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This is super simple and makes an excellent snack or dinner component when you want to have something already prepared and sitting in the refrigerator. The recipe is based upon one found in The Frugal Gourmet On Our Immigrant Ancestors (William Morrow 1990) by Jeff Smith. Smith says it is a Welsh dish. I’ve made this many times and I like the idea of eating it by hand on-the-go. Today I really didn’t pay much attention to measurements, just threw the ingredients in. I forgot to cover the dish for the first part of baking and it did come out a bit dry in the end. My ground pork was quite lean and I did not have but a tablespoon of accumulated fat to pour off.
Mix together 1-1/2 pounds lean ground pork, 1 chopped onion, 2 eggs, ¼ tsp. cayenne, ¼ tsp. sage, 2 Tbsp. Worchestershire sauce, Salt and pepper.
Place mixture into a greased 8” pie pan. Cover and bake at 375 degrees F for thirty minutes.
Remove from oven and drain off accumulated fat.
Cut slits in pie crust and place atop pork mixture, pinching along the top to seal.
Bake for 40-45 minutes until crust is brown and flaky. Let cool completely before serving.
Cold Pork Pie Recipe
1-1/2 pounds lean ground pork
chopped onion
2 eggs, beaten
¼ tsp. cayenne
¼ tsp. sage
2 Tbsp. Worchestershire sauce
Salt and pepper
1 pie crust
Mix everything, except crust, together and place into a greased 8” pie pan. Bake, covered, in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and drain off accumulated fat. Cover with crust and return to oven for 45 minutes or until the crust is brown and flaky. Allow to cool completely before serving.
My husband and I were traveling by car through Germany’s black forest back in the late 1980s when we stopped to eat dinner at a restaurant. Neither of us speak German, although I did learn two phrases before leaving that stood us in good stead for the entire trip. “Two beers, please!” and “Do you have a double room available, with a shower?” Anyway, being in a small town where English was not spoken often and in our own desire to be adventurous, we pointed at two menu items and ordered. The place was packed with people, it had a very homey atmosphere with a lot of noise. The waitress brought my food and then had to return with my husband’s because it was a platter of pork ribs piled about a foot high. I kid you not. A man entering the restaurant at that moment said a few words to my husband in a very loud voice and then patted him on the back. We have no idea what he said, but the meaning was clear. Man up! My husband did eat the whole thing. It was that good.
This may well be my favorite dish. I think it’s the bread crumbs sprinkled on the ribs that adds that perfect texture. The recipe comes from Sunset Magazine’s November 1990 issue. I often make my own sauerkraut and the flavors are sublime. If you don’t have homemade sauerkraut, then the next best is the kind found in plastic bags in the deli section of the grocery. Next best is the chilled kind found in the cooler. As a last resort go ahead and use the canned found on the shelf. Sauerkraut is cabbage cured with salt. That’s it.
I usually serve this dish with spaetzle and a dark pumpernickel bread. Since there are only two of us, I didn’t include any sides. I’ll demonstrate spaetzle in another post one day.
Home made sauerkraut. Yummy. The amount called for in the recipe does not have to be exact, anything close will do. Pour 1 large can (27 oz) sauerkraut, drained, into a colander and rinse with cool running water; let drain.
In a roasting pan about 10×14”, mix together:
4 cups shredded red cabbage
1Tbsp. hot or sweet Hungarian paprika, or regular (domestic) paprika
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 can (14-½ oz.) stewed tomatoes
sauerkraut
Mix together and spread in an even layer.
Lay 3 pounds baby back pork ribs on sauerkraut mixture, curved side up;
sprinkle meat evenly with pepper and about 2 teaspoons paprika. Tightly cover pan with foil. Bake in 375 degree oven for 1½ hours.
Mix together 2 teaspoons paprika and bread crumbs.
Remove foil from ribs.
Turn the ribs over.
Sprinkle with bread crumbs/paprika.
Bake, uncovered, until meat is very tender when pierced and crumbs are brown, about 20 minutes longer.
Transfer baby back ribs to a platter and spoon sauerkraut mixture into a bowl. Cut ribs apart and serve with sauerkraut. Makes 4 servings.
Baby Back Ribs with Sauerkraut
1 large can (27 oz) sauerkraut, drained
4 cups shredded red cabbage
About 3 Tbsp. hot or sweet Hungarian paprika, or regular (domestic) paprika
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 can (14-½ oz.) stewed tomatoes
3# pork baby back ribs
½ tsp. pepper
1/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs
Pour sauerkraut into a colander and rinse with cool running water; let drain. In a roasting pan about 10×14”, mix together sauerkraut, cabbage, 1 Tbsp. paprika, garlic, and tomatoes; spread in an even layer. Lay ribs on sauerkraut mixture, curved side up; sprinkle meat evenly with pepper and about 2 teaspoons paprika. Tightly cover pan with foil. Bake in 375 degree oven for 1½ hours.
Mix together 2 teaspoons paprika and bread crumbs. Remove foil, turn ribs over, and sprinkle with paprika mixture.
Bake, uncovered, until meat is very tender when pierced and crumbs are brown, about 20 minutes longer.
Transfer baby back ribs to a platter and spoon sauerkraut mixture into a bowl. Cut ribs apart and serve with sauerkraut. Makes 4 servings.
Cajun Pot Roast
This is another recipe from Justin Wilson. It’s prepared in a Reynolds oven bag. You can buy any size chuck roast that you like. My husband and I are still empty-nesting so the pictures illustrate a very small 2-lb roast, with a couple potatoes, handful of carrots and mushrooms. For such a small dinner you may use a large oven bag, but if your roast and all the fixins added up to 8 or more pounds, then you’d want to use a turkey-size bag. Justin Wilson’s recipes often call for wine. I used red wine (Beaujolais) today because it was what I had on hand. I’ve made this recipe for many years and it’s the first time I used red wine instead of white. Turned out just fine, very tasty.
According to the oven bag directions, add 2 Tbsp. flour to the bag and shake it around.
Cut slits in each side of the roast
and stuff the slits with pieces of green onion and sliced garlic.
Lightly sprinkle the roast with cayenne (red pepper).
Place roast into the bag.
Inside the bag, beside and atop the roast, add potatoes, carrots, and whole mushrooms (enough for the number of people you will serve).
Stir 2 Tbsp. Worchestershire sauce into 1 cup white wine and pour it into the bag. Seal the bag with the enclosed tie. Cut about a dozen small slits in the top of the bag to let off steam.
Bake at 350 degrees for 3 hours.
Remove the roast
and vegetables from the bag to a platter.
Make gravy by pouring the juice out of the bag into a saucepan. Add beef broth until the amount seems enough and salt to taste. Stir cornstarch into cold broth or water and stir until dissolved. Bring gravy juices to a boil in the saucepan and then stir in the cornstarch-broth mixture until gravy is thickened.
I like to mash my serving of potato and cover with gravy. Horseradish sauce is a great condiment for the pot roast . . . or more gravy. It’s all good!
What you’ll need for Cajun Pot Roast
Reynolds oven bag, either large or turkey size
2 Tbsp. flour
Beef chuck roast
2 green onions (scallions)
1 garlic clove, sliced
Cayenne (red) pepper
Pototoes
Carrots
Whole mushrooms
1 cup white wine (Sauterne)
2 Tbsp. Worchestershire sauce
Beef broth (for gravy)
Cornstarch mixed with a little beef broth or water (to thicken gravy)
Pork Chops with Sweet Potatoes
It’s getting to be sweet potato season, I guess. Here is another recipe that calls for sweet potatoes in a savory, not sweet, dish.
Heat 2 Tbsp. butter in a deep skillet. Brown 6 pork chops on both sides (this time I used four boneless pork chops, but loin or rib chops are fine and the amounts are easily adjusted). Season with salt and pepper.
Place about a teaspoon of ketchup on each chop. Cover and cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes.
Peel and halve 6 medium sweet potatoes (I used 3 fairly large ones and I cut them into large chunks). Remove chops from skillet; add ¾ cup water. Place potatoes in skillet. Turn to coat with liquid. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Pour about ½ cup ketchup over potatoes.
Top potatoes with chops.
Cover and cook over low heat for about 45 minutes or until potatoes are soft and chops are tender.
To serve, spoon sauce over potatoes and chops. Yield 6 servings.
Pork Chops with Sweet Potatoes Recipe
2 Tbsp. butter
6 pork chops
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup ketchup
6 medium sweet potatoes
¾ cup water
Heat 2 Tbsp. butter in a deep skillet. Brown 6 pork chops on both sides. Season with salt and pepper. Place about a teaspoon of ketchup on each chop. Cover and cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes. Peel and halve 6 medium sweet potatoes. Remove chops from skillet; add ¾ cup water. Place potatoes in skillet. Turn to coat with liquid. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour about ½ cup ketchup over potatoes. Top potatoes with chops. Cover and cook over low heat for about 45 minutes or until potatoes are soft and chops are tender. To serve, spoon sauce over potatoes and chops. Yield 6 servings.
Eggplant Parmesan
I know, I know, it’s another Parmesan recipe. And mine are all pretty much the same. I’m including this one because of the eggplant. It’s an easy dish. There is no salting and draining. You can reduce the ingredient amounts and use a smaller baking dish in order to serve fewer people. It’s simple to make adjustments.
Beat three eggs with 3-4 Tbsp. of water in a flat-bottomed pan, like the pie plate pictured here.
Scoop flour (about a cup) into a flat-bottomed pan like the pie plate pictured here.
Slice two medium eggplants lengthwise into apx. 1/4″ slices. (I used one large eggplant.)
Coat a griddle or large skillet with olive oil and heat on medium high.
Dredge a slice of eggplant through the flour, coating each side of eggplant.
Immerse eggplant slice in egg mixture.
Make sure each side of eggplant is covered with egg mixture.
Move the eggplant slice to the hot griddle.
Turn over once browned. Continue browning eggplant slices, adding olive oil as needed.
Once browned and softened, remove the eggplant slices to a paper-towel-lined plate. Stack the slices in layers on paper towels (to absorb extra oil). Let cool.
I use the whole eggplant, even with the peel on it. It doesn’t matter. As you can see, my slices are not uniform either. It really doesn’t matter.
In the meantime, while the eggplant slices are cooking, fry about a pound of Italian sausage. If you’re serving vegetarians you may skip this step.
Once the sausage is browned, add a jar of pasta sauce (about 24 ounces). I rinse the jar with red wine. Simmer until it is very thick.
Slice about a pound of mozzarella cheese. I like to use fresh mozzarella and this was only 12 ounces, but it was quite enough. I’ve also used shredded Mozzarella, it all works.
In a 9 x 13″ greased baking dish, layer 1/2 of the eggplant slices to cover the bottom of the dish. Like I said earlier, if you want to use a smaller eggplant and less of the other ingredients you could use a 9 x 9″ pan or smaller. This is really not fussy.
Layer 1/2 of the pasta sauce and 1/2 of the Mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with a bit of grated or shredded Parmesan cheese.
Layer the remaining eggplant slices on top.
Finish up with the remaining sauce and Mozzarella. Sprinkle the top with about 1/2 cup of grated or shredded Parmesan.
Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 45 minutes.
Serves about 6 people.
I served this with shrimp salad and garlic bread. Delicious!
Chicken a la King
There are many ways to make Chicken a la King. This way is my favorite. It is based upon the recipe in Betty Crocker’s Cookbook (Golden Press 1972). In a pinch, you could use leftover chicken or turkey and canned broth. You could also use canned mushrooms. My way has better flavor. Served over popovers makes it fun. I will post the popover recipe as well.
Add water, at least two cups, to cover chicken in medium pan and simmer until chicken is cooked.
In the meantime, melt butter and sauté mushrooms in batches until nicely browned. Set aside mushrooms.
Saute bell pepper in the butter (don’t use more than 1/2 cup butter total while cooking this dish).
Add mushrooms to bell pepper and sprinkle with 1/2 cup flour, salt, pepper. Stir, over low heat, until flour is absorbed by melted butter and coats vegetables. Remove from heat. Remove chicken from water and save the water which is now chicken broth.
Into the mushroom, bell pepper, flour mixture, stir in 2 cups cream and 2 cups reserved broth. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir one minute. Shred or dice chicken. Stir chicken and 4-oz. pimientos into cream sauce. Heat through.
Serve hot over rice, toast cups, or popovers. Serves 4-6 people.
Chicken a la King Ingredient List
2 chicken breasts or other chicken parts
½ cup butter
1/3 lb. sliced mushrooms
½ cup diced bell pepper
½ cup flour
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
2 cups cream
1 4-oz. jar pimientos
Pork Steaks Creole
I opened a package of pork loin rib chops the other day only to find one pork chop and the rest pork steaks. A quick change of plans was in order, but fortunately I had a really great pork steak recipe and all the ingredients. This recipe is based upon one found in The Best of Food & Wine (Doubleday, 1984) and is a dinner staple in my repertoire.
In a large deep skillet or kettle, heat 1-1/2 Tbsp. oil and add 4-6 pork steaks (in batches if necessary), frying till browned on both sides. Remove from skillet and discard fat.
Heat another 1-1/2 Tbsp. oil in the skillet and add 2 medium onions, sliced. Heat, stirring occasionally, for 3-5 minutes until lightly browned.
Add 1 bell pepper, sliced, and 2 cloves garlic, minced. Saute for about a minute.
Add 1/2 cup white wine and bring to a boil, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Add 1 16-oz. can tomatoes with their juice, 3 Tbsp. lemon juice, 1-1/2 Tbsp. Worchestershire sauce, 1/8 tsp. Tabasco, 1 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper, 1 bay leaf.
Return pork steaks to the pan and add enough water to just barely cover. Stir around so everything is mixed well and the pork chops are mostly covered.
Partially cover the pan and let simmer for about an hour, turning the pork steaks occasionally, until they are tender. If the sauce is too watery, uncover and increase the heat to high. Let boil to reduce the liquid.
Serve over rice.
Pork Steak Creole Ingredient List
3 Tbsp. oil
4-6 pork steaks
2 medium onions, sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup white wine
1 16-oz. can tomatoes
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1-1/2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp. hot pepper sauce (Tabasco)
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 bay leaf
This recipe is based on one from Justin Wilson, a Cajun cook who used to appear on TV. It’s simple and very rich. This is a dish I don’t serve to guests. Most people don’t really know gizzards and it seems like a dirty trick to invite someone to dinner and then serve them food they may not want to venture. The idea of having guests is to serve, not force your own ideas of great food. Imagine my surprise tonight to wander upstairs to the kitchen for a second helping and find my daughter and her new friend slurping down the gizzard gumbo. I didn’t even know anyone was here. I may have to rethink my position on the whole gizzards and guests idea. 12/30/2021 . . . I updated the presentation of this recipe on the blog. I first published it in June 2012! Same great recipe by the late Justin Wilson. Many thanks to those of you who have visited my blog over the years.
- Ingredients
- 10 Tbsp. butter
- 10 Tbsp. flour
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 3 cups cold water, divided
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 1 lb. chicken gizzards, chopped
- 1 lb. Louisiana hot sausage links (Andouille), sliced
- 1 tsp. hot sauce (like Tabasco)
- 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. salt
- File powder to taste, optional
- Serve over rice
To make white rice: stir 1 cup rice into 2 cups boiling liquid and let simmer, covered, on low heat for exactly 25 minutes–don’t peek, don’t stir, just let it simmer with the cover on for exactly 25 minutes. That’s it. Yield: 3 cups cooked white rice.
Chicken Enchiladas
I really like this dish. The original recipe called for frying each tortilla in oil, which I have done many times. As far as flavor goes, I don’t see much advantage to doing it that way. This way works just fine and is much faster and less messy. It’s probably better for us, too. I don’t see why you couldn’t use a low-fat cream cheese for the filling and a fat-free Half n Half instead of cream if you wanted to.
Stir fry 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast (or use leftover chicken meat) with 1 cup chopped onion. Be sure that chicken is thoroughly cooked. Add one 7-oz. can diced green chiles and 8 ozs (1 package) of cream cheese. Heat and stir until cheese is melted.
Spread filling down center of a flour tortilla and roll up.
Place rolled tortillas into a greased 13 x 9″ baking dish. I’ve tried using a spray-on oil, and it works, but is so slippery that it’s hard to deal with.
Continue filling and rolling tortillas until you’re out of filling, which makes 10-11 enchiladas.
Sprinkle with shredded cheese: Monterrey Jack, Colby, cheddar, or a combination of them.
Pour cream over all, about 2/3 cup or more.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.
Serve with favorite salsa.
Ingredient List
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 cup chopped onion
1 7-oz. can chopped green chiles
8 oz. (1 pkg) cream cheese
10-11 flour tortillas
1-1/2 cups shredded cheese: Monterrey Jack, Colby, cheddar, or combination
2/3 cup cream
Beer-Batter Halibut
Beer Batter
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. soda
1 cup beer
1 egg
Stir dry ingredients until mixed, then whisk in egg and beer. Whisk until smooth. Let stand while you prepare the fish. I think the batter will cover about 2 lbs of halibut. Start with one batch and either make more or throw away the leftover.
Cut halibut into 1″ chunks, approximately. Dredge halibut through flour, you’ll probably need about a cup of flour for this.
Deep fry in batches at 375 degrees until golden brown. I deep fry in canola oil using an old Fry Daddy that I bought at a garage sale. Drain on paper and serve with cocktail sauce or tartar sauce or lemon juice or malt vinegar or nothing at all. Delicious!
Heat oil in deep fryer to 375 degrees.
Mix dry ingredients with egg and beer.
Whisk until the batter is smooth.
Take the skin off the halibut. Today I used two pieces this size.
Cut the skinned halibut into 1″ approximate chunks.
Dredge halibut in flour before dipping into batter. I put about a cup of flour into a 1 gallon bag and place 8-10 pieces of halibut into it and shake the bag. Then I remove the pieces and put them into the batter, making sure each piece is coated.
From the batter into the deep fryer. Don’t overcrowd it or the pieces will stick together and/or it won’t cook well.
Lift the pieces out when they turn golden, just a few minutes.
Put the pieces onto paper to get rid of excess oil. I use a paper-lined bowl.
Yeah. Yum.
Foods Passion 