Split Pea Soup

I have never made split pea soup before today. In fact, I can only remember a handful of times I've ever ate it. I know my mom used to make it when I was little and it was the only way my brother would eat a vegetable other than corn and mashed potatoes.

My husband requested it before Christmas so I started searching different recipes on how to make it. Ended up, it was a great use for the Christmas ham and bone. For this version, I took bits and pieces from different recipes, along with the suggestions from a friend of ours (who swears he is a connoisseur of split pea soup) and got what I think is a really good soup.

Keep in mind, salt and spices are added "to taste." So what I like may be different than what you do. Play around with the seasoning and make it your own. You may come up with something better than I did!

1 Ham bone plus about 2 cups of solid ham meat (uncut)
Water to cover bone
3 tsp dried thyme

2 1/3 cups dried split peas (16oz package)

5 carrots, large chop
1 baking potato, large chop
3 stalks celery, large chop
1/2 yellow onion, large chop
6 whole cloves garlic
2 tsp dried tarragon leaves
2 tsp dried thyme leaves
olive oil

2-3 tsp cayenne pepper, to taste
2 tbs butter
salt, to taste
fresh ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 375°

In a large stockpot with lid, place ham bone and ham and cover with enough water to go about 2" over. Add thyme and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until any meat on bone falls off and uncut ham shreds easily, 2-3 hours. Remove from pot and set to side.

Add peas to pot and simmer until tender, about 1 hour. In the meantime, add all vegetables, herbs and olive oil to a roasting pan or casserole. Roast in oven until carrots and potato are tender, about 1 hour. Remove from oven, let cool and then chop to smaller size. Chop reserved ham meat into bite size pieces. Add vegetables and ham to peas. Cover and simmer until peas have almost dissolved and soup has thickened. Add cayenne, butter, salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Southern Biscuits

I have to admit, when it comes to baking I am not the best. It took me awhile to get making biscuits down, I've tried several times over the years and it just didn't work. My last attempt was this past Christmas Eve. I made a batch following a recipe I had and they came out okay, though not as fluffy as I had hoped. I made another batch the following morning with a little altering to the recipe. They came out better but still not what I expected. I tried again today, with a few more modifications, and now have something I like.

One thing I recommend with this recipe is that you put a few things in the freezer, the butter and a hand held cheese grater. You want to keep your butter and lard frozen when you grate it. The colder the butter and lard is, the more steam you get which helps the biscuits rise. Also, handle your dough with light hands, don't overwork the dough. You'll end up with biscuits with a much better texture.

UPDATE: After rolling and cutting the biscuits, freeze them on a cookie sheet (make sure they aren't touching.) When completely frozen they can be stored in a Ziplock bag and baked at 375° until done.  You can bake as many as needed without having to bake them all!

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon  Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons butter, frozen
2 tablespoons lard, frozen
1 teaspoon bacon drippings
1 cup chilled buttermilk*

Preheat oven to 450°

Mix together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl. Grate the frozen butter and  frozen lard into the flour mixture with a cheese grater; stir lightly to mix. Place in freezer for about 10 minutes. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture, and pour the bacon drippings and buttermilk into the well. Stir lightly and quickly to just bring the dough together before the butter and lard melt. Dough will be sticky. 

Scrape dough out onto a floured surface, and gently pat the dough flat. Dust with flour, fold it in half, pat down, fold again, and repeat until you have folded the dough 4 or 5 times. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a square about 1 inch thick. Cut the biscuit dough into rounds with a biscuit cutter or edge of a drinking glass. (Try not to twist the cutter/glass, it seals the edges and prevents rising. If you look at the picture above, you can see the ones I cut wrong to show you.)  

Place biscuits on a greased cookie sheet, almost touching. Bake on middle rack 15 -20 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

* If you don't have buttermilk, add 2 tablespoons vinegar to a measuring cup and then add cold milk until you have a cup of liquid. Set in the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes. The milk will "sour" and become thick like buttermilk. 

Pineapple Chicken

When he was little, my son Samuel was one of those kids who would only eat lemon chicken with the sauce on the side. As he got older he would tolerate it, but never really liked it. It came as a surprise to me when he asked if I could make him lemon chicken for dinner one evening. I looked through my cabinets and didn't have any lemon curd, not one can of frozen lemon aid in the freezer and only one lemon in the refrigerator. The one time he asked me to make it, I didn't have enough main ingredient for the sauce.

I did however, have a jar of his favorite pineapple jelly. I simply substituted the pineapple jelly for the curd and came up with this recipe. The result, at least to my son, was better than any lemon chicken he had eaten before. Just what a mom loves to hear!

 3 boneless chicken breasts, bite sized chunks

1/4 cup rice vinegar, plus a splash

1/4 cup cooking Sherry

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

salt to taste

oil for frying

1 cup water

1 cup pineapple jelly

20 sprigs fresh chives, chopped or chopped green onion

6-8 maraschino cherries, halved

1 tbs cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

Mix vinegar, Sherry and ginger in a bowl. Add chicken and marinade for 15 minutes. In a separate bowl mix flour and cornstarch. Take each piece of chicken, shake off excess liquid and coat in flour mixture, set aside. Heat about a 1/4 cup of oil in pan. When hot, add chicken and cook on all sides til cooked thoroughly. Remove chicken from pan and set on paper towel lined plate, lightly salt and keep warm. 

Remove excess oil from pan. Add a splash of vinegar will evaporate quickly. Add water and bring to a simmer, scraping cooked bits off the bottom of the pan. Add jelly and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add chives and cherries and simmer until sauce begins to thicken. Add cornstarch to cold water and add to sauce until desired thickness is achieved. Serve chicken over steamed rice with pineapple sauce on top.

Egg & Sausage Casserole with Vanilla Pancakes

In past years my parents would host Christmas Breakfast at their house. It was the four of us, my grandparents, aunts, uncles and their kids. My dad would make eggs, sausage, toast and orange rolls and everyone exchanged gifts. It was always a great time.

Over the last couple of years, everyone has started doing their own things and my parents have been coming to my house for Christmas breakfast. I still make the orange rolls and toast like my dad dis, but have added my own recipes to the mix. The casserole recipe that follows is a variation of one I do on Christmas morning. It doesn't take the overnight soak the original recipe does and has far less ingredients as well.

From this basic recipe, you can come up with your own variations by adding vegetables, different meats, etc. It can be done in a large casserole, prepared the night before and baked the following morning.

2 slices White bread, cubed

6 Eggs

1/4 Cup milk

1/4 Cup white wine

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/2 cup cooked sausage

12 slices pepperoni, chopped

1/4 cup cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375°

Divide cubed bread among four ramekins. 

In a bowl, add eggs, milk, wine and all spices. Mix well, making sure to break all yolks. Add sausage, pepperoni and cheese to egg mixture, mixing well. Dividing evenly, pour mixture over bread and let sit for about five minutes.

Bake on middle rack for 20-25 minutes or until knife inserted in middle comes out clean. Top with hollandaise sauce for extra flavor.

Vanilla Pancakes

 

3/4 cup milk

2 tbs white vinegar

1 cup flour

2 tbs white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbs melted butter

cooking spray

Combine milk and vinegar in a glass bowl and set aside for 5-10 minutes, milk will sour and get lumpy. Don't panic!

In a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients. Add egg, vanilla and butter to milk and mix well. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir until mixed well and lumps are gone.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium/high heat and coat with cooking spray. Ladle 1/4 cup of batter onto skillet and cook until bubbles form on surface. Flip over and cook on other side until brown and cook through.

Carne Guisada Tacos

Carne guisada is on the menu of any Mexican restaurant in San Antonio. Basically, it's stew without the carrots, potatoes, etc.. It's served for breakfast, lunch and dinner. With cheese, without cheese, as a taco, in a burrito or as the main dish with rice and beans.

Everyone has their own recipe on how to make carne guisada. My husband, Joe, taught me how to make it several years back. He prefers to get already cubed stew meat and slow cook it in a large covered pot. I like to slow roast a boneless beef shoulder, cube it when done and finish in a covered pot. My way takes a bit longer but I think the end result is a much more flavorful dish.

1 3lb Boneless beef shoulder roast

4-5 large cloves garlic, minced

1/2  a medium yellow onion, sliced

1 tbs whole comino

1 tbs dried Mexican oregano

1 tbs fresh ground pepper

3 tbs vegetable oil

2-3 tbs flour

1 3/4 cup beef stock

3/4 cup tomato sauce

1/2  a medium yellow onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2-3 tsp Adobo powder

fresh ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400°

Place roast in a deep roasting pan with lid. Rub garlic, oregano, comino and black pepper on to roast, top with onion slices. Cover and roast until tender, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Remove from oven and let rest 15 minutes. When able to handle, carefully remove from roaster, reserve drippings. Cube meat into bite size pieces.

Heat a deep pan and add oil and 3 tablespoons of reserved drippings when ready. Add meat to pan and begin to fry. Add flour and cook for about 5 minutes. Add stock, tomato sauce, onion, bell pepper and Adobo powder. Cover and simmer over medium heat until vegetables are soft and sauce thickens. Add fresh ground pepper to taste.

Serve on hot flour tortillas, garnish with cheese, salsa and cilantro

Meatball and Vegetable Soup

There is a restaurant in Port Aransas, TX that used to serve this delicious creamy asparagus soup. The great thing about this place is that they willingly offer up the recipes for their dishes. Unfortunately, the last time we went the chef that created it was no longer there. I came up with this recipe with the intention of it being something close. However, I went a little crazy and started adding more and more things.

This is a heavy soup, perfect for a cold evening. Serve it with a side salad and fresh hot bread and you have a great meal.

1lb fresh bulk Italian sausage

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs butter

1 cup yellow onion, diced

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 cup carrot, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

1 tsp dried tarragon leaves

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 cup white wine

5 cups chicken stock

2 red potatoes, diced

1 15.8oz can great northern beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 lb fresh asparagus, ends removed and chopped into 1" pieces

1 cup fresh spinach, chopped

1/2 cup parsley, chopped

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

1 cup heavy cream

salt to taste

Roll 1" meatballs from Italian sausage. Heat a stock pot and add olive oil when ready. Add meatballs and brown on all sides, being careful not to break up. When done, remove and set aside. 

Add butter to pot and melt. Add onion, celery and carrots. Cook until onions are tender. Add garlic and all of the spices, cook for about 3 minutes longer. Add white wine, bring to a simmer and stir for about 5 minutes making sure to scrape any bits from bottom of the pan. Add chicken stock, potatoes, beans and asparagus. Cover and simmer until potatoes and asparagus begin to become tender. Add remaining ingredients, bring back to simmer and cook until spinach just begins to wilt.

Serve hot.