Just Beet It

Beets. Oh how I love you. I love you in salads, roasted all by yourself, and even just your greens. Even though beets have the highest sugar content of all vegetables, suprisingly they are very low in calories. Let's also not forget all the powerful nutrients they have to protect against heart disease and cancer.

My mom doesn't like beets, so I never grew up eating them, much less cooking them. Luckily, they are super easy. And don't even think about throwing the greens away - I recently started cooking them and am obsessed. You can cook just like any other greens, and they are delicious. The best part is that one vegetable makes 2 sides. I served with some chicken/feta/spinach sausage for a nice light meal.

For the beets:
Clean off any dirt with a paper towel, but do not wash. Trim the roots and stems to 1/2." Place the beets in an oven-proof baking dish and cover (foil works fine). Bake at 400 degrees for one hour, or until tender. Remove from oven and let cool. Then simply slip the skins and root off with your fingers.

For the greens: (from simplyrecipes.com)
1 pound beet greens
1 strip of thick cut bacon, chopped (I have made it without bacon and it is still good)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 large garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup of water
1 T, sugar
1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes
1/6 cup of cider vinegar

Wash the greens in a sink filled with cold water. Drain greens and wash a second time. Drain greens and cut away any heavy stems. Cut leaves into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

In a large skillet or 3-qt saucepan, cook bacon until lightly browned on medium heat. Add onions, cook over medium heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occassionally, until onions soften and start to brown. Stir in garlic. Add water to the hot pan, stirring to loosen any particles from bottom of pan. Stir in sugar and red pepper. Bring mixture to a boil.

Add the beet greens, gently toss in the onion mixture so the greens are well coated. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 5-15 minutes until the greens are tender. Stir in vinegar.

Katy's Catfish Gumbo

My friend Katy Simmons knows a thing or two about catfish. Her dad is one of the biggest catfish farmers in the Delta, so she knows more ways to cook with catfish than you can imagine. I grew up eating Simmons Catfish and thanks to Katy's sweet birthday present for me, I have a bag in my freezer! I made her catfish gumbo and took a big helping to the office for lunch - everyone kept coming in to see what the delicious smell was. I ended up sharing it with two co-workers, and they were wowed!. Katy and I both prefer to make a roux for more flavor, but that is the hardest part, which isn't hard at all, just a little time-consuming. So grab some catfish and get to stirrin...you won't regret it.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups beef broth
1 can (16 oz.) tomatoes
1 package (10 oz.) frozen sliced okra
1/2 t. thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 t. oregano
1 t. salt
2 1/2 lbs. Simmons catfish, cut into 1" cubes
Cooked rice


If making a roux: In a skillet over medium heat, mix 3 tablespoons oil with 3 T. flour and cook, stirring constantly, until roux turns dark brown, about 30 minutes.


If not making a roux, which is stupid and I don't recommend: heat oil in large stockpot.

Next step is to add celery, green pepper, onion and garlic and saute until tender. Add beef broth, tomatoes, okra, thyme, bay leaf, cayenne pepper, oregano and salt. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add catfish and continue simmering 15 minutes or until catfish flakes easily. Remove bay leaf. Serve over cooked rice.

The Perfect Saturday

I have absolutely enjoyed this beautiful Saturday 110%. The weather was perfect, and everything and everyone I encountered was cheerful. You have no idea how rare this is, so I took it all in and wore a smile the entire day.

The majority of my time was spent at the Red Hook Community Farm out in Brooklyn. My volunteer task today was weeding the green beans. My quads are going to hate me tomorrow, but it felt good to put my hands in the dirt and get a little sweaty. Everything was green and beautiful - hard to believe the picture below is in Brooklyn, right?

The best part of the farm is that I never go home empty-handed from a hard day's work. They have a great little farmers market where I can load up on goodies growing right where I've been standing all day. I can't even begin to put into words how delicious these tomatoes are....they are seriously like candy! I started eating them straight and finished half of the box immediately. Sure, tomatoes are in season, I know, but these seeds must be laced with crack or something - never tasted anything quite like it. Lesson of the day: Support your local farmers!!!

Since I was on a tomato-high, I bought some big boys too in order to make the best sandwich you will ever eat in your life. You don't believe me? Well, you are an idiot obviously. Make this NOW, while the tomatoes out there are so delicious.

Ingredients:

Mayo, no diet crap

2 slices bread (white bread is the best, but I didn't have any)

1/2 medium ripe tomato, thinly sliced

Freshly ground black pepper

1 BIG handful plain potato chips (i use kettle cooked because they are the bomb.com)

Spread mayo on both sides of bread....if you are on a diet, go with one, but whatever you do, do not leave off the mayo. Top with tomato sliced. Then season with pepper....keep going, keep going, yep that's perfect. Place a big handful of chips on the sammy and squash the whole thing together with your hand. Cut in half and enjoy the most delicious summer sandwich ever. Like I said, the perfect Saturday......

Pulled Pork Sliders

These sliders are so cute, so delicious and so easy to make! I have served them on mini rolls smaller than these for work pot-lucks, as well as full-size buns for the real deal! I don't even see the point of writing this out in usual recipe format....it's THAT simple. First, you need pork shoulder; I went with a half shoulder, a little over 4 pounds. Then you take a 2 liter of Coke - no diet stuff. Brown the shoulder in a dutch oven in a bit of oil on all sides. Then put the shoulder in the slow cooker and cover it in Coca-Cola......yes, you heard me right. DO IT! Then turn on the slow cooker on low while you are at work; when you get home, it will be falling off the bone. Take it out and shred it with a fork, mix with bbq sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's cause I didn't feel like making any from scatch) and serve on Martin's mini potato rolls with some delicious coleslaw...and if you are lucky like me, Zapp's Creole Tomato chips. Yum yum in my tum tum!

Lemon Pepper Shrimp with Orzo

I don't really have a good story about this dish. I saw it in Cooking Light a few years ago and saved it with other recipe snippets I keep in my little notebook. I made it a while back and shared with my Mom, who also enjoyed it. It's simple, light, and really lets the flavor of the shrimp shine through. I usually have these ingredients on hand, so it's easy to throw together for myself or for company.

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked orzo
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
7 teaspoons unsalted butter, divided
1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic (I used fresh garlic - it's the best)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Cook orzo according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Place orzo in a medium bowl. Stir in parsley and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cover and keep warm.

While orzo cooks, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add half of shrimp to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until almost done. Transfer shrimp to a plate. Melt 1 teaspoon butter in pan. Add remaining shrimp to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until almost done. Transfer to plate.

Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in pan. Add garlic to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in shrimp, juice, and pepper; cook 1 minute or until shrimp are done.

Elote (Mexican Corn)

I discovered elote during my first year in NY at this great little place, Cafe Habana. It took me forever to realize the secret ingredient is mayonnaise. I always bring this to outdoor cookouts in the summer - everyone loves it! Cotija cheese can be found at any Mexican grocery store, but if you can't find it, I've heard Parmesan is a good substitute.

Ingredients:
Ears of corn (however many you want)
Cotija chese
Mayonnaise
Cayenne Pepper
Lime

Shuck corn, leaving husk on. Wrap husk back and grill for roughly 15 minutes, turning, until hot.. Remove husk, slather each ear with mayo and then roll corn in the cheese to stick. Sprinkle with cayenne and lime juice and enjoy!

Martha Williams' Creole Catfish

Martha Williams is a close friend of the family and an excellent cook. Our old house was right around the corner from hers, and I grew up sitting in front of her and her husband, Mr. E.D., in church every week. My dad grew up with all of her sons, so we spent time with the entire Williams clan whenever we could. My fantastic friend, Katy Simmons, shipped some famous Simmons catfish to me for my birthday, and I wanted to try out Mrs. Martha's recipe. It was very light, yet flavorful, and super easy to make. I served it with collard greens and squash casserole - a true Southern feast. The only thing I changed was that I added a bit of Tony Chachere's to the fish to add a little kick - delicious!

Ingredients:

2 lbs. catfish filets

1 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

1 1/4 cup chopped green bell peppers

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1 T. salad oil

2 t. salt

2 t. chopped onions

1 t. fresh basil leaves

1/4 t. black pepper
4 drops Tabasco hot pepper sauce

Place fish in a greased baking dish. Combine all ingredients and pour over fish. Bake at 500 about 8-10 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.