Pork neckbone, besides being delicious and economical, is one of the best stock seasonings I know of. Neckbone can be cooked with any type of beans or peas giving them a fresh, just out of the garden taste. Pork neckbone and rice has been a staple in our home as long as I can remember. We call it "Ribs and Rice". When cooked long enough, the bones get very soft and can be fed to a dog.
The only way I have ever cooked neckbone is boiled. It does not get any more simple than that. There is plenty meat on pork neckbone and the price cannot be beat. If the word neckbone doesn't sound appetizing, call them ribs. After all, they're just cut a little higher up the line.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
"Slap Yo Momma Gravy"
OK, here is a simple quick easy way to make real gravy. This gravy is so good it will make you want to slap your Momma, thus the title "Slap Yo Momma Gravy". Once again, you must stay with the gravy from start to finish. It only takes about 10 minutes or less. You will be using the High setting on your stovetop burner. Cast iron is always best, but any type frying pan will make good gravy. Bacon or Sausage grease is best, but regular vegetable oil will be fine. Although I use Olive Oil for a lot of things, gravy is not one of them.
We use to have hoecake and gravy for breakfast. This is the only gravy I know how to prepare and I use this recipe whether I'm making gravy for breakfast or dinner. For dinner it is especially good with a fried entree like pork chops or fried chicken. When this is the case, always use the grease that you used to fry the meat. Leave the droppings, crunchies or whatever you want to call them, in the pan.
INGREDIENTS:
1/8 cup of oil
1/2 cup self rising flour
2 cups water or a combination (1 cup each) of water and evaporated milk
Salt and Pepper
Heat the oil on high and stir the flour in slowly. Stir the concoction until it is a paste. Slightly brown the mixture. Stir in the water. Keep stirring until the gravy is in a rapid boil. Now keep stirring until the lumps dissolve. Turn down to medium and add season. Keep stirring until you have a nice consistency. This whole process should take no longer than 10 minutes. This should be enough gravy for about four people.
As I say, I don't measure anything. I've been cooking so long I don't need to. The measurements are not precise however, they are pretty close. This recipe gives you some leeway to experiment on your own. These are the ingredients, you just have to put your own twist (technique) on the recipe. If it doesn't work the first time, keep trying until it does. You will finally serve gravy to someone that will want to go home and slap their Momma cause your gravy was so good.
We use to have hoecake and gravy for breakfast. This is the only gravy I know how to prepare and I use this recipe whether I'm making gravy for breakfast or dinner. For dinner it is especially good with a fried entree like pork chops or fried chicken. When this is the case, always use the grease that you used to fry the meat. Leave the droppings, crunchies or whatever you want to call them, in the pan.
INGREDIENTS:
1/8 cup of oil
1/2 cup self rising flour
2 cups water or a combination (1 cup each) of water and evaporated milk
Salt and Pepper
Heat the oil on high and stir the flour in slowly. Stir the concoction until it is a paste. Slightly brown the mixture. Stir in the water. Keep stirring until the gravy is in a rapid boil. Now keep stirring until the lumps dissolve. Turn down to medium and add season. Keep stirring until you have a nice consistency. This whole process should take no longer than 10 minutes. This should be enough gravy for about four people.
As I say, I don't measure anything. I've been cooking so long I don't need to. The measurements are not precise however, they are pretty close. This recipe gives you some leeway to experiment on your own. These are the ingredients, you just have to put your own twist (technique) on the recipe. If it doesn't work the first time, keep trying until it does. You will finally serve gravy to someone that will want to go home and slap their Momma cause your gravy was so good.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Cooking Techniques
No one ever actually taught me how to cook, I sort of watched, listened and picked up things here and there over the years. Granny, Aunt Emma and my Mother were the influences and the the root of everything I know how to prepare. I have developed my own cooking technique. Everyone who enjoys cooking does. It's really just like anything else, the more you do it, the better you get. Don't be afraid to experiment.
All my recipes are in my head. I only measure ingredients when I'm using someone's recipe. Here I am writting this blog about cooking and sharing my recipes and I've never written any recipe down. I'll just do the best I can. The real reason for this blog is to help the people who are intimidated by the thought of having to cook. Also for those who want to learn how to cook, but are overwhelmed at all the information and gadgets. Everything I prepare is simple, basic, relatively quick and easy. My way of cooking reflects the styles of Paula Dean and the Neely's on the Food Network. Just good ole down home Southern cookin'.
I'm thinking about my gravy recipe for the next post. I only know of one way to make it so it should be a short, simple recipe.
A sudden thought! Gravy is not so much about the recipe or ingredients, but the technique of putting it all together and having it turn out the way it should. Technique matters as much as any ingredient. The only way to develope your technique is to cook and cook often.
All my recipes are in my head. I only measure ingredients when I'm using someone's recipe. Here I am writting this blog about cooking and sharing my recipes and I've never written any recipe down. I'll just do the best I can. The real reason for this blog is to help the people who are intimidated by the thought of having to cook. Also for those who want to learn how to cook, but are overwhelmed at all the information and gadgets. Everything I prepare is simple, basic, relatively quick and easy. My way of cooking reflects the styles of Paula Dean and the Neely's on the Food Network. Just good ole down home Southern cookin'.
I'm thinking about my gravy recipe for the next post. I only know of one way to make it so it should be a short, simple recipe.
A sudden thought! Gravy is not so much about the recipe or ingredients, but the technique of putting it all together and having it turn out the way it should. Technique matters as much as any ingredient. The only way to develope your technique is to cook and cook often.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Blackened Cabbage
I could probably start every post with "I love---------" because I do enjoy so many different types of food. Fresh vegetables have always been tops with me. I think the only vegetable I don't particularly care for is eggplant. On a rare occassion, only if I'm dining in a fine Italian Restaurant, I might order eggplant. To me, Italians are the best cooks in the world. To get me to order and eat eggplant, you got to know your stuff.
I use to "Bile Dem Cabbage Down". That's boiled cabbage, if you're not from the south. As a child, we always ate our cabbage boiled. In later years I started steaming the cabbage and by experimenting a little over the years I've come up with my favorite cabbage creation, blackened cabbage.
When cabbage is cooked to long it becomes soggy and limp. I think cooked cabbage should be crisp and tender. It is so much easier to reach this point of perfection when the cabbage is blackened in a cast iron skillet. I can see right here the need for a post on the different types of cooking vessels. All I'm gonna say right now is every type of cooking vehicle (pots, pans, dishes, bowls, glass, metal, aluminum, cast iron) cooks differently.
For the BLACKENED CABBAGE you'll need:
1- Medium to Large head of cabbage
1/3 cup olive oil
Water- to be added several times during cooking
1- Large 14" cast iron skillet (preferably one that has been seasoned over years)
Cut the head of cabbage in half starting at the stalk and following thru to the top. Take the smaller of the two pieces, lay it flat and cut it three or four times making the cuts about 1.5 inches apart. Cut the remainder of the cabbage the same way. Throw the stalk away. You should wind up with all the cabbage, flat side down, in the skillet. Pour the olive oil over the cabbage so that every piece gets a few drops. Turn the burner on high. When the cabbage starts cooking, pour a little water, 1/3 cup, over it. Stay with it! Cover it. Let it steam a little. Don't stir it, just kind of lift it up gently so it doesn't break apart. Add salt and pepper. When the water evaporates let the cabbage blacken a little then add more water, 1/4 - 1/3 cup, cover for a few minutes. Never add so much water that it doesn't evaporate in a few minutes. Stay with this process for 15-20 minutes and you'll end up with blackened cabbage.
Blackened cabbage must be cooked on high in order to attain the blackening. You must remain with the dish, adding water, lifting and gently stirring the cabbage until it is done which will be about 15-20 minutes. Once it is done, you can cover it and leave the burner on warm.
I use to "Bile Dem Cabbage Down". That's boiled cabbage, if you're not from the south. As a child, we always ate our cabbage boiled. In later years I started steaming the cabbage and by experimenting a little over the years I've come up with my favorite cabbage creation, blackened cabbage.
When cabbage is cooked to long it becomes soggy and limp. I think cooked cabbage should be crisp and tender. It is so much easier to reach this point of perfection when the cabbage is blackened in a cast iron skillet. I can see right here the need for a post on the different types of cooking vessels. All I'm gonna say right now is every type of cooking vehicle (pots, pans, dishes, bowls, glass, metal, aluminum, cast iron) cooks differently.
For the BLACKENED CABBAGE you'll need:
1- Medium to Large head of cabbage
1/3 cup olive oil
Water- to be added several times during cooking
1- Large 14" cast iron skillet (preferably one that has been seasoned over years)
Cut the head of cabbage in half starting at the stalk and following thru to the top. Take the smaller of the two pieces, lay it flat and cut it three or four times making the cuts about 1.5 inches apart. Cut the remainder of the cabbage the same way. Throw the stalk away. You should wind up with all the cabbage, flat side down, in the skillet. Pour the olive oil over the cabbage so that every piece gets a few drops. Turn the burner on high. When the cabbage starts cooking, pour a little water, 1/3 cup, over it. Stay with it! Cover it. Let it steam a little. Don't stir it, just kind of lift it up gently so it doesn't break apart. Add salt and pepper. When the water evaporates let the cabbage blacken a little then add more water, 1/4 - 1/3 cup, cover for a few minutes. Never add so much water that it doesn't evaporate in a few minutes. Stay with this process for 15-20 minutes and you'll end up with blackened cabbage.
Blackened cabbage must be cooked on high in order to attain the blackening. You must remain with the dish, adding water, lifting and gently stirring the cabbage until it is done which will be about 15-20 minutes. Once it is done, you can cover it and leave the burner on warm.
Friday, March 5, 2010
I Love Fresh Corn on the Cob
Easy Corn on the Cob: Cut the ends from the cob and dress it up a bit by removing any lose or worn looking husks. Place the corn on a paper towel in the microwave and cook on high for 5 mins. or 7 mins. for two ears. The ears will be extremely hot. Remove the husk and silk with caution. All of the silk will come off very easy. Apply butter and salt.
Cooking Comes Easy
Cooking has always been second nature with me. I was raised in a home with three women, all of whom had their specialty area. My Mother was a meat and potatoes kind of girl and my Aunt Emma did all our baking. I wish now I had watched her closely, but I was more interested in the finished product than how to put it together. Granny was somewhere in the middle when it came to cooking. She did a little of it all.
We had a flour bin that held at least 20 lbs. flour and back then, everything was cooked with 100% pure lard. They bought lard by the 20 lb. can. We kept chickens and had a garden every summer. Aunt Annie and Uncle Jim lived just up the road and they had a small farm where we got milk, cream and butter regularly. Every year Uncle Jim would butcher a hog and everyone would have fresh pork for a while.
I was around food everyday. If someone wasn't cooking, they were talking about it. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was picking up cooking pointers before I was 10. I do not claim to be a chef or even a cook, but cooking comes easy and natural for me. I don't know any fancy recipes and my culinary education is 0, but I can do some down home cookin' that'll make you wanna slap your momma.
It is amazing to me that there are people in the world who cannot warm a can of soup without directions or fry an egg without a recipe. I have never written down the first recipe. I guess that will change as I continue to update this blog. It's just that I find cooking to be so elementary..
The four basic styles of cooking I use are, boil, fry, bake or grill. In order to prepare any type of food, all I need is a vehicle (pot, pan, dish or grill), seasoning (salt and pepper) and heat. The other ingredients will depend on what I decide to cook and how I'm going to cook it.
The most recent thing I've cooked was Chicken and Dumplins. Now like I said from the very beginning, the things I cook are relatively simple. I did not watch Aunt Emma when she rolled out that dough for dumplins so I rely on the No Yoke pasta dumplins from the store.
Chicken and Dumplins - Easy
INGREDIENTS:
1 - 3.5 - 4.5 lb. chicken cut-up
1 - Bag of No Yoke Dumplins Lg.
Salt and pepper
PREPARATION:
Wash the chicken leaving the skin and bone in tack. Place chicken in large pot. Add enough water to cover the chicken about one inch. Bring the chicken to a rapid boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 1.5 - 2.5 hours or until the chicken is falling off the bone.
Remove the chicken from the broth and place in a large bowl. Allow the chicken to cool at least 5 minutes before you start separating the skin from the meat and the meat from the bone. Once you have separated the lean meat, place it back in the broth. Make sure you break up any large pieces of chicken. Bring the broth back to a medium boil.
Now add the whole bag of No Yoke Dumplins. Season with two teaspoons each of salt and pepper. Follow directions on the bag of dumplins. Stir the pot every so often. When the dumplins are tender the dinner is ready.
We had a flour bin that held at least 20 lbs. flour and back then, everything was cooked with 100% pure lard. They bought lard by the 20 lb. can. We kept chickens and had a garden every summer. Aunt Annie and Uncle Jim lived just up the road and they had a small farm where we got milk, cream and butter regularly. Every year Uncle Jim would butcher a hog and everyone would have fresh pork for a while.
I was around food everyday. If someone wasn't cooking, they were talking about it. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was picking up cooking pointers before I was 10. I do not claim to be a chef or even a cook, but cooking comes easy and natural for me. I don't know any fancy recipes and my culinary education is 0, but I can do some down home cookin' that'll make you wanna slap your momma.
It is amazing to me that there are people in the world who cannot warm a can of soup without directions or fry an egg without a recipe. I have never written down the first recipe. I guess that will change as I continue to update this blog. It's just that I find cooking to be so elementary..
The four basic styles of cooking I use are, boil, fry, bake or grill. In order to prepare any type of food, all I need is a vehicle (pot, pan, dish or grill), seasoning (salt and pepper) and heat. The other ingredients will depend on what I decide to cook and how I'm going to cook it.
The most recent thing I've cooked was Chicken and Dumplins. Now like I said from the very beginning, the things I cook are relatively simple. I did not watch Aunt Emma when she rolled out that dough for dumplins so I rely on the No Yoke pasta dumplins from the store.
Chicken and Dumplins - Easy
INGREDIENTS:
1 - 3.5 - 4.5 lb. chicken cut-up
1 - Bag of No Yoke Dumplins Lg.
Salt and pepper
PREPARATION:
Wash the chicken leaving the skin and bone in tack. Place chicken in large pot. Add enough water to cover the chicken about one inch. Bring the chicken to a rapid boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 1.5 - 2.5 hours or until the chicken is falling off the bone.
Remove the chicken from the broth and place in a large bowl. Allow the chicken to cool at least 5 minutes before you start separating the skin from the meat and the meat from the bone. Once you have separated the lean meat, place it back in the broth. Make sure you break up any large pieces of chicken. Bring the broth back to a medium boil.
Now add the whole bag of No Yoke Dumplins. Season with two teaspoons each of salt and pepper. Follow directions on the bag of dumplins. Stir the pot every so often. When the dumplins are tender the dinner is ready.
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