Ham and Potato Chowder with bacon

Ham and Potato Chowder with bacon

5-6 Ribs of celery
Fresh celery leaves chopped
5 carrots peeled, quartered and chopped
1 medium or large onion chopped
4-5 large Yukon gold potatoes chopped
Ham (from baked ham) chopped in squares
6 slices bacon cooked crisp and crumbled
2 large cloves garlic minced
1 stick of butter
3 cups chicken or ham stock (I use better than bullion)
2 cups heavy cream
Onion Powder
White pepper
Thyme


Saute, butter, celery, onion, till soft, add carrots, potatoes, ham continue cooking, add white pepper, thyme. Add onion powder, bacon and stock. Cook until potato's and carrots are soft, add heavy cream and simmer for about 10 more minutes.

*Note - you can alternately make a roux with butter, flour and whole milk.

You could add corn to this and garnish with chives or minced green onion.

Collard Green with Smoked Pork Necks

3 bunches Collard greens
2 large Smoked Pork Neck Bones
4 large cloves Garlic, minced
1 large Onion, small chop
3 tablespoons Onion Powder
2 tablespoons Garlic Powder
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1-2 tablespoons of a malted type vinegar (I use Heinz Tarragon) or apple cider vinegar
1 or 2 tablespoons sugar, I use natural cane or turbinado. Brown will work as well
A little seasoning salt, but only if needed after all ingredients come together (add this at the end only if needed)
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Better than Bullion Ham Base
2-3 tablespoons of bacon grease
or 2-3 tablespoons of an oil butter combination


Place Collards in a freshly cleaned sink, wash with running cold water well. Next, fill sink with cold water and add about 4 tablespoons of vinegar. Allow to soak for about 10 minutes, scrub leaves against each other to get off any leftover soil from the leaves. Drain water and rinse leaves under running water. Drain and dry leaves well.

To chop leaves, fold each leaf in half and cut off the stem that runs up the side (reserve stems for later use), Once all of the leaves are de-stemmed, stack leaves on top of each, about 10 at a time, roll up like a cigar and cut 1/4 or 1/2 inch strips crosswise. Chop some of the center part of the reserved stems to add to your pot if you like.

You can also use bagged chopped greens if you must. I recommend you rinse them well.

Heat fat in a large 6-8 quart pot, add smoked pork neck, brown on all sides till they are a little caramelized. Remove neck-bones and set aside. Add onions into the same pot and saute, add garlic for the last 3 minutes of cooking. Remove and set aside.

Add additional fat if needed at this time but only a little. Start adding your greens about 2 big handfuls at a time, stir to cook down. You will see the greens wilting and making room for additional handfuls of greens to be added. Repeat these steps until all greens are in the pot.

Add hot water and several tablespoons of the better than bullion ham base (make as directed on jar). The bullion is why you do not want to add seasoning salt. However if it needs a kick of salt at the end add a little seasoning salt sparingly.

Return the onions to the pot with the greens, add neck-bones, add all seasoning except the seasoning salt. As to the crushed red peppers, that is all about personal taste, remember though a little goes a long way as the broth distributes the heat throughout well.

Cook at a low simmer for at least 2-3 hours, Greens should be tender, not tough. Check seasoning about 2/3 of the way through cooking, add additional seasoning at this time as needed. Now would be the time to add any seasoning salt, be careful though as you already have a bullion in the mix. You can always add salt but you cannot remove it.

You will also want to remove the smoked pork necks at this time, cool, pick meat off of bones, chop meat roughly and return both the meat and the bones to the pot.

Enjoy, serve with a side of vinegar or hot sauce if you like or they should be just fine as is.

Smothered Turkey Wings over Rice

Turkey Wings

Celery

Carrots

Mushrooms (optional/substitute bell peppers if you like)

Yellow Onion
Homemade or commercial Turkey Stock/Chicken Stock.

Flour

Optionally you can add Bell Peppers, green, red or a combination. I don't care for them paired with poultry except in a curry as I find they overpower the poultry. 

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Ground Black Pepper

Parsley

Paprika

Poultry Seasoning

Celery Salt or Seasoning Salt (sparingly)
Optional: You can add salt-free blackening seasoning or cayenne pepper for a hot kick. I do this.

(I did ten wings for a lot of people and I probably had about 4-6 tablespoons of spice/very little season salt/celery salt added)

Heat a large dutch oven with a little oil or spray to brown wings and cook the dish. There is surprisingly little oil in this dish.

Wash and pat dry turkey wings, separate the flat from the drummy. Place wings in a large bowl, drizzle a good oil like a grape seed (not olive/bad for high heat) onto the wings. Using hands make sure the surface of the wings has a little of the oil on it, not much. Combine all spices in a bowl, sprinkle onto the wings generously and massage wings to coat. Now sprinkle flour onto the wings makings sure they are completely coated. Transfer wings to hot greased dutch oven and brown wings turning with tongs occasionally until golden.

Pour stock over the wings and seal tightly with foil. Cook for two hours at 350. Slice onions into moon shaped slivers, mushrooms, celery, and carrots. Taste broth and re-season if needed. Add all vegetables, re-seal dutch oven with foil, tightly and cook for an additional hour. Serve over basmati or rice of choice.

Note, the stock, flour on the wings and long cooking time create's its own gravy. I do not add canned soup to this dish. If the gravy is not thick enough you can always add a tiny amount of soft as silk flour slurry to thicken. I find if you coat the wings really generously with flour before browning that this is unnecessary. Flavorwise I adjust the seasoning before adding the veggies. Also, I stir the broth and gravy from the bottom of the pan up to loosen any flour from the bottom of the pan into the gravy (be gentle, don't break the wings.

Don't be like me and forget to add your celery.

(I use foil rather than the lid to the dutch oven as the foil prevents too much stock from evaporating)

You may prefer a little more salt to this dish, I simply add salt to the dish at the table. Mind you will be working with both a seasoning or celery salt and then there is the salt in the bullion itself so use both sparingly, you can always add more to the plate. 

I make my own stock using turkey necks and or the turkey wing tips. , all above seasonings (except no celery salt or seasoning salt), a stalk of celery, a carrot and a bit of onion. Sear necks, then add water, seasoning, aromatic herbs, and two tablespoons better than bullion chicken paste. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 2 hours, or more. Or just use a ready chicken stock. 

Three Bean, Three Meat, Four Pepper Baked Chili.

This recipe is for a large pot of chili.

Ingredients

1 pound fresh ground Pork
1/2 pound ground Chorizo Sausage
2 pounds fresh ground Chuck
1 15.5 oz can Red Kidney beans, rinsed
1 15.5 oz can Black beans, rinsed
1 15.5 oz can Chili beans, do not rinse
2 15.5 oz cans diced tomato with green chili and juice
2 Poblano peppers, charred under broiler, skin removed and roughly chopped
1 small or half a large Jalapeno, diced
1 large Green Pepper, small chopped
2 medium Spanish white onions, small chopped
1 heaping tablespoon minced Garlic (about 5 lg cloves)
1 tablespoons Kitchen Accomplice beef or  Better than bullion beef paste
29 oz can Tomato sauce
29 oz can Enchilada sauce
1 pkg Williams Original Chili Seasoning, no salt added
2 tablespoons Ground Fresh Chili Paste, Chinese
1 tablespoon Onion powder, (not onion salt)
16 oz fresh water
1 beer


Brown all three types of meat in large pot, strain meat in a colander. Saute onion and bell pepper (leave it a little firm) add garlic towards the end the of saute, (careful not to burn).Transfer strained meat a large covered roaster pan or dutch oven. (I use my speckled turkey roaster pan).  Add charred, skinned, chopped poblano chili's, minced jalapeno, Williams no salt chili seasoning, Chinese Chili Paste, onion powder, canned sauces and canned diced tomato with green chili, and beef broth concentrate to pot, (do not add beans yet). Bake at 350 degrees for 2 1/2 hours. Add beans and allow to cook for another hour.

You can make this item all stove top if you like, however baking it in the oven reduces and thickens the sauce: this adds a braized quality to the chili that cannot be replicated on the stove top. Trust me it is worth it. Serve this up in a bowl by itself, or top with minced fresh onion, cheddar cheese, and crushed Fritos corn chips. This also goes great with Nathan's hot dogs on the side.

* You will notice I recommend the Williams Chili Seasoning Packet w/no salt added. You could fuss around with your own seasoning base, however, this is perfectly balanced and has no salt in it, it is pure seasoning and spice.

Rustic Ham and Navy Bean Soup

Bacon, thick cut

Leftover Ham (cut into cubes)

4 stalks of Celery

Celery Leaves (pulled from the stalks and minced)

Medium Yellow Onion, diced

4 Carrots, sliced
Fresh minced garlic

Mini Creamery Potato sliced or two Red Potatoes diced.

Half a bag of Navy Beans (soaked overnight and rinsed)

Better than Bullion Ham's base

Black Pepper

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Bay Leaf

Liquid Smoke

Water

Note* I do not add salt; it comes from the bacon, ham, and stock base. Be cautious.

Cut up bacon and saute till crisp and fats are rendered. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. If you use fresh garlic, saute in two tablespoons of the bacon fat for a minute or two. Saute cubed ham in the same pan. Add beans, bacon, ham and garlic to a large stock pot, add about six cups of water for every 2 cups of the pre-soaked beans. (1 cup of dried beans equals 3 cups of soaked beans). Add condensed ham base. Cook for 1 and 45 minutes, add chopped vegetables, celery leaves, onion powder, garlic powder (unless you are using fresh garlic) black pepper to taste, bay leaf, a little liquid smoke. You should note, I have added no additional salt, that is purposeful, salt will pull from both the ham and bacon, additionally, the ham base and condensed Knorr's bullion contain salt. You can adjust this recipe if you are using fresh homemade chicken stock. You can always add salt and pepper to your personal taste in the bowl, but you cannot remove it from the soup. This is a filling soup, so I would serve it with cornbread or a salad.

Please keep in mind that I made a full soup pot of this recipe and will be freezing half of it.

CarveMaster Ham's, My New Favorite Ham.

CarveMaster sty hams are natural hams that are cut from the bone creating a flat shape perfect for carving. They're smoked with apple-wood. Several brands exists, Smithfield, Wright's, CarveMaster, Kirkland... those are the ones I know of. After buying the first one of this variety of ham that is all I buy now. It comes with a packet of red current glaze, they recommend that you brush the glaze on 20 minutes before removing it from the oven, but I did not do it that way. I cut the pouch of glaze openand poured it over the cold ham before baking, I also filled the pouch with water and poured that over the ham to thin the glaze. It is my preference to cook the glaze into the ham and baste it while baking, then the natural juices from the ham mix with the glaze making it rather smokey and slightly salty juice. At the end of baking, I used the baster to transfer the glaze juice to a saucepan and then thickened it with a little cornstarch slurry, thus making a ham gravy. It is incredible dripped onto sliced ham, drizzled on potatoes running into your rolls or biscuits, You make gravy from all other meat juices, why not ham?

If you don't want to use the glaze packet, you can make your own. I would recommend applying brown sugar to the scored surface of the ham and then pouring pineapple juice and maraschino cherry juice over the ham (I reserve the pineapple and cherries for ambrosia salad). You can add a little water as well, only a little. Then baste the ham while baking for 15 minutes per pound at 325 °F. 

Salmon Patties w/mini heirloom tomato salad.

Skinless, boneless canned salmon

Panko bread crumbs

Onion

Celery

Green bell pepper

Red bell pepper

Dukes mayo

Egg

Old bay seasoning

Lemon Pepper

Paprika

Fresh squeezed Lemon juice

Drain canned salmon and transfer to a mixing bowl, mince all veggies fine and saute in a little olive oil/butter combo, add two tablespoons Dukes, fresh squeezed lemon, ½ teaspoon or more of old bay seasoning, paprika, couple of shakes of lemon pepper, ¾ cup Panko bread crumbs and a whipped egg. 

I mix it with my hands. Using an ice cream scoop and your hands, roll even amounts of salmon mixture into a ball, roll the ball through additional Panko crumbs to coat all over, move the coated salmon ball to a large plate until all are done. 

Heat a pan with an oil that can take the heat, like peanut or vegetable oil. Add 4 salmon balls to the pan, using the back of a spatula, smash the salmon balls into even sized patties. Let them brown on one side until golden, only flip the delicate patties once. Serve with your favorite sauce. 

I use the above method of creating the patties because it is fool proof, the salmon cakes never fall apart on me. Using an ice cream scoop, rolling them into balls, coating them in crumbs and smashing them with the back of a spatula will give you uniform sized cakes that cook evenly and don't fall apart.  

Spicy Chili-Garlic Tartar Sauce

Couple of tablespoons Duke's or other Mayonnaise

Minced Onion

Minced dill relish

½ teaspoon of Durkee's dressing or Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon paprika for good appearance

Couple of squirts of Sriracha to taste

White Pepper

Squeeze of lemon or malt vinegar

Mix this up ahead of time and chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours for a better flavor. 

Easy Mini Heirloom Tomato, Cucumber and Sweet Onion Salad.

Wash and slice mini heirloom tomato's in half, 

Peal and slice a cucumber into fourths down the middle

Chop the cucumbers into bite sized pieces.

Slice onions thin and then in half

Dressing for the salad is lemon,olive oil, red wine vinegar, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.

Toss together and enjoy.

Hamburger Soup in Pictures

Ingredients you will need

Hamburger

Cabbage

Celery

Carrots

Onion

Garlic, Fresh or Jared

Rutabaga and Turnips or Potatoes

Frozen or fresh Green Beans

Tomato Paste

Diced Tomato

Beef Stock or a good bullion like Better than bullion and water

White Pepper and Black pepper

Bay Leaves

Onion Powder

Kitchen Bouquet

Once you get everything chopped and sauteed and everybody is in the pool this only need cook for about an hour.