Traditional Southern Macaroni Cheddar Bake Recipe

1 lb box elbow macaroni, cooked according to box directions, drained
1 1/2 lbs sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cup whole milk (or half-n-half)
1 stick (1/2 cup) real butter, melted
1/4 tsp kosher or fine grain sea salt
1/4 tsp coarse ground (restaurant style) black pepper
1/2 lb shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, for topping
buttery bread crumbs, for topping (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a large casserole dish.

In a large bowl,  mix everything together (except the 1/2 lb Cheddar for topping) and turn out into the casserole dish.

Sprinkle the 1/2 lb Cheddar cheese on top evenly.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until cheese topping is bubbly and lightly browned and edges are browned, too.

If adding buttery bread crumbs: About 5 minutes before ready to remove casserole, melt some butter and bread crumbs together in a saucepan, then sprinkle carefully over the top of the melted cheese on casserole, return to oven and continue baking until bread crumbs and cheese are nicely browned.

Remove and let sit for 5 minutes before cutting to serve.

Will serve 8 to 10.

Become A Superb Chef With These Easy, Simple Tips

Everyone can prepare basic dishes, but great cooking requires training. The following article will give you the information you need to be able to prepare meals with ease. Don't be scared of trying new recipes, ingredients, or techniques in your kitchen. Cooking is a great skill to learn and it could bring you some joy. Have fun cooking and don't stress if you go a bit overboard and make a mess occasionally.

If you can, do all the preparing of the meal's ingredients in advance. It is quite important that the preparation is done well in advance of the cooking process. Cooking with a deadline to meet can become stressful. Prepare your food in advance if you want to minimize the stress that you feel.

If you would like to start cooking more food on your own, take a trip to a local library or bookstore where you can find many cookbooks with recipes you can enjoy making at home. Focus on one recipe at a time and give yourself enough time to improve your cooking.

When trying to cut strips of meat, partially freeze it for a more firm cut. Asian inspired dishes such as Chinese and Thai will particularly benefit from this technique. There's less tearing of the semi-frozen meat as it's cleanly sliced. But, if you use this technique make sure that the meat strips thaw out again before you cook them.

Lengthy cooking processes such as boiling remove many of the important nutrients found in vegetables. For the most nutritious veggies, cook them quickly by steaming or sauteing, or just eat them raw.

Sauteing veggies in a bit of chicken broth is a healthy way you can prepare them. Doing so will add a great deal of flavor to your vegetables, and help them maintain their nutritional content. This is a healthy and tasty, vegetable cooking technique.

Don't throw a huge helping of seasoning in all at once. Try to spread it out, and taste after each application. This adds a more subtle and deep flavor to your food and enhances the flavors of other ingredients to the utmost.

Pay attention to the cooking oil amounts when preparing meals! To cook with less fat, measure specific amounts of oil instead of pouring oil into the pan straight from the bottle. Measuring your oil instead of estimating allows you to closely approximate the fat content in your dish.

Leave the bone in your roast if you are in a hurry. Your meat will cook faster this way because the bone helps to carry the heat straight to the inside of your roaster. Cut the meat around the bone before serving.

Cooking does not have to be frightening. Cooking food on your own can save you a lot of money, improve your nutrition and health, and be fun all at the same time. The tips in the above article can help you with every aspect of your cooking adventure, from trips to the supermarket to dishing out your delicious meals to family and friends. So here's to having a great home meal!

Southern Barbecued Chicken Bake Recipe

1/4 cup tomato paste
1 Tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp honey
1 tsp ketchup
1 tsp black strap molasses
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 lbs cut up chicken, skin removed, bone in

Put the sauce ingredients (all but chicken) in a saucepan, stir, and place over medium heat; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, simmer slowly for 10 minutes, stirring often.

Place chicken in a glass baking dish and spoon 1/2 the cooked sauce over, spreading evenly. Cover dish with plastic wrap and put in refrigerator for 1 hour.

Remove chicken from baking dish and arrange on a broiler pan, turn broiler on and broil about 6 inches away from heat source for 5 minutes, then turn and broil 5 more minutes.

Turn oven to 350 degrees, remove chicken from broiler pan to a shallow baking dish. Spoon the remaining sauce over the chicken, cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Remove cover and let sit 3 to 5 minutes, then serve hot.

Will serve 4 to 6.

Southern Style Tangy Barbeque Sauce Recipe

5 Tbsps butter, melted
2 Tbsps white vinegar
2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
pinch brown sugar
pinch ground cayenne
pinch ground cumin

Put all the ingredients in a Mason jar, cover and shake vigorously to blend. Uncover and taste, adjusting seasoning as needed.

Refrigerate and use to baste grilled chicken or fish.

Southern Garden Tomato Casserole Recipe

6 cups chopped vine ripened tomatoes
1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp packed brown sugar
3 slices day old bread, cut or torn into small chunks
4 Tbsps butter, melted
pinch of dried oregano (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter a casserole dish.

Cut the tomatoes up over a bowl (you'll need 6 cups) to make sure all the juice is captured., then stir the salt, pepper, and brown sugar into the tomatoes in the bowl.

Dump the tomatoes into the casserole, top with the bread pieces, and gently press down on the bread so it is slightly submerged.

Pour the melted butter over the top of the bread/tomato mixture and add a light sprinkle of dried oregano if you like.

Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees for 45 to 55 (uncovered) until the casserole is hot and lightly browned around the edges.

Will serve 4 to 6.

Southern Stewed Coleslaw Recipe

1 head cabbage, finely shredded
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 cup vinegar

Put all the ingredients in a non-reactive (stainless steel) pot, stir, cover the pot, then place on the stove over low heat. Cook for 10 minutes, giving the pot a shake or two during the cooking time, but do not uncover the pot.

When 10 minutes is up, remove cover and turn out into a bowl, stir, and serve hot or at room temperature as a side dish. This is similar to sauerkraut but not as sour.

Makes about 4 to 6 one cup servings.

Spicy Okra Tomato Skillet Recipe

16 to 20 oz frozen cut okra, thawed
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 medium sweet onion, rough chopped
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes (including juices)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Put the okra in a colander and let thaw and drain before cooking.

Get out a large heavy skillet, add oil, place over medium heat, then add the onion and cook until onion becomes slightly transparent.

Add tomatoes, stir, and bring mixture to a gentle bubble; cook slowly stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.

Add in the okra, stir, then add the seasonings, stir, and simmer gently for about 5 minutes more, just until heated through. (Don't boil okra.)

Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Serve hot in small bowls or on top of rice or biscuits.

Southern Clasic Sweet Tea Recipe

12 Luzianne tea bags
4 cups water, boiled and still hot
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
12 cups water, cold

Put tea bags in large (1 gallon) heat-resistant container (pitcher, bowl, jar, pot).

Pour the hot water over, add the baking soda, and gently stir.

Cover loosely with a clean towel and steep for 10 to 15 minutes, no longer or the tea will get bitter.
Remove the tea bags.

Add the sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved, THEN add the cold water and stir again.

Put in refrigerator and let chill completely before serving over ice in tall glasses.

This recipe makes 1 gallon of sweet tea.

Essential Cooking Tips You Must Know To Be A Successful Cook

Are you fond of a variety of foods? Do you have a sweet tooth? Or, how about ethnic foods? Do you ever wonder how you can make these meals yourself? Well now you can stop wondering and begin cooking! This article will give you the tips and tricks you need to create dishes everyone will enjoy.

Keep all dried spices in a dark space that stays room temperature. Their flavors suffer when they are exposed to heat, light, and humidity. Do not expect your spices to last more than a year. Spices that are kept whole can keep their flavor for about three, four or five years. Keep spices fresh for the longest time possible by storing them correctly.

If you are just beginning to cook more of your meals, go straight to the nearest bookstore or library to find a cookbook that has simple, fun recipes. Pick out a few recipes to try and decide after it has been eaten if it is a recipe you want to add to your permanent collection. Be sure to be patient as you try these new recipes.

To make slicing thin strips easier, you need to freeze the meat slightly first. This provides ideally thin meat for Thai, Chinese, or other Asian recipes. Partially freezing the meat will help the fibers to stay together when it is being sliced. To ensure the meat cooks evenly, you must let the meat strips thaw thoroughly before cooking.

Have you ever felt sorry for throwing away moldy fruits? Have you ever been tempted to cut the rotten bits out of a piece of fruit and eat the rest? If you have fruit that is just a little rotten, throw it away. Rid yourself of this fruit. The mold can run deep and can make you sick if eaten.

Many apples are purchased for cooking in winter and fall, but they will rot in a short period of time if they are not properly stored. Keep your apples in a cool and humid place and avoid dry hot areas. However, you will still need to keep a watchful eye on your apples. Even properly stored apples can spoil. They're a fickle fruit.

These spices are able to be used on many things in the kitchen, not just meats. You can use it when you roast pumpkin or sunflower seeds or in any number of egg dishes. The interesting flavor will leave everyone wondering what the secret ingredient it.

They will act like a sponge and just soak up a lot of that water. Instead, get a wet, clean cloth and wipe off the mushroom by hand.

By taking these hints on board, you'll be that much closer to creating delicious and tasty meals that everyone will enjoy! Look for new flavors by trying different ingredients, spices or sauces. You could even discover a new favorite unexpectedly. Think about these tips the next time you are in your kitchen and let your creativity and personal taste direct you to culinary success at home.

Southern Skillet Fried Okra Recipe

1 lb fresh okra
1/2 cup corn meal
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
high heat frying oil, such as peanut oil

Cut okra into round pieces about 1/2 thick each.

Fill a paper bag with the corn meal, salt, and black pepper and shake together, then add okra and shake again.

Fill a heavy skillet up to about 1/4 inch with frying oil over medium hot heat, and when oil is sizzling hot, add the okra, but only enough that fits in the skillet.

Fry until okra is browned nicely, removing with a slotted spoon to a paper towel covered rack, and sprinkle with salt while still hot. Serve immediately.

Will serve 4 to 6 as a snack or side.

What You Should Know About Cooking Like A Pro

However, it does require the skill to develop gradually. Cooking is a skill that will always come in handy, no matter how often you cook. This article provides several delicious tips that can help you become a better cook.

Before attempting to prepare food with skewers, take a few things to heart. Squared or twisted metal skewers secure the food better than rounded ones.

There's a neat trick you can use to save your sauce. In a separate bowl, blend 1 Tbs of corn starch with 2 Tbs of water. Slowly stir the mixture into the sauce to thicken it. To prevent the sauce from getting overly thick, pour the corn starch and water mixture into the sauce very slowly and be sure that you are stirring it constantly.

A great source of protein for your diet can be found in beans and tofu. You can buy both items at almost any grocery store, and they will fit into any budget. Fry up the tofu with seasonings to get a great meat alternative. Beans can always be cooked with some spices and herbs for a meal full of flavor and protein.

One of the healthiest ways to cook your vegetables is to cook them on high with a low sodium chicken broth. Broth will flavor the vegetables, and less oil will be needed to saute them. You will thoroughly enjoy this way of preparing your vegetables.

Cater to your guests by serving salads with dressing on the side. People vary in the amount of dressing they like on their salad, so it is helpful to let them do this on their own. Also, give a variety of different dressings.

If you really like to use a lot of herbs and spices, you need to keep them in a dark and cool place so they can retain their freshness and flavor. Using a cabinet over the stove to store herbs and spices will cause them to lose their flavor and you will lose money too.

A well organized kitchen will simplify cooking. If you refuse to organize your cooking supplies, you'll take longer to find the utensils you need. Place the cooking supplies that are similar in one place. As an example, you may want to keep all of your spices together.

Having a clean and organized kitchen is essential to cooking a great meal or dessert. Having all your kitchen tools handy and organized will help you turn out a good meal. A lack of organization in your kitchen work areas can cause you to lose focus, among other things, and can easily result in wasted time, money, and food.

Are you ready now to put the tips that were discussed within this article to practical use? The tips above are meant to help you prepare delicious meals. No matter what situation you're cooking in, you will have a blast serving a meal you created. Cooking good food does require skill and effort. That being said, a fantastic dish will make all your time and effort worthwhile!

Louisiana Slow Simmered Red Beans And Rice Recipe

1 cup dry red kidney beans
5 cups fresh water (to soak beans)
4 cups fresh water (to cook beans)
1 ham bone (ham hock)
2 Tbsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
2 cups white rice
1 cup water

Put the dry red kidney beans and the 5 cups of water in a glass bowl and place in refrigerator overnight.

The next day, drain the beans and put them in a large soup pot with 4 cups of fresh water, add the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the rice.

Put over medium-high heat, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover pot with lid, and simmer slowly until beans are just about tender, 1 hour should do it.

When beans are ready, add the rice and 1 cup of water to the beans, stir, turn heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover pot with lid, and simmer until the rice is cooked and liquid has absorbed, 20 to 30 minutes.

Remove ham bone, (add any good meat back into the pot), stir again, then taste and adjust seasoning.
Serve hot.

Will serve 6 to 8.

What Does Being A Good Cook Really Mean?

There are as many different ways to cook as there are people doing the cooking. Cooking is a personal thing. Some techniques are simple and others are quite complex. This article will provide you with easy and efficient tips which will help you to become a better chef with a broad knowledge of techniques.

When baking crust for pie or tarts, leave them in the oven to bake a little longer than you planned. They should not be a pale blond color, they need to be golden brown. This deeper color is evidence that the sugar has caramelized in the crust for added sweetness.

Before preparing a nice meal for friends and relations, be sure to make a good plan. First, check that you have everything you need to get started. Plan out your cooking the day before. Make sure all the necessary utensils are clean and ready to use.
 This will limit the amount of stress you experience when cooking the meal and help to ensure that you are able to cook the masterpiece you want.

Boiling and other lengthy cooking processes remove some of the vital nutrients contained in vegetables. To retain these nutrients, rely on cooking methods that don't take a lot of time, including steaming or sauteing. You can even eat them raw if you have the taste for it.

To maintain a vegetable's quality, cook it quickly. With slower cook times, the overall value of the vegetables is decreased, mainly taste and nutrition. These cooking techniques make the vegetables more healthy overall. Cooking vegetables for only a short amount of time is essential.

Take the stress out of a major cooking endeavor by completing as much prep work in advance as possible. Look over your recipe and determine which items can be prepared in advance and not spoil. Many of the preparatory steps can be taken a day before cooking. By doing this, your cooking task will be quick and easy - even for very complex recipes.

When you store things like flour, baking mixes and sugar, you should use containers that are airtight. By storing foods in airtight containers, you can ensure its freshness and prevent any contamination. They are a must-have for the kitchen and can be purchased everywhere kitchen products are sold.

To greatly enhance your chances of weight loss and a better diet, reduce the amount of oil you use in meal preparation. Many unnecessary fats are found in butters and oils, so decreasing them is a healthy way to lose weight. Using a nonstick spray is a good alternative as it has the same effects without all the calories.

Thousands of great dishes have been destroyed as a result of a chef over-complicating the cooking method or the combination of ingredients. Sticking to simple and easy recipes is the best way to ensure that you will have a tasty, healthy meal in a short amount of time. The tips you've read in this article can help you to move forward with a great grasp of cooking techniques, leading to more enjoyable meals every day.

Southern Skillet Sweet Peaches Recipe

6 ripe peaches
1/4 to 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp butter, cut into 12 little pieces
4 Tbsps butter for frying

Wash the peaches, dry them, then split them in half and remove the pit. Evenly divide the brown sugar between the 12 peach halves and fill the hollow with the brown sugar, then set a little piece of butter on top of each.

In a large deep skillet over medium-low heat, melt the 4 Tbsp butter, then set the peach halves in gently, cut side up.

Let the peaches simmer gently in the skillet until hot and softened, spooning melted butter over the tops of the peaches as they cook. Add more butter to the skillet if you wish. You may also loosely cover the peaches with foil to get them cooking a bit faster, but don't turn the heat up; leave it on a low simmer so butter doesn't burn.

Serve hot with ice cream or whipped cream.

Will serve 6 to 12.

Want To Become A Great Chef? You Must Read These Cooking Tips!

It does not matter how seasoned a cook you are, there will always be room for improvement. Even someone who has a lot of experience in the kitchen can learn some new tricks to make cooking more enjoyable. The quick tips and tricks that make cooking less of a hassle are even more important to cooks who are just starting out. Read the advice in this article to find out more about cooking.

Cut your meat very thin and with the bias when you are stirfrying. Perfectly sliced meat takes time and patience, though. Once the meat has become more firm, you should slice against the grain at 45 degrees.

In order to get the most out of your selection of spices, you should store them out of the light and heat. If the spices become too hot, or moist from humidity, it can shorten their shelf life. Too much light exposure also does this. You can preserve the flavor and freshness of your spices by storing them in a dark, cool spot. Fresh spices offer better taste profiles than stale ones.

Did you ever feel bad for throwing old, moldy fruit away? You may wonder if it's okay to salvage them by trimming away the moldy parts. It's not safe to try to save partially rotted fruit. The mold and spoilage that you can see is only part of the problem with marginal-looking fruit; even the parts that appear pristine can be unsafe to eat.

Poultry seasoning is very versatile and can be used in a variety of ways not just with poultry. Try spreading it on some roasted pumpkin seeds and enjoy the savory flavor by itself, or with some eggs. The interesting flavor will leave everyone wondering what the secret ingredient it.

Nearly any recipe benefits from using fresh ingredients rather than the frozen or dried version. Fresh ingredients can really enhance the flavor of your meal, as well as be more economical to prepare.

When you do this, the mushroom will become absorbent and soak up the water. To avoid this problem, use a damp cloth to wipe the mushroom clean.

To greatly enhance your chances of weight loss and a better diet, reduce the amount of oil you use in meal preparation. Oil and butter provide a lot of un-needed fat. If you want to prepare your food in essentially the same fashion, substitute a non-fat cooking spray for the oil. These sprays are non-stick, and many have the flavors of your favorite oils infused.

Always make certain you are checking out the ingredient labels when getting items for a recipe. Some cooking supplies will contain unhealthy ingredients. You must make sure that your ingredients are not high in either sodium or sugar because these may cause health problems if consumed in large amounts.

Even seasoned cooks are always trying to learn new tricks and techniques that will make their job simpler and more fun. People who are just learning how to cook need to learn as much as possible. The next time you're in the kitchen, consider trying out one of these tips. You may find that the more you learn, the more fun you will have while cooking.

Southern Whiskey Egg Nog Sauce Recipe

2 large eggs, separated
3 Tbsps sugar
1 tsp rum
2 tsps whiskey
2 Tbsps whipped cream

Put egg yolks in a mixing bowl and beat until creamy and light yellow in color.

Add the egg whites and beat until fluffy, then add the sugar and beat until almost stiff.

Add the rum and whiskey, beat until blended, then add the whipped cream and beat until combined.
Serve over pie, pudding, or any dessert you want a creamy topping.

Tips On How To Be A Successful Cook At Home

Making meals every day can become humdrum. In order to keep things interesting, learn more about cooking. Cooking isn't just about making something to eat; it can be an enjoyable experience in itself. These cooking tips will help you cook better meals.

Cut meat thinly across the grain when you are stir-frying. However, this can take a lot of time while also being very tricky. When the meat is firm, but prior to it becoming completely frozen, remove it from the freezer. Slice the meat across the grain at an angle of 45 degrees.

Try to cook the foods that you are talented at when you are cooking for a special event. You don't ever want to try new ingredients or recipes that you don't have experience with. You will be more comfortable cooking, and there will be less of a risk of messing it up.

To maintain nutrients and color in your vegetables, quickly steam them until just crisp-tender. The longer you cook vegetables, the less flavor and nutrition they have. These quick cooking techniques will produce generally, healthier vegetable sides. The less time you take to cook them, the better your vegetables will be.

When you are cooking, it is important to remember that a fresh ingredient is always better than a frozen or dried ingredient. Use fresh ingredients as much as you can, because they add better flavor to your dish and tend to be a lot cheaper.

This way, you have fruits that stay fresh throughout the year. Additionally, you'll have fruits available to you that aren't for sale in the markets when they're not in season.

In recipes that call for milk or water, try substituting more flavorful liquids. If the recipe calls for water, try using chicken or beef broth, or even the water that you used to cook your vegetables in. Try to use buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream in place of milk. You can increase the nutritional and wow factors of any dish, simply by trying different substitutions for liquids that recipes call for.

After purchasing fruits that are not quite ripe, store them in a plastic bag that is perforated with holes. As a fruit ripens, it produces ethylene gas. Placing fruit in a perforated bag allows air circulation in the bag, retaining ethylene gas and keeping the fruit tasting good.

If your meals include fresh herbs like dill or parsley, clump them together and use kitchen shears to cut them. This chopping method produces lighter, fluffier herbs that are drier than conventionally cut herbs.

Directions should be followed closely when you are making macaroni and cheese. By following the instructions closely, you are far less likely to overcook your noodles. Mushy noodles make for an unappealing dish. Serve it with a solid spoon to get all the cheese from the pot to the plate. A little bit of pepper can add surprising dimension to this simple dish.

With your improved outlook about cooking, this may be the beginning of a new favorite pastime for you. Through cooking, you have an exciting and tasty way of learning all about food. You can even learn about yourself, as you learn what you love to cook. Cooking does not have to be seen as a chore, but rather as a way to enjoy yourself and learn a useful skill.

Simple Southern Cheese Straws Recipe

8 oz sifted flour
4 oz butter
4 oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese or sharp Cheddar cheese
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt to taste
2 egg yolks

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and lightly dust a baking sheet with flour.

Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix together with a fork until you have a dough consistency.

Roll out into a thin rectangle; this should be about the thickness of a pie crust.

Cut into 1/3 to 1/2 inch wide strips.

Twist each strip and lay on prepared baking sheet.

Bake in preheated oven just until crispy but not browned.

Remove and let cool completely before storing.

May be stored for a few months if kept in a dry, cool place in an airtight container.

Tips For How To Be A Better Cook

There are a lot of different ways you can cook and ways to do it, and you can have a good experience. Some cooking methods are simple while others are more complex. The following article will provide you with some easy and quick tips on how to be a better cook, no matter how skilled you are.

If you keep herbs and spices handy, make sure you are keeping them in a dark, cool area. Their flavors are weakened significantly by things like heat, light and humidity. Do not expect your spices to last more than a year. Spices that have not been ground have the potential to last upwards of five years. The length of time that they stay fresh depends on how they are stored.

If you are baking crusts for a pie or tart, you will probably need to bake them for a while longer than you thought. They should be a light golden brown instead of pale in color. When you see the golden color it indicates carmelization, which lends a crisp, sweet flavor to the pie crust.

Sharp knives are imperative when being used in the kitchen. A dull knife will not only make it more difficult to slice and chop your ingredients, but it will also be a hazard to use. You are more likely to get cut exerting force on a dull knife to slice a vegetable than you are when using a sharp knife.

If you have little time to cook each day, you can partially prepare certain foods to break up the cooking process into several steps. Look through your recipes and determine whether or not certain steps can be completed beforehand. Much of the preparation can be done the day before it is needed. Even if you are faced with a challenging recipe, it can make everything go quickly.

While garlic is excellent for cooking, it can also be absorbed into your hands. After you have finished doing your prep work with the garlic, run your hands along the stainless steel interior of your sink. This handy trick cleanses your hands so the smell will not be transferred to what you are going to touch next.

When it's time to cook your meat, has it ever been an issue trying to decide how long to grill it for? Use a good meat thermometer (a digital one is more accurate) so that you can ensure the inside is cooked correctly. Put the grill lid on to reduce cooking time for cuts that are more than an inch and a half thick.

When you are making chicken stock, think in terms of high volume. If you make a large amount of stock you can freeze it for future use. Many great recipes including soups, casseroles and stews call for a base of chicken stock. To preserve your stock for future use, just simply make sure that it is stored in heavy duty freezer bags and frozen solid. This way the stock should keep for several months or so.

Usually, meals that are not up to par is the result of changing a simple recipe into something more difficult. Try to keep it simple and you can create wonderful, tasty meals that are fast and healthy! Use the tips presented here and come up with a few cooking ideas of your own. Happy eating!

Southern Style Stuffed Tomatoes Recipes

8 large garden ripe tomatoes
1 cup fine bread crumbs
1 cup finely chopped ham or chicken
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Cut tops off the tomatoes and scoop out all insides, leaving the outer shell intact and putting the insides in a food processor or blender.

Pulse the tomato insides until chopped well, then pour out into a bowl.

Add the bread crumbs and ham or chicken to the tomatoes and stir, then add the melted butter, salt, and pepper.

Put the tops back on the tomatoes, place in a large baking dish, cover dish with aluminum foil, and bake in over at 350 degrees until tomatoes are soft and insides are hot and bubbly - about 40 minutes.

A Few Things You Need To Know About Cooking

Food is an essential part of everyone's lives. Take this advice to become a better cook.

Pie crusts and tart crusts should be cook a bit past the point that you think they should be cooked. Let the crust go beyond light tan to a deeper, golden shade. The deep caramel color demonstrates that the sugar has melded with the other ingredients, giving you an optimal flavor.

First, freeze the meat partially. Then you can easily slice it into neat strips. This technique is suited for meats used in many Asian dishes. The tissues of partially-frozen meat do not tear and stretch as much; this makes cleaner slices possible. The strips should be allowed to fully thaw before they are cooked so that they can cook evenly.

Cook your vegetables quickly to preserve flavor. Vegetables that are cooked slowly lose a lot of their taste and nutrition. Vegetables cooked in these ways make healthier side dishes and ingredients in recipes. The less time you take to cook them, the better your vegetables will be.

Poultry seasoning is very versatile and can be used in a variety of ways not just with poultry. Try using it to season roasted potatoes or chickpeas. Everyone will start to wonder about your secret ingredient and what it might be!

Take the stress out of a major cooking endeavor by completing as much prep work in advance as possible. Recipes should be examined and items that won't spoil that can be prepared a day or two ahead should be done first. Do the prep work the day before. The most complicated recipes can be transformed into easy, enjoyable kitchen work with advanced preparation.

Do you know grilling times for meats? Investing in a top-notch meat thermometer, such as an ultra-precise digital one, will let let you make sure that the meat is cooked correctly inside and out. If you are cooking meat thicker than 1.5 inches, close the lid of the grill to help it cook more quickly.

Store your dry goods, like sugar, flour, baking mix, and so forth, in airtight containers. Bugs can creep into your food, and most food items will become stale if exposed to the open air. These are just a couple of solid reasons that you need solid containment. Airtight containers are your best friends in the kitchen. Almost every store has some form of them, and they are usually inexpensive.

When serving salad to guests, leave the dressing on the side. Let people put on their own dressing. It is also a good idea to offer several dressing choices.

Everyone who cooks needs to have good kitchen organization. An unorganized kitchen is an unhappy kitchen. You will have difficulty finding what you want to make your delicious recipes. You may find it beneficial to group similar items together. For example, you want to organize your spices such as parsley and basil in one cabinet.

Food is a building block of life, and has profound effects on the body. Make sure to implement the things you have learned and start impressing people all around you.

Southern Ravigote Royale Sauce Recipe

1 large egg
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup Creole mustard
2 cups olive oil
1 tsp prepared horseradish
1/2 tsp good hot sauce
2 Tbsps capers
4 green onions, chopped
2 basil leaves, rolled and sliced thin
1 Tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp white ground pepper

Crack the egg into a bowl, then add the lemon juice and mix gently; let stand together for 1 minute, then stir in the Creole mustard.

Now add this mixture to your blender, turn on the blender to a medium speed, then slowly drizzle in the oil as it blends.

Stop blender and add in remaining ingredients and give blender a few quick whirls, just until ingredients are creamy. Some people like a more chunky ravigote, but you can blend it very smooth if you like.

Serve over just about anything, including crab cakes, asparagus, or any time you would use mayonnaise or other salad dressing or sauce.

Spice Up Your Cooking With These Great Home Kitchen Tips

Many folks can view cooking as quite a troublesome chore.With a little know how it can be quite simple.  You'll find all the tips you need in this article to allow you to do exactly that!

If you have every considered cooking with skewers, you should keep a few things in mind. Try to buy twisted or other shaped skewers when they are metal, the food will stay on.

Spices should be stored in a dark and cool place. Common kitchen conditions, such as heat, light, and humidity, will destroy the flavor of herbs and spices. Most ground spices will keep their flavor for at least one year. Whole spices can keep their flavor for up to five years. If you keep these properly stored, they can sometimes stay fresh for an even longer period of time.

You can use this on a variety of foods, not just meat. You can sprinkle it on scrambled eggs or on roasted nuts and seeds for a snack. You can cultivate a reputation as a mysterious wizard of flavor just by using a judicious dash of such seasonings.

Use airtight containers to store baking mixes, sugar and flour. When you transfer these foods to airtight containers, you are not only protecting them from bugs and bacteria, you are also helping them remain fresh longer. You can easily find affordable containers and you will save money by eating leftovers.

Try cooking your vegetables in chicken broth. Chicken broth is a great way to add flavor to your vegetables while keeping them from sticking to your pan. Chicken broth is readily available at any grocery store, and is very inexpensive.

You can add new flavors for your meals by trying different liquids when recipes ask for milk or water. Juices, beef broth, or vegetable broth can all be used as a substitute for water. Try to use buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream in place of milk. Using different liquids can add nutritional value, while at the same time punching up bland, old recipes.

If you are serving a salad with a meal where you have guests, do not pour the salad dressing on the salad, keep it on the side. Some people like more dressing on their salad than others do, so it is better to let them add the dressing themselves. Offering a variety of dressing for their salad is the best way to make sure that all guests are happy.

Try to do preparations for tomorrows meal the night before to save time and make cooking a breeze. Do little things for your meals the night before so your mealtime will be a little bit easier. This way, you will be completely ready to cook and less stressed when you have to complete the meal.

Many veggies and herbs have a scent that remains on cutting boards even after they are washed. Get two different cutting boards or mark one side of your board and make sure you use it for certain ingredients only.

This article is packed with ways to take the boredom out of cooking. Applying the tips is going to help you be creative with a daily task that could be seen as boring or bothersome.

Southern Pimiento Cheese Spread Recipe

2 cups finely shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup real mayonnaise
6 oz pimentos, chopped
2 green onions, chopped small
1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce
1/4 tsp Creole seasoning you like
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix until well blended.

Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes so flavors have a chance to blend, but take it out about 5 minutes before you serve it.

Serve as a sandwich spread or on crackers.

Will make enough for 6 sandwiches.

Simple Tips And Techniques To Make You A Better Cook

This article can help you learn to cook a variety of foods. Is your appetite for fat-filled, calorie-laden, delicious sweet dishes unrelenting? Would you wrestle a tiger for a curry? Or swim a river for some Thai? Do you ever wonder whether you are capable of cooking such foods at home yourself? If this is the case, you can stop wishing and start learning how to cook like a pro. Use the tips in this article to find out how to cook up some delicious meals.

As with many other things in life, one of the keys to making great meals for your family is preparation. Make sure you have all the ingredients ready. Get all of the items you need prepared the day before so there will be no rushing. Doing so allows you to focus on the cooking itself.

Here is a tip that will thicken your sauce quickly and easily so that all your hard work will have not been wasted. Combine 1 tablespoon corn starch with 2 tablespoons water, and stir together in a separate bowl. Thicken your sauce by stirring in this solution. Try to incorporate it slowly so that you do not make it too thick.

Partially chill meat so it becomes easier to slice into thin strips. If you are cooking an exotic dish that requires thinly sliced meat, this is the best way to do it. If you freeze meat partially, you get a cleaner slice, without the stretching or tearing of fibers. However, to make sure that the meat cooks evenly, take the time to let it thaw out prior to cooking.

Do you feel guilty when you toss rotten, uneaten fruit in the garbage? Is it possible to save at least a portion by getting rid of only the bad part? There is, unfortunately, no good way to save fruit that is half-rotten. Get rid of anything that has mold on it. Mold goes deeper than the eye can see and could be very harmful.

A lot of people cook with apples during fall and winter, but they will spoil rather quickly if you don't store them correctly. Apples are extremely perishable. In a warm, dry environment, they will quickly go bad. Store your apples in an airtight container in a cool, preferably humid place. You must still keep an eye out on the apples because one apple that is rotten can spoil the whole bag.

Cook your vegetables quickly to retain quality and nutrients. Vegetables which are cooked slowly can lose their taste and valuable nutrients. In addition to these beneficial results, the overall effect is also serving vegetables that are healthy and more nutritious. When you know how to cook vegetables in the least amount of time possible, you will enjoy better tasting and nutritious vegetables.

If you consider these suggestions, you will be a bit closer to making meals that you can enjoy. Don't stick to the same old, taste test a variety of sauces and spices in your dishes. You may even find a food that you didn't like before to be your favorite. Use exotic fruits and vegetables, as well as spices from around the globe.

Southern Onion Gravy Smothered Pork Chops Recipe

8 thick pork chops
2  large sweet onions, sliced in rings
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 cup all purpose flour, divided
1 cup cooking oil
4 cups water

Mix together the garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and paprika in a bowl.

Lay the pork chops out on a tray and sprinkle both sides evenly with the seasoning, pressing into the meat gently. Be sure to use all the seasoning.

Lightly sprinkle 1/2 cup flour evenly over the pork chops, again covering both sides.

Pour the cooking oil into a very large heavy oven-proof skillet and place over medium high heat.

When oil becomes sizzling hot (not smoking) carefully set each pork chop in and brown well, then flip and brown other side, then remove to a plate; set aside. Do this in batches to ensure that the skillet does not become overcrowded, resulting in the oil cooling.

After all the pork chops are browned and removed from skillet, turn heat down to medium-low, add the onions, and cook slowly until onions soften and become transparent, but not browned.

Sprinkle in the remaining flour, stirring constantly, until the flour turns golden in color, then carefully stir in the water and mix well. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, stir well, cooking for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove from heat.

Set oven to a 'slow' temperature of about 300 degrees.

Arrange the pork chops in the skillet over the onion gravy, spooning some of the gravy over the top of each chop.

Cover skillet and bake in oven for about 1 hour or until chops are fork tender.

Serve hot, spooning gravy over chops and smashed potatoes or biscuits if you like.

Will serve 6 to 8.

Making Cooking Fun With Excellent Expert Advice

Everyone has to start somewhere when learning a new skill, and this includes cooking. Few people have a natural knack for cooking. That said, everybody has the ability to learn how to cook. There are some crucial things you need to know so that you can cook well. The following paragraphs have some good advice that can point you down the right path.

Doing all of the things you need to in order to prepare a meal is a vital part of the cooking process. Take an inventory to be sure that everything that you will need is available. Put everything you need to cook the dish out the night before. Make sure you have all the cooking equipment and ingredients required. With a good plan and everything in place, you will feel far less anxious.

If your stir fry recipe calls for meat, make sure to slice it very thinly on the bias. Some people find it difficult to cut the meat thin, but it is very important. Remove the meat before it is frozen, but still firm, and slice it at 45 degrees against the grain.

Sharp knives are essential in any kitchen. Dull knives can actually be dangerous to use and the certainly make chopping difficult. When your knife is dull, it can be easier for it to slip off the vegetable and end up cutting you instead. Keep your knives sharp for safety as well as convenience.

You can reduce the fat and calorie content of regular mashed potatoes by substituting part of the potatoes with mashed cauliflower. This won't affect the taste but it adds a handful of nutrition. You will not even taste the cauliflower in with the potatoes, because it is so bland. At the same time, cauliflowers mash into the same color and texture as potatoes, giving you a fail-proof way to add vegetables and subtract calories from a classic mashed potato dish.

Are you going to cook with fresh basil? Take a few twigs of the basil and place it in a small container or glass. Make sure the stems are covered by an adequate amount of water. Leave it on your counter and it will stay fresh for a very long time! In fact, if you periodically freshen the water, the herb may even sprout roots. By picking leaves you will encourage the basil to put out new growth. This will ensure that you have fresh basil on an ongoing basis!

Have you wondered if you are overgrilling your meat? Use a digital or other high-quality internal thermometer to check whether your meat is cooked enough. Meat that is thicker than an inch and a half should be cooked with the lid of the grill closed.

Most people do not have a natural talent for cooking but skills can be acquired with time and efforts. It really is not as hard as it seems. You will be on your way to better kitchen skills and unlikely to put a foot wrong when you make use of this article's advice.

Southern No Eggs Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
2/3 cup buttermilk
3 Tbsps plus 1 tsp good vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda,
salt, and sugar.

In a separate bowl, add the buttermilk and all the oil, stirring until blended, then pour into the flour mixture and stir until mixed well and dough forms.

Dust a work surface lightly with flour, then turn dough out onto surface and knead gently about 10 times. Pat dough out into 1 inch thickness, then cut into biscuits, about 2 to 3 inch circles will do.

Bake on ungreased baking sheet in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until nice and golden brown in color.

Remove and serve warm.

Will make about a dozen or more biscuits.

Make Tasty Meals Like You Know How To Cook

Every cook, whether novice or professional, has room to improve. Cooking is a skill that we improve upon throughout our lives. The tips in this article will give you a good start to your cooking education. Read on to find out how!

Try going to a library or buying a cook book if you are wanting to cook different foods. Experiment with a few, and be patient; remember, you're learning new skills.

Slice meat on the bias very thin when you are making stir fry. This can be a bit difficult, and it takes some time to do it right. When the meat is stiff but not frozen, take it out and slice immediately across the grain at a slight angle.

Soaking raw potatoes for 30 minutes prior to frying will produce the crispiest French fries. A cold water soak helps the potatoes stand up to the rigors of deep fat frying.

Instead of adding all the seasoning in one rapid burst at the beginning, add it in increments over time to give it a better flavor. When this is done, the flavors of the food will be enhanced, and you will be bringing out the best in all of your ingredients.

Always measure your cooking oils! Determining the exact amount of cooking oil to use rather than just dumping it on your food helps you regulate the quantity of fat in each dish. This will enable you to keep track of exactly how much oil you use.

If you love to use herbs and spices, make sure you keep them in a dark, cool place to keep them fresh. Storing herbs and spices in a warm location will cause them to lose their flavor.

To avoid mistakes like burning your food while you are cooking, it is of the utmost importance to stay organized. An organized kitchen is a much more productive kitchen. Being unorganized when you are cooking can lead to you wasting a lot of money and food.

For dishes such as macaroni and cheese, follow the instructions carefully. Your macaroni should be cooked al dente, not too hard and not too soft. Serving with a solid-faced spoon will prevent the finished meal from sticking and globbing. Use some pepper on your macaroni and cheese!

While you are cooking, it's a great idea to clean the dishes as you go. To make it easy, just have one sink filled with soapy water and fill the other side with rinse water. Most bowls, pots, pans and utensils are much easier to clean immediately after they're done being used, and this will ensure that they're ready go if you need them again during the preparation of your meal.

Developing new cooking skills and techniques can be extremely fun and rewarding. It can be just as enjoyable as eating! Our hope is that this article has provided you with some great information that inspires you to become a better chef. When it comes to being passionate about developing your cooking stills, stay hungry!

Creole Style Remoulade Sauce Recipe

6 spring onions with green tops
4 tender celery stalks with leaves, chopped
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley
1 cup Creole mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
4 Tbsps paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
1 lemon, juiced

Put the spring onions, celery, and parsley in a food processor and pulse until minced, then with motor running, add the remaining ingredients and process until creamy smooth.

Spoon into a container and refrigerate for later use or serve immediately. This makes a good dipping sauce for crab fritters or a nice sauce on top of fried green tomatoes.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups sauce.

Make Better Choices - Tips And Tricks For Cooking Healthy Meals!

Do you ever think that your kitchen feels boring? The thing is, when treat cooking as a leisurely activity, your perception changes. Your kitchen will transform into a place that you like to be, and you'll be able to make delicious meals the whole family will love. Here are some tips to get you started.

Spices should be kept somewhere cool and dark. Putting them in a warm, lighted area can reduce their useful life, due to light and heat exposure. Spices last longer and taste better when stored in cool, dark locations. You can prepare tastier meals if you use fresher spices.

It is absolutely essential that you have sharp knives whenever you cook. If your knife is dull, it's obviously tougher to use, but it is also much more dangerous in general. You can cut yourself so easily trying to force dull knives through something than it is to make a simple cut with a sharp one.

Did you ever feel bad for throwing old, moldy fruit away? Do you wonder if it would be better to just cut off the moldy parts and save the rest? Cutting off rotten bits of fruit will not make them safer. Any rotten or moldy fruits should be discarded immediately, even if it just looks like surface mold. Mold can actually be deeper in the fruit, even if you can't see it. When you consume it, it can cause a number of illnesses.

Vegetables should be cooked rapidly to obtain peak results. If you slow cook vegetables they will lose nutritional value and taste. These speed-cooking techniques usually produce vegetables that are more nutritious overall. Learning to give them just a quick steam is the best way to cook them.

Are you going to cook with fresh basil? Place fresh basil into a glass. Add some water to cover the stems. Basil will stay fresh in bowl of water for up to four weeks. Change the water regularly and roots will grow. You can cut the basil every once in a while in order to spur further growth, thereby making basil available for even longer.

Be careful when using garlic because the flavor and aroma can be transferred to a variety of surfaces, including your hands. A trick for getting rid of the garlic odor on your hands is to rub them on a metal kitchen sink. This process removes the odors from your hands and keeps you from transferring them to the next piece of food you work with.

Several times your burgers will stick to the grill, and it is hard or impossible to remove them without destroying their shape. Try brushing the grill using vegetable oil prior to cooking so you can avoid sticking.

Use these ideas for generating your own. Always make it a priority to choose dishes that are enjoyed and relished, encouraging a relaxing meal time tradition. Cooking can be a hobby, beneficial to your diet as well as your life in general. Your kitchen should be the place your family goes for some good home cookin'.

Southern Molasses Pan Cake Recipe

4 cups flour
1 cup butter
1 cup black strap molasses
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup milk
pinch ground cloves
pinch ginger

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a buttered baking pan.

Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until cake sets up and broom straw comes out clean when poked in the middle.

Cool on a rack and slice to serve.

Cooking Skills That Are Easy To Learn And Use

Once the time comes that you know a handful of fundamental skills, the art of cooking can actually be a source of joy. The insights in this article can improve your cooking and confidence. Once you feel this way, you can start having fun.

Keep all dried spices in a dark space that stays room temperature. Humidity and heat, in addition to light, will cause spices and herbs to lose their flavor. Usually herbs and ground spices tend to stay fresh for about a year. Whole spices, on the other hand, can retain their freshness for 36-60 months. You must store them correctly in order to maintain their freshness.

When making a stir-fry dish, the meat needs to be cut into very thin slices, always on the bias. There's a trick to this, and it can take a little time. Take the meat out of the freezer when it's firm to the touch, and slice across the grain at an angle of 45 degrees.

Consider adding oil to your pan's side, rather than in the middle, so that your food is already heated when they come into contact. This helps to enhance and maximize the taste of your cooking.

There's an easy way to save thin sauces. Make a mixture of two tablespoons of water and one tablespoon corn starch. Slowly add this mixture to your simmering sauce to thicken it up. Make sure not to add the corn starch too quickly; keep stirring and stop when the sauce is thick enough.

Partially frozen meat is easier to cut into thin strips. This is an especially strong technique for the meats called for in Asian meals. The meat holds a tighter form when the it is partially frozen making the strips clean cut with out any stretching of the meat. Make sure to let the meat thaw before you cook it, frozen ice and hot oil do mix well together.

If you do any lengthy cooking process like boiling, many of the nutrients will be cooked out. To keep them loaded with nutrients that are beneficial to your body, chose faster cooking methods like steaming or sauteing, or enjoy them raw.

If you are cooking an important meal for a significant person, such as a boss or a date, you should not serve a dish you've never attempted to cook before. Avoid trying to cook something new. This can make cooking less of a chore.

Apples are a popular choice for eating in autumn or winter, but they will spoil if not properly stored. Warm, dry air will make apples rot, so keep them in the fridge or cellar in plastic bags. Make sure to keep an eye out for rotting apples, because if you have one rotten apple, it will turn all the other apples rotten in no time.

Cooking skills can really be easily attained. All you need to do is set aside some time and have a passion to learn. Busing this article, you could get around the kitchen easily. When you go into with the right attitude, cooking can be quite fun.

Old South Mixed Greens

3 cups water
1 cup smoked meat of any kind
1 small sweet onion, diced fine
1/2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger root
1 Tbsp hot pepper sauce
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 garlic cloves, grated
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
2 lbs any mixture of greens (collar, turnip, mustard, kale)

Put everything EXCEPT the mixed greens into a large soup pot and bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer gently for 30 minutes.

Clean the greens, trimming off any woody stems, then chop into pieces, and add to the pot.

Simmer gently (with lid on pot loosely) for about 30 minutes or until greens are tender.

Will serve 4 to 6.

Helpful Tips For Becoming A Great Home Cook!

While there are some fabulous and some not so fabulous chefs out there, everyone has a thing or two to learn when it comes to cooking. Cooking is one of those skills that each one of us is constantly improving over the course of our lives. If you are looking for immediate improvements to your cooking skills, this article can help! Make use of the tips below in order to improve your cooking skills in the short- and long-term.

When you are baking pastry crusts, try increasing the cooking time a bit. Let the crust go beyond light tan to a deeper, golden shade. The caramelizing of the sugar in pie crust gives it crispness and extra sweetness.

Partially freezing meat makes it easier to slice it into thin strips. This is especially helpful if you are preparing an Oriental dish. When the meat is partially frozen, it is much easier to slice and doesn't tear or stretch. After slicing the meat, allow it to completely thaw to ensure that it cooks evenly.

To make your French fries crispier, let the raw potatoes soak for about half an hour in cold water prior to frying. When your potatoes soak up cold fluids, their fibers are reinforced. This means that they will hold up better to the heat necessary for the frying process.

This type of seasoning can be added to all types of foods other than meat. Try roasted pumpkin seeds sprinkled with the seasoning for a tasty snack or mix it in your scrambled eggs. Simply sprinkling on these kinds of seasonings can turn your dish into an instant hit.

When you do this, the mushroom will become absorbent and soak up the water. Try using a clean, wet cloth and wiping them off instead.

The downside of tasty ingredients like garlic and onions is that their flavors and smells transfer to your hands. Rub your hands thoroughly on the interior of a stainless steel sink after working with garlic or other odoriferous cooking ingredients. Not only will your hands smell better, but the next food you touch won't have a garlicky smell.

When cooking vegetables, it is a good idea to use chicken broth. Try cooking your veggies in chicken broth. It adds a nice flavor, and the veggies will not stick to the pan. Chicken broth can be found at any grocery store, and is very low priced.

This way, your fruit will last for a longer period time. In addition, you will then be able to indulge in fruits that aren't in season.

When certain recipes call for milk or water, try adding some other liquids that you would see fit to experiment with flavors. For example, you might try chicken broth or beef broth instead of water in a meat dish. You might even try fruit juice when cooking certain veggies. Other dairy products such as buttermilk or sour cream can be used in place of milk. Substituting the liquid in a dish can add nutrient content, flavor or both.

Finding ways to improve your cooking is a wonderful experience! Cooking is just as fun as eating. Hopefully, the article you read here provided some great information on how you can improve upon your own cooking skills, or perhaps it has inspired you to search for newer and better ways to cook! Cooking is a skill you will need for life!

Southern Style Lemon Custard Pie Recipe

5 large eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
2 large sweet lemons, juiced and zested
baked single pie crust

Put all egg yolks into a bowl and beat until light yellow and fluffy, then, with mixer running, slowly add in the sugar, and lemon juice and zest, and beat until blended.

Put the mixture into a double boiler over medium-high heat, and cook stirring constantly, until thick and smooth; remove insert from boiler and let cool.

Put the egg whites in a cold bowl and beat with a mixer until it forms stiff peaks, then fold most of the egg whites into the cooled custard, being careful not to deflate them. Turn this custard out into baked pie crust.

Take remaining egg whites and fold in a little sugar, then spread over the top of the custard in pie crust.

Turn oven on to 400 degrees and put pie in oven just long enough for egg whites on top to brown a little.

Remove immediately and cool before serving. May be refrigerated or served at once at room temperature.

Makes one pie.

Find The Way To Cook Great Food With These Tips

Cooking is a necessary and valuable skill to have. Eating food made in the home is a yummy and healthy way to eat, and it also conserves money.

Store your spices and herbs in a cool and dark spot when you decide where to keep them. Humidity, light and heat can cause your spices and herbs to lose their flavor. Do not expect your spices to last more than a year. It is possible for whole spices to remain flavorful for up to five years. When stored in the correct place, they will keep their freshness for longer.

Give pie and tart crust a little longer baking time than you normally would for the best results. It will help if you achieve a darker, more delicious golden caramel color, rather than stopping when the crust is still pale. This golden color means that the sugar used in the crust has caramelized, giving the crust a crisp and sweet flavor.

Keep spices tucked away in cool, dry and dark areas. Exposing spices to heat, humidity, and light will shorten their lifespan. Storing your spices in a cool location far from direct sunlight will help them last longer and taste better. Using fresher spices can make tastier meals.

When cooking with oil, add it not to the bottom but to the pan's sides. This will allow the oil to heat up as it works its way down to the center. This helps to enhance and maximize the taste of your cooking.

If you want to slice meat into thin strips, freeze it partially before bringing it to the cutting board. This method is especially useful when preparing Chinese or Thai entrees. By marginally freezing meat, slicing it is made cleaner, as its fibers will not tear quite as easily. However, so they are evenly cooked, you want to make certain the meat strips are thawed before cooking.

A nutritious way to reduce the calories from your mashed potatoes is to replace some of the potatoes with cauliflower. Cauliflower does not have a strong taste and will be virtually undetectable when mixed with the potatoes and other ingredients. Cauliflower has the same texture and color as mashed potatoes, so the dish will be transformed into one that has more vegetables and fewer calories.

By doing so, the mushrooms will absorb the water like a sponge. The right way to clean the mushrooms would be by hand, using a clean, wet cloth.

If you have made sauce, put the leftovers into an ice cube tray and freeze. All you need to do next time you want to use it, is reheat in a saucepan. Not to worry, it freezes well and is perfectly edible when stored this way.

Follow these tips and you will quickly develop better cooking skills and an affinity for good home cooking. If you get more practice you can make better food and save some money. In addition, cooking meals from home can be much healthier for the whole family. Start using these tips and make wonderful tasting meals.

Mixed Greens In Pot Likker Recipe

1/2 lb bacon, diced
1 medium sweet onion, diced
4 lbs mixed greens (collard, kale, mustard, turnip)
4 cups water
salt and black pepper to taste
dash of hot sauce
pinch of brown sugar

Fry the bacon in a large, heavy Dutch oven until most of the fat is rendered off.

Add the onion and fry until soft, then add the greens and water, turn heat down, cover pot tightly, and let simmer very slowly for 45 minutes.

Add salt, black pepper, hot sauce, and brown sugar, stir, and adjust seasoning as you wish.

Serve greens in big bowls with some of the pot likker ladled out into the bowls, too. Stick a piece of cornbread alongside in each bowl for soaking up the pot likker to enjoy.

Easy Home Kitchen Tips To Help You Cook The Perfect Meal

Cooking has its uses in a variety of situations. Everyone loves a nice home-cooked meal. But everyone would like to become a more skilled chef in the kitchen. This article will describe many useful tips that can help you improve your skills.

When cooking a large meal for a family gathering or dinner party, preparation is key. Gather all of your ingredients well in advance. The day before the big event, get everything ready to go. Make sure you have all the utensils and cookware you will need. This will help to alleviate your anxiety and maximize your potential.

Many apples are purchased for cooking in winter and fall, but they will rot in a short period of time if they are not properly stored. Apples will rot if they are stored in warm, dry air, so make sure to keep them in plastic bags in a cool place. Cull bad apples from the bag to avoid rotting more of them.

You can also use this seasoning on foods other than meat. Put in on pumpkin seeds or in scrambled eggs to add a new flavor. No one will know how you made that tasty food!

There are many steps you can take towards prepping your food to make your whole cooking process easier. Complete as many steps in advance as you can without risking spoilage. Much of the preparation can be done the day before it is needed. You can turn a fancy meal into a fast, fun meal that can be cooked in a flash!

If you want to make chicken stock, you might as well make a lot of it. When you prepare stock, make a large amount, so it can be frozen for later use. Having this delicious chicken stock on hand will be useful when you are making soups, casseroles, stews and so much more. Make certain the stock is cooled, and then you can portion it into heavyweight Ziploc freezer bags and place in the freezer.

When you are purchasing ingredients to make something read your labels. Some cooking supplies will contain unhealthy ingredients. You need to know how much sugars and sodium are in the ingredients because they can cause health problems if you consume too much of them.

By doing this, fruits can stay fresh all through the year. This process also gives you easy access to seasonal fruits at times when they would not normally be available.

When cooking a recipe calling for garlic, use the freshest garlic for the best results. Garlic that is fresh is sweeter than garlic that is not. You can identify fresh garlic by its lack of bruising and firm skin.

Save leftover meat and bones from poultry. Instead, cut them into smaller pieces, and put in some airtight containers that will go in the freezer. This will keep the turkey fresh, so it can be reused for salads or sandwiches.

As you can see, cooking can be easy. With the right techniques, creating delicious dishes for family and friends can suddenly become a breeze! Now that you have been introduced to these great tips and tricks, you just need to make the time to go and give them a try!

Southern Fried Green Tomatoes Recipe

4 garden grown green tomatoes
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup buttermilk
(kosher salt for seasoning after frying)

Wash, dry, then slice the tomatoes into 1/4 inch circles.

In a bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients until a batter forms.

In a large heavy skillet, pour in enough high-heat frying oil (peanut oil is good) to come up to 1 1/2 inch. Put skillet over medium heat and when oil sizzles with a drop of water, you are ready to fry.

Dip each tomato slice into the batter, let the excess drip off, then gently drop into the oil. Repeat with several more tomato slices, but only as many as will fit in the skillet without crowding.

When the tomatoes start turning golden brown (about 2 to 3 minutes) turn and fry the other side until both sides are golden brown.

Remove each slice to a wire rack, salt generously, and serve warm.

This will serve 4 people.

Cooking Information You Did Not Know Existed

All people love a good meal, but not all people can make one. These tips can help you learn how to be a success in the kitchen. Don't let the thought of cooking intimidate you. Knowing how to cook is an invaluable trait, and has the potential to provide great enjoyment. It is important to realize that it is okay to make a mess in your kitchen every now and then. You can create culinary masterpieces if you do not feel inhibited.

Give pie and tart crust a little longer baking time than you normally would for the best results. The crust should turn a golden color, not simple blonde. The color on your pie signifies that the caramelizing process is complete in your crust, yielding a scrumptious dessert.

Sharp knives are an important component of any kitchen. Dull knives not only are ineffective, but they're also dangerous! You could easily cut yourself if you are trying to cut something up with a dull knife.

To reduce the calories and fat of mashed potatoes, and to avoid sacrificing taste or texture, replace some potatoes with the same amount of cauliflower. Cauliflower blends perfectly with your potatoes without changing the taste of your mashed potatoes. When they're mashed, cauliflowers have the same appearance and consistency as potatoes, too. Adding a little cauliflower can take calories out of your favorite mashed potato recipes and add in a little vegetable goodness, too.

To maintain nutrients and color in your vegetables, quickly steam them until just crisp-tender. Using a slow cooking method is sometimes suggested, but the results are less nutritious and don't taste as good. The quick cook methods generally make the vegetables tastier and more nutritional. The key to improving your vegetables is learning how you can cook them in the minimum amount of time.

When you use fresh ingredients, your cooking will be considerably better than if you used canned, dried or frozen ingredients. Use fresh ingredients as much as you can, because they add better flavor to your dish and tend to be a lot cheaper.

When you make chicken stock, a good piece of advice is to make it in a big quantity. Make sure that you prepare a large amount of stock so that you will have more than enough to store and use for future kitchen adventures. Good chicken stock that you make at home makes a great starter for soups, casseroles, stews and other dishes. Simply cool the stock, and then freeze it into Ziploc, heavyweight freezer bags.

If you plan to use wooden skewers when cooking, soak them in water for about thirty minutes prior to use. That way, you won't be able to burn them as easily. Use two parallel skewers instead of one skewer to avoid food falling off.

Cooking is not the boogeyman. When you make the decision to cook your own food, you are able to save money, eat healthier, and have a good time doing it! Apply these tips the next time you go grocery shopping or cook. Home cooking is great and you will enjoy it.

Southern Style Tomato Gravy Recipe

6 slices of bacon
1 small sweet onion (Vidalia) finely chopped
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups finely diced tomato (seeds removed if possible)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 cup whole milk

Fry the bacon in a large heavy skillet until crisp and the fat has rendered off; remove bacon and retain drippings in skillet. You will want about 2 Tbsps of bacon fat in skillet. (Set bacon aside to crumble for serving.)

Keep skillet over medium heat and add the onions, stirring and cooking until onion softens, about 2 minutes.
Sprinkle flour over onions in bacon drippings and stir, continuing to cook until mixture thickens and flour turns light golden in color.

Add diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, and thyme and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes.

Continue stirring, add in the milk; and bring mixture to a boil, then immediately turn heat down to low and let simmer gently for about 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

If gravy seems too thick, add a little more milk and continue simmering and stirring until desired thickness. Taste and season more if needed.

Spoon over buttermilk biscuits and crumble fried bacon pieces on top if you like.

Will serve 2 to 4; recipe is easily doubled or tripled.

Cooking Tips You Cannot Find Anywhere Else

Making daily meals for your family can sometimes get frustrating. Don't get frustrated by cooking! This article will give you some helpful tips for hassle-free, easy to prepare meals. After you put the information from this article to good use, you will undoubtedly wish that you'd come across it sooner.

Cooking with skewers can provide very beneficial if you use them properly. Twisted or square shaped metal skewers hold the food better than round ones will.

Before eating there is cooking, and before cooking there is preparation. This is a vital step to master if you want to produce impressive meals. Ensure that you aren't missing important ingredients before you start cooking. Along with the ingredients, you need to make sure you have the correct utensils for cooking the next day. This will help to alleviate your anxiety and maximize your potential.

If you are going to stir-fry meat, be sure to have it cut on the bias and finely sliced. This technique is somewhat tricky and can take a little time. Freeze the meat until it is firm and then slice the thin slices across the grain.

There is a trick to save your hard work and be able to use it instantly. Mix one tablespoon of starch from corn and two tablespoons of water together in a bowl. Thicken the sauce by gradually adding this mixture to it. You need to add this solution very slowly and stir while adding so the sauce does not become too thick or burn.

To make slicing thin strips easier, you need to freeze the meat slightly first. This is ideal for Asian meals like Chinese or Thai dishes. The knife can cut the partly frozen meat with less damage than if it were thawed. This is because the partially frozen meat fibers are not as easily stretched or torn. Make sure that you let the meat thaw before cooking, so the meat is cooked evenly.

When adding seasoning to meats, try some before cooking the whole thing. Dishes like meatballs, meatloaf and hamburgers need to be seasoned carefully. You should not cook the dish entirely after seasoning it. Section off a small bit and cook it. You can then cook the entire piece, or change the seasoning as needed.

When you are cooking with garlic, you may notice that your hands will pick up the strong smell. Rubbing your hands on something made of stainless steel, such as your sink, can help to get rid of these odors. This serves to both clean your hands thoroughly and prevent the odors from seeping into any other food you are going to handle.

When you store some ingredients, like flour, baking mixes, and sugar, use airtight containers. Airtight containers allow your food to remain safe from the elements and also prolongs their freshness. You can get them at a number of places and are well worth the small amount of money.

Cooking for your family can sometimes drive you crazy. There are many ways that you can make the cooking process easier. You'll be able to relax the next time you're in the kitchen.

Southern Style Deviled Eggs Recipe

2 clean chicken livers
1 tsp finely grated onion
2 Tbsps butter
4 hard-cooked eggs
1 tsp chopped parsley
dash Worcestershire sauce
dash hot sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and black pepper to taste

Make sure the livers are cleaned and trimmed very well, then cut them up into evenly sized pieces and sprinkle the grated onion over the liver pieces.

Get out a heavy skillet and add the butter, put over medium heat, and when butter melts add the liver. Fry until just tender, do not brown the liver; remove skillet from heat and set aside.

Cut the eggs in half, gently drop the yolks out into a bowl, setting the egg white halves into a baking dish, cut side up.

Smash the yolks fine using a pastry cutter or a fork, then add the parsley and cooked chicken livers; stir to combine. Now taste and add salt, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce, stir, taste, and adjust seasoning as needed.

Spoon the yolk/liver mixture carefully into the scooped out egg whites and top with the Parmesan cheese.

Put in oven set at 200 degrees just until the cheese melts slightly, about 3 or 4 minutes should do it.

Remove and let cool slightly, then serve at room temperature as a snack or appetizer or light lunch.

Will serve 4 to 8.

Cook Whatever You Want With These Tips

Many people consider cooking to be a nice way to relax and a rewarding activity. A welcoming kitchen filled with pleasant smells is something everyone enjoys coming home to. Yet, it can be difficult to find not only a great recipe but also some great tips to help you turn a good meal into a great one. You can improve your abilities, and get closer to those fantastic results, by making use of some of the tips you'll find below.

If you keep herbs and spices handy, make sure you are keeping them in a dark, cool area. The flavor of herbs and spices will be diminished if they are subjected to humidity, heat, or light. Generally speaking, spices that have been ground will keep their flavor for about one year. Whole spices last longer, possibly as long as five years. Their changes at longevity increase with proper storage.

Slice meats into thin strips on the bias when prepping for stir-fry. Cutting meat thinly can be difficult and time-consuming. Take the meat out of the freezer when it is slightly frozen and cut at a forty five degree angle, do it across the meat's grain.

There is something you can do to rescue your sauce and use it as planned. In a bowl, combine a tablespoon of cornstarch with two tablespoons of water. Stir the sauce constantly to avoid letting it get too thick. Be sure to slowly add the starch solution to your sauce until you achieve the desired thickness.

Boiling and other long preparation methods tend to eliminate key nutrients in vegetables. The healthier way to prepare vegetables is by cooking them quickly, such as steaming or sauteing them; the most nutritious way of all is by serving them raw.

When you are cooking, it is important to remember that a fresh ingredient is always better than a frozen or dried ingredient. You will save plenty of money by buying fresh vegetables and other ingredients, and your food will also taste more flavorful.

If you've made sauce, you should place any that is leftover in an ice tray and freeze it. Then, at a later date, it is a simple process to reheat the cubes on your stove top in a pan. The sauce will remain edible even after being in an ice tray.

Tofu and beans can serve as great sources of protein that can be easily added to any diet. Both can be found at any grocery store. Tofu can be pan-fried with some seasonings, and makes a tasty meat alternative. For a tasty bean dish, simply boil them with your favorite herbs.

Replace the standby liquids of milk and water in recipes to mix things up. Broth is a great substitute for water, and milk adds delicious flavor and extra nutrition to soups and stews. To replace milk, yogurt, sour cream and buttermilk can make good substitutes. Varying the liquids that are in your recipes is an excellent method of adding nutrition and variety to a dish.

As this article has discussed, cooking is revered by many as an excellent and enjoyable hobby. However, some people don't know where to start, in terms of picking the right recipes or using the proper techniques. Follow this article's advice and you will be on your way to cooking great food.

Southern Crispy Cornflake Baked Catfish Recipe

2 lbs catfish filets (or other fish available)
1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 or 2 dashes hot sauce
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 cup cornflakes, crushed fine
1 Tbsp cooking oil

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

Drizzle lemon juice over the filets; set aside.

In a shallow bowl, mix together the buttermilk and hot sauce.

In another shallow bowl, mix together the black pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and crushed cornflakes.

Pat the filets dry, then set in the buttermilk and let soak for 5 minutes.

Remove each filet and shake excess buttermilk off, then dredge in the cornflake/seasoning mix, pressing into the fish.

Set fish on rack and put in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Arrange fish filets on rack on baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes (no need to turn).

Remove and serve warm.

Will serve 4 to 6.

Cooking Up A Storm With These Great Kitchen Tips

It does take a little bit of time to develop the skill of cooking. No matter the reason why you have decided to cook, it is still great to have this knowledge and skill. By reading on, you will find some great advice to help you cook delicious meals.

If cooking with skewers is something you are considering, then you will want to know certain things. When using metal skewers, square or twisted skewers hold food better than the round skewers.

A great starting point when looking to expand your cooking repertoire is your local library or bookstore. Look for cookbooks which contain basic and simple recipes for you to practice and have fun preparing. Try a few recipes, and be patient with yourself as you are mastering this new skill.

Don't throw away that runny sauce, as there is an easy fix available. Mix one tablespoon of starch and two tablespoons of water. Thicken your sauce by stirring in this solution. Be sure to gradually stir in the solution, and frequently stir the sauce so that it does not become too thick.

You have probably felt guilty for pitching moldy fruits before. Should you save the moldy fruit and cut away the bad parts? Trying to salvage fruit when half of it is bad may save money, but it is not worth the health risks. The mold and spoilage that you can see is only part of the problem with marginal-looking fruit; even the parts that appear pristine can be unsafe to eat.

If you wish to have crispy French fries, then you should soak the potatoes in cool water for 30 minutes and then fry them. When potatoes are allowed to absorb cold water, the texture is able to withstand the extreme heat of cooking without breaking down and becoming mushy.

When recipes call for wooden skewers, make sure to soak them for half an hour at least before you use them. If you do not do this, your food may cook faster than you want, causing it to burn. Instead of cooking food on a single skewer, opt for two parallel skewers. This prevents the ingredients from sliding off into the fire.

If you are looking for a nutritionally beneficial way to cook your vegetables, try sauteing them in a small amount of chicken broth. Broth will flavor the vegetables, and less oil will be needed to saute them. This is a nutritious and delicious method for cooking vegetables.

Measure out your cooking oils carefully. To have a lower amount of fat added to your cooking, make sure you measure your cooking oil carefully instead of just pouring right from the bottle to the pan. That way, you will know precisely how much oil is going into the dish you are preparing.

Do you want to make a dish using the above advice? By using the tips from the above article, you have all the tools necessary to start cooking amazing food! Regardless of why you choose to cook, serving a dish that you made with your own hands is a delightful experience. The truth of the matter is that it takes skill to make delicious meals. However, it will be well worth the effort when you get a taste of your delicious meal.

Southern Crab Meat Fritters Recipe

1 Tbsp finely chopped celery
1 Tbsp grated onion
1 Tbsp real mayonnaise
1 tsp Creole mustard
1/4 tsp Creole mix seasoning
2 large eggs, whisked
dash Tabasco (or favorite hot sauce)
2 Tbsp finely crushed saltine crackers (crush a whole tube, you'll need the remaining crumbs for coating later)
1 cup lump crab meat

Put the first 7 ingredients in a bowl and stir together, then add the 2 Tbsp crushed saltine crackers and mix to combine well.

Add the crab meat and, using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, gently fold the crab meat into the mixture, trying not to break the crab meat up too much.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Scoop out balls of crab mixture, each about the size of a golf ball, and pack tightly with your hands, placing each one on the prepared baking sheet. Continue until all crab mixture is used.

Lightly cover the baking sheet with crab meat balls with parchment paper and put in refrigerator for about 1 hour.

When ready to make, get out a shallow bowl and put the remaining crushed crackers in it. Roll the crab meat balls around in the crushed crackers, pressing to coat well, then set aside and get ready to fry them.

Fill a large deep skillet with 2 cups of cooking oil and bring to a sizzle (test with a drop of water).

Gently place the crab fritters in the hot oil and fry until lightly golden brown, which should only take about 3 minutes. Turn them over once during the frying time using a slotted spoon.

Remove the fritters to a rack and sprinkle generously with salt before they cool.

Do not overcrowd your skillet; fry the crab fritters in batches if necessary.

Serve warm with remoulade sauce or spicy sweet sauce.

Learn How To Make Excellent Meals With These Tips

There is something for everyone to cook. If you are able to follow instructions, you too can learn to cook. Can you access basic equipment for cooking? If the answer to these two questions is yes, then you too can learn how to cook. Make use of the tips below to make excellent food that anyone would envy and add a star to your chef ranking.

When you are cooking food on skewers, there are some basic guidelines to know. Regarding metal skewers, square or twisted varieties are preferable to round ones, as the round ones do not hold food items as well as the other two types.

Boiling takes time and removes the nutrients from veggies. Allow your vegetables to keep their nutritional benefits by cooking them quickly, or eating them raw!

You may have felt regret when you threw away a moldy orange or lemon. Be sure to check apples occasionally because one bad apple will ruin all of them. If you have fruit that is just a little rotten, throw it away. Discard them, as mold goes deeper than the eye can see and can make you quite ill.

If you wish to have crispy French fries, then you should soak the potatoes in cool water for 30 minutes and then fry them. Vegetables fibers can breakdown under high heat conditions. Soaking reinforces these fibers to produce better results.

This type of seasoning can be added to all types of foods other than meat. Add this savory seasoning to snack foods like Chex mix, or use it to spice up your omelet. Everyone will love the flavor and ask you for your secret ingredient!

Lowering your oil amounts when cooking can help you have a healthier diet and lose weight. Oil and butter provide a lot of un-needed fat. Try cooking sprays that will help your food not to stick and keep it free from fats that contribute little to a healthy lifestyle.

There's almost always leftovers after serving turkey. Cut the leftover meat and put it away in airtight containers. Leftover turkey can be used for enchiladas, pot pie, sandwiches and salads.

Having a clean and organized kitchen is essential to cooking a great meal or dessert. Having an organized cooking area will ensure that you are productive when cooking. Being disorganized means having difficulty finding things and quite possibly ruining an entire dish, wasting valuable time and money!

When cutting herbs, sprinkle a little salt onto your chopping board first. It will not only add flavor to the herbs but it will also keep them in place while they are being chopped. If you add the salt to your cutting board, reduce the salt in the recipe by the same amount, so that you don't add too much salt to your dish. Applying salt to the board will allow the herbs to stick better and give the meat a bit more flavor.

Cooking can be an enjoyable hobby, a practical skill or even a profession. The only limit to what you can make is your imagination, but you need to learn some of the principles of good cooking from the masters in order to make your perfect dish a reality. Apply these tips when you prepare your next meal.

Southern Ham And Collard Greens Recipe

1/2 lb smoked meaty ham bone
3 quarts fresh water
1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning blend (any you like)
1 Tbsp hot sauce
1 large bunch (12 cups or more) collard greens
1 Tbsp butter

Put the ham bone, water, seasoning mix, and hot sauce in a big soup pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer (with lid on tilted slightly) for 1 hour.

Wash and trim the collard greens, removing any woody stems. Roll the leaves up together and chop coarsely.

Put the collards in the pot, add the butter, and replace lid loosely, then simmer gently for 45 to 55 minutes or until collards are tender.

Lift out ham bone and remove any good ham meat, then add the meat back into the collards, stir, taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Serve hot as a side or main dish.

Will serve 4 to 8.

How Greens Became A Part Of Southern Culture

The History Of Southern Cuisine Revealed In A Pot Of Greens

You can hardly talk about deep south cooking without talking about greens. When using the term "greens" in the context of southern cooking, you can only be talking about one thing – a pot of greens.

A pot of greens cooked southern style is a history lesson. To begin, the one-pot cooking method was a necessity in the development of the south centuries ago. Working in the fields and woods didn't allow for elaborate meals or dinner breaks. Whatever could be cooked on an open fire in one pot was on the menu.

Along with one-pot cooking methods used, there was the all important issue of food preservation. In the south, there isn't a lot of cool weather to take advantage of in order to keep foods fresh. Therefore, methods of preservation were developed through time. These methods became synonymous with southern cooking in both style and in flavor.

This is where a pot of greens becomes a history lesson. Greens such as collards, mustard, beet, and kale were plentiful, so it made sense to take advantage of them in order to feed a crowd. However, without refrigeration greens wouldn't last long in the heat of the day. Preserving a batch of greens long enough to feed families and workers became a matter of survival.

Native Americans were curing meat with salt and teaching settlers and slaves both how to do the same. By placing a layer of salted meat, most likely pork of some kind, on top of a batch of greens, the greens were preserved and flavored at the same time. This method became popular because; 1) it kept the greens safe to eat for a long period of time; and 2) it was tasty! More often than not the pork was tossed out once the salty fat meat served its purpose - to preserve a batch of greens. But, the greens kept that good flavor we still know today and value in the perfect pot of greens.

Today, many southern cooks know the value of a good 'mess a greens' even though refrigeration is no longer an issue for most. Cooks may use pork or ham now just to flavor the greens rather than preserve them, and that meat is probably a leaner cut than in the old days.

If you want to try your hand at cooking up a mess of greens, this modern and simple 'recipe' is a good start. All you need is a bunch of greens, anything in season, or choose several varieties and mix them together. Get out a big heavy pot and add a good inch or so of cider vinegar to the pot and a little water, too. Then start the liquid simmering and add a hunk of smoked meat, anything you like. How much meat you add depends on how much meat you want to eat with your greens. That's simple stuff, right?

Simmer the meat until hot , then add some red pepper flakes (if you like a bit of kick), or hot sauce, whatever you prefer, and stir around a bit. Wash and trim the greens of any woody stems, then give them a rough chop. Now add the greens to the pot and don't be afraid to heap the greens up high as they will cook down a lot. Simmer the greens with the cover off until they cook down enough to set the lid on loosely and make sure the burner is down very low. Continue to simmer slowly until the greens are just tender, then remove the pot from the heat. If you are using a good heavy pot the greens will continue to cook a little, so take them off the heat before they get soft.

Now, taste and add a little molasses or brown sugar, salt, black pepper, hot sauce or red pepper flakes, or even more vinegar if you like, and stir. Taste and start the seasoning process again until you get the flavor you like. Now serve hot or stick with tradition and serve at room temperature as this dish was served historically.
Most southern cooks will agree that the fewer ingredients you use in a pot of greens, the better the results. But, no matter what ingredients you use, a pot of greens simmering slowly on the stove will awaken taste buds... perhaps taste buds with a history.

Cajun Crawfish Etouffee Recipe

1/2 cup peanut oil
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup diced celery
4 tsp Cajun seasoning mix, divided
3 cups shrimp stock or vegetable stock
salt to taste
1 cup butter
2 lbs cleaned crawfish tails
1 cup chopped green onions
cooked rice for serving

In a large heavy cast iron Dutch oven or deep skillet, add the peanut oil and flour over medium-high heat and whisk constantly until you have a deep nutty brown color roux; reduce heat immediately to medium and remove skillet from burner to let cool slightly before adding next ingredients.

Add the "Holy Trinity" of onion, green bell pepper, and celery, along with 2 tsp of the Cajun seasoning mix, stir, and return to burner over medium heat. Continue cooking and stirring until the vegetables soften slightly, crisp tender is good.

Slowly stir in the shrimp stock and bring to a gentle boil, turn heat down and let simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt as needed.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat, add the crawfish and the green onions, stir and cook for about 2 or 3 minutes until heated through.

When the pot with the stock has finished simmering for 10 minutes, add the crawfish mixture into the pot and stir, then simmer gently together for about 5  minutes or until the mixture comes together. Do not stir this vigorously, rather just give the final mixture a few gentle swirls with a wooden spoon a few times as it simmers.

Ladle over bowls filled with cooked rice to serve.

Will serve 4 to 6.

Tips For Making The Perfect Roux

Cajun Cooking 101: Taking The Mystery Out Of Making Roux

When you dig into recipes written by cooks from Louisiana you will see one word popping up over and over again - roux. If you are just learning how to cook Cajun dishes, that one word can scare you off.

But, this cooking step or ingredient, if you like, is one you will need to learn if you want to turn out perfect Cajun dishes such as gumbo or etouffee. Take heart; it is not as difficult as you may believe, but making a good roux does take practice. Let's get started.

It just takes two ingredients - fat and flour - to make a good roux. Some cooks swear by butter and others stick with cooking oil. Peanut oil is a favorite for the simple reason it doesn't burn easily, making it easier to control the roux results. White flour seems to work best, but you may like to try whole wheat on occasion just for fun. Get out these two ingredients and measure out equal parts - 1 cup oil to 1 cup flour, for instance. This will make a good size batch, enough for a large pot of gumbo.

Come to think of it, you really also need a third, fourth, and fifth 'ingredient' - a very heavy bottomed pot, a good whisk or stirring spoon, and some dedicated time to stand and stir. Wash and dry your heavy pot and whisk thoroughly. Any speck of food will stick and burn, ruining your roux before you even get a chance to test it. If you don't have a whisk, a good wooden or other heat-proof spoon will work, so long as you can stir up the bottom easily, making sure the roux doesn't stick. You will have this utensil in your hand for a long time, so make sure it's comfortable and won't get hot.

Now that your oil, flour, pot, and whisk are all ready, you will need to block out your fifth 'ingredient' - time.
A good roux can take about 30 minutes or more to come together. But, an experienced cook can speed things up considerably by turning up the heat. This takes practice, so for this discussion we're going to assume you will need about a half hour. Be sure you are set up to stay at the stove for this amount of time.

Run to the bathroom, get your beverages lined up within reach, and turn off your phone if you have to in order to remove the temptation of answering it.

You are now ready to begin.

Put your heavy pot on a burner set at medium-high heat, add in the oil and flour, and start whisking. That's the easy part. Now comes the watching, and stirring, and watching, and stirring.

As you stir the mixture at this heat, you should start to see it come to a boil. It may look frothy and pale to begin with, but the froth will soon subside and a golden color will start to appear.

At this point, when the color appears, watch for brown specks. If they appear, you can turn the heat down a bit, but keep stirring, making sure you are running the whisk along the bottom of the pot constantly. This will keep the mixture from burning to the bottom. If your hand and arm get tired, switch hands, but don't stop stirring.

The mixture, once it starts to turn brown, may now be referred to as a 'roux.' There are several shades of color, each providing a different flavor.

The first color you'll see is a very light tan color which is mostly useless as a roux. You would use this mixture more as a thickener for gravy, but not in a southern gumbo or jambalaya.

After this tan stage, you'll start to see a peanut butter color emerge. Keep stirring. This is a good base for what is to come, but you will still not get the same flavor you want if you stop there. Some cooks will, however, stop at this point if they are making a dish that they prefer to be a milder version - sometimes for kids or people not as familiar with the real deep flavors of authentic Cajun or Creole cuisine.

If you want to move on to a deeper shade of brown, what we call a 'chocolate roux' keep stirring. There are really two shades in this category of color - milk chocolate and dark chocolate - both providing a much nuttier flavor than the lighter shades. Some cooks actually have a milk chocolate candy bar and a dark chocolate candy bar handy to compare the color. This trick especially helps the novice roux maker, but is not a bad idea for anyone.

Once you have the color close, just before it reaches the shade you want, remove the pot from the burner. This is an important step as the roux will continue to cook on its own. Keep stirring even after you take it off the burner. You can stop stirring constantly when you feel the heat of the pot let up, but make sure you go back and stir it again a few times. The oil and flour will continue to blend and you will see it thickening as it cools.

Now that the roux is no longer screaming hot, you are ready to add The Holy Trinity - onion, green bell pepper, and celery - to the pot and continue on with your recipe. Or, you may want to cool the roux completely and store it in the refrigerator or freezer to have ready any time you want to make a pot of gumbo or jambalaya, or other southern dish.

Just remember - this is not as difficult as you might think. Making a good roux requires only a couple ingredients, some patience, and a little bit of careful timing. Don't be afraid. If your first batch doesn't turn out, throw it out and start another. When you get it right, you will know because your classic southern dishes will get applause and "oooohs and aaaahs!" Now that's definitely worth the time it takes to make a good roux.