Tag-Archive for » Pork «
07
Nov 2012
Nov 2012
Do you all realize there are only two Thursdays between now and Thanksgiving? How did that happen? Why isn’t Thanksgiving on November 29, instead of November 22? I’m well aware of the fourth Thursday of November tradition, but we’re losing an entire week here! Can’t we buck the system just once? For that reason alone, I’m glad I’m not hosting dinner this year. That takes some pressure off. But I still need to make two side dishes that can be prepared in advance and travel well (as in 500 miles well) or that can be made with little time and [ ... ]
Category: Breakfast, Christmas, Main Dishes, New Orleans Classics, Pork, Side Dishes, Thanksgiving, Vegetables
Tags: New Orleans Classics, Pork, Vegetables 2 Comments
26
Oct 2012
Oct 2012
Today’s finger food is for the kids. It was inspired by my neighbor’s youngest son who, several months back, starting referring to my Finger Food Fridays as “Fun Fridays.” My neighbor has three boys around the same ages as my gang. They are always together, unless one of her boys has ball practice or a game. On sports-free Friday evenings, she’ll typically mosey on down to share a beer and finger food out on my patio. Our children love it because they know those impromtu visits mean they’ll get to play outside until after dark. We love it because we [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Pork
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Pork 3 Comments
13
Oct 2012
Oct 2012
According to the turn of the century cookbook, The Picayune Creole Cook Book, a grillade (pronounced “gree-yahd”) is a square of fried meat cooked down with onions, tomatoes, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. The cookbook indicates that plain and breaded (“Grillades Panées”) versions of this “fried meat” were served primarily as hearty breakfast items alongside things like cracked wheat, apple fritters and café au lait. Among the poorer classes of Creoles, grillades were also served at dinner “with gravy” (“Grillades à la Sauce”) and a “dish of red beans and boiled rice.” At some point between then and now, [ ... ]
Category: Beef, Breakfast, Main Dishes, New Orleans Classics, Pork, Roux
Tags: Beef, Breakfast, New Orleans Classics, Pork, Roux, Veal 3 Comments
13
Jul 2012
Jul 2012
The hubby and I both come from large families. And it’s not uncommon for family visits to Atlanta to include upwards of 20 relatives at one time. So to take the stress out of feeding that many people three squares times however many days plus snacks, I prepare a lot of food in advance. One of those make-ahead items, one I’ve been making since we first moved away from home, is this Sausage in Puff Pastry. It’s two ingredients–puff pastry and sausage–that bake up into these fabulously flaky pastries. Because the recipe makes plenty plenty, [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Pork
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Pork Comments off
08
Jun 2012
Jun 2012
Fest fever continues this weekend in New Orleans with the Creole Tomato Festival. This one’s held at the French Market and celebrates one of our favorite local crops, the Creole Tomato. Creole Tomatoes are juicy, meaty and firm thanks to South Louisiana’s rich soil and subtropical (hot and humid) climate. Unfortunately, the season for these bright red beauties is short and local consumption is high. So you have to travel to the Greater New Orleans area or neighboring river parishes to get them. To fully appreciate all that a Creole Tomato is, it’s best to eat them like a local. [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Pork, Vegetables
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Pork, Vegetables Comments off
27
Mar 2012
Mar 2012
Growing up, Easter dinner always revolved around my mom’s perfectly baked Chisesi’s ham. (Chisesi’s Pride makes some of the finest smoked meats in New Orleans.) She bathe it in a sweet and savory mixture of brown sugar, coca-cola and yellow mustard. Then she studded the top with canned pineapple rings and marashino cherries. It was and still is one of the best baked hams I’ve ever tasted. Unfortunately, we can’t get Chisesi hams here in Atlanta (although the company recently expanded and is looking to make their fine pork products available nationwide–yay!). Even worse, I won’t be able to [ ... ]
19
Jan 2012
Jan 2012
One of the easiest ways to dress up everyday dinners is with a marinade. A good marinade can be thrown together in minutes with generous amount of herbs, spices and other seasonings, some form of acid to carry those flavors into the meat and help tenderize it and oil to keep the meat moist and prevent it from sticking while cooking. For maximum flavor, it’s best to plan a day ahead and marinate whatever you’re cooking (except seafood) overnight. But if you don’t have that luxury, a bold marinade can work its magic in thirty minutes. [ ... ]
12
Aug 2011
Aug 2011
New Orleans is known for lots of wonderful food stuff, including sandwiches. The two most popular being the poor boy and the muffuletta. But there’s another sandwich in town that’s gotten a lot of attention over the past few years. It’s “banh mi” (pronounced bun-me). The word refers to both a Vietnamese-style baguette loaf and the sandwich that’s made with it. The story behind the New Orleans-Vietnamese banh mi goes something like this.
Way back when, the French introduced a baguette smeared with liver pate to the Vietnamese people. The Vietnamese called it banh (biscuit/cake) mi (flour/wheat). The French-style baguette was [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Poor Boys, Pork
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Po-Boy, Pork One Comment
15
Dec 2010
Dec 2010
Today, as promised, I’m sharing a fast and flavorful recipe for Sunday’s leftovers. Remember the Apple and Bacon Grilled Pork Loin with Bourbon Brown Sugar Glaze? Well, pull that dish out of the fridge and warm it up. Because in less than 15 minutes, that pork loin and yummy glaze are going to be transformed into a festive platter of Pork Tacos with Chimichurri. The only thing you’ll need to do for tonight’s meal, in addition to pushing a few buttons on the microwave, is prepare the chimichurri sauce. That prep time, by the way, is included in the 15 [ ... ]
12
Dec 2010
Dec 2010
The title of this recipe is a mouthful, I know, but with good reason. This dish delivers BIG flavors. And I’m happy to say that all the ingredients have come together nicely despite the fact that my thoughts and my spices were all over the place when I created it. If you’re in the mood for a smoky-sweet and succulent pork loin, this post is for you. And today is the perfect day for grilling something low and slow, even if it is a bit chilly outside.
This recipe is my best attempt at marrying two of my favorite pig combos: [ ... ]
