New-Coach Chorizo-Seafood Gumbo

Arkansas Vs. LSU

Happy Thanksgiving! A new coach is on his way to Arkansas, and this gumbo is for him -- whoever he might be.

This rouge-colored melange is based on Emeril's "Mr. John's chorizo and sausage gumbo," a recipe we first tried last year during the Mississippi State game and have made about six times. The gumbo has voodoo-like magical qualities, not only curing illness but rectifying sociopolitical wrongs. It is the eponymous gumbo we were dreaming about when we launched Razorgumbo as a food blog. You can find the original purist version on www.Food.com.

Today I'm going to offer up the version my family makes, which uses seafood you can get at Kroger in Arkansas, rather than relying on all-fresh stuff from the Gulf. The only way that gumbo can get better than this, I think, is for the seafood to be fresh and for the stock to be a real seafood stock rather than the chicken stock we use here.

I'm also going to offer extra instructions that will keep you from messing up the roux. We all know roux cooking can be tricky, just like making risotto. But really it is simply about using the right pot and getting the oil to the right temp before you start. From there its pretty doable.

From start to finish, allow 3-4 hours for this gumbo to be complete. And get ready to dedicate 30-40 minutes to standing over the stove while the roux is being made. Do not step aside for one minute. A roux requires total devotion to the stove. Don't be cooking anything else, raising children, working on a business plan or playing the cornet.

If you make this gumbo correctly it will be very dark and have the toasty flavor of a dark-roast coffee. But the beautiful thing is that you can always adjust the level of roux flavor by simply not cooking the roux as long. You can also easily adjust the level of spice so this should work for just about anyone. Just don't expect me to respect you if you dial down the toastyness.

As for the sausage -- if you use chorizo there will be a red color to the gumbo and a lot of spicy pepper is built in, so you won't have to use as much Creole seasoing as you might think. However, chorizo is a very fatty sausage and it will cause there to be a layer of oil on top that is hard to reincorporate into the gumbo. If this is offputting to you, use one of those fat mops you can get at a cooking store to remove as much of the fat as possible. Or, do what we have recently decided to do and use a really good smoked sausage instead, making up for the lack of chorizo by using some chile. It just struck me at this moment that the Knorr-brand chipotle bullion cubes would be could for this because they impart extra smokiness while bringing some heat. Consider that in lieu of chorizo.And a couple of shots of Tabasco in the bowl after you serve it up also imparts an interesting flavor.

Another important note: This is not an okra gumbo. You sprinkle file (fee-lay) over the gumbo once it is in the bowl to thicken slightly and give it that fantastic sasafras taste. Okra is for frying or roasting. Just say no to okra gumbo, please.

In the words of Farm Boy from  "The Princess Bride," HEAR ME NOW: The roux is everything.

• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups bleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chopped yellow onions
• 1 cup chopped green bell peppers
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 pound chorizo or other smoked sausage, finely chopped, plus 1 pound chorizo, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices
• Creole seasoning
• 2 1/2 quarts chicken stock (Emeril calls for shrimp stock, but we can't get that or can't be bothered to make it.) Or how about using the stock from the turkey you just made for Thanksgiving?
• Crab meat -- one small refigerated container (Emeril calls for a dozen frozen gumbo crabs, thawed)
• 2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (Use frozen unless you have access to fresh)
• 2 pounds Louisiana Crawfish tails (these are in the refrigerated seafood section)
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onions (green part only)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 6 cups cooked long grain white rice, warm
• Louisiana File Powder (do not leave this out or attempt to put okra in this gumbo)

Remember this -- NEVER FORGET THIS! Chop all the vegetables and the sausage first, and make or have the stock nearby. In a large, heavy pot or, perhaps, a Razorback-colored Lodge-brand enamel cast-iron Dutch oven,  combine the oil and flour in a very particular way over medium heat.

Turn the burner to medium and allow the pot to warm with the oil in it. When you start smelling the oil a little and you can see movement of the oil in the pot, you are ready to go. Just do not put the flour in until the oil is hot. If you do, you will make something like Play-Doh.

Add the flour to the oil slowly over about 30 seconds to a minute, stirring constrantly with a wooden spoon or wooden spatula. This will avoid scratching your enamel and works better than plastic. Depending on how long this is taking to darken, you can nudge the burner just a little past the midway point to hot,  but not more than that. Keep constantly stirring except possibly for 5-10 second breaks in the early going. If you take a break in the later part of the cooking, more things get burned.

The best reason to use the enamel cast iron is that you don't get any hot spots. Hot spots burn the roux and then spoil the whole thing. With the enamel, you can tiny little pieces that are extra toasted but nothing gets burned. In fact, sometimes it takes longer than I want and I turn the heat up a little because the pot cooks so evenly and won't burn.

Your roux should end up being the color of dark-roast coffee. If you go slowly you can confidently toast it to this level. The general rule is, if you are asking your spouse if the roux is done, it is not. If you pull up short before reaching the French-roast color, you will not get the rich flavor this gumbo needs. If you use a regular pot thhis can be done in 20 minutes but you will take more risk. Get the cast iron enamel and take a little more time.

Okay, once the roux is perfect, seize the day! Immediately put the chopped onions, bell peppers, chopped celery, and 1/2 pound of the chopped sausage in, and season somewhat with Creole seasoning -- you can always put more in later,. DO NOT TASTE THE ROUX NOW!!! It looks tasteable but it is essentially boiling fat. It will kill you!

The veggies go in.

Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are very soft, 8 to 10 minutes.

Now, add the stock. If you have gumbo crabs, put those in now, along with the first half of the chorizo or other sausage. If you are using crab meat, then put it in later near the end with the other seafood.

Enter the chorizo.

 Stir the stock into the roux until it is  well combined. NOW you can taste it. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for  2 hours. No worries in the enamel cast iron pot -- it will not stick or burn.

Meanwhile, during the cooking of the gumbo base, season the seafood with Creole seasoning.

The stock has now been added.

Crab meat and crawfish tails spiced.

Shrimp thawed and shelled.

All seafood combined and spiced with second half of chorizo added.

After the two hours of cooking, add in  the seafood and remaining sliced sausage to the gumbo. Cook for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes before skimming off the fat that has risen to the surface. Taste for seasonings and adjust. Stir in the green onions and parsley and serve the gumbo in individual soup or gumbo bowls with the rice. Pass the file powder at the table.

A word about the rice - keep it mininal. I put only a half-cup of cooked rice in the bowl and then fill the rest of the bowl with rice. Rice is filler! This is about flavor. I think an excellent rice to go with gumbo is the Texmati rice from Alvin, Texas, produced by RiceTek. This company was started by the prince of Lichtenstein and it specializes in hybridizing exotic rice types from around the world so they can be grown by farmers in the southern U.S. Their rice also comes in square plastic containers that stack well in the pantry. All those loose bags of rice are a pain. If you get the Texmati you can repurpose the container in your pantry or garage and save the Earth.

Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy the gumbo!

Razorback Thankfulness Rant

Its Thanksgiving and there is so much to be thankful for -- even if you are a Razorback fan.

For the coach we are about to receive, we are supremely thankful. Whether it is a Gruden, Gundy, Patterson, Strong, Smart, Dykes, Briles or a deserving coordinator who has not even been mentioend yet, thank you lawdy. A new era is about to begin, full of hope and excitement. And I dare say that next Thanksgiving, we won't be sitting here wondering if we will even watch the second half of the LSU game. Thank you Jeff Long for opening up the checkbook and getting someone in here who can lead us back to glory.

While I am feeling all aglow, I want to say a few words of thanks for those who have coached in the past. Thank you Frank Broyles for creating a program out of nothing, winning an obscene amount of games and bringing us a (disputed) national championship, all without throwing the ball.

Thank you Lou Holtz for being the ultimate new coach -- the kind we hope to get now -- who comes in with a huge boost of discipline and enthusiasm and elevates a program overnight to national contender status. Always loved you, Lou, even though you were snarky about Fayetteville.

Thank you Ken Hatfield for being the dependable bowl-game guy. Your boring but effective offense kept us perennially in the mix in the Southwest conference. Also, thanks for one of the shortest and most controversial Razorback quotes ever: "Jesus Wept." Yes, I am aware that someone else said that first.

Thank you Jack Crowe for being a super nice guy and for humiliating Houston Nutt a couple of years ago at Ole Miss. And, for being kind enough to reach out to some sportswriters who had just been laid off by the conquering newspaper across the street.

Thank you Joe Kines for beating Alabama in a miracle game. Thank you Danny Ford for somehow recruiting the players that a superior coach would later almost lead to the national title game, were it not for an idiotic unforced fumble.

Thank you Houston Nutt for your predictability. You often went to a bowl game, you almost never won it and I always, always new what you would do on third down. Thanks for all the laughs you gave me when you would call pass plays on third and even fourth down designed to fall two yards short of the first-down marker. Thanks for all those good times with 10 seconds left to go in the first half when you should take a knee and just "take it to the house." Thanks for always finding a way to make quarterbacks worse the more years they spent on your teams. Ok, I am dripping with insincerity here. Yes, Nutt is a good coach. Good for 8 wins and an occassional Cotton Bowl. And yes, that would look pretty good right now.

Thank you Bobby MF Petrino for being the best coach we have ever had at Arkansas--maybe the best coach we will ever have. We will see. I have a feeling that if anyone ever exceeds Petrino it will be this next guy -- who will have the advantage of 100 percent fan good will, the best football facility in the country and a year of moderate to low expectations. Thank you for knowing that it is not just winning that fans love, but winning in an exciting style. Thank you for not giving a *&$% about what anyone thought, but just winning. You were a lot of fun. I will always miss watching you tear into a referee, and I have to admit I also enjoyed watching you rip your players, especially now that I know that this actually worked (See, for contrast, uncle John L Smith)..Bobby, you made us believe we could be permanent national contenders. And had you been a good boy, we would still be contenders right now.

Most of all, thank you for that moment two years ago in the LSU game, right before the half, when everyone in Arkansas and even the announcers though you would run out the clock like Nutt did, but instead, throwing one of the most amazing touchdown pass plays in Razorback history to Cobi Hamilton. He split two defenders, who then essentially knocked each other out, and went the length of the field. That, my friends, was Bobby MF Petrino. He dropped the mic in the locker room, I am sure, and just said "BOOM."

Finally, thank you John L. Smith for being a good-natured, calming influence on our players. They needed you to be calming because of how terrible a coach you would ultimately prove to be. You seem like a good person -- a person of dignity. And there is still a chance that you might leave us with one great memory (other than "We didn't come to paint" and "Get your piss hot.") -- a surprising defeat of LSU full of crazy laterals and throwback plays, fake punts and a hook-and-ladder. Anyway, you do seem like a great guy. You had to put up with some really bad injuries and circumstances this year, but having weighed it all, you made things worse. Nonetheless, thanks for not yelling at reporters or making an ass of yourself as you failed us miserably in your role of one-year caretaker. You had a lot of personal stuff to deal with, and I imagine that few people could have handled it all as well as you did. Though a few people could have hanndled it worse and actually won some games. Just saying.

Mrs. C's Buttery Cinnamon Rolls with Coffee-Cream-Cheese Frosting

Arkansas Vs. Mississippi State

This morning, an imperfect man did an imperfect job in making a nearly perfect cinnamon roll recipe in honor of a famously imperfect football team. And yet, it was amaze-balls.

It's morning again on a Saturday, and that must mean the Razorbacks are about to play a football game in the least coveted spot on the TV schedule. Let's win this one and pig out in the process!

All the glory for this recipe goes to a friend of mine who wishes to remain nameless because she adapted her recipe from the Pioneer Woman. For your crime of adapting another cook's recipe, Mrs. C, I hereby sentence you to give me all your other adapted recipes because they are AWESOME. Mrs. C has one of the most interesting and detailed food blogs I have ever seen, and is truly an artist. I would not be shocked to see her on the Food Network some day.

I first tried this recipe last Christmas and it was incredible, though I am pretty sure I made it wrong. Last year I misunderstood the recipe and put in half the amount of sugar in the dough. This year, I caught my mistake and put the other half in the spongy dough starter after it was made.

The really interesting and unique thing about the recipe is that you make the sticky dough in a dutch oven and let it rise there with the lid on. That just appeals to the campfire side of me. If you can't make it in cast-iron cookery then it is probably crap.

Originally, the Pioneer Woman did this with a maple glaze. I plan to try that next time around as I am a big fan of the maple. This time, however, I honor Mrs. C with her coffee-spiked topping, and look forward  to watching my kids ping off the walls for an hour or so.

WARNING -- start softening butter and  cream cheese now, a couple of hours before you do this. See, this kind of stuff is what always gets me. Recipes are not linear. You have to read them through and takes notes because the first step is generally the sixteenth step and, being the kind of guy who rips the package open on tings and never reads the instructions, I need help with this kind of thing.

Mrs. C's Buttery Cinnamon Rolls

1 pint whole milk (that's two cups for you greenhorns)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 package active dry yeast
4 cups (plus 1./2 cup extra) all-purpose flour
1/2 HEAPING teaspoon baking power ( missed the heaping part this time, thus the emphasis)
1/2 SCANT teaspoon baking soda (ditto)

1/2 HEAPING tablespoon salt

Plenty of melted butter -- (nearly 1/2 cup)

EXTRA 1/2 cup sugar for sprinkle
1 tablespoon of cinnamon for sprinkle

Coffee-Cream-Cheese Frosting

1/2 bag powdered sugar (this is kind of inprecise. I had a "box"")
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons whole milk (warmed up with 1 tablespoon espresso or French roast powder mixed in)
1/2 stick softened butter
1 8 -oz. package softened cream cheese
1/8 teaspoon salt

In a large stew pot or a Razorback-colored cast-iron enamel dutch oven made by Lodge, (it holds in warmth and promotes the cause) heat up the milk, vegetable oil and sugar, until warm. Just dip a finger in to check -- it should be quite warm but not hot. I like "quite warm," by the way. It's very British. Quite so.

Turn off the heat, take pot off the burner and sprinkle in the package of yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 4 cups of flour. Stir the mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour on the burner that is TURNED OFF NOW.

After rising the sticky dough for at least an hour, add 1/2 cup extra flour with baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stire the mixture together.

Sprinkle your rolling surface generously with flour. Stretch the dough to form a rough rectangle. Not a square. Go for something longer on line side by a ratio of like 3 to 2 or so. Roll the dough thin -- I never do this thinly enough! If you don't get it thin, it is harder to roll this thing up into a neat roll.

Melt the butter. The recipe calls for 1/4 to 1/2 cup and I was closer to the larger number. Spread the butter across the dough then sprinkle it with a mixture of the sugar and cinnamon for sprinkling. Sprinkle the mix evenly over the butter.

Now, from the SHORT end of the dough, roll this thing over as tightly as possible. If you rolled it too thick or put too much butter on, it will be hard to get it to make a perfect tube and it your roll will kind of become oval. Welcome to my world of imperfection.

When it is entirely rolled up, pinch the seam to seal it. Yeah, I didn't do that either. Oops.

Okay, now take a talespoon of butter and spread it in a 9x13 or so baking dish., then begin cutting the rolls approximately 3/4-to-1-inch thick and laying them in the pan. If it seems like your rolls are squashed together use a second pan. I overcrowded my pan. What a shame -- it was delicious anyway.

Cover in plastic and let the rolls rise in the refrigerator overnight (or, you can just rise them for an hour on the countertop.) Bake at 375F until golden brown, about 16 to 24 minutes. Larger rolls will need more time.

For the frosting, mix together all the ingredients with a mixer. If you impatiently tried to use the cream cheese and butter without properly warming them, and then you used the warm feature on the microwave, and you had lumps in the mixture, then had to overprocess it to get them out, meaning that you never really got the frosting to set up, well then shame on you because that's what I did, even though decades of experience have taught me better.

If your frosting is too thick to mix, add more milk gradually. Generously spoon this over the rolls while warm, allowing it to melt (yeah right -- mine was permanently in melt mode) into the crevices (I like to say crevass because it reminds me of Chekov).

Now eat it!

For various reasons totally within my control I had this sort of frosting emulsion, and because it completely obliterated the top of the cinnamon rolls, I served them upside down so you could see the cinnamon swirls. It was incredible, and my thanks go out again to Mrs. C!

Go Hogs!

Brother John's Mountain Man Waffle Sandwich with Smoky Bacon, Cream Cheese, Fried Egg and Pure Maple Syrup

Arkansas Vs. Tulsa

It's another breakfast game this week, so here comes an amazing twist on the traditional morning fare.

This meal is ridiculously  shut-your-pie-hole good. I created it from whole cloth and I am sharing it with you as my gift to the universe .If I die young, you may remember me as the father of three beautiful children and the husband of a talented beauty. Or, you can simply think of me as the guy who kicked waffles in the ass.

There is sound research behind this dish. For the last four years I have devoted dozens of Saturday mornings to develop the world's best hearty mutligrain waffle, and to cooking it perfectly. I started with various mixes, blended them, tried recipies, etc. Finally, I perfected the waffle recipe two years ago as a dish without dairy. The vegan waffle, which I call the Tree Hugger Waffle, is 95 percent as good as the recipe I am suggesting here. So I'm going to give you both recipes in one, and release an important piece of my soul to the world.

It was a quest for a waffle with deep caramel color and character that can be cooked crisp on the outside with a hearty texture and a warm, softer center. I wanted it to stand up to syrup and whatever else I threw at it without getting soft or mushy. And I wanted it to be fabulouosly mutligrained so could revel in its healthfulness, leaving room for all the unhealthy things that would accompany it.

The dream that would become Brother John's Mountain Man Waffle Sandwich began at a Kiwanis pancake breakfast decades ago, when I accidentally discovered what happens when savory, smokey, salty bacon meets the sweet, earthy pancake syrup. Some people might not appreciate this penultimate collision of flavors. To these people I offer nothing but scorn.

Step two came at a local restaurant a few years ago when I experienced an egg sandwich that came smeared with cream cheese and honey. Wow. Egg, cream cheese and honey. I would not have thought of that.

But the perfect waffle sandwich begins with the waffle, en ingenious piece of food engineering design to hold weight, cradle sweet liquids and stay strong during trying times.  For starters, it had to be based on whole-wheat flour to give it a hearty base.

I worked in the crunch lab for months, learning that the secret to crunch was a combination of corn meal and the right oil -- I have settled on sunflower.. Some of the best pancakes in the world blend cornmeal into the flour, and the same is true here. The extra something special in the dry mix is flax meal. That blend of flax, whole wheat and corn meal in just the right proportions  made magic in my belly.

Color was another issue. I don't like blond or light-tan waffles; I want them to have deep color and even deeper flavor. So one of the first things I did was settle on molasses in the recipe, rather than sugar and water. I have tried honey, too, and it's great, but it doesn't produce the deeper color.

Finally, a great-tasting waffle can still fall flat if you don't have a good waffle maker. I have had many bad ones that just won't crisp the waffle. They sometimes cook forever without the light coming on. After having a decent waffle at a hotel breakfast nook I decided to purchase a big waffle maker that flips the waffles. Right away I was amazed -- these things actually got hot enough to crisp a big, thick waffle, and cook if fast!







 First and Ten: Brother John's Mountain Man Waffle Sandwich

This is a big recipe that will make 6 or 7 big, thick waffles or 8-10 waffle sandwich wedges.

Sandwich Filling
1/2 package of thick, smoky bacon (I insist on Petit Jean)
4 eggs
Package of cream cheese

Waffle Batter
2 eggs  (or 1 tablespoon egg replacement powder and 4 tablespoons water)
Pure maple syrup
3 cups whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup oil (I like sunflower)
3 cups almond milk (or regular milk, or 3 cups water and 6 tablespoons soy powder)
1/4 cup molasses
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup flax meal
1/3 cup corn meal

Start by turning the oven on bake at 250-350 F. Then fry the bacon in a pan and set it aside. Please use a cast-iron skillet so you and I can revel in our rugged superiority. Reserve the bacon grease for something else later (like popcorn). Wipe out the cast-iron skillet with a paper towel for later and keep the pan.

Mix all the dry ingredients for the batter together well, then add the wet ingredients and mix well by hand.

Get the waffle iron hot. With the one I use, set it to 3/4 maximum heat. If you have a wimpy waffle iron, set it all the way high. When it is ready, spray it with canola or vegetable oil. Then follow appliance directions on the amount of batter to add. I cook the waffle until it beeps, then I let it go longer and pull it out with a wooden spoon. I then put the waffle into the oven so it stays crisp and warm.

After you get a waffle or two, put the pan back on heat, put some butter in the pan and let it foam a little, and fry your eggs to your liking. Set them on a plate so they stop cooking.

After you have two waffles, put one down on a large plate and smear it with cream cheese. then lay two of the fried eggs on top. Then a third to half of the bacon you fried. Then swirl some maple syrup over the layers and put the other waffle on top with the waffles grooves aligned.

Cut through the big waffle sandwich to cut it into fourths. Plate each fourth up and smear an extra dollop of cream cheese on top, then swirl more syrup over it and spill some on the plate for dipping.

This is perfect with a banana, orange juice and coffee.

 

Game Notes: Ole Miss

What a great, competitive game to watch. I took my nine-year-old daughter and even she was engaged til the end (with a few mini sinking spells).

My thoughts are these:

• I was really proud of how the team fought til the end, and Dennis Johnson was flat-out amaze balls. Just incredible. I love watching that guy run.
• Johnson did enough to make up for how badly Tyler Wilson actually played. He threw into tight spots at least 10 times. Two or three of them were incredible receptions -- that were lucky. The rest were either almost or actually intercepted. Wilson lost track of the game clock -- twice? I heard something about maybe his hip hurt? Perhaps that might led to his questionable judgement. Not used to him throwing so many bad balls.
• The Ole Miss kicker is a gamer. 54 yards AND the game-winner? Please tell me he isn't a freshman.
• I can not imagine a world in which the illegal formation call that took Arkansas' beautiful touchdown away is actually valid. Refs also missed two pass interference calls against Ole Miss. Has anyone ever seen grounding called three times in one game? Weird. Never seen refs booed like that.
• The defense really kept us in this game and deserves tons of credit. It's too bad they just collapsed completely during that final two-minute drive. Poor guys. They held onto the rope as long as they could.
• There was a stretch in the game where Ole Miss threw a screen to the left THREE TIMES IN A ROW and it worked each time. Twice out of the tripps formation, and once with a single receiver. Then, they faked the throw over there on the fourth time and I seriously thought the QB would run it in for a touchdown, but thankfully, we figured it out. How can a screen to the left work on three straight plays?
• It felt really good to watch John L. get mad and give the refs and earful. I have wanted to see passion and gametime involvement from him and he came up with it today in spades.
• Once again, fans left the stadium in the fourth quarter even before the Hogs got the ball back for the final drive that tied it. They left because they thought we were done. Such an assinine thing to do. If you go to the game, watch the game. Please.
• I knew we would probably lose when the punt was blocked, because that is what happens 90 percent of the time, so I was amazed when we actually had a chance at the end. Our last drive was the second most incredible thing in the game -- second to their last drive.
• I would like to know exactly how that punt got blocked. John L. has already taken the blame for it. But I have other special teams questions. For example, why hasn't Dennis Johnson, last year's best kickoff returner in the SEC, done anything at all this year with that role? Totally different guy, though he is tearing it up from scrimmage. Also, why can't we find someone on the team who can actually catch a punt? And, why is it that when Adams was returning punts, there was often space between him and the approaching kickoff team, but this year the coverage guys are already on top of the punt returner every single time? Is that to be balmed on our coverage scheme? Terrible blocking? Returner playing too shallow? Our special teams went from just about the best around last year to incomprehensively bad this year, with the exception of our place kicker and the distances logged by our punter when he isn't getting blocked or having the snap sent over his head.

Now go read the food part, because that's what this is really about. :-)

Shrimp and Grits, Mayonnaise Biscuits and Hot(ty) Toddies

ARKANSAS VS. OLE MISS

Good morning from Little Rock Arkansas, 4 a.m. on the day of the Ole Miss game. I can't sleep. I am so excited that all I can do is write about food and dream about football. Who would have thought this game could bring so much excitement?

The last Little Rock game brought the agony of the Monroe loss, followed by three more losses and a mass exodus of fans. I had to stop listening to talk radio completely to avoid the softening of my brain. But the Hogs have surged in the last two contests, soundly beating Auburn and demolishing Kentucky in a rain-shortened game that was over on the Tyler Wilson's first snap.Now the team is in contention for a bowl game again. With Ole Miss emerging from its own funk to find an identity under new coach Hugh Freeze, this game looks great. Two evenly matched teams approaching the game from opposite directions, really wantiing and needing the win in the worst way.

Plus, I have to tell you that I am still thinking about the great time I had in The Grove last year when we visited Ole Miss. It too was a morning game, with that nip in the air and bourbon in my Solo cup. There was white chocolate bread pudding warmed by Sterno cans. The Elvis tent. Crazy chandelliers. Impromptu games of "panty, no panty" as the sorority girls parade.

Ole Miss fans are incredibly hospitable and they have a great environment to be hosts in. My wife went to Ole Miss, as did many of my colleagues and some of my clients. It's hard not to like those guys, especially since they got rid of Houston Nutt, and even in spite of those awful helmets. I went to that game in Oxford with friends and made some good memories. Now, another crisp fall day approaches, Ole Miss alums and waking up in Little Rock and I am getting ready to spend time with old friends again. It's a great time to forget about contentious things like the election and focus on family, friends, traditions and just plain old good times.

This week's blog fodder is traditional southern fare with a small nod to the Ole Miss Hotty Toddy cheer. We all have endearing traditions, but this one actually sounds like a cocktail, so its all the more endearing to me.

"Hotty Toddy, Gosh almigitht
Who the hell are we, Hey!
Flim Flam, Bim Bam
OLE MISS BY DAMN!"

Coupled with the hog call, this makes for a great morning of strange southern traditions.

As for the game, I expect a great contest full of startling offensive plays. Arkansas' Dennis Johnson will have a monster day at running back and Tyler Wilson will light up the scoreboard with his arm. I expect to hear Ole Miss receiver Dante Moncrief's name called a lot. There's going to be a lot of scoring, and I think this one will be decided late in the fourth quarter. The Hogs will get their third straight win, 37-34, and have a shot at four in a row next week against Tulsa.

This blog is written today in the spirit of the unofficial Ole Miss motto: "We might not win the game, but we ain't never lost a party, ya'll."

First and Ten: Shrimp and Grits

This is straight from Paula Deen and her book, Paula Deen and friends, Simon & Shuster, 2005. It serves 8 as an appetizer or four as a main course. I have made no attempt to reduce the calories, and have rejected her son's lighter version of the recipe out of hand as it contains Canadian bacon, for God's sake. According to Paula, it only takes 15 minutes to prepare her recipe if you have everting chopped and measures before cooking.

1 cup stone-ground grits
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup butter
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined, left whole if small and roughly chopped if medium or large
6 slices bacon, chopped into tiny pieces
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 cup thinly sliced green onions, white and green parts
1 large garlic clove, minced

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the grits and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well with a whisk. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and cook the grits until all the water is absorbed, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butte and cheese. Keep covered until ready to serve

Rinse the shrimp and pat dry. Fry the bacon in a large skillet until browned and crisp, then drain on a paper towel. Add the shrimp to the bacon grease in the skillet and saute over medium heat just until they turn pink, about 3 ninutes. Do not overcook! Immediately add the lemon joice, parsley, green onions and garlic. Remove the skillet from the heat.

Pour the grits into a serving bowl, pour the shrimp misture over the grits and garnish with the bacon bits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sideline Route: Mayonnaise Biscuits

My wife, Sarah, had these biscuits when she was a kid and remembers them fondly. They are moist, colorful and simple. This recipe comes to us from allrecipes.com, but the exact same recipe is all over the internet on various sites.

2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup milk
6 tablespoons mayonnaise

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Mix the ingredients in a bowl until just mixed. Drop spoonfuls onto lightly greased coolie sheets. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Cooler Break: Hot(ty) Toddies

Okay, if you have never had a hot toddy, now is the time. You can measure things and be all exact with this, but that's no fun.

Bourbon
herbal tea
Honey
Fresh lemon juice.

Normally you just use water for this, but if you have some tea you like that is not too strong I like to use that tea as the base.

Brew a large cup of herbal tea in the microwave. Vanilla, chamomile, something like that. Sweeten the tea to taste with honey and then put in the juice of half a lemon. Throw the sqeezed lemon in there if you like. Then hit it with a few "glugs" of bourbon. Stir. You should have a great, balanced blend of thick sweetness, bourbony goodness and the tange of the lemon. Adjust to taste.

This drink is perfect when you have a cold, or on a cold fall or winter day when you need comfort.

Now, don't even talk to me about the pralines. They didn't work out.

Bourbon-Marinated Hangar Steak with Maker’s Mark®-and-Balsamic Roasted Tomatoes, Nola's Mashed Red Potatoes, Buttermilk Bourbon Pie and Mint Juleps

ARKANSAS VS. KENTUCKY

Last week was a food blog fail. I planned to write about the Food Truck Festival in Little Rock and offer up a lot of photos, etc., but that all went terribly wrong under the oppression of a 45-degree drenching rain. But that's in the past!

In honor of our Kentucky opponents, this week's menu is inspired by our  favorite liquified substance: Maker’s Mark® bourbon!

Reasonable men can quibble about who makes the greatest bourbon. I can get really happy, for example with a bottle of Woodford Reserve. My boss, on the other hand, loves Blanton's and its ridiculous price. And, to be honest, I have made do at times with the likes of Old Crow. But for my money the best investment in liquid happiness  is a liter of Maker's dipped in that wonderful red wax-like plastic seal. The bottle itself is a work of art. The typeface on the label gives  me devilish ideas. Especially in fall, the sweet, caramel flavors of Maker's seem to complement everything. (Like fresh apple cake with caramel icing? Mmm hmm.)

Maker's  is subtle and nuanced enough for the most pretentious people around, but its still high-living for regular guys. It's like a really good applie pie: there's something to love there for everyone. I love it on the rocks, with Coke Zero and in various cocktails. But there's something really special about a homemade mint julep.I pull the sword from the stone as a husband every time I make this sweet minty drink for my wife.

This week's menu is totally bourbon-tastic with the sole exception of the potatoes. The spuds come from Emeril Lagasse, former boss of my brother-in-law, Frank Szymanski, who worked as a chef in his restaurants in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. 

So what about the football? Last week's Auburn great was a great achievement for this Razorback team. Let's have more of that.

Fueled by these boozy recipes, we plan to root these wounded, fullback-and-linebacker-deprived Hogs on to another great victory against tthe Wildcats, and look forward to what promises to be a great game in a couple of weeks with the Ole Miss Admiral Ackbar Black Bear Rebels, hopefully with our tight end and some defensive players back in the fold. You can look forward to some game notes today, but for now, on to the food!

Three of today's recipes were developed by working chefs who like bourbon. As it happens, they are all posted to the Maker's Mark website, so check visit www.makersmark.com/recipes if you want to
check my work.

Bourbon-Marinated Hangar Steak



The steak covered with the most fantastic meat sauce you will ever taste.

 What's a hangar steak, you say? Same as a skirt steak. Comes from the bottom side of the cow, and is frequently used for fajitas, with the meat sliced against the grain. There is a membrane on there that you have to cut off. But as they say in "Airplane," that's not important right now, because I'm not using skirt steak anyway. That's right -- we are substituting in the flatiron steak (from the top of the cow because we really like it and there is no membrane to remove.) But you go right ahead and make the recipe with the hangar/skirt steak. Whatever you buy, it will be three times as expensive as it was last year because of the corn-pocalypse of 2012.

This recipe was developed by Adam Fleischman, chef at a restaurant called Umami Burger. Prep time is 12 hours before hand to marinate the beef. Cook time is 10 minutes. Here is what chef Adam he has to say:

"This easy marinade makes for a distinctly bourbon-flavored steak that is great on top of a salad, alongside stir-fried vegetables or even on a sandwich. Hangar is a prized cut otherwise known as the "Butcher’s Steak," being well known for its flavor, texture and lower price point."

Let me summarize this way: It's incredible!

• 1/2 cup Maker’s Mark® Bourbon
• 6 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely grated or minced
• 1 teaspoon garlic, pressed or minced
• 1 tablespoon shallots, minced
• 1 pound hangar or skirt steak, trimmed
• 1/4 cup heavy cream or veal stock (I think you know I don't have veal stock laying around)

To make the marinade, combine ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 minute. Pour the marinade into a shallow dish large enough to hold the meat and set aside to cool.



Shallots in a small dice.





Our steak in the bourbon marinade.

 Add the beef to the cooled marinade, stir to evenly coat and refrigerate overnight for no more than 12 hours.

Dry the beef with paper towels. Heat a large pan/skillet over high heat. (We are using a new Lodge pre-seasoned cast-iron skillet I got at Kroger).  Sear the beef 3 minutes on each side for medium rare, remove from the pan and rest meat. Cook down excess marinade as a pan sauce, whisking a little cream or veal stock in at the end. Slice and serve.

A note from John: This sauce is the best sauce I have ever had in my life! Little browned bits of shallot and garlic, bourbon, soy, the flavor of the beef itself...only one word describes this sauce: savory.

 

Maker's Mark and Balsamic Roasted Tomatoes

Steam covers the camera lense as the tomatoes come out of the oven.

 This recipe comes from Lee Anne Wong, Chef and Maker’s Mark® cookbook editor. Prep time is 10 minutes. Cook time is 10 minutes.

 "These tomatoes are about as easy as it gets when it comes to a simple side dish that is both elegant and rustic at the same time. The balsamic and Maker’s Mark® Bourbon reduce together in the oven to help glaze and flavor the tomatoes and work well with the acidity and natural sweetness of the tomatoes."

• 3 tablespoons Maker’s Mark® Bourbon
• 1 pound cherry tomatoes on the vine (if you can’t find on the vine, regular cherry tomatoes will work)
• 2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar or cream of balsamic
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat the oven to 500°F. Place the tomatoes in a single layer in a nonstick baking dish, leaving the vines intact.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Pour the dressing over the tomatoes (it will pool in the bottom of the dish). Roast the tomatoes in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the skins burst and the glaze has reduced, gently shaking the pan once during cooking.

To serve, carefully place the tomatoes on a plate. Spoon the reduced glazed over the tomatoes. Serve immediately.

Nola's Mashed Red Potatoes

These are God's own potatoes. For real.

I got lucky on this one. Sarah made these potatoes and they, by far, the best mashed potatoes I have ever experienced that were not adulterated by cheese, bacon, sour cream, etc. You must try this! Amazing.

• 3/4 pound small red bliss potatoes, quartered
• 12 whole roasted garlic cloves (you can get these from the olive bar at Kroger)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped green onion, for garnish

In a saucepan, cover unpeeled potatoes with cold water and bring to a boil. Cook just until tender -- do not overcook or potatoes will be watery. Drain well, return pan with potatoes to low heat and shake to dry. Squeeze in garlic cloves, cream, butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Mash together with a potato masher until ingredients are combined but potatoes are still lumpy.

Buttermilk Bourbon Pie

Absorb that for a second. Buttermilk and bourbon. Can it get more southern? This recipe also was created by Lee Anne Wong. It should be called "Oh my God" pie. The crust alone -- a buttery pate brisee -- is incredibly easy but beautifully golden and crunchy. No shortening-based crust can live up to this standard. The filling is golden and radiant with the mellow-sweet flavor of the bourbon. The buttermilk and cider vinegar give the pie a slight tang that just works perfectly with the sweet caramel flavors. Amazing. And I love the brown spotty coloration the top of the pie gets in the oven. The flour, cornmeal and buttermilk combo give a breadiness to the custard that is unusual, unexpected and downright cool. But the bourbon is the best part!

Here is the butter crust. I am going to use this on all future pies.

The recipe calls for a dollop of creme fraiche or whipped cream. Frankly, I tried my own whipped cream and it simply masked the flavor of the pie too much. Go with the naked truth! And make sure that you serve the pie at room temperature. The first bite I took of the pie at breakfast was too cold for the flavors to fully register on my tongue. A later, room-temperature slice was like 22/7 -- perfect pi/pie.Prep time is 1.5 hours, and cook time is an hour. Here is what Lee Anne has to say:

"This rich and buttery pie is similar to the Southern favorite, chess pie. The addition of Maker’s Mark® and buttermilk give it a smooth and tangy flavor. Enjoy cold with a dollop of whipped cream or crème fraiche."

1/4 cup Maker’s Mark® Bourbon

1 recipe Pate Brisee

1-1/2 cups sugar

1-1/2 tablespoons cornmeal

1-1/2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

3 large eggs

1  egg yolk (there was a weird type on the recipe here and this is my interpretation of what they meant)

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

Admit it: This photo is driving you crazy. You can not imagine how this pie tastes. Buttermilk and bourbon? Shut up.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out pie dough to 1/8 inch thick; place it in an 8-inch pie plate, and press into sides. Crimp as desired. Place in refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.

Combine the sugar, cornmeal, flour and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Add the dry ingredients in and whisk until well blended. Pour the custard into the chilled pie shell.

Bake until the crust is golden brown and the center of the pie is set when touched, about 55-60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool before serving.

Pate Brisee

• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small dice
• 1-1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Pinch salt
• 1–3 tablespoons ice water

Mix the flour, sugar and salt together in a large bowl and then using your fingers or a pastry cutter, blend the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.

Add the ice water and gently knead the dough until it just comes together (you do not want to over work the dough, it will become tough). Knead several times more until the dough is smooth. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour to rest.

Mint Julep

By John Haman

This is the julep d'amore.

This is my personal recipe, developed over months of experimentation. To make this work you must have fresh mint, good bourbon, simple syrup and something wooden like the handle of a wooden spoon to muddle with.

• Fresh mint
• Ice
• Simple syrup (sugar and water)
• Bourbon

First, make the simple syrup. Put two parts water to one part sugar in a sauce pan and heat it, stirring, until the last sugar crystals dissolve. At this point, the solution might start turning just a tad amber in color.That's ok but do not cook past the point where the sugar is dissolved. At this point, being in a rush to have my first julep, I usually plunge the bottom half of the saucepan down into a collander filled with ice to cool off the liquid quickly and fill with water around the sides of the saucepan to hasten the process.

Do not do this by putting the sugar directly into the glass an skipping the syrup step. If you do you will see a lot of sugar crystals suspended in your drink and it will be weird.

Muddling with a bamboo spoon.

With the syrup made, put enough loose mint leaves in the bottom of your glass to fill about 1.4 to 1/3 of the glass without packing. It is ok of there are some stems in there. Now take the muddler -- one of those little wooden baseball bats or the handle of a wooden spoon and bruise the leaves of the mint in the glass by compressing them and then stirring around, releasing the mint oils. Don't be dainty with this. Go ahead and crush that stuff around for like 30 seconds. Bruising it releases the flavor. Now, all the mint will be pressed against the bottom. 

Now this is key: The ice goes on next. Pack the glass all the way with ice. You must do this so the ice will hold down the mint leaves and keep little pieces from getting in your mouth while you drink.

Now, fill the ice-packed glass half-way with the bourbon. Then fill the rest of the way with the simple syrup (it can still be warm -- just not hot -- and stir. Take a sprig of mint and put it in the top of the drink for a garnish. And there you go: the best mint julep you have ever had.

For those who want to make a version for the kids, do everything the same but instead of using bourbon, put like a half-teaspoon of vanilla extract in there and use more syrup, possibly watering it down a little so it is not so sweet.Leftover simple syrup is perfect for sweet tea.

And here is another  tip: Make a lot of syrup, have a good amount of mint, have friends over, buy some lime and rum, and you can make both juleps and mojitos with the mint and syrup, easy as can be.

Beer-Battered Cod Sandwiches with Feels-Like-Home Tartar Sauce, Shut-the-Front-Door Onion Rings and Heath Bar Cookies

ARKANSAS VS. TEXAS A&M

 

Things change quickly, don't they?

 

Thing 1: I wasn't able to blog last week because of a business trip. Thing 2: I wasn't prepared for how long it would take me to recover from the minor surgery  (yeah, whatever) that I had a week ago. Thing 3: This is an interesting football season, no?

 

Essentially, the Razorback football season for me has reverted to a sense of these guys being family, and I'm watching out of love. I'm not watching because we are awesome, or because I think we can compete in the SEC this year, it's just simply down to the level of being a dance recital for my daughters, or my son's first  tee ball game, when that comes around. I care about these guys.

 

And in a sense, I feel good about that. I'd rather have a great team, but since I don't, I am moving the goalposts and finding new reasons to follow my Hogs.

 

It's an early game today so I should have gone with the breakfast game blog I have planned. Except I am not prepared for that, because I was laying on my back til yesterday. Luckily, my wife came along with this amazing meal a night or two back, and I was so smitten with it I got out my camera and started snapping shots. Instant food blog! So thank you Sarah for what we are all about to enjoy.

 

First-and-Ten: Beer-Battered Cod Sandwiches

 



OMG you can taste the crunch, can't you?



If you are thinking about that frozen beer-battered fish, stop that. This is the real thing. Genuine beer-battered fish like you would get in the Midwest and other places hits you like a swirling crunch vortex from hell. You simply aren't ready for the crisp, thick texture of this  batter and the meaty flavor of the fish underneath.If you make this recipe then this will probably how you will make your non-catfish, non-mullet fish the rest of your life.Thanks be to groupreceipes.com for this formulation.

2 pounds grouper, mahi mahi, cod, or halibut fillets (We used cod -- it is a great, meaty fish)

2 teaspoons Greek seasoning, divided

1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups cold beer (We used Miller Lite)

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Vegetable oil or shortening (We used Crisco and it was unbelievable)

4 sesame seed hamburger buns

  

Not apologizing for this. Just glad to get this giant tub finished.

Cut fish into 3-inch strips. Divide the spices as I mention below here. Don't use all the spices at once!

Sprinkle evenly with 1 tsp. Greek seasoning, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper.

Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, remaining 1 tsp. Greek seasoning, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper; stir well.

Add 2 cups cold beer and egg, stirring until thoroughly blended and smooth.Pour oil to a depth of 2 to 3 inches into a Dutch oven; heat to 375°.

Dip fish strips into batter, coating both sides well; shake off excess. Fry fish, in batches, 2 minutes on each side until golden (do not crowd pan we went for golden because we always want to be golden.) Drain on paper towels.

Spread top half of each bun evenly with tartar sauce. Place 1 lettuce leaf and 1 tomato slice on bottom half of each bun; top each with 2 fried fish strips and top halves of buns.Garnish the sandwich with some nice lettuce and possibly tomato.

This is the spent Crisco, having left everything it had on the field.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Rub-Down: Feels-like-Home Tarter Sauce

 

Food processor is best for tartar sauce.

Here's the deal: Sarah was supposed to fill in the recipe for this, but I found out there actually is no recipe at 4 a.m.as the baby was maniacally laughing in bed with us and swatting my head. He was all, "Ahahahah! There's no RECIPE!!!!! AHAHAHAHAHA! So deadline is approaching and I am going with the rough concept here. I know what is in it. She can fix this later. :-)

• 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise (and if I know Sarah, it is Blue Plate light)
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup capers
• 1/2 cup pickles (typically dill)
• 1 tbsp creole seasoning
• Coupla shots of Tabasco (No other hot sauce, please.)
• 1/8 cup white or yellow onion

Let it whir in the food processor a few seconds til it is the consistency you like. I like to see bumps. Let flavors blend a few minutes.

Sideline Route: Shut-The-Front Door Onion Rings

 

However good you think these beer-battered onion rings were, they were better than that.

 Ok this is simple. Make the beer batter in the last recipe. There will be a good amount of leftovers. Immediately use it to fry slices of onion. You have never had an onion ring this crunchy and perfect in your life. So much better than a breadcrumb coating or any other batter I had. Imagine a crunchy funnel cake with an onion inside. Now take an antacid.

 

Two-Minute Drill: Heath-Bar Cookies



Hi there. I'm chewy and crispy with a sinful hint of candy-bar essence. How you doin'?

These wonderful coolies come to us from The Southern Bite www.southernbite.com

The recipe makes 4 dozen and they really hold up well in the oven for a butter cookie. Nice even or slightly crowned tops and interesting cracks and ridges. I ate four of them as soon as they cooled for a few minutes, but the next morning I had another(and, at this writing, yet another) and was glad I had given some a chance to cool. I feel some kind of crunchy candy action going on inside there now that the melted Heath Bars have had a chance to cool. Either way, they are good. I would be tempted to experiment with a bigger cookie but I am not sure how that would work out. The recipe worked perfectly as designed.

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks) (Do not use margarine or shortening)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 8 Heath Bars, 1.4 oz each. (We used a bag of the mini bars)

Cream butter and sugar together until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in a separate bowl and gradually stir into butter/sugar mixture. Coarsely chop Heath Bars and add them to the dough. Spoon dough onto greased cookie sheet (or one lined with a Silpat mat or parchment paper) in 1 tablespoon amounts. (We used a cookie sheet sprayed  with canola and it worked great) Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown.(In our oven it was 9 minutes)  

Cooler Break: Beer
I mean, get real. What else do you drink with beer-battered fish? Take your pick. My pick, for today, is Michelob Ultra Lime Cactus, by the far the best lime-flavored light beer I have ever had, and with less calories than the usual light beer. Mmm, cactus.

Next week we will get back to normal around  here. I can't wait. Please share this with your friends, as the real fun for me is in watching new people visit!