Thursday, September 27, 2018

GRAPEFRUIT-POMEGRANATE VODKATINI

This is another refreshing version of a Cosmopolitan. The grapefruit juice makes it less sweet.


4 oz Pomegranate juice
4 oz red grapefruit juice
4 oz vodka
2 oz Contreau or Triple Sec
1 oz lime juice

Stir or shake with ice in a pitcher or cocktail shaker and pour into 4 martini glasses.

Sunday, September 23, 2018

IZETTA'S FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

If you have green tomatoes still in your vegetable garden, here is a perfect way to serve them. My mother made these and she also fried ripe tomatoes for breakfast.



6 medium green tomatoes
1 t sea salt
4 slices of applewood smoked bacon, cut into small pieces
½ cup avocado oil
½ cup all-purpose flour
Sea salt & fine ground black pepper
1 ½ cups corn flour
½ cup panko bread crumbs
1 T garlic powder
1 t smoked paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pepper to taste

2 eggs                                     
½ cup buttermilk
2 T sugar
2 dashes Crystal or Louisiana hot sauce

Cut each tomato into even size ¼-inch slices, about 3 to 4 slices per tomato.
Lay the tomatoes on a wire rack with paper towels beneath
Sprinkle with sea salt and allow to sit for salt to pull water out of the tomatoes, approximately 30 minutes. 

Remove paper towels beneath rack and blot tomatoes dry.

In a large cast iron skillet, cook bacon until crisp. 
Remove with a slotted spoon onto a plate lined with paper towels. 
Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease.

In a shallow bowl, add the flour and season to taste with salt and pepper.
In a second shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, sugar, and hot sauce.
In a third shallow bowl, combine the corn flour, panko, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne, and pepper. 
Dip the tomatoes in the flour mixture, then into the buttermilk mixture, and finally dredge them in the corn flour mixture, coating both sides well.

Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat and fry the tomatoes in two batches until brown and crispy on both sides, about 4 minutes on each side. 
Keep warm in oven on a baking sheet lined with a rack while frying the second batch.
Sprinkle with bacon and serve plain or with the Remoulade Sauce on side, if desired

Remoulade Sauce
½ cup mayonnaise
1 t Creole mustard 
½ t prepared horseradish
½ t lemon juice
1 t Worcestershire sauce
2 dashes hot sauce

Mix together and refrigerate until ready to serve

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

GRILLED TURKEY BREAST

This turkey cooked in 2 ½ hours on the grill and I added extra coals two times.  I served the turkey with mashed potatoes and Smoked Paprika Green Beans.




1 (8 to 9 lb) bone-in turkey breast
Applewood chunks, soaked in water for at least 4 hours
1 cup apple juice 
1 T avocado oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Prepare about 30 coals on each side of the grill for indirect heat.

Place aluminum foil on the bottom of the grill and place a pan on top with the apple juice or water.
Clean the grill with a wire brush and rub the grill with a folded paper towel dampened with some avocado oil.

Remove any excess fat and skin that is hanging from the turkey.

Rub the oil all over the turkey's skin and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place turkey directly on the grill in the center, with the top of the breast up.


Cook with vents partially open and add any coals as needed.


Check every 30 minutes. 


After the first 30 minutes of cooking add the wood chunks to each side of the hot coals.


Turkey is done when the internal temperature of meat is 165 degrees F.


Monday, September 17, 2018

TERIYAKI SHRIMP & BROCCOLI STIR FRY

We love shrimp so much that I have a ton of recipes with shrimp...from Italian, Southern, Indian, Japanese, and Thai. This mean is ready in under 30 minutes.




Teriyaki Sauce
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
1-inch piece ginger, grated or minced
¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
¼ cup honey
½ t red pepper flakes
2 t cornstarch
1 cup water

Mix together the sauce ingredients in a glass measuring pitcher and set aside.

Stir Fry
1 T avocado or coconut oil
1 lb large shrimp, deveined and tails removed
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 bunches broccoli, cut into florets, stems discarded
1 large red bell pepper, chopped

Jasmine rice, cooked
White & black sesame seeds, for garnish
2 scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish

Heat the oil in a wok or large cast iron skillet.
Add the shrimp and cook over high heat for 2 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook another minute. 
Add the broccoli and bell pepper and cook 3 more minutes.

Pour in the sauce and stir to combine, while simmering a minute or two.

Serve over Jasmine rice and garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.

Serves 2



Tuesday, September 4, 2018

REFRIGERATOR BREAD & BUTTER PICKLES WITH ONIONS

Whenever I see pickling cucumbers in the grocery store, I buy them and make either Garlic-Dill Pickles or Bread & Butter Pickles. I actually like the Bread & Butter Pickles on a hamburger, hot dog, or smoked sausage rather than dill pickles. These are not overly sweet.



2 lbs pickling cucumbers, sliced ¼-inch thick
1 ½ T pickling or Kosher salt
1 sweet onion, such as Vidalia, cut in half and thinly sliced
1 cup white vinegar
½ cup apple cider vinegar
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
2 t multi-colored peppercorns
2 t mustard seeds
1 t minced dry onions
1 t minced dry garlic
1 t celery seeds
½ t ground ginger
½ t ground turmeric

Place sliced cucumbers in a large bowl and stir in salt.  Cover with and refrigerate 2 hours. Transfer cucumbers to a colander and rinse under cold water.
Rinse out the bowl.
Drain cucumber slices well and return to the bowl.
Add sliced onions and toss to combine.

In a medium saucepan, add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes until sugar is dissolved.

Let mixture cool for 30 minutes, then pour over cucumber mixture in the bowl and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. 
Ladle into clean canning jars and refrigerate for up to 1 month, if they last that long.