BLACK EYE PEA CORNBREAD BITES

Yes, I know! Long time no hear from but when I’m cooking, I’m in a zone and don’t take much time to talk about what I’m doing—-I just be DOIN’!!!

Here’s a really EASY, QUICK appetizer or side dish for that T-day dinner coming up—YES!!!! Turkey Day is right around the corner so time for menu planning; some old and some new dishes…

The Black Eye Peas in these bites are a salad that we make using our Portuguese Smoked Paprika Rub so already you KNOW these are going to be tasty! Look for the recipe on the website under ‘Recipes’ …Take your favorite cornbread mix (or make from scratch); fill regular or mini muffin pans 1/2 Full with batter; place a tsp of salad in the middle of each compartment and fill each almost FULL with the remaining batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12-15 minutes if doing mini muffins; about 15-18 minutes or until springy to the touch if doing regular size. Remove from oven, cool on rack for 5 minutes, carefully lift out each from pan and continue cooling on rack or serve immediately…serve w salted butter and watch them disappear!!!!

BLACK EYE PEA CORNBREAD BITES

Cast-Iron Miso Chicken

I've come to REALLY appreciate my cast-iron skillets for the textue and flavors they help infuse into food.  Nothing beats a sear into a HOT cast-iron to get that juicy, crispy crust we all drool over!  I had a whole chicken in my freezer (trying to make some space) so I cut it down into parts, made a marinade using our Portuguese Smoked Paprika Paste, garlic, ginger, Yellow Miso, bit of Dijon, and some EVOO.  Smeared that all over the chicken, let it marinate overnite and the next nite placed into my cast-iron, which I'd preheated in a 400 degree oven, and let the skillet do it's magic.  About 45 minutes later I got succulent, crispy, FLAVORFUL chicken that lingered on my tongue LOOONG after dinner.  I LOVE when I have a REALLY good meal---no matter who cooks it!  Come on, tell me how YOU cook your bird?

Brew Love meets Food Love...

I'm always looking for ways to support local businesses and recently had 'the dirty job' of taste testing at one of our fast-rising breweries--Cold Fire Brewing Company.  I needed some beer to pair with some dishes I was creating and I'd recently met their marketing guy at an event I was catering.  I took him up on his invite and checked out their tasting room.

Nice space and GREAT beer!! I expected the usual 4-6 taster; 12 tasters later, I'd narrowed down the 2 that I wanted to use.  Met one of the head brew masters whose passion rivaled mine on food.  I wanted to really honor some elk meat a friend had given me so I ended up making an Elk Ragu using their La Leche Milk Stout which is dark as one would expect from a stout. But it was also creamy and smooth with a hint of smokiness.  LOVED IT!!  I also chose their St. James IRA which is crisp with slight citrus overtones for a salmon dish i created.  Both turned out FANTASTIC  and I will share the Elk recipe with you here.  The salmon one will have to wait.

1.5# Elk Stew Meat, cubed

1/4 c. diced carrot; 1/2 small onion diced; 2 cloves of garlic (puree all to a paste)

1 tsp of ALMA FOODS 'Portuguese Smoked Paprika' Dry Rub seasoning: 1 Tsp/each dried thyme and rosemary

1 TBSP butter; 2 slices bacon diced

10 oz Milk Stout; 6oz low sodium Beef Broth

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Saute bacon in butter in Dutch oven; remove bacon and set aside. Add elk meat to bacon grease, adding more butter or oil of your choice, if necessary. Remove meat from grease and set aside.  To the pot, add vegetable paste and saute till softened.

Add elk meat, bacon, beer and broth to pot; bring to a boil, cover and place in oven on 325  degrees for about 3-4 hours till meat is tender.  Serve over pasta, rice, or grain of choice. Serves 2-4 people.

ELK RAGU made w Cold Fire Brewing Company's "La Leche Milk Stout"

Bloody Marys

I don't have a pic but I did do a YouTube about using our Portuguese Smoked Pepper rub to rim your glasses for your favorite Bloody Mary.  This time of the year, after the families have settled down, it's a nice way to start a breakfast or brunch..yummm....Google 'ALMA FOODS' YouTubes and you'll see how fun it is to whip up a batch!  Just another way to spread the 'soul satisfying' flavors of PDS.

COLLARD GREEN WONTONS

I know this is a 'recipe' page and I love sharing them but most of the time, I work from experience and not an actual recipe so if you're a cook who needs accurate measurements, I apologize.  This recipe comes from my love of all things greens....and crispy....and spicy...and bite-size.

Take @1# collards, strip the big vein, chop into smaller pieces, saute in a pan with water till done. Remove from heat, add cheeses of choice, cayenne pepper/paprika/salt & pepper and mix well. Put 1 tsp of cooled mixture in middle of wonton wrapper, moisten edges w water and fold into a triangle and then bring two moistened points together to make a 'crown'.  Bake at 350 degrees on oiled sheet (or you can fry them if you like)...serve w some kind of dipping sauce of your liking.  I served these with a Sriracha Aoili--make your own aoili or use a really good mayo; add some finely chopped garlic and sriracha to taste.  Fabulous mix of flavors, textures and fusion eating!