A Thanksgiving Grows in Brooklyn - Cranberry Chutney

I didn't get to go home to Mississippi for Thanksgiving, so I joined forces with some good friends in the neighborhood and had a spectacular Thanksgiving feast. Needless to say, we all cooked entirely too much, but it was all delicious! I had this cranberry chutney at Mary Margaret's house last year, and she managed to get the recipe for me from her co-worker, Kim. So here's to you Kim: I don't know you, but I like your chutney!


This isn't just for Thanksgiving, but can be served anytime. Mary Margaret served it with pork tenderloin, and it really complimented it well.

Ingredients:
1 bag of fresh cranberries
Less than 2 cups sugar - I wasn't really sure what this meant, so I used 1.75 cups.
1 cup water
1 T. grated orange peel
1 cup orange juice (this took about 3 oranges)
1 cup golden or dark seedless raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped celery
1 medium apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1 t. ground ginger


In a 3 qt. saucepan over medium heat, heat cranberries, sugar and water to boiling, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients and cook a few minutes more for flavors to mix. Cover and refrigerate or process and can.


I would personally cut the orange flavor a bit, maybe use a little less zest, next time. But taste as you go along, to get to your liking. Enjoy!

Shoepeg Corn Casserole

This is a staple at every Burnett Thanksgiving, so since I wasn't going home this year, I decided to bring this dish along with me to celebrate with friends down the street. Now, this is not a fancy dish. Actually, it's kind of embarrasing to even tell you the ingredients. But at the end of the day, this tastes like home, which means it tastes damn good!


Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 can french-style green beans, drained
1 can shoe-peg corn, drained
1 can cream of celery soup
1/2 pint sour cream
1 stick melted margarine
1 stack Ritz crackers, crushed
salt & pepper to taste


Mix first 8 ingredients. Add salt & pepper. Place in a 9x13" dish. Melt oleo and mix with Ritz. Spread on top of mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Blake's Turkey Fry

In the spirit of all things Thanksgiving, I have to post a turkey recipe, right? I don't know a thing about cooking turkeys, but my friend Blake Oliver from Monroe, LA has been bragging about his fried turkey for years. He was nice of enough to share the recipe with me, so I figured I would share with all of you. I can't exactly fry this turkey in my apartment just to show you a picture of how it should look...if you happen to try to make this, send me a picture of the final product!

PREPPING:
First pick your bird, should range from 13 to 15 lbs. In order to know how much grease you will need, place the turkey in the frying pot using water to judge the height. It should be about 6 in. from the top of the pot with the turkey in.

The night before cooking, you must inject it. Use one bottle Cajun Butter and one bottle Tony’s Injection per turkey. (This may seem like a lot, but it’s worth it.) While injecting, focus on the breast and legs - you can shoot some in the other parts for cooking flavor, but the breast and legs are obviously most important. You then want to rub the outside and the inside with some good spices which will create a great crust. The Cajun Butter kit comes with a pretty good one.

** The most important part of the injection process is to make all of the juice fit. You have to work the needle back and forth to really cover all of the meat or you will end up with pockets of seasoning which you don’t want. I always put a good bit on the very top where it forms bubbles in-between the skin and breast.**

Next, put the bird in the refrigerator over night. The next day you must take it out of the refrigerator long enough to allow it to reach room temperature before cooking.

COOKING:
Heat the grease to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the turkey in the grease using the metal plated stabilizer deal with the handle. (WEAR GLOVES) The temp will go down -this is good. You want to cook it at 350 Degrees for 3- 3 ½ minutes per pound.

After the long and exciting wait, TURN OFF THE GAS FIRST, then remove your turkey.
Drain the grease over the pot as it will have pockets of hot grease still stuck in some of the crevasses of the cooked turkey.

Let cool, cut and enjoy!

Hot Wing Dip

So, as many of my friends know, I am in love. Head over heels, butterflies in the stomach, truly, madly, deeply in love....with buffalo wings! I limit myself to only eating them during football season, and during this time, I eat them every single weekend. My cousin Cliff submitted a recipe for the cookbook that I knew I was definitely going to make the second I saw it, Hot Wing Dip. I've had this at a party once and had to be removed from the premisis. This is a bad thing for me to know how to make....

Ingredients:
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese
1 cup ranch dressing
1 cup Frank's red hot sauce
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
8 ounces cooked and chopped chicken breast (I would probably add a bit more if I were making this again to make it a little chunkier)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients together and bake for 30 minutes until hot and bubbly. Cliff recommends serving with club crackers or tortilla chips. I went with Frito Scoops and carrot sticks - delicious!

Chickity China the Chinese Chicken

I'm tired. I'm broke. I'm hungry. A quick solution? Chinese food. However, I don't feel like getting the MSG sweats or eating mystery kitty cat meat. So, what's a girl to do? Make it at home, silly goose. Not only is it just as cheap, but it's gotta be better for you! I ended up using a lot of stuff I had around, so just remember: you don't ever have to follow a recipe 100%. Improvise with what you have and avoid a stupid trip to the grocery for 1 ingredient that won't make a difference. I got this recipe at a budget cooking class at Whole Foods a few years back. This is about as easy as it gets.

8 ounces whole wheat linguine (I used angel hair b/c it's what I had. You could also use rice)
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth (I used a boullion cube + 1 cup water)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons expeller-pressed canola oil, divided (i don't even know what this means - I used vegetable oil)
1 pound frozen Nature’s Rancher Boneless Skinless Chicken Tenderloins, thawed and cut into strips (I used chicken breasts and just sliced & diced evenly in cubes)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
3 cups small fresh broccoli florets (from about 1 large crown)
1 carrot, peeled and cut into thin strips (I didn't have carrots but I did have water chestnuts and that adorable baby corn so I used this instead)

Cook linguine according to package instructions, drain and keep warm. Meanwhile, combine broth, soy, vinegar, pepper and cornstarch in a bowl. Heat a wok or heavy skillet over high heat. When very hot, add 1 tablespoon oil. Add chicken and stir-fry until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Remove from wok and set aside. Add remaining oil, garlic and ginger; stir-fry 30 seconds. Add broccoli and carrot; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add soy mixture and chicken, stir well, and cover. Lower heat to medium and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 3 minutes. Toss with linguine and serve.



This serving has way too much broccoli in it. Mom will be proud.

Got My Red Beans Cookin'

Ok, this was made last week especially for the Saints game on Monday night, but I am just getting around to posting. Seems like I should have made them yesterday instead...bad Saints, bad bad bad! No shortcuts were taken here ladies and gents.....I'm talkin authentic Monday red beans n rice. I brought some Camellia beans home with me from my last trip to New Orleans, and they kept taunting me every time I opened my cabinet. "Eat me, Lisa. Eat me," they would say. Adios red beans. Smell ya later.

1 pound red kidney beans, dry
1 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
5 ribs celery, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced

1 large smoked ham hock
1 to 1-1/2 pounds andouille sausage, sliced on the bias
1/2 to 1 tsp. dried thyme leaves, crushed
1 or 2 bay leaves
As many dashes Crystal hot sauce or Tabasco as you like, to taste
A few dashes Worcestershire sauce

Tony Cachere's - a nice heavy pour makes me happy

Cayenne Pepper

Black Pepper

Some people soak the beans overnight, but you don't have to. Instead, bring the beans to a rolling boil. Make sure the beans are always covered by water, or they will discolor and get hard. Boil the beans for about an hour, until the beans are tender but not falling apart.

While the beans are boiling, sauté the Trinity until the onions turn translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally. After the beans are boiled and drained, add the sautéed vegetables to the beans, then add the ham hock, sausage, seasonings, and just enough water to cover.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook for 2 hours at least, preferably 3, until the whole thing gets nice and creamy. Adjust seasonings as you go along. Stir occasionally, making sure that it doesn't burn and/or stick to the bottom of the pot.

Serve generously over white rice. Tasted even better the next day!

Back to Basics: Southern Green Beans

I picked up some fresh green beans from the farm yesterday. I worked especially hard on these beans, weeding the beds one week and fertilizing another. I've never been so attached to a vegetable -sounds like I need to step up my love life. I didn't want to totally cook these down too much; I wanted to be able to taste the freshness. So I altered a basic recipe with ingredients I had on hand.

Green Beans - I grabbed a handful, probably 1/2 lb., trimmed and cut into pieces

1 piece bacon, cut into pieces

1/2 small onion, chopped

1 T. red wine vinegar

1 t. sugar

Cook green beans in 1-inch simmering water, covered, for 6 minutes. Drain and set aside. Return skillet to stove, add bacon and brown. Add chopped onions to the pan and cook until tender with the bacon. Add cooked green beans to the pan and turn to coat in bacon drippings and onions. When the beans are hot and bacon crisp at edges and onions translucent add vinegar to the pan and season with beans with sugar. Cook 1-2 minutes and serve.