Seafood Gumbo

Seafood Gumbo is my very favorite gumbo of all and I just don't get enough of it. Since I moved away from Louisiana, I don't have access to the seafood ingredients like I did before and I am spoiled. I don't do well with substitutions with this recipe! But, if you've never had it before, you won't notice like I do, particularly since I am a "foodie"!

This is a tradtional seafood gumbo recipe that is a staple in South Louisiana homes particularly during the Lenten Season. There are so many different versions/variations of gumbo recipes, but this is a tried and true, easy recipe to make. Whatever you do, do not substitute fake crabmeat or Alaskan King Crab leg meat for the real claw or lump crabmeat; it's just not the same. The crabmeat and oysters can usually be found in the grocery store butcher section or specialized frozen seafood section. If you can't find crabmeat, find some uncooked whole crab (or claws), clean them and drop them in the pot! Cest Ce Bon!

Seafood Gumbo

3 tbl Oil
3 tbl Flour
3 lbs raw shrimp, peeled
1 lb claw or lump crabmeat, or 4 raw whole crab, cleaned
1 lb raw shucked oysters
1 med onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 10 oz pkg frozen sliced okra
Tony’s, salt and pepper
Parboiled rice

In large pot, combine oil and flour and make a dark brown roux (see Tips and Information on how to make a roux). Add onion and stir well; then add okra and blend well. Add all other vegetables except tomato and allow to cook down, cover if necessary to retain moisture. Add about 4 cups of water, tomato, and seasonings; blend well. Cook down for about an hour and a half adding more water if necessary. Recheck seasonings. Add oysters and shrimp, stir and cook about 5 minutes. Fold in crabmeat and remove pot from heat. Cover and allow to sit about 5 more minutes. Serve over rice.

Seafood Eggplant Casserole

Seafood Eggplant Casserole is a dish I usually make in the summer with plenty of fresh shrimp and nice eggplant. While there are many seafood eggplant recipes out there, this one is my favorite and is more "cajun" than "greek". When combining ingredients, I usually mash the eggplant but it can be left in chunks also.

Seafood Eggplant Casserole

2 lg eggplants
2 lb of crawfish or shrimp
1/2 stick butter
1 cup onion chopped
4 green onions chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
2-3 ribs celery chopped
2 tbl parsley
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1-1/2 cups Italian breadcrumbs
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp pepper,or to taste
1/4 tsp tobasco, or to taste

Cut eggplant in half and boil till soft. Remove, cool and scoop out pulp. Set aside. Saute seafood in butter. Add vegetables and saute till wilted. Add eggplant and seasonings and mix well. Cook about 7 – 10 min. Add breadcrumbs and seafood, mix well and remove from heat. Use white wine, cream or chicken stock to thin if necessary. Pour in casserole dish, dot with butter and sprinkle with more bread crumbs. Bake at 350 till brown.

Cajun Cornbread Casserole

One of our favorite casseroles in South Louisiana is Cajun Cornbread Casserole. Cajun Cornbread Casserole is an excellent and versitile dish that we serve at Thanksgiving or Christmas but it can be adapted for Lent by eliminating the sausage. Also, it can be served as an entree or side dish. If you don't want to make your own cornbread or can't find the Pioneer mix, just buy what you can find but check the ingredients. You don't want to use a mix that has too much sugar in it thus making the casserole too sweet.

Cajun Cornbread Casserole

2 pkgs Pioneer Yellow Cornbread Mix or homemade cornbread
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped
1 lb of Louisiana crawfish tails, chopped
1 lb shrimp, peeled
1/2 lb chopped hot sausage
1/2 cup milk
1 can cream style corn
2 whole eggs, beaten
1 cup mild cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup parsley
Tony’s

Bake cornbread as directed per package instructions or make homemade cornbread. Crumble into a large mixing bowl. Melt the butter in a large sauce pan; add onions, celery, and bell pepper sauté mixture until the onions clear. Add crawfish tails, shrimp, sausage. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add milk and cream corn, stir until mixture is fully blended. Fold all ingredients into the bowl of crumbled cornbread, along with eggs, cheese, and parsley. Mix well, season with Tony’s to taste, transfer to a baking dish, and bake it at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Copeland's of New Orleans Hot Crab Claws

I went to Copeland's with a friend a while back and we ordered the Hot Crab Claws for our appetizer. I never had them before and boy, I really missed out all these years! They were divine! Doing what I always do when I find a new dish I love, I picked through it figure out what was in it. That evening I looked on the internet and I found Copeland's recipe! It's so easy to make and if you buy enough claws, you can make a meal off this with a nice salad to go with it. If you can't find crab claws, they can be substituted with crawfish or shrimp. Enjoy!

Copeland's of New Orleans Hot Crab Claws

2 teaspoons garlic
1 teaspoon parsley, chopped
2 tablespoon scallions, chopped
2 tablespoons butter, divided
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
6 ounces fresh crab claws, crawfish tails or shrimp
3 ounces chicken stock
1 ounce Italian dressing

Place seasoning, herbs, garlic and half the butter in a preheated skillet; saute until butter is melted. Add seafood, chicken stock and Italian dressing; increase heat to high and toss until seafood is cooked through. Add remaining butter; swirl into the sauce. Do not boil. Serve immediately with buttered and toasted French Bread slices.

Barbeque Shrimp

This recipe is a true, bonafide South Louisiana Bar-B-Q Shrimp dish that is made entirely in the oven. If you can find shrimp in your area with the heads on, do so. It really adds to the flavor of the dish. If not, just make sure you cook the shrimp with the shells on....do not peel them first! Also, some recipes call for lemon slices to be added but I find it makes the sauce bitter so, just juice the lemon and discard the rest.

4 lbs shrimp with shells on (heads on, if possible)
1/2 lb butter
3-4 tbl Worcestershire sauce
3 tbl pickapepper sauce
1-1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp rosemary
1 lg lemon
1 tsp tabasco
4 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic sliced

Melt butter in large casserole dish and add all ingredients except lemon. Cut lemon in half and squeeze the juice, add to mixture. Bake in oven at 350 until done. Serve in large soup bowls with lots of sauce and toasted french bread for dipping.

Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca

Let's face it, we all love spaghetti! I know I did and so did my sister. When she was in elementary school (about 8 or 9 yrs old), she declared that she loved spaghetti so much that she was going to marry an Italian man (a doctor) and eat spaghetti every day for the rest of her life.

Then she would slurp that noodle into her mouth with such force, the end would slap her chin, nose, cheek...you get the picture. Well, she married an Italian but he was a CPA. As far as eating spaghetti every day, ummmm, she sure could...if he let her!

As I've aged my tastes have changed and I don't care for all the sauce as much. So, I set out on a quest to find another way to enjoy pasta and still have the same flavors. And guess what? My sister, the spaghetti loving slurper, acquired a new recipe from a friend and it was to die for. This robust combination is known as Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca which I usually serve with a chicken breast or pan-fried fish.

1 lg can tomatoes, cut into chunks
2 tbls olive oil
2 - 4 anchovy filets , optional
3 - 4 plump garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 small jar capers, drained
1 small can sliced black olives
1 pkg spaghetti
2 tbls parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Salt
Pepper

Put pasta on to boil. Optional: Soak anchovies for 15 minutes in water then rinse and chop. Heat the oil on medium heat in a large skillet or pan. Add the optional anchovies saute, then crush with the back of a spoon until they fall apart.

Add the tomatoes with juice, garlic, capers, olives and seasonings. Saute about 15 to 25 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Cover and keep warm.

Cook the pasta, strain, and rinse the pot. When the pasta is strained return it to the pot and put it on medium heat. Add the sauce and cheese. Toss together over medium heat until it is well coated. Serve.

Mardi Gras King Cake

It's Mardi Gras season and time to enjoy King Cakes! This tradition has been around for centuries in Europe and certainly is a huge part of the Mardi Gras celebrations in Louisiana for hundreds of years. The origins of the King Cake are widely debated. Most believe the following history.

Mardi Gras season begins on January 6 and continues until Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. During this time of year, one of the most beloved traditions in New Orleans is that of the King Cake.

On the Christian calendar, the twelfth day after Christmas is known as "Epiphany", "Twelfth Night", or "Kings Day." It is the day the gift-bearing Magi visited the baby Jesus, and is celebrated with its own unique rituals.

While the Twelfth Night customs that spread throughout Europe were subject to numerous variations, one element transcended virtually every culture that observed the holiday: the choice of a mock king for the occasion.

The ritual of hiding a tiny treasure in a celebratory cake became a symbolic reenactment of Epiphany. In France, the bean, la feve, eventually was replaced by a bean-sized baby Jesus; its discovery commemorated the discovery of Jesus’ divinity by the Magi. Legend has it that the cakes were made in the shape of a ring and colorfully decorated to resemble a bejeweled crown.

The New Orleans tradition, begun in the 1800s, borrows heavily from European customs. As part of the celebration of Mardi Gras, it is traditional to bake an oval cake in honor of the three kings - the King Cake. The shape of a King Cake symbolizes the unity of faiths. Each cake is decorated in the traditional Mardi Gras colors: purple represents justice, green represents faith and gold represents power. A small baby, symbolizing the baby Jesus, is baked into each cake.

In New Orleans, King Cake parties are held throughout the Mardi Gras season. In offices, classrooms, and homes throughout the city, King Cakes are sliced and enjoyed by all. Like the biblical story, the "search for the baby" adds excitement, as each person waits to see in whose slice of cake the baby will be discovered.

While custom holds that the person who finds the baby in their slice will be rewarded with good luck, that person is also traditionally responsible for bringing the King Cake to the next party or gathering.

The traditional King Cake is made from twisted strands of cinnamon dough, topped with icing, and sprinkled with purple, green, and gold colored sugar. Today, there are many ways to make a King Cake as there are fillings such as cream cheese, strawberry, blueberry, and pecans with brown sugar. This is an easy and delicious variation.

2 - 12 oz cans crescent rolls
1/4 cup cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 - 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 - 21 oz can fruit pie filling, optional and flavor of your choice
1 cup powdered sugar
Plastic baby (available in the crafts section of Walmart, or use a coin or red kidney bean)

Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbls lemon juice
1 tbls water
3/4 cup sugar, divided into 3 parts
Food coloring (yellow, green and red and blue)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a pizza pan or baking sheet with butter flavored vegetable oil.
Unroll crescent roll dough and separate into triangles.

Position triangles next to each other with the points toward the center, overlapping the long sides about 1/4-inch, forming a large round.

Where the pieces overlap, press the seams together only in the center of each seam, leaving either ends of the seams unsealed so you can fold them up over the filling.

Mix together butter and cinnamon, gently spread over the dough. Mix together cream cheese and powdered sugar. Spread the cream cheese filling around in a ring covering the center sealed seam of each triangle. Do the same with the pie filling. (Optional. I prefer blueberry) Place baby, coin or bean anywhere on the dough.

Fold the long side of each triangle toward the center just to the edge
of the filling to cover. Then pull the point end of the triangles toward the outer rim of the pan to fully enclose the filling, tucking under the points. Lightly press the seams.


Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.

While the cake is baking, make the icing. Then use the food coloring to dye the sugar. In three separate containers, place 1/4 cup of sugar in each. Add one drop of red and one drop of blue into the first container to make purple. Add 2 drops yellow to the second container and 2 drops green to the third container. Stir each well and set aside.

When cake is cool, pour icing over the top of the cake. Sprinkle with the colored sugar, alternating the three colors as you go around the circle.

Oven Broiled Steak

As a followup to the last post on great steak preparations, this is my second favorite way to have steak.

My grandmother got this recipe from one of the steakhouse's in Fort Worth, Texas that she and my grandfather preferred and this is the method used at Ruth's Chris Steak House! I kid you not, it really is how Ruth's Chris prepares their steaks. The difference is we don't have commercial equipment in our kitchens, so forget the sizzling platter. However, the end result is the same and is wonderful.

This is the way I prepare steaks when the weather prohibits outdoor grilling. Again, any cut may be used, but I still prefer Ribeye's and Mignon's for this method.

2 large thick cut (over 1") Ribeye steaks (bone-in or boneless)
Garlic powder
Onion powder
salt
pepper
butter

Place steaks in a cast iron pan or grilling pan. Sprinkle top side of the steaks with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Then, place pats of butter all over top of each steak. This will add flavor and keep the steak from drying out.

Broil on high until steak is browned well and cooked to your preference. Remove pan from oven and turn the steaks. Sprinkle the other side with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and cover with more pats of butter. Return to oven to broil until desired doneness is achieved.

Plate and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Grilled Steak With Garlic Butter

My Grandfather had two cattle ranches and farms where he raised cattle, crops as well as having pecan orchards. As a result of having the cattle ranches, we had the best beef available for our own consumption. My grandmother mastered their favorite steak preparations from the many steakhouses they visited when in Texas and other areas of Louisiana for rodeo's and auctions.

Her motto, and obviously the restaurants too, was to keep it simple. Forget the ketchup, A-1 Steak Sauce and marinating your steak in salad dressing. That's for amateurs! There are two ways they favored their steaks. This one is my favorite, Grilled Steak with Garlic Butter. You can use any type of cut but my preferences are ribeye's and filet mignon's. These simple ingredients bring out the flavor of the steak without masking it and are incredibly delicious.

Grilled Steak With Garlic Butter

2 large thick cut (over 1") Ribeye steaks (bone-in or boneless)
1/2 stick butter, softened
2 cloves garlic, pressed
salt
pepper

Press the garlic and mix it in with softened butter. When your grill is prepared and ready, grill your steaks on one side until ready to turn. After turning, sprinkle the cooked side with salt and pepper.

Allow other side to cook and turn again. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Once your steak is cooked to preferred doneness, flip again and spread a coating of garlic butter over the top of the hot side you just turned up. Remove from grill and flip it over onto the plate. Spread other, hot side, with garlic butter. Allow to sit 5 minutes before serving.

If there is any garlic butter left over, I either use it to butter some French bread or throw it in with some vegetables or on a baked potato. Mmmm, Mmmm, good!

Valentine's Day Red Velvet Cake

I hope you all have a very happy and romantic Valentine's Day! Here is one of my very favorite cake recipes just in time for you to make it especially for the love in your life. Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cake

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Ice the cake and add fresh rasberries or strawberries for garnish.

Show Me The Money!

.....Well, in this case, the love. Show me the love! If you like my blog, if you want to continue to come here for new recipes, thoughts, stories... please let me know. Post a comment, follow me, send me an email...something, ANYTHING! Just let me know, please! Is anyone out there? Helllllooooo?

Crawfish Bisque

I love, love, love Crawfish Bisque but it's one of those things that I have never tackled on my own because it's so labor intensive. When I go out to eat, I always order something I wouldn't or don't make at home and this is one of those dishes.

However, I've helped others make it many times and it's always fun to do as a group because that's how we roll in Louisiana! Food, drinks, people = PARTY!!! Because we get a group together, we all chip in on the ingredients and make enough for everyone to take a good quantity home. That's the way to do this really...just turn it into a Crawfish Bisque party. Supply the kitchen, snacks and cocktails, invite friends over and cook!

Stuffing

2 lbs crawfish tails
60 cleaned crawfish shells
1-1/2 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped bell pepper
2 tbs minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped parsley
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups seasoned Italian bread crumbs
salt, pepper and Tony's to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grind crawfish tails, onions, celery, bell pepper, garlic and parsley in a home-style meat grinder or food processor. Once ground, add eggs and enough bread crumbs to hold the mixture together but not so that the stuffing becomes too bready. Begin with 1 cup. Season to taste. Stuff equal amounts into the 60 crawfish heads. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned and fully cooked. Remove and set aside.


Bisque

3 lbs crawfish tails
1-1/2 cup vegetable oil
1-1/2 cup flour
1-1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
2 tbs minced garlic
1/4 cup tomato sauce
3 quarts crawfish stock****
1 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped parsley
salt, pepper and Tony's to taste

In a heavy dutch oven, heat oil and flour to make a dark brown roux. Add onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic; sauté until vegetables are wilted, approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Add crawfish tails and tomato sauce, blend well. Slowly add crawfish stock until sauce-like consistency is achieved. Bring to a rolling boil, reduce to simmer and add stuffed crawfish heads. Stir well and simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add green onions and parsley and season to taste. Serve over white rice.

*** I would use Better Than Bouillon seafood paste and water for the stock and season with Tony’s.

Greg and Clifford, The Big Red Dog

When I was six, my family moved into a house with a very large yard in a nice neighborhood with lots of kids. To my incredible delight, next door lived a boy about 14 years old. He was a big, tall, strapping, muscular, tanned, shaggy haired blonde, blue eyed, handsome hunk of burning love! Did I say I was six??? I was IN LOVE!!!

Everyday, when Greg's bus was due to come down the street, I was already outside waiting, absolutely breathless, with butterflies in my stomach. You know, that electric feeling you get when you're madly, passionately in love? Again, did I say I was six?

At first, he was happy to see me when he gallantly hopped off the bus and ran towards me, but then, after a week or so, he became embarrassed as most boys that age do. However, as soon as the bus rounded the corner and was out of sight, he would come bounding out of his house to play with me....or do "homework" together, for which he would invite me over to his house to do. Oh my! A study date! Did I say I was in love and that I was six? Be still, my heart!

I would gather up my mimeographed coloring exercise and my little black, bound writing book with the white speckles all over it and go to Greg's to "study". There, I would work hard (tongue out and touching the center of my upper lip) to color and stay "in the lines" and write my name...and his....perfectly in my book while copying his every move. He would put his left hand under his chin...so did I. He stretched his left arm out parallel to his book, so did I. He would pick up a section of the newspaper and "flick" it to read, so did I. Then, he would break down into laughter and take me outside to play. He was the man of my dreams! He knew me inside and out and all of my worldly needs! Did I tell you I was six and in love?

When it would start to get dark and time for dinner, he would walk me home, give me a hug and kiss my cheek, and I would go in and tell my mother all about my "date" with Greg. She would listen and laugh and tell me that I had a crush on him and it was "puppy love". Well, she said that once too many times and I got really mad! Indignantly, I told her.....

MOM! It's not a crush! It's not "puppy love"! It's a CLIFFORD, THE BIG RED DOG KINDA LOVE!!!!! And ran crying from the room!

One of my favorite dishes at the time was Chicken And Spaghetti, so my mom used to make it for me when my feelings were hurt (turns out that it was his favorite too). It reminds me of Greg and my huge Clifford, The Big Red Dog stuffed animal that sat on my bed, in the center of my pillows by day, and slept with me at night and the even more humongous crush I had on him.

Actually, Greg and I kept in touch through the years and I truly, deeply loved him...we had a special bond, this admiration and respect, that grew out of this puppy love I felt for him and his love for me, the little girl next door. Greg passed away in the early 80's this month. There are a few more stories that I want to share about him, but I'll leave them for later.

Chicken and Spaghetti


1 large fryer, cut up OR
1/2 pkg boneless breasts or tenders AND 1/2 pkg boneless thighs
1 - 2 large jars Ragu Traditional Spaghetti sauce
1/2 bellpepper, chopped
3 large stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 lg bay leaves
salt, pepper to taste
Spaghetti

Cut whole chicken fryer up into pieces. Brown pieces in oil on both sides. If using the tenders and thighs, just brown them, as is, in oil on both sides. Remove from pot. Add chopped vegetables to the pot and saute until wilted. Add sauce and half a jar of water, seasonings and stir. Return chicken to pot and allow to simmer until chicken is cooked thoroughly.

Remove chicken from pot and allow to cool. If using cut up pieces, remove meat from bone and tear into bite size pieces. If using boneless pieces, tear or cut into bite size pieces. Return all to pot and allow to simmer while you cook the pasta. Check seasonings and adjust if necessary. Drain pasta and serve!

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a very festive New Year celebration. We were all sick for the holidays, hence the lack of recipe postings for Christmas and New Year's. Yep, things got that bad. We stayed in our jammies, watched Christmas movies and ate my Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup (that I previously put up in the freezer) for Christmas. And for New Year's, I thawed out some of my Best Chili. Ya do what ya gotta do! Although we were sick, it was still relaxing to just lay around and not do anything. We did go out to eat later in the week, to celebrate Christmas but it's just not the same and I'm still feeling like I'm waiting for Christmas to come!

However, it's never too late to have your traditional New Year's dinner and actually that's what I did. Earlier this week, once I felt up to it, I went grocery shopping and bought a couple of pork tenderloins to cook. Since I was still feeling a bit under the weather, I bought (forgive me) cans of black eyed peas and mustard greens. I know...shame on me, but I've found some canned items that are just as good as homemade and since I still didn't have my strength back, I heated them up instead. I like Trappey's Black Eyed Peas with Smoked Bacon (primarily) or Bush's, if I can't make my own. And for greens my favorite is the Glory Seasoned brand, Mustard or Turnip Greens. All are as close to homemade as you can get in a canned product and worth it when you can't make your own.

The Stuffed Pork Tenderloin recipe is one that I have made with a larger beef tenderloin and it was fabulous! Because the pork tenderloins are smaller than beef tenderloins, I just simply "eyeballed" the size of the meat and adjusted the quantities accordingly. That's kinda how I roll with cooking, if you want to know the truth. Anyway, here's how I make it.

1 pork tenderloin
1/3 stick butter, softened
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbl green onion, chopped
salt and pepper
1 lb bacon

Using a sharp chef's knife, make a cut about 1/4 - 1/2 inch deep down the length of the tenderloin. Turn the tenderloin over a bit and keep following that lengthwise cut maintaining the depth of 1/4 - 1/2" until the tenderloin is unfurled and is a flat piece of meat about 1/4 - 1/2 inches thick. Some people make one or two deep vertical cuts but I like the "pinwheel" or "cinnamon" roll effect as it helps baste the meat from the inside once it's prepared, therefore maintaining moisture and preventing dryness and it's just as easy to do.

To the softened butter, add the minced garlic and combine well. Once the tenderloin is unfurled, season with salt and pepper on the inside only. Spread with garlic butter mixture and evenly sprinkle with chopped green onion.

Once the tenderloin has been spread with the garlic butter mixture, roll the tenderloin up and wrap it with bacon, then secure all with toothpicks being careful to secure the pork loin as well as the edges of the bacon.


Now, you can either bake it in the oven on a roasting pan or cook it outside on the grill. Inside, in the oven, bake at 350. On the grill, sear on high coals/heat, close the lid and cook until done. Use a meat thermometer to ensure doneness.

Garlic Cheese Grits

GRITS! Yep, it's a totally southern dish but GRITS also stands for Girls Raised In The South! Ha! While it's historically been a breakfast food down here in the south, over the years, we've modified the traditional grits recipe to adapt it to the lunch and dinner table.

Previously we added scrambled or fried eggs to it, or added crumbled bacon, browned ground meat or sausage to it or some people spooned sausage or red eyed gravy over it. However, Southern Grits has finally grown up and made it as a special and beloved food on dinner tables and holiday menu's here in the south. No matter where you live in the contintental United States or abroad, if you can find grits, you can enjoy this satisfying, comforting and special side dish to grace your table be it breakfast, lunch or dinner. Enjoy this wonderful cheesy garlic version!

**This is the original recipe from the early 1960's. Now with instant grits available, you can cook it according to the directions and add the cheese, garlic, butter and seasonings accordingly, to taste. I still make it the original way.

1 cup grits, uncooked
4 cups water
1 tbl salt
1 stick butter
1 lb cheddar cheese, diced, sliced or grated
3 tbl minced garlic
2 tbl worcestershire sauce

Cook grits in the salted water. When cooked, add butter, garlic, cheese and worcestershire sauce. On low heat, combine well until butter and cheese are melted. Salt and pepper according to taste. This can be served as is or placed in a casserole dish, topped with more cheese and baked at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes.

***Note: Shrimp is a favorite addition to grits, particularly Garlic Cheese Grits. I simply steam some peeled shrimp in seasoned water, drain and add to the grits. To steam peeled shimp, place shrimp in a microwavable bowl, add enough water to cover, season with Tony's, salt, garlic powder. Stir and heat in microwave until cooked, about 8 minutes. Drain and add to grits.