A Favorite Southern Recipe

This morning I read a lovely recipe for bacon gravy at Civilla's Cyber Cafe that just made me ever so hungry... not that I desperately need to eat things of which the main ingredient is grease, but it's not my fault those are most of the best foods! I'd heard of sausage gravy, but not bacon, and bacon gravy sounds to die for.
MY favorite artery-clogging luxury is Wilted Lettuce. Very easy. Fry a "whole bunch" of bacon (exactly how much is up to you, but you want plenty of fat left in the skillet), remove the bacon and leave the fat. Snack on the bacon while tearing up your lettuce to fill a big salad bowl - romaine, not iceburg. Iceburg is mostly water and will turn out really gross. Add to the hot grease 1/4 c vinegar, 3/4 c water, and 2T of sugar, stir and bring to a rolling boil, then QUICKLY pour over the lettuce and stir until it's all covered. The heat "wilts" the lettuce, and it's just heavenly. All bacony and sweet and sour all at the same time. And you want to eat it before it cools too much!
You might have to play with the recipe to determine how sour and how sweet you want it, and to match the amount of "dressing" to the amount of lettuce.

And for my Orthodox friends, here is Wilted Lettuce for the fast!!!! Actually, the recipe (from Cooks.com) is designed to be vegan and kosher, but if you substitute canola for olive oil, it's also suitable for when you just have to have something fattening but it's a month yet until Pascha. I haven't tried it yet - you do the same thing as the above recipe, but brown the onions in place of the bacon.

2-3 heads leaf lettuce (Romaine, red leaf, etc.)
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 to 1/2 cup vinegar (Kosher balsamic works best)
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon to 1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped white or red onions
2 drops/splashes liquid smoke (optional)

This recipe is Kosher Pareve if made as instructed. Full, detailed instructions here.

Roast Brussels Sprouts

I'm copying this from nytimes.com, because being from February of LAST year, every time I try to "share" the page, it says it can't be found. Sounds REALLY good to me! I hope to grow a Brussels sprout plant indoors this summer, or maybe two if I try this recipe and it's as good as it sounds. From what I read, they're VERY finiky plants - too hot outside, the flavor is strong and unpleasant. Not enough water, same problem. Hmmm... sounds like an indoor plant to me. I thought for the longest time that sprouts were supposed to be horrible, but had honestly never eaten them. So one day (as an independent adult) I bought some and steamed them with basil and such, and they were good. Just like little cabbages. And the plants are FUNKY looking - a single stalk with little sprouts growing off of it, like a bat with baseballs stuck all over it. That alone makes me want to grow it - this recipe, though, is doubly tempting.

February 21, 2008, 11:11 am

Recipe of the Day: Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Garlic By Mark Bittman

Ingredients

• 1 pint brussels sprouts (about a pound)
• 4 to 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, to coat bottom of pan
• 5 cloves garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Method

• 1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Trim bottom of brussels sprouts, and slice each in half top to bottom. Heat oil in cast-iron pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers; put sprouts cut side down in one layer in pan. Put in garlic, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• 2. Cook, undisturbed, until sprouts begin to brown on bottom, and transfer to oven. Cook, shaking pan occasionally, until sprouts are quite brown and tender, about 1/2 hour.
• 3. Taste, and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Stir in balsamic vinegar, and serve hot or warm.

Source: The New York Times

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

A "Peach" of a meal

Pork Steaks with White Peach Chutney

1/2-3/4 cup medium salsa

1/2 cup white peach jam

1/2-3/4 cup canned white peaches and juice

couple slices of onion, diced

one Anaheim pepper, diced

Cook and stir until blended, pour over two pork steaks in a skillet, cook on medium until pork is done. Serve with white peach slices.

I made this for dinner tonight, with white peaches and jam I'd put up myself. HEAVENLY.