Memorial Day Weekend Celebration with Prime Rib at my Baby Brudder's House

When you are lucky enough to be invited to my brother's house when he's cooking, do yourself a favor and be there! Don't show up late either! The food waits for no man... or woman! LOL It was an awesome time with friends and family!

 My Baby Brudder, Master of the grill!

 The star of the evening... The Prime Rib!

 Prime Rib, hangin' out in the Au Jus!

 His BBQ chicken... awwwwesome skin!

 A little different from our Greek Potatoes, but very, VERY good!

 Christie, the birthday Princess! :-)

 Christie's Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad.

Here's a recipe for a Simple Pasta Salad.

Dinner Rolls... There was cake,

but I wasn't brave enough to come in between

the guests and cake! LOL

Southern Fried Chicken Livers

 

1 pound chicken livers

1 egg  

1/2 cup milk

Texas Pete, a few shakes or to taste

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 quart vegetable oil for frying 

Place the chicken livers in a colander, and rinse with water. Drain the livers well. Whisk together the egg and milk in a shallow bowl until well blended. Shake in a few drops of Texas Pete, or more to taste. Place the flour, garlic powder, and salt and pepper in a resealable plastic zipper bag, and shake to combine. 
  
Heat oil in a deep-fryer to 375 degrees F. My fryer has a vented lid that can be used while frying to reduce the chance of burning yourself due to popping and spattering. 
  
Place the chicken livers in the bowl of egg and milk mixture, and coat each liver. Place the livers, one at a time, into the plastic bag of flour mixture, and shake the bag to coat the each liver completely. 
  
Gently place the coated livers, a few at a time, into the basket of the fryer. Cover the fryer with the fryer lid to avoid getting burned by spatters of oil that will pop out as the livers fry. Drop the basket and deep fry the livers until crisp and golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes. 

  
  I stress the safety of the fry lid because livers can pop! I just want you all to take this recipe and make it your own! Feel free to add your favorite herbs and spices...this is my basic recipe...I often add paprika, poultry seasoning, cajun, anything to the flour.If you like extra crispy....Flour first, then egg mixture, then flour again! Makes the coating thicker and crispier! 

Crab Cakes

1 lb crab meat
1 large egg
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1-1/2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 

1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1-1/4 cups fresh breadcrumbs (about 3 slices of white bread)
Oil for frying


Drain crab meat. Put the crab in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg, mayonnaise, mustard, Old Bay seasoning, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Pour the mixture over the crab and mix gently until combined. Gently break up the lumps with your fingers but do not overmix.

Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the mixture and mix gently. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours.

Shape the crab mixture into 8 cakes about 1 inch thick. In a cast iron skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the cakes to the pan. Cook until dark golden brown on the underside, about 4 minutes. Flip the cakes and continue cooking until the other side is well browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges, Mustard Sauce and Cocktail Sauce.

Onion-Cheese Bread

It's a quick post today before heading to meet with family after my Uncle's passing. I believe that this is one of the few good things about a death in the family. Families that have moved away or grown apart, come together and share stories and food. 

1 1/2 cup milk
1 T dried minced onion
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1 t kosher salt
1/4 t black pepper
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 T melted butter

Combine milk and onion in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside for 10 minutes. Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt and pepper) in a large mixing bowl. Add cheese and stir. Add egg, butter and milk mixture. Mix until moistened. Do not over mix. Spread the batter in a greased and floured 13x9 pan. Bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Egg Rolls

These egg rolls are really pretty easy to do! I think the part about egg rolls that people think is intimidating is just the assembly... the rolling. It's more like folding them into an envelope shape. The most complicated part is rolling the wrappers and sealing them well, but that gets easy after you do it a couple of times! Don't work on the stack of wrappers while filling and rolling. Assemble each one separately to keep them from getting wet and sticking together. Keep your work space dry and neat. If you lay a wrapper down in water, the water turns to glue. The wrapper will tear when you try to pick it up or fold it. Give it a try! If you have kids, let them try too! It's a fun activity for everyone. I think it would make a great kitchen party with all the guests learning how you roll! LOL

Egg Rolls

Egg Roll Wrappers (about 16 -18 per package)
1/2 lb Sausage or Hamburger
1/2 lb Shrimp, shelled and cut
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup bamboo shoots, chopped
1/2 cup water chestnuts, chopped
1 cup cabbage, shredded
1 cup bean sprouts

Combine and set aside:
1 T soy sauce
1 T water
1 T corn starch

If you have a wok, that's great! If not, use a large skillet add a little oil and saute the meat and mushrooms for about 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp turns pink. Add the corn starch mixture and cook until the liquid thickens. Pour into a large bowl and set aside. In the same skillet, add a little oil and return to heat. Add cabbage, sprouts, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots and saute until cabbage wilts. Add to bowl with meat mixture and stir together. Let the mixture cool a little.

Take one egg roll wrapper out and place it on your work space facing you like a diamond. Place about 1/4 cup of filling in the lower corner nearest you. Brush or with your finger, wipe the edges down with water. This will seal the egg rolls so they don't pop while cooking. Fold the bottom corner up and the sides in, like an envelope. Then fold the top down to seal. Make sure each egg roll seals well. Place the egg roll on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Repeat the process with the next wrapper, until they are all rolled and sealed. 

It's best to use a small fryer such as a "Fry Daddy" or some with fryer with a basket. The egg rolls can split and that can cause the filling to leak. This can make the oil foam up and pop sometimes, so use caution when frying. If you use a pot on the stove, use as little oil as you can and turn the egg rolls to cook evenly.
Heat the oil to 375 degrees. Fry two or three at a time until they are golden brown... usually about 3-5 minutes. Keep them in a warm oven until ready to eat. Serve them with soy sauce, duck sauce, plum sauce or a spicy mustard.

This recipe usually makes 16-18 egg rolls.

Grilled Greek Pork Chops

I know that I say 'grilled', and that's what we started them on... the grill. However, our grill ran out of gas rather quickly, and I had to finish them in my cast iron skillet on the stove. That's why there are no grill marks in the pics!

4 bone-in Pork Chops

Cavender's Greek Seasoning

1/4 cup Lemon Juice (or more)

stick butter

Cover the pork chops with lemon juice. (My pork chops were very thin, so it didn't take a lot of lemon.) Sprinkle generously with Greek seasoning. Let the chops hang out in the lemon and seasoning for 30 minutes or so. Depending on the thickness, grill for a few minutes on each side. I had to finish mine off over medium high heat for a couple of minutes on each side. Before pulling them off the grill/pan, rub them with the end of a stick of butter. Flip and repeat. I served mine with seasoned butter beans and loaded mashed potatoes! (I know... I needed a green for the picture! To much blah beige!)

Bone-in pork chops...

 My plate... I like this cut of pork chop.