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Featured Post, Recipes

Grilled Pork Chops with Grilled Peach Salsa Recipe

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Yes, I am still alive and well, but spare time has been very hard to come by these days, so please forgive my long stretches of dead air here on Nola Cuisine. I am however, making a concerted effort to start posting more religiously on this site, my goal is one post per week.

On another off topic note, I’ve been forced to put all comments into moderation because of the army of rat b@stard spam bots that have been attacking my posts, so please continue to leave your comments, I love reading them, and they will eventually make it up (provided you’re not selling Viagra or one of the other broke-d!ck pharmaceuticals). Funny, I honestly don’t know why there are so many of those but there are, it must be all of the sausage recipes on here. 🙂

Anyway, on to the food…

I came across some beautiful ripe and fragrant Southern Peaches at the store yesterday, and I immediately thought pork for some reason. I made a similar dish with fish last year that I never got up on the site, but this one had to go up. This dish absolutely screams summer. Here is a detail of the peaches, roasted pepper and Vidalia onions fresh off of the grill

From Nola Cuisine

I was going to use cilantro with the peaches but I have some basil in my herb garden which is at it’s absolute peak, it is so beautiful and floral that it almost doesn’t even smell like basil. I tasted a piece with a slice of the grilled peaches and the flavors were a match made in heaven, so I rolled with it!

The Apricot glaze gives another peachy punch to the dish, and another layer of flavor on top of the smoky pork.

I hope you enjoy!

Grilled Pork Chops with Grilled Peach Salsa Recipe

For the grilled Peaches:

4 Southern Peaches (must be very ripe) halved and pitted
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp Steen’s Pure Cane Syrup
2 tsp Creole Seasoning
1 tsp Kosher Salt

Additional grill prep for the salsa:
1 Roasted Red Pepper,
1/2 of a large Vidalia Onion, cut into 1/2″ slices and rubber with olive oil

Warm a gas or charcoal grill to 350-400 degrees F.
Toss all of the above ingredients together, making sure to coat the peaches well. Grill the peaches flat side down until they start to caramelize and get some grill marks, flip them over skin side down onto a cooler spot of the grill to finish warming through. At the same time, roast your pepper on the grill until the skin is black all over, and grill the Vidalia Onion slices.

When the peaches are warmed through and softened remove the skins and slice lengthwise, place into a medium sized bowl. Also peel, seed, and slice the roasted Red pepper into strips; Chop the grilled Vidalia Onion.

Grilled Southern Peach Salsa Recipe

4 Grilled Southern Peaches (see above)
1 Roasted Red Pepper, sliced (see above)
1/2 Grilled Vidalia Onion, chopped (see above)
2 tsp Steen’s Pure Cane Syrup

3 Tbsp Fresh Basil, chopped
Kosher Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients while still hot, serve at room temperature.

Grilled Pork Chops with Grilled Peach Salsa Recipe

4 Bone in, thick cut Pork Chops
1 Recipe Seasoning Mix (see below)
1 Recipe Apricot Glaze (see below)
1 Recipe Grilled Peach Salsa

Seasoning mix:
1 Tbsp Creole Seasoning
1 Tbsp Kosher Salt (if using commercial creole seasoning omit)
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 tsp Black Pepper

Combine.

Apricot Glaze:

3 Tbsp Apricot Preserves
1 Tbsp Steen’s Pure Cane Syrup
1 Tbsp Creole Mustard

Combine all ingredients.

Season the pork chops liberally with some of the seasoning mix.

Preheat a Charcoal or Gas grill to 400 degrees F with a pan going with smoldering wood chips (I used Pecan chips). When hot grill the Pork chops to desired degree of doneness, I like mine cooked medium about 140 degrees. Brush the chops with the apricot glaze, let it warm a bit and remove the chops. I pulled mine off at about 132 degrees to allow for carryover cooking. They were a perfect medium at the table.

From Nola Cuisine

Top the glazed chops with a generous portion of the warm Peach Salsa, make sure to drizzle some of the liquid as well. Enjoy!

Serves 4.

Be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which provides links to all of the recipes featured on Nola Cuisine!

Related Posts:

Homemade Creole Mustard Recipe
Homemade Creole Seasoning Recipe
Boudin Stuffed Pork Chop Recipe

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From Nola Cuisine
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Featured Post, Recipes

Chicken Fricassee Recipe

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From Nola Cuisine

Well, Carnival is in full swing in New Orleans and I am in Detroit. Instead of beads, doubloons, or other trinkets, the Krewe of Mother Nature just threw us another helping of snow, and I have to say……This parade sucks.

Oh well, there is no reason that we can’t at least have some good food to remind us that winter does serve a purpose, at least in my kitchen; slow braised or stewed, stick to your ribs (and arteries) comfort food. Inexpensive cuts of beef, pork, lamb, veal, chicken, whatever, slow cooked in a liquid or gravy of some kind until so tender that it practically melts off of the bone.

Tonight was Chicken Fricassee, Louisiana style with a roux, and the holy trinity. My roux here is a little lighter than some would prefer in some parts of Louisiana; I prefer a peanut butter colored roux for this dish. Also note that like a lot of my recipes I add the holy trinity in two stages, about 3/4 goes into the roux after it reaches the peanut butter stage, and the remainder goes in with the liquid. It is a layering of flavor and texture.

It is important to have the sauce for this dish almost fully seasoned before adding the chicken, because you want the chicken to take on all of the flavor of the sauce, although I would just slightly under season with the salt as the sauce will reduce a bit.

Chicken Fricassee Recipe

From Nola Cuisine

5-6 lbs Chicken Leg and Thigh Quarters

For browning the chicken:
1 Cup Flour seasoned with:
2 Tbsp Kosher Salt
A few turns of Black Pepper
A healthy pinch of Cayenne

For the Fricassee:
1 Cup Home Rendered Lard, Bacon Drippings, Duck Fat or Vegetable Oil (if you must)
3/4 Cup Flour
2 Cups Onion, chopped
1 Cup Celery, chopped
1/2 Cup Green Bell Pepper, chopped
1/2 Cup Mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp Garlic, finely chopped
1/2 Cup Dry White Wine
1 Quart Chicken Stock, preferably homemade
1 Bay Leaf
1 Bundle of Fresh Thyme, tied together with butcher’s twine
Kosher Salt, Black Pepper, Cayenne to taste
2 Tbsp Fresh Thyme, taken off of the stem and chopped
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp Hot sauce
1/2 Cup Green Onions, thinly sliced
1 Recipe Creole Boiled Rice

Heat the lard, or whichever fat you chose to use, over medium high heat until a small sprinkle of flour quickly sizzles when tossed in. While the fat is heating mix together the flour, salt, black pepper and cayenne, dredge the leg & thigh quarters in the mixture and shake off any excess, set aside on a plate.

When the fat is hot, brown the chicken until golden on both sides, do not cook all the way through, set aside.

Mix together the onions, celery, and bell pepper (holy trinity) in a small bowl.

When the chicken is browned and set aside, pour off 1/2 cup of the fat, leaving about 1/2 cup of it in the pan. Over medium heat gradually whisk in the 3/4 cup of flour until incorporated and slightly thick, stir constantly until a roux the color of peanut butter is achieved, then stir in 3/4 of the holy trinity, mushrooms, and a pinch of Kosher salt, turn the heat to low and cook for 8-10 minutes more, stirring slowly but constantly.

Add the white wine and increase the heat to medium, cook 5 minutes more. Whisk in the chicken stock very gradually to avoid lumps. When it is all incorporated bring the mixture to a full boil to bring the flour to it’s full thickening power, then reduce the sauce to medium low. Stir in the remaining trinity, garlic, bay leaf, bundled thyme, Worcestershire, hot sauce, and season to taste with salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Submerge the chicken in the sauce cover and simmer for about 2 1/2 hours or until falling off of the bone tender. Remove the bundled Thyme and Bay leaf and stir in the chopped Thyme. Adjust the seasonings if necessary.

Serve the chicken with Creole Boiled Rice, and a generous portion of the sauce topped with Green Onions.

If you like, the sauce or gravy for this dish could be finished with heavy cream, sour cream, or creme fraiche. This would also go great with dumplings to replace the rice.

Serves 4.

Be sure to check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which links to all of the recipes featured on this site! Also be sure to check out the sister site to Nola Cuisine called American Gourmand!

From Nola Cuisine
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Recipes

Fried Okra Recipe

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From Nola Cuisine Images – (reedited)

Fried Okra is sometimes called Southern popcorn, because when you start eating it, you just can’t stop. Try making some as an appetizer at your next gathering to see why. I served mine with a Green Onion Aioli, recipe is below. Enjoy!

Fried Okra Recipe

1 lb Fresh Okra, both ends trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

For the Eggwash:

3 Egg Yolks
3/4 Cup Buttermilk or whole milk
2 Tbsp Hot sauce
2 Tbsp Kosher salt
1 tsp Cayenne

For the breading:

1/2 Cup White Corn Meal
1/2 Cup Corn Flour
2 Tbsp Kosher salt 1 tsp Cayenne
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder

Oil for frying

Heat the oil to 360 degrees F.

Whisk together the egg yolks, milk, hot sauce, salt, and Cayenne. Place the cut Okra into the eggwash, mixing it up a bit to cover. Let stand 15 minutes.

In the meantime, combine the cornmeal, corn flour, and seasonings in a brown paper bag, shake well. Take the okra out of the eggwash and place into the paper bag, shake well. Do this in 3 stages for even coating. Fry the okra in batches until golden brown, I did mine in 3 batches to prevent overcrowding the pan, and making the fried okra greasy. Drain and remove the okra to a paper towel lined plate. Season with Kosher salt immediately after removal. Serve with Green Onion Aioli (recipe below).

Green Onion Aioli Recipe

4 Tbsp Sliced Green Onions
1 Tbsp minced Garlic
1 egg
2 tsp Lemon juice
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1 pinch Cayenne
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil

Combine the green onions, garlic, egg, lemon juice, and salt in the workbowl of a food processor. Puree well until the mixture is green. With the motor running on low speed slowly drizzle in the oil until the mixture is thick.

More Okra Recipe at Nola Cuisine:

Creole Okra & Tomatoes
Okra Gumbo

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Recipes

Southern Fried Chicken Recipe

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From Nola Cuisine

I had a taste for Southern Fried Chicken last night, so that is what I made. Sometimes you need to scratch your own itch, and boy did I do some scratchin’ last night, this was the best batch of Fried Chicken that I’ve made to date. Perfectly seasoned, crispy as heck, tender and juicy on the inside. Hey sometimes we need to pat ourselves on the back too. 🙂

This recipe is a combination of Austin Leslie’s Fried Chicken recipe and my Mom’s. My Mom really taught me how to fry chicken well, she showed me how to turn it often to prevent over browning, and how to know when it’s done. She makes it so well that I often get cravings for it, like the one I had last night, and Dad says that it would be his last meal request if ever facing the firing squad.

Here is my version of what I’ve learned so far about Fried Chicken:

Southern Fried Chicken Recipe

3-4 lbs Chicken parts, I like legs because that’s what Mom always made, plus it’s hard to dislike food with it’s own handle.
Water, enough to cover the chicken
Kosher salt, enough to make the water taste salty (obviously tasted before adding the raw chicken.)

Peanut Oil for frying, enough to fill a large cast iron skillet about half way

3/4 Cup Flour
4 Tbsp Kosher Salt
2 tsp Freshly ground Black Pepper
1 tsp Cayenne

Combine the water with the salt, submerge the chicken and let sit in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours. This will help make the chicken more tender and add flavor.

After the time has passed drain the chicken and pat dry with paper towels.

Place the flour, salt, black pepper, and cayenne in a paper lunch bag. Mix well. Add the chicken two pieces at a time, shaking to coat well with the seasoned flour, shake off the excess. When all chicken is floured, set aside for twenty minutes before frying. This step will help make the finished product more crisp.

Heat the peanut oil to 360 degrees F. Fry the chicken in batches, turning often (about every ten minutes) so that it cooks evenly, and doesn’t get too brown too fast. Try to fry equal sized pieces in the same batch. When the chicken looks close to being done hold it with tongs and pierce (be careful; the oil will sputter) with a carving fork, then squeeze to let the blood out (a la Austin Leslie). Cook until done. If you’re not sure if it’s done, dig into one piece with your tongs, down to the bone to see if it is cooked through. It should take about 15-20 minutes per batch. Drain on paper towels or a wire rack.

More info on Fried Chicken:

Buttermilk Fried Chicken Recipe at American Gourmand
Austin Leslie Bio
Austin Leslie’s Fried Chicken Recipe

Be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes! Visit my other blog American Gourmand!

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