Carolina Mustard Barbecue Sauce

Porcine Inspiration #3. Better than boughten.
Another of my three favorite regional BBQ Sauces.

½ gallon prepared mustard
1 ½ cups apple cider vinegar
5 cups cane sugar
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon salt

Combine all the ingredients and slowly bring to a simmer. Keep a close eye as this sauce can scorch very easily. Stir frequently. Let cool.

Japanese Tartar Sauce

 

1 cup mayonnaise
2 -3 Tablespoons pickled ginger, chopped
1  Tablespoon soy sauce 
1  teaspoon sesame oil
1  Tablespoon wasabi powder

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap, and leave in fridge for at least an hour, preferably a day, before using.

Panna Cotta

It’s like a free-standing base that acts as a foil to the fruit coulis you use as a sauce. I have no idea what I do differently.
If you are ever tempted to order panna cotta in a restaurant you should ask your server if it’s any good because most of the time it is bloody awful. I’m not kidding.
I like to mold it in custard cups but you can use virtually anything. A glass meatloaf pan, tea cups, coffee mugs. It is not fussy at all. I usually wait to soften the gelatin in the milk until the cream is starting to get hot. I stir it with my finger to get it uniformly moist.

1 envelope (2 ½ teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup whole milk
3 cups heavy (whipping) cream
½ cup sugar

butter, at room temperature, for greasing
Fruit Coulis


Soften the gelatin in the milk. Combine the cream and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring. Remove from the heat and add the gelatin mixture. Continue stirring until gelatin is completely dissolved.
Pour into buttered mold, or individual molds. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until set-from 4 to 12 hours.
To serve: dip the bottom of your mold into hot water for about 30 seconds. Run a paring knife around the inside edges of the mold. Invert onto a serving plate and lift off the mold. Spoon fruit couils over the tops. Or simply with fresh fruit.

Basic Fruit Coulis. Bring your fruit to a boil. Sweeten to taste and add a squeeze of lemon juice. Stir until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, Strain, if your fruit has seeds, chill and serve. Works for any soft fruit. Blackberry, raspberry, blueberry, strawberry, mango, peeled peaches, caramel sauce as well. Be bold. Some fruit I would not cook but just use a puree: Pineapple, kiwifruit, melons etc. taste these for sugar and a little lemon is always a good idea.

Alabama White Barbecue Sauce

Makes 1 3/4 cups

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup vinegar, your choice
1 garlic clove, minced, or ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
Juice of 1 lemon
A whiff of cayenne pepper
1 Tablespoon coarse ground pepper
1 Tablespoon spicy brown mustard-or a coarse, seeded Dijon-I actually use Zatarain's Creole mustard-for sentimental reasons
2 Teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons horseradish
　
Stir together all ingredients until well blended. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 week.

CATFISH CEVICHE

Words Fail Me...

Serve with corn chips.  I especially like the cup-shaped ones for this.

1 lb U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish fillets, cut in to 1/4-inch pieces (the smaller the better-hard to do but worth the effort)
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
½ cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
½ cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup seeded and diced ripe tomato
½ cup finely diced red onion
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon oregano leaves
1 jalapeno, seeded, deveined, and minced
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and diced

In a large reseal able food-storage bag, combine the fish with the lemon and lime zests and juices. Allow to marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 18 hours, turning every once and a while to mix.

Thirty minutes before serving, drain the fish and discard the liquid. Put the fish in a large mixing bowl and add the olive oil, tomato, red onion, garlic, cilantro, oregano, jalapeno, salt, sugar, and avocado. Mix gently, cover, and chill until ready to serve.
Serves 6

New Orleans Barbequed Shrimp

This is remarkable. It is also on an entirely higher level of cooking but is not difficult. Have everything prepared as far as you can in advance before putting the dish together. When you start putting
fire to food you won’t have time to stop and fix something you’ve forgotten-have your butter clarified-have your Maitre d’Hotel Butter made and at room temperature. Have all the other ingredients prepped and ready to go into the pan-set them aside in little piles of paper or foil or in tiny bowls if you have them. Have your potatoes or pasta boiled. Try it...I know you can.
And when you do...words fail me. Use your big Magnalite roaster for this, or a very large pot or pan-the big, heavy-bottomed cooking vessel is what you want. You can’t have a pan that will be hot in the center and cold at the edges.
　
　
1  1/4 lbs. Shrimp with shells on
8 small cloves garlic
1/4 cup clarified butter*
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
16 dashes Tabasco
2  1/2  Tablespoons black pepper
1 Tbsp. salt, or to taste
2 tsp. Finely diced Fresh Rosemary
1/2cup Maitre d’Hotel Butter*
1 twelve-ounce bottle Heineken beer

Saute the shrimp and garlic in the clarified butter just until the shrimp turn pink (about 2 minutes) and the garlic cloves are slightly brown. Add the other ingredients except the Maitre d’Hotel Butter and beer, and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the last two ingredients and simmer until the sauce pulls together and becomes creamy. Serve (shells still on) in bowls with hot French bread-for dipping in the wonderful sauce-and with lots of napkins. Or, if you or your guests don’t want to deal with the mess, peel the shrimp and serve with boiled potatoes or over angel hair pasta.

*To clarify butter, heat butter until it melts. Remove from the heat. Let stand until the milk solids sink to the bottom. Skim off and save the clear (clarified) butter fat on the top. Clarified butter burns at a much higher temperature, making it better for sauteing.

*Maitre d’Hotel Butter: 3 cups soft butter
3 small French shallots, minced (they are those things that look like big cloves of garlic but smell like onions-you can substitute about 2 Tbsp. Grated onions for them if you must.

2 Tbsp. Fresh basil, chopped
2 Tbsp chervil, chopped (if available
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 clove garlic, minced
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
1 dash Tabasco
1 1/2Tbsp. Lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
This goes well with eggs, fish, meats and vegetables. For example just let a pat of the butter melt over a plain grilled steak as it is served, or a grilled chicken breast or, melt some to mix with pasta or, in mashed potatoes, spread on bread, or.....

Chilled Avocado/Artichoke Soup

3 Tbsp. Butter
2 medium leeks (white and very light green parts only), cut into 1/4 inch rounds
1 medium boiling potato, peeled and cubed
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
6 frozen large artichoke hearts, thawed and quartered-or use one can of artichoke hearts, drained
6 c. (or more) chicken stock-preferably homemade
2 medium avocados, peeled
1 c. whipping cream
Salt and pepper
Avocado slices or cubes for garnish (you’ll need another avocado)

Melt butter in heavy, large pot over mediumlow heat. Add leeks, onion, potato and garlic and cook until leeds and onion soften, stirring occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes. Add artichoke quarters and stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until artichokes are tender, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Cool slightly.

Transfer artichoke mixture to blender or processor. Add avocado pulp and cream and process until pureed and smooth, adding more stock if thinner consistency is desired. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until cold. Garnish with avocado slices and serve. Makes 6 to 8 servings.