Sorry for the delay :(

Don't want you to think that I forgot all about you, but a nasty virus killed my computer and wiped out ALL of my pictures. As soon as I get up and going I'll start postingagain. I have so catching up to do!! Hope you all have a fantastic week!!

Love to all,
Sjon

Deep Fried Goodness!!

Hey yall!! Hope all is well. Sorry it's been a little while since I have posted. Been a little busy lately at work, keeping the roads hot from here to Louisiana and trying to soak up some rays. Lord knows my white legs need all the sun they can get! I have been cooking though. Just have to make some time to catch up on my posts!

So, Mitch and I were talking the other day about his family in Texas and the kinds of foods they eat over that way. He was telling me about a place that has stuffed, deep fried avacados and how good they are, so, of course I had to try it out myself. In Texas, they take a whole avacado, remove the seed, hollow it out, stuff it with meat, batter and deep fry it. I chose to do mine a little differently.

Lets get started!

First you will need to make some pico de gallo

Chop some onion

Remove seeds and chop some tomato

Remove seeds and membrane from a jalapeno and mince

Mince some garlic

Chop some cilantro

Add salt and pepper

 Mix together, cover and refrigerate (This stuff smells SO good!!!!)

Chop up a few artichoke hearts and set aside

Peel, devein and chop some shrimp

Shred a block of white cheese

Prepping the Avacados:

Cut avacados in half

Remove seed and the skin. Remove some of the avacado, making the seed hole bigger.

Dust each half with flour, place in plastic bag and freeze

Making the Batter:

3/4 cup of room temperature beer

3/4 cup of flour

2 egg yolks

2 Tbs oil

1 1/2 tsp salt

Mix together, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours

Stuffing:

Saute the pico de gallo. Reserve just a little bit for the sauce.

Add the artichoke hearts

Add chopped shrimp, salt and pepper

Remove and place in a seperate dish

Saute a little of the pico de gallo

Add white wine and cream. Bring to a boil and reduce heat.

Add cheese. Adjust with salt and pepper. Cook until thick.

Remove avacados from the freezer

Stir the batter and dip the avacados

Fry until golden

Remove from oil and stuff with the shrimp mixture

Top with the wine/cheese sauce and garnish with some cilantro

OK, I was so freaking full that I could barely move!! They were SO good!! Mitch had 3 halves. I did good to finish 2. You can stuff these things with anything you can think of and make it your own. I will definately be making these agian!! Maybe with something a little spicer and more Texas like.

Thinking Green

So, I went to my Nanny's house the other day so JW could spend some time with her, and as usual, she loaded me up with goodies from her garden and freezer. Came home with collards, cabbage, deer sausage and ground up deer meat. On the way back to the Island, I stopped by Greers and picked up some ham hocks and took a few pictures of some of the stuff they sell there. They have anything from chocolate flavored red wine to chicken feet and pork brains. Kind of cool, if you ask me. I like going in the Vietnamese grocery store too. Talk about some funky stuff in there!! Wooooo!! LOL

Alright, enough chit chat....Let's get to cooking!

In a large stock pot, place the ham hocks on the bottom and fill with water until they are covered by about 5 inches of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for a hour.

Start by washing and separating the collards into single leaves.

Remove the vein and stack the leaves.

Cut down the length once and then the width a few times.

Coarsely chop up 4-5 cloves of garlic.

Remove the ham hocks from the water and let cool then remove the skin and cut the meat off the bone and chop. (I gave the skin and bones to my dogs and they loved it!)

Add the seasonings to the pot. I used salt, Tony's and red pepper flakes.

Add the greens, meat and garlic.

I love how green they turn when you first put them in!

Let boil for 45 mins.

Load your bowl up and dig in!!

Note: It's a little spicy and there is really no reason to add pepper sauce, unless you just want to. Let me just say that that was some gooooooooood stuff right there!!

I'm Just Ducky, Deer!

Told ya I'd be back! Let me just tell you that I have started a new chapter in my life and I can't wait to share it with all of you. My friends have completely inspired me to get my butt back in the kitchen and do all the things that make me happy, so....I am! Hope you all like it, because I really haven't been this happy in a very long time.

A few weeks ago I made my first trip to South Louisiana to go duck hunting. After freezing my butt off going to the camp in the Hanko boat and feeling seasick for the rest of the weekend (don't ask), we got some ducks! My friend, Mitch, cleaned them and brought them home to the Island along with some deer sausage he had made from a deer he had killed earlier in the season. So, I decided to make some duck and deer sausage gumbo! Lets get started!

Wash the ducks really well and remove all pellets.

Place them in a pot, cover with water and add 5 bay leaves, a tablespoon of Italian seasoning, and 3 cloves of crushed garlic.





Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for a hour.

In the mean time, start chopping the Trinity (onion, celery and bell pepper)








Garlic



Green onions



Deer sausage





Now the fun part! Making the roux! 1 cup oil and 1 cup flour

Cook over medium heat until chocolate brown. Do NOT stop stirring or it will burn and you will have to start all over because the roux is the MOST important part! Yes, your arm will want to fall off when you are finished, but hey, that's the price we pay for making something awesome!

Add the Trinity, garlic and a little Tony's. This is when you put your face of the pot and take it all in!! Smells SOOOOO good!!!



Stir it all around until everything is coated.




Your ducks should be done by now.

Remove and let cool. Strain and reserve the broth.





Add the sliced deer sausage, 1 teaspoon of cayenne, 1 teaspoon of black pepper and 4 chicken bouillon cubes.


Add 12 cups of broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for a hour.




Debone the ducks and chop the meat into small pieces. Add them to the pot and let cook for 45 mins.





Add the green onions and let cook for another 30 mins.



Boil your desired amount of rice.



Now, I made this on a Saturday, but we were going out with some of our friends so I let it cool down and stuck it in the fridge. If you have made gumbo before, you know that it is ALWAYS better the next day!! So, Sunday I made some rice and topped it with the gumbo and OMG, it was SO FREAKING GOOD!!!! For Mitch to say it was the best duck gumbo he has ever had, is saying a lot! Mom ended up being a gumbo thief and took pot and all to her house for them to eat. LOL Oh well, just means I'll have to make more next time! Y'all try it out!


Sorry I didn't make it all pretty. I was hungry!!

Pretty cool to see it from begining to end, or at least I think so!