McManis, Petite Sirah, 2008

House red

Fried Oyster Salad

This is more about the concept than the recipe.

1 dozen fresh shucked oysters
corn meal
buttermilk
Frank's hot sauce
vegetable oil


Place oysters in a bowl and cover with buttermilk. Add a few dashes of Frank's. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Heat oil in a small pot to 370 F. Remove oysters from BM and coat with corn meal. In small batches fry oysters in oil for about 2 minutes each or until done. They cook quick and don't over cook. Drain on rack.

Make whatever kind of fresh salad you want with whatever dressing you like. Simple salads with a vinaigrette seems to work best.

Hearts of Romaine
tomatoes
green olives
cucumber
crumbled Cotija Fresco

Top with fried oysters.

Deviled Eggs

Base
12 eggs
3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 cup of mayo
1 tablespoon minced shallot
5 dashes Franks hot sauce
salt
pepper
paprika
chopped fresh parsley

Options
green olives
sweet pickle relish

Hard boil eggs. Cool, peel, halve. Remove yolks and place in bowl. Mash 24 halved yolks with a potato masher until smooth. Add and blend in mayo, mustard, shallot, Franks, salt and pepper. Place whites on a bitchin' deviled egg plate. Fill the halved egg whites with yolk mixture. Dash on paprika and scatter parsley. Chill 3 hours. Serve.

Marinated Roasted Stuffed Chicken

1 roasting chicken (approx 4½ lbs)

Marinate
olive oil
2 lemons halved
Montreal chicken seasoning
salt
pepper
dried parsley
dried thyme

Stuff
2 cups of Cornbread Dressing (I hope)
2 cups Italian Sausage
1/2 onion chopped fine
olive oil
salt
pepper
dried parsley
dried thyme
dried sage

Roast
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 lemon
Montreal chicken seasoning
salt
pepper
dried parsley
dried thyme
1/2 cup of white wine

Wash and dry chicken and remove the stuff inside. Cut way any excess skin or fat around the openings. Slide you fingers between the skin and the breast meat creating some separation. Do the same thing around the thigh. Place the chicken in a large mixing bowl.

Liberally and individually coat the bird inside and out with olive oil, juice from one of the lemons, Montreal chicken seasoning, salt, pepper, dried parsley, dried thyme. Use your best judgement as to what is enough of each. Put a spent lemon inside your chicken. Cover with a paper towel and refrigerate for 4-8 hours. Rotate chicken every hour to recoat with marinade. Add more of any of the ingredients as needed.

In a medium sauce pan soften the chopped onion in olive oil over medium heat. Add two cups of bulk Italian sausage. Break-up and brown. Add salt, pepper dried parsley, dried thyme, dried sage. Drain excess fat (but not too much). Combine cornbread dressing and saute for another 5 minutes.

Remove the lemon from inside and place the chicken in a large cast iron skillet. Cut the butter into table spoon size pieces and slide between skin and the breast and thigh meat. Fill the birds cavity 90% full with sausage and cornbread dressing stuffing. Don't cram it in there. Squeeze a lemon over the brid and put the halves in the skillet. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes and then pour the white wine over the bird. Bake for another hour. Remove. Tent and let rest for 10 minutes. Carve and eat.

Miller High Life Cammo Tall Boys

Saint - Estephe Chateau Les Oremes de Pez 2004 Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel

Red Bordeaux on Air France

Drank enough of this fine red and the Deutz Brut on a 10 hour flight from Paris to Houston to affect the profitability of Air France in 2008.

Deutz Brut Classic Champagne

Champagne on Air France

Beans, Beans the Magical Fruit...

1 onion chopped fine
1 red bell pepper chopped fine
2 stalks celery chopped fine
3 cloves garlic chopped fine
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 stick butter
1 lb red beans
3 cans beef stock
1 smoked pork hock
1 tablespoon thyme
1 or 2 bay leaves
sausage ring (Holmes) cut into 1/2 inch pieces
red pepper sauce (Frank's)
salt
pepper

Soak beans in cold water over night. Drain.

In a sauce pan melt butter and add olive oil. Add onion, red pepper and celery cook until soft but not brown. Add the garlic for the last minute.

Add all the contents of the sauce pan to a Crock Pot along with beans, stock, hock, thyme, bay leaves. Add salt, pepper and pepper sauce to suit your taste.

Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce to low and continue for 6 hours. Add more salt, pepper and pepper sauce. Add sausage and cook for 4 more hours.

Remove hock and bay leaves.

Top servings with Molho de Vinagrete and crumbled queso cotija and a side of Corn Bread de Andy.

Her Enchiladas

Lou makes a mean 'chilada. Secret recipe.

However, I will record some interesting fillings she has used.

Brisket for Coke Whores - magical

Don't Let Your Meat Loaf - She doesn't need to do it again. They were good but no real point.

asadero,  oaxaca and Colby jack for the cheese enchiladas

Brisket for Coke Whores

1 Brisket. Size does not matter. Trimmed or not.
Salt
Pepper
Penzey's English Prime Rib Rub
Montreal Steak Seasoning
2 medium white onions
3 cloves of garlic
1 16 oz bottle of Coke

Season the brisket with the spices. Slice the onions into rings. Crudely crush the garlic. Spread about 3/4 of the onions and the garlic in the bottom of an appropriate sized roasting pan. Put the brisket in the pan fat side up and put the rest of the onions on top of it. Pour the Coke over the brisket. Re-season if need and and make sure onions are still on top of the meat.

Cover with foil and cook @ 400 for 30 minutes and then turn down to 250 for 6 hours for an 8-10 pounder. Baste every two hours. Meat thermometer.

Remove from pan, cover with foil and let rest for 25 minutes. Slice and eat.