Eggplant Sumac

So when you think about Sumac I'm pretty sure you think of the poisonous stuff. But let me take your taste buds to different place. Sumac is normally used in Middle Eastern dishes; such as,  dips and different meat dishes. I used it for the first time with Andouille Sausage this time. When I first found Sumac it was at my favorite spice store called, The Savory Spice Shop in South End Charlotte, NC. It's a great place.When I first smelled Sumac it made me think of an interested twist on pork BBQ. It's lemony, tart, mildly sweet, red-brownish in color. Something tantalizing!

Ingredients:

Skillet

Olive Oil

Eggplant

Onion

Garlic Clove

Andouille Sausage

Ground Smoked Paprika

Herbed Sea Salt (spice grinder)

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Ground Sumac

Basil

Mueller's Pasta or Rice

Instructions:

Cut Eggplant & Onion & sausage into slices . Smoosh garlic clove, and add 2 TBSP Olive oil to skillet. Add eggplant, onion and sausage to skillet. Put heat on Med-Hi if you want a bit of brown cruchiness on sausage or Med if you just want it to cook. Add 1 tsp ground smoked paprika, grind herbed sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, 1-1.5 tsp sumac and some dashes of basil. I love basil. I normally just shake spices until I feel like it smells right. But I tried to gauge the sumac and ground smoked paprika. Feel free to add more if you feel it needs more but please mix what you have to get hot before you add more to get the tastes right.

Cook pasta or rice and add veggie mixture to which ever one you would like to star in your night. It's super tasty!

Enjoy!

Holiday Goodness- For Thanksgiving

OK PEOPLE please get your taste buds going!!

New holiday, feel good, Goodness:

I wanted to make something tasty but still holiday-ish. So I went with an apple something. It's more like an apple, cranberry, pecan something!! This can either be pie filling or Ice Cream topping!

Start your engines!!

Apples: any sort, I went with Gala, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith. You can either do 2 each or 1 each but determine how much you want to make. Two pie fillings will be 2 of each. I did the 2 each but used the rest as a pie filling. Next time I will do 1 each just for dessert topping.
Lemon juice on apples to keep from browning and for flavour.

Cinnamon
Dash of ground Clove
Apple pie Spice- at the grocery store it's a premixed mix of Allspice, Nutmeg, and Cinnamon, Sometimes it's cheaper than buying them individually. UNLESS you're at Savory Spice in South End and but them separately in small increments- I totally endorse this if this works for you.
Light Brown Sugar
White Sugar
UN-Salted Butter (8 TBSP- one stick)
Dried Cranberry or Craisens
Red Wine- Shiraz
Chopped Pecans (optional if have allergies)

Cut apples into slices and then the slices into half. Put into large skillet.
Turn on heat to get juices/sugars going
Add 2 TBSP Lemon Juice onto apples
In a separate bowl start with 1/3 c. brown sugar, 1/3 c. White sugar, 1 TBSP Cinnamon, 1 TSP Apple Pie Spice. When I spice things I do it by smell and since this recipe is super new as of Today then I eye balled it. So make it smell like the right combination  FOR YOU!


When you have dry items mixed together, pour into apples and mix in Cranberries and Pecans.Keep an eye on skillet while mixing so that sugars don't completely caramelize and stick to bottom. You want everything to cook down and get soft, it should smell like a holiday. Cut butter into slices of 1 TBSP each and add into skillet to melt as you stir. **if you get nervous about apple mixture not having enough liquid and it'll burn, you can use a splash of apple juice to help with that.**
The very last steps are to add a 1/4 cup of Shiraz and that Dash of Clove. Mix and simmer for another minute or so.Make sure that the liquid become sort of saucy before you pour into something else or onto ice cream.

Here's where you get to decide what you want to do with the Apple Goodness. You can either put it in a pie crust and bake as you would a normal apple pie with or without a topper crust  OR you can use it as an ice cream topping ( I totally suggest this option as well)!!

MMMMM Super Scrumptious!!!
**** I got my ground Clove from Savory Spice at SouthEnd, Charlotte, NC

 As a Ice Cream Topping

As a pie ( forgive my slightly burnt apple tips- But I trust you get the idea

Sauteed Veggies with Spicy Mustard

When you have veggies that have sat in the fridge for long enough and you know that they won't be eaten unless they're cooked, here's what you do.

This time I had these in the freezer:
Yellow Squash
Zucchini
Button Mushrooms
Sugar Snap Peas.

Slice squash and zucchini, dice mushrooms, and throw in snap peas. Pan size depends on how much of each you have.

Pour a bit of Olive oil in the bottom of pan, throw in veggies and let them start cooking. When steam starts to waft start seasoning.

Other Ingredients:
A reasonable squeeze of spicy mustard ( any kind you prefer)
Dill seed
Black pepper 
Salt (to your taste)

Garlic Powder
Onion powder

Sprinkle and shake into veggies and continue to mix until veggies are soft!

Spur of the moment deliciousness can be served by it's self, with rice, or with some sort of meat!

Yummy!

Tarragon Shallot Chicken & Veggies

In Charlotte, NC there is a shop that I absolutely LOVE! Savory Spice Shop in South End. You walk in and an amazing smell hits you in the face. It's a combination of the cinnamon sticks by the door, the hot and spicy of the chili powder on the shelf the other side of the stairs, the smell of BBQ mixes sitting on the table right in front. I start down the stairs and one of the sales ladies says 'hello, do you need help?' "No, I'm just browsing" I say with a smile on my face. I linger in the corner near the sugars and cinnamon until I start to peruse the rest of the shop; stopping here and there to taste or smells things. It is an amazing store and a dangerous store for people like me.

So from that outing in the spice shop here is a recipe I made up that night.

Ingredients:
Chicken Breasts or Thighs (# depends on how many people you are feeding)
Tarragon Shallot spice mix (purchased from Savory Spice Shop)
Eggplant
Yellow Squash
Tomato
Zucchini
Shallots
1 pink lady or fiji apple
Garlic powder
Pepper
Salt to taste

Chop veggies to wedges or slices so they can cook easily

Cook chicken  in skillet with about 2 TBSP olive oil first and season with Tarragon Shallot mix along with salt pepper and onion & garlic powder.
When the inside of chicken is cooked, it should have no pink left and be a juicy white color, and spices on the outside are a little brown; remove and place in bowl.
Next place veggies in oil from cooked chicken. If you need to get the vegetables to cook faster add some water to steam them. Cook on medium. Add more of the Tarragon Spice mix along with adding apples and  more onion & garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cook until tender, turn heat to low. Put chicken on top of veggies and cover..
Let everything cook for another 10 mins. Can add a dash of red wine at the end, stir and serve.

You have options of eating it as is or with rice or pasta..

Amount of spices are varied to persons taste but please make sure chicken is cooked.

Enjoy with your favorite beverage, alone with a movie or with friends and laughter!

Anduie & Veggies

Andouille Sausage and Veggies:

I found out thru a good friend of mine that Andouille sausage is AWESOME! It is a cajun sausage that is a bit hotter then my norm but with an accompanying water or Almond Milk it was fabulous! I had purchased my sausage from my local Farmer's Market while gathering some fresh veggies and here is the recipe that evolved.

Pre-heat oven to 350F and pour about a 1 1/2 TBSP of olive oil into the bottom of a covered dish. I used an oblong (oval) dish that had a lid.

Veggies: Quantity varies depending on the amount of people or your preferences
Pickling cucumbers (the small ones OR you can use a regular sized one)
Yellow Squash (Medium sized)
Tomato (Med, & any variety)
Eggplant (Can use the small-med Purple/White ones @ fresh foods or Farmer's Market or the plump dark purple normally at the grocery store)
Zucchini (Large for large slices)
Shallots (1 med sized)

Meat:
Andouille Sausage- I poked them and gave them slits so that juices could mingle with veggies

Spices:
Thyme
Cracked Black Pepper
Garlic Powder (could use minced Garlic)
21 Seasoning Salute-** This particular spice is from Trader Joe's
Smidgen of Salt (for taste)

Process:
Cut veggies into slices, lay cucumber on the bottom around the shape of the dish, then continue the pattern with the squash, eggplant, tomato, zucchini (you want the slices to be large to cover the rest), and dice the shallots.
Then season with spices, DO NOT MIX.
Finally lay the Sausage on top of  zucchini.

Cook:
Cook uncovered for 10 mins
Then cook covered for 45mins or until sausage is soft and hot.

Serve over long grain/wild rice OR brown rice.
Laddle juices over rice for extra flavour.

Viola! Enjoy!

Thoughts of Food

How is it that we crave and seek the company of food? As a Common Model I seek to explore. I enjoy exploring new places, picking new roads to follow to see where I end up and enjoying the many roads to good, delicious, interesting food. Maybe perhaps the food is just simple and soothing, or it stimulates your mind to new heights of pleasure, or perhaps its just good for the soul.

Take a dish I once tried in Greensboro, NC at some place called Tandoori Indian Restaurant. Besides the service being very good and knowledgeable, the food was very tasty. I had a mild curry and chicken that was smooth and robust with flavour. There was another dish that a friend was eating that was more spicy. Besides it nearly blowing my head off with heat; it was tasty with more than spice. I wanted to sit and eat and eat while the conversation flowed around the table and we laughed and shared. I would love to learn  how to cook Indian food.

Now I'm going to switch to dessert. Who loves a good dessert that finishes the visit on a satisfactory note?! For those coffee drinkers let's try a Tiramisu. When was the last time you had a Tiramisu that literally melts onto your tongue and has the creaminess and lightness of clouds.The flavour of coffee and chocolate have had a conversation to entice you to linger on your spoon as the dessert is slowly eaten. The spoon has now become your favorite best friend.
OR
Maybe a lovely slice of simple chocolate cake. I am always on the hunt for the best chocolate cake in whatever city I am in. Not a dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or mixed chocolate cake but one that is comfortably situated in plain site as good. Whether there is chocolate shavings on top or vanilla bean ice cream floating around on the plate, but the entire plate needs to be a complete dish. Have you found one that needs to be described as something served for a queen but easily acquired for the common model; a cake that can keep quiet as the tendrils of satisfaction help you drift into solace.

Now my challenge to you is to find wine that tastes like a fruit basket in your mouth and leaves you with imagination on the mind.
*** suggestion: Santi Apostoli Pinot Grigio

 

Until Next Time,
Eat, Drink, and be Merry!

Steak Marinade

I like to cook. So here's something you could also try.

Steak Marinade:

Steak seasoning juice:
Low sodium or No sodium soy sauce
Onion and garlic POWDER
Ground Ginger
Paprika
and possibly salt but only if want to as it can become salty real quick!!

Other components:
Horseradish Mustard- just some cheap store brand unless you want that Horsyness
Heinz 57
and Honey (is for a bit of sweet but really to help combat the saltiness)

A bit of water

OK. Put all this in a container where you can lay your steaks down flat and won't be completely covered with Marinade. Mix the ingredients with spoon before laying steaks in marinade.

Let steak soak up all the goodness. I kept mine marinading for about 12 hours but that's only because I made it at 10pm and then didn't cook it till about noon the next day. But of course you can soak steaks for no less than 2 hours to 12. Grill, bake, broil, cook however.

ENJOY!!