Louisiana: Land of Seafood & Sweets. Cajun, Creole, Southern comfort soul food, easy recipes, articles, Cajun jokes. Louisiana and New Orleans recipes, photos, news, music and food videos.
From Denny: Can I tell you that brisket is a huge favorite in the South? Definitely it is in Louisiana as it feeds a lot of people inexpensively, often employed for football season in the fall yet enjoyed for family reunions and summer barbeques too. With the global economy the way it is currently this is a great recipe to share with your friends in many countries!
While it is a dish that is slow-cooked for hours it is not labor intensive, one of those "wrap it up to cook and forget it" situations - my favorite! This recipe comes from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
From John Kessler: Here’s a version of the brisket that won Richard Blais high marks on “Top Chef.” For garnish, you may want to forgo the star anise mashed potatoes his teammate served alongside and instead opt for some plain boiled new potatoes or noodles to soak up the ample sauce. Also, a vinegary pickle or salad would be welcome with this sweet dish.
You’ll need to find a brisket untrimmed of its fat, which bathes it during the slow braise. Your best bet is to find a butcher who will unwrap a fresh whole brisket and cut you a lengthwise half, which makes for a beautiful presentation.
Richard Blais’ 14-Hour Brisket
Hands on time: 30 minutes
Total time: 14 hours and 30 minutes
Serves: 8
Ingredients:
1/2 of a whole untrimmed brisket, cut lengthwise (about 6 pounds)
Coat the brisket liberally with the Cajun seasonings and salt. Fire up a grill and grill the surface of the brisket aggressively, searing it well on each side for maximum flavor. Place the brisket, fat side up, on a large length of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
Combine the mustard and sugar and slather it well over (and under) the brisket. Close it tightly in the foil and then double wrap in a second piece of foil. Place in a roasting pan with sides at least 1 inch high. Place in the oven.
After 12 hours, carefully unwrap and check the brisket. While some clear molten fat will have collected in the pan, the sauce should be trapped inside the foil. If the brisket isn’t fall-apart tender, then return to the oven for 1 or 2 hours. Slice and serve with the pooled sauce.
Notes: Total time includes 12-plus hours of oven time.
From Denny: Looks like I will be exploring and downright plundering this wonderful recipe database over at PastryWiz.com! Wonderful array of recipes over here at this extensive database.
Repeat after me:Louisiana LOVES lemon! Louisiana people LOVE lemon recipes! We even planted a lemon tree in our back yard a couple of years ago. Of course, we named "him": Lemoncello (how original)
This lower fat version of a Lemon Bundt Cake sounded really good. OK, I'll probably not go for the margarine which I find a revolting taste but at least those with special diets who adjusted their tastebuds could enjoy this recipe. I'll just use clarified butter (or ghee when I can find it on the grocery shelves).
Cooking spray: substitute your own like placing canola oil in a spray bottle to get the same "less is more" effect. Canola oil is a thinner oil than most and can be sprayed.
By using egg whites they eliminate the extra fat and calories, same with using skim milk over low fat or whole milk.
And icing, well, I'd probably use half to none at all as I've never been a huge fan of sugar icing (now chocolate ganache is another matter...).
Better yet I would prefer to serve the icing as a puddle on the side of the sliced cake so you could dip a piece of cake in it or take your fork and lightly drizzle the icing over your slice of cake.
Louisiana people LOVE their sugar icings and call them "Cream Cakes" when used like the one below.
Lemon Cream Cheese Streusel Bundt Cake Image by pirate johnny via Flickr - why couldn't they put a recipe with this yummy photo? :)Of course, this is the fattening version. That's why it looks so appealing, right?! All right, everyone, get your eyes peeled back on to the prize goal: low calorie for today! ;)
Directions: Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine yogurt, corn syrup, sugar, vanilla, egg whites, lemon juice, and lemon rind and mix well. In a medium bowl, combine flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.
Add a the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix well. Pour batter into pan. Bake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Let cake cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pan. Remove cake from pan and cool in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes before icing.
Combine icing ingredients and mix well. Pour or spread icing over cake until it's completely covered. Cool completely before serving.
Nutritional Info: Cal: 386 Fat: less than 1 gram
Following are some more lemon cake recipes to enjoy!
From Denny: OK, yum! We Southerners love our biscuits which to the uninitiated or folks in Britain, Australia, India and the like, these are little breads not the sweet cookies you call biscuits. What a confusion! :)
Usually, they are basically a baking powder-risen (though some versions are risen by yeast) quick bread cut into 3-inch rounds. They are a close cousin of the scone and can take anything on them but most often it is butter and jam of choice. At our house we even enjoy them with lemon curd!
Southern biscuits are the stuff of legends in many an eatery across the Southeast of America. Few homes make them any more so most people go out to eat them at breakfast with a side of ham or sausage and over-easy fried eggs.
Well, I do know how to make them and quite well. No one else in the family ever got the hang of it. This recipe is a bit different than what I use because I don't use lard but rather clarified butter or canola oil for the cholesterol benefit. But lard, well, it tastes divine and you ought to try the original version at least once in your life! :)
When I make them I often pop the unbaked extras into the freezer. They live to feed us the Divine for another day, baking up beautifully from freezer to oven!
The bonus in this recipe too is that it teaches how to make your own baking powder - which is a first for me, cool!
Kneading Note from Denny: Since he does not mention here, and I rarely see it in biscuit recipes, is a trick I learned a long time ago. When making this bread you don't want it to be too tough but rather light and fluffy. To achieve that, when kneading the dough, slowly and carefully flipping it over, gathering it up and folding down onto itself, make sure you don't allow but a sprinkle of flour to be found inside that fold.
Many people put too much flour into the fold and then wonder why their biscuits are hard as rocks and tasteless. Less is definitely more! I don't use a rolling pin either, too much work, just use my hands like most cooks as it gives you that tactile awareness of how the dough is developing and when to stop working the dough.
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution they offer a version closer to the historical. Here's Scott Peacock's comments from the article: "Biscuits are the stuff of legend. The mere mention of them conjures images of hearth and home, kindly grandmothers and good-smelling kitchens. A particularly well-made biscuit has been known to inspire proposals of marriage.
People love eating biscuits. They love talking about biscuits. But when it comes to making them, the sad truth is that many people, even Southerners, are often too afraid to try ... Experience has taught me that, in the end, a good biscuit really boils down to a few basics: mainly a hot oven, cold fat and a gentle but knowing hand.
But it’s the details that make a great biscuit, and simple as they are, they are important and should be followed closely. To my taste, a biscuit should be crusty and golden brown on the top — and even lightly browned on the bottom — with an interior that is soft, light and tender but not too fluffy. It should be slightly moist, but not so moist that it becomes gummy when you eat it, and dry enough to absorb a pat of good butter as it melts. It should be flavorful and well-seasoned, with a slight buttermilk tang, pleasing on its own but an excellent vehicle for other flavors as well.
Ratio of crusty exterior to soft interior is important, and I’m no fan of those big, Hollywood-pumped-up-on-steroids-looking biscuits. I prefer a biscuit no larger than three inches or so in diameter and not much more than an inch in height."
Hot, Crusty Buttermilk Biscuits
From: Scott Peacock
Hands on time: 10 minutes
Total time: 22 minutes
Serves: 15
Ingredients:
5 cups sifted White Lily flour (measured after sifting)
1 3/4 cups chilled buttermilk, plus a few tablespoons more if needed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Instructions:
Preheat over to 500 degrees. Put the flour, homemade baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk well to thoroughly blend. Add the lard and, working quickly, coat in flour and rub between your fingertips until about half the lard is coarsely blended and the other half remains in large pieces about 1/2 inch in size.
Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk. Stir quickly, just until the dough is blended and begins to mass. The dough should be soft and a bit sticky and there should not be large amounts of unincorporated flour in the bowl. If dough is too dry, add a few tablespoons more buttermilk.
Turn the dough immediately onto a generously floured surface, and with floured hands knead briskly 8 to 10 times until a cohesive dough is formed.
Gently flatten the dough with your hands so it is of an even thickness. Then, using a floured rolling pin, roll it out to a uniform thickness of 1/2 inch. (If the dough begins to stick to your rolling pin, dust the pin — not the dough — with flour. Flouring the dough at this point will result in dusty-looking biscuits.) With a dinner fork dipped in flour, pierce the dough completely through at 1/2-inch intervals.
Lightly flour a 2 1/2- or 3-inch biscuit cutter and stamp out rounds. (Do not twist the cutter when stamping out biscuits.) Cut the biscuits from the dough as close together as you can for a maximum yield. Arrange cut biscuits on a heavy, ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheet so that they almost touch. Do not re-roll the scraps. Just bake as is and enjoy as a treat.
Bake in upper third of the oven for 8 to 12 minutes until crusty golden brown. (Check about 6 minutes into baking and rotate the pan if needed to ensure even cooking.) Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter. Serve hot.
Notes:
Homemade baking powder recipe: Sift together three times 1/4 cup cream of tartar and 2 tablespoons baking soda. Transfer to a clean, dry, tight-sealing jar. Store at room temperature, away from direct sunlight, for up to four weeks. Use in any recipe calling for commercial baking powder.
Slap That Cold Silly with Food as Medicine: "Utilize spices in your food to give healing support to that cold or flu. Here’s an easy exotic and delicious soup recipe when you are feeling miserable. Soup recipe included."
By Denny Lyon @ HubPages
From Denny: This is a popular article. While it may be almost early summer and hot here in Louisiana it sure isn't in other parts of the country and world! After all it snowed in Colorado this month. On the news is the latest about a new outbreak of flu.
What is good about this article and soup recipe is that it gives real information about the properties of food and how they can benefit a situation with a cold, flu or allergy symptoms. Lentils and beans both act as astringents, pulling excess water out of the body. For that reason alone this is a good and practical read! :) We all know the miseries of a stuffy and runny nose.
Spices are another forgotten food in our modern culture and contain many healthful properties waiting to be rediscovered by us today!
Written by Denny Lyon 2 HubPages Photo of paprika peppers by meaduva @ flickr
From Denny: I'm always finding the most interesting articles about the latest health study. Too bad there wasn't more research devoted to orphan diseases, ones that afflict a small percentage of the population. Read that as the drug companies believe they can't make big money by searching for cures for these diseases - so they do nothing. Maybe it's the role of international governments to get into the act to help the suffering sectors of humanity? What do you think?
Health is a large area to cover so if you have some suggestions of anything I might be overlooking and you want to throw out at me, please do! You can also email me: warriorspearl@gmail.com too if you like. Yes, I actually answer my own email and am not too full of myself - well, not yet, anyway...! :) (There goes that cheeky side escaping again...)
Here are a few articles you might find an interesting read:
From Denny: Since I have too many interests I've parked them on other blogs in addition to this one. Apparently, most people start a blog, lose interest, abandon the first one to start another blog. Not me. I just keep expanding to ADD more blogs! (totally crazy, I suppose - but hey! I'm happy...)
Anyway, articles about how the brain works, astronomy, psychology, some math and physics on basic levels is what I park over at the blog The Soul Calendar. It keeps climbing in the traffic rankings quite nicely and I happily write about whatever catches my interest for the week! Life is good!
I'm still poking around the web for children's resources for parents and science projects readers might find interesting. If you know of any sites or projects, speak up and shoot me an email at warriorspearl@gmail.com, much appreciated!
Here are a few posts you might find an interesting read:
From Denny: We love our sweet potatoes here in Louisiana! From Canada.com comes yet another way to enjoy our beloved sweet potato in a gourmet soup. There is a recipe converter link listed after the posting area on this blog in case you are not familiar with the Canadian version of measurements.
Sweet Potato Soup with Matchstick Fries and Frizzled Leeks
1 big knuckle of fresh ginger (about 1 tablespoon / 15 mL) peeled and grated)
2 cups water (500 mL)
Peel and quarter the sweet potatoes.
Wash leeks well and drain, remove any damaged outside peel, remove the hairy white tips from the end, and cut leeks into one-inch slices (leave one three-inch section aside to be fried later for the garnish).
Soften leeks in a large pot with a nub of butter, the salt and pepper. Do not brown.
Add six cups of stock or water
Add sweet potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and boil until cooked through - just softer than fork tender. Using an immersion blender, purée the ingredients until they are thoroughly blended.
Add the grated ginger, and test for consistency. If too thick, add a bit more water. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt or pepper as needed. Place in a bowl and garnish with a mound of hot crispy matchstick potatoes and frizzled leeks.
Rinse them under cold water in a strainer to remove excess starch. Let drain well. Pat dry. In a deep fryer set at 350 degrees F (180C), fry for three to five minutes submerged in canola oil until a nice, deep golden brown. Drain on a paper towel or absorbent cloth. Hit them with a sprinkle of salt and pepper right away.
Cut strips of leek into julienne slices similar to potato. In a small bowl, place two tablespoons of starch and lightly dust the leek pieces in it to help prevent burning. Fry the three-inch strips of leek in same oil until they are just golden - about one minute, to make "frizzled leeks."
Add to your bowl of matchstick fries. Mix them together. Garnish in a little mound on top of the soup.
***
Chuck's Day Off airs on the Food Network on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. For more information on Chuck Hughes's TV show and for more recipes, go to: www.foodtv.ca/chucksdayoff
For previous columns and recipes, go to www.montrealgazette.com/life and click on Food & Wine
From Denny: Found at EveningEdge.com is this wonderful Cajun styled fish recipe! I'm a huge fan of wild-raised salmon like you can get over at Whole Foods. Soy sauce, sesame oil and garlic are all perfect flavors for salmon cooking. The unusual dressing sounds unique to go with the fish. Give it a try!
Ya Ya Salmon
From: Gumbeaux's Cajun Cafe in Douglasville, Georgia
"Ya Ya Salmon is the creation of chef Richard Paul-Dennis, has been featured on TV cooking shows. Incidentally, Ya Ya in Cajun means a young, aspiring artist. In the old days, young tap dancers were called Ya Yas. It is also the chef's nickname."
Mix red pepper, black pepper, creole seasoning, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and sugar. Coat salmon fillets with the spice mixture and set aside.
To make the Red Hot Sesame Onion Dressing: In the bowl of a food processor, place brown sugar, green, red and yellow onions, vinegar, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Process 3 to 4 minutes. With the motor running, slowly add sesame oil.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare grill. Grill salmon long enough (about 5 minutes) to leave grill marks. Transfer salmon to an ovenproof pan. Pour 1 1/2 cups onion dressing over salmon and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in oven 25 to 30 minutes, or until onion dressing bubbles and thickens.
Notes:
Recipe tester Sara Levy notes that though it might seem that there is a lot of pepper and hot spices in this recipe, the sugar in the rub and sauce tempers it to the point where it has just enough bite without being overwhelmed by heat. She says that it is "very flavorful."
From Denny: Since grilling season is almost upon us here is a wonderful post and recipe from a lady who is used to doing ahead and making in bulk! AND she has some great organizing ideas on all kinds of unusual subjects you might not have thought about - until now.
From Denny: Well, I hear we blogger types are supposed to jump up and brag about reaching the 100th post milestone. ;) You can tell I'm really "great" about some anniversaries as I've already passed that milestone with now 140 posts. Oh, well, so much for showing off!
From Denny: Found these outstanding recipes over at Canada.com. They were featured as Southern-style snacks for the Super Bowl game. The Canadians have a good pulse on Southern food, what a pleasant surprise!
***
Baked Peel-and-Eat Shrimp With Tequila and Lime (In Louisiana we call them Oven Barbeque Shrimp and this looks like a good Florida style version.)
You could put all the ingredients for the flavoured butter into the pot, and set the shrimp in the baking dish an hour or two before serving and keep them in the fridge. When ready to serve, melt the butter as described in the recipe, pour over the shrimp and bake.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10-12 minutes
Makes: 6 (4 shrimp or prawn) servings
1/4 cup butter
2 oz. tequila
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp grated lime zest
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp honey
1-2 tsp hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
24 large shrimp or prawns, shell on
salt to taste
lime slices for garnish (optional)
Place the first 7 ingredients in a small pot and set over medium heat. Cook until the butter is melted and well combined with the other ingredients. Set the shrimp or prawns in a single layer in a baking dish. Pour the butter mixture over them. Preheat the oven to 425* F. Let the shrimp or prawns marinate in the butter mixture at room temperature 10 minutes. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until just cooked through. Arrange on a serving plate, sprinkle with salt, garnish with lime slices, if desired, and serve.
***
Chimichurri Wings
Be sure to serve these finger-licking good wings with plenty of napkins.
Preparation time: 10 minutes, plus marinating time
24 chicken wingettes or drumettes, or a mix of both (see Note)
salt to taste
lime slices for garnish (optional)
Place the first 9 ingredients in a food processor and pulse until sauce-like.
Spoon the mixture into a medium-sized bowl. Add the wings and toss to coat. Cover and marinate the wings in the fridge for 4 hours, or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 425* F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the wings on the baking sheet in a single layer. Using a teaspoon, spoon the chimichurri mixture left in the bowl over the wings.
Season each wing with salt. Bake 25-30 minutes, depending on the size of the wing, or until cooked through. Arrange the wings on a serving plate, garnish with lime slices, if desired, and serve.
Note: Chicken wingettes are the thin portion of the wing before the tip.
Drumettes are the meatier portion that attach to the breast. You'll find chicken wings in these forms at most supermarkets. If you can't, you'll have to split the wings yourself.
***
Chicken and Poblano Chili Pizzas
You can make these pizzas oven-ready early in the day. Refridgerate and bake when needed. Deep- green coloured, poblano peppers are mildly spicy and have a richer flavour than green bell peppers.
Preheat the oven to 425* F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Set 2 pita bread on each baking sheet. Spread the top of the pita with the barbecue sauce. Top the pizzas with the cheese. Arrange the chicken on top of the cheese; sprinkle with the diced poblano peppers. Bake the pizzas, one tray at a time, 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the bottom of the pizza is crispy. Cut pizzas into small wedges and serve.
From Denny: More comfort food on a $35 budget from a famous chef! Does life get any better? This is the first I've heard of a hanger steak as explained below in the food facts. It's no wonder most of us have never heard of it; turns out most butchers kept this intensely flavorful cut all to themselves. Now it's become quite popular in upscale restaurants. I guess butchers and chefs decided to "share" with the public finally - for a hefty price. :)
Rhubarb is a wonderful Spring tonic as it is a diuretic. Make sure you DO NOT cook or eat raw the leaves as they are toxic! The stalks are perfectly fine to eat and cook up nicely with a lot of brown sugar, some clarified butter, a little salt as a morning porridge or to slather on your toast. That's how we used to eat it at our house when we lived in Maine for a time. We grew our own rhubarb just outside the kitchen door like a little kitchen garden. As a kid I used to love to go pick the long stalks and the huge prehistoric leaves waved at me. It was like they knew they were going to be breakfast without regret. The mind of a child...
Featured here are the recipes of executive chef Kerry Heffernan of the South Gate Restaurant at New York's Essex House Hotel which overlooks Central Park.
Note: If for any reason this video does not display properly or CBS disables it you can click on the title link to take you to the page where the article and video are both located.
From Denny: Louisiana has always been about two things - food at an affordable price and French cooking!
Patricia Williams is a former ballerina who retired at age 30. She followed her passion and became a chef, studying in France. She answered the CBS Morning Show's challenge of a meal for a family of four on $35 or less.
Seriously mouth-watering is this comfort food! She lines the meatloaf pan with smokey bacon and it adheres while it is baking in the pan. To serve, take it out of the pan, flip it over so the bacon is now on top: awesome!
Chef Williams shows you how easy it is to make your own fresh Green Goddess salad dressing and finally, a small bite version of Strawberry Shortcake. A lot of nutritional and taste value for reasonable money definitely qualifies as great comfort food in my book!
From Denny: From the folks over at Welsh's comes this non-alcoholic drink that would be just perfect for a Sunday gathering if you wanted something that was just a bit special. It sounds so refreshing! If you wanted to make it alcoholic just add a light white wine.
It's the seltzer that makes it so refreshing. Seltzer is a flavorless effervescent water. Originally, it came from the town of Nieder Selters, located in the Weisbaden region of Germany. Most of us are familiar with seltzer as soda water that is actually injected with carbon dioxide to mimic the one from Germany. Today, soda water as we know it began back in the late 1700's. We still use this basic technology in our soda drinks. Amazing, huh!?
From Denny: This sure looks like a yummy idea for grazing during any sports afternoon and full of protein like olives, cheese and pepperoni. What is so interesting is that it is cooked briefly to infuse the garlic in the oil, olives and pepperoni.
I'm a big fan of Lindsay's large pitted black olives. My husband prefers green olives stuffed with the milder pimento. We usually compromise when it comes to a pizza and do it half and half. Both olive types would be equally good in this recipe, especially if you don't like the spicy jalapeno. And I'd add 2 more garlic cloves as we love garlic in our house!
Suggested is an amber ale beer as a good complement - now the men in the family would agree with that! :) Louisiana's own Abita Amber would be a good choice.
1. Put oil, olives, pepperoni, garlic, oregano and sun-dried tomatoes in small saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until garlic is fragrant and oil is hot, about 5 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and leave in saucepan for a few minutes. Add cheese cubes and place in a serving bowl.
Drink tip: A good all-around amber ale is a perfect match to the pizza olives.
From Country Roads Magazine: "In a city where good times often equate to good food, the joy of finding a terrific restaurant where you can wine and dine really well on extraordinary food and libations, at extremely reasonable prices, can produce a near-reverential response.
Boucherie, the new eatery that occupies the former Iris restaurant site just off Carrollton Avenue near New Orleans’ Riverbend, fulfills that need for those who want to enjoy the excitement of dining out on exceptional cuisine in a carefree, lighthearted environment. The kicker is that none of the food items cost more than $15…not even the specials."
Sweat onion, celery, carrot, and garlic in butter, add peeled and chopped potatoes. Add liquid, thyme, and bay leaves and slowly cook until potatoes are tender. Quickly purée in blender until smooth. Season with salt, pepper, soy sauce, and thyme. Blanche fennel bulbs in water with fennel seeds until tender. Grill until almost charred. Bring soup up to a boil and drop in oysters.
Serve immediately.
***
Vietnamese Braised Pork Belly with Stir-Fried Rapini
From: Boucherie
(Serves 15- 20)
1 whole pork belly 2 cups fish sauce 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised 1 head garlic 1 bunch scallions ½ cup ginger 2 Tbsp grated palm sugar Water to cover 3 bunches cleaned rapini 1 Tbsp minced garlic 1 Tbsp minced ginger 2 Tbps soy sauce 1/4 cup lime juice
Combine first eight ingredients and slowly bring belly up to a simmer and cook for about 2 hours, or until tender. Lay in a casserole dish and cover with cooking liquid. Press with weights, and cool overnight. Slice into 3 ounce portions and sear the skin until crispy. Stir fry rapini with ginger and garlic, add soy and lime juice.
***
Drunken Red Wine Sausage
From: Boucherie
(makes 20 sausages) to be served with Creamy White Beans, or on Bread
5 lbs diced pork butt 1/4 cup salt 2 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup minced garlic 1 tsp cayenne pepper 1 cup strong red wine (cabernet or shiraz) 10 feet hog casing
Season pork and bring to near freezing, while freezing grinder parts. Finely grind pork and mix in chilled red wine until emulsified. Refrigerate and set up sausage stuffing attachment. Pipe into casing, twisting sausages between each link. Let sit in fridge for at least 1 hour uncovered to allow pellicle to form. Slowly smoke to 150 degrees internal temperature. Grill over high heat and serve immediately.
***
Bacon Brownies
From: Boucherie
(Makes 10-12)
3 oz bittersweet chocolate 1 oz unsweetened chocolate 6 Tbsp bacon fat 3/4 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 eggs 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 1/4 cup finely chopped bacon (preferably cured and smoked)
Melt bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate with bacon fat over a bain-marie. Cool to lukewarm. Cream sugar and eggs together and slowly add melted chocolate. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and bacon pieces. Line pan and bake at 350 degrees until brownies are set.
From Denny: Now I've heard it all! But it does make sense. Grocery Auctions are gaining in popularity as food prices are the highest they have been in twenty years. It does make sense to bid for items you use every day and in great quantity. Just keep in mind these bulk items are offered because they are grocery store left-overs, often close to the expiration date. But hey! If you have a house full of hungry teen-aged boys the expiraton date won't matter at all! :)
From Denny: Sunday, Monday and Tuesday have been difficult times to try and post anything. Not sure why. Could be global internet traffic is highest on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (Monday and Tuesday in Americantime zone). Could be the computer worm going around driving servers insane courtesy of hacker jerks that are probably mostly comprised of intelligence community guys from countries all over the world.
What I have managed to post has gotten scrambled from time to time. Sorry for the inconvenience. I always go back to proof read and catch the errors, usually within minutes of posting. Lightning storms in my area haven't helped that process and have been delayed. If you see something I didn't catch within a day or two, please feel free to let me know as it would be much appreciated!
From Denny: Exuberant and creative Chef George Duran does low-fat panko crumb baked chicken that tastes like fried chicken without all the calories, a wonderful stuffing that you can also serve as a corn muffin and a tiramisu done with, drum roll please, twinkies! Really. Apparently, he dialed back on the sugar in other areas for the recipe since we all know the twinkies carry a lot of sugar. Chef thought this was an easy intro to making tirimisu for those who unfamiliar and intimidated by it. Using a familiar ingredient is a great way to bridge the gap in culture.
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