A different spin on Hoppin' John's Blackeye Peas and Rice

This is a fairly easy recipe to make a version of Hoppin' John's that I use quite often and it is very good while taking a lot of cook time off of other recipes. Here are the items you will need. I won't put quantities on the additives on here because you will need to eyeball them.

1.) 2 cans of blackeyed peas
2.) 1 pound of Andouille Sausage (polska kielbasa will work if you don't want it too spicy)
3.) 1 large carton of Beef Stock
4.) 1 large onion
5.) 1 stick of butter
6.) 3 cloves of garlic (I use 4 tbsp of pre-minced garlic)
7.) Hot Sauce
8.) Cayenne Pepper
9.) Worcestershire Sauce
10.) Smoked Paprika
11.) Oregano
12.) Basil
13.) Thyme
14.) Garlic Powder
15.) Salt
16.) Black Pepper
17.) 2 Cups of Cooked Rice
18.) 1 12 oz. Beer

The first thing you need to do is dice the large onion and put it in a pan with the melted stick of butter and add sliced or diced sausage right after the onion. Once onions are transparent and sausage is browned, pour a quarter of the beer into the pan to deglace. This should be done on low heat because you don't want to burn the beer in the pan. Line the pot you will cook this in with olive oil and add the sausage and onion mixture, the rest of the beer, the carton of beef stock, the peas and the seasonings that I had above. I personally use either Louisianna Brand or Frank's Red Hot Sauce but if you use tobasco you might want to use less as its a little hotter. Please refrain from using Texas Pete for this recipe. Even though the taste is good, it doesn't taste right in this recipe. I use probably 4 tbsp of Hot Sauce or more because I like a kick, put less in if you can't handle the pain. Just a few dashes of Worcestershire Sauce will work. About a tbsp of Cayenne and just add the dry ingredients as you feel necessary. It will turn out well. Just experiment with it. Cover and simmer this soup like mixture for about an hour on low heat until all the flavors have married in and the alcohol has cooked out of it. Add the cooked rice into the soup and stir until there isn't any more standing liquid and all rice is coated and let the mixture bake in the oven for about 10 minutes and you are ready to chow down. I also like to eat this stuff with some good cajun style cornbread or garlic toast. This is true southern comfort food at its best and is very tasty.
Enjoy :)

A very good way to fix corn

I just wanted to add an interesting twist to an already good accompaniment to any BBQ. I like to take ears of corn and wrap them in foil with butter, old bay seasoning, and Parmesan cheese. Make sure you baste the corn and wrap them well because it doesn't take long to cook the corn once their wrapped like this. Turn them often and cook them on the grill for about 15-20 minutes. This combo of flavors is really, really tasty. If anyone may have other creative ways of cooking corn, let me know.

Laura's Strawberry Pudding

Here is a recipe for Laura's spin on a wonderfully refreshing dessert. Strawberry pudding isn't too heavy and you can eat it as a snack or a late night vice along with dessert. Warning though, eat it in small amounts and call it the end because you will go back for seconds and thirds. YUMMY!!!

1.) 16 oz of frozen strawberries
2.) 1 12 oz box of vanilla wafers
3.) 1 8oz container of Cool Whip
4.) 1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk

Mix ingredients into a big bowl. Let mixture sit in refrigerator for a while to let the pudding constitute. This is easy to do, absolutely delicious, and quick. Use this as a guide and take away or add more as you would want.

Enjoy!!!

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with White Wine Mushroom Sauce

Whenever I find good meat deals at the supermarket, I always jump on an idea I saw on TV and changed around a little bit to fit my tastes. This recipe also works if you sub a good traditional light lager beer for the white wine. Try it both ways.

1.) Pork Tenderloin around 1-2 pounds
2.) 3/1/1 ratio of creole seasoning, italian seasoning mix, garlic powder (I use this as a meat rub often)
3.) tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4.) 1 cup of sliced mushrooms (Portobell0, Cremini, Shiitakes are my favorites, white buttons will work also)
5.) 2-3 oz of white wine (use dry whites please, no sweet wines)
6.) 1/2 stick of butter or margarine
7.) 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
8.) tbsp basil or italian seasoning
9.) 2 cloves of fresh or 2 tbsps pre-chopped garlic from a jar works also
10.) tbsp smoked paprika
11.) pinch of salt
12.) tsp black pepper
13.) tsp white pepper
14.) 1 shallot (finely diced)
For the first step in this, drizzle olive oil on the tenderloin to get the rub to stick to the outside of the tenderloin then rub the spice and herb mixture generously to the tenderloin. Next drizzle some olive oil into a large skillet on medium heat. Wait until the oil starts to ripple and put the tenderloin into the skillet. You should sear all sides of the tenderloin including the ends using some tongs. Place the seared tenderloin into a roasting pan or casserole dish and place in the oven at 325 for about 35-45 minutes. The next step is a little more complicated but just keep your eyes on it.
Once you take the tenderloin out of the skillet, melt the half stick of butter into the saucepan and add the shallot and garlic (chopped if fresh) into the pan and cook on low heat until transparent. Add 1 oz of wine and scrape pan with a wooden spatula to deglace the pan then remove shallots and garlic. Increase to medium heat and add flour and stir into a rue. Once the mixture becomes medium brown at a stir, add remaining wine to stop the rue process (it will smoke and steam heavily, it is normal) if gravy-like mixture is too thick add water a little at a time until it will coat a spoon. Reconstitute the shallot and garlic back into the pan and decrease the heat back to low. Add mushrooms and other ingredients and saute them until the mushrooms are done. Remove sauce mixture from the heat and pour over the tenderloin. Return the tenderloin to the oven and cook to an internal temperature of 145. Remove at this temperature and allow to rest for about 10 minutes. Don't cut the meat until it rests because it will cook more while resting and allow the juices to settle back into the meat. Cut into 1/2 inch slices and serve with some roasted potatoes and asparagus. Very good meal and not too difficult. Enjoy!!!

Easy idea for darn good potato salad

The listings that I will put on this blog will be very easy and a little bit strange but also require very little money to use. I put my own spin on potato salad that is very easy along with being extremely tasty. A couple of things that I like personally is a little bit of spice in everything that I make and I urge everyone that follows these recipes to get a couple of things that I use everyday.
1.) 3 pepper mustard
2.) smoked paprika
3.) Steak Seasoning
4.) Onion powder or dehydrated onion flakes
5.) Creole Seasoning
6.) White pepper

One thing that I love is a good and tasty potato salad but I get tired of the regular old recipes that everyone in the south uses. This one is a lot different but the flavors are phenomenal. Start by dicing around 5-7 large red or yukon gold potatoes. I find that these kinds of potatoes are a little better for salads and add a little better flavor than Russets. Although regular Russet potatoes will work the flavors won't pop as much as the gold or red potatoes. Once diced add to some boiling water with at least a tablespoon or two of Garlic powder to infuse the flavor into the potatoes. I know that sounds excessive but trust me, it isn't overpowering. Once the potatoes are able to be pierced easily with a toothpick, drain them and stick them in the fridge for about 30 minutes to knock the heat off of them. Once cooled down. add these items.

1.) 1 cup of mayo (fat free is ok if you want to keep it a little healthier)
2.) 1/3 cup of 3 pepper mustard
3.) Tbsp Raw Prepared horseradish
4.) 1/2 tspn dry mustard
5.) 1/2 tspn cayenne pepper
6.) tbsp creole seasoning
7.) tbsp oregano
8.) tspn basil
9.) tbsp rosemary
10.) 1/2 tspn olive oil
11.) tbsp steak seasoning
12.) 2 tbsp dehydrated onion (or half of a raw onion)

Mix these items together and then dust the top with smoked paprika and mix again. I don't actually measure these items at home, I eyeball it and it still tastes great. Another thing you can add is a shake of hot sauce or worchestershire sauce to bring another level of flavor to the dish. I find by not measuring everything note for note saves time and keeps the tastes interesting. This is a great recipe that I made up just experimenting and trying something different. If anyone has any ideas to add or delete from this recipe to make this different or more interesting let me know. I welcome new ideas.

Launch of Vices and Spices

I'm going to devote this blog to show my love of food, the recipes that I use as well as review a restaurant every now and then. I am a foody at heart and love to try new and tasty things. I certainly hope that you enjoy this page and feel free to enter ideas for me to try as well.