Hoggy New Year

Posted in Dinner, Holiday Specials by chrissycocooks

Happy New YEAAAARRRR!!!! It seems like the older I get the faster the years go by, leaving less and less time to reflect and prepare for the next one, but so be it. I’m unusually optimistic this time of year, dreaming of opportunities to come, wishing, hoping, praying (dear God, please!) that this new year is somehow better than the one before, in one aspect or another. One thing I always look forward to is the Hog Feast my mom’s family holds every single January 1st since I can remember. They’re from the South…Rocky Mount, North Carolina to be exact. And there is no such thing as bringing in the new year without hog and black eyed peas. It’s a Southern tradition dating back to who-knows-when that I will never get tired of.

I think it’s safe to say that I’ve been a “foodie” my whole life, but with a special affinity for pork fat (there might even be an unspoken rule somewhere about this being a prerequisite to foodie-dom, but I’m not sure…). My mom used to reprimand me for just chewing then eventually devouring the fat layer around my pork chops instead of cutting them off and discarding them like she did. And I was one of the few kids out of all my cousins who would indulge in all the porky goodness every New Year. I just couldn’t help myself! The main event, though, is this hog head that my Uncle Ebon makes. It’s crispy, spicy, salty, velvety yumminess. This year, Uncle Ebon passed on the hog-making tradition to me so I very humbly and graciously took on the responsibility of preparing everyone’s New Year’s good luck charm with calculated precision.

Just like with any other amazing dish, you must start with the best and freshest ingredients. This is a freshly slaughtered Berkshire pig head from Union Market in DC. It comes whole but I asked the butcher to slice it in half for me, reducing cooking time and optimizing skin crispiness.

Can you hear me now?

Believe it or not, I’ve never eaten hog brain before so I decided to make a breakfast out of it. Reminds me of chicken liver, only with a porky flavor.

First step is to season with salt, pepper, bay leaves and a few cloves of garlic, almost cover with water, wrap in aluminum foil and cook at about 350 for a few hours.

Next, pour off water (which should also have a considerable amount of fat with it). Pour more water into pan, about mid-way, and continue to cook for another hour or two.

Getting there…

Pour off water. Pork should be “cooked”, meaning it is no longer raw, but still nowhere near done! Here is where the flavoring comes into play. I may have mentioned that our famous Uncle Fred used to cook a single solitary chicken on the grill for hours, basting it with his secret vinegar concoction. Well, every member of my family has his or her own “vinegar concoction”. This would be a jar consisting of apple cider vinegar and “spices”, whatever spices said family member deems delicious and tasty enough to rival Uncle Fred’s. The longer it seeps, the better. The more aged the spices, the better. The only rule is that you must NEVER EVER run out! We just add more vinegar and spices as the supply gets low, knowing that there is some remaining flavor of spices and vinegar from years past to continuously flavor the concoction. This vinegar is used to pour over the hog head. Next, salt, crushed red pepper flakes (the more the merrier), Italian seasoning and whatever garlic cloves that are left in the pan are smeared over the hog head. Also, if you like extra ears and tails (like we do!) this is the time to add them to the pan. The foil is placed back over the pan and placed back in the oven, this time at a low 225-250 degrees.

Some good ole tail!

Whole cayenne peppers, ready to be crushed.

Every hour or so, the hog is checked, based with more vinegar and spices and put back into the oven.

When Uncle Ebon says it is done (about 8 or 9 hours from starting time), it is done…for now! The hog must rest in the refrigerator over night.

Until we meet again tomorrow…

I soaked my black eye peas in cold water and about a teaspoon of baking soda (does wonders to dispel the myth of beans as “the magical fruit…the more you eat the more you…”, if you know what I mean!) over night. The next morning I put them in a pot of boiling water with salt, pepper, garlic cloves and a few bay leaves. Bring to a boil then turn down to a low simmer until beans are tender. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to serve.

The next day, about an hour or so before you are ready to serve, pour some black eyed peas into the pan with the hog head, just enough to cover ears and tails. Drizzle with either hot sauce, vinegar concoction, or both over everything in pan and place uncovered in the oven at 400 degrees for about an hour, or until skin has reached crispy perfection! Mmmmm…my mouth is watering all over again. I wish you a very Happy New Year and always HAPPY EATING!

They approve…

…Uncle Ebon approves!

The rest of the spread: branzino roasted w/tomatoes & olives, homemade potato salad, chicken & rice smothered in mushroom white wine sauce, radicchio salad, collard greens.

…oh yes…and BBQ pig feet.

Oh yes…and I decided to whip up a little apple cobbler too!

…with some help, of course!

Happy New Year indeed!

25Dec2013

Happy Oyster Stuffing Holidays

Posted in Dessert, Dinner, Holiday Specials, Veggies by chrissycocooks

I know it’s been a while, but I didn’t want the year to pass without me writing a post about the HOILDAYS–my favorite time of year! For me, the holidays are like a renewal of sorts. I can’t remember a time where the self-imposed merriment of the holidays wasn’t needed in my life. There is always a relationship that could use a little improvement, a family situation that requires a living room dance along in order to jump start a move in a more positive direction. In lieu of sounding too vague or revealing my whole life story, I will say that some of my deepest, darkest times have been around the holidays; and, by contrast, the most glorious turnarounds have also happened during this time. Who doesn’t love a good comeback story, right? I, for one, live for them. I’ve been on this earth too long not to know that life is all about ebb and flow, ups and downs, highs and lows. But I choose to rejoice in these chances to enjoy life to the fullest with the people I love the most because what else is there, really?

And what better way to physically express this merriment than with plate after plate of the most delectable food anyone could ever imagine?! In my book, food is the ultimate love language. So I try to love the hell out of any and everyone I come in contact with. Cakes, cookies, pies, on-demand pancake breakfasts, extravagant weekend meals any day of the week…this is what fills my heart and occupies my hours of the day. There is no joy like seeing someone’s face light up at the sight of an unexpected holiday feast. And feast we certainly did on Thanksgiving!

It all started when my newly widowed grandmother(Mama) decided that she wanted to treat everyone in the family to a grand Thanksgiving meal…at a restaurant?! Being the obedient grandchild that I am, I searched around for such a place for all 30+ relatives who would be attending said dinner, but there always seemed to be something missing. A grand buffet…only for brunch. A soul food dinner…only for a 2-hour block of time. A traditional turkey dinner…with no leftovers!?! Everything we wanted…but cost two to three times what Mama was planning on paying. But oh, could I picture this meal in my head! It had multiple courses. It pleased pescatarians, vegetarians and carnivores alike. Basically, I wanted to do it myself and that is just what happened. This menu was the compilation of all the Thanksgiving foodie dreams I have ever had, come to life. So I say, indulge in good food and each other! And leave the self-loathing and gym visits for next year. Here’s to continued Happy Holidays, and at the very least HAPPY EATING!

(Instead of posting every single recipe of our Thanksgiving feast, I’ll tease you with just the menu and give you the full recipe for my favorite go-to holiday dish–OYSTER STUFFING!)

Thanksgiving Menu 2013

Appetizers

Homemade Butternut Squash Soup

Mini Crab Cake Balls

Grilled Shrimp Cocktail

Grilled Whole Lobsters

Thought I got a pic of them grilled but guess not…believe me, they were GOOOOD;)

Butter-Poached Lobster Claws

Main Course

Fried Turkey

Roast Leg of Lamb w/Rosemary & Honey

Braised Pig Feet; BBQ Pig Feet

Chitterlings

Corn Pudding

Macaroni and Cheese

Oyster Stuffing

Potato Salad

Braised Collard Greens

Grilled Asparagus w/Hollandaise Sauce

Grilled Zucchini, Carrots, Onions & Tomato Salad

Don’t you wish you’d come over?!

Desserts (all homemade)

New York Cheesecake

Three Layer Chocolate Kahlùa Cake

Pecan Bread Pudding

Sweet Potato Pie

A great ending to a great day!

Oyster Stuffing Recipe

You Will Need:

2 deep dish half Pans

1 loaf crusty French/Italian bread

4 boxes cornbread mixed and baked

3 cups chopped celery

3 cups chopped onions

1.5 lbs. thick cut bacon

4 pints fresh oysters

2 tsp. dried thyme

1 cup dried cranberries

2 cups chicken broth

2 Tbsp. Old Bay seasoning

salt and pepper, to taste

Cut French bread into 1/2″ cubes and set aside (either do this the night before to allow to dry out or put on a baking sheet on low heat in the oven until they just start to brown).

Bake cornbread to package instructions. When cooled, loosely crumble cornbread into large mixing bowl. Add cubed French bread.

Slice bacon into 1/4″ strips and cook over medium high heat in large pan. When bacon is just crispy, remove from pan and add to mixing bowl. Add chopped celery and onions to pan with bacon grease. Allow to cook until translucent. Add two sticks unsalted butter, thyme, cranberries, salt and pepper to taste. Pour vegetable mixture over bread in mixing bowl. Mix until all ingredients are evenly distributed. Pour into two pans. Moisten with chicken broth. Pour two pints of oysters into each pan. Sprinkle with Old Bay seasoning. Gently mix with hands until oysters are dispersed into bread mixture.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 1.5 hours or until heated through and oysters are cooked. With an oven glove on, pat down stuffing until smooth and even all over. Remove aluminum foil and Bake at 400 until the edges are golden brown and bubbly. Allow to sit for a good 10-15 mins before diving in…ENJOY!

8Oct2013

Budget Saving at Your House

Posted in Breakfast, Dessert, Dinner, Just Because..., Kiddie Corner, Lunch, Veggies by chrissycocooks

I can’t even begin to dissect (nor do I want to) what is going on in Congress with the budget and blah blah blah. It does, however, remind me of a conversation I had with a friend recently about budget-saving meals. Whether you’re a college student on a ramen-noodle budget, a starving artist, a parent looking to tighten up on the household food bill, or…the United States government, we can all stand to save a little here or there! The great thing about food is that the range of possibilities are endless! With a few simple and inexpensive ingredients you can make countless delicious meals. And I bet all or most of those meals can be made with ingredients you already have on hand.

The above-mentioned friend had what seemed to her to be a few ingredients that amounted to not much of anything, but to me seemed to be the main ingredients for all her meals over the next couple of days: gluten-free flour, eggs, oil, milk. Why, crepes, of course! You can make a few at a time and add sweet or savory ingredients to the crepes for unlimited options for breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert, I told her. In fact, most of the following meals are versatile enough for any meal of the day. That’s another great thing about cooking budget-saving meals: it forces you to break out the box a little and be more creative about what you eat. There’s nothing like a little pantry shopping to spice up your everyday monotonous meal schedule. Here are a few of my favorites. Happy budgeting and HAPPY EATING!

Oatmeal, Nuts ‘n Berries

Mmmmm oatmeal! It’s one of those constants in my life, like Dove beauty bars and the beach in the summer time. They are so much a part of who I am that I refuse to part with them for too long. It used to be rolled oats, but now I’ve got a thing for crunchy steel cut oats, slow cooked for almost an hour then piled high with whatever topping suits my mood. I make a big pot about once a week then refrigerate and use as needed throughout the week. Blueberry/banana/quinoa/low-fat yogurt/chia seeds is one of my favorite combos. Add a hard boiled egg and you’ve got a quick and easy protein-packed breakfast to hold you for a few hours longer than plain old oats alone. A $3.29 carton of organic steel cut oats at Trader Joe’s could last a couple of weeks. Depending on your toppings, breakfast could run less than a dollar a day!

The oats are under there somewhere…

You Will Need:

Steel cut oats; Toppings: *SWEET-blueberries, blackberries, bananas, strawberries, cream, apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, honey, brown sugar, maple syrup, and/or agave nectar. *SAVORY-nuts, yogurt, flax seeds, chia seeds, quinoa, egg, crumbled sausage, spinach, kale, bell peppers, cheese, and/or chili garlic sauce.

To Prepare:

I usually eye about a 3:1 ratio of water to oats. I bring the water to a boil, add oats, reduce temp. to really low and constantly stir over the course of about 45 minutes.

Tortilla

This is one of my all time favorite go-to pantry-cleaners. It is a staple food over in Spain where I learned how to make my Madre’s version. All you need is five simple ingredients and a little time! It can be eaten at room temperature or heated to bring some of the caramelized onion flavor out. Added to an arugula and tomato salad with balsamic, it can serve as a delicious lunch. With a glass of red wine and a partner to share them with, it could be an end to the perfect day.

You Will Need:

Large white potatoes; sweet onions; eggs; salt; vegetable oil

To Prepare:

Chop potatoes into about 1/2″ cube size then soak in a bowl of water.Cut onions into very thin slivers.

Heat about 1″ of oil in large pan, preferably cast iron, to medium high heat. *Make sure the pan and oil are hot when you add the potatoes so they don’t stick to the pan and fall apart.* Transfer cubed potatoes to a towel and blot dry. Add to oil and cook to golden brown, but not so cooked that they start to crumble.

Remove from oil and immediately sprinkle with salt.

After all the potatoes have cooked there should be a slight coating of oil in pan. Turn heat to medium and slowly sauté onions and a pinch of salt until caramelized and golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Almost there…

Just right. Caramelization station!

Then transfer to paper towel. Taste potatoes and onions for salt content. When potatoes and onions have cooled to room temperature, crack three eggs in a bowl, add onions and potatoes and more salt, if needed. *As the only spice in the whole dish, salt is very important. You don’t want it to be too salty, but not enough salt will render a very bland heap of fancy potatoes. If the potatoes and onions taste like they have almost too much salt then you shouldn’t need to add anymore.*

Heat the same pan to a low medium. It should still have a decent coating of oil, if not then add more. Pour mixture into pan and allow to cook until egg is slightly giggly in middle.

Separate tortilla perimeter from sides of the pan. Flip onto a plate then back into the pan on the other side.

Allow to cook just until edges are set and golden brown.

Slide onto clean plate. This is not an omelette, therefore, it is not going to look like one. Spanish tortilla is mostly potato. The egg and onions act as a binder and flavor enhancer. The perfect tortilla should be able to be sliced and picked up like a slice of pizza, with barely any egg yellow in-between.

Buen Provecho.

Gazpacho

Another Spanish staple, this versatile cold soup can be made with just about any garden vegetable you can find, as long as tomatoes are the main ingredient! It can also be heated up and eaten with a grilled cheese for a comforting cold weather meal. I like to pour a little over beans and rice for a fresh and hearty side dish or meal in itself.

You Will Need:

Tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, cucumbers, red wine vinegar, stale bread, salt, pepper, cumin, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, blender or food processor.

To Prepare:

Blend each of the vegetables separately to desired thickness (i.e. I like my tomatoes blended really well, but my bell peppers and cucumbers slightly chunky).

Blend bread in with tomatoes then pour all the vegetables together in a bowl.

Pretty colors.

Add vinegar and other seasonings to taste. Chill until ready to serve. Garnish with cilantro and olive oil, if desired

Gazpacho.

Gourmet Oodles of Noodles

They’re not just for college students anymore! There’s something about those curly little noodles that draws kids and adults alike. And because my kids (big and little) like them so much I have been forced to find a way to make them remotely healthy. If you scrap the seasoning packet and add in some protein, mixed vegetables and your own (most likely MSG-free) seasoning–or even chicken/beef/vegetable broth instead of water–then they’re not half bad…dare I say really good, rivaling some pho or Asian restaurant-style soups?!

You Will Need:

Packet oodles of noodles/ramen; soy sauce; onion, carrot, broccoli, mushrooms, and/or bean sprouts; egg; shrimp, chicken, pork or beef; toasted sesame seed oil; chili garlic sauce; kimchi

To Prepare:

Put sliced onions in medium sauce pan with water/broth and bring to a boil. When onions are translucent add heartier vegetables, soy sauce and chili garlic sauce. If you’re adding uncooked pork or beef add now; if you’re adding uncooked seafood, wait until vegetables are cooked. When vegetables are brightly colored add noodles and only cook about another 1 and 1/2 minutes. Turn off the heat and add egg and any other already cooked ingredients. Stir immediately to break up the egg then add bean sprouts, oil, kimchi and any other seasoning to taste.

Chicken

Duh, right? Chicken is one of the cheapest and most readily available proteins around. Who doesn’t like chicken?! Plus, you don’t have to scrimp on price for quality either. Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Safeway, just to name a few, all carry organic, free-range, vegetarian-fed and all natural varieties starting at $0.99/pound if you catch them on sale! Don’t get me naming all the ways you can cook chicken in my Bubba voice. Grilled chicken, broiled chicken, jerk chicken, BBQ chicken, curry chicken…you get the point. Once you’ve prepared it one way you can chop it up or pull it apart, add it to other ingredients and prepare it another way. Chicken nuggets, kabobs, salad, enchiladas, club sandwiches, omelets, pot pie…

Grilled chicken

Chicken & rice with mushroom sauce.

Fried chicken

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31Aug2013

On the Grill: The Best Steak EVER

Posted in Dinner, Lunch by chrissycocooks

Can you believe that summer is coming to an end already?! Even more unbelievable, for me, is that I haven’t written a post about summer grilling…until now! Grilling is my F-A-V-O-R-I-T-E method of cooking, hands down. The flavor that those hot smoky coals impart into the food is immeasurable. And besides that, it’s just plain old fun. Even though I do grill year round, Summer is the best time to take advantage of the warm breezes and longer days that allow for extended outdoor gatherings with friends and family. With an ice cold drink in my hand I can stay outside for hours turning and manipulating my food ever so slightly until cooked just so.

Grilling is part science and part art. Any novice griller will tell you that you must have a certain ratio of oxygen to heated coals in order to control the temperature of the grill. They will also tell you that fat+heated coals=flames, another very important component to the cooking process. And of course you would cook a piece of fish filet for far less time than you would cook a rack of ribs, but how long exactly is where the art comes in. You have to feel the food, both literally and figuratively. You must look for subtle signs like curled edges, bubbling liquid, color changes and meat pulling away from the bone to determine doneness. And even then, seemingly unimportant factors like humidity or outside temperature make it so that every grilling experience is different. For however many years I’ve been grilling I still burn the occasional piece of chicken. But that’s ok. For me, it’s the whole experience, the antiquity of the process that lures me to the grill.

What’s my favorite thing to grill up, you ask? MEAT! Meat, meat, meat! What’s more carnally primitive and appetizing than a nice thick cut of meat grilled over an open flame? Nothing. I’ve tried Peter Luger’s, Ruth’s Chris, a handful of Brazilian churrascarias, and a bunch of others’ but I must say that this porterhouse from this butcher (the one I mentioned a few posts back) grilled on my everyday Weber grill is by far the best steak I’ve ever eaten. I literally have wet dreams about this steak. It is so tender, so juicy, with the most unbelievable flavor that you just can’t get from mass-produced beef out of your local grocery store. If you want ground beef, they bring out whole strips of steak and grind it right in front of your eyes in the store window. And when you order a porterhouse, they bring out a nice long rack of meat and slice that thing right in front of you too. As Steve Gatward, the owner of Let’s Meat on the Avenue, explained to me the first time I entered this carnivorous oasis, their meat is never frozen and they only source from the best local pasture-fed, free range and hormone-free meat that there is. Does it make a difference? Absolutely! And the price is pretty comparable to those grocery store steaks too. What’s not to love?! As you can tell, I’m hooked! Here is how I grilled the best steak ever…Happy end of summer to you and HAPPY EATING!

This is my new favorite charcoal for quick grilling. The hardwood coals burn super hot, which is perfect for something like steak where you want a nice sear on the outside.

The coals vary greatly in size, allowing more individualized coal disbursement, depending on the type of food you’re cooking. With some small and some really large, you ensure that you always have something lit to continually add coals onto without having to start from scratch, lighting coals when they burn out. To light the coals you can use a charcoal chimney, wooden starter sticks or lighter fluid. However you do it, make sure that the coals all have at least a little grey ash on them before placing the grate on top.

(These obviously aren’t the hardwood coals in the next two pics but they show how uniform coals heat up in pyramid formation with the fire starting to really heat up from the bottom.)

I always keep a nice big stick handy. You don’t have to get close to the hot grill in order to manipulate the coals…and if a child needs to be pushed on his or her tricycle while the coals are heating up, it comes in handy for that too!

When the coals look like this, they are ready for cooking. Spread them out evenly over the surface area you need to cook your food. Place the grate over top and allow it to heat up before placing food on it. I personally like to cook directly over an open flame. Some people like to cover it in foil first. If your grate is hot enough and scraped clean of any caked-on debris, the food shouldn’t stick and you will get those nice pretty grill marks.

AHHHHHHH…THE PORTERHOUSE: The left side of the steak is filet mignon, the right side is a NY strip. I tell the butcher to leave a nice strip of fat on the side. This feeds the flame for a continuous sear. It’s also quite tasty when it’s nice and crispy around the edges…in moderation (don’t judge me!)

This steak has so much flavor on its own, it doesn’t need anything more than Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and granulated garlic. I rub it with olive oil first so that the seasoning sticks to the steak. Make sure that it is room temperature before placing it on the grill for even cooking. This steak was about 2.5″ thick, 2.75 lbs.

When you first place it on the grill allow for the flames to start to work their magic before putting the top on. Open all grill holes to allow maximum oxygen flow, while also allowing the steak to warm up internally. Once it has seared on one side, flip and repeat. I wish I could tell you how long to cook it. Less than 30 minutes and more than 10 is my best guess for a medium to medium rare temperature. (It’s always better to under cook it then return it to the grill once you have determined so rather than to overcook it.) Remove from the grill. LET. IT. REST. Five minutes of rest time per pound of meat.

Such a thing of beauty!

I wish I got a shot of it before we devoured this much but you get the point…pink center, seared outside.

Leftovers make an awesome steak and eggs breakfast or a very flavorful grilled steak salad!

18Mar2013

St. Patty’s Pan Roasted Corned Beef

Posted in Dinner by chrissycocooks

I’ll just start right off the bat and tell you that i’ve never been one to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, really. Outside of wearing green and maybe a lucky charm or two to school when i was young, i never thought much about it as a holiday. No offense to St. Patty or the Irish! But the other day when Mema mentioned that she used to cook a whole corned beef with cabbage and potatoes for St. Patrick’s Day my ears perked up! Any celebration with food involved is a celebration worth having in my book. But where to get said corned beef and how to cook it? It came as a shock to Mema and even myself that i don’t ever remember actually eating corned beef, outside of the sliced deli version. Then she mentioned finishing it off in the oven with an apricot glaze and my salivary glands kicked in to overdrive. I had to find a way to make this St. Patrick’s Day corned beef happen…

The next day we went to go visit my arch nemesis and secret lover both rolled into one–COSTCO! Right there, in front of the two-aisles long cheese section was a whole display dedicated to housing five- and six-pound packages of corned beef. There may have even been a light or two shining down on them. If you have more time (about 10 DAYS, according to a few recipes i found) and patience, you might want to try and “corn” your own beef instead of using one out of the package. (Alton Brown always does a very thorough classic version of any good cooking technique.)

First, remove the meat from the package and insert into a large pot (juice from bag and all!), fat side up. Empty the contents of the seasoning packet into the pot, fill with water covering at least two inches over meat. Allow meat to boil until tender (the package says to boil for 1 hour/pound, but i only let my 6 pound beef boil for 3.5 hours).

Corned beef, out of the boiling water.

Cut potatoes, carrots and cabbage into 1″ cubes.

Potatoes. Make sure any little hands are out of the way!

I only used about 1/2 a head of cabbage in my pan.

Place vegetables in the bottom of a deep roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Irish mirepoix.

Place corned beef on wire rack over vegetables.

I could take a bite right now…

Brush a nice apricot preserve all over the outside of the beef.

Ready for the oven.

Bake on 475 for about 20-30 minutes or until glaze forms a slightly charred, crunchy crust. If the vegetables need a little more time to cook, by all means!

Let the corned beef rest and you do the same (as you pick the crispy edges little by little…)

ENJOY!

St. Patty’s Day Dinner

In the end, I couldn’t believe how easy and DELICIOUS corned beef actually is! Finishing it in the oven with a sweet apricot glaze gives a nice slightly sweet and crunchy texture to an otherwise savory and very tender soft meat. St. Patrick’s Day and this meal are definitely on the calendar every year from here on out! Now, excuse me while I go thinly slice a few pieces of this corned beef and make myself a nice deli sandwich. HAPPY EATING!

xoxo Chrissy

15Mar2013

Oyster Roast

Posted in Dinner by chrissycocooks

Like my most important relationships, my most meaningful culinary experiences have come from some level or degree of hardship. There was that ribeye i was craving all that one week…until i finally timed just right nap times, feedings and traffic to allow me to get to that butcher shop, my new butcher shop obsession (definitely more on this later!). I get shoes, hats and coats on when it dawns on me that i never checked to see what time they closed. Not enough time to make the 30 minute trek. Ahhh, another day i wait! Also like those above-mentioned relationships, there are those spontaneous events that whirl you toward nothing you pictured but everything you dreamed of. Take these oysters for example. These oysters. I never knew these oysters even existed until now. I’ve never met an oyster I didn’t like and can’t even remember the very first time one of those plump little mollusks entered my life, but i do know that i can never live without them.

But these oysters will go down in my play book as a game changer. No longer will i only look to restaurants and grocery store pints of the already-shucked variety in order to get my oyster fix. I have discovered the Oyster Roast. I suppose i always knew in the possibility of such a thing, but it just so happened that this past weekend, sun , moon and stars aligned to bring me my very first experience. We were in South Carolina to visit with my in-laws and to celebrate my mother and father in-law’s 35th anniversary. I must mention that an unspoken prerequisite to being close to me is that you must love food. The more varied the range of options you consider to be acceptable dining possibilities, the closer we probably are. In fact, my foodie idol is Andrew Zimmern of Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods. (Mr. Zimmern, if by the grace of divine intervention you happen to be reading my humble new blog, i would only like to tell you that i am madly in love with you and want to have ALL OF YOUR……culinary experiences copied and pasted into my life’s inbox! That is all.) Ok, i was saying…my in-laws are Black, Samoan, Dominican, from the North and the South and we all eat it all. That my husband planned our Friday around seeking out a bushel of live crabs to cook was definitely a welcome surprise. AND Grandma wants us to leave the rug rats with her for some family bonding time?! Yes, please!

First, walking around the old store front shops in downtown Beaufort. Next, the highlight of our waterfront walking excursion: oyster po’boys at Plums.

Sunny Downtown Beaufort.

Old store fronts.

Along the walk to Plums.

View from Plums waterfront porch.

I could’ve had a second, just to pick out the perfectly fried oysters drizzled with a tasty aioli, but i restrained myself. There were yet more to come. When we got to our crab finding destination, Gay Fish Co., a sweet elderly man in his low country twang told us that crabs were “about as hard to find as a hen’s tooth,” but there were a variety of other fresh catches of the day. What does that sign say? “OYSTERS: bushel $28”? Is this an apparition?

“Excuse me, sir. How many oysters come in a bushel?” I asked. His response is forever branded in my memory word for word:

“I don’t know how many oysters are in there but it’s 50 pounds. Fifty pounds of oyster clusters.” If it had been hot outside i would have asked this Southern gentleman for a fan to wave myself with, as this sudden and startling good news could cause a lady like myself to faint right then and there! But seriously though…the good fortune did not stop there! As one of the fishermen and Travis were loading the burlap bag full of oysters into our car i started looking around at the cozy simple decorations. On a shelf there was a picture of Tom Hanks and Gary Sinise in a scene from Forrest Gump. I wondered out loud, “Did Tom Hanks ever come here when they filmed in Beaufort?”

“Yeah he came in here. They used most of our boats for the movie.” How adorable is this place?! If Beaufort and it’s surrounding islands had a face, i would want to pinch it’s cheeks! My mind started to race with thoughts about what we could do with these oysters. Of course, I would have to sample at the very least a few (dozen) shucked fresh out of the shell. But what to do with the rest of them? And then Bubba’s voice popped into my head:

“You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it…shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo…pineapple shrimp, coconut shrimp…”. A stop at the nearby Piggly Wiggly on the hour long drive home afforded us with an official oyster shucking knife, a six pack of Jiffy mix, a couple pounds of zucchini, squash, lemons, a dozen ears of corn, shallots, red wine vinegar and a few other odds and ends (ONLY because the two farmers markets we stopped at along the way were both out of the fresh local variety of any of these foods. Yet another reason why i can not wait until Spring!) Still no concrete idea about how to cook these oyster clusters.

St. Helena Island & the waters where the oysters were fished.

Fishing Boat.

Jenny?

*At this point, i would like to formally apologize in advance for the lack of pictures of the different types of food i am about to describe. Words alone will not do them justice. But i was completely engulfed in the moment and i didn’t have my forward-thinking mind to remind me to take pictures for this very blog i knew i wanted to write. However, when we got to the main event of the evening, the now infamous First Annual Washington Family Oyster Roast, camera phones were out and pictures were taken.*

Profile of an oyster lover.

My mother in law, Faye, fried whole head-on tilapia and crunchy catfish nuggets. I used Jiffy mix for the base of my slightly sweet and extra moist corn bread. We had two types of cole slaw–one sweet and creamy with a little chopped pineapple, one savory with olives and a vinegar-based dressing. The corn, zucchini and squash were dressed with a simple start of olive oil, salt and pepper, then brushed with butter garlic sauce as they finished on the grill. I should mention that every item of this menu was a collaborative effort of the friends and family that surrounded the grill and bonfire outside or the kitchen inside. When a hungry friend standing by the grill discovers that the shallot with red wine vinegar sauce or the garlic and parsley butter i intended for the raw oysters, tastes good on veggies too, who can argue with a good thing?

Fireside chats.

That leads me to these oyster clusters. Opening about a dozen by hand for the first time ever and out in the winter cold can get really old really fast, never mind that they were in fact the most delectable raw oysters ever to graze these lips. I’m sure it was a man–either my husband or his brother–to first try and use the bonfire the way the caveman did.

Fire, Wood and Oysters.

A couple innovations with modern metal cooking cages later, and we stumbled upon wood-fired fresh roasted oysters.

Ingenius cooking apparatus.

Perfection was achieved. There was no reason to alter the cooking method any further. Once we saw an oyster sizzle then pop open, we’d flip the cluster over, apply a dab of garlic butter to the opened shell and wait for the heating side to pop open too before transferring the cluster to any solid surface surrounded by waiting hands.

Fresh from the fire.

This process has been stamped, approved by all present for mass consumption and will now be the new standard for all future Oyster Roasts.

Oysters roasting away.

Fire.

The crown jewel.

Woman meets fire.

Our goal was to finish off all 50 pounds that night and we did just that. Surrounded by the quiet peace of the country and millions of sparkly stars in a pitch black sky, we talked, laughed and jammed to a little Jah Cure Radio, until we fell over one by one into a food coma. I will be dreaming of this night for many many moons to come. Until we meet again, Oyster Roast. Until we meet again…

All that remains is a little leftover mignonette sauce.

3Mar2013

Last Night’s Dinner

Posted in Dinner by chrissycocooks

I mentioned in my first post that Mema was the catalyst for all of my future cooking endeavors. I’ve also had the pleasure of learning from a few other motherly figures different cooking styles which I continually draw upon for inspiration. Last night’s dinner was inspired by my madre, Rocío. I lived with her and her family of five while I studied abroad in Santander, Spain, during college. Rocío made me breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day that I was home. She even packed me scrumptious baguettes for the times when I traveled outside of Santander. Sometimes as the sky darkens, reminding me that my dinner-making time is limited, I wish I had Rocío here to whip up one of her simply delicious meals. Instead, I do what I did last night, which is to whip it up myself! Rocío was the queen of cooking fast, low carb dinners from scratch (at 9 or 10 at night before most Santanderians hit the town). And who couldn’t use a tasty low carb meal every once in a while? Our dinners usually consisted of a thin cut of pan seared meat, sliced cold vegetables drizzled with salt and olive, and/or a bowl of soup such as gazpacho, lentils or something of the sort. Simply. Delicious. Hope you think so too!

Pan Seared Thick Cut Pork Chops, Tomato & Cucumber Salad and Split Red Lentils

4 thick cut pork chops
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1.5 cups sweet grape tomatoes, halved
1.5 cups seedless cucumber, quartered and cut into 1/2″ pieces
3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 cup split red lentils
2 cups chicken broth/stock
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Rub pork chops on both sides with olive oil and seasoning. Salt and pepper will suffice, otherwise you can season with something like my House Seasoning(see below).

Fresh cut pork chops, meddling hands

Heat a heavy pan (like cast iron) to a medium high heat.

Extra thick, just like I like it

While pan is heating up rinse lentils and heat a medium sauce pan to medium heat.

Red split lentils, pre-wash

Wash, rinse and chop cucumbers and tomatoes. Toss with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Washed and ready to chop

Almost done

When cast iron pan is to temperature, coat pan with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil (depending on pan size) and immediately insert pork chops, two at a time.

ohhh, if you could hear this sizzle!

While pork chops are cooking, coat sauce pan with a tablespoon of olive oil and add lentils to pan, stirring to coat, about 1 minute. Sprinkle with cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Add chicken broth, cover and allow to cook until most of the moisture is absorbed, about 10 minutes.

Soft and tender in just a few minutes

Allow pork chops to cook about 5-7 minutes on each side, depending on thickness. They should have a nice charred color around the edges before flipping. To check for doneness press your finger into the middle of the chop. It shouldn’t be too firm or too springy either to achieve a nice juicy consistency. (There’s nothing worse than dried out pork, but you want it cooked through all the same! The Department of Agriculture recently dropped pork’s safe cooking temperature from 160 to 145 degrees.) Remove from pan and allow to rest a few minutes before serving.

The other white meat

Serve your meal with a nice glass of Spanish red wine and get ready for muy buen provecho! Thanks Rocío!

House Seasoning

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup Old Bay seasoning
4 Tbsp. coarse grey sea salt/pink Himalayan salt
4 Tbsp. kosher salt
2 Tbsp. crushed red pepper
4 Tbsp. garlic powder
6 Tbsp. Mrs. Dash Original salt-free
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. rosemary
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. paprika
Mix together and place in a jar to keep.

Happy Eating!
xoxo Chrissy

Chrissy Cooks

Category Archives: Dinner

Hoggy New Year

Happy Oyster Stuffing Holidays

Budget Saving at Your House

Oatmeal, Nuts ‘n Berries

Tortilla

Gazpacho

Gourmet Oodles of Noodles

Chicken

On the Grill: The Best Steak EVER

St. Patty’s Pan Roasted Corned Beef

Oyster Roast

Last Night’s Dinner

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Oatmeal, Nuts ‘n Berries

Tortilla

Gazpacho

Gourmet Oodles of Noodles

Chicken

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