, Zak was serving as her warming blanket and the two big boys are in New Orleans, I was the only Ramsey at Saint Andrew's this morning. I didn't feel like eating fried chicken all by myself so I came home, donned the apron, inspected the fridge and opened the short-order kitchen. Since Kitty and Zak can't have any wheat, I used this opportunity to make some pasta for me out of the pork chops from earlier in the week. They were in the mood for omelettes so I used up the last of the Chili de los Angeles on them. I wont bother with a recipe for the omelettes, they were just like any of the other eggy treats you have seen on this blog, just filled with cheese and chili. The über-simple pasta recipe is below. 

Leftover Pasta

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 Tbsp. flour

3 cloves fresh garlic

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (or other dry aged, hard cheese) 

1 tsp. thyme

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup chicken stock (or other stock to match your leftover meat)

leftover meat

green onions for garnish

Sea salt

Black pepper

Prep

Cut the leftover meat into 1/2" or smaller cubes. Finely chop garlic. Crumble or shred the cheese. Warm the milk in the microwave until hot, but not boiling.

Cook

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add butter. When butter begins to foam, add chopped garlic and cook until it just starts to color. Add flour and stir with a whisk until it is fully incorporated into the butter. slowly add milk, whisking constantly. When the mixture begins to thicken, add the cubed meat, the cheese and the thyme. Add broth as necessary to maintain the desired thickness of the sauce. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper as desired.

Boil the pasta in lightly salted water. Drain but DO NOT RINSE the pasta. Add the cooked pasta to the saucepan and toss with the sauce until all of the pasta is coated.

Plate

Serve in a large shallow bowl and garnish with green onions.

Chili, Day Two and Beyond

When I make chili, it is usually a big stock pot event. It's not that we eat that much chili in a setting, but because it's so versatile that we can use it all sorts of different dishes over the next month or so. After eat our first, all chili meal, I put the leftovers in several containers of differing sizes. Some little containers go in the freezer to be pulled out at a later date for chili-dogs, others for chili-omelettes. Larger container goes in the fridge and is used in the next day or so for one of my favorite dishes, Frito Pie. For such a simple, pedestrian dish, it is complex in both flavor and texture. The spice of the chili is amplified by the saltiness of the corn chips. The cheese mellows out the heat and the lime and cilantro are crisp notes that play well accentuating the heaviness of everything else.

Today, Kitty and I went by Monte and Amy's house to have lunch, watch some Olympics and pick up Zak from his birthday sleepover with Dakota. When I offered to bring Frito Pie, the answer was a resounding "YES!"

Here's a still shot of the finished product. Video will be up later. I wont bother with a recipe, just a formula. In this order, Fritos + Chili + Shredded Cheese + Chopped Cilantro + Lime Juice = Frito Pie. Don't email me asking for measurements, just wing it and use the picture as a guide.

Bon Appetit!
~Tom

Snow in Mississippi = Chili in our house!

When I went to sleep last night, there was a light dusting of snow starting to fall and the temperature was hovering around 39 degrees. There was plenty of talk about heavy snow and school closings, but the weather didn't quite look like it was going to do much. The Jackson Public School System said yesterday that they would announce school closings at 5:00AM so naturally, the kids were bounding out of bed at 4:50 to check the news. What they awoke to was this. Indeed, school was closed.

Everyone scurried about, putting on layers of clothes, rubber boots, hats and gloves. Kitty and I rolled over, turned off the alarm and hoped that no one died of frostbite or exposure while we went back to sleep until some less rude hour.

By the time we dragged ourselves out of the warmth of the electric blanket, the whole of Belhaven was blanketed in a thick layer of heavy, wet snow. Every kids in the neighborhood was in the streets and the muffled silence was only broken by the sounds of laughter and the occasional thud of a massive snowball finding its target.

Stuart  managed to make his way to Broad Street Baking company to (what else) meet with some girls to drink hot chocolate. Whit wandered over to his friend Jay's house to congregate with other young teens for sledding and Kitty taught Zak and Charlie how to make their first snowman (and snowdog) ever. We named the snowman Bubba Wayne and I started thinking about Chili!

Since the chili was going to be for kids and adults alike, I decided to make two batches. I called them Chili de los Angeles and Chili de los Diablos. The recipes were identical except for whole jalepeno and the amounts of dried ancho chilis and Indian chili powder. One warms you up like a nice hug from your mom while the other kicks you in the gut, sets your hair on fire and tries to put you out with a bucket of jet fuel.
Bon Appetit!
~Tom

Chili de los Angeles y Chili de los Diablos

Serves 10

3 lbs. chuck (cubed)

4 lbs. ground beef (round, sirloin or chuck)

8 cloves garlic

2 large yellow onions

1 large red onion

1 bunch green onions

1 jalapeño pepper

3 Tbsp. oregano

2 Tbsp. Mexican chili powder

1 Tbsp. or more Indian chili powder (Diablo only)

3 Tbsp. ground cumin

3 Tbsp. paprika

3 or more dried ancho chili peppers with stems and seeds removed (Diablo only)

2 Tbsp. whole coriander

1 tsp. cinnamon powder

4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

4 Tbsp. olive oil

1 bottle dark beer

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

Cilantro for garnish

Limes for garnish

1 cup sour cream

2 cups queso fresco (or shredded jack cheese)

Prep

Coarsely chop the red onions, yellow onions and garlic. Cut the chuck into ½ inch cubes. Remove the seeds and white membrane from jalapeño pepper and finely chop the remaining flesh. Finely chop the green onions and the ancho chili peppers. Slice the limes into wedges.

Cook

Place a stock pot over medium heat until it is very hot (3 minutes will do the trick) add the cubed beef and quickly brown on all sides. Add olive oil, garlic, red onions, yellow onions and jalapeño pepper and cook until onions are translucent. Add ground beef and brown completely. Add all herbs and dry ingredients, including ancho chilis. Add chocolate and stir until it is well mixed with the beef. Add ½ bottle of beer and tomatoes. Bring all to a simmer and cook until the liquid is reduced by half.

Plate

Ladle chili into a large bowl and top with a dollop of sour cream. Sprinkle with cheese and green onions and garnish with cilantro and lime wedges.

Variations

To morph this bowl of goodness into Frito Pie, cover the bottom of a bowl with corn chips, spoon on a heavy layer of chili, top with melted cheese and microwave for about 30 seconds or until the cheese melts.

Video Lesson 1, Roasted Chicken with Herbed Compound Butter

Dedicated to the Crew at Acme Oyster House

People often ask me about the best food, or the best meal I've ever had and I'm always at a loss. There's no real answer that can stand the test of time. Food has so many emotional ties to me that my mood at any moment would have way too much influence over any "best" choice I would come up with. That being said...there is one recent memory that will stand out for quite some time, particularly in light of the glorious victory achieved by the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV.

The meal took place on the night the Saints won the NFC Division Title game against Minnesota. My dear friend Ben Goren was in New Orleans for some business appointments we had set earlier in the month and we were staying in the penthouse suite of the Ritz Carlton. I had been in town since Friday and was feeling really good about an audition I had participated in for a cooking show. We could have stayed in that night and watched the game on a 150" Hi-Def projector screen in the media room of the penthouse, but we really wanted to be with the people of New Orleans. Ben Suggested Acme Oyster House and I agreed wholeheartedly.

As a kid, growing up with a second home in the French Quarter, I had spent many days and evening at Acme. It was one of my father's favorite spots in New Orleans and the last time he was well enough to make the trip, we sat in Acme for hours, eating oysters at the bar and drinking beer. It was just the two of us and we had a great visit. He told me stories that I had heard over and over and I sat there with rapt attention as if I was hearing them for the first time. After he died, it took a while before I could go back to New Orleans and not feel as if something was terribly wrong. His death almost took the joy out of the Crescent City for me, but slowly I felt the sadness drift away like some loaded grain barge drifting around the bend past the Riverwalk.

When Ben and I got to the Acme, there was a short line and a group in front of us in full Viking regalia. The hostess shuffled them to a table in the back 40 and gave us a prime spot (at a 4-top) in the corner, with full views of just about every TV in the room. My mind was on nothing but Saints, beer and oysters (in that order), but Ben can't go anywhere in NOLA without ordering Shrimp or Crawfish Etouffee. Funny thing is, he never finishes it. He takes a few bites, smiles like a kid with a big-ass lollipop, and talks about how he just can't get that taste anywhere else in the world. Lucky for me, Ben's light eating habits allow me to get etouffee with every meal while he is in town.

Our table was right next to the oyster grill in the front room. The guys at the grill were sporting the black and gold "home" jerseys of Bush and Brees. There was a cameraman from Cox Cable wandering around catching all of the action and the pre-game excitement. When the waitress came to get our initial order, Ben's eyes lit up as he ordered his etouffee, one dozen raw and one dozen grilled. I took care of the beer selection and got a pair of brews from down the road at Abita, Turbodog for me and an Amber for Ben. The first beers and the etouffee arrived just at kickoff. Ben took his three bites, flashed his "only in New Orleans" smile and slid the bowl to me. If you've never had Acme's etouffee, get in the car and drive there now. This rich, savory concoction is why crawfish are born in the first place. As I was mopping up the bowl with French bread, the oysters arrived. People can talk all they want about little necks and blue points, but for my money fresh Gulf oysters can't be beat. They are plump, briny and firm. At Acme, they come out quick and keep coming until you say "uncle." The grilled oysters are truly decadent. The guys at the grill start with a fresh Gulf oyster, add a shot of melted butter, some fresh garlic and parsley and top it with a bit of Romano cheese. When the butter starts to bubble and the cheese melts, the grill masters pull the oysters off and put a baker's dozen on platter filled with rock salt. They come to the table still bubbly and wafting a heavenly aroma that dares you to even think about dieting.

I really have no idea how many oysters Ben and I went through that night. I stopped counting at around "oh my god, these are so good we have to get more." What I am sure of is the feeling of communal joy that shrouded that little corner of the world for three or so hours while the game was on. Every big hit, every first down, every defensive victory was greeted with shouts to the rafters and hugs exchanged between strangers at the next table over. There were no color barriers, no class barriers and really no distinction between servers and guests. We were all just Saints fans. One densely populated county in the Who Dat Nation collectively hoding our breath on every third down. Ben and I were constantly exchanging happy banter with the grill crew and the waitresses, when we weren't stuffing our faces with buttery hot oysters and chilly raw ones. When Favre was intercepted in overtimes, the whole joint was a jumping, hugging, high-fiving sea of black and gold, but when the kicking team came on the field the roar turned to reverent silence. People actually whispered. No orders were taken or served. The grills and oyster shucking stations were unmanned and the kitchen could have caught on fire and no one would have taken their eyes off the screens. A young waitress, who was not our server, came up beside me and grabbed my pinky with hers. As soon as the ball left Hartley's toe and headed right down the middle like it was on greased rails, the whole room (which had been holding its collective breath) erupted in roar that was heard across Lake Ponchartrain. My pinky-friend jumped up in my arms with both feet off the ground. We were both crying with exquisite joy. Even Ben was misty-eyed.


We ordered another round of beer and just sat back watching the whole scene. No one wanted to leave. Everyone will remember where they were that night.
The next time someone asked me about my best meal ever, I may have an answer for them. There was no Premier Cru Bordeaux, no starched white table cloth, no fifteen course tasting menu with infused foams and desserts cooked in liquid nitrogen. But there was bold flavor and a makeshift family and more than all of that, there was love.

What's in the Fridge? Soup, that's what!

It should come as no surprise to anyone who reads this blog or has ever taken an Ivy & Devine cooking lesson, I love to make soup when the fridge is full of leftovers. Friday night, Kitty and I had dinner with our friends Sid & Mandy. We had a whole roasted chicken along with some mushroom rice pilaf. That left me with some leftover chicken and some mushrooms. A quick check of the fridge turned up some aromatic vegetables and excess milk (the boys were not here this weekend). A peek in the pantry led me to some brown and wild rice from Rainbow and there you have it...soup. I learned from Kitty that our neighbor, Rachel, was at home taking care of her oldest, Jude, who had recently done a header into a door frame and was sporting some sweet stitches on his noggin. Not to mention the fact that her husband was traveling and she is also a new mom. Tom and his soup to the rescue. This is why I cook. Remember people Food=Love!
Bon Appetit!
~Tom

Smoky Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

1 lb. smoked bacon

½ roasted chicken

32 oz. chicken stock    

32 oz. whole milk

1 cup brown and wild rice mix

2 portabella mushrooms

2 medium yellow onions

4 stalks celery

1 whole garlic pod

1 leek

1 bunch green onions

1 stalk fennel

1 tsp. thyme

2 tsp. oregano

3 whole bay leaves

½ bunch parsley

Black pepper

Sea Salt

Prep

Finely chop parsley, onions, celery, mushrooms, fennel bottom, leek bottom and green onion. Pull chicken from bones and chop into small pieces. Slice bacon into 1” pieces. Slice ¼ though the top of the garlic pod, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and wrap in aluminum foil. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook

Place foil-wrapped garlic in oven and cook for 20 minutes. Heat a large stock pot over medium heat and add bacon. Cook until most of the fat is rendered from the bacon and bacon begins to crisp slightly. Add onions, celery, leek, fennel, green onion, thyme, oregano and bay leaves and cook until onion is translucent. Add rice, chicken and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add chicken stock and mushrooms. Remove roasted garlic from oven and allow to cool. Squeeze the pod over the pot, adding the roasted cloves to the soup. Bring the liquid to a light boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook at a light simmer for 30 minutes. Warm milk in microwave and add to the soup. Cook for an additional ten minutes or until soup is hot.

Plate

Serve hot in a shallow bowl and garnish with parsley.

(Serves 8)

Dinner with Sid & Mandy

Yesterday I was really in a mood to cook a big meal (yes, I know that may shock some of you). I sent an email out to the usual suspects and learned that by going to our friends Sid & Mandy's house to cook dinner I would not only be satisfying my urge to cook but also rescuing Mandy from a dinner of hot dogs. Don't get me wrong, I love hot dogs, but it sounded like Mandy was not at all in a mood for Coneys. I had no idea what I wanted to cook, so I went to the market with an open mind. I stared at the fish counter for a while and didn't see anything that struck my fancy, so I meandered over to the meat section. Pork? Nah, I practiced that MasterChef pork dish for a whole week and got burned out on swine. Beef? Just not feelin' it. Lamb? Interesting, but no. Veal? Again, just not feelin' the love. Chicken? Maybe...I just don't know. 

Feeling a bit lackluster about the proteins (I honestly do think like this. Should I go to some kind of meeting?) I wandered over to the produce section and spotted a mountain of Acorn Squash. Now the wheels started turning! Roasted squash...yes. Chicken roasted with rosemary...yes. Mushroom rice...yes. Brussels Sprouts with Roasted Almonds...yes, yes, yes! With a menu in mind and new shoes on my feet, I tore through the store, grabbing up what I needed and even found that whole chickens were on sale for $0.98/pound. That was a sign of good Karma.


Earlier in the week, one of my lobbying clients brought me a load of great beer and a picked a few monster bottles of Abita Andygator to go with the chicken dinner. Kitty get herself all dolled up and fixed her wig just right and we headed out to the wilds of Northeast Jackson.


When we arrived, Sid had whipped up some kind of yummy tapenade to go with the Calmata Olives and bruschetta he had set out for us. We cracked a bottle of Andygator for us boys and a bottle of Parados Malbec for the girls and whipped up a feast. The only thing better than the food was the company and the entertainment provided by 4-year-old Walker, who demonstrated some pretty amazing skill with a light saber. During dinner, we learned that our good friend Monte had won about twenty or so Addy awards that night and naturally celebrated by popping the cork on more Andygator and Parados. I have a feeling that we'll be doing this again quite soon.
Bon Appetit!
~Tom
Chicken Roasted with Rosemary

1 Whole Chicken

½ Stick Unsalted Butter

2 Tbsp. Fresh Rosemary

2 Cloves Garlic

1 tsp. Sea Salt

½ tsp. Black Pepper

2 tsp. Ivy & Devine Poultry Seasoning

1 Lemon

½ Bunch Parsley

Prep

Remove giblets from cavity of chicken and pat dry. Finely chop parsley, rosemary, and garlic. Add rosemary, garlic, black pepper and ¼ tsp. salt to butter and mix thoroughly. Take a spoonful of butter and slide it between the skin and the breast of the chicken. Repeat this process until all of the butter is under the chicken skin. Slightly press the chicken skin so that the butter spreads evenly. Truss the chicken tightly with kitchen twine. Rub in remaining sea salt and Ivy & Devine Poultry Seasoning. Preheat oven to 400°.

Cook

Place the trussed chicken in a roasting dish, preferably with a rack insert. Roast in the oven, uncovered until an instant-read thermometer, inserted into the thigh, reads 160° and the juices run clear (usually 1 ½ hours for a medium sized chicken).

Plate

Allow the chicken to rest for at least 15 minutes. Carve chicken and place on a warm plate. Top with pan sauce and squeeze lemon juice over chicken. Sprinkle with parsley to garnish.

(serves 6)

Pan Sauce

Pan drippings from chicken

Red wine

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pats

Pour the liquids from the roasting pan into a saucepan, along with any of the browned bits you can scrape from the roasting pan. Combine with an equal part of red wine and cook over medium heat until reduced to 1/4 of its original volume. Remove from heat and mount the sauce with cold butter, swirling the sauce until the butter is fully incorporated.

Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Almonds

24 fresh Brussels Sprouts

¼ cup salted toasted almonds

¼ stick butter

Sea salt

½ tsp. black pepper

Paprika

Prep

Trim the bottom of the Brussels Sprouts and remove the first couple of leaves. Slice sprouts in half from top to bottom. Finely chop almonds.

Cook

Blanch the sprouts in boiling water for 2 minutes and immediately shock with cold water to stop the cooking. Drain the sprouts in a colander and pat dry with a towel. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and add butter. When the butter melts and begins to brown and foam, add almonds and cook for one minute. Add sprouts and season with black pepper. Cook until just tender and the sprouts are slightly colored. Check for saltiness and add sea salt if necessary.

Plate

Serve hot and garnish with a small amount of paprika.

(Serves 6)

Roasted Acorn Squash

2 whole acorn squash

¼ cup olive oil

1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary

Sea Salt

Black pepper

Prep

Finely chop fresh rosemary. Slice squash in half, through the equator, not from top to bottom. Scoop out seeds and cut into rings. Cut rings in half so that you now have crescent shaped pieces of squash. In a large mixing bowl, toss squash with oil and season with rosemary, salt and pepper. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook

Arrange squash on a sheet pan so that they are all lying flat and not crowding the pan. Roast for 30 minutes or until fork tender.

Plate

Serve hot.

(Serves 6)

Mushroom Rice Pilaf

1 ½  cups basmati rice

3 cups chicken stock

1 cup fresh mushrooms

1 medium shallot

4 cloves garlic

½ tsp. thyme

2 Tbsp. butter

½ bunch parsley

½ tsp.

Sea Salt

Prep

Thinly slice mushrooms and shallot. Finely chop parsley and garlic. Reserve one sliced mushroom for garnish.

Cook

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add butter. When the butter melts and begins to foam, add garlic and shallots and cook until garlic is slightly colored. Add rice and stir until each grain is coated with butter. Add thyme and black pepper and stir until evenly distributed. Add enough chicken stock to cover the rice and stir frequently. Continue adding chicken stock, a small amount at a time until is all absorbed by the rice and the rice is fully cooked. Taste and add salt accordingly.

Plate

Serve hot and garnish with sliced mushroom and parsley.

Whit Food

In a recent interview, I described my kids by the types of food they crave. Whit, our 13-year-old boy, loves comfort foods. He will take chicken pot pie or potroast over steak or salmon every time. To him comfort foods are like a hug. Whit is the cuddliest of all the boys and will frequently come stand next to you and refuse to leave until he gets his back scratched, his head patted and his shoulders rubbed. What makes this even more amusing is the fact that he is so tall, so strong and so aggressive on the football field. This teen-aged brute who loves nothing more than playing on defensive line and hunting down quarterbacks like a lion hunts gazelle, is really a softy at heart.

That's Whit snuggling with me at a reception for 94-year-old Bluesman Honeyboy Edwards. Isn't he cute! Now that I have embarrassed him enough, I'll move on to the food. Tonight's potroast was a 4 lb. bottom round roast cooked low and slow. I would have let it cook longer, but the family was starting to resemble a pack of wolves ready to turn on their leader and have him for supper. Sometimes, I cook this with beer, sometimes with wine. Tonight I made it with beef stock and left out the celery...mainly because we were out of celery.
Bon Appetit!
~Tom

Whit's Pot Roast (Hug on a Plate)

1 5 lb. pot roast

1 large yellow onion

2 carrots

2 Yukon gold potatoes

2 stalks celery

6 cloves garlic

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. thyme

1 32 oz. container beef stock*

1 Tbsp. olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Prep

Roughly chop onion, carrots, celery, potatoes and garlic. Season roast with salt and pepper.

Cook

Pre-heat oven to 350°. Heat a large iron skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and continue heating until oil smokes. Add seasoned pot roast and brown on all sides. Add chopped vegetables and transfer to oven. With the oven open and the skillet on the middle rack, add herbs and ½ tsp. black pepper. Add beef stock until liquid is almost to the rim of the skillet. Top loosely with foil and cook for 1 hour. Slide out the oven rack, turn the meat and stir the vegetables. Reduce heat to 275° and add more liquid to cover vegetables if needed. Cook for an additional 4-6 hours or until the meat tears apart with a fork.

Plate

Serve meat over vegetables and top with the cooking liquid.

Frying Without Wheat Flour

Since Kitty and Zak can no longer have any wheat products, I have had to learn some new tricks in the kitchen. My first attempt at home-made, fried chicken tenders turned out pretty good, if I must say so myself. I used a mixture of 2/5 rice flour, 2/5 potato flour and 1/5 chia seed flour (yes, the stuff that makes hair grow on a Chia Pet can be made into flour) as my dry mix. I used a typical dry/wet/dry battering technique and fried the chicken in a black-iron skillet with 350 degree canola oil. The texture of the batter was very crisp and almost like corn meal. As a matter of fact, Kitty asked me if I had used yellow or white corn meal in the recipe. The chicken got devoured before I could get a pretty "plated" shot of it, so here is how it looked on the cooling rack, right out of the skillet. I served it with basmati rice and Hot Pepper Jezebel Sauce.
Bon Appetit!
~Tom
Hot Pepper Jezebel Sauce

1 16 oz. jar hot pepper jelly*

1 16 oz. jar apple jelly

½ cup horseradish

1 Tbsp. dry mustard

2 Tbsp. Creole Mustard

2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

2 Tbsp. honey

Mix all ingredients with a hand or stand mixer until fully blended. Store sauce in a glass jar in refrigerator.

*Tabasco makes a good commercial hot pepper jelly.

Gluten-free Fried Chicken Tenders

2 Tbsp. Ivy & Devine Poultry Seasoning

2 lbs. boneless chicken breast tenders

½ cup potato flour

½ cup rice flour

¼ cup chia seed flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

1 tsp. dried tarragon

3 large eggs

¼ cup buttermilk

Prep

In a large mixing bowl, combine all flours, salt, pepper and tarragon. Mix thoroughly. Combine buttermilk and eggs and whip until frothy and completely blended. Pat dry and liberally season chicken tenders with Ivy & Devine Poultry Seasoning. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees.

Cook

Individually dredge the chicken tenders in flour, then in the egg mixture and again in the flour and set aside on a dry plate or a sheet pan covered in parchment paper. This is known as a dry/wet/dry battering technique.

Heat about 1”-1 ½” inches of canola oil in a heavy black iron skillet until the oil reaches 350 degrees. You may also use a countertop deep fryer set to 350 degrees. Cook six or so tenders at a time, making sure not to crowd the pan. Cooke until golden brown on both sides and until the chicken is completely done in the center. Be careful not to overcook the chicken. I generally cook two tenders at first to gauge the cooking time and then repeat the proper results. As each batch comes out of the grease, place them on a rack, over a roasting pan in the oven to stay warm until all of the tenders are done.

Plate

Serve with Hot Pepper Jezebel Sauce.

(Serves 6)

For Kim Sewell - A great recipe for Grits

At the Capitol City Dinner Dance this past Saturday night, I had a great visit with two wonderful friends of mine. John and Kim Sewell are what my mother would have called "truly good people." During our visit, I discovered that Kim, who is not generally a follower of blogs, follows this one and even calls herself a "fan." Well...I've never had anyone describe themselves as a "fan" so suffice it to say that I am touched. I asked Kim to tell me her favorite food and her answer was PB&J or Grits. So Kim, here is a recipe I have created for you. Before today, it didn't exist.
Bon Appetit!
~Tom
Kim's Grits
2/3  cups quick grits (not instant)

1 1/3 cups whole milk

1 1/3 cups chicken stock

½ cup shredded colby/jack cheese

¼ rotisserie chicken*

4 slices smoked bacon

1 bunch green onions

1 tsp. Creole seasoning

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Paprika

Fresh ground black pepper

Salt

Prep

Finely chop green onions. Chop chicken into very small pieces, less than ½” cubes.

Cook

Cook the bacon in an iron skillet and reserve 1 Tbsp. of rendered bacon fat. Crumble bacon and set aside. In a large pot or saucepan, combine bacon fat, milk, chicken stock and grits with a pinch of salt and 1 Tbsp. butter and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and continue cooking, whisking frequently, until the grits are fully cooked and the proper consistency** is reached. Add cheese, crumbled bacon, Creole Seasoning, chicken and ½ of the green onions. Add butter, 1 Tbsp. at the time and when each one is melted, taste for flavor and add more butter if needed. You can also add more Creole seasoning if desired.

Plate

Serve in a shallow bowl and garnish with paprika, green onions and fresh ground black pepper.

*Most grocery stores have very good rotisserie chicken for sale. You decide if you want to use white or dark meat for your quarter chicken.

**If your grits are too thick, you can add a little whole milk to thin them a bit.

(Serves 8)