Southwestern Hash

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)

2 medium green bell peppers (can do 1 red and 1 green), seeded and diced (about 1 cup)

2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tsp)

1 Tbsp Cajun Seasoning (omit if you don't like spicy foods)

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp tomato paste

6 oz smoked ham, diced

2 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup uncooked whole grain or brown rice

1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

Hardware:

1 Large Pot, additionally sauté pan and pot of boiling water if you choose to pre-cook your ham and shrimp

Instructions:

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the onions, bell peppers, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 mins.  While this is cooking you can sauté the ham in a pan to warm it up and give it some golden brown coloring, but you don't have to...

Add in everything else but the rice and shrimp and bring to a boil.  Stir in the rice, cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the rice is done and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 20 mins.

While this is cooking, cook your shrimp (I use frozen and add them to a pot of boiling water.) so you can combine once the 20 mins is up. Additionally you can cook your shrimp if fresh in the pot of jambalaya after the 20 mins for about 5 mins or until the shrimp are cooked.

Combine cooked/uncooked shrimp and finish this dish.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe adapted from Ellie Krieger's cookbook The Food You Crave, link here

When reviewing recipes for creme brulee I came across this one for a chocolate version.  We have had a chocolate one at one of our favorite restaurants and enjoyed it so I thought I should give this recipe a whirl.

Chocolate Crème Brûlée

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy cream

2 Tablespoons plus 1/3 cup sugar

2 oz. Semi-sweet or Bittersweet Chocolate, finely chopped

2 extra large or jumbo egg yolks

½  teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons espresso

Pinch of Sea Salt

Hardware:

2 Saucepans, Measuring Utensils, Medium Bowl, Fine Sieve or Strainer, 4 4oz Ramekins, Baking Pan, Cooking Torch

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 300F. Prepare some boiling water.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine cream and 2 Tablespoons sugar and chocolate.  Cook, stirring occasionally until small bubbles appear around edge of pan, 5-6 minutes.  Set aside.  Stir to dissolve any remaining chocolate pieces.

In a bowl, beat egg yolks and vanilla until smooth and light.  Pour hot chocolate mixture into egg yolks, a little at a time, beating continuously until well blended.  Strain mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl. Fill bottom of ramekins with a ½  teaspoon of espresso. Divide mixture among four 4 oz. ramekins.

Arrange ramekins in a baking pan and place on middle shelf of preheated oven.  Fill pan with boiling water to halfway up sides of ramekins.  Cover pan loosely with aluminum foil.  Bake until custard is just set, about 25 minutes.  Chill for 2-3 hours.

Sprinkle remaining sugar evenly over top of cooked custards.  With the Cooking Torch, move the flame continuously over the surface of the ramekins, in a circular motion until sugar melts and becomes golden brown and bubbly.  Sprinkle the top with the pinch of sea salt.  Serve immediately surrounded by fresh berries or cut fruit or refrigerate for later use.

Makes 4 servings

Preparation Notes:

This is a pretty tasty recipe, you don't have to add the pinch of salt to the top or the espresso drizzle at the bottom, those are both in there to intensive the chocolate taste.

What do you title the recipe of the freshest, most delightful, tastiest Guacamole you have every had the pleasure of heaping onto of your tortilla chips?  BEST Guacamole.  I know that is a huge leap, I am just putting it out there, that this is the best...but it is really that good. I have been making guacamole for years, and I like my guacamole, I really do but this has given me a new appreciation for guacamole.  Now it isn't anything fancy, but sometimes just simple and fresh is the way to go...plus if you want to "dress" it up you can it is a blank canvas.

How many times have you set out guacamole for a party and within in an hour it looks lest than zesty...no more!  For years I have been told to "add lime juice" to keep guacamole from turning that brown/black unappealing color.  Never works for me, maybe I have mutant avocados or maybe the limes I purchase don't contain the magic "keep guacamole fresh gene" but this recipe uses lemons and guess what... it works!  I have successfully kept this guacamole looking fresh for several days.  (Although I think it taste best for just two days but it doesn't last more than two days in our house.)

So where did this Texan find this amazing Guacamole recipe?  Barefoot Contessa.  Yep...Ina Garten taught me a thing or two about making Guacamole.

Next time you are going for your ripe avocados for tasty appetizer or snack consider this guacamole recipe.

BEST Guacamole

Ingredients

4 ripe Haas avocados

3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (approx 1 lemon)

8 dashes of Tabasco Sauce

l diced red onion (1 small onion)

1 tsp Garlic Powder (or 1 large garlic clove minced)

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 medium tomato, seeded, and small-diced

Directions

Cut the avocados in 1/2, remove the pits, and scoop the flesh out of their shells into a large bowl. (I use my hands.) Immediately add the lemon juice, hot pepper sauce, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper and toss well. Using a sharp knife, slice through the avocados in the bowl until they are finely diced. Add the tomatoes. Mix well and taste for salt and pepper. 

Makes 3 cups (If making for two you could definitely cut the recipe in half.)

Recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa

*In the picture above I added roasted corn, shaved 2 cobs and mixed it in the recipe.  Other ideas:  Roast 1 or 2 garlic cloves as a substitute for the garlic called for in the recipe or use heirloom variety of tomato.  You could also add cooked salad shrimp, scallops, or crab meat to make fresh seafood appetizer.  Additionally you could garnish with fresh chives, cilantro or parsley.  Like it spicy?  Add fresh peppers, I love the salsa peppers coming from my garden this summer.  Finally modify the ingredients to taste, in the last batch I made I added a few more dashes of Tabasco and a little extra garlic.

Since my Grandmother's passing a lot of things have not been the same but especially the German Potato Salad.  Lately I have tried each family gathering to "recreate" this recipe so that she lives on in our hearts.  Although my last few batches have been pretty darn close, I don't think it will ever be the same but I enjoy keeping her spirit a live by trying.  This recipe has brought such joy to our family and I hope it can to yours as well.

Grandma's German Potato Salad

Ingredients:

5 Medium Golden Yellow Potatoes

5 Slices Bacon (cut up)

1 Medium Onion (chopped)

2 Medium Dill Pickles (chopped)

½ Cup Pickle Juice

1 ½ Tsp. Salt

½ Tsp. Pepper

1 Tbsp. Sugar

1 Tbsp. Mustard

Directions:

Bring potatoes to boil, skins on, just until fork tender then remove from water to cool so that you can remove the skins and chop the potatoes into cubes and place in a medium sized bowl.

Sauté bacon in skillet over low heat until crisp, then drain from skillet all but 2 tablespoons of bacon fat.  In a pan add bacon fat and onions then cook until tender.  Add the cut up bacon and cooked onions to the bowl of cubed potatoes.  In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, sugar, mustard, and pickle juice then add to the bowl of other ingredients.  Toss lightly.  Serve warm.

Makes 6 Servings

Notes:

*Bacon – Grandma used Wright or Blue Ribbon bacon for the recipe.  You want to use a thicker slice of bacon and cook until crispy.  Additionally she would cut up the bacon raw and then cook the small pieces, we usually cook in slices and the crumble the bacon into the salad.  We usually remove fatty pieces because they become rubbery in the salad.

*Pickles – she would use “Best Maid Dill Pickles” or Homemade Dill pickles for the salad. 

*Onions – she would use a yellow sweet onion or a Texas sweet onion, although she said to cook the onions in bacon fat, we usually cook them in a new pan with a little bit of butter and garlic powder then as they are sautéing we add the bacon fat and finish cooking.

*Salt & Pepper – We usually do this to taste.  She always went light on seasonings.  Additionally we have added some of other favorite seasonings to “dress-up” the salad from time to time.

Basically what sets this recipe apart from other German Potato Salads is that she would use pickle juice instead of vinegar.  Instead of the strong vinegar taste the pickle juice provides vinegar but milder.

Enjoy!