Ingredients

½ lb. dry black-eyed peas rinsed and picked over
3 slices bacon, cut into lardons.
4 oz smoked andouille sausage cubed.

Trinity
½ large, sweet onion finely diced
½ rib celery diced
½ bell pepper diced

2 cloves garlic minced.
1 tsp Creole/Cajun seasoning or Cayenne
salt and black pepper
2 cups chicken stock (a little more if needed to cover the peas)
1 cup dry white wine
1 medium bay leaf
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 cup fresh spinach
2 green onions thinly sliced.

Instructions

1. Soak peas for 4 hours and drain.
2. In a Dutch oven or similar heavy bottomed pot cook bacon. Remove and put on paper towels.
3. Add andouille, brown and remove.
4. Add Trinity and sauté.
5. Add drained black-eyed peas, Cayenne seasoning, salt, black pepper, bay leaves and fresh thyme.
6. Add wine and stock and garlic.
7. Cover, bring to a boil, cook over medium-low heat just until the black-eyed peas are tender (about 45 minutes). Stir often. Cook peas longer if needed to reach the proper texture.
8. Add andouille, bacon, and spinach. Simmer uncovered for around 15 minutes to reduce the stock.
9. Serve over rice.

As of 1/2/24

Click on pic to enlarge

2 Mirlitons (Cut in half length-ways, boil for 30 minutes, cool and scooped out the center, lay on a paper towel scooped side down for 20 minutes to drain any excess water from the mirliton)

2 TBSP Butter

¼ cup finely chopped yellow onion
¼ cup finely chopped green bell pepper
¼ cup finely chopped celery
1 small scallion finely chopped
1 large garlic clove minced

8 diced uncooked shrimp tails (Head and tail shells removed), cut shrimp tails into ½ cubes
1/8 cup finely diced cooked ham

Dash of cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper
1 beaten egg
¼ cup Italian breadcrumbs
Fresh grated classic Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400°

Heat 1 TBSP butter in a non-stick fry pans and sauté the veggies on low until onions become translucent. Remove and place in a large mixing bowl.

Heat 1 TBSP of butter and cook the shrimp and ham about 5 minutes adding cayenne pepper. Remove and place in the mixing bowl.

To the mixing bowl add the egg, S&P and breadcrumbs and mix with a spoon.

Spoon the mixture into the mirliton and then grate the cheese over the top.

Cook in oven 30 minutes and serve.

As of 12/31/23

Click on pic to enlarge
This is also a good recipe for Italian meatballs. You can substitute beef for pork or blend a combination of both.

Italian Seasoning
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp dried marjoram
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried savory

Chop all in a small food processor to make it finer.

Sausage
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp Worcestershire
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning (from above mixture)
• ¾ tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp fennel seeds
• ¼ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp red pepper flake
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 lb. batch of pork shoulder and add ¼ lb. pork belly fat (skin removed)
• 1 3-foot length sausage casing (29-32mm, 1 1/8″ – 1 1/4″, Natural Hog
• ¼ cup dry white wine

Open one end of the hog casing and fill a little with running tap water. Squeeze the water through the case. Do this a couple more times to clean the inside of the casing. Soak the casing in water with a touch of vinegar for an hour. This makes the casing easier to chew when cooked with the casing on.

Cut the meat into ½ inch cubes. This makes it easier to grind the meat through a small grinder setting on a KitchenAid grinder attachment. In the KitchenAid mixing bowl, add all the sausage ingredients to the meat. Attach the mixing paddle and mix the meat, seasoning and water 2 minutes. Place the mixing bowl in the refrigerator. Need to always keep the meat cold to preserve the fat.

Setup the KitchenAid with the casing stuffer and stuff the casing. Roll the casing on the counter to get it even meat. About 4 inches from one end pinch the sausage and turn the link away from you. Another 4 inches down the same but roll the link towards you. Do this until the entire casing is completely linked. Place in the frig in a sealed container overnight if you will use the sausage the next day or you can place the links in a freezer bag and freeze until use.

Note: In the pic above I removed the casing. I will be making a Ragu today and like to brown the meat without the casing on first. If you like serving a link alongside spaghetti, then you might consider leaving the casing on while cooking the sausage in the sauce.

As of 11/30/23

Sauce
The sauce should be sweeter and thicker than spaghetti sauce.


Crust
We prefer a thin crust. For thick crust add more flour and water or roll out the dough to about 10 inches. Water is always 60% in measure of the flour.

250 grams all-purpose flour (or 150F/90W for smaller)
150 grams warm water (in all dough water should be 60% of flour)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp instant yeast

Mix all ingredients together, I use a KitchenAid with a dough hook. Mix 1 minute on low then 4 minutes next setting. Place the dough in sealed storage container and place in the refrigerator for several hours. On a dough board sprinkle a little flour and roll out dough in an 10–12-inch circle. You can look up on the internet how to do this by hand.

Place dough on your pizza tray on parchment paper. Layer the tomato sauce on the dough. In a 425° oven cook exactly 10 minutes and remove.

Toppings
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese or shredded pizza cheese
Shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ cup shredded or chopped green bell
¼ cup shredded or chopped onions
½ Italian sausage with casing removed, cut into ½ inch pieces and lightly brown in small fry pan then cut into smaller pieces
Pepperoni slices
Olive oil
(Whatever else you like)

Sprinkle olive oil on the tomato sauce after pulling from the oven. Add the toppings to the pizza. Place the shredded pizza cheese and the mozzarella cheese over the sauce. Add the meat. Add the veggie toppings.

Cook on the center rack of the oven 10 minutes at 435.

As of 12/20/24

Roux
3 TBSP butter
3 TBSP flour

1 cup chicken broth or beef broth or both
½ cup broth from whatever meat is being cooked to include the oil

1 dash garlic powder
1 dash onion powder
1 dash salt
1 dash Kitchen Bouquet
1 dash Worcestershire

In a saucepan melt butter, add the flour in three passes, mixing the flour and butter to remove lumps. When the roux is Smooth, add ½ cup of broth, mix into a paste, add ½ cup and mixing into a paste and the third cup and mix again.

Add the garlic and onion powder, salt, Kitchen Bouquet, and Worcestershire. Mix again. Cover and leave on low for about 5 minutes until very warm. Pour in a gravy boat and serve.

As of 11/19/23