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!

Flat Iron Steak Sandwiches with "Rum Forrest Rum" Punch and MoonPie Bread Pudding

ARKANSAS VS. ALABAMA

Get Your Pan Hot!

It's a marvelous day for redemption, don't you think? And redemption can come in many forms. Some of you think redemption for last week's defeat would require beating Alabama, the best team in the land. For others, redemption comes with the Hogs getting 21 points.

 I simply want to see this team go for broke, play like its hair is on fire, have fun and make plays. I want to see some people rise up and become leaders, especially if quarterback Tyler Wilson is unable to go. I want to see it be a contest when the fourth quarter starts. And I want to see those anthracite jerseys. There, I said it.

I love this team and everything it represents. I love it like family. Sometimes family disappoints you, but you don't turn your back. You have a lifetime of investment in times good and bad, and now you are simply a parent or grandparent to this team. Last week I went through a brief period of mourning over the ULM game. But the next morning I let it go and decided to start getting excited about this week's contest.

This is a weird year for the team, and that's no fault of the Razorbacks, really. What say let's  have fun with it the rest of the way, enjoy some good food and company, and root these Hogs on. It's all part of the story.

First and 10: Flat Iron Steak Sandwiches with Pickle Butter

Photo from familystylefood.com site

Okay! We have been slinging a lot of butter around here. Most of the photographs this week are of the dessert -- where the most work was done. But my mouth started watering as soon as I saw the photo of today's main dish.  I discovered flat iron steaks a few months ago at the grocery store and life hasn't been the same since. Flat iron is a new cut of beef recently developed that offers an even thickness of meat, perfect for grilling and very affordable. A piece of connective tissue that naturally occurs in this secton of the cow is removed before packaging, and the meat often comes sealed inside plastic.

Kroger has this cut, and typically serves up grilled samples of it that were marinated in olive oil, Califironia garlic seasoning and Back Yard Southern Style Seasoning. Whenver they do this, people run to the spice aisle to buy that spice combination. I have grilled up flat iron and then served it, sliced with a honey-hot pepper sauce over the top. But the recipe I am featuring today really caught my attention.

It comes to us from familystylefood.com, which carries the tagline "recipes for every day with a dash of style." The author, Karen, posted this recipe July 10, 2012. You should check out her site -- its looks amazing.

• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1/3 cup cornichon or baby gherkin pickles, chopped (I chosed gherkin)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• Pinch sea salt, or to taste
• 2 flat iron steaks, about 8 oz. each (I could not find one smaller than about 17-18 oz. anyway.)
• Freshly ground black pepper.
• 1 small head of bibb lettuece
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 4 crusty French sandwich rolls (I settled for a baguette-like French loaf at Kroger that I cut into loaves)

Prepare a charcoal grill for direct grilling or light a gas grill to medium-high. (Actually, no, don't even think about using gas. Get a charcoal chimney and suck it up. Don't touch the lighter fluid.)

Mix together the butter, picles, tarragon, lemon juice and salt to taste in a small bowl.

Season the steak generously with salt and pepper. Grill the steak about 3 minutes per side for medium rare, or until done to your liking. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes. (Many web sites indicate that medium rare is best for this cut.)

Lay the rolls on the outer edge of the grill to warm.
To serve, line the rolls with lettuce leaves. cut the steaks into 1/4-inch-thick slices and layer onto the rolls. top each sandwich with some onion and a few dollops of the pickle butter.

This recipe makes four sandwiches.And oh, that dollop of pickle butter. Hoo ah!

 

Cooler Break: "Rum Forrest Rum" Punch

This is recipe that could benefit from being halved if you are just making it for a family (of adults) or you are having a couple over for the game. But if you have a good-sized gathering, go ahead and make the whole thing. Just make sure you have a pitcher than can hold an entire gallon.

You get the name, right? Forrest Gump played for Alabama.  I adapted this recipe from several simple punch recipes I found on the interwebs.My only requirement was that it not involve grenadine or bitters (so I didn't have to buy them.)

• 2 liters punch-flavored soda (I supposed you could just use punch)
• 1 liter of dark rum (I used Bacardi Select)
• A 12-oz can of frozen orange-pineapple juice concentrate
• 1 cup of coconut rum
• One orange sliced for garnish

Put the frozen concentrate in the pitcher and DO NOT ADD WATER. Use the rum to reconstitute it. Then add the soda, stir and float the orange slices on top. Get it nice and cold. This is a serious punch for serious people. The key to the flavor will be the rum you choose, so if you like a spicier, darker flavor, go with Meyer's.

Warning: there is a lot of alcohol in this punch. Anything you are drinking something sweet with rum it it, there is the tendency to over do it. Take it slow, cowboy! Game day is a marathon.

Two-Minute Drill: MoonPie Bread Pudding

To be honest, I think I created this food blog so I could make this recipe, courtesy moonpie.com. I was dreaming about bread pudding when I first began planning the season, and this recipe stimulated my imagination. Like most foodies, I have a sixth sense about flavors that would mix well in my mouth and I wasn't wrong about this one. This is quite simply the most incredible dish I have ever eaten in my life.Though its building blocks are low-country, the finished result could be found in the finest restaurants of New Orleans.

And how could this recipe possibly miss? It is a collision of the best ingredients -- the favorite sons -- of our beloved South: Butter, cream, MoonPies, liquor, brown sugar?

It's a huge recipe with 15 eggs that series 15-20 people, so the first thing we did was cut it in half. It called for two different 9x13 baking dishes. We happened to have one 9x13 metal making dish. The key to this thing is that you will need to bake it in a water bath for 45 minutes. So you need one 9x13 than can fit down inside of another casserole dish partially full of water.(Remember cooking your cheese dip in a double boiler in 1976? It's a double boiler if you are cooking cheese dip. It's a bain marie if you are getting all French with it and making pah -tayyyyy.)

 Locate the dishes first so you know the logistics will work out. What you are going to read below is my half-size adaptation of the moonpie.com website recipe, which was apparently developed by a caterer.

• 8 eggs
• 16 oz whole milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground clove
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon baking power
• 1/2 a small loaf of french bread, diced
• 5 Double Decker MoonPies or 7-8 Original MoonPies, diced 
• 3/4 tablespoon butter
• Rum Sauce (see below)
• Chopped Pecans

In one bowl, combine first 7 ingredients. In  separate bowl combine bread and MoonPies, which should be roughly even in amount.  Pour liquid ingredients over bread and MoonPie mixture. I used the mini moon pies since that is all they had at Kroger.

Gently fold to combine. Butter the 93 inch baking dish and pour the mixture in, then refrigerate for an hour and a half.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cube 1/4 stick of butter and distribute evenly over the top of the dish. Bake the dish uncovered in a water bath for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. (Has a toothpick ever come out cleanly in the history of mankind?)

Be careful when you open the oven, for it will be full of steam and can hurt your eyes or your face. Stand back a second and let that waft around. Also, the water bath that the baking dish is floating in will probably be boiling at the end. Careful with that. Pull the dish out to the stove-top slowly so as not to slosh the boiling water. You should see some nice browning on top of the pudding from the butter cooking atop the bread. The pudding is now ready for its sauce.

 

Rum Sauce

• 1/2 pound unsalted butter
• 1/2 pound dark brown sugar (about 1 1/3 cups but the weight worked perfectly and is more accurate)
• 1/2 qt. heavy cream
• 1/8 cup dark rum, plus more

Combine incredients in a saucepan and whisk constantly. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat. Now revel in your accomplishment, because this sauce is probably the happiest thing you have ever had in your mouth. Drizzle the warm rum sauce over the top of the bread pudding and garnish with chopped pecans. Serves 8-10.My only regrets? Not attempting to put some raisins in the pudding or the sauce. With that rum flavor, raisins might have been even more divine.

Next week? Razorgumbo is taking a bye week. The author will be out of commssion for awhile, so you will have to fend for yourself for Rutgers and I will see you the week after. Get your pan hot!

Game Notes: Louisiana Monroe

First, I am just sad.

It was painful to watch our quarterback get knocked out of the game with what appears to be a concussion, then to  see one of our starting cornerbacks (Tevin Mitchell) go out on a golf cart-strapped down, with no apparently movement in his extremities. Nothing is more important than finding out that he is okay.

Then, to see our backup fullback (Kody Walker) -- who was filling in for our starting fullback, who injured himself in practice and is going to have surgery -- also go out on a stretcher, and to know that one of our other defensive backs was hurt too, was simply sickening. I actually was sad to see the Warhawks running back go out too, with what might have been a re-injury of his ACL. I have never seen so many people leave a game badly hurt.

The tone for this game was set early. Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson was seriously off his game, throwing an interception on the first series and under- or over-throwing Brandon Mitchell three times in the first half. Last week, Wilson broke records and threw for about 70 percent. Tonight, he really couldn't do anything right. Did he suffer the "above-the-neck" injury early? Or was he just not himself? Doesn't really matter.

Our defense was  horrendous, to say the least. We could never stop the Warhawks from moving the ball, though until the second half we were able to mostly stop them from scoring. The injuries to the defensive backs might have given the Warhawks what they needed to push through and actually score, again and again, in the second half. Coupled with the loss of possibly the best quarterback in the SEC in Wilson, it was a kill shot to the Razorbacks.

Backup quarterback Brandon Allen managed to hold it together for a score on his first drive but looked not so great doing it. Every posession after that was awful for Allen. He threw to the wrong shoulder constantly. He was also under a lot of pressure as the Razorback offensive line stopped getting any semblance of a push.

Arkansas running back Knile Davis looked extremely tentative in the first half, but he also wasn't getting any lead blocking or much help from the line. It's hard to be impressive as a RB when you have no fullback. By the second half it appeared the Razorbacks, who were supposed to have a really good running threat this year, had all but condemned their own running game and were settling for watching pass after pass fall long, short or wide of the receiver.

I can't say anything bad about our recivers at all. They didn't have many chances out there.

The only man playing defense out there seemed to be Ross Rasner, and he was playing it illegally, tomahawking the arms or receivers without even looking back for the ball. He got away with it most times, and I was happy about it.

Even Dennis Johnson, one of the best kickoff return men in the SEC, couldn't get started. Most of his returns fell well short of the 25.

The phrase that comes to mind is "snakebit." This ULM team played really well, and special credit should be given to their quarterback. The coach called gutsy, go-for-broke plays all night, and they converted  key third - and fourth downs. Frankly, I was surprised when the Warhawks did not go for two to win the game in regulation. Instead, they kicked the extra point, and then totally shocked me by actually going for the first down in overtime on 4th and 1 when they were staring at a chip-shot field goal to send it to a second overtime, which they surely would have won, since they were winning everything on the field for the last half.

As the quarterback ran in a keeper for a touchdown and the win, I thought to myself, man, their kicker must really be awful. Or, maybe the coach just really had a lot of confidence in that quarterback. 

There is going to be a lot of chatter about coaching and John L. Smith. Was this the fault of the coaching staff? I don't think so. I saw lack of execution by the players in every aspect of the game. There was one moment, however, that was a total breakdown of coaching, and I assume this fell on Paul Petrino as the offensive play caller. The Hogs had the ball in regulation and were around mid field with :30 or so left in the game. They clearly could not afford an interception, and so the only reasonable approach was to run the ball to see if they could get within field goal range, since they still had two timeouts left and could thus stop the clock to get set up for a field goal.

Inexplicably, a pass play was called. Quarterback Brandon Allen, who looked like he was floating around in space all night, could not find a receiver, and he scrambled to his right. The only sensible course he had was to keep it and try to get five yards or so. Instead, he threw the ball, like a freshman is wont to do in pressure sitations, and it was  tipped and intercepted. That move might not have cost us the game, but if you weren't convinced that Allen was totally out of his league already, that moment should have persuaded you.

The play call there was awful, and so was Allen's execution on the field. Regardless of the outcome at that point, it was clear in my mind then that Allen can not be asked to start against Alabama next week. Brandon Mitchell needs to be removed from the receiver corps (too bad -- he was one of the best) and prepared to start the game in the event Wilson does not recover in the next week. Allen was that bad.

Another  thought I had was that this didn't hurt as much as the loss to Alabama two years ago, when we had greatness slip from our fingers. No, this was a three-hour soak in a hot bath with a razor blade, slowly watching the team bleed out. The team could do nothing right, and the opponent did everything right. Then, the injuries made the outcome predictable.

Monroe goes  to Auburn next week and  the odds are terrible that they will win again, since Auburn is now 0-2, playing at home and really mad. But I will be rooting for Monroe, and their quarterback.

And what becomes of the Hogs? Well, just about anything but a national championship is possible, but I think we all know that a victory against Alabama next week would be one of the greatest miracles in Razorback history. I think what that would  take would be a healthy Tyler Wilson, 140 yards from Knile Davis, 45 points for the Hogs, five field goals and a defense playing completely out if its mind.

However, I am going to continue to hope and dream, to cook for my food blog, and to get excited. After all, no one -- not even that complete ass I have as a Facebook friend who delights in taunting hog fans when they are down -- could have predicted that Monroe would win this game. Are the odds of a Hog victory against Bama any greater?

Please don't answer that.

Garlic Fried Chicken with Buttermilk Biscuits, Corn Relish and Coconut Cream Pie

ARKANSAS VS. LOUISIANA MONROE

Right now, you are probably tailgating for the game at War Memorial Stadium, and I am at home, cooking and watching television. Am I okay with this? You bet. Because I have a new baby to watch the game with, and, on an unrelated note, I have all the ingredients for the chemistry experiment  I have been working on all day in the drink shaker.
Last week's menu was all about roasting chilis and hours of effort. This week is about keeping things easy, simple, and classically southern --for the most part.

 

First-and-Ten: Garlic Fried Chicken Breasts

Our main dish is a fun, fast recipe from the 2004 edition of the "Southern Living Ultimate Quick & Easy Cookbook". As the recipe says, "a quick soak in a salty milk mixture makes this chicken extra moist and flavorful. Stir up the breading and heat the oil while it soaks." If you are anything like me, frying chicken has always been a little intimidating. But trust me -- you can do this, and it is quite simple. You just need a heavy, deep skillet or dutch oven. You could make this ahead of time for the next tailgate experience you have.

• 4 small bone-in chicken breast halves
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• Vegetable oil (I'm using sunflower because that's what I have and I like it)

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and place in a shallow bowl. Whisk together the eggs and milk; pour over chicken, turning pieces to coat. Let stand 5 minutes. Combine flour, garlic powder and parika in a zip-top freezer bag. Drop 1 chicken breast at a time in to the bag; seal bag, and shake to coat. Pour oil to a depth of 2 inches in a large, heavy skillet. (Yes, I used the good old reliable porcelein cast-iron razorpot.) Heat oil to 360 degrees F (medium on an electric burner.) Add chicken and cook, uncovered, 20 minutes or until done, turning as needed. Drain. Yields 4 servings.

 

Sideline Route: Quick Corn Relish

By chance, this recipe also comes from the "Southern Living Ultimate Quick & Easy Cookbook".It is so ridiculously easy. You can even do it in the microwave.

• (11-ounce) can yellow corn with red and green peppers (Del Monte calls it Fiesta Corn)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup (apple) cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup sweet pickle relish
• 2 tablespoons dried minced onion
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds

Combine all ingredients in a snall saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Remove to a serving bowl; cover and refrigerate reslish 4 to 8 hours, if desired. Yields 2 cups. For the microwave, combined all ingredients in a 1-quart casserole. Cover and microwave at medium high 5 to 7 minutes. Cover and refrigerate 4 to 8 hours if desired. (Note -- if you are serving more than two adults I would double this recipe so you have plenty.)

Third-and-Shortening: Buttermilk Biscuits

My goal here was to finally make biscuits that live up to the Platonic biscuit ideal, and that are as foolproof as possible. Most people know that biscuits can be fussy. Well, I have never had a bad biscuit at Cracker Barrel, so my thought was to see if I could knock off their recipe. This 2004 recipe comes to us from Kay Demonbren via food.com. She called it "Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Biscuits," and it is rated 4 1/2 stars. Good enough for me. Plus, my hair stylist (cutter? humorist?), Kim Duval, said she has made these and they are fantastic.  Don't be put off by the Bisquick. If it works, it works. The recipe takes about 23 minutes to make and produces 8-10 biscuits.

• 2-1/4 cups Bisquick
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• melted butter for brushing

(Do not try to make these without buttermilk! It is the key. In case you don't know, buttermilk is the liquid that is created when you churn or shake whole milk to create butter. The watery-milky substance that separates is "buttermilk." I have to tell you that I ate a lot of subpar biscuits in my childhood because there was a certain disregard for the importance of buttermilk. Don't go down this  path.)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Mix the Bisquick, (you will thank me later -- this takes all the uncertainty out of the process of rubbing the flour into the butter or Crisco) buttermilk and sugar together in a bowl. Add the melted butter into the batter. Stir until a soft dough forms. turn out onto a well floured work surface. Knead 20 times (this is a very forgiving dough), and don't be afraid to get additional flour into the dough.

Roll 1/2-inch thick, or thicker if you prefer towering biscuits. (Cut the biscuits -- this step was actually omitted from the recipe!) Place close together on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush tops with melted butter. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes; I  usually find 8 minutes is enough. When you remove the biscuits from the oven, brush the tops with melted butter again.

(Here's something good about biscuits I remember from childhood. If you want to avoid having to re-roll dough leftover from the circular biscuit cutter, just use a knife and cut the small circle of dough like it was a pizza into wedges. This way, there are no tough biscuits from the stuff that was re-rolled, because there are no scraps.)

 

Running the Spread: Razorgoo Pepper Jelly

 This is a really nice recipe my wife, Sarah, developed that features hot peppers grown and red-ripened in my own garden.  First, we used real fruit pectin to make the jelly, rater than gelatin (which, of course, comes from animals.. Side-note - back when I made wooden bows as a hobby, I would always glue the backing to the bow (rawhide, sinew, etc.) with Knox gelatin. Hide glue and bone glues are some of the oldest, best glues out there. When I am eating jelly, though, I enjoy knowing that no animals were involved. Can't explain it. Also, pectin is better. It has a different texture than gelatin. I think you will enjoy it.

Incidentally, the winners of the free jar of Razorgoo from a week back are Ashli Ahrens and Kelley Bass, one of my favorite couples in the world. If two people were ever made for each other, it is these two. Both incredible ambassadors for the city of Little Rock, and people who live life to the max. Ashli, you can expect this jar at your office early next week.

• 2/3 cup hot peppers. (I prefer they are red, as this is Razorgoo, after all.)
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 1/2 cups white vinegar
• 6 cups sugar
• 8 oz. liquid pectin (two packets)

Chop peppers and put in food processor with vinegar. Blend well and pour into large boiler. Add sugar and mix well. Bring mixture to a rolling boil (caution -- this will boil over faster than you can blink) and boil for six minutes. (Don't strain the peppers. That gets rid of the pretty stuff. Don't add food coloring, either. The jelly has a nice red color without it if you go with ripe peppers.

Remove from heat, add pectin quickly, put into six-half-pint jars and seal. I recommend the hot-water bath methood to seal. Let cool completely without disturbing for 24 hours, then store in a dark cool place. Refrigerate after opening.

 

Cooler Break: Orange Dreamies

Ok. This week's menu is really all about this item. And I have good news: You make this with or without alcohol and it is still good.

The goal was to create a boozy drink that simulated the experience of the dreamsicle or orange creamsicle. The key elements would be vanilla and orange flavors and a palpable sense of creaminess. Last night I basically drank myself into an early bed time trying to get this right. Started with punch as the base and tried to work in Bailey's, triple sec and vanilla vodka. As you probably knew but I did not, Bailey's curdles (still tastes good but looks awful) when you put citrus with it. In the morning I started working on what was essentially a vanilla orange martini with a sugared rim, but I basically had a white Russian there and it didn't look orange or really fit with the menu I was making, which was classic country favorites.

However, two people smarter than me -- one, my co-worker, Angela, and two, the valedictorian of my high school class, Julie, both suggested using a sherbet base. So I gave up and got some sherbet. The result was genius. In the words of my wife, "well, that's just stupid good."

• Orange Hawaiian Punch
• Orange Sherbet (I got the deluxe version from Kroger)
• Vanilla vodka (optional)

Fill a cocktail shaker about 40 percent full of the orange punch. (Chilled would be best). Then put that much again of sherbet into the shaker. You need to leave some room for shaking, but it should be about half and half. Don't put ice in. The sherbet itself serves as the ice. Take the cap off and strain the mix into a glass. The drink should look like a creamy punch. Then take the strainer off and dump the unmelted sherbet on top. To add a nice white, foamy top. Now, if you want this to be alcoholic, once you get the look and taste mix right on your sherbet to punch ratio, throw in a good-size shot of vanilla vodka (I used Cupcake), shake briefly, and repour. If you do it this way, you can pour "virgin" versions of the drink for your kids, then spike the adult version. I promise you will be pleased with this. If you aren't making a dessert, just put another big scoop of sherbet on top and make it a float.

 

Two-Minute Drill: Coconut Cream Pie

This easy dish comes to us courtesy of The Neelys via  foodnetwork.com. The recipe takes a total of 2 hours, 45 minutes to make, with 25 minutes of prep, 20 minutes to cook and 2 hours to set up. One reason it's so easy -- and yummy -- is that the crust is made of ginger snaps. Perhaps if you eat this pie you will be as fabulously in love as the Neelys are. I always enjoy wondering whether they are going to make out on camera. You can just feel that they are ready to run to the bedroom on every episode.I also like how they say "pap-uh-ree-kah."

Crust

• 30 gingersnap cookies (genius!)
• 1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 5 tablespoons melted butter

Filling

• 3 cups half-and-half (that is more than one typical container)
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1-1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
• Whiped cream for topping (Since we are going easy this week, I just got a can of spray cream)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Process the gingersnaps in a food processor until fine. Add them to a bowl with the coconut and melted butter; toss until combined. Press firmly to the bottom and up the sides of a deep-dish 9-inch pie pan. Bake 10 minutes and let cool completely.

Add the half-and-half, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and vanilla to a round-bottomed saucepan off the heat and whisk together until the mixture is smooth and the cornstarch has dissolved. Place on medium heat and bring to a simmer, whisking constantly while it thickens. (Don't do what I did, and work on your drink recipe while the custard cooks. This needs your full attention of you want it to be beautiful. However, if you end up with some little brown stuff in the custard it still tastes good and hey, it looks like toasted coconut.) Once thick like pudding, remove from the heat and stir in 2 tablespoons butter and 1 cup coconut.

Before the pie sets up in the fridge

Pour the thickened mixture into the cooled pie shell and refigerate for two hours or until set. Add the remaining 1/2 cup coconut to a baking sheeet and toast in the oven for 5 minutes. Top the pie with whipped cream and toasted coconut before serving. (Now, be the envy of everyone you know.)

Leftovers: Football Notes on Jacksonville State

The eating and yelling at the TV screen is over now, and its time to hash over the game itself. If you missed the menu, please read the article below to find out about all the great grub we had. Of everything we made, the Fruit Salad "Ancho" Villa was the surprise star of the show. What an amazing blend of chili spice, cachacha rum, lime juice, salt and fresh fruit. On to the game.

The Positive

Knile Davis looked fresh and eager in his debut. When running between the tackles he was the Knile we have all come to love. On sweep plays he seemed to get caught in the backfield. Others have pointed out that this might be because Tyler Wilson didn't check out of the play after misreading the defense. He looked fantastic catching the ball on a slant route. He seemed over-eager at the goal line and mistimed his jump. Had it not been for two losses on the sweep plays he would have been around 100 yards, and coach was really distributing the ball to several backs, so I would say this was a good debut for Knile. But his best play of the day was that monstrous, from-behind tackle on the play where quarterback Tyler Wilson fumbled to stop a touchdown. It looked like he was devouring that guy like Conan the Barbarian.

Dennis Johnson ran for nearly 7 yards per carry because he was used sparingly. He seems to really thrive when he is not the primary ball carrier. Ronnie Wingo fumbled as usual. I can't be objective about him because he has disappointed me so many times. He always shows flashes in the early season then goes back to being the slow-hitter he is. Have to admit, though, he showed a couple of flashes. Just not getting my hopes up.

Wilson was fantastic at QB, throwing for nearly 70 percent and almost 400 yards, and even having a good run with a nice looking pro slide at the end. He would have been perfect on the day had he not somehow lost the ball on his own thigh on the first drive and set up a drive by Jacksonville State that only delayed the beat-down.

And what about Brandon Allen on that scramble play! Wow, he is a legitimate runner.

What excited me the most about this game was that even though Cobi Hamilton was out early with what appears to be a neck injury, the team didn't seem to miss him. Chris Gragg came up huge with several twisting catches. He is such a huge, fast body and a deep threat! Probably the country's best tight end. And Brandon Mitchell! In his first game as a wide receiver, with very little time to get used to the position, he produced about 120 yards and added many yards after the catch  by using that strong, tall frame to evade tackles. To be honest, he reminded me a lot of Greg Childs and I would not be surprised if he contends for the best receiver of the year. Kudos to John L. Smith for letting this happen. The guy has the body of a pro receiver and based on how he looks right now, I would not be surprised if he is drafted as a receiver by the NFL.

The Negative

So let's talk defense. And let's strip away -- pun intended -- the two fumbles because some of that early scoring Jacksonville State did was partially due to good field position.

Early on, it seemed  that Arkansas was committed to stopping the run, but our defensive backs seemed  lost in space, with the notable exception of Ross Rasner, who was a complete stud out there playing two positions throughout the night. Jacksonville State was gashing us with big pass plays here and  there, frustrating everyone who felt like we should have been able to lock this team down.

Then, at the half, the Gamecocks suddenly were able to create holes for some big runs, though when you look at the stats for the game, they only averaged about 2 yards per carry due to the huge number of runs we stuffed or turned into losses.

Before the game, Gamecocks coach Jack Crowe said that his offense was very flexible, that they usually start in a pro set and quickly adapt to what the defense if giving them. It seems like that is exactly what they were  able to do. Which leads to this question: Why is it that the Razorbacks, regardless of the coach, the decade or what have you, are never able to totally dominate their cupcake opponents in every aspect? We Hog fans sit back in frustration as Oregon or Texas or Oklahoma or Alabama just takes their opening opponent to the woodshed. But remember New Mexico's receivers abusing us last year? Remember years and years of Troy and Louisiana Monroe showing surprising scrap?

I am going to guess here that the deal is that our defense has never, in recent memory, been dominant enough and experienced enough at the same time to be ready to stuff a team completely. That they are never deep enough to be ready for that this early. The defense that played the Cotton Bowl last year would have killed this team. Now, though, we have too many people getting used to their positions. If you have a better idea, please throw it me.

Conclusions

This team is essentially the same team we had last year, which is a huge credit to Coach John L. Smith, who held everyone together, and to Tenarius Wright and Tyler Wilson, the captains who took over the team. They might be even more potent on offense, and they are still not top caliber on defense.

I suspect the D will improve substantially, but they are not going to stop Alabama. We will have to score 32 to win against Bama, I think. We will be really beat up after that game and struggle to stop Rutgers, too. But by mid-season you will see the defense start to play with some swagger. If anything, they will be good at stopping the run. Against Bama they will sell out to stop the run and get gashed with some big pass plays.

 Finally, take the time to go read ArkansasSports360.com and RazorBloggers. These are great news sources about the Hogs, and they always have nice photos. Let's get ready for next week's Little Rock game! Please post comments about the blog, and tell me what you are excited about for next week.

Tomatillo-Braised Pork

ARKANSAS VS. JACKSONVILLE STATE



One of the best helmets in football




This is the meal of love

 At long last, the Arkansas Razorbacks are just about to lay a beat-down on the the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, coached by former Hog coach Jack Crowe. I couldn't wait til the game was over, so here you go with the first meal posted to Razorgumbo! 

Before we get to the food, a word or two about the game today, Jack Crowe, and a very weird weekend 20 years ago. The day after Jack Crowe was fired at Arkansas in September, 1992, for famously allowing his Razorbacks team to lose to The Citadel, the young journalist version of me was dispatched by Arkansas Business to cover the mess that the UA football program had turned into. I had some help and insight for the story from one of my editors, Jim Harris, who had just left the sports beat for a long turn in business reporting, and had a Jack Crowe-signed football in his office. (Read about how he got that  football here.) I'll never forget that assignment because I got to interview Frank Broyles and get chased away from a football practice by an arm-waiving assistant coach for taking pictures. Frankly, it was a time when I sort of stopped being a fan for a couple of years. Incidentally, Harris is back in sports now as one of the editors for Arkansassports360.com. For my money it's the best sports coverage in the state.

Some weeks on this blog I might wait til after the game to post, and some I will do it before. If you read down to my first post you will see some predictions for this season. But here are a few fresh ones:

The Hogs will win 41-10; the first score will be Knile Davis on a run; the BEST score will be a touchdown pass to Brandon Mitchell; John L. Smith will kiss Knile on the cheek at one point and then kick him in the rear; Jack Crowe will actually get a great round of applause; the defense will look great after a rough start; and someone out there will make this fruit salad you are about to read about and it will change their life.

More Hog talk in the next article. Let's get to the grub!

Quarterback Tyler Wilson in 2011 garb



On to the Food!

This week we are enjoying the game with a meal of tomatillo-braised pork loin with red potatoes, citrus-spice black beans, fruit salad "Ancho" Villa  and the famous Brazilian mixed drink caipirinha. There was no particular reason for the dish; the line-up of menus we are designing for this season is simply about having great food with a great football game -- at home, since we can't always go to the games. I've wanted to try this pork dish since the end of last football season when my good friend, Ben, suggested it was one of the best recipes for dutch ovens. The recipie comes from Rick Bayless' book "Mexico One Plate at a Time," and you will see variations of it all over the interwebs, but you will never see it with Pork-O-Vision, below! Ben has made the recipe on several campouts and won some dutch-oven cooking contests with it.

For the cooking vessel I am deplying my beloved Lodge enamel-coated cast-iron Dutch oven. You can spend like $200 on one of these if you buy the French-named one at a department store. I got mine at Kroger last fall for about $69 and they still have them on sale there today. I have made many pots of gumbo in it (just wait for the LSU game) and even made the cinnamon rolls ala Pioneer Woman in the pot. Nothing sticks to it, and it provides the most even cooking of anything I have experienced.

Note to true fans: Can someone please tell me how I can get a heat-resistant Razorback permanently emblazoned on the side of this pot?

First and Ten: Tomatillo-Braised Pork



The dish before plating



• 1 1/2 tablespoons rich-tasting pork lard, or olive or vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
• A two-pound boneless pork loin roast, untied if in two pieces (3.5 is probabaly the smallest you will find)
• 1 pound (10-12 medium) tomatillos, husked and rinsed
• Fresh hot green chiles to taste (roughly three serranos or 1 jalapeno), stemmed
• 1 medium white onion, sliced
• 3 large garlic cloves, peeled and finely choped
• 1 or 2 large sprigs fresh epazote, plus extra for garnish, OR 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilanro, plus a few sprigs for garnish. (All they had at the grocery store was cilantro)
• Salt
• 10 small (about 1-1/4 pounds total) red-skin boiling potatoes, scrubbed and quartered

Directions

Browning the pork

In a medium-size (4-5 quart) Dutch oven or other heavy pan with tight-fitting lid, heat the lard or oil over medium. When quite hot, lay in the pork loin (if there is more than one piece, don't crowd them or they'll stew rather than brown). Brown well on one side, about 5 minute, turn it over and brown the other side. Remove the pot  from the heat and transfer the pork to a plate. Set aside the Dutch oven or pan to use for the sauce-making.

The sauce

Roast the tomatillos and chiles on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler until darkly roasted, even blistered and blackened in spots, about 5 minutes. Flip them over and roast the other side -- 4 or 5 minutes more will give you splotchy tomatillos and chiles that are soft and cooked through. Cool and transfer everything to a food processor of blender, being cfareful to scrape up all the delicious juice that has run out onto the baking sheet.

A husked tomatillo has is like a little green apple with a waxy coating

Process until smoothly pureed. Set the pork-browning pan over medium heat. When hot, add the onion and cook, stirring regularly, until golden, about 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook a minute longer. Raise the heat to medium-high, and when really sizzling, add the tomatillo puree all at once. Stir until noticealy darker and very thick, 3 to 4 minutes. Add 1-1/2 cups of water and the epazote or cilantro. Taste and season with salt, usually 1 teaspoon. Stir everything thoroughly.

The roasted tomatillos and serrano chilis processed together

Braising the pork

Heat the oven to 325. Nestle the browned pork into the warm sauce, cover the pot and set in the oven. Cook 30 minutes. (Make sure you "nestle," now, ok?)  While the meat is cooking, simmer the potatoes in heavily salted water to cover until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. When the pork has cooked about 30 minutes, nestle the cooked potatoes into the sauce around the meat, re-cover and cook about 10 minutes longer, until the pork registers about 145 on a meat or instant-read thermometer. The meat will feel rather firm (not hard) to the touch, and cutting into the center will reveal only the slighest hint of pink

Right after pulling the roast pork out of the oven

Slightly pink is just right

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Serving the Dish

With a pair of tongs and a spatula, transfer the pork to a cutting board. Let it rest there for 3 or 4 minutes while you finish the sauce. Spoon off any fat on top of the sauce, taste the sauce and season it with additonal salt if you thin necessary. Spoon the sauce and potatoes onto a warm, deep serving platter

 

Sideline Route: Citrus-Spice Black Beans

SimplyRecipes Photo

This recipe, under a slightly different name, comes from the SimplyRecipes website and was tracked down by my wife to complement the Bayless braised pork

• 4 cups dried black beans
• 10 cups water
• 2-3 fresh sprigs oregano or 1 Tbsp dried
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 small or 3 large sage leaves (or  1/2 Tbsp dried)

• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 yellow onions, chopped
• 2 chopped peppers -- bell pepper, anaheim or jalapeno (your choice based on heat), seeds, stems and ribs discarded
• 6 cloves crushed garlic
• 2 Tbsp Ancho red chili sauce, or chili power, or Tabasco to taste
• 1-2 teaspons of pureed chipotle in adobo, chipote Tabasco, or chpotle powder (to taste)
• 1 Tbsp cumin (crushed whole toasted cumin seed is vbest, is possible)
• 3 Tbsp frozen organge juice concentrate or 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• Juce of 1 lime
• 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
• Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

Directions

(Warning -- once the beans are soaked, give yourself at least an hour head start with this dish before you start the pork. Maybe two hours. The beans can sit but the pork can not. If you don't have that kind of time, just do this with canned beans and be done with it.)

Ok, prepare the beans. Rinse and sort, discarding any stones or shriveled beans. You can soak the beans overnight in cold water (cover with several inches of water), or pour enough boiling water over them to cover by a few inches and soak them for an hour, (this is what I did) or skip the pre-soaking step. Soaking will speed up the cooking process. If you soak, discard the soaking liquid after soaking.

Add beans to a large pot with 10 cups of water. Add oregano, bay leaves and sage -- to save money I used dried spices for all of this and it was fine. Bring the beans to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the beans are soft, but not quite done. The time will vary depending on how large, dry or old your beans are, and if you have pre-soaked them, anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half.

While the beans are cooking, saute onions and peppers in olive oil until soft. Add chili sauce, chili powder and/or chili puree, cumin and garlic. Saute until spices are fragrant. (Ok, what I did for the heat was to use Knorr chipotle boullion cubes (1 early, and one late, and I gave it about four shots from the Tabasco bottle).

Fish out and discard the bay leaves, stems of oregano and sage leaves fro the pot of beans. Remove, but reserve, extra cooking liquid until there is about 1/2-inch of liquid above beans.

Add the onion mixture and salt to the pot of beans. Cook another hour or so until thickened. Add reserved liquid if needed. (I didn't need it. In fact, I thought I could have gotten away with a little less water in the beans)

Add half of the orange juice concentrate and simmer. Adjust chili heat at this point -- you may or may not want to add more of your chili paste. (This is where I threw in another cube of chipotle boullion) Just before serving, add remaning orange juice, lime juice and vinegar. Salt to taste. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro and peeled orange zest.

Cooler Break: Caipirinha!

The caipirinha is the drink of Brazil, and a lot of people have tried them at a local Brazilian steakhouse. The key to the drink is cachaca, the Brazilian sugar-cane rum. To make the drink, you will probably want a "silver" version of cachaca, as the "gold" varieties have some extra amber color to them that might mess up the clear/green aesthetics of the caipirinha.

If you live in Little Rock, you can find cachaca at Colonial Wine and Spirits. Perhaps you can find it elsewhere, too, but Colonial is such an amazing store I prefer to shop there for the variety and the knowledge their people have. If you have not tried cachaca before, get ready for something a little different than the rum you are used to. Cachaca reminds me more of a milder version of a smooth upper-end tequilla. It has flavor notes that I can only describe as "green," which remind  me of the better tequillas. Only the flavor is not that strong. It's like rum and good tequilla had a love child.

• Limes
• Cachaca (Brazilian sugar-cane rum)
• Sugar, preferably turbinado or "Sugar in the Raw"

Cut a lime into eighths and put 2 of the wedges into the bottom of a glass. Now spoon 1-1/2 teaspoons of the sugar on to the lime and "muddle" it with a wooden implement in the glass. Pour about 3 ounces of cachaca into the glass and mix before you put the ice in. This helps dissolve the sugar somewhat. However, the feel of those turbinado sugar crystals on the tongue is part of the joy. Put plenty of ice in the glass. I like to take some lime garnish and put in on the ice for just a tad more flavor and a nice look in the glass, then spin. You might enjoy putting a little more Turbinado in with the ice so you can experience the crystals. You might even want to rim the glass in Turbinado if you want to get all American with it.

The result is a frosty, refreshing  beverage that offers an elegant counterpoint to the usual. I will simply say that I was at one of the happiest moments of my life when I finished this drink for the first time.

Two-Minute Drill: Fruit Salad "Ancho" Villa

This recipe comes from food.com, under a different name (Mexican Fruit Salad) and serves as a refreshing complement to the braised pork and black beans.

• `4 cups strawberries, hulled and halved (about 1 1/4 pounds)
• 2 cups mangoes, chunks
• 2 cups melon, chunks (Honeydew provies best color contrast)
• 1 cup pineapple chunks (I cut it fresh)
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice (Oh please, use concentrated)
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup tequila (optional) (me, I'm used the cachaca instead)
• 1/4 cup sugar (yep, I used the Turbinado)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 -1 1/2 teaspoon dried dried ancho chile powder (available at Kroger)

In large bowl, combine strawberries, mango, melon and pineapple. Add orange juice, lime juice, Tequila (if using) sugar, salt and chili powder to taste; mix well. Chill at least 1 hour before serving. (Yeah, I didn't succeed in waiting that long.)

I would love to know if you try any of these dishes, and I would welcome any comments about the site or its contents. Take care, and here is something to look forward to...

Next Week:  The Louisiana-Monroe Game: Garlic-friend chicken, buttermilk biscuits with hot-pepper jelly, corn relish, coconut cream pie and OrangeDreamBoozies! Come back and join us!