| Chef2Chef Recipe Club - Volume 1 Number 041 - November 12, 2001. Forum, Subscribe & Unsubscribe Information are at the end of this message. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday: Luscious Collard Greens Dark, leafy greens are SO good for you, I hope you'll learn to love them! Today this dish is designed to serve as either a main course with rice, or as a side with anything you please. It's a traditional Southern "go-with" for beans and rice. You may make it with or without meat, but the flavors are so assertive these greens don't need it. Makes 6 servings 6 pounds collard greens 3 tablespoons canola oil 1 cup finely chopped onions 1 cup finely chopped celery 1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper 1 or 2 small fresh hot peppers, seeded, deribbed and finely chopped 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic 3 pounds meaty ham hocks or shanks (optional, but delicious!) 3 bay leaves 1 1/2 cups cold water 2 tablespoons fresh thyme (or 2 teaspoons dried) 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh oregano (or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried) 2 teaspoons Creole Seasoning (see below) Hot pepper sauce to taste 1. Pull the coarse stems all the way out of the collards, and wash the leaves very well in several changes of cold water. 2. Heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan or Dutch oven. Add mirepoix and meat (if you are using meat) and sauté the vegetables until the onion is translucent. 3. Tear the greens into bite-sized pieces and add to the pan. Stir to coat greens with the vegetable mixture and oil. Add seasonings and water. Cover the pan and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for forty minutes (to one hour - depending upon how tender your greens are) 4. Allow the greens to sit in their liquor while you remove the hocks and cut them into bite-sized pieces. (If there is a lot of liquor in the pan, you may wish to reduce it by one-half.) Be sure to discard all the bone, skin and gristle. Stir the meat back into the pot. Serve hot. Wine Tip: If you're making these greens the center of your plate, choose a Riesling from Alsace or Austria to go with it. I find most German and California Rieslings too sweet for this dish. Creole Seasoning Mix This is a wonderful seasoning to have close at hand in a jar with a shaker top to use for seasoning anything and everything. I like these proportions because the mixture adds a nice "zip" without taking the roof off your mouth, but you are welcome to make it as incendiary as you like! Makes about 3 tablespoons seasoning and doubles exactly 1 tablespoon fine sea salt 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 2 teaspoons white pepper 1 teaspoon garlic powder Alan Gold's Hot Pepper Cornbread Alan Gold used to teach Southern and Tex-Mex Cooking across the hall from me at the Boston Center for Adult Education. I have several cornbread recipes, but this one has just so much pizzaz that it's perfect when the bread is such an important part of the meal. I think you'll love it! Makes 1 large round - serves about 6 persons 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 scallion, finely chopped 1 onion, finely chopped 1/4 cup chopped red and green bell peppers 2 small hot peppers, seeded and finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, crushed 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1 small can (8 3/4 ounces) cream- style corn 1 1/4 cups buttermilk 1 1/2 cups stone ground yellow cornmeal 1/2 cup unbleached flour 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Use a 9- to 9-1/2-inch cast iron skillet (large enough to hold all the batter later). 2. Heat the oil in the skillet and cook the scallions, onion and all the peppers over low heat for 5 minutes or until the onion is soft but not brown. Scrape the contents of the skillet into a bowl. Add the garlic to the pepper mixture, then add the eggs, corn and buttermilk. Stir thoroughly. 3. Mix all the dry ingredients. Then gradually stir the flour mixture into the liquid mixture until the batter is smooth and loose. 4. Use the butter to grease the cast-iron pan. Put the pan into the oven for a few minutes so it becomes quite hot but the butter doesn't burn. Handle the pan with potholders!! 5. Pour the batter into the pan and transfer it to the hot oven. Bake on the top shelf for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and the cornbread has pulled away from the edges. 6. Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes, then cut into wedges to serve warm with butter. Monday's Shopping List: 6 pounds collard greens canola oil 2 medium-to-large onions 1 bunch celery 2 green bell peppers 1 small red bell pepper 4 small fresh hot peppers 1 head garlic 1 bunch scallions 3 pounds meaty ham hocks or shanks (optional, but delicious!) Bay leaves Fresh thyme (or dried) Fresh oregano (or dried) Hot pepper sauce 2 large eggs 1 small can (8 3/4 ounces) cream- style corn 1 quart buttermilk Stone ground yellow cornmeal Unbleached flour Coarse sea salt Baking powder Unsalted butter Fine sea salt Ground cayenne pepper Freshly ground black pepper Freshly ground white pepper Garlic powder ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Chef2Chef Recipe Club - Simply the best daily recipe Club on the Web! Free delicious recipes delivered daily via email. Encourage your family and friends to subscribe! http://chef2chef.net/news/subscribe.htm Discussion Forum: http://forums.chef2chef.net Unsubscribe requests honored instantly http://chef2chef.net/news/subscribe.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |