BEST DIRTY RICE

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil + 2 teaspoons Butter

1/4 pound Chicken Gizzards, chopped into small pieces

1/2 pound Chicken Livers, chopped into small pieces

1/4 pound lean Ground Beef

1/4 pound lean Ground Pork

2 Celery ribs, finely chopped

1 Red Bell Pepper, finely chopped

1/2 small Green Bell Pepper, finely chopped

4 cloves Garlic, minced

2 cups uncooked, long-grain Rice

4 cups low-sodium Chicken Stock

1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground Black Pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground Cayenne Pepper

2 teaspoon Frank Davis Sprinkling Spice or Creole Seasoning

Start off by taking a 4-quart, heavy aluminum, Dutch oven, pouring in the vegetable oil-butter mixture, and heating it over a medium-high flame until hot.

Then drop the gizzards into the pot and cook them for about 5 minutes, turning them occasionally to evenly brown them.

Then drop the chopped livers into the mixture and sauté them until they ‘just brown.’

Note: Some moisture will probably seep out of the livers as they cook, and they won’t brown up as nicely as the gizzards, but that’s okay.

Then as soon as the livers aren’t red or pink anymore, add the beef and the pork and cook them into the mix for about 4 minutes or so until no more pink is evident.

Now add the onions to the meats and sauté them, stirring all the while, for another couple minutes until they just start to wilt and clear.

Next fold in the celery, the red and green bell peppers, and the garlic and cook everything together for another 5 minutes or so, again stirring, this time continuously.

At this point it’s time to pour the rice into the pot of ingredients and stir the entire mixture well.

Once the rice is in, pour in the chicken stock.

Then season the pot with the black pepper, cayenne pepper, and sprinkling spice.

Now bring the stock to a full boil. . .but immediately cover the Dutch oven tightly and reduce the fire to low, just enough to keep the mixture simmering. It will take about 20 minutes or so for the rice to fully cook.

When it does (and you can test a few grains before you take the pot off the stove), remove your dirty rice from the heat.

All that’s left is to fluff the rice, give it a quick, gentle stir to uniformly combine everything for the last time, and then cover it again for 10 more minutes to give all the flavors time to marry.

BLONDE TEXAS SHEET CAKE

Blonde Texas Sheet Cake with Pecans 

• 1 cup butter

• 1 cup water

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 cups white sugar

• 2 large eggs at room temperature

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• 1 teaspoon almond extract

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 cup butter

• 1/4 cup milk

• 4 and 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

• 1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

1 Spray a *10x15x1 inch sheet pan with nonstick spray.

2 Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

3 In a large pan, bring 1 cup butter and water to a boil.

4 Remove from heat and stir in flour, sugar, eggs, sour cream, 1 teaspoon almond extract, salt, and baking soda.

5 Stir until smooth.

6 Pour batter into prepared pan. 

7 Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 22 minutes or until the cake is golden brown.

8 Cool for 20 minutes.

9 For the frosting. Combine 1/2 cup butter and milk in a saucepan.

10 Bring to a boil then remove from heat.

11 Whisk in sugar and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract.

12 Stir in pecans.

13 Spread over warm cake.

14 Serve the cake warm or cold.

15 Store in an airtight container.

TEXAS SHEET CAKE

Texas Sheet Cake

Cake 2 sticks unsalted butter, plus more, room temperature, for pan 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups granulated sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon coarse salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1/2 cup buttermilk 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Icing

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
6 tablespoons heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 cup finely chopped toasted pecans (4 ounces) 

Cake: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch cake pan. Line with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on long sides. In a large heatproof bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

2.
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low. Whisk in cocoa, then 1 cup water. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Pour over flour mixture and stir to combine. Stir in eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla.

3.
Pour batter into prepared pan; smooth top with an offset spatula. Bake until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 22 to 24 minutes.

4.
Icing: In a small saucepan, bring butter, cocoa, and cream to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; whisk in vanilla and confectioners' sugar. Let stand until warm before using.

• 5.
  Transfer cake in pan to a wire rack; let cool 15 minutes. Pour glaze over cake. (For a more elegant presentation, remove cake from pan using parchment and place on a serving platter before glazing.) Sprinkle with pecans and let cool before serving.
  

TEXAS CAVIAR

1 can (14 ounces) pinto beans, rinsed well
1 can (14 ounces) black-eyed peas, rinsed well
1 to 2 ribs celery, chopped
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 can (11 ounces) white shoe peg corn, drained
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar

Place beans, peas, celery, red onion, pepper and corn in plastic resealable bowl.

In saucepan, bring olive oil, vegetable oil, cider vinegar and sugar to boil, then cool. Pour over vegetables and marinade in refrigerator 24 hours. Stir occasionally during marinating. Drain and serve with tortilla chips. Makes about 6 cups.

BANANA CORNBREAD (MUFFINS)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups cornmeal
• 2 cups milk
• 2 bananas

• 1 1/3 cups white sugar
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 7 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
2. Combine flour, cornmeal, milk, bananas, sugar, vegetable oil, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl until batter is smooth; pour into the prepared baking dish.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

COFFEEHOUSE COFFEECAKE MUFFINS

Coffeehouse Coffeecake Muffins




What you need:
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract


Directions:
In a small bowl, stir together pecans, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and salt.
Add 8 Tbsp. cubed butter to flour mixture and cut with a pastry blender until the butter resembles peas.
Remove 1 cup of the flour mixture and add to the pecan mixture; stir.

Then add 2 Tbsp. melted butter to pecan mixture and stir until combined.
Remove 3/4 cup of pecan mixture and set aside.
Add baking soda and baking powder to the rest of the flour mixture; stir.
In another small bowl, stir egg, sour cream, and vanilla together until well blended.
Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just combined. Batter will be super thick.
Add 3/4 cup pecan mixture to the flour mixture and fold with a spatula until just combined.
Using a scoop, divide batter between 12 lined muffin cups in a muffin tin.
Top each muffin with reserved pecan mixture, gently pressing into batter.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 18 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes in pan before remove to a wire rack to cool.

SOUTHERN COMFORT CHICKEN

2 ½ cups cubed chicken 1 garlic clove, finely diced, or equivalent 1 medium onion, sliced in rings 5 medium potatoes, diced 1 cup of frozen carrots, thawed 1 pint of heavy whipping cream ½ - 1 cup water 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter Parsley, Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions
Melt butter in large skillet or dutch oven. On medium low, cook chicken until no longer pink and onions are tender, stirring as necessary. Add garlic when "almost" done. (Do not drain any juices!) Stir in carrots, potatoes and whipping cream. Add seasonings and enough water to cover potatoes. Let simmer for 20 min – 1 hour.
Tell us about your recipe
I found a similar recipe in a magazine years ago and adapted it to my family's tastes. It's a very versatile dish, I have made it with a shredded rotisserie style chicken, canned whole potatoes and/or carrots. It turns out great every time! Easy to convert to a stew, just add other veggies, more whipping cream and water. We like it with a lot of liquid and served with a green salad and rolls (or other bread loaf). As with any soup/stew - the longer it simmers, the better it is. It's even better the next day, IF it lasts that long!