Something Cajun this way comes

So today I feel like a big FAIL,

I have been fighting my allergies all weekend so we survived on take-out and left overs and no cooking in the kitchen to share with you guys.  

In order to keep my word to myself that I would share a least one recipe a week I am posting one of my favorite sauces.  

Those who know me, know I LOVE Cajun cooking and when my allergies attack I especially love the spicy.  So for this week's recipe I am sharing a simple but versatile sauce that is made for serving with blackened meats.  I like to use it on lots of different things but my favorite is a kick-up for boring burgers.  

So without further ado... 

Val's Remoulade Sauce:

2 cups mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Franks Red Hot Sauce

3 tablespoons stone ground mustard

1 tablespoon green onion

1.5 teaspoons pre-mixed blackening spices

2 - 3 garlic cloves minced

1 teaspoon dried yellow mustard

1 teaspoon paprika

To make the remoulade, mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Chill until ready to serve.

So there is the sauce now let's do something with it...

Like I said this is a traditional sauce for blackened meats 

such as chicken or fish but today we are going to make a blackened burger just in time for the kickoff of grilling season.

CAUTION:  You really want to grill this outside.  Blackening creates a lot of smoke.

Blackened Burgers

1 lb ground round (makes 4 burgers)

Pre-made blackened seasoning (any brand 

works or you can make your own)

4 Kaiser Rolls

4 pieces Provolone cheese

Divide meat into 4 equal portions and flatten to burgers.  Sprinkle each burger with blackened seasoning and grill to your desired doneness. I like mine med, so I do about 5 - 7 minutes each side.

Remember there will be smoke so don't panic unless your burgers catch fire!

When the second side is just about done, add cheese to burgers so you get melty yumminess.   I also like to lightly toast my rolls but this is optional.

Serve with our Remoulade Sauce on the side as a dip or you can put it on the roll if you like.  

I also like to use red onion and tomato on the burgers for an extra hit of yummy but these are optional.

Sorry for the lack of enthusiasm this weekend my lovelies but as I type I am struggling with itchy eyes and I am in fierce competition for the role of sneezy the dwarf.

OMG did you eat beans???

Tipping my hat to the fine folks of Boston this week, I wanted to share a recipe that I have always enjoyed but have never had time to make the "proper" way.  

Mama V's Imitation Boston Baked Beans

A long time ago, my friend from the east coast exposed me to Boston Baked Beans and they were fabulous!  

But they take hours to make.  While I am fond of good, old fashioned slow cooking I just don't have time for all that.  Not to mention the fact that I am a total fail at beans from scratch.  (I would show pictures but well, they are just too horrible to post on a public forum.)  So me, being me, figured out a short cut and I did it my way...

2 Cans of  Baked Beans (I like Bush’s Country Style with bacon and brown sugar) but any kind will work.

2  medium onions - Chopped (red onions are awesome in this!  Note:  If using red onion, use 1 large instead of 2 med )

6 cloves of garlic - minced

3/4 cup dark brown sugar 

(you can use light, but dark gives that molasses flavor)

1/2 cup ketchup

Dash or two of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce 

(and yes, I do put that shit on everything!)

And the crown jewel of today's recipe:

6 slices of thick cut peppered bacon

Start by frying the bacon until just crispy (reserve about 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease in the pan)
Drain the bacon on paper towels and set to the side to cool. When cooled, chop into bite size pieces.

Next lightly sautée the onions and garlic until softened in the reserved bacon grease.  Set to the side.

Now let's do this...

In an Enameled Pot, (Note if you do not have one of these, Get One!!  Really, they are awesome!) or a thick material pot, add the Beans, Ketchup, and Brown Sugar and heat over a medium flame until brown sugar dissolves, stirring constantly.  

Turn the heat to low and add the Onions, Garlic and Bacon again stirring constantly (beans burn easily).  Keep cooking until the beans begin to thicken (usually about 10 - 15 minutes).  Remove from heat and allow to cool for about ten minutes.

Yes, yes, I know it's blasphemy, using canned beans. But damn it, this is good!

Ain't Nobody Got Time For That

So like most Americans, I work a full time job and cooking dinner after a long day at work is something I do not look forward to.  To rescue myself from starving to death when I have no ambition to cook I came up with quick and easy recipe:

Mexican Pork and Rice

What you need:

1 lb pork chop suey meat or pork tenderloin trimmed of fat and cut into 1/2" pieces

1 Package Uncle Ben's Ready Rice

1 Jar of Black Bean and Corn Salsa or any other type of Chunky Salsa from your pantry

1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

What to do:

Heat oil in pan over medium high heat, saute pork and garlic powder until pork is no longer pink and has a nice color (about 5-7 minutes). Add salsa and cook an additional 3-5 minutes.   Meanwhile, prepare rice as directed on package (usually 90 seconds in microwave).  Add rice to pan, stir and remove from heat.

Plate as it is or you can also serve on tortilla shells.  Sprinkle Cheddar Cheese on top and dinner is done!

Quick, Easy, Yummy and done in 15 minutes or less!  What is better than that.

Today's Sunday brunch is Hot Stuff!!!

Potatoes O’Brien Casserole

2 - 3 cups shredded potatoes (I cheat by buying the premade stuff, but you can do this from scratch if you like)

1 roll hot pork sausage

1 -2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (you can also other types to suit your personal taste or for more pow) Again I like to cheat by using the pre shredded stuff

2-3 Green, Red, Orange, or Yellow bell peppers chopped ( I like to use a mix of all 4 if I have them)

1 medium yellow onion chopped

1/4 cup green onions

6 large eggs

1 can of evaporated milk

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (Everyone should use freshly ground pepper if you can)

1/8 teaspoon salt (optional)

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°. 

Start by browning the pork sausage.  When it is almost completely browned add peppers and yellow onion to the mix and continue to cook until sausage is browned and peppers are slightly softened.  Set aside to cool (about 5 – 10 minutes).

Butter a 2" deep casserole dish.

Arrange potatoes evenly in the bottom of the casserole dish. 

Layer the sausage mixture over potatoes.  Next layer the green onions.  Lastly sprinkle the cheese over everything. 

Beat together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper then pour over potato mixture. 

Bake uncovered for 1 hour until center is set

Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Raspberry Mascarpone Strata

So earlier this week somewhere on FB, I found this:

Raspberry Mascarpone Stuffed French Toast 

Leah Rodrigues May 20, 2012

I was strangely confused because the picture shows strawberries and not raspberries.  The original recipe can be found here Raspberry Mascarpone Stuffed French Toast on Foodista

But since I did not have any Italian or Challah bread nor any Maple Syrup

 I came up with this:

Raspberry Mascarpone Strata

6 small leftover dinner rolls (in this case stale is good)

3 eggs

¾ cup half & half

¼ cup white corn syrup

4oz (1/2 small container) Mascarpone cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 pints of raspberries

½ cup sugar

½ cup water

The night before, butter a 7 3/8 x 3 5/8 x 2 1/4-inch glass loaf pan. 

Note regarding pan: this size is not common but it is perfect when cooking for two.

Tear or cut dinner rolls into 1 inch pieces and place half into butted pan pressing slightly.

In a separate bowl, mix together eggs and half & half then add corn syrup and vanilla.  Pour ½ of this mixture on top of rolls in pan.  Drop small dollops of the mascarpone on top then, layer a ½ pint of the raspberries.  Put remaining roll pieces in egg mixture to absorb then spread over raspberries pressing into pan gently.  Refrigerate overnight.

Remove strata from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for ½ hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Mix water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat stir until sugar dissolves, stir in  full pint of raspberries  (some folks like to use less but I think this amount gives a better consistency).  Cook for approximately 10 minutes stirring regularly to help break up the raspberries.  Set aside to cool. (If you prefer you can strain at this point to remove seeds.)   I'm not fussy so I keep the seeds.  

Kitty’s tip: I like my raspberry sauce chilled so I make this the night before and put in the fridge also.

Place strata in the oven and bake on middle rack for 40 – 45 minutes until top is firm and golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.  Cool for 5 – 10 minutes to allow to completely firm up.

To serve, slice like a bread in 1-1/2 - 2 inch thickness and lie flat on plate.  Drizzle raspberry sauce over slice and decorate with remaining raspberries and a small dollop of remaining mascarpone cheese.

Enjoy!

I know, I know, the original looks prettier! 

But my version rocks!

Let me know what you think!

Let's Get Back To The Kitchen

So well yeah, I have a few blogs to vent my crazy but I have refrained from blogging about my true obsession until now.  I love to cook and I am freakishly in love with food. While I usually quietly toil away in my kitchen for my own enjoyment I've decided to start posting some of my creations here to share with friends.  

Please keep in mind I am not a professional chef nor do I play one on

One of my favorite things is to take a concept from a recipe and make it my own by experimentation. When I was younger, I doctored tried and true recipes from Fannie Farmer, Good Housekeeping, Joy of Cooking, The New York Times Cookbook and any other cookbook I could get my hands on  much to my father's dismay.  The early experiments weren't always pretty to look at but they were usually tasty!  

Then one day my grandmother turned on our local PBS station and a strange lady wielding a knife and talking about chickens changed my life.  

Julia Child's The French Chef reruns became my favorite TV show ever.

Julia is attributed to saying "Learn how to cook -- try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all have fun."

I fiercely live by this rule in the kitchen! If you are afraid of change, experimentation, or sometimes unorthodox preparation methods this is not the blog for you!  I am by no means the most creative person in the kitchen and I do not believe you need to follow proper presentation techniques when you are feeding those people who randomly live with you.  (They know who they are!)  

So if you are here to discover proper technique or etiquette for anything, well let's just say you're not in Kansas anymore maybe you should click your heels now!

Anyway, from Julia I learned that if I ask people how they made something they might actually tell me or better yet show me. From watching I discovered a really cool secret to cooking, it is really just science & math that tastes good. Thus came the first real teacher of hands-on, in the kitchen, cooking techniques and shortcuts, everyone's mom and grandma. And no one was safe from neither my inquisitive mind nor my random takeovers in others women's kitchens.  

This is when I also began my strange hobby of collecting church cookbooks. When I see something I want but people don't want to share the knowledge (families’ secret recipes and all). My quest then begins to find out if your aunt put the same recipe in the church bazar cookbook for prosperity.  

Once I get a basic idea, I like to use science and math to to tweak, improve, and sometimes completely fail at 

EXPERIMENTATION

I have upgraded over the years from my trusty cookbooks and I now collect recipes from 

So come along with me as I explore the greatest cookbook ever

and post the good the bad and the ugly from what I find there!