Old Timey Soup

One of the staples of early American slave food, as a soup.

Hoppin John Soup
Serves 6

1 larger onion, diced
2 sticks celery, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
3 cups diced ham, rinds reserved
2 Qt Chicken Stock
2 lbs frozen Blackeye Peas, defrosted if possible
1 bunch Collards, de-ribbed and chopped
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Tabasco, to taste

In a soup pot, saute onion. garlic and celery. Season, and cook until soft. Add ham and cook another 10 minutes.
Add stock, rinds, and peas. Bring to a boil, and simmer 1 hour.
Add greens and simmer 45 mins-1 hour more.
Remove rinds and puree about half of the soup, and return to the pot.
Finish with vinegar and Tabasco, to taste.

Lesson Learned

Note to self:

Do not substitute steamer clams for littleneck clams. Or for anything. Or use steamers, ever. They really suck. Unless you like sand.
And the big ones look like small geoducks.

Kthx

Chicken Dinner, Caribe

A complete Caribbean chicken dinner - and I even made the recipe up myself!

Caribbean Braised Chicken with Mashed Yucca and Mojo
Serves 4

Chicken:
8 Chicken Thighs, cleaned and seasoned with Creole/Jerk spices
1 Tbs Achiote Paste or Olive Oil
1 large shallot or 1/3 onion, minced
1 habanero pepper, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 Orange, Juice of 1 Lime
1 tbs Cilantro, chopped
1/2c White Wine
1 Mango, diced
1 can Corn, drained
1/2 jar sliced pimento olives
Cilantro

Yucca
1.5 lbs (1 Bag) frozen Yuca, thawed and cubed
2 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 Orange and 1 Lime

Chicken
1. Season chicken. Sear in a pan over high hear. Reserve.
2. Heat achiote paste or olive oil in a pan, and saute garlic/onion/habanero. Deglaze with orange/lime juice, wine and cilantro. Season.
3. Add chicken back to the pan. Bring to a boil, cover, and braise 20 minutes over medium-low heat.
4. Add mango,corn, and olives and braise another few minutes, until mango softens some.
5. Season to taste, and finish with a handful chopped cilantro.

Yuca
1. Cook yuca like potatoes for mashing - to fork tender
2. Drain and add juices, garlic, olive oil, and season.
3. Mash and eat.

Kinda Southern Pasta

This works with that scary no-fat "Half-and-Half" too, just add a little sour cream and cornstarch slurry to help it thicken.

Pasta with Ham and Peas

1 lbs Small Shells or Macaroni
Olive Oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 10oz package peas, thawed
1 8oz package nice mushrooms, sliced
1/4 lbs chopped ham
1.25 cups Cream
1 cup Chicken Stock
1/4 cup Parmesan
1/4 cup Dill, chopped

Cook the pasta
Saute garlic in a pan. Add ham and mushrooms, and brown. Add peas and warm everything.
Add cream and stock, and bring to a simmer. Simmer 5 minutes, or until thickened some.
Mix everything together, and eat.

Cheater Latin Chicken and Rice

This is cheating so bad. But for a weeknight, it works good enough.

Shortcut Brazilian Chicken and Rice

1.5 lbs Chicken Thighs, 1/2inch slices (Don't use much salt)
1 Medium chile pepper, minced. (medium = jalapeno, serrano, thai, etc)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp Orange Rind, Minced
1 cup water
Juice of 1 Orange
1 Box (Goya) Yellow Rice+Mix
1/2 a jar pimento olives, halved
Pepper
1 cup Peas, defrosted
1 large handful Cilantro, Chopped

In a big skillet, brown the chicken in olive oil. Add garlic, chile, and rind when chicken is close to done browning.
Add water and orange juice to deglaze, bring to a boil.
Add rice, seasoning, and olives and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 20 minutes (or until done.)
Add peas and cilantro, and stir to mix and warm the peas.

Weirdo Mashed Potatoes

I was assigned the job of making mashed potatoes for our Erev Yom Kippur dinner the other night. But what did I see but a random mix of fancypants organic malnourished little yukon, red, and Peruvian purple potatoes! But in the end, this worked quite well.

Technicolor Mashed Potatoes
Served 6

Mixed little potatoes, mostly Peruvian purples. Enough to fill a 3-Quart saucepan.
4T Butter
~1.25c Milk/Cream
Lotsa Salt, Pepper
8 or so gigantic chives, about 1/2 cup chopped

Scrub and cut up the potatoes. Boil them (skin on).
Make mashed potatoes!
Eat them! Amazingly enough, they won't look like purple nastyness.

Somewhat Fusioned Risotto

Risotto with Edamame and Mushrooms

1oz Dried Mushrooms
2 cups hot water

3 cups chicken stock
2 shallots, fine chop
1 clove garlic, minced
2T butter + 2T Olive oil
Zest of 1/2 Lemon
1.5 cups Arborio Rice
1 cup white wine

~4oz Arugula, chopped. (Whole if baby arugula)
1 package Edamame, cooked
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt, Pepper
Parsley
Parmesan

Bring mushrooms and water to a boil, and steep off the heat for 10 minutes. Remove mushrooms and roughly chop. Pour the liquid into a pot with the stock, and keep hot.
Make risotto with next ingredients, until it needs maybe 1 more ladle of liquid.
Add edamame and mushrooms, and mix.
After a few minutes, add arugula and stir until it wilts. Finish with parsley and parmesan.