Chicken Sauce Piquante

3lb bone in chicken pieces

1/2lb bacon

1/2lb smoked sausage

2 pounds raw shrimp

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

2 bell peppers, diced

1 sweet onion, diced 

4 stalks celery, diced

2 green onions chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

4 cups of chicken stock

1 beer

1 - 1.5 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup bacon grease

2 tablespoons creole seasoning

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon black pepper

1.5 tablespoons brown sugar

2 cups long grain white rice

2 stick butter, softened

1 loaf French bread

Feeds 4-6

*note: we grilled bbq chicken and made this using the left over deboned grilled chicken and it was delicious. If not bbqing chicken ahead of time, you can boil and reserve chicken stock. 

Cook and debone chicken into bite sized pieces. Set aside to add back later. Save stock if boiling chicken. Rotisserie chicken would be fine too. 

In a heavy stock pot or large Dutch oven, fry 1/2 pound of bacon. Chop and set aside for garnish. 

Brown smoked sausage in bacon grease, spoon out browned sausage and set aside to add back later. 

Reduce the bacon grease heat to medium low and add flour to make a roux. Google how to make a roux. Add enough flour to get the thick smooth melted peanut butter consistency. Brown to a Caramel color. 

Add chopped bell peppers, onions, celery and garlic to the roux and cook over medium heat till veggies are tender. 

Add 3-4 cups of stock, seasonings and sugar and diced tomatoes to roux and return to a simmer. Simmer for 1 hour, then add 1/2 a beer and tomato paste and simmer for another hour. Add more stock or beer to get a thick tomato sauce consistency. 

Add chicken and sausage back to the pot and simmer low for 30 minutes while you cook the rice and bread.
Boil 4 cups of water and add 2 cups of rice, a pat of butter and a punch of salt. Reduce heat to simmer and cook 20 minutes.  

Cut French loaf in half, spread a stick of butter per side to bread. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Turn on broiler and brown deeply. 

When rice and bread are done, add shrimp to simmering sauce. Simmer for 3 minutes, then turn heat off and allow shrimp to continue to cook while you get the bread sliced and the hot rice plated. 

Serve on a dinner plate with a mound of rice in the middle and sauce piquant around the rice. 

Jason Style French Onion Soup and French Dip Sammich

First, we are going to make a pot roast in the crockpot pot. Then we are going to add some toasted French bread and cheese on top of the roast juice and create some baked magic goodness. You’ll need some soup crocks so you can bake the soup. 

In a large crockpot, add two medium sweet onions sliced medium thin to the bottom of the pot. Add 2 cloves of diced garlic. Add 1 cup of red wine, 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire, 1/2 cup of black coffee and some spices. (Bay leaves, thyme, white pepper, black pepper and salt to taste) Add 32oz of Beef Broth. Set crockpot to high, put the lid on while you brown the roast. 

In a cast iron skillet, melt a stick of butter. Season a 3 pound chuck roast with Garlic Salt and Tony’s Creole seasoning. Brown the roast and the butter together on medium heat. Don’t scald the butter.

Once the roast is browned, move it to the crockpot. Add 1 cup of red wine to the cast iron skillet to deglaze the plan, stir to loosen the goodness and pour over roast in crockpot. Cook on low till the roast is fork tender. Check at 4-5 hours, as not to over cook. Grate white cheddar cheese and make toast when roast is done. 

Grate at least 1 pound of cheese per 4 bowls. 

Preheat over to 450. Slice French bread about 2” thick rounds. Melt 1/3 stick of butter and brush on French bread rounds. Sprinkle with Garlic Powder and bake until toasty. Reduce oven to 400. 

Chop a small amount of roast and place in the bottom of each soup crock. Spoon roast broth and onions over the meat in the soup crock. Leave room for toasted bread and cheese on top. 

Add toasted bread around the top of the bowl, cover with grated cheese and bake at 400 until cheese is melted. If your crocks are broiler safe, you can broil in place of baking. 

Update: the second night we added roasted red potatoes and carrots into the mix. We added meat, potatoes and carrots to the soup crocks and filled with the roast juice. We toasted the French bread with butter, garlic and ONION powder. Extra toasty. We also added Gruyère to the cheese mix. This was the best thing we’ve ever cooked. 

It’s summer, so not really wanting scalding hot soup, but we were craving something with this taste. I decided to make a pot roast following this recipe and then use the roast to make French Dip sandwiches. Toast some sandwich rolls, or French bread after brushing with butter and dusting with garlic and onion powder. Add roast to the toasted rolls, cover the roast with grated cheese and pop back under the broiler to melt. Dip in the au-jus. 

Slush - Frozen Goodness

Latest take on this age old hooch. 

1 can (12oz) of Frozen Minutemaid Lemonade 

1 can (12oz) of Frozen Minutemaid Limeade 

6 cups of warm water

2 cups of sugar

1/2 Cup of Lipton Instant Unsweetened Ice Tea

1 1/2 cups of Vodka

1 cup of rum

1 cup of tequila 

Mix warm water, sugar and instant tea in a large mixing bowl. Add frozen lemonade and limeade. Add alcohol, stir and freeze. 
Scoop frozen drink into a cup and top with Sprite or Ginger Ale. 

Pozole Verde and Pork Carnitas

 Pozole Verde and Pork Carnitas

I adapted this recipe from the world-famous Pat Lewis Pozole recipe. This one gives options for low carb as well as a lazy way out, using store bought roasted salsa verde. I also added the recipe for Pork Carnitas to the end because we like to put the Pozole over crispy pork carnitas and we add the carnitas drippings to the soup broth in place of some of the chicken stock. 

Soup broth

1 rotisserie chicken – pull meat to add back later. Save bones for broth.

2 quarts chicken broth or stock – more if needed at the end

6 15 oz cans Bush’s hominy, mostly drained (leave in the thicker, starchier liquid)

1 teaspoon of paprika

1 teaspoon of cumin

1 teaspoon of ground oregano

1 teaspoon of chili powder

1 teaspoon of black pepper

Salt to taste

Cayenne pepper to taste.

Salsa to add to soup (Make two blender batches with half of each)

2 tomatillos, peeled, washed, halved & sauteed until a little tender & juicy. Use a little broth (above) to loosen tomatillo leftovers in skillet; remove & set aside in a bowl.

1 lg sweet onion, chopped; sauté in now empty skillets

Cilantro, one nice bouquet of well washed, large stems trimmed

10 garlic cloves, peeled

6 large poblano chilies (6-7 inches) or 12 [8] smaller (3-4 inches) seeded & chunked

OR….

Substitute store bought Roasted Salsa Verda. Approximately 32oz of salsa. Add 16oz and taste. 

In an 8-qt or larger pot, pour broth over the bones. Mix in dry seasonings and bring to boil. Then reduce heat to low simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove all chicken bones with slotted spoon onto cookie sheet to cool; pick any meat left on bones to add to broth. Discard the rest. Note: You can add the pork bone if you bought a bone in pork butt roast for carnitas. 

Add mostly drained hominy to broth. You can substitute a head of chopped cauliflower for low carb version. Keep at a low simmer.

Blend salsa ingredients (in two batches – add some broth if needed). Add salsa to soup broth, bring to boil. Reduce heat to a simmer - 10 minutes or more. 

(At this point, you can let cool & refrigerate soup overnight if serving the next day. You can also make this in a slow cooker and let it simmer for a longer period.)

When ready to serve, bring to a simmer and add shredded chicken. Taste to see if salt or bullion is needed for flavor.  The slow cooker does a nice job of keeping everything hot while your guests enjoy their first bowl. Seconds are mandatory.   

The topping you add to the soup really make this dish amazing. Try a little of each and try not to stir them down into the soup. 

Toppings (served at the table)

*Cilantro and limes are required. 😊

Cilantro leaves and tender stems

Limes, wedges

Shredded cabbage (I use a bag of coleslaw mix)

Queso fresco crumbled

Radishes, quartered and thinly sliced 

Serrano or Jalapeño chilies, thinly sliced 

Scallions, one bunch, white and green, scissors

Mexican oregano

Tortilla chips or strips

Sliced or Diced avocado (toss in fresh lime juice to prevent browning)

We like to make Pork Carnitas using the oven bag method. They come out tender and crispy on the outside. Place a few chunks in the bottom of the bowl and ladle the soup over the top. 

Pork Carnitas

3 to 6 pound pork butt roast cut in to 2”x2” cubes

¼ cup of lard or vegetable oil

6-8 cups of water

1 tablespoon of salt

3 cloves of garlic

Place an oven bags (like you use for a turkey) in a shallow pan or dish big enough to allow the meat to be in a single layer. 

Put all the ingredients in the oven bag, seal it, and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 45 mins. After an hour and 45 minutes, remove the pan and use a baster to remove most of the liquid from the bag. 

Reseal the bag and place back in the over for 1 hour. 

I use the liquid from the pan to add into the Pazole broth. It will require ladling off the fat from the top unless you cook ahead and have time to refrigerate the liquid, making it easy to remove the fat on top.  

Boiled Peanuts

From Kevin Atkins:

It’s best if you have green peanuts, but unless you bought some a while back and froze them, you’ll have to work with “raw peanuts”, which you can usually get at Publix. I cook two bags at a time.

I put them in a stock pot with a half cup of salt and a few shakes of garlic powder. I slice up a bell pepper and about half of a purple onion and throw that in too. If you want them spicy, add a little cajun seasoning or, better yet, some dried cayenne peppers. Start with enough water in the pot to keep the peanuts 3-4 inches off the bottom. Bring to boil, then dial back heat so it’s just enough to keep the mixture bubbling.

I usually boil for anywhere from 3 to 4 hours, depending on when kickoff is. Most critical: after sampling a few and making sure they have the desired consistency, remove from heat and let them soak for an hour or so. That’s when they absorb all the flavor of the ingredients.

Serve with craft beer or good bourbon… of course.