Baby it's COLD outside!

Sorry, been inspired by some of my favorite Christmas tunes lately : ) In all seriousness the cold weather makes me want two things: warmth and comfort. So why not encapsulate those into one dish, and one that's not soup because as much as I love soup I'm just not one of those folks who can eat soup 24/7.

Southern Seafood Mac 'n Cheese
1 cup Celery, chopped
1 cup Bell Pepper (green and red), chopped
1/4 cup Parsley
1 clove minced Garlic
1/4 cup Onion
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Tabasco
1 tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground
6 tbsp Lemon Juice
2 lb Crab Meat
1/2 lb shredded Fontina Cheese
1/2 lb shredded Swiss Cheese
1 cup Panko
3 strips bacon, cooked and chopped
1lb pasta shells

Roux
3 cups milk
1 1/2 sticks of Butter
1/2 cup Flour
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp Nutmeg, freshly ground
2 tsp White Pepper

1. Saute onion, celery and bell pepper and garlic in a tsp of olive oil in a small skillet until onion is tender, remove from skillet then set aside.
2. Heat milk over medium high in a sauce pan. While milk is heating, heat butter in a large skillet. When butter begins to bubble, add flour, whisk until well incorporated.
3. Pour milk into butter, whisk until thick.
4. Remove from heat and season with black pepper, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, tabasco and salt. Add 1.2 of cheese and set aside.
5. While mixing up sauce, cook pasta to al dente. Strain pasta and toss the seafood, parsley and sauteed veggies with the pasta.
6. Prepare a 13x9 pan by spraying/greasing it then pour pasta/seafood mixture into pan. Slowly pour the cheese sauce over the pasta so it is even then layer the top with bacon, bread crumbs and remaining cheese.
7. Bake in an oven at 350F until the top is bubbling and browned.



While many folks have pushed this summers Gulf Oil spill out of their minds those of us on the Gulf have not. As the commercials say, oil hasn't been spotted in a while but unfortunately people aren't flocking to the tourist locations and even less are buying Gulf seafood, so I will make my plea to those of you who can, go buy some, it's delicious (and safe)! As a good Gulf coast girl I have to make my plea here.

Need a glimmer of summer as the really cold weather sets in?

I know I do, as much as I truly adore the changing of the seasons (all seasons) and as much as I try to cook seasonally sometimes I can't help it and I just crave things...these Eggplant Napoleons are a perfect example of something I just outright craved no matter what the season.


These were super easy to put together, they are basically layered in whatever order you prefer (as noted in the photo above).


To make these lovely (and healthy) treats:

Eggplant Napoleons
1 Large Eggplant
2 Roma Tomatoes, diced
2 Yellow Tomatoes, diced
Fresh Basil
Fresh Mozzarella
8-12oz Fresh Pesto
Salt & Pepper
Vegetable Oil
1 Cup Panko or other bread crumbs
1 Egg, beaten

1. Slice the eggplant into rounds, you don't want them too thick but don't cut them paper thin either, these will be the base so you want them to have enough size to hold up all the other ingredients. Once they are all sliced, salt them and lay them on paper towels to drain, leave 10 minutes.

2. Pat eggplant dry then dip in egg and bread crumbs then fry until golden brown in vegetable oil. Allow eggplant to cool on papertowels.

3. After they are sufficiently cooled, stack with alternating layers of tomato, mozzarella, pesto and basil. Salt and pepper to taste.

Tailgating, it's not just for football

While many tailgate I venture to say none compare to the frequency or voracity of Texas tailgaters, for example, at any given Longhorn sporting even you are likely to see many RVs decked out (I know that's normal), a school bus or two that have been purchased and converted to classic cars be-decked with Horns, it's Texas, everything is bigger. However, tailgating is not simply limited to football, baseball, basketball, volleyball and just about every other sporting event imaginable can be celebrated at a tailgate. Frankly anything can be celebrated at a tailgate, one of the funniest (and scariest) things I've read lately on Wikipedia "(tailgating) is also used at non-sporting events such as weddings and other non-sports-related barbecue gatherings."

While I'm not about to propose wedding tailgating, to illustrate my point, we recently tailgated a regatta my boyfriend participated in! While that was celebrated at a local restaurant, we did tailgate the Longhorn football game this past weekend, while the Horns came out a little worse for the wear we at least enjoyed some tasty food and nice cold beer.

Our tailgate was an amazing combination of foods, some of which I have Hormel and Foodbuzz to thank for! In mid October Hormel and Foodbuzz sent out an invitation to participate in the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program by sharing Hormel products with friends and family (I know I get all the tough jobs!) so tasty pork dishes were my contribution to the Tailgate fare!

First, using the Hormel Always Tender Original Pork Tenderloin, Jalapeno-Honey Glazed Pork Kebabs.

Jalapeno-Honey Glazed Pork Kebabs

1 12-ounces pork tenderloin
1/3 cup honey
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 fresh jalapeno chile peppers, seeded and finely chopped*
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
2 Medium Red Onions, Cut into Chunks
1 Cored, Cubed Pineapple

1. Trim fat from pork. Place pork in a resealable plastic bag set in a shallow dish. For marinade, in a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, the chopped jalapeno peppers, the ginger, and crushed red pepper. Pour marinade over pork. Seal bag; turn to coat pork. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours, turning bag occasionally.
2. Drain pork, reserving marinade. Cube pork and place place on skewers interspersed with pineapple and red onion.
3. Grill until pork is cooked through, brushing with marinade periodically.
4. Oven Directions: Prepare as directed in steps 1 and 2. Place pork on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast in a 425 degree F oven for 25 to 35 minutes or until juices run clear (160 degree F), brushing once with reserved marinade after 10 minutes of roasting. Discard any remaining marinade.




In addition, with some of the bite-sized Hormel Turkey Pepperoni's some Mini-Pepperoni Rolls, you might recognize the dough as the same dough my Mom and I used in our Foccacia:

Bite-Sized Pepperoni Rolls

1/2 Batch of Olive Oil Dough (recipe below)
2 Packages Hormel Turkey Pepperoni bite-sized
1/2 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 Tbsp Dried Oregano
1 Tbsp Dried Basil

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Using 1/2 of Olive Oil Dough, roll out a large rectangle, cover rectangle with a mixture of cheese, pepperoni and spices, roll dough carefully keeping all ingredients inside of the roll.
3. Cut roll into hand-sized pieces, brush top with egg wash.
4. Grease a cookie sheet with olive oil or line with parchment paper. Bake 20 minutes (or until golden brown). Brush tops of rolls with melted butter or olive oil if desired.



Olive Oil Dough
Makes 4-1lb loaves.

2-3/4 cups lukewarm water
1-1/2 tablespoon granulated yeast
1-1/2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1. Mix the yeast, salt, sugar, and olive oil with the water in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
2. Mix in the flour without kneading.
3. Cover (not airtight), and allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.
4. The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 12 days.

For this crowd I doubled up both recipes, serving two tenderloins worth of kebabs and a double batch of pepperoni rolls it was a tasty treat for our tailgate!

Oktoberfest Braised Pork Chops with Apple Gravy

One last German recipe, no real story here it was just really tasty so I wanted to share!



Oktoberfest Braised Pork Chops with Apple Gravy
4 Center Cut Boneless Pork Chops
2 Tbsp Butter
Salt & Pepper
1 12oz Bottle Shiner Oktoberfest
1 1/2 Cup Apple Cider
1 Large Braeburn Apple, Sliced
1/2 Medium Sweet Onion, Sliced

1. Heat large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat with butter. Salt and pepper both sides of pork chops and then sear in skillet.
2. Remove pork chops from skillet, saute onions and apple until browned then return pork chops to skillet.
3. Pour cider and beer in skillet and allow pork chops to cook approximately 30 minutes (or until done).
4. After pork is done remove it from the skillet and allow it to rest. Reduce braising liquid by 1/2.
5. Serve pork over apple and onion and dressed with reduced sauce.

Roasted Butternut Squash
1 Small (1lb) Butternut Squash, peeled and cubed
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
2 Tbsp Sage, Chopped

1. Preheat oven to 425. Toss squash with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 40 minutes.
2. Remove from oven, toss sage over the top and then return to oven for another 15 minutes.

Gypsy Food Trailer Picnic 2010

Living in Austin is always an adventure, we've got a wide variety of activities and eating options available to us but we're becoming well known for two things: food trailers and live music. Given this, it should come as no surprise that on November 6 the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) put together the first annual Gypsy Picnic Trailer Food Festival. HAAM is a very cool organization that puts together a few large events each year to help support their mission which is to assist local professional musicians who are uninsured, receive for low-cost primary health care services, basic dental care and mental health counseling, a very worthy cause. HAAM pulled together 30+ food trailers/vendors who came from all over the city along with a great line up of live music at Auditorium Shores.



The weather was stunning, cloudless, sunny and in the 70s but the lines were insane! This event had no admission fees, couple that with a $3 tasting portion available at all of the trailers (as well as select items from their regular menus) and you get TONS of people! One local news station reported thousands of people were in attendance with people waiting 20 minutes or more in line and vendors running out of food! I can attest to the wait times, 30 minutes to get BBQ and the people, we had a terrible time finding parking and then navigating the park was a bit dicey as there were people, dogs, kids and food everywhere you turned. No complaints here though because overall this event was very cool and I can't wait until next year's to see what kind of improvements they make and great things they'll have in store.



My boyfriend and I took the dog out with us, he managed to taste more things than we did I think!




Our first line was by far the longest, we hit the Sugar Shack for a little bite of BBQ (ok, little is an understatement, the "tasting" menus were pretty much full-sized meals). We got to taste the Notorious P.I.G. Wrap from Sugar Shack which was delicious, slaw and all!



Then later we snacked on a Flying Pig donut (yes it's a heart attack but it was so worth it!!) from Gourdoughs. Yes that's a maple donut with bacon covering it!





All in all, the music, food and festivities made battling the crowds worth it.