A Jeanne in the Kitchen

WE HAVE SNOW!!!!!! At long last, the white stuff is falling from the skies above. This is our FIRST snow of the season. It is not a lot, but hey, I’ll take it! To me, there is always something magical about the first snow of the season. I just love it.

There is just something about onion rings. I just love them, but ONLY the good ones. If they are not good, they are not worth the calories for me and I can easily pass on them. They have to be light and super crispy for me to really enjoy them. I don’t eat or make them very often, but when I do, I just want to eat the whole batch. I think I could easily make them my whole meal when I do make them. Besides, they are best when served hot, hot, hot, and they do not taste nearly as good when they are leftover and re-heated, so you have to eat them all, right?! 🙂

No one knows for sure when onion rings were first invented, but it is believed that they are of British and American origins. Some say they were first invented in England in the early 17th century, around 1802. They were fried in lard and served with a mustard butter sauce then. But they really became popular all around the United States around the early 1900’s. Others say they were first invented in France in 1469 when King Louis XI requested a new snack from his staff. Today, onion rings are enjoyed all over the world, but mostly in the English speaking countries, which totally makes sense if they came over from England and spread throughout the British colonies.

As with anything that is well loved in many countries and in many regions of the world, there are many different versions of onion rings. I have made and shared other delicious versions for you before Red Chili Onion Rings, Perfect Light and Crispy Onion Rings, and I am giving you yet another tasty recipe to try as well. I like them all, but so far, I think this recipe is my favorite. Today’s recipe is a buttermilk version of fried onion rings. They literally just melted in our mouths. They were so light and crispy and full of flavor.

Buttermilk Onion Rings

I use the powdered buttermilk that I mix with milk instead of water. I HATE regular buttermilk and to buy it for just one or two recipes every now and then is such a waste, because it will go bad long before I can use it all up. My grandfather used to love buttermilk and would drink it all the time. So of course I wanted to try it too. YUCK! It was NOT what I had hoped it would be. So I buy the powdered version and mix it up when I need it.

The Seasoned Flour

4 cups flour

2 TBSP Cajun or Creole seasoning

1 TBSP salt

1 TBSP white pepper

1 TBSP black pepper

Mix everything together then set aside.

Buttermilk Egg Wash

1 egg

2 cups buttermilk

2 TBSP Cajun or Creole seasoning

1 TBSP salt

1 TBSP white pepper

1 TBSP black pepper

2 1/4 tsp brown sugar

vegetable oil for frying

Combine all the ingredients together in a separate bowl and set aside.

6 large onions peeled and sliced in thick rings

Some recipes call for soaking the onions in ice cold water for about 30 minutes before battering them and frying them up. I have never done this. However, I do make the batter ahead of time and let is rest for about 30 minutes before dipping my onions.

Get the oil to 350* F or 180* C. I like to deep fry them in our deep fryer but you can also pan-fry them too. You just want to make sure you have enough oil to completely cover the rings.

Dip the onion rings in the egg-buttermilk mixture and thoroughly coat. Then carefully shake off the excess liquid. Place the rings in the flour mixture and do the same. Thoroughly coat them and shake off the excess.

When the rings are ready, carefully place them in the hot oil. Do not over crowd them. Fry them in small batches until they are all cooked. Fry them for about 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. Drain them on a paper towel to remove the excess grease and serve immediately.

DELICIOUS!!!! I dare you to stop at just one. I know I sure can’t.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Everyone. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Before Juneau, aka our destructo puppy, came into our lives, I used to decorate every room in the house with a little bit of Christmas cheer and spirit. This year, we are only doing the minimal decorations, for that very same reason, and they are up high, where hopefully they are out of her reach and out of her range of destruction. But it is fun to see others decorating every room with the holiday spirit. This year, I will enjoy them vicariously.

As of today, December 9th, we still have not had any snow. This is very rare and unusual for us. But I just know when it does come, it will come down hard. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. 🙂

I was walking past my front door, going out to the garage to get something and this is what I saw at my front door. I went to get my camera real quick in hopes that he would still be there. And he was. He was quite the poser and loved having his picture taken.

I just never know who is going to to show up at my front door. All are welcome. Come one, come all.

When most people hear the words Southern Comfort, the first thought that comes to mind is the whiskey. I am not a whiskey drinker though, so my meaning is something totally different. I am saying it in the sense of Southern comfort foods. But then I am almost always thinking in food terms.

Last night’s dinner was most definitely filled with a bunch of different Southern comfort foods. It was filled with a tangy-smoky BBQ chicken, loaded yams, green beans, buttermilk onion rings and my bacon and green onion corn muffins. Bacon and Green Onion Corn Muffins D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!!!!

Tangy-Smoky BBQ Chicken

This chicken came out so tender and full of flavor. I LOVE it!

The Chicken

I made the marinade for the chicken and let it set for about 6 hours before we grilled it up.

4 lbs of chicken – you can use any kind of chicken you like. I used boneless breasts.

2 TBSP packed brown sugar

4 1/2 tsp salt

1 TBSP dried onion

1 TBSP garlic

1 TBSP paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 TBSP Cara-Cara orange Balsamic vinegar, optional

Mix it all up together and completely cover the chicken. Cover it and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before cooking.

The Sauce

In my opinion, the sauce is ALWAYS what makes the dish.

1 cup ketchup

5 TBSP molasses

3 TBSP Cara-Cara orange balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar

2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce

2 TBSP Dijon mustard

salt & pepper to taste

1/3 cup dried onion

1 TBSP garlic

1 tsp chili powder – I used Ancho chili powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Combine everything together well and serve it over whatever you like BBQ sauce with.

After the chicken was grilled and cooked completely, I topped it with this bold and flavorful sauce to really liven it up. It was so yummy!

Enjoy! I GAR-UN-TEE you’re going to love it.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Everyone. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Originally we had said we were NOT going to decorate at all inside the house due to our wild child, Juneau. But it just didn’t really feel like Christmas without at least some decorations in the house. So Larry put up one of our small trees in the art niche above the stairs, thinking that would be safe from Juneau’s destruction.

WRONG! Within less than a couple of hours of him putting it up, Juneau had found it and was starting to attack one of our elves. Fortunately, we rescued the elf and moved him over, out of her range. He gets to live to celebrate another Christmas.

But apparently, both of my girls are in on this together, and are tag teaming each other. Nicodemus decided to crawl up under the tree and knocked down one of the ornaments from the tree, and lo and behold, Juneau was running around with a mini Santa in her mouth, thinking it was yet another chew toy for her. My poor Santas. I don’t know what Juneau has against Santa.

See the accomplice in the corner?

My boys are both good. It’s the girls I have to worry about.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Everyone. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Everyone knows how much I treasure my cookbooks. It’s no secret. The word is out. In fact, just this morning, a friend of mine asked me if I wanted some of her cookbooks that she no longer wanted. I actually had to decline her generous offer because my bookshelves are over crowded as well. Believe me, it took a lot of restraint to not say yes. That being said, I am still a believer in the wise words one of my old co-workers said to me many moons ago “you have never purchased your last cookbook”. I have been good though and have NOT purchased any new cookbooks in awhile. However, I was gifted a great cookbook not all that long ago by yet another blogger friend of mine, Sandy Axelrod, from “The Traveling Locovores”. Thank you Sandy. There are oh so many fantastic recipes in this fabulous book. My only problem is there are way to many delicious recipes I want to make and not nearly enough time to get them all done. Woe is me. 🙂

Sandy gave me this book, Lands of the Curry Leaf by Peter Kuruvita.

When I received this wonderful new gift, I was busy going in a whole bunch of different directions at the time. I actually made a dish, very loosely inspired by one the recipes from the book, but then Thanksgiving came and I have been busy posting recipes and ideas about the holidays. I am just now getting to share my recipe with you, at long last. When I say very loosely, I mean it too. About the only things in common with the actual recipe and mine were that they were both curried and they both called for pumpkin. But it did inspire me to create my dish. Often, this is exactly how I use cookbooks and recipes too. I look at the pictures, I read the ingredients, and then off I go and to do my own version of what I have just seen and read. That’s just how I roll. What can I say? 🙂

Larry said he wanted shrimp and I had pumpkin and spinach I needed to use, but I also wanted to make the dish that I had earmarked in this fabulous new book. So I did what I always do and created my own dish instead.

Curried Shrimp and Vegetables

1 1/2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined

3 cups fresh spinach, stems removed, chopped

1 red or orange bell pepper, sliced very thin

1 green bell pepper, sliced very thin

2-3 sweet peppers, sliced very thin

1- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cubed

1-1 1/2 cups mushrooms sliced

1 cup cooked asparagus

1 red onion, sliced very thin

1 can coconut milk

1 1/2 TBSP garlic

1 1/2 TBSP ginger

1 TBSP yellow curry

1 TBSP red curry

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp turmeric

salt & pepper to taste

olive oil and lime olive oil (optional) for cooking

Get a large pot very hot then add the oils. Saute the shrimp for about 5 minutes, or until it is completely pink and cooked. Once they are cooked, remove them from the heat and set aside.

Add more oil if needed, then add the vegetables, except for the spinach and the cooked asparagus, and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until they are tender.

When the heartier vegetables are tender, add the spinach and asparagus and combine well.

Combine the coconut milk with all the spices and add to the vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Re-add the shrimp.

Serve immediately over rice. I served it over a combination of both white rice and black rice, with some Naan bread and a glass or two of smooth buttery chardonnay on the side. I love all kinds of curries, and they are my favorite Asian dishes.

Sorry it took so long to get this one to you, but I promise you it was worth the wait. Once again, many thanks to Sandy for her generous contribution to my ever-growing culinary library. it is greatly appreciated.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas Everyone. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Normally I do not re-blog, but every now and then something comes up that needs to be shared again. This is one of those times. I saw this on our own Holly’sworld page https://photogarphybyhcmorris77.com/ and thought it was the perfect message for the holidays, no matter what holidays you celebrate. Thank you Holly for reminding us of these precious gifts we all need to give and receive, not just at Christmas but all throughout the year.

It’s The Most Wonderful Time of Year

Christmas gift suggestions:

To your enemy: Forgiveness

To an opponent: Tolerance

To a friend: Your heart

To a customer: Service

To all: Charity

To every child: A good example

To yourself: Respect

~Owen Arnold~

Breads are most definitely my downfall. If I had enough butter, I could easily live on breads for the rest of my life. Because of my love affair with all kinds of breads, I am always trying new things out too. I have bread of some sort with dinner every night if I can.

When I made my turkey chowder Southwestern Turkey Chowder I also made some bacon and green onion corn muffins to go along with the chowder as well. They hit the spot perfectly. Usually when I make any kind of corn bread or muffins I make honey butter to go with them too.

Bacon and Green Onion Corn Muffins

Preheat the oven to 425* F or about 210-215* C

Spray some muffin pans with cooking spray

I baked my corn muffins the usual way, in the oven, but if you want to try something a little different, you can try placing them on a hot grill the next time you are grilling meats too. It’s a bit to chilly for me to try that right now, but I definitely will when the weather warms up. It will give the muffins a nice smoky flavor.

5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 cup flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 1/2 cups corn

4-5 green onions, sliced very thin

1 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

4 TBSP melted butter

2 TBSP fresh cilantro, chopped fine

Cut the bacon into small pieces and cook it until it is done. Drain off the excess grease.

Mix all the dry ingredients together, then add the green onions, bacon and cilantro and combine well.

Slightly beat the eggs, then add the eggs, melted butter and buttermilk to the dry mixture and mix just enough to incorporate all the ingredients. Do not over mix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

When they are done, serve them immediately, with or without honey butter. I prefer to use the honey butter because I like to add a hint of sweetness to them as well. They were the perfect pairing for my Southwestern Turkey Chowder.

May your holidays be fun and festive and filled with good friends and good cheer. Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

Well, this is just odd. We still have NO SNOW! We haven’t had any yet this year. But it is definitely coming. It’s on it’s way. I can smell it in the air. Literally! We have a saying that when it is about to snow we get that Greeley smell. Greeley is a rural farming area about 1 hour northeast of us, and when it is about to snow, the winds shift and we get that very potent smell of the farmlands. That plus the temperature is a brisk 25*F right now, with the high only supposed to get to about 32 *F. So snow is definitely on the way. But for now, this is the only snow we have seen in the metro area.