Gator Po-boy!

In honor of a big win - Dawgs over the Gators - We decided to show the one thing that Gators are good for - dinner.  The gator cooks rather quickly; we just pan fried it after breading it lightly with a seasoning mix.  After draining, we put it on a sandwich with chipotle mayo, lettuce, tomato, and American cheese.  Mmmm...

Seasoning mixture:
tsp garlic powder
tsp celery salt
2 T blackened seasoning
salt and pepper

Dredge the gator chunks in the mixture, pan fry for about 3 minutes and drain on paper towels.  The chipotle mayo is a mixture of equal parts mayo and sour cream blended with adobo sauce and chipotle peppers (to taste, it can get spicy!)  Admittedly, the sandwich ends up looking like a big hot sloppy mess (insert Gator joke here), but the flavor is excellent.

For further Gator themed entertainment - check out the link and picture below...

Gators wear jean shorts

Going Bananas!

Melissa was in Athens visiting so we could have our "hair-did" together at City Salon on Friday and have some much needed sister time!  We laughed so hard on Friday night that we both had tears in our eyes!  Mom always bakes for us when we are home and then sends us home with some of her goodies.  This weekend I wanted to surprise Mom and Dad with something from my house.  Melissa was sweet enough to deliver their surprise back to the Farm. 

I had banana bread on the brain all week!  Luckily I had 3 old bananas in the freezer that were ready to use.  (Yes, I keep bananas in the freezer!  I do not like bananas once they get freckles on them.  As soon as they start to turn brown on the outside I stick them in the freezer.)  This recpe is perfect for old, freckled bananas! 

3 mashed bananas
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup veg oil
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven at 325 degrees. 
Loaf:  Bake for 1 hour
Muffins:  Bake for 12-15 minutes (or until the center is cooked completely.  My oven took more like 15-18 for the larger muffins and 8-10 minutes for the little muffins.  Insert a toothpick to test if it's done).   Enjoy!

Parisian Inspiration

Guest blogger San here...after a recent trip to Paris, I was inspired to come to the farm and cook a traditional French dinner for Nan, Vin and Meliss, who was visiting as well.

Our dinner consisted of French Onion Soup, Caesar Salad, Stuffed Mushrooms as well as our appetizer of Naan flatbread with various toppings.

For the appetizer, we heated the Naan slightly and garnished it with each person's choice of goat cheese, roasted red pepper bruschetta, sun dried tomato bruschetta, black olive tapenade, and green olive tapenade.


The Caesar salad consisted of a store bought bagged Caesar, and below are the recipes for the stuffed mushrooms and traditional French onion soup:

Stuffed Mushrooms (18 large mushrooms)
(prep time 10 minutes; cook time: 25 minutes
1/2 cup Italian-style dried bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
2 garlic cloves (peeled and minced)
2 tablespoons parsley flakes
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
18 large white mushrooms

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
Scoop out the mushrooms and reserve the scoopings.
Stir the "scoopings", bread crumbs, Romano, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper.
Add 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil and blend (I sometimes need more olive oil to "moisten" the stuffing).

Drizzle a heavy large baking sheet with about 1 tablespoon olive oil, to coat.
Spoon the filling into the mushroom caps and arrange on the baking sheet, stuffing side up.

Drizzle a little olive oil over the filling in each mushroom.

Bake until the mushrooms are tender and the filling is heated through and golden on top, about 25 minutes.

French Onion Soup (recipe serves 2-multiply as needed)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees (if making at the same time as the mushrooms, 400 will work)
2 medium onions
2 tablespoons margarine
1 10oz can beef broth
3/4 cup dry white wine
Crostini bread (or Holland Rusk if you can find it)
1/2 cup Swiss cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Saute onions, sliced thin, in margarine
Add beef broth and wine
Season with salt and pepper
Bring to a boil and simmer 15 minutes
Pour into oven safe soup bowls (see picture above)
Lay Crostini on top (enough to cover soup)
Sprinkle Swiss (sliced and cut) and Parmesan
Bake 10 minutes
Broil 2-3 minutes until cheese is bubbly and slightly brown (WATCH carefully).

Easy Sunday supper

Whenever I see someone on the food network making pork chops and apples/applesauce I always look at it and think, "There's no way that can be good".  Seriously!  The whole "you eat with your eyes first" theory does not make me want to eat it.  That was until I discovered this recipe in my "Fast Fix Family Food" cookbook.  A friend borrowed it and then told me about some of the recipes she tried.  If someone wouldn't have convinced me to try it I probably would never have given it a another look.  Well, tonight was the second time I've made it, so I guess it's a hit!  This was really easy (took about 20 minutes start to finish) and delicious.  I altered the recipe slightly and used a Granny Smith apple instead of a red apple (last time I just used a McIntosh red apple).  The Granny Smith is the way to go!  This meal is surprisingly healthy with 250 calories per serving! 

Apple-Pecan Pork Chops
4 boneless pork loin chops (about 4 oz each)
2 T butter
1 medium apple, cored and thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped pecans
2 T packed brown sugar
salt & pepper

Sprinkle the pork with salt and pepper then set aside.  In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Add apple and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.  Move the apple to the side of skillet.  Add pork chops and cook for 4 minutes.  Flip the chops and spoon the apple over the top of them.  Sprinkle with pecans and brown sugar.  Cover the pan and cook the chops another 4-8 minutes.  Serve the chops with the apples and cooking juices on top. 

I served it with Frank's favorite side dish...lima beans!  I swear, he'd eat them several nights a week if I'd cook them!  I just put a small bag of frozen lima beans in a stockpot and cook them in 4 cups of chicken broth, 1 clove of garlic, onion powder, salt, and pepper.  Boil them about 40 minutes or until tender. 

His second plate!

The #3463 dinner

Tonight we gathered in Athens to celebrate Frank's 34th birthday and Mom's 63rd birthday.  We asked Mom what she wanted to do and her special request was to stay at home and cook.  Dad gave us a recipe that he got from his friend, Lyriss, who was a police officer with him in Miami. 

Lobster Tacos with cabbage slaw and avocado cream
2 lobster tails, 6-8 oz each, cut into chunks
8 flour tortillas
1 jar of sliced jalapeno peppers
1/4 bunch of cilantro
1/4 head of white cabbage, shredded
1 avocado, smashed
3 T sour cream
3 key limes, juiced
1 egg
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup of ice cold water
2-3 T EVOO
2-3 T apple cider vinegar
Vegetable or corn oil for frying

Prepare avocado cream by mixing avocado, sour cream, and 1 T lime juice.  Mix well until cream is smooth and refrigerate.  Toss white cabbage with EVOO, vinegar, remaining lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste.  Heat oil for frying. (~350 degrees).  Prepare tempura batter by mixing 1 cup flour and 1 cup ice cold water.  Mix well, but do not over beat.  Add 1 egg to batter and mix again.  Dredge lobster chunks in remaining flour, then into tempura batter.  Carefully place the lobster into frying oil and fry for 3-4 minutes until lobster chunks are white throughout.  Wrap tortillas in a clean damp kitchen towel and microwave for 20-30 seconds.  Remove lobster chunks from fryer and drain on paper towels.  Fill warm tortillas with cabbage slaw, lobster chunks, avocado cream, jalapenos, and fresh cilantro. 

Frank's third lobster taco! 

We served this with black beans and rice (topped with diced onions and sour cream) and some fresh Traders Joe's salsa.  =)

For dessert we made Frank's special request...Oreo truffles.  We had them at the Christie's house in August and he's been talking about them ever since!

1 bag of oreo cookies, smashed into little pieces
1 block of cream cheese
white chocolate

Mix the oreos with the cream cheese completely and then roll into little balls.  Dunk them through some melted white chocolate and place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet and place in frig until ready to eat. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!   WE LOVE YOU!
Mamby & Meliss'

Molee Molee Molee (Chicken mole that is)

We've always wanted to try making Mexican Mole' sauce and the entire time we were cooking, Matt couldn't stop quoting Austin Powers' reaction to Fred Savage's character - "Molee Molee Molee"...

Mole sauce has a ton of varieties and ton of different ingredients (onions, cocoa powder, cumin, cilantro, garlic, tomatoes, chile peppers), just to name a few...  Well, we cheated and used Dona Maria mole sauce...

  (add chicken broth instead of water to thin it)


We cooked chicken breasts (cut in strips) sprinkled with plenty of paprika and fresh pepper in a pan with a little olive oil on medium heat.  Once the chicken was  cooked through, we let it cool and then pulled the meat apart with forks.  Using the same pan, we added it back to the pan with fresh onion and chicken broth to cook down and tenderize.  Once the broth cooks off, the meat and onion are falling apart.


For a side, we made white rice and and added freshly roasted bell peppers.  Since we had a fresh avacado, we put it on the side in slices drizzled in olive oil, lime and salt and pepper.  Obviously, you can make the sauce but if you are pressed for time this is an easy way for a different kind of Mexican dinner!  

Old friends and new friends!

Since Wednesday we've been hosting one of Frank's best friends, Saylors, and his girlfriend, Mallory.  They're visiting Athens from Delaware and although Saylors is familiar with Athens, this was Mallory's first time meeting us and her first trip down south! 

Frank and Saylors at Porterhouse on Wednesday night

We wanted to show them a good time and I think we succeeded!  Saturday we were lucky enough to snag 4 UGA/Mississippi State tickets together in the lower level and watch the Dawgs play.  The weather here was absolutely beautiful and there wasn't a cloud in the sky as we cheered on our Dawgs. 

Sic Em!

The afternoon and night were spent on the patio watching football, enjoying the outside fire, and of course, eating!  Frank made us a delicious BBQ shrimp appetizer and he requested that I post this!  We managed to eat all of them between 4 adults, but with a little bit of self-control this could serve 6-8 people for an app!

2 pounds of large shrimp, raw with the tail on
2 tbsp melted butter
1/3 cup of BBQ sauce (we used Jot Em Down sauce from our favorite local BBQ joint)
2 tsp garlic powder
a dash of salt & pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (1 tsp if you want it hotter)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp white wine

Mix everything in a bowl, cover, and marinate for 2 hours.  Skewer shrimp, baste them with the any remaining marinade while grilling, and serve with a BBQ dipping sauce!  GO DAWGS!

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!