Broccoli Raisin Salad Recipe: No, really, it's very tasty!

When I first saw broccoli raisin salad on a salad bar, I wanted to, well, hurt. I mean, I can get my arms around a broccoli salad with bacon, but a broccoli salad with raisins? Seriously?

This Broccoli Raisin Salad Recipe is by no means as common as coleslaw, but, made with fresh ingredients, it is a great alternative. (I actually blindfolded my kids in order to try this,and even after the blindfold was removed they had no problem cleaning their plates!)

Recipe:

1 lb. Broccoli crowns
12 cups water
4 Tb. Salt

Bring water and salt to a boil. Add the broccoli. Cook for 3 minutes until al dente. Cool.

This seems like a great deal of salt, but this just serves to season the broccoli. In fact, if you are on a diet, stop here as this is a great recipe for broccoli. You can eat it like it is and it's great cold. No added fat. We add the fat below!

• 3/4 cup raisins, plumped in hot water for 15 minutes.
• 3 Tb. diced onion (1/4" dice)
• 3 oz. diced cooked bacon, or bacon bits. (real bacon please)

Dressing:

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• rind of 1 lemon
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• Black pepper

Direction:

1. Mix the dressing ingredients together. Adjust seasoning.
2. Add the broccoli, onions, raisins and bacon together. Toss with dressing.
3. For a great treat, cook the bacon and add the bacon while still hot to the salad and serve! 

Southern Collard Greens Recipe

This Southern collard greens recipe, using collards is really delicious. In fact, it is the best that I've had- I used to avoid any type of greens like the plague. Greens are not common with bbq in many areas, but are common in the South, especially great served alongside smoked pork!

Many people don't know how to cook greens, but it is really very simple- the trick, like making great soups, or braises- is having a highly flavorful liquid base. This helps tremendously as the greens are a bit tough and bitter, so the liquid combined with the right cooking time takes them and makes them flavorful

In many recipes, collard greens are combined with some sort of pork, and like any soul food worth its salt bumped up with spice. The recipe here is the same and adds a bit of sweet and an acidic component - vinegar here- to cut through and brighten the flavor.

As with other greens recipes,the "potlikker" or the broth left over is highly flavorful and can be eaten separately, have corn bread dunked in it, or added to a soup base- so don't throw it away!

Southern Collard Greens Recipe

• 3 lbs. collard greens, mustard greens or turnip greens, cut into 1" ribbons or your preference
• 8 oz. bacon cubed or sliced
• 10 cups water
• 1/2 onion left whole (to facilitate removal later)
• 1 tsp salt
• Add bacon to water and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Remove bacon.
• Add greens and 1/2 onion and salt. Simmer greens uncovered on low heat for 1 hour. Turn off heat.

To Finish:

• 1/2 large onion diced
• 1 Tb. Bacon fat, butter or oil
• 1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 Tb. Honey
• 2 Tb Apple Cider vinegar

Direction:

1. Saute onion in hot bacon fat until brown. Add the greens and potlikker. Add the rest of the ingredients and heat through.
2. Test for salt, pepper, sweet and sour. You can adjust to your taste. Also, if the greens are too "brothy" bring to a slow boil and reduce to your liking. Don't worry it is hard to overcook these!

Serve with your favorite bbq and corn bread for dunking!

Serves 6-8.

Coleslaw Recipe: Amazing what you can do with a little cabbage and a little vinegar...

Coleslaw is one of the most common of the BBQ side dish recipes and is truly easy (and cheap!)

It's kind of funny to think of it also as one of the "vegetable" side dish recipes- but that's what it is. Each region puts its own spin on slaw, the dressing, and even how they cut the cabbage.

At the base level, slaw is a salad made from green cabbage, dressed with a vinegar-based dressing, that over time- 1/2 hour and up- allows the cabbage to wilt and give up some liquid, making it tender and adding to the dressing. Simple.

But before we go through some of the more classic slaw recipes, here is my out and out favorite:

Rey's Chipotle Coleslaw:

1 lb. finely shredded cabbage (mix green, purple and shredded carrots if you like for color)

3/4 c. mayonnaise

2/3 c. chipotle vinegar (see below)

1 Tb. sugar

Mix all ingredients except the cabbage together. Do not worry if it is a bit lumpy. It will all work out in the wash. Add cabbage, toss and let sit for at least 1/2 hour to get to know each other. Toss again just before serving. Keeps 24 hours nicely. After that, it loses some of its oomph but is still good.

Chipotle Vinegar:

1/2 gallon seasoned rice vinegar

1 can (7oz) chipotles en adobo

Puree in a blender or Cuisinart until blended. Keeps indefinitely in the fridge. Great on this slaw as well as for pickled onions for tacos. I'm dead serious, this simple little vinegar rocks!

Now back to the other BBQ regions and recipes:

As with other aspects of BBQ, the Carolinas tend to have a very distinct method of preparing coleslaw and other side dishes. This is probably due to the fact that this is one of the earliest settlements and so methods of preparation recall those beliefs.

Eastern North Carolina Slaw #1

1 pound green cabbage "mulched" - (chopped very fine a la Kentucky Fried Chicken) 3 Tb cider vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup mayonnaise

1 Tb mustard

celery salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients except the cabbage together. Add cabbage, toss and let sit for at least 1/2 hour to get to know each other. Toss again just before serving. Keeps 24 hours nicely.

Western North Carolina (Piedmont) "Red Coleslaw"

1 Pound Green Cabbage chopped fine

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup ketchup

Salt and pepper to taste

1 Tb red pepper flakes (optional)

Mix all ingredients except the cabbage together. Add cabbage, toss and let sit for at least 1/2 hour to get to know each other. Toss again just before serving. Keeps 24 hours nicely.

Classic Creamy Mayonnaise Coleslaw:

1 pound Green Cabbage julienned

3/4 cup cider vinegar

1 cup mayonnaise

2Tb sugar

1 teaspoon celery seeds

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients except the cabbage together. Add cabbage, toss and let sit for at least 1/2 hour. Toss again just before serving. Keeps 24 hours nicely.

Debbie's chichi California Coleslaw:

1 pound Purple Cabbage julienned

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 cup mayonnaise

2Tb sugar

1/2 bunch green onions chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients except the cabbage together. Do not worry if it is a bit lumpy. It will all work out in the wash. Add cabbage, toss and let sit for at least 1/2 hour to get to know each other. 

Toss again just before serving. Keeps 24 hours nicely. After that, it loses some of this oomph but is still good.

This Sweet Tea Recipe is a Must with Authentic BBQ!

A sweet tea recipe (a.k.a. southern sweet tea), and unsweetened iced tea are ubiquitous beverages for an authentic bbq meal. It would seem relatively simple to make a glass of tea, but with the influx of automatic brewing machines, and yes, tea from a soda machine, the quality is being lost.

Thankfully it is easy to make, and cheap! It's all about letting the iced tea steep, making sure the water is not too hot, mixing in the sugar while the tea is hot, and cooling it down before you add ice, so the tea strength remains strong enough. Here we go:

Recipe:

• Makes 1.25 gallons
• 3 oz. iced tea packets, such as Lipton
• 1 qt. sugar
• Bring 8 cups of water to a boil.
• Turn off heat and let the water cool to approximately 180 degrees.

Direction:

1. Add tea bags, and let steep for 5 minutes. Remove bags from water using a slotted spoon or strainer and let bags drain.
2. Add 1 quart of sugar, stirring until dissolved. Add cold water or ice cubes (they will melt and dilute as well as cool down at the same time) to make 1.25 gallons.

This magical southern "crack" will hold for 1 day, after that it will become stale and bitter.

BBQ Pizza Recipe : an addictive bbq pizza recipe that can use leftover chicken and be done in as little as 15 minutes!

BBQ Pizza, in most cases chicken is easy and addictive. This bbq pizza recipe uses the oven, but you can easily use a bbq grill. Also, this barbecue pizza uses a fresh dough as seen in the pictures below, but if you don't have the time or you are just that lazy, use a pre-packaged pizza shell like Boboli, or focaccia.

If you use a pre-packaged shell, this recipe can be done in as little as 15 minutes. No matter which dough you choose, you will still have that kitchen pizza smell that will get the kids running.

Plus, this bbq pizza uses a secret ingredient- a creamy garlic sauce that blends with the bbq sauce- really, really, good.

**If you do not have one, I highly recommend a pizza stone- they really improve the finished product.

Recipe: Pizza Dough (skip down if using a pre-done shell)

• 8 oz. warm water (100 degrees)
• 1 package yeast
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 tsp sugar or honey
• 3 cups flour

DIRECTION:

1. Mix yeast and water and sugar together until dissolved. Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes until a froth forms
2. Put the rest of the ingredients in a food processor bowl. Process while pouring in the water.The mixture should form a sticky ball that pulls away from the sides- this should take about 30 seconds. Remove the dough to an oiled bowl and let rest in a warm place for 30-45 minutes.
3. Remove and cut the dough into two equal pieces. Work the dough in your hands to form a ball. Set balls again to rest for 20 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. If your oven goes higher, do it! The pizza below was cooked at 550 degrees.
5. On a floured surface roll the balls into approximately 12" discs, or ovals, or amoebas. Who cares? It's your pizza.

Now let's top the bbq pizza:

Barbecue Pizza toppings:

• 1.5 cups cooked bbq chicken or any leftover cooked chicken, mixed with approximately 1/2 cup of your favorite bbq sauce
• Sliced red onions (very thin)
• 2 cups mozzarella or jack cheese
• BBQ sauce ( approx 2/3 cup)
• Garlic Sauce (optional)
• (For garlic sauce, mix 3 cloves crushed garlic with about 1 cup mayonnaise. Thin out with about 2-3Tb. water)
• cilantro

As seen above, put about 2/3 cup of bbq sauce on the shell and follow with about 1/3 cup of the garlic sauce. I use squeeze bottles as they make it easier, but you can use a spoon or your fingers. It should look like a Jackson Pollack painting.

Next lay down the cheese, sprinkle the chicken on top and finish with the onions. The onions will cook and not be very sharp but put as much as you'd like. Slide your pizza into the oven and bake.

For the raw dough: Bake 12 minutes at 550 degrees.
For a pre-cooked shell, Bake about 8 minutes.

It's your pie, so let it go as long as you'd like.

Remove and sprinkle with cilantro!

Beef Brisket Tips for Bovine Bliss

Tip#1 Find the right meat. Of all the beef brisket tips, this is probably the most important. Brisket cooking in a smoker means using a packer brisket. It should include the deckle- the top piece. Also, it should have a large fat cap that covers almost the entire brisket.

Tip#2 Use the right wood. Brisket, which has a lot of mass, and takes quite a bit of time, needs an assertive wood. I prefer a mixture of oak, hickory, and pecan. For a big piece of meat like this, you could use mesquite and its very strong smoke.

This is probably one of the only cases where I would use mesquite to smoke, although I use it regularly for grilling.

Generally, though, I use what is local if possible- it keeps the cost down.

The only woods I avoid are fruit wood like the apple that is brilliant with ribs and bacon, but way too mild for brisket. And, it goes without saying to avoid woods with the pitch- right?

Tip#3 Smoke at the right temperature. Unless you have a super-deluxe gas assisted thermostat controlled smoker, making bbq at home is an exercise in controlling the heat and smoke of your fire.

I will go into more depth about controlling the fire in coming pages but ideally, you'd like to smoke the brisket at an average temperature of 200 degrees. It can fluctuate but try to keep it in this window.

Tip#4 Use the right rub. The right rub is the rub you like- after all- you are doing the work. I have said it before and I will again, the only rub for brisket that I use is KOSHER SALT and medium grind BLACK PEPPER.

Period.

This is one of the more surprising beef brisket tips that I give out. People just want to use a funky rub concoction.

I use the salt and pepper in a ratio of 1 part pepper for every 2 parts salt. Normally I put it in a Tupperware container, mix it up and apply.

Tip#5 Use enough rub. Don't be chicken. Remember: there is a lot of fat you are going to trim way. Also, there is a lot of areas to cover!

If you use enough rub, you will not need to apply any other seasoning after cooking, because as you slice the brisket, you will get a nicely seasoned crust along with the interior of the meat (unless you are making burnt ends and use some of this crust)

Tip#6 Do not turn your brisket. EVER! This is the easiest of the beef brisket tips. You need the fat on top to melt through the meat and keep it moist.

(Once in the early days of my second restaurant one of our less than intelligent workers smoked a whole case (70lbs) of brisket upside down. We had tho toss all of it in the trash- way too dry.

Tip#7 You really don't need to mop the brisket. If you want to, fine. But unless you are introducing a whole new flavor why bother? You have more than enough fat to lubricate the meat. And really, what are you basing? The fat cap?

Tip#8 Rub your meat (oh the jokes I could make) up to 24 hours in advance. In the restaurant setting, this rarely happens, and it doesn't make a huge difference anyway.

Tip#9 If you are making burnt ends, great. Love 'em. I would encourage you to use the deckle for this and the flat portion underneath for regular sliced plates. There are a lot of folks who just want plain sliced lean beef.

So, I use the deckle and it's ample amount of crust-to-meat ratio and its yes, lovely fatty meat, to do burnt ends.

Tip#10 You must serve your brisket plates with pickles and onions. If you're not from Texas, this will sound weird. But it works. Take a bit of brisket on your fork with a piece of pickle and onion. The acidity in the pickles and sharpness of the white onion temper the fat in the meat.

Tip#11 When making brisket sandwiches, you can use either a hamburger bun or a hoagie roll, or any bread really as long as it's white. (please don't ever think of wheat bread for this.)

I like to spread mine with butter and toast it on the griddle. This adds insult to injury. And for me, I like to "white trash it up a bit" and spread mayo on the toasted bun. Then step back and let the magic happen.

Tip#12 You can reheat brisket! It is great. (one of the beef brisket tips most restaurants never admit to)

Any large leftover pieces, once cold, should be wrapped in saran wrap first and then foil. In a 300 degree oven it takes a whole piece about 3 hours to heat up, so that is about an hour for every 2 pounds or so, I think.

Also, if you have the slices left- vacuum seal them. I like to take any big chunks and trim and cut them after they are cold. Then I seal and freeze them for later.

Tip #13 How much to serve? 4 oz. of cooked meat for a sandwich is fine.

8 oz. of cooked meat for a standard bbq plate with 2 sides is plenty.

If you have other meats or sides you will have to re-figure this, especially whether it is lunch or dinner.

I typically allow 8 oz (total) of meat and 2 sides for a hungry person at dinner. If I had ribs as well, It would be 6 oz of meat and 1 rib.

Godspeed my Beef Brothers and Sisters.

Cutting Pork Ribs: Spareribs

Cutting pork ribs- spareribs to be exact? Easy Peasy

You will notice (hopefully, it's a bit small) that the rack below is a whole rack of "4 and down" pork spare ribs. It has the telltale rainbow arch of the brisket portion (small cartilage bones)next to the tip of the knife:

If we remove this-- in effect "squaring off" the rack, we end up with "St. Louis cut ribs." See the picture below:

Why is this popular? Well, what you are left with is the leanest, meatiest portion of the rack. You then simply cut straight down to separate the ribs.

Or almost straight.

As you get to the smaller ribs, the bones curve. I recommend turning the rack over as shown below so you can follow the bones more easily:

One nice thing about making your own St Louis cut spare ribs, is that the ribs will be a bit more "even" and if you have kids at your house the brisket bones- some times marketed as "rib bits" are a perfect size for kids. See the little "cubes" on top of the main rack below?

Q: What if you don't want to make your own St. Louis cut?

(I am in this camp as I am like Jack Sprat's wife. I love all things fatty and chewy, and those little pieces of brisket cartilage are right up my alley.)

A: Simple, you just leave this cartilage section on. Some restaurants do this as it gives a bigger rib and more implied value. It should look like this on a typical "1/3 rack" rib plate with two side dishes. A bit blurry as it was the cocktail hour at the photo shoot!:

Carving Beef Brisket

Carving beef brisket is really easy. It may seem daunting because once you complete your beef brisket recipe, you have one big piece of blackened meat with no apparent road map on how to cut it up!

So, how to cut brisket? You just follow the direction of the muscle. Also, when carving brisket, you cut the meat against the grain.(meaning, the finished cut of meat should not appear to have long strands of meat all running the same direction)

To carve: you start at the triangular front called "the point" (many bbq restaurant customers will specify the point, or lean, or fat, or cutters choice). Slice on a bias, working your way back.

About midway, you are going to see a membrane and fat separating a meaty/fatty top portion. This is called "the deckle." You have two choices: you can continue on cutting the way you are. I do not recommend this.

Instead, when carving beef brisket, I run my knife through the fat and remove the deckle. Now, you can clean and trim both of these chunks up to your liking and start carving again.

Please, don't cut more than you need or it will dry out.

Now, brisket grasshopper, you MUST serve this meat with dill pickle chips and sliced onions. Sounds weird, I know, but once you try it this way, your life will change forever.

On a sandwich- hamburger bun or hoagie roll, it goes something like this: 6 oz. brisket pickles onions and sauce. For me, I like to get all white trash on it and put mayonnaise on the bun.
OK, a party's over. Now, what?

If you have some brisket left, I would chill it, then slice it. Trim it if you must but fat is good for you.

Now wrap it in saran and freeze - or better yet, vacuum seal it for your next bbq party or drunken office party where you come home half-in-the-bag and absolutely has to have some bbq beef brisket.

Oh- 1 tip- Restaurants always talk about "yield." This is how much actual servable meat you get after you cook it and it shrinks. Typically a 10-11# brisket yields about 6-7# of meat. So, it is about a 50% shrinkage. If you care, you can see that this effectively raises your cost per pound from $1.86 at the time of this writing, to about $3.60 per pound. FYI.

Oh- 1 more tip- this meat is so damn good, and, in many cases reminds me of Mexican barbacoa.

So, in addition to serving it the traditional way,I like to make FRESH refried beans, guacamole, and rice.

Next, I squeeze a bunch of limes and make real margaritas.

Rolled in flour tortillas, eating the brisket this way is nirvana.

Namaste.

BBQ Tips and Some Slick BBQ Restaurant Tricks

BBQ Tips? What kind of tips?

This tips page will run the gamut from what kind of wood to use, to food temperature guidelines, to how to pick out your meat.

From the restaurant world, we'll look at how many ounces of cooked meat or ribs to allow for per person when planning you are next to get together. I'll even tell you how to do what no bbq restaurant will admit to: reheat your meat.

Also, since no man is an island and I really have no idea what in the hell that means-I'll gives you some ideas on what to do with that beautiful meat you've smoked other than a standard bbq plate or sandwich.

Smoking tips for brisket Before you smoke your brisket read these tips as well as some restaurant blasphemies.

Instructions on how to cut pork spareribs If you have pork spareribs just off the smoker or out of the oven click here for a guide how to cut them!

How to cut your beef brisket A big 'ole brisket can seem daunting but click here on how to cut it up..

How to Make Fry Bread

In this article, we gonna show you simply how to make fry bread. It can be used to make tacos, desserts, sandwiches, etc.

RECIPE:

• 2 cups flour 
• 2 tsp baking powder 
• 1 Tbsp canola oil OR vegetable oil 
• ¾ cups water (can also use milk or buttermilk) 

Any desired toppings such as taco fixings, powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, chocolate sauce, honey, cheese, etc.

**You may need more/less water and flour as you mix to get dough to correct consistency

DIRECTION:

1. Preheat a skillet filled with about ¾ of an inch of canola or vegetable oil. 
2. In a mixing bowl mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. 
3. Make a well in center and pour in oil and water. 
4. Mix together with the spoon or by hand until dough comes together. 
5. If too dry add a little more water. If a mixture is too wet add a little more flour. 
6. Continue to mix or knead dough until it holds together well and is not too sticky, should take less than 5 minutes. 
7. Divide dough into 8-10 balls. 
8. Flatten each dough ball into a disc shape and poke a small hole in the center. 
9. It’s best to keep dough discs separate because they may begin to stick together if you don’t fry them right away. 
10. Fry the discs in hot oil until puffed and pale golden brown on each side, about 20-30 seconds per side. 
11. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate to drain briefly. 

Top as desired and serve immediately.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Recipe

I stumbled across this recipe while searching for something else. I tried it the other night and really enjoyed it so I figured I'd pass it along.

4 chicken cutlets (Even though I use cutlets, I still pounded them out to make them thinner)
chive and onion cream cheese
bacon
salt and pepper

Pound out the chicken cutlets. If you use breasts, you'll really have to pound them out. Season with salt and pepper. Smear your desired amount of cream cheese on each chicken breast and roll them up. Wrap a slice of bacon around each chicken breast. You can secure it with a toothpick if you think it's necessary.
It's up to you what pan to bake it on- if you use a baking dish, it'll keep the chicken moister because the juices will stay with the chicken. The downside is that the bacon on the bottom will not be crispy. If you cook it on a broiler pan you will have crispier bacon all around but you risk your chicken being drier if you over cook. Do what you want! Personally, I backed it in a glass dish and then switched it to a broiler pan. Bake 35 minute at 400 and broil for another 5 to get the bacon crispy.

Banana-Pecan Rum Cake Recipe

This is basically banana bread, in a cast iron skillet, with a crunchy top.  And to be honest, it's the second time I have baked it in 24 hours.  The first time I wasn't paying attention and dumped the entire container of sour cream into the batter rather than just 1/2 cup and then couldn't figure out why it wasn't baking.  And then it overflowed inside the oven.   

Banana-Pecan Rum Cake 
8oz cream cheese
1 stick softened butter
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
3 mashed bananas
1/2 cup sour cream 
1 tsp rum extract
2 1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
 chopped pecans
Extra brown sugar for topping 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 12" cast iron skillet with flour cooking spray. 
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, and brown sugar until just combined.  Add eggs one at a time.
3. In a small bowl, mash 3 bananas until just mashed but leaving a flew chunks.   Add bananas and sour cream to cream cheese mixture and mix.
4. Add flour, one 1/2 cup at a time, to the wet mixture until just combined.  Do not over mix and liquefy.  Add remaining dry ingredients.
5. Pour batter into cast iron skillet and sprinkle top with a good amount of extra brown sugar and chopped pecans.  It creates a crust on top that is my favorite part.
6. Bake for 30+ minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

A little note about this cast iron skillet in particular....My grandmother gave it to me for Christmas 2 years ago.  She wasn't able to be there with us that year so she included a card explaining that this cast iron skillet was now 5 generations old and she wanted me to have it.  It is probably one of the most special gifts I've ever received. 

Homemade Blueberry Muffins Recipe

Blueberries will be coming into season pretty soon- a lot earlier than normal because of how warm it's been.  I've seen blueberry bushes at the nursery with full-size blueberries on them already.

 If you haven't ever tried to make homemade blueberry muffins you really need to.  That box mixes with the little can of blueberries the size of peas is nothing compared to homemade blueberry muffins with giant blueberries.  This recipe is really easy and really good- even Todd who hates blueberry muffins said, "those are really good....I'll eat those."  I'll be honest...I have more kitchen disasters than I care to admit.  I made these last night and used self-rising flour by accident.  They exploded all over my oven.  So we went for round two today....this time with all purpose flour.

Homemade Blueberry Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour (not self-rising..note to self...)
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs 
2 cups blueberries 

Crumble topping
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon 
1/4 cup butter (cool...not solid but cold enough that you can make a crumble out of it)

Direction:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl beat flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, room temperature butter, vanilla, milk, and eggs until combined.  Gently fold in blueberries.
3. Fill muffin liners 1/2 to 2/3 full with batter.  (I used jumbo liners and got 11 muffins out of this batter).
4. To make crumble topping mix dry ingredients in a small bowl and add butter that you've cut into small cubes.  With your hands "snap" the butter cubes with the flour mixture until it begins to come together and becomes a crumble.  Stick with it...as your hands melt the butter a little it will start to make a crumble.  Top each muffin with a little crumble topping.
5. Bake 20-30 minutes depending on your oven and the size of your muffins.

How To Make Blueberry Lavender Jam

Lavender is a weird thing.  Either you love it or you hate it.  There is the hippie-type pungent lavender that lines the aisles of Whole Foods in the form of goat's milk soap and bath salts.  File that under gross...right after patchouli. 

Then there is the sweet smelling lavender that has a hint of vanilla.  That's good lavender.  I have several different types of lavender in my yard.  It's really too humid and hot here for lavender to grow and bloom like it should but I like them just the same. 

I happen to also love the taste of lavender.  It's not all that common to find lavender as a flavor in foods (I first tried it in a popsicle) so when I wanted how to make blueberry lavender jam, I had some work to do.  I found a few recipes with lavender buds added directly to the jam but really, who wants to eat a dried flower bud on toast? Not me.

I started with a basic blueberry jam recipe.  If you're looking for a good starting point for canning, I recommend Food In Jars.  (Steer clear of any pectin-free jam recipes.  I'd like to consider myself fairly experienced at this point and I can't even make those work.)

Ingredient:
6 cups of smashed blueberries (about 8 cups whole berries)
5 cups sugar 
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 (3oz) packets of liquid pectin
1/2 ounce dried lavender buds (found at Fresh Market) that have been steeped in 3/4 cup boiling water for 10 minutes to make a "tea". 

Direction:
1. Combine smashed blueberries and sugar in a large pot.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently so the bottom doesn't burn.  
2. Add lemon juice and cook for about 15 minutes until jam starts to thicken and is shiny.
3. Add pectin packets and return to a boil for a full 5 minutes.
4. Remove pot from heat and ladle into sterilized jars.  (Sterilized = washed in the dishwasher and kept hot in a 200-degree oven while you are making your jam.)
5. Fill each jar leaving 1/2" room at the top of the jar. Wipe off any jam on the rims of the jars before putting sterilized hot lids and rings on.

Now..if you want plain ole blueberry jam you're done! If you want to add lavender, you're almost there.  I tried a few batches and what I discovered is no matter how much lavender "tea" I added to my jam while it was cooking, I could never really taste it in the finished product.  What I did instead added 1 1/2 Tbsp of lavender tea to each pint after I filled them and then gave them a quick stir.  For some reason, adding the lavender at the end helps the flavor really come through.

My absolute favorite way to eat this blueberry lavender jam is on a piece of crusty bread with goat cheese.  Publix has honey goat cheese that goes perfectly.  Delicious!

Broccoli Salad Recipe

Ingredient:

1/3 cup fat free mayo

1/4 cup plain fat free yogurt

3 tbsp sugar (I use splenda)

1 tbsp white vinegar (I like to use a little more) 

Salt & Pepper

1 bunch broccoli

3 bacon slices, fried & crumbled

1/3 cup chopped red onion

1/4 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

After that Mix them altogether

Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe

Ingredient:

Buttermilk Biscuits

 2 cups self-rising flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold (!!), cut into very small chunks
1 cup buttermilk

Direction:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. "Snap" the butter into your flour mixture.  Literally pick up the small chunks of flour covered butter and snap them between your fingers.  This will flatten each little piece of butter but keep the butter "in tact" so you will be able to taste it in your biscuits.  Don't try to cream the butter into your dough.  You can see the butter in my dough in the picture above.
4. Add buttermilk until it's just combined.  Do not over mix.  Dough should be very sticky.
5. Turn dough out onto a floured dough board and gently press it to 1/2" thick.  Do not use rolling pin.  It should be lumpy and bumpy!  Fold the dough in half and gently press it together again (don't press together too much...that "fold" is what makes them easy to split open once they're baked!).  Fold it in half one of more time and press it out to 1" thick.
6. Using a biscuit cutter, cut into rounds.
7. You can use the scraps but they will not be nearly as good as the original biscuits.  
8. Place biscuits on a cookie sheet- if you want soft sides and "taller" biscuits, make all of the sides touch on the baking sheet.  If you want "crunchy" edges, don't let them touch.
9. Bake approximately 10 minutes until golden brown.

I obviously baked mine without the sides touching which is why they aren't as tall as you're probably used to seeing them.  The insides are still incredibly fluffy and perfect, they just have a nice "crust" on the outside which I personally love.

I love biscuits and honey...especially this honey from the Blue Ridge Mountains.  I swear the taste better if the honey is dripping down between your fingers.

Some people swear that White Lily flour is far superior to any other type of flour...it's all I've ever used because that's what my grandma uses.  It's what I grab when I'm at the grocery store just like people who prefer Heinz over Hunts...or Duke's (or Blue Plate!) over Kraft. Whether it's really better...well, you be the judge of that. :)

ETA: There was a question about using self-rising flour opposed to the all-purpose flour I had originally listed in the recipe.  I used self-rising which is what I pretty much use for everything.  I have a special seasoned flour I use to frying things so nearly everything else I bake would only benefit from the leavening and salt in the self-rising flour.   Sorry for the confusion. ;)

Chocolate Chess Pie Recipe

This Chocolate Chess Pie is my gramma's recipe.  I thought it would make a perfect addition to our New Year's Day black eyed peas and collards.  Well.  What happened was...I made the first pie.  And then we ate it.  I had every intention of taking pictures of it for my blog. But we demolished it.  At 10:00am. So then I made another one.  And we ate half of that one too.  Before I could take pictures.  It just happened.  In our defense, we shared some with my neighbors.

If you've seen the movie The Help, you remember Minny's chocolate chess pie.  I did a little google search to find the actual recipe they used for the the movie and it's nearly identical to my gramma's recipe.  I made The Help's version too.  We had a little taste off and really couldn't tell the difference between the two.

It's a fudgy-gooey chocolate pie.  Nothing fancy about it.  Just good.  My gramma's version has sugared pecans on top but I am kind of pecaned out after Thanksgiving and Christmas so I left them off.

Happy New Year's weight loss! ;-)

Gramma's Chocolate Chess Pie

1 pie crust
1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)
2 1oz squares unsweetened chocolate baking squares
1 5oz can evaporated milk (2/3 cup)
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt

Option pecan topping:
1 1/2 cup pecan halves and pieces
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla 

Direction:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt butter and chocolate squares in 30 second intervals in microwave safe bowl.  Stir after each 30 seconds until smooth.
3. Whisk evaporated milk, eggs, and vanilla together. Add to chocolate mixture.
4. Stir together granulated sugar, flour, and salt, then add to chocolate mixture whisking until smooth.
5. Press pie shell into 9" pie plate.  Prick bottom with form.
6. Pour filling into pie shell and bake for 45 minutes (maybe 50 depending on your oven).

For pecan topping:
1. Bake pie for only 40 minutes.  Remove from oven.
2. Stir together pecans, light brown sugar, corn syrup and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Sprinkle over pie.  
3. Bake an additional 10 minutes.

Let cool at least one hour before serving. Top with whipped cream.