So, here’s the dilemma:

When I freak out, I procrastinate. When I procrastinate, I shop. When I shop, I get hungry. When I get hungry, I eat. When I eat too much, I freak out.

Okay, freaking is a bit too strong of a word, but it certainly is an emotionally charged word and certainly helps justify the destructive chain of events that happen following the initial emotional breakdown.

So, I’m on deadline for this book – well, truth be told, I’m past deadline (thus the freaking out) — and now all I can think about are these dishes, these glasses, chubby hubby bars and Frito Pie….as in homemade 1 Hour Texas Chili spooned on top of a mound of Frito chips.

Frito Pie is a Texas delicacy, popular at county fairs and considered good tail-gaitin’ eats. It’s an easy enough treat to make – a 10 minute prep and then let it simmer an hour on the stove. Rip open a package of Fritos, pour it on and eat straight out of the bag.

The recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks of 2011 – Lisa Fain’s Homesick Texan Cookbook - slightly modified to shave off a few minutes of the hands-on involvement in the recipe.

You can customize this recipe any way you want, including adding a can of Rotel diced tomatoes, a can of beans or using ground turkey, but there’s one thing you don’t want to change: use dried chiles instead of just chili powder.

Lisa’s recipe calls for dried ancho, chipotle and pequin — though I only used ancho and chipotle (couldn’t find pequin). The dried chiles will last forever in your pantry and all you need to do is rehydrate them in water and add them in the blender along with dried oregano, ground cumin, clove and cinnamon. This homemade chili base that has so much more depth and flavor than just ground chili powder.

The kids loved it – it’s not spicy-hot (top it with chopped jalepeno peppers if you want) and they thought I was the coolest mom letting them eat out of a chip bag. 
Continue reading Frito Pie with 1 Hour Texas Chili...

©Steamy Kitchen Recipes, 2012. | Permalink | 23 comments

We have a habit of publishing recipes on Steamy Kitchen that involve a boozy pan sauce. The three of us, Adam, Joanne and I all cook with a spatula in one hand and a glass of somethin’ in the other, and it’s just so easy to pour a little of that magic into the pan (oh hello, Salmon with Blackberry Brandy Sauce!)

Most of the time, the booze goes into the pan by purpose (Steak with Creamy Whisky Mushroom Sauce). Other times, after a quick taste test, we notice, “hmmmm….it’s missing something….” and in goes a splash of brandy (Garlic Brandy Prawns) and all is right in the world.

A creamy, white wine sauce is perfect with either chicken or pork – the white meats are delicate enough to let the nuances of white wine shine through.

How to make Pork Chops with White Wine Sauce

Start by brushing each side of the pork chops with olive oil then season with salt.

Add the chops to a hot pan. Sear about 2 minutes on each side or until browned.

Remove the chops to a plate then add some butter, sliced mushrooms and onions to the pan. Cook 2-3 minutes or until soft.

Pour in the wine. When you choose the wine go for a dry white, something like a Chardonnay or Chablis.

Cook the wine, about 1 minute then add in some cream.

Add the pork chops back into the pan, turn heat to low and cover with aluminum foil.

Cook the pork chops until they reach somewhere between 145 and 150 degrees F.

More Pork Chop Recipes

Pork Chops with Apricot Brandy Sauce (Steamy Kitchen)

©Steamy Kitchen Recipes, 2011. | Permalink | 26 comments

I don’t know what I like better: the collard greens, the rich pot liquor or digging out the bits of smoky meat from the ham hock!

The Collard Greens recipe is from my good friend and fellow food blogger, Lisa Fain, who writes the blog, Homesick Texan. She’s a 7th generation Texan who moved to New York City for a job and one day found herself scouring the city in search of Ro-Tel tomatoes, the only brand of tomatoes fit for true Tex-Mex Chile Con Queso.

Of course, she couldn’t find any, and thus the Homesick Texan blog was born. Lisa has just come out with her very first cookbook, The Homesick Texan Cookbook.

It’s one of my favorite cookbooks this year – after no less than 4 trips to the Lone Star state this year alone – I’ve been craving Tex-Mex foods like crazy.

Even though Lisa lives 1,200 miles from me, I see her more often than friends down the street. Every trip to NYC is incomplete without sharing a meal with Lisa – we’ve done sushi, Jamaican, sushi and more sushi.

And those red cowboy boots she’s wearing? Only Lisa could be responsible for this.

Lisa’s Collard Greens are simple. Throw in a couple handfuls of hearty smoked meats, add the collard greens, pour in water and apple cider vinegar and let it simmer for an hour and half or until the greens are as soft as you like them. Collard Greens are just as much about the simmering sauce as it is about the greens.

The savory, smoky, vitamin-rich pot-liquor is so full of rich flavor that you’ll savor every last drop. In fact, spoon your collard greens onto your plate, right next to the roasted garlic mashed potatoes on your plate. Forget the gravy – the pot liquor will find its way over and bleed into the soft mashed potatoes. I guarantee my kids will be forming a mashed potato moat, just so the pot liquor doesn’t escape.

Vegetarian version of Collard Greens? You bet. Lisa’s got a secret ingredient, one that actually made me say outloud, “No. Way. Really????”

Continue reading Collard Greens with Ham and Smoked Hock...

©Steamy Kitchen Recipes, 2011. | Permalink | 21 comments

It’s funny the difference in reactions I get between “we’re having squid tonight” and “we’re having calamari tonight” – one it utter disgust “EWWWW SQUID!???” And the other, “oh, we’re going fancy Italian tonight, aren’t we?”

Most of the calamari we order from restaurants is the traditional battered ‘n deep fried (LOVE!) but somehow I lost my deep fryer during the move. It’s a mystery — where is my electric deep fryer full of slightly used canola oil? Where could i have put it? Did the moving people lose it? Did it get accidentally mixed in with another family’s stuff? Did Swiper swipe it?

Well, whoever has it, I’m sure is making beautiful battered and deep fried calamari.

In the meantime, our calamari is grilled on a stick, which in my opinion, is just as good as fried (so THERE!)

Buying squid…errrrr…..calamari can be a little scary – what do you do with the slippery tubes and funny fingers? For this recipe, I buy already cleaned squid, which you can get frozen in a bag or your nice fishmonger might have some already defrosted in the glass case for ya.

Now…I know some of you can’t get already-cleaned squid…so I ventured out to the interwebs to find you some videos. But I gotta say, since handling slimy squid with a giant eyeball staring at you and long tentacles waiting to (eeeeks STOP IT!! I watch too many horror flicks) isn’t the most easy thing to do, I was hoping that I could find a happyhappyjoyjoy video about cleaning squid.

Continue reading Simple Grilled Calamari...

©Steamy Kitchen Recipes, 2011. | Permalink | 20 comments

I know it’s a little early to think about Thanksgiving leftovers, but believe me, time goes by so crazy fast! Once the big meal is over, even after the late-night refrigerator raid (you sneak in and pick at the turkey in the refrigerator too, right?!), we’ll always have more than enough leftover turkey for Turkey Gumbo.

Since Thanksgiving is such a big, heavy dinner, I created this recipe with restraint in mind.  It’s a lighter, milder version of gumbo than what you may be used to, a little more broth-y and no mouth-burning cayenne pepper or hot sauce, since the little kids will be enjoying this too (but feel free to douse your version with as much hot chili pepper as you like!)

While the ingredient list may look long, it is ingredients that you’ll probably have on hand anyways from cooking Thanksgiving meal. Leftover turkey meat is stirred into the gumbo at the end, just to heat through. The slow-simmered, richly flavored Turkey Gumbo served over steaming hot rice may just break the monotony of leftover turkey sandwiches this year for you too.
Continue reading Leftover Turkey Recipe: Turkey Gumbo...

©Steamy Kitchen Recipes, 2011. | Permalink | 13 comments

If you ask Nathan what his most favorite recipe to cook is, he’ll tell you, “p’skeddi squash and steak!” He’s taken quite a liking to p’skeddi squash, and we’ve never tried to correct his pronunciation of spaghetti squash, it’s just too darn cute! Though I can imagine one day, when he’s older and cooking a romantic meal for a special gal, calling it p’skeddi may ruin his chances of a second date.

Due to a little goof while gardening with 35 seed packets and 2 over-zealous kids, we planted 12 spaghetti squash plants in the garden, enough to supply our entire zip code with spaghetti squash for life.

Thankfully, the chickens have a taste for the leaves and the happy-yellow flowers – and we haven’t stopped them from consuming most of the spaghetti squash plants, so now we’re left with 3 plants, one of which is barely hanging on.

The hens are my heroes!

Microwaving the Spaghetti Squash

The fastest way to cook the spaghetti squash is to microwave it! If microwaving a solid, heavy squash intimidates you a bit, you can also bake the spaghetti squash in the oven, which takes an hour to do, but is just as easy.

You’ll take a sharp paring knife and carefully, very carefully, pierce the squash in several places all over. It’s a hard squash, so it takes a bit of effort to do this. I guess a better instruction would be to say STAB the squash. But do this carefully, k?! The squash is a round, rolly, hard object.

Microwave on high for 10-12 minutes, rotating the squash halfway during cooking.

After cooking, just let the squash sit there for a few minutes to cool down a bit. Put on some oven gloves and remove the hot squash.

I highly suggest a thick towel or oven gloves – remember you stabbed the squash? Well inside the squash is steaming hot squash and some liquid which may leak through the stab marks.

I use these Pit Mitts – okay, so I look like a dork, but they are amazing – soft gloves that actually fit my hand with rubber grippy grip lines all over. I highly recommend them as I’m not a fan of those traditional oven mitts that make you feel like you’re cooking with Barney the annoying purple dinosaur hands.

Continue reading Microwave Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes & Basil...

©Steamy Kitchen Recipes, 2011. | Permalink | 20 comments

My husband, Scott, has quite an extensive single-malt scotch collection, which normally is off-limits to me and my kitchen.

According to him, scotch is to be slowly sipped and savored, not poured or glugged into a sizzling pan as a base for a sauce. Our rum stash, on the other hand, is fine for me to experiment with. Scott likes fine rum but not quite at the same intensity as the scotch.

We experimented with creating boozy salad dressings for adults a couple of weeks ago. We thought, why not make salad a little more fun for us? It turns out that aged rum, which is made from sugarcane, has the perfect caramel sweetness for a vinaigrette. Whisk a shot with a bit of apple-cider vinegar, mustard and olive oil for a salad dressing that’s sweet, tangy and has a touch of heat from the rum.

We used Flor de Cana rum from Nicaragua, aged 18 years. Of course, the better the rum, the better the results: You’re only using a shot-glass full. Aged rum or dark rum is better than the gut-twisting cheap stuff.

Rum Vinaigrette

Here’s whatcha need:

Simple, right?! Basically, you whisk everything together. Feel free to add more rum than stated in the recipe (hiccup!)

Continue reading Grilled Steak and Tomato Salad with Rum Vinaigrette...

©Steamy Kitchen Recipes, 2011. | Permalink | 22 comments

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to learn all there is to know about Prosciutto di Parma. That means Italy, baby. Jaden hasn’t even been to Italy before, so the fact that I was able to go in her place was quite the job perk! She made me promise to eat lots and lots for her, which I, being the obedient assistant that I am, carried out with grace. In the end, it all worked out, that same weekend, Jaden ended up hosting the 3rd annual dumpling festival in New York City, in fact, it worked out so well that they were able to raise over $46,000 for the Food Bank for NYC!

-joanne

about Prosciutto di Parma

Surprisingly enough, there are only two ingredients that go into prosciutto di Parma (also called Parma Ham), they are natural sea salt and Italian pork, more specifically “special” Italian pork that has been raised in one of 10 regions of Northern Italy. Here are a few photos from my experience, and yes, that is me in the funny hat (not my choice).

From top right: "First Salt," Curing Process, Joanne in a funny hat, How Italian's must work off all that delicious Parma Ham!

-Joanne

How to make Prosciutto and Ricotta Crostinis with Honey

For the crostinis, you will need five ingredients: French bread, prosciutto, ricotta, arugula and honey.

Start by slicing the baguette on the diagonal to make around 20 1/2-inch thick slices then lightly brush each slice with olive oil. Bake slices in a 350 degree F oven for 2-3 minutes or until they just begin to toast around the edges.

While the slices are still warm, spread on the ricotta cheese.

Then, top with prosciutto, arugula leaves and a drizzle of honey.

Serve and enjoy!

©Steamy Kitchen Recipes, 2011. | Permalink | 13 comments

A couple of years ago, my husband, Scott, asked me to make a potato salad. He’s not a man who asks very often for something so specific, 95% of his requests center around the one-syllable, “meat” so I took his request pretty seriously.

I’ve always considered potato salad one of those “filler sides” that come with your lunch order at a deli – it’s cheap, easy to make and generally all taste the same. The gloppy, mayo-heavy version that comes in a plastic tub is nothing to brag about, nothing to complain about, it’s just there next to your sandwich.

So I set out to make a version of potato salad that would be show-stopping memorable and that I actually could brag about. The first step was to do away with boiled potatoes, which have very little taste (except when mashed with loads of butter and drenched in gravy — but that’s an entirely different recipe), and instead roast them, which gave them a deeper, nuttier taste and a crisp-brown crust on the sides.

I definitely wanted to pair them with loads of warm chopped bacon, this was going to be a potato salad served warm with salty bacon that had just come from the skillet.

Instead of mayonnaise, I went lighter and made a tangy vinaigrette out of red wine vinegar, mustard and the bacon drippings. Toss it all together at the last minute, right before serving.

Bingo! It was all sorts of perfect, my husband had thirds of the warm potato salad and nearly forgot about the “meat” on his plate. So much for the salad being merely a side, it’s been one of my most requested dishes by my family and friends. You know you’ve got a winner when people rotate their dinner plates so that the warm potato salad stands closest, right in front.

Warm Bacon Potato Salad Ingredients

Here’s what you will need for the salad:

Continue reading Warm Bacon Potato Salad...

©Steamy Kitchen Recipes, 2011. | Permalink | 39 comments

Meet my friend, Virginia Willis, former Kitchen Director for Martha Stewart Living Television, award-winning author of Bon Appetit, Y’all and this week celebrating the release of her brand new book, Basic to Brilliant, Y’all.

I first met Virginia a couple of years ago at an IACP conference in Portland and I asked her to speak at a Food Blog Forum event we held last year in her hometown, Atlanta. The moment you meet Virginia, you know you’ve made a friend for life. She’s has that affect on people – you can’t help but be pulled in by her Southern charm and generous spirit.

Virginia’s Southern roots is complemented by her French culinary training. Her recipes are just that – good ol’ homey Southern recipes with a touch of French elegance. Her new book, Basic to Brilliant, Y’all is all about that special little somethin’ to turn a basic recipe to “Brilliant.”

Who else would tell you to top your jambalaya with Cracklin’ Powder? Just run to the store, grab a bag of fried pig skin (cracklin’s) and pulse them in your food processor. Sprinkle them on anything (I’ve done it to popcorn!!)

Today’s recipe, Pan-Seared Trout is from her book – and she turns this basic recipe to Brilliant with a simple Pecan Brown Butter that’s drizzled over the fish.

Virginia asked me to write a little blurb for the cover of the book – this is what I wrote for the inside flap:

“As a busy mom, I truly appreciate Virginia’s Brilliant tips that accompany every recipe; many of them take only a few minutes more to transform ordinary family favorites to extraordinary, company-worthy centerpieces. From these tips, I’ve learned so many clever techniques, short recipes and presentation ideas!”  ~Jaden Hair

Get a signed bookplate from Virginia Willis!

I hope you have a chance to browse through this book – and if you happen to want to purchase it, Virginia would love to give Steamy Kitchen readers a little something special – she’ll send you a personalized and signed bookplate. So, if you’re looking for a nice gift for yourself or a friend, purchase a copy of the book  and then fill out this online form by October 12, 2011 and Virginia will get the bookplate sent to you.

Give a shoutout to Virginia Willis on Facebook or Twitter and let her know what you think of her new book!

©Steamy Kitchen Recipes, 2011. | Permalink | 20 comments