I am making my Mother's very old and original Louisiana recipe for Shrimp Creole. I typed it up just as she had copied it from her Louisiana cookbook, but I had to really tweak the roux. Sheesh! It calls for LARD and flour to make a rich roux and so I substituted the lard for coconut oil. I wasn't able to make as rich of a roux because of the substitution. Oh well, hopefully it will be good though!
Here's the recipe if anyone is interested:
Shrimp Creole
(Ruth Dial Westbrook's recipe from Louisiana)
Make a good rich roux:
One large tablespoon of lard and one of flour; into this put two onions, two cloves of garlic, one large bell pepper, two teaspoons of parsley, chopped fine; stir till onion browns slightly, then add a large can of tomatoes.
Season highly with one half teaspoon of red pepper, salt, two bay leaves, one-third teaspoon of celery seeds and one quarter teaspoon of powdered thyme.
Now add two pounds of raw, shelled shrimp and cover. Let all cook slowly for an hour, preferably in an old-fashioned iron pot; but a heavy new pot will do, if the cover fits tightly.
Half an hour before serving, add two teaspoons of Worchestershire sauce. Do not add water, as the juice from the tomatoes and shrimp is enough.
This is a fine dish served with white rice cooked dry.
RDW 2/25/75
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Friday, March 15, 2013
Smoked Turkey Legs with Collards Greens .... Mmmmm good!
No more oink oink for me! These collards cooked in smoked turkey legs broth are better than the pork version I use to make! Yeee hawwww! Good vittles, I tell ya! =D
Ingredients:
2-3 pounds of smoked meats; neck bones, turkey legs, riblets etc. ( I use 2 large smoked turkey legs)
I large stock pot
Water to cover turkey legs
8-12 bunches of collard greens or 4 lbs. chopped, cleaned and bagged from grocery store. ;)
garlic powder (about 1 Tablespoon)
1 1/2 cups white cooking wine
8 Texas Pete tabasco peppers without the juice.
Directions:
Fill to cover turkey legs in a large stock pot with cold water and add your smoked turkey legs or smoked meat. (You might have to add water from time to time if it drops below the legs.)
Cook over a medium flame for 4 hours or until meat is falling off the bone. Remove skin off the legs about midway into cooking them, with tongs and a small knife.
If you have freshly picked collards, while you are waiting for the meat to cook, pick through your greens by removing the stems and cutting the leaves to the size you like them. (I like to leave them big because greens do shrink up.) Rinse them well to remove any dirt or sand.
When meat is done, remove both turkey legs and strip all the meat and set aside. Discard all the bones.
Add the greens slowly to your turkey broth until all greens are in. They will be heaping up but keep cooking them and pressing them down with a wooden spoon. Once they are submerged into the broth, pour the cooking wine over them and add the turkey meat back in along with the garlic granules and Tabasco peppers. Carefully blend everything together and boil on a medium/low heat for another 1-2 hours.
Don't forget to make a cake of my Tweaked (to hell and back) Southern Cornbread to go along with those greens! =D
Mmmmm, mmmmmm good!!
Fill to cover turkey legs in a large stock pot with cold water and add your smoked turkey legs or smoked meat. (You might have to add water from time to time if it drops below the legs.)
Cook over a medium flame for 4 hours or until meat is falling off the bone. Remove skin off the legs about midway into cooking them, with tongs and a small knife.
If you have freshly picked collards, while you are waiting for the meat to cook, pick through your greens by removing the stems and cutting the leaves to the size you like them. (I like to leave them big because greens do shrink up.) Rinse them well to remove any dirt or sand.
When meat is done, remove both turkey legs and strip all the meat and set aside. Discard all the bones.
Add the greens slowly to your turkey broth until all greens are in. They will be heaping up but keep cooking them and pressing them down with a wooden spoon. Once they are submerged into the broth, pour the cooking wine over them and add the turkey meat back in along with the garlic granules and Tabasco peppers. Carefully blend everything together and boil on a medium/low heat for another 1-2 hours.
Don't forget to make a cake of my Tweaked (to hell and back) Southern Cornbread to go along with those greens! =D
Mmmmm, mmmmmm good!!
Thursday, March 14, 2013
My Tweaked (to hell and back) Southern Style Cornbread
Not so very long ago, I always made my southern style corn bread just like my grandmother made hers, who had passed down the recipe to my mother, who gave me the recipe. And all was well ... that is, I thought all was well. You see, REAL southern style cornbread did not contain ANY flour whatsoever, and it was made from WHITE corn ONLY, not yellow corn ... EVER. Along with the constraints of the type of cornmeal used, we also had to use only Perkerson's Stone Ground White Cornmeal, (not self rising), to make the perfect cake of cornbread or corn sticks.
There were other factors that also played a big part in whether your cornbread was a good cake or not. You had to use a well seasoned black iron skillet, or you could use corn stick irons, and always, let me stress ALWAYS, fresh bacon drippings, and fresh whole buttermilk. Those were the basic ingredients that would determine whether your cornbread was exceptional or not.
In 2008, with the radical very negative changes in our economic system, <cough>, that caused so many businesses to go under, Perkerson's Cornmeal fell prey to it all and went out of business. I tried my best to find an exceptional cornmeal to replace what had been for years, a household name in my family, but I was unable to find a substitute that I liked. I just could not imagine eating turnip greens, collard greens, mustard greens, and beans without a cake of my grandmother's cornbread made by me and with all those wonderful ingredients. This really had me bothered, but I wasn't going to let these changes keep me from enjoying foods that I loved.
So, after lots of experimenting and tweaking, and research on healthy choices, I came up with a cake of cornbread I can live with. It does not have the good ol' flavor that my grandmother's and mother's cornbread had, because I have stopped using bacon drippings in my cornbread now, which was part of what made the flavor so good. I still use whole buttermilk though, and a brand that has NO guar gum or gums of any kind in it. Just pure wholesome ingredients is all.
Anyway, I never could find in our area a plain stone ground cornmeal that I liked, so to keep from pulling what's left of my hair out, I finally settled for using White Lily's Cornmeal ... MIX. <cringe> There, I said it! It even has flour in it too!! <really laughing out loud here> Okay, okay, I know this was a HUGE change for me, but what's a mother to do when things are changing so fast out there? I at least can still laugh about it, and will continue to eat the foods I love with a cake of my Tweaked (to hell and back) Southern Style Cornbread that I can say with no doubt, is better for ya than using bacon drippings! :o
By the way, this cornbread is enjoyed so much more if you dunk it in the pot likker. Now if you don't know what pot likker is, then you don't have any business eating cornbread! LOL!
Ingredients:
2 cups White Lily Buttermilk Cornmeal Mix (self rising)
1 egg beaten
1 1/2 cups Whole Buttermilk (without any gums or other additives!)
1/4 cup olive oil (EVOO)
1 8" or 9" well seasoned iron skillet, (or iron corn stick pan), greased with coconut oil, (not shortening!)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees:
Grease liberally your skillet with the solidified coconut oil and place in the oven to melt while the oven is preheating.
In a small glass bowl, beat one egg and set aside.
Pour your Cornmeal mix into a medium size mixing bowl, and add the buttermilk, the olive oil, and beaten egg. Stir lightly. This batter is suppose to be lumpy so don't over stir it. Once oven is preheated, take out the hot skillet.
Pour batter into your hot iron skillet and listen to the sizzle! Okay, now place the skillet in the oven and cook for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven. Take a butter knife and run it around the outside of the cake loosening it from the sides of the skillet. Once you get it loose, turn it onto a 10" plate and serve with your greens and beans! It's even good with a bowl of homemade vegetable soup. I have the best recipe for Smoked Turkey Legs and Collard Greens that goes perfectly with this cornbread, so check it out also!
~Enjoy~
There were other factors that also played a big part in whether your cornbread was a good cake or not. You had to use a well seasoned black iron skillet, or you could use corn stick irons, and always, let me stress ALWAYS, fresh bacon drippings, and fresh whole buttermilk. Those were the basic ingredients that would determine whether your cornbread was exceptional or not.
In 2008, with the radical very negative changes in our economic system, <cough>, that caused so many businesses to go under, Perkerson's Cornmeal fell prey to it all and went out of business. I tried my best to find an exceptional cornmeal to replace what had been for years, a household name in my family, but I was unable to find a substitute that I liked. I just could not imagine eating turnip greens, collard greens, mustard greens, and beans without a cake of my grandmother's cornbread made by me and with all those wonderful ingredients. This really had me bothered, but I wasn't going to let these changes keep me from enjoying foods that I loved.
So, after lots of experimenting and tweaking, and research on healthy choices, I came up with a cake of cornbread I can live with. It does not have the good ol' flavor that my grandmother's and mother's cornbread had, because I have stopped using bacon drippings in my cornbread now, which was part of what made the flavor so good. I still use whole buttermilk though, and a brand that has NO guar gum or gums of any kind in it. Just pure wholesome ingredients is all.
Anyway, I never could find in our area a plain stone ground cornmeal that I liked, so to keep from pulling what's left of my hair out, I finally settled for using White Lily's Cornmeal ... MIX. <cringe> There, I said it! It even has flour in it too!! <really laughing out loud here> Okay, okay, I know this was a HUGE change for me, but what's a mother to do when things are changing so fast out there? I at least can still laugh about it, and will continue to eat the foods I love with a cake of my Tweaked (to hell and back) Southern Style Cornbread that I can say with no doubt, is better for ya than using bacon drippings! :o
By the way, this cornbread is enjoyed so much more if you dunk it in the pot likker. Now if you don't know what pot likker is, then you don't have any business eating cornbread! LOL!
Ingredients:
2 cups White Lily Buttermilk Cornmeal Mix (self rising)
1 egg beaten
1 1/2 cups Whole Buttermilk (without any gums or other additives!)
1/4 cup olive oil (EVOO)
1 8" or 9" well seasoned iron skillet, (or iron corn stick pan), greased with coconut oil, (not shortening!)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees:
Grease liberally your skillet with the solidified coconut oil and place in the oven to melt while the oven is preheating.
In a small glass bowl, beat one egg and set aside.
Pour your Cornmeal mix into a medium size mixing bowl, and add the buttermilk, the olive oil, and beaten egg. Stir lightly. This batter is suppose to be lumpy so don't over stir it. Once oven is preheated, take out the hot skillet.
Pour batter into your hot iron skillet and listen to the sizzle! Okay, now place the skillet in the oven and cook for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven. Take a butter knife and run it around the outside of the cake loosening it from the sides of the skillet. Once you get it loose, turn it onto a 10" plate and serve with your greens and beans! It's even good with a bowl of homemade vegetable soup. I have the best recipe for Smoked Turkey Legs and Collard Greens that goes perfectly with this cornbread, so check it out also!
~Enjoy~
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