Country Cooking

I was born in Prattville, Alabama.  My great uncle was a cook at a logging company in the 30’s and 40’s. My Alabama Camp Stew recipe came from my Grandfather “Mac” Gray.  He was the Mayor of Prattville for 25 years, and he took much pride in making camp stew for family dinners and football weekends. So without giving away any family secrets, I want to share with you the Alabama Camp Stew recipe. It is like heaven in a bowl.  It has three different BBQ meats in it so it can’t be bad. If you eat it, you might even find yourself pulling for a SEC football team- like the Auburn Tigers or the Florida Gators-  I declare!

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Back in 2005 I went to Jamaica with my sister to visit my cousin who was in the Peace Corp. We flew into Montego Bay and went directly to the Pork Pit for authentic Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Pork, and I was an instant fan. Some of the best Jerk Chicken we ate was from a street vendors.  He had the flavor perfected with the spices on the farm raised chicken and cooked BBQ drums. We then drove to the other side of the island to the small fishing community of Black River, and then to a small stretch of sand called Parottee Bay. The next day we caught a fishing boat and made it out to Floyds Pelican Bar to have lunch.

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Now that fall is here it's time to preserve all of the great produce that's been growing through the summer. If you have never canned or simply don't have time this fall, freezing is a great alternative, especially for non-citrus fruits. Below are instructions for freezing peaches. Supplies are minimal, the fruit will be good for up to 12 months and this same method works fantastic for pears.

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Pepperoni Rolls as easy as 1-2-3!

If you can remember back to the 1980′s, you might remember a pizza restaurant across from the dorms called Upper Crust Pizza (not to be confused with Lower Crust Pizza; it was not as good!).

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Trinity Chili or (Cowboy Chili)

Football and fall weather make me think of making a big pot of chili. This weekend we had a little of both. Trinity Chili as I call it, it’s chili with ingredients in threes: 3 meats, 3 different types of beans, 3 different vegetables, 3 different tomatoes, and 3 different spices.  If you don’t have one or two of these ingredients or if you don’t like something, it will still taste fine, that’s the beauty of chili. The main factor to cooking chili is to simmer the pot for 4-7 hours and the next day it will taste even better!

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On the menu tonight, grilled steak marinated in Worcestershire sauce and spices, asparagus with Dijon sauce and sauteed baby portabella's. This is a very easy dinner to just throw together you don't even need a measuring cup or spoon, and it tastes like you worked all day.

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My kids love Mac and Cheese and I wondered what type they liked the best.

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Country cooking has a totally different meaning when the country is Spain instead of Country as in Country and Western music!

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This recipe is very easy and only uses a few dishes. You can also adapt it for most camping situations. 

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Summer means pie, and the best pie I've ever had is buttermilk. This particular recipe is based on one of the best selling pies of the 1950's at Moeller's Bakery in Houston, Texas, where it is still made on order. It's basically a take on a traditional southern custard pie in which buttermilk makes the inside much richer. This pie is insanely good for how simple it is.

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Country Cooking:

If you don’t like a hot kitchen during the summer, why not cook everything outside?  Believe it or not, you can make pizza without even turning on your oven.  You can cook, bake, and fry everything you need on your BBQ grill. I recently received a BBQ grill from my father-in-law who upgraded to the Big Green Egg. I acquired an 11 year-old Weber that is a gas start charcoal grill; the best of both worlds if you ask me.

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Don’t be scared, slow cooked BBQ Pork Ribs can be some of the best tasting meat you can eat! It’s not hard, you just need to set aside some time as it takes about 4 hours to cook the meat. A good BBQ sauce is a must! I come from the south where it’s all about the sauce, but cooking the meat is also very important for a great tasting BBQ Pork Rib.

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