June 20, 2010 · 3:23 pm

Tortilla and Black-Bean Pie

Tortilla and Black Bean is a filling dish that needs little accompaniment. What’s the secret ingredient?  A can of beer! The one pictured was flavored with Miller Lite, but you can use any beer you have on hand.

If you don’t have a springform pan, it’s time to invest in one.  You’ll find it comes in handy for layered dishes like this as well as cheesecakes.

by Elizabeth Savoie Dronet based on Martha Stewart

4              flour tortillas (10-inch)
1              tablespoon  olive oil
1              large  onion — diced
1               jalapeño chili — minced (remove seeds and ribs for less heat)  Can use 2 for more heat.
2              garlic cloves — minced
1 1/2        teaspoons  ground cumin
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2             cans  black beans — (15 ounces each) drained and rinsed
12           ounces  beer
1             package  frozen corn — (10 ounces)
4             scallions — thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
2 1/2    cups  shredded cheddar cheese (8 ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Using a paring knife, trim tortillas to fit a 9-inch springform pan, using the bottom of the pan as a guide. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion, jalapeño, garlic, and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes.

3. Add beans and beer to skillet, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until liquid has almost evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in corn and scallions, and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper. Taste to make sure it has enough salt.

4. Fit a trimmed tortilla in bottom of spring-form pan; layer with 1/4 of the beans and 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat three times, using 1 cup cheese on top layer. Bake until hot and cheese is melted, 20 to 25 minutes. Unmold pie; sprinkle with scallions. To serve, slice into wedges.

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Filed under Main Dish, Vegetarian

June 20, 2010 · 2:36 pm

Tallerini

by Melba –Granny’s best friend

1        package  small shell noodles — cooked
2        Tablespoons  olive oil
1        onion
1        bell pepper
1        can  tomatoes — diced
2       pounds  ground meat
1       pound (tube)  Owen’s sausage or Italian sausage
salt
pepper
1       can  cream style corn
1       pint  black olives — sliced
cheddar cheese
Italian seasonings to taste
Brown meat in olive oil and add onions and bell pepper.  When onions are clear, add tomatoes, corn, and black olives with 1/2 the liquid.  Add the cooked noodles and mix.  In a greased baking dish, add 1/2 of the mixture, then cover with grated cheese.  Repeat with the other half then cheese again.  Bake 350 for 1 hour.

Place a sheet of tin foil lightly on top while baking , so the cheese won’t brown.

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June 20, 2010 · 2:31 pm

Homemade Vegetable Soup

Every year when it begins to get cold we have to make this.  Emily loves it.  When asked what she wants me (Pat) to make for her birthday, she’ll ask for this.

by Granny–Dolores Borel

beef soup meat
1              onion
3              ribs  celery
1              can  diced tomatoes
1              package  frozen mixed vegetables
1/2         head  cabbage
2              potato — diced
vermicelli
1              small  tomato sauce
1              Tablespoon  sugar

Any beef with bones will do (I like shank meat with the round bone).  First, I brown the seasoned meat in a little oil.  Add water and boil, skimming off foam.  Add onions and celery.  Cook until meat is tender (De-bone and remove fat and grizzle).  Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, vermicelli noodles and potatoes and cook 10 minutes. Add frozen vegetables and cabbage.  Cook until just done.  Serve with Saltine crackers or cornbread muffins.

*Be careful not to over cook the vegetables. You can add oregano, if you like.
Sometimes, I add a little Worcestershire sauce, but not too much.

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June 20, 2010 · 2:18 pm

Old Fashioned Macaroni and Cheese

What child doesn’t like macaroni & cheese?  I grew up with both this “Sunday” version and the everyday Kraft version.  I still love to make this dish using the old- fashion long macaroni stick noodles that you have to break apart.  My vegetarian children enjoy it as a main dish. –Pat Savoie

by Granny–Dolores Borel

12           ounces  macaroni — all are approximation
1/2         stick  butter
1/2         pound  cheddar cheese
1              egg
1             can  evaporated milk
1/2        cup  milk

Optional:
2             cups Panko bread crumbs
3             Tbsp butter, melted

Take the long macaroni and break into pieces about 2 inches long or use the short macaroni.  Cook until tender in salted water.  Drain.  Butter a large baking dish and layer macaroni, cheese, macaroni, cheese.  Mix together egg, evaporated milk and milk.  Add salt to taste. Pour over macaroni.  Dot with butter.  Bake 325 for about 1 hour.

Sprinkle Panko bread crumbs (2 cups) and melted butter (3 Tbsp) mixed together over the top to prevent the cheese and noodles from drying out while cooking.

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Filed under Side Dish, Vegetarian

June 20, 2010 · 2:15 pm

Cannelloni

I (Pat) first made this in 1973 right after Kent and I were married.  It was our “company” dish.  We made our own tomato sauce from the tomatoes we grew in our garden in the back yard.  We tried making the pasta from scratch, but soon gave up and bought manicotti noodles from the grocery. This has always been a family favorite.  We often freeze a dish and bring it on vacation.  Emily makes it for Mark and his family.  It dirties every pot in the kitchen, but it’s worth it.

by Pat Savoie

Ingredients

2        tablespoons  olive oil
1/4   cup  onion — chopped
1         teaspoon  garlic — finely chopped
10      ounces  frozen chopped spinach — defrosted, squeezed
2         tablespoons  butter
1          pound  ground beef
2          chicken liver
5          tablespoons  parmesan cheese — grated
2          tablespoons  heavy cream
2          egg — slightly beaten
1/2      teaspoon  dried oregano
salt and pepper
6        tablespoons  butter
6        tablespoons  flour
2        cups  milk
1        cup  heavy cream
1         teaspoon  salt
1/8    teaspoon  white pepper
dash  nutmeg
prepared spaghetti sauce
cannelloni
mozzarella cheese — grated

Method

Cook cannelloni noodles according to package instructions.  Drain and let sit in cool water until later.

Heat olive oil and add onions and garlic.  Cook until soft but not brown.  Add spinach and cook slightly.  Add to large bowl.

Melt butter and cook ground meat.  Add to spinach.

Melt butter cook chicken livers until just done.  Chop and add to spinach.

Add Parmesan, cream, oregano, eggs, salt and pepper to mixture.  Stir until mixed.

In a large baking dish sprayed with oil add some of the prepared spaghetti sauce. Spread to coat bottom.

Stuff meat mixture into cannelloni noodles and place in a line down the center of the dish.  (To save time, split the noodle, add the stuffing, and fold over, then place seam side to the side)

Heat 6 tablespoons of butter until melted.  Remove from heat and add 6 tablespoons of flour.  Gradually add while stirring a little of the milk. It will get thick but keep stirring and adding milk.  Return to heat stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil and is thick and smooth.  Season with nutmeg, salt and white pepper.  Pour over stuffed noodles.

Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over noodles.  If it does not cover everything, open another jar.  Cook casserole 350 for at least 30 minutes or until heated through.  Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and return to oven to melt for a few minutes. (I like to sprinkle with Parmesan cheese instead of mozzarella)

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June 20, 2010 · 2:13 pm

Cherry Coffee Cake

My mother, Dolores Borel, served this hot with coffee.  My grandmother, Ruby, loved to embroider and applique quilt tops.  During the winter months we would “put up” a quilt in my mother’s living room–that being the largest and least used room in the house.  The quilting frames, handmade by my dad by tacking ticking to long boards, would be brought out to have the quilt top pinned to them then mounted onto four corner stands.  Chairs would be taken from the kitchen table and placed around the quilt.  We started quilting the outside edges, then as we finished sewing for as long as we could reach, the quilt sides would be turned so as to begin again.  When we stopped for a coffee break, everyone would look at each others stitches to compare who had the best.  We would enjoy our warm cake with coffee and tease one another about our sewing.  What happy memories to have of my grandmother.

By Pat Savoie, originally by Dolores Borel

For the cake:

3               cups  flour
1                tsp  baking powder
1                tsp  baking soda
1                cup  sugar
1               stick  butter
2               eggs — beaten
1                cup  sour cream
1                tsp  vanilla
1                can  Comstock Cherry Pie Filling

For the top:

1/4          cup  sugar
1/4          cup  butter

Method:

Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, sour cream, and vanilla then dry ingredients.  Mix well.  Spread 1/2 batter in greased and floured 9 x 13 pan.  (I floured my hands and pressed it into the bottom.)

Top with cherry pie filling.  Drop remaining batter by small spoonfuls over cherries.  (An alternate way is to flour a smooth surface and turn out remaning dough.  With floured hands press into a 9×13 shape.  Lift and place on top of cherries to the best of your abilities.)  Do not worry if it does not look beautiful at this stage.  Some cherries may show through.  It will all puff up and look nice when it cooks.

Combine cold butter and sugar with a pastry cutter until crumbly.  Sprinkle this streusel over the top of the dough.  Bake 325 for 30-40 minutes until cooked in the center and slightly browned. It’s best served hot.

If you like coffee cake, you may also like our Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins, Blueberry Buttermilk Coffee Cake, Apple Coffee Cake, Rugelach or Jumbo Oatmeal Raisin Coconut Cookies.

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Filed under Cakes, Dessert

June 20, 2010 · 12:02 am

Pops’ French Toast

Pop's French Toast

Also known as Pain Perdu.

Pat showed me how to make French Toast when we were first married.  I always woke up first and served her coffee in bed.  Meanwhile I made the kids French Toast MY way with lots of sugar and eggs and lumps of butter.  My grandchildren now expect it when they spend the night.

by Kent Savoie

1 egg per person
about 1 tsp sugar per person
dash of vanilla (1 tsp per 6 eggs)
cinnamon
salt
milk
4 slices of bread per person, cut in half

In flat bottom bowl combine all ingredients but milk and bread.  Add milk until mixture is light yellow, about 1/4 cup per person.  Dip bread on both sides and place on a buttered griddle set on 350.  Flip when lightly browned.  Serve with Steens Syrup or melted butter and sugar — my favorite.

*Elizabeth uses Splenda because it dissolves quickly.

Making French Toast with Grandkids

Light Yellow Batter

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Filed under Bread, Breakfast, Vegetarian

June 19, 2010 · 11:35 pm

Judge’s Smoked Turkey

My father, Garfield Savoie, had a meat locker business for many years in Sulphur. I began brining and smoking turkeys in the early 1970s utilizing his outdoor smokehouse and walk-in cooler for my friend M.L.  After I was married, I smoked one for my wife’s family and now they insist that I make one for Thanksgiving and Christmas every year.  My son David now smokes a turkey for Kayla’s family.  Like father, like son. If there is any leftover, we make a gumbo.

I’ve also used this technique with wild geese and ducks.  Every year my friend Kane and I make a gumbo out of smoked geese and duck for the Sulphur Rotary Club and donate the proceeds to Care-Help, a local charity.

by Kent Savoie

Ingredients

12 lb turkey, frozen
1/2 cup Morton’s sugar cure/Morton’s Tender Quick (brown sugar cure preferred)
Tony’s Original Seasoning

Method

Find a covered container that will hold the turkey and fit in your refrigerator. I use about a 30 quart pot. Place the frozen turkey in the container. Don’t worry about removing the giblet package in the cavity.  It will float out when defrosted. Pour in the sugar cure and add water until the turkey begins to float. I do this outside and use a water hose to fill the pot. Let soak for a minimum of 3 days. Remove the turkey.  Drain and season liberally inside and out with Tony’s Seasoning.  Do not rinse.

Smoke on a water smoker like “Cajun Cooker” for about an hour a pound. I put it on at night and take it off in the morning. If traveling, store in an ice chest so it will keep warm until it’s ready to serve.

*I use about 12 pounds of charcoal.  At the beginning, periodically add soaked oak or pecan or mesquite wood pieces to enhance the smoke flavor.
*We soak our turkey in an outside refrigerator. If a refrigerator is not available, use a 48 quart ice chest. Add ice to the mixture to keep the turkey cool.  Add ice frequently; there should always be ice.
*Any curing salt will do.  Sometimes I add brown sugar to the mixture or charcoal.

Be sure to look over the recipes for other Savoie family favorites for Thanksgiving: Kayla’s Corn Casserole, Mom’s Sweet Potato Casserole, Elizabeth’s Onion Cheese Tart, and Granny’s Rice Dressing. And of course, it would not be Thanksgiving without pie. Here’s our go-to recipe for the perfect crust.

This article appeared in the Sulphur news after Hurricane Rita in 2005.

Adam & Sadie at the Locker

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Filed under Grill/BBQ, Holidays, Main Dish

June 19, 2010 · 10:52 pm

Grit Souffle

Virginia Valentine worked with me at Memorial Hospital during the 1980s.  She would bring this to work in the mornings and we would eat it in Styrofoam coffee cups piping hot.  Now I make it for Christmas breakfast every year.  Sometimes, Rebecca, Kent and I have it for supper on a week night.  It’s great.

based on a recipe by Virginia Valentine–Pat’s friend

1                cup  grits
4                cups  boiling water
3/4            teaspoon  salt
1/2            stick  butter
6 oz           Velveeta or Cheese Whiz
3                 eggs
1/2             cup  milk
1/4-1/2    teaspoon cayenne
1/4             teaspoon garlic powder

* In place of the Velvetta and garlic powder, use 6 oz of a garlic cheese roll if you can find it near the cheddar in the grocery store.  Kraft no longer makes a version, but sometimes other brands are available.  This garlic cheese is in Virginia’s original recipe.

Method:

Cook grits in water until done.  Stir in butter and cheese.  Beat the eggs a little and add with the milk and pepper.  Bake 325 45 minutes to 50 minutes or until center is slightly puffed. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese if desired.

NOTES : If you don’t like it hot, add less pepper or none at all.  You can also omit the garlic powder.

Granny, Fr. Jeff, Mary Ellen, David & Kayla at our annual Christmas Brunch

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Filed under Breakfast, Holidays, Main Dish, Vegetarian

June 19, 2010 · 10:41 pm

Goat Cheese Quiche With Hash-brown Crust

Mom made this Christmas morning 2005.  Everyone loved it.
Once Mom planned to make this for breakfast on vacation, but when she woke up, Dad had used all the eggs to make French Toast!  We are still laughing about that.

based on a recipe from Martha Stewart

2         Tablespoons  Butter — softened
1          Pound  Frozen Hash Browns — thawed
12       Large  Eggs
Salt and Pepper
1 1/2  Cups  Sour Cream
5          Ounces  Goat Cheese — soft, room temp
2          Scallion — thinly sliced

Preheat oven 375.

Brush 9 by 2 1/2 inch spring-form pan with butter.  Line the sides of the pan with strips of waxed paper.  Brush with butter

Squeeze excess moisture from hash browns.  Mix in a bowl with butter, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  Pat into bottom and up sides of prepared pan, using a moistened dry measuring cup.  Place on a rimmed baking sheet.  Bake until set, 15 to 20 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk sour cream, goat cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until well combined.  Whisk in 11 remaining eggs.  Pour into crust, and sprinkle with scallions.  Bake until set 45 to 50 minutes.  Unmold quiche, and peel off waxed paper before serving.

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Filed under Breakfast, Holidays