Recipe

Love My Blackstone Griddle

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Blackstone griddle

“Cooking is a philosophy; it’s not a recipe.” — Marco Pierre White

Marco Pierre White

I thought I would do something a little different. My fiancé bought me a new toy. Welcome to hillbilly intro to cooking. It’s simple but tasty. The key ingredient is the Blackstone griddle. The flat top is made of cold-rolled steel. This design and material allows for even heat distribution and controlled cooking across the whole griddle.

Stir fry vegetables and meat.

Today is a stir fry vegetable with crawfish tails and andouille sausage. For the vegetables I used cabbage, zucchini, yellow squash, onion, minced garlic, water chestnuts and bamboo shoots. I cooked everything in olive oil.

Stir fry

I put some olive oil on the griddle and then I added the meat and cooked for about 5 minutes, then I added more olive oil and put the vegetables on the griddle and mixed together and stir fried.

Before I started cooking I put 2 packages of ramen noodles in a bowl, covered with cold water and added bullion and soaked for 20 minutes. When vegetables were about half done, I drained the water, and h CC I added noodles to the vegetables and meat, then I mixed thoroughly and stir fried until noodles were crispy.

Finished

Believe it or not this is quite tasty. Thanks for reading. Remember to be kind to each other and spread the love!

Dutch Oven Cornish Hens

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Half hour from being done.

I love cooking in the DOs. Food tastes so much better. I never pass up good road kill. After all it has already been tenderized and why let the meat go to waste if it’s salvageable?

I have this great daughter in law who isn’t big on wild game. One day my son and her were at the house for a BBQ. I walked in the house and there she was going through the trash looking at the meat wrappers. The look on her face was priceless. She told me she didn’t trust me and had always checked the meat wrappers. She was afraid I might slip a squirrel or possum in on her. God love her. Sorry I digress. Back to tonight’s supper.

My original plan was a Cornish Hen stew but with a cloud bank building in the west I knew I wouldn’t have enough time. I opted to just bake them and make some dressing.

I normally bake them at 325 degrees but went with 375 degrees to speed things up. After I wash them thoroughly I rub them down with olive oil then season them with chicken seasoning.

I used a 10 inch deep Dutch Oven. I used 17 briquettes on the lid and 6 briquettes on the bottom. I preheat the oven for 15 minutes then I placed the hens in the oven. I will cook them for an hour and a half. Now Dutch Oven cooks have their own way of doing things. To get an even cook I rotate the lid 1 quarter of a turn clockwise and I rotate the oven 1 quarter turn counterclockwise every 15 minutes. I consider this an essential part of the process.

I thought I had a bag of cornbread fixings for the dressing but it turned out to be just a bag of stovetop dressing mix so I had to modify it to bake in a DO. I added 1 egg and a 1/4 cub of melted butter. I then added some chicken seasoning and enough chicken broth to get the desired consistency and poured it into a 10 inch DO that was preheated. I baked it at 350 degrees for a half hour. I used 12 briquettes on the lid and 3 underneath careful not to burn the cornbread on the bottom. I did the fifteen minute rotation.

Cornish hens on right cornbread on left.

My grandson will be upset with me because he loves my Cornish Hens. Even though I had to change my supper plans in midstream it still turned out quite tasty.

Dutch Oven cooking is gaining in popularity. It definitely is an art and takes a lot of practice but it is well worth the time spent learning. As near as I can figure I have been doing it for nearly 40 years. I have a MACA 15 inch deep oven that I can cook a 13 pound turkey in. Turkey never tasted better. Hope you enjoyed my blog and thanks for reading.

Cowboy Coffee

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Cowboy Coffee is done.

I couldn’t sleep so I decided to get up and get a fire going and make some Cowboy Coffee. I know there are all of those designer coffees available and I can’t forget Starbucks. I was told one time you never had a real cup of coffee until you had one from Starbucks. Well I beg to differ.

Ain’t nothing better than a cup of Cowboy Coffee when made right. I use Kent Rollins recipe. I use 1/4 cup of coffee grounds to 1 quart water. The pot in the pic is a 4 quart. Don’t add grounds until water is warm then bring to a rolling boil for about 4 to 6 minutes then remove from heat and let rest 2 minutes. Then pour about a cup of cold water around the inside of the pot and down the spout. That will settle the grounds. If you prefer it stronger add more coffee or boiling time. Check out Kent Rollins at Kent Rollins.com or check him out on YouTube.

Waiting for it to boil.

A lot of friendships have been made over a cup of coffee. I myself always love sharing a cup of coffee with a friend. When I am out camping and get the coffee going it doesn’t take long for the aroma to get the other campers attention. I don’t know how many times I have had people stop at my camp and partake of my coffee. Like anything else it took me a while to master the art of making good Cowboy Coffee. Kent Rollins taught me through his videos and he is one heck of a Dutch Oven cook.

A couple of notes. If you grind your own coffee the coarser it is the longer it has to boil. Cowboy Coffee is best when made in a seasoned pot. You have heard all good things come to those who wait, well you have to have patience when you make coffee this way. The wait is worth it though.

Lazy Man’s Stew

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Decided to do something different this time. For those who know me they know I love to cook and Dutch Oven cooking is my method of madness.

I would normally do this in a bean pot on a wood stove but I like to let it cook all day and this particular day I didn’t have that luxury. I make a fire pit out of rims and a 10 inch dutch fits snugly in the center of the rim. Works perfect.

The reason I call it Lazy Man’s Stew is because for the most part you are just opening cans.

1 pound top sirloin steak

3 tbsps olive oil

2 tbsps minced garlic

1 medium onion (diced)

12 oz Heinz mushroom gravy

24 oz beef broth

4 tbsps Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tbsp salt

1/2 tbsp pepper

1/2 tsp curry

2 medium potatoes (cut in 1/4 inch cubes)

15 oz canned carrots

15 oz canned green beans

15 oz canned corn

2 glasses Elderberry wine

Add olive oil to Dutch oven and when it gets hot add onions and minced garlic. Cook,stir frequently, until onion is clear.

Then add meat.

Now pour your first glass of wine. (optional)

When meat is cooked add the gravy and beef broth. Then add the remaining ingredients.

Bring to a rolling boil and cook for twenty minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Pour your second glass of wine. (optional)

Lower heat (I raise the pot higher off the fire) and let simmer for an hour. Remove from fire and let sit for 10 minutes then serve.

As you can see I always use my finest China.

How many does it serve? Depends on how hungry you are.

I hope you enjoyed today’s blog. Feel free to give me some feedback in the comments.

Catfish Tomatoes

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Pints of catfish tomatoes.

I grew up in the 60s and I used to watch my grandma and mom can.    They canned everything from sausage, fish to  dill pickles and beets.  Sometimes she would can 75 quarts of green beans.  I remember how great they tasted.

I recently canned some catfish tomatoes and thought I would share it with those that can.  My grandparents were from Arkansas and this is the recipe my grandma had.  They go real well with fish and I love it with BBQ.  I hope you like them.

Grandma’s Catfish Tomatoes

1 gallon quartered green tomatoes

1 pint hot peppers cut up

1 pint white vinegar

1 quart quartered onions

3 cups sugar

1/4 cup salt

Bring to a boil or until tomatoes turn light green.   Gently stir a couple of times.   Once they come to a boil take them off the heat and spoon them into jars and seal.  They don’t need a bath.  Note: It doesn’t seem like a lot of liquid but as they cook the tomatoes create a lot of liquid.  I also recommend you cook in steel not aluminum.

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Quartered green tomatoes

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Quartered onions

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Cut up jalapenos

Well thanks for reading my blog.  Hope you enjoyed it.  Warning: It is spicy.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

Breakfast Bake

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Breakfast Bake

Breakfast Bake

1 can of biscuits

6 eggs

one half cup milk

1 pound sausage

1 cup cheese

Gravy

4 tbsp flour

2 cups milk

4 tbsp butter

salt

pepper

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Biscuits

Cook sausage until done then drain and put aside.  Cut the biscuits into pieces.  Place into a baking pan.  I am using a 12 inch dutch oven.  Mix eggs and mix real well then pour over biscuits.  Spread cheese and sausage over the eggs, milk and biscuits.

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Baked Breakfast

Gravy

Melt butter in a sauce pan then  stir in flour then add milk.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil.  Then pour over mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes.

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Breakfast Bake ready to bake.

I made mine with half vegetarian sausage and pork sausage.  I baked mine in a dutch oven. I used a 12 inch dutch oven.  I used charcoal briquettes.  Since it was a 12 inch and I needed 350 degrees I used 30 briquettes.  I used 8 under the oven and 22 on top.

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Placement of briquettes on bottom.

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Briquette placement on top

I rotate the lid a quarter turn clockwise and the bottom counter clockwise every 15 minutes.

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My outdoor kitchen.

I hope  my blog was helpful.  It was quite delicious.  I should have put some aluminum foil on top the last 15 minutes but it turned out ok.

Thanks for reading.  Be kind to one another, share the love and God Bless you one and all.