I felt a little lazy today, so I decided to make a batch of my “Ragin’ Shrimp Dip” and some homemade pita chips to have something to nibble on when I get home from work during the week. This is a super-easy dip made from frozen, pre-cooked, peeled and de-veined shrimp, cream cheese, mayo and some seasonings. I make my own pita chips because they frankly taste better than the store bought ones and aren’t as salty. This is a great dish to take to a party or to enjoy as a snack at home with the family.
Ingredients
For the dip:
½ lb cooked shrimp, peeled and de-veined
2 8 oz. pkgs Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese
1 Tbs Old Bay seasoning
1 Tbs Lea and Perrins Worcestershire
½ cup Hellman’s Mayonnaise
2 tsp Cajun Seasoning
For the pita chips
Pita bread
Olive oil
Rosemary leaves, crumbled
Kosher salt
Directions:
For the dip; Thaw the shrimp under running cold water, then place them on paper towels to remove any excess moisture. Put the shrimp in a food processor work bowl and pulse until the shrimp are minced fine, but not so much that they become a paste. Place the minced shrimp in a stand mixer with 2 packages of cream cheese, cut into 1 inch chunks. Add the mayo, Old Bay, Worcestershire sauce and Rick’s Ragin’ Cajun seasoning. Mix on high speed until thoroughly incorporated, pausing a few times to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Scoop the dip into a storage container and refrigerate for an hour or two to allow the flavors to mellow.
For the pita chips; I use jumbo pita bread, but the regular size works fine.
Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush both sides of the pita bread with olive oil.
Cut the bread into 2 inch wide strips with scissors, then cut the strips into triangles.
Arrange the triangles onto baking sheets.
Sprinkle with crumbled rosemary leaves and some Kosher salt.
Bake at 375 until browned and crispy.
My good friend Frank Donaldson is an amazing cook! Whenever we get together, he always makes something wonderful to eat. Frank made this great appetizer for one of our get-togethers, and it instantly became a favorite of mine. These delicious little toasts are made from cocktail Pumpernickel rye bread squares topped with chicken and marinated artichokes, piped with a garlic and cheese mixture and baked until golden brown. I guarantee they will “fly off the plate” and quickly become a favorite of yours too!
Ingredients: (makes about 15)
1 pkg cocktail Pumpernickel rye bread (Rubschlager brand or equal)
For the piping mix:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp Rick’s Ragin Cajun Rub (optional, available at www.ricksragin.com)
1 tsp granulated garlic
½ tsp Worchester sauce
4 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
For the primary topping
6 oz cooked chicken breast; shredded and coarsely chopped
1 6 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Mix mayonnaise, granulated garlic, Worchester sauce, Rick’s Ragin Cajun Rub and the grated cheese in a mixing bowl. Spoon mixture to a small zipper-type plastic sandwich bag. Close bag; clip ¼” from one corner of bag to create a hole for piping the mixture onto the chicken and artichoke toping.
Toss together the chopped artichoke and chicken; set aside.
Place the Pumpernickel rye slices onto a baking sheet; top each with 1 tablespoon of the artichoke and chicken mixture. Pipe the mayo-cheese mixture onto artichoke and chicken ( a spiral piping is desired to completely cover the chicken and artichoke topping). Bake in pre-heated 450 degree oven for 8-10 min or until golden brown.
Cool and serve slightly warm.
It was nearly 77 degrees yesterday, so I broke out the charcoal grill. This simple grilled chicken with a Alabama-style BBQ sauce has become one of my favorites. The inspiration for the white BBQ sauce comes from Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ in Decatur Alabama. A small amount of fresh rosemary is added to the marinade, and it adds a lot of flavor. After marinating and seasoning the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, place them directly over hot coals, searing both sides for 2 or 3 minutes to get some grill marks - then move them to the outer parts of the grill where its not as hot. Cover the grill and cook the chicken the rest of the way, nice and slow. You will end up with perfectly juicy, tender and smoky pieces of chicken. The whole grain Dijon mustard adds a great tang and texture to the chicken. You can use this white BBQ sauce on all kinds of grilled meats.
Ingredients:
Whole chicken, cut into quarters or pieces
1 cold beer (reserve for the chef!)
1 Tbs plus 1 tsp whole-grain Dijon mustard, divided (I use Maille brand)
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 tsp salt
fresh ground black pepper
3 Tbs mayonnaise
1 Tbs cider vinegar
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp prepared horseradish
1 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbs corn syrup
1 Tbs water
Trim, clean and pat dry your chicken pieces. Whisk together 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 1 Tbs olive oil, chopped rosemary, and salt and pepper. Put chicken in a large zip-bag and pour the marinade over the chicken pieces and coat them completely. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or up to 24.) Remove chicken from the fridge 1/2 hour before you are ready to cook. Combine 1 Tbs mustard, the mayonnaise and the water in a small bowl. Prepare the grill and make sure it is clean, very hot and brushed with oil before placing the chicken on it. It is much less likely to stick and pull all the yummy outside bits off when you turn it.. Place chicken on center (hottest part) of grill and sear on both sides for 2 minutes or so, then move the pieces to the outer (low heat) part of grill. Cover and let cook and smoke slowly (turning occasionally) until its done (internal temp of 170 degrees).
Dip the chicken pieces in the mayonnaise-mustard sauce and return to the hot grill to sear for 30 seconds per side. Remove from grill and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Open the reserved beer (if it is not already) and enjoy with the delicious chicken and your favorite side dish!
It was a busy weekend and I worked outside for a while until I got a chill, which made me crave some nice warm soup. I had a chicken in the fridge, so I decided to make a pot of my homemade chicken noodle soup to warm me up. This is so easy and so good, I can’t imagine buying canned soup anymore. Give it a try and keep some in the freezer to heat for dinner on those nights where you get home late.
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, cut up
1 large onion, quartered
4 carrots, peeled and cut into ½” pieces
4 ribs celery, cut into ½” pieces
2 tsp dried Herbs de Provence
¼ cup fresh parsley with stems
6 peppercorns
2 tsp poultry seasoning
1 whole clove garlic, peeled
1 gallon cold water
2 Tbsp McCormick Chicken Base (optional, but really enhances flavor)
8 oz. egg noodles
1/2 package frozen peas
Directions:
Cut the vegetables into 1/2” pieces
Place chicken, vegetables and Mc Cormick chicken flavor base in 12-quart stockpot.
Add 1 gallon water, or enough to fully cover the chicken.
Place the dry herbs and peppercorns into a metal mesh “tea ball” and place in the pot. This infuses the flavors without having herb pieces mixed into the finished stock/
Cook on high heat until you begin to see bubbles break through the surface of the liquid. Turn heat down to medium-low so that stock maintains low, gentle simmer. Skim any scum that forms on the stock with a spoon every so often. Add hot water as needed to keep the chicken and vegetables submerged. Simmer uncovered for 2-4 hours. Strain stock through a fine mesh strainer into another large stockpot or heatproof container. Separate the chicken pieces and carrots and return them to the stock. Add ½ package frozen peas and some egg noodles and cook an additional 15 to 20 minutes until the noodles are cooked “al dente.”
My broadcasting career started in radio and I worked in Miami and Nashville for about 3 years. The General Manager at the Nashville stations was a “larger than life” guy named Dick Casper, and he was quite a cook.
At a holiday party he threw for the WLAC and WJYN staff at his home, Dick cooked the most delicious country ham I have ever tasted, which I thought was odd because he was Jewish. I asked Dick about this and his reply is a quote that I have remembered for over 30 years. He said “Only a Jew can cook a ham properly, because you have to respect it !” What more needs to be said? Now what made this ham special was the Orange Cranberry glaze that Dick used on it. He wrote the recipe on a napkin for me that I still have today. This glaze is absolutely delicious and relatively easy to make! If you use a country ham, you will need to soak it for a few days to lower the salt content that was used in the curing process. If you buy a prepared spiral cut ham, you can add to or re-glaze the ham. Either way, you will be in for quite the treat!
Ingredients:
1 country ham, skin on
whole cloves (to insert in the ham after scoring)
Orange Cranberry Glaze (recipe follows)
For the glaze:1 14oz jar cranberry relish
½ cup fresh squeezed orange juice
Zest of one orange
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground clove
1/8 tsp salt
1 Tbs arrowroot
Directions:
Combine all the glaze ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add 1 Tbs arrowroot dissolved in water to thicken the glaze. Cook the ham with the skin on 1-1/2 hours at 325 degrees. Remove from the oven and cut off the skin and fat, leaving ¼ to ½ in of the fat. Score the fat at 1 inch intervals and stick a whole clove at each intersection. Baste with 1/3 of the sauce and return to the oven for 20 minutes. Baste the ham with another 1/3 of the glaze and cook 20 minutes. Baste with the remaining glaze and cook the final 20 minutes. Let cook, carve and serve.
After a particularly busy week at work, I had a craving for my favorite Korean dish, Daeji Bulgogi, made with thin slices of pork and sweet onion, marinated in Korean hot pepper paste, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sugar and other yummy things. The marinated pork is grilled on a stovetop grill and served on green leaf lettuce leaves with a spicy bean paste. You’ll probably need to take a trip to an Asian market for the Korean hot pepper paste, Korean red pepper flakes and bean paste, but this is REALLY GOOD stuff!
Ingredients:
2 Tbs rice wine vinegar
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs sake
1/2 cup gochujang (a Korean hot pepper paste that comes in a red plastic tub: shown below)
3 Tbs minced garlic
3 Tbs minced fresh ginger root
1 Tbs Korean red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 Tbs white sugar
3 green onions, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 sweet onion, cut into slices (end to end)
1 (2 pound) pork loin, cut into 1/8 inch slices
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup canola oil
Bean Paste (In the brown plastic tub, shown below) for the lettuce leaves
Steamed rice
Directions
Put the pork loin in the freezer for about 1/2 hour. This partially freezes it and makes it much easier to slice. Slice the pork loin into 1/8” slices with a very sharp chef’s knife (you can also buy it pre-sliced and frozen at most Asian markets.)
Gather the ingredients; grate the ginger, mince the garlic and slice the onion into strips.
Stir together the vinegar, soy sauce, hot pepper paste, garlic, ginger and 1 Tbs of the Korean red pepper flakes (package shown below).
Add the black pepper, sugar, sliced sweet onion, sesame seeds and canola oil in a large bowl. Add the pork slices, mixing well until completely coated.
Place into a re-sealable plastic bag, squeeze out any excess air, seal, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 3 hours. Heat the Korean stovetop grill (about $25 at the Asian market) over medium-high heat. Add the pork slices in batches, and cook until no longer pink in the center, and lightly browned on the outside, about 5 minutes per batch. Place some foil around the grill to catch any spatters and speed cleanup.
Be careful when cooking the meat, the spicy fumes will “zing” your nose! Garnish cooked pork with sliced green onion and serve the pork on green leaf lettuce leaves with some, rice and a small amount of bean paste.
After a day of yard work, boat work, etc, I had a craving for some chips and salsa. Now there are a ton of commercial salsas available in the grocery store, but they are generally cooked to make them shelf stable. Unfortunately, that dulls the flavors of most of the ingredients. Now canned tomatoes are packed at a lower temperature and taste pretty much the same, but onions, garlic, fresh cilantro and lime juice lose their freshness when cooked. My salsa tastes like one you would get at a Mexican restaurant, but is so easy to make that you might never buy that jarred stuff again. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
28-ounce can Hunt’s diced tomatoes, with juice
1 10-ounce can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies
1/4 cup chopped Vidalia onion
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice from 1/2 fresh lime
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Add all ingredients to a food processor. Pulse until you get a nice chunky consistency. Refrigerate about one hour. Serve with your favorite corn chips.
