Good Ol' Fashion Sloppy Joes

  It's just you and the kids, sitting at home. The perfect kind of night to pick out a movie, eat dinner, and chill with your babies. What can you cook that fun to cook, but also fun to eat? Good ol' Sloppy Joes! It's a good recipe to get kids involved. It's easy, but it also illustrates that veggies can easily translate into deliciousness. It's small amount of prep is simple enough that it becomes a good template to teach knife work with minds that are more than willing to soak up anything. The key is extreme supervision, when teaching a child to use a knife. They don't need a chef knife, just a small utility knife, and pa airing knife will do.

           Our ingredients:

- 1 pound of ground beef or lamb
- 1 big can tomato paste
- 1 small can of tomato paste
- 1/2 red onion diced
- 4 carrots diced
- 5 celery stocks diced
- 1 diced poblano pepper
- 3 table spoons of minced garlic
- salt
- pepper
- garlic powder
- cayenne powder
- 1 1/2 cups white wine
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 stick of butter


     Place olive oil into a 10 inch skillet and on med-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the diced veggies, as well as half the white wine. Fold in the 1/4 stick of butter, add salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne powder, and minced garlic. Allow to reduce and add remaining wine.

      In a separate skillet cook ground meat until done, drain and set aside.
 
     Add tomato paste to the veggies and transfer into a sauce pan. Add about two cups of water and simmer for about 20 minutes.
 
     Stir ground meat into sauce, and simmer for another 12 minutes, or until sauce is nice and thick.

Toast a bun, Texas toast, or Italian bread with a little butter and garlic. Place the sauce between the bread and enjoy!!

Fried Green Tomato Small Plate

  To me the idea of a small plate only works with several intertwining ideas that pull together in a unique way. Without that dimension it just isn't interesting. Its the way they are put together that make them worth the time to try. So, today we're doing a small plate based around the southern classic, the fried green tomato. It features a southwest bacon ranch aioli; a fried salad which contains white and green asparagus, poblano peppers, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli sprouts; as well as mini hamburger steaks. The southwest bacon ranch aioli is what ties it all together, it acts as a sauce for the green tomatoes, and a dressing for the salad.

 

       All of the items are going to use the same breading, I recommend making that first.

 

    Ingredients for the breading:

• 4 cups Unbleached organic all purpose flour
• 1 cup panko
• Garlic powder
• Cayenne
• Salt
• Pepper
• Paprika                                                                                                                                                       

      Mix all ingredients together, and season to taste.

 

   Ingredients for the aioli:

• 11/2 cups mayo (Dukes if available)
• 1 pound bacon
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 pack of dry ranch mix
• 1 raw garlic clove
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cayenne
• Paprika
• Chipotle

       Pan fry bacon well, place bacon into a blender and blend well. Do not discard the bacon grease or pan, as they will come back into play. Add mayo and other ingredients in the blender with the bacon, and blend until smooth.

 

   Ingredients for the fried salad:

• 1 bunch of white asparagus cleaned and quartered
• 1 bunch of green asparagus cleaned and quartered
• 1 small bag of brussel sprouts cleaned and quartered
• 2 poblano peppers cleaned and julienne cut
• 2 cups broccoli sprouts
• 1 cup diced tomato

     Heat the pan we set aside with the bacon grease, a quarter stick of butter and about 1/2 cup of vegetable shortening. While the pan it heating toss the white/green asparagus, brussel sprouts, poblano peppers into the seasoned flower. Make sure to cover evenly and sift well. Add to the hot pan and sauté stirring frequently. As the breading starts to get a nice golden brown, add the broccoli sprouts and allow to wilt. Remove the cooked salad from the pan and place on a paper towel lined sheet pan to remove excess grease.

 

     Take 3 medium sized green tomatoes,  and cut super-duper paper thin. Heat about 3 cups of vegetable shortening in a 10" skillet. Toss the green tomatoes in the seasoned flour and place tomatoes in the hot grease and cook until crispy. Remove from grease and allow to rest on a paper towel lined sheet pan the allow excess grease to be absorbed.

 

      Ingredients for the hamburger steaks:

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• Blackening seasoning
• Cayenne powder

       Patty the ground beef into silver dollars sized medallions. On one side season the medallions with the cayenne powder, and blackening on the other. Place in seasoned flour and cover evenly. Heat the same pan used to cook the green tomatoes and fry the hamburger steak medallions until they are a nice golden brown. Remove from the grease and......... you guessed it let the excess grease be drained on our friend the sheet pan.

 

         Place a nice pinch of salad on a place in one corner adding a nice little dollop of our southwest bacon ranch aioli. Take three or four green tomatoes, and lay t hem slightly stacked. Drizzle the aioli over the tomatoes. Use diced tomatoes and sprinkle over the top of salad and green tomatoes, do the same with diced green onions. Add two of the hamburger steak medallions and lightly salt. Then serve.

A Few Ideas For the Next BBQ You Have

  Well if you haven't figured it out by now, I lack any ability to do anything like I'm supposed to do it. Which is my favorite part of being an artist, I encourage all of you to do the same to my recipes, what good is something if it can't be made better. So for this week I bring you a few Boggy Swag BBQ originals.

 



  The first on our list, smoked brisket sliders. These bad little beasts are a great way to feed the masses. I like to use a home made Carolina style BBQ sauce. For me personally, there is no reason not to take the time to make BBQ sauce homemade. When smoking any meat you never want to be in a hurry, which gives more than enough time to create the sauce to fit you. Using fresh Italian bread, shredded cheddar cheese, and crisp leaf lettuce this snackish style app is sure to please.

  

 

 

    This second item is kind of out there, chili stuffed hotdog. After cooking chili way, way, way down, I ground up a chuck steak (raw) and added a bit of it to the chili. Stuff the casings, tie off and throw them on the smoker. On a potato hot dog bun, add your favorite toppings and indulge in the goodness. I myself used leaf lettuce, red onions, mustard, and mayo. Don't knock it till you try it, this is a bad mama jama.

 

 

 

    What kind of BBQ menu doesn't have baked beans? This is a surefire way to kick up those store bought baked beans. Cut about 3/4 of a pound of a Boston butt, rub with seasoned salt, and throw it in the smoker for a couple of hours. Pull the pork out dice it up real good, mix the pork along with some homemade Carolina style BBQ, and cook until hot. Yum, yum! Your guest will thank for it, and so will your palate.

 

 

 

 

 

   Although this isn't a long list I did save the best for last, a beef and lamb burger. Made with beef tenderloin, and lamb tenderloin ground together. With this selection of meat its important to note that it doesn't require a lot of seasoning to compliment these cuts, they are so savory on their own. Put on the fire side of the smoker, the patties take on that beautiful white oak smoke. As they reach a perfect medium, dare to add sliced muenster cheese. As the cheese melts, cut Italian bread into slices baste one side with melted butter, and sprinkle with garlic salt. Place in the oven until golden brown, address your condiments as you must. As you take in the praise from this juicy dinner item, don't forget to enlighten your guest of the dessert. An apple pie moonshine milkshake.

 

   You don't get a picture of this one, but I promise that it will kick the Q back up. Place a couple of scoops of ice cream into a blender and add milk and apple pie moonshine slowly. I would love to tell you how much of each, but I will have to know how much alcohol is good for you. Some like a lot, some don't. With more liquor use less milk. Pour into a frosted glass, and top with a little square of an apple pie. step back and enjoy.

 

 

     If you want more detailed recipe instructions for anything in this blog feel free to contact me at bob.emcclintock@gmail.com. it would be my pleasure to help.





Chicken and Dumplin Pot-Pie

   Nothing like the smell of a chicken pot-pie in the spring time. Who doesn't love the way the aroma, and flavor marry with a poetic symbiosis. Not much different is the pot-pies cousin, chicken and dumplings. Now for those of you that are scared of carbs this is in no way for you. I introduce Chicken and Dumplin Pot-Pie.

 

 

     For this dish there are two easy steps; first the chicken and dumplings have to be made, and second the pot-pie.

 

 

 

   Ingredients for the:

 

- 1 bag of Mrs. B's frozen biscuits

- 2 boneless chicken breast

- 3 tsp celery seed

- salt

- pepper

- 2 tsp

- refrigerated pie crust

- 1/4 pound melted butter

-1/2 cup diced celery

-1/2 cup diced carrots

-1/4 diced red onion

-1/4 cup white wine

- 1/4 cup olive oil

 

 

 

  Take eight of the frozen biscuits and set aside to thaw. Place the two chicken breast in a small stock pot of boiling water, and add seasoning. When the chicken is cooked through, pull the breast out hand shred.

  Break or cut biscuits into pieces about 1/5 the mass of the biscuit, and add to water with shredded chicken. Make sure and stir frequently, the dumplings will burn to the bottom very easily. Cook until dumplings are cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.



 

  Now's the fun part, the pot-pie. Knowing that everything is better home-made, you can spend the time to home-make you pie pastry, or you can use the ones that are in the refrigerated section of your local grocer. I'm here to tell you I realize the confusion, but I assure you its just as good and twice as easy to buy it made.

 

 

    Heat olive oil in a medium skillet, add onions, carrots, and celery. Sauté for a few moments and add white wine. When onions start to get translucent, stir the veggies into the chicken and dumplings.

 

 

 

    Spray pie pan, or 10 inch cast iron skillet with pan release. Place bottom crust in pan and form to the side of the pan. Fill with chicken and dumplings, and place remaining pastry on the top. Make sure the top pastry covers the entire pie. Cut slices in the top of pie to allow the pie to vent while cooking. Cook in a 350 degree preheated oven for about 40 minutes, or until crust is a golden brown. Baste pot-pie with melted butter about twenty-five minutes into cooking.

 

    After pulling the pie out of the oven let stand for about 15 min. Cut, and enjoy.