Tasty Tuesday ~~ New Year's Day Menu

 

I'm late posting my New Year's recipes, but better late than never, right? These dishes use some traditional items with a Cajun-Country-Italian spin on them -- typical Gumbo Writer style. :) The key to enjoying your New Year's food is s-l-o-w cooking, in my opinion. You put your food on to cook the day before, or early morning of, and let it do its thing while you enjoy your football games or other plans. I love that you're working out of one pan of sauteed veggies for the whole menu! :)

@@@

BBQ Pork Tenderloin (aka Pulled Pork)


4 8-pound pork tenderloins
Seasoning (Tony's or Cajun spice, garlic powder, sea salt & pepper

Put tenderloins in large aluminum pan and cover tightly with foil. Cook at 350 for about 12 hours. (Works great overnight!)

Drain off about 2/3 of the juice/drippings. Add BBQ sauce (recipe below) after pulling apart meat. It should be very tender and fall apart.) Stir well. Re-cover with foil and put back in oven for 2-3 hours on low. This allows meat to absorb the sauce.

Notes: This is great as a main dish and also for sandwiches. I served this recipe at the men's shelter on New Year's Eve and it was a big hit. THIS RECIPE SERVES 50, SO ADJUST DOWN RECIPE AS NEEDED.

Angie's BBQ Sauce

6 18-oz Kraft BBQ Sauce (2 each - Regular, Hickory, and Honey flavor)

2/3 cup mustard

seasoning (garlic, salt & pepper, Tony's/Cajun seasoning)

1 large store brand grape jelly

4 T. Worcestershire
1 cup leftover coffee (Community Coffee Dark Roast)

Heat ingredients in a medium pan on low, stirring until mixed well. Simmer for 2 hours with lid off to thicken. Yummmmm! (As in pork tenderloin recipe, adjust down quantity to fit your needs.)

White Beans & Ham

1 pkg Camellia Great White Northern Beans ("New Orleans' finest...since 1923.")
Large leftover ham bone (Save your Christmas honey ham bone for this!)
2 medium white onions chopped medium fine
1 cup pan drippings (If you have to ask, just use 2 boullion cubes & water. LOL)
1 cup leftover coffee (I use Community Coffee Dark Roast)

Seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic powder, Diesel's Seasoning --NOTE: Diesel is blogger Karen Evans' son and a swell soldier man!)
1/2 tsp. Kitchen Bouquet
A few strips of cooked bacon or breakfast sausage for extra flavoring
2 garlic pods, minced
1 c. juice from pork tenderloin, or bought broth

Soak beans overnight, drain off water, rince, cover with water again. Saute onions in drippings (or olive oil). Add garlic to saute pan the last few minutes.


Put all ingredients into crock pot, cover, and cook on high for 4 hours. Then mash about a cup of the beans against side of crock to thicken. Simmer uncovered for about an hour. Taste to check seasoning, and add more if needed. Serve and enjoy. (Even better the second or third time as leftovers.)

Black Eye Peas

2 cans Trappey's black eye peas "flavored with slab bacon"
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning
2 T. pan drippings/sauteed onion & garlic
2 cooked breakfast sausage pattis, crumbled (Or substitute bacon)

Simmer peas in medium pot, lid on for 2 hours. Adjust seasoning if needed. Serves 4.

"Fried" Cabbage

1 head green cabbage

Seasoning to taste

3 or 4 slices crisp bacon and/or breakfast sausage

sauteed onion & garlic

1/3 cup beef broth

1/3 cup leftover Community Coffee 

In same pan you sauteed onion and garlic in, retain 1/2 cup veggies and drippings. Rough chop cleaned cabbage into pan. Cover and cook on medium low for about 30 minutes. Add in broth, cover and simmer on low for 1 hour. Cabbage will shrink down a LOT. Drain off 2/3 of juices. Enjoy!

Of Olde Tomes and Cajuns

First, the cool contest concerning the antique book~~

Author lady, friend, mom o' eight, fairy princess Jenni James is hosting a blog contest over at her place. Now, y'all know how I love books, and olde ones in particular, right?

So you're gonna help me win it, oui? All ya have to do is pop over to Jenni's loverly blog HERE and leave a comment telling her Angie sent ya.

Best part? By commenting, you're entered in the contest too! Sooo...if receiving an antique tome in the post from dear Jenni from Jolly Ol' England appeals to you, then "git ta gittin'!"

BTW, the SpellChecking function detests me! LOL

Now, about the Cajun-ness of it all [Insert Niecy Nash's voice here. And if you don't know who she is, you should!], here are just a few of the wonderments produced by my home state:

TOP 10+ LOUISIANA "PRODUCTS"

ACCORDING TO GUMBO WRITER

(and in no particular order):

10. Our Spiciness! Tabasco & Tony Chachere's

9. New Orleans & Mardi Gras

8. King Cake

7. A Cultural Melting Pot

6. Community Coffee & Abita Beer

5. Crawfish

4. The Music (Jazz, Zydeco, Blues, Country, etc.)

3. Aaron Neville [*Yummeh!* Bring a drool bib and go take a listen. And, yeah, that's me several years ago when Mr. Neville was here doing a fundraising event for a boys' home.]

2. Turducken

1. Boudreaux's Butt Paste

*Dass riiight -- it's ALL about food/drink, friends and music here...well, and maybe a bahonkus or two!*

Sooo, what's YOUR state famous for (besides you)?

Here's to You!

Is there anything better than sitting across a small table from a friend while enjoying a delicious cup of your favorite coffee? (Okay, if you prefer chocolate or tea, just pretend that's what's in the cup.)

Being without my electric coffee pot before, during and six days after Hurricane Gustav, I was still able to enjoy my coffee addiction, thanks to my trusty old aluminum drip pot. It's my #1 hurricane preparation supply item.

I'm not sure if my metabolism isn't working at all, if I'm just sluggish from years of sleep deprivation, have the peculiar propensity shared by many writers, or if I have a borderline case of Attention Deficit Disorder. In any case, whatever ails me, the ground bean nectar seems to do the trick. Without a watch or clock in sight, I can tell you when it's within 5 minutes of 3:00 in the afternoon. Time for a nap or afternoon java.

Tell me about your caffeine preference and how much of it you consume per day. What's the best cup you ever had? And if you're wondering what brand I prefer, I'm a lover of our own homegrown brand -- Community Coffee and the CC's Coffeehouses dotting our city; especially their Cafe' Special. You can shop on line now too, which displaced Cajuns just love! http://www.communitycoffee.com/ccc/Catalog_CS.aspx?gclid=CLah1Mn21JUCFQZlswodtzpMYg

Hmmm, maybe I'll host a contest of some sort soon (count the coffee beans in the jar?) and send the winner a pound of that delectable blend.