Carine Clary, Author at The FrangloSaxon Cooks

Loaded Grits with Brown Butter

July 3, 2021 by Carine Clary Leave a Comment

Loaded Grits are grits topped with whatever ‘load’ you prefer or any combination thereof. My version keeps the grits pure in corn flavor while the load can include many different things or just a couple depending upon your preference. What puts it over the top both literally and metaphorically is the brown butter you finish it with. That is genius. Don’t know why or how it popped into my mind but boy does it taste good!

With this version, as with most others, you will get all the toppings ready and then make the grits last since they will firm up as they cool and can get lumpy when reheated. So lets get started:

The Prep

What I’ve shown here (in addition to the grits) has sausage, shrimp, peppers (both sweet and hot), onion, corn and some shredded cheese on top. To fully layer the flavors I started with a thin coat of oil in a pan into which I dropped the shrimp for a couple, then turned for a couple more, and put on a plate. There should be some nice brown shrimp fond on the bottom. Next I placed the cut up sausage in that same pan and browned it, drained it and then in with the corn. Last up were the bell and shishito peppers plus the onion and done! Set all aside and proceed to the grits.

Oh wait! Next is the brown butter. This is easy, just melt till brown but don’t walk away. It burns fast. Once brown stir in the paprika and if you want to be fancy strain it and spoon off the foam so it’s clear. If you have a stash of clarified butter, brown that. You won’t be sorry.

The grits

These grits were quick cooking but if you use stone ground you may soak them the night before in some water and that will speed the cooking next day. While cooking whisk early and often which releases starch and makes them creamier. I usually use stone ground grits because they taste better and they’re also made from whole corn kernels which contains more nutrients than highly processed grits. This is because when instant grits are processed the kernel pericarp and germ are removed, leaving just the starch. The stone ground are good for you but mostly just taste better.

Once cooked put in a serving dish and start loading. If the “load” has cooled too much you may toss in a hot pan or microwave for a few seconds. Then put the cheese on first so it will melt, then layer the other things as preferred, top with the brown butter and dig in to your deliciously loaded grits.

And for a refreshing side try my Orange Arugula salad.

Loaded Grits with Brown Butter

Author: Carine Clary

Cuisine: Southern

Ingredients

For the toppings:
1 cup shrimp, peeled & deveined
1 cup andouille, chopped (or other sausage)
¼ cup Shishito peppers, chopped (or serrano or fresno)
¼ cup bell pepper, any color
1 tablespoon onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons corn
⅓ cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
For the brown butter:
4 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon paprika
For the grits:
1 cup quick-cooking grits
3 cups water
1 cup half & half
1 teaspoon salt
Parsley for garnish, chopped

Instructions

For the Toppings:
Peel & devein shrimp, cut up sausage into small pieces, chop peppers and set aside.
Lightly coat a pan with oil and place the shrimp in it. Cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes on each side and remove. Next cook the sausage and remove when brown. Then add the corn and remove when slightly browned.
Finally add the onion and peppers stirring so as to pick up the the browned bits on the bottom. Cook only for a minute leaving them with a little crunch. Set aside.
For the butter:
Melt the butter & heat until brown, stir in the paprika and set aside.
For the grits:
In a large saucepan, bring cream, water and salt to a boil. Slowly stir in grits. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook covered, until thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
Assembly:
Top with grated cheese and layer other ingredients.
Drizzle with brown butter, top with parsley and serve.

Flatbread

June 24, 2021 by Carine Clary Leave a Comment

Flatbread is the yeast bread that you want when you don’t want to make bread. It brings all the flavor of yeast without the long rise. It’s perfect for dipping into anything middle eastern or for wrapping around some leftover pulled pork or dismembered rotisserie chicken. And btw – once you’ve made this you will never go back to the tasteless stuff in the plastic bags again so let’s get started.

The Prep

It has two rises, both fairly quick. For the first you’ll get a bowl and put in one teaspoon of yeast and another of sugar and then stir in a half cup of warm water. After a couple of minutes it should bubble a little. That means it’s good and you can then add a half cup of flour. Stir that in well for a couple of minutes, cover and let rise for half an hour or until doubled.

For the final rise you’ll add salt, olive oil and the rest of the flour. Add that flour gradually and knead briefly until smooth then drizzle some more olive oil on the outside, cover and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes. Punch it down then pinch off balls about the size of ping pongs, approximately an inch and a half to two inches wide. Then heat a cast iron skillet to medium high. It should feel pretty hot when your hand’s an inch or so above it. I know this isn’t exact but if it’s hot it’ll be fine.

You should then flour a board or your counter and roll out pretty thinly – no rule here but shoot for about a quarter of an inch. If you want super thin stretch it over an upturned bowl like this:

Now lay it in the ungreased pan and don’t walk away. It will bubble up and soon as it does, flip it as below. Sometimes it will puff up, sometimes not. After another minute, minute and a half put on a plate and cover with a cloth or with the mixing bowl which you no doubt have diligently rinsed out. The bread will keep cooking (just a little) and will keep warm till all the ping pong balls have bounced out of the pan.

Now your bread is done and you have the option of brushing a little flavored oil on it or some sesame seeds or little tiny garlic pellets, whatever suits. Be creative! Make some Ajvar or hummus or buy them or both, cut up some veg and enjoy.

Flatbread

Author: Carine Clary

Ingredients

For the first rise:
1 teaspoon dry active yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
½ cup warm water
½ cup all purpose flour
For the second rise:
¾ teaspoon kosher salt (or ½ teaspoon fine salt)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup all purpose flour, plus more as needed
For the garnish:
Parsley
Cilantro
Sauteed Garlic
Sesame seeds

Instructions

Place ½ cup flour, yeast, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Pour in warm water. Stir well for a couple of minutes. Cover bowl and let sit until mixture gets bubbly, about 30 minutes. Drizzle in olive oil; add salt and 1 cup flour. Mix together until mixture forms a sticky dough ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If mixture seems too wet, add a bit more flour.
Lightly flour a work surface. Knead dough for a couple of minutes until fairly smooth. Pour a few drops of olive oil in a bowl. Transfer dough ball to bowl and turn to coat surface with oil.
Cover bowl and place in a warm spot. Let dough rise until it has doubled in size, about 60 minutes. Transfer dough to work surface and knead briefly.
Lightly flour a work surface; dough may be sticky so make sure you use enough flour to keep dough from sticking to the surface or your hands (but less flour is best). Pinch off a piece of dough about an inch and a half wide. Roll into a smooth ball. Flatten and roll out into a circle about ¼ inch thick.
Heat up a cast iron skillet to medium high.
Carefully lift the dough circle and lay into the ungreased skillet. It should bubble up and blister almost immediately. Let it cook for about a minute then flip.
Transfer to a plate and cover with a towel or bowl inverted over it to keep it warm and moist.

Braised Turkey Thighs

June 12, 2021 by Carine Clary Leave a Comment

Braised Turkey Thighs might not be an obvious choice for a summer supper but they’re easy to season, brown, and then slide into a low temperature oven for a long simmer. While you wait, you can do whatever feels right – gardening, swimming or just sitting on the porch smelling the gardenia’s blooms while reading that trashy novel you got waitlisted for at the library. The other nice thing about this recipe is that it works for wings. Get four, split them and follow the recipe as written below. So let’s get started.

The Prep

You’ll first want to melt the fat, then dry off and salt & pepper the turkey. Let the fat start to sizzle before adding the turkey then let it get to a good brown on both sides before removing from the pan.

Then you’ll add extra fat if needed (I didn’t because the turkey skin had lots, so eyeball it). Cut up the onion and mushroom and brown them lightly. Next up is the tomato. Slice in half, use your finger or a small spoon to scoop out the seeds then grate it. And after you’ve done that add it (and all its juice) to the onions and mushrooms along with the seasonings, garlic, and wine. Stir well and get all the tasty brown fond off the bottom of the pan then cover and put in the oven.

Once done you have the option of thickening the sauce with the cornstarch mixture and butter. Crown with your preferred herbs and serve it forth with heavy crusted warm bread or oven-roasted potatoes as shown.

Braised Turkey Wings

Author: Carine Clary

Ingredients

2 tablespoons bacon fat, or butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 lbs. turkey thighs (usually about two)
Salt & Pepper
½ pound mushrooms, quartered
1 large onion, sliced
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon ground rosemary
1 teaspoon ground sage
2 bay leaves
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 lb. tomatoes, cut in half, seeded & grated
2 tablespoons tomato paste (or catsup)
1 cup red wine
1 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in a tablespoon of water
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons fresh marjoram (or thyme or tarragon)
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 250.
Heat the fat in a large pot. Brown the thighs in this over medium-high heat. Set aside after they brown.
After the turkey has browned, add the mushrooms and sliced onion and brown them; adding more oil if necessary.
When the onion and mushrooms are browned, return the turkey to the pot and add the thyme, rosemary, sage, bay, garlic, tomatoes, and wine. Scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot with wooden spoon. Cover the pot and put in the oven for about 2 hours.
Check the pot after about 1 hour, and add water if needed; you'll need plenty of iquid in order to get that fall off the bone doneness.
When the turkey is almost done taste the sauce. Because of the tomato and red wine it may be a little tart. If so, add a teaspoon of sugar or honey and mix into the sauce. Place on the stove top over low heat and mix in the cornstarch & water. This should thicken in about a minute. Once it's thickened add the butter.
Sprinkle with the herb and parsley and serve with the potatoes.

Chili Cornbread Casserole

May 26, 2021 by Carine Clary Leave a Comment

Chili Cornbread Casserole is the easy complete meal that can be cooked and served in the same pot. How sweet is that? Used to be politically incorrectly referred to as “brides casserole” due to its simplicity and utilization of canned goods, but who cares? Tastes great, kids like it, survives pretty well in refrigerator leftover land so let’s get started.

The Prep

For starters, you’ll need some ground chuck. Put a little oil in the pan, break up the ground meat and thoroughly cook and set aside. Add a little more oil, dump in the onion & garlic and cook until clear, about three minutes. Next add the seasonings and the drained can of pinto beans. Lightly smash a few of the beans against the side of the pan. This will thicken the final chili. Add the diced tomato with its juices, the reserved meat, stir and let cook for a couple of minutes. If you’re a do ahead kinda guy or gal making this for tomorrow’s supper you can stop here and pop in the fridge. Otherwise, cut the heat and mix up the cornbread.

The cornbread is easy & when it’s mixed you can pour it over the chili which you will have flattened out, and note: I misspoke in the first paragraph. This meal dirties two dishes if you include the one you use to mix the cornbread but two’s not bad so just live with it 🙂 Shred the cheese of your choice on the top of the cornbread, slide in the oven, and your labor is over.

Below you’ll see it served with a little extra chopped bell pepper and some sour cream along with an ad hoc coleslaw that was nothing more than shredded cabbage and carrot with a little mayo.

Done! Now down the hatch.

Chili Cornbread Casserole

Author: Carine Clary

Cuisine: Tex-Mexican

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the Chili:
2 tablespoons oil (1 for browning meat, other for the veg)
½ lb. ground beef
2 cloves garlic, chopped
½ cup onion, chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
1.5 tsp. smoked paprika (or regular)
1 to 2 jalapeno chilis, chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper (optional if you used 2 chilis)
1 14.5 oz can tomato dice with liquid
1 15.5 oz can pinto beans
For the Cornbread Topping:
¾ cup stone ground cornmeal (medium or fine grind)
¼ cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk

Instructions

For the Chili:
Add tablespoon of oil (or even better, bacon grease) to a Dutch oven, break up the meat, cook over medium heat until done & remove.
Add garlic and onion and saute for several minutes until clear.
Stir in the chili powder, smoked paprika, chopped chilies, salt and pepper.
Slightly smash the beans with a fork, some should remain whole.
Stir in the tomato dice, beans, and reserved meat & cook over a low heat for several minutes.
For the Cornbread:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all dry ingredients and make a well in the middle.
Whisk together the egg and buttermilk, pour into the well & mix.
For the Assembly of the casserole:
Level out the chili and pour cornbread batter over it.
Top with grated cheese of your choice.
Bake until brown, about half an hour.

Loaded Grits with Brown Butter

The Prep

The grits

Flatbread

The Prep

Braised Turkey Thighs

Chili Cornbread Casserole

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