Jay D's Bites: Oven Roasted Barbecue Pork Chops

by Chef Aimee Tortorich

Last month, our friends at Compart Duroc brought some samples of their high-quality pork products. One that stood out immediately was their premium Frenched Loin that in their words is “the pinnacle of fine pork and is the most flavorful cut of the Compart Duroc line.”

I definitely have to agree, and when you have a badass product like this, the best thing to do is to keep things simple. I did a quick sear in a cast iron skillet, transferred it to the oven rubbed in Jay D’s Spicy and Sweet Rub and finished with Jay D’s Louisiana Barbecue Sauce. The finished product was a moist, flavorful and tender as all get out.

If you can’t find this particular pork chop, that’s okay! Head to your local butcher like Iverstine Farms Butcher in Baton Rouge and get the best looking bone-in pork chop you can find.

Oven Roasted Barbecue Pork Chops

serves 2

1 Tbs avocado oil
2 Pork Chops, bone-in
2 Tbs Jay D’s Spicy and Sweet Rub
½ cup Jay D's Louisiana Barbecue Sauce

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a cast-iron skillet over medium high heat, preheat avocado oil. Sear pork chops until a golden brown crust forms. Season liberally with rub. Roast in the oven at 400°F until internal temperature reaches 145°F. Coat pork chop with Jay D's Louisiana Barbecue Sauce; turn oven to broil and broil pork chop about 3 minutes; until sauce is caramelized. Remove from cast iron pan and allow to rest for about 4 minutes.

Jay D's Bites: Parsnip-Potato Au Gratin

by Chef Jenn Breithaupt

Potatoes Au Gratin are always fun to create because of the layering. The Freret Beer Room in New Orleans was my inspiration for this dish. They serve it as a side, but it’s massive! For me, it had the perfect amount of gruyere cheese. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! For this recipe, I used manchego cheese instead of gruyere fora little extra bite and added Jay D’s Molasses Mustard to tied together the sweetness and add a little tanginess to the dish.

Potato-Parsnip Au Gratin

serves 4

3 potatoes, ¼” rounds
3 parsnips, ¼” rounds
1 whole leek, sliced into half-rounds
8 cloves fresh garlic, minced
3 cups manchego cheese
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup Jay D’s Louisiana Molasses Mustard

Preheat oven to 400°F. In a small skillet, sauté leeks and garlic until fragrant. Put one layer of potatoes around the bottom of cast iron skillet. Then pour ¼ cup of heavy cream over potatoes. Next, sprinkle small handful of leek/garlic mixture and 1 cup of manchego cheese over potatoes. Place another layer of parsnips on top of cheese. Sprinkle another small handful of leeks and 1 cup of manchego cheese over parsnips. Pour the other ½ cup of heavy cream on top of parsnip layer. Make another potato layer, then sprinkle leeks/garlic and ½ cup of Manchego cheese on top. Take the Molasses Mustard and drizzle on top, then sprinkle remaining leeks/garlic and ½ cup of gruyere cheese. Press down on the au gratin so that all of the layers are compacted. Cover skillet with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Take foil off and continue baking until cheese is bubbly and golden brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before chowing down.

Jay D's Bites: Pimento Cheese Cornbread

Cornbread is a staple in the typical Southerner’s diet. It is used to soak up your favorite stews, as a side with your collard greens, or simply serve it with butter for breakfast. While delicious just as it is, cornbread adapts to all kinds of personal touches. So we added our famous pimento cheese to this cast iron cornbread. The star in this recipe is Jay D’s Spicy and Sweet Rub; mix it in the butter slathered on top before chowing down.

Pimento Cheese Cornbread

Serves 8-12

Photo: Jordan Hefler Photography

1½ cups cornmeal
½ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter, melted
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
16 oz Jay D’s Pimento Cheese (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350℉. Combine dry ingredients. Add all wet ingredients plus pimento cheese. Mix until combined. Place in buttered cast iron skillet. Bake 35-40 min or until golden brown and is pulling away from skillet.

Jay D’s Pimento Cheese:
2 Tbsp Jay D’s Spicy & Sweet BBQ Rub
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp Jay D’s Louisiana Molasses Mustard
12 oz Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated
12 oz Smoked Gouda Cheese, grated
1, 4-oz jar diced pimentos, rinsed

Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and allow to marry flavors for at least 30 minutes.

Jay D's Bites: Spicy & Sweet Cast Iron Bake

by Aimee Tortorich

We love Jay D’s Spicy & Sweet Rub, so naturally we use it as an all-purpose seasoning on anything from protein to vegetables. For this recipe, we used the rub not only on the pork, but also the Brussels sprouts and roasted them together to make a glorious marriage of flavor; super easy, quick and a weeknight winner.

Spicy & Sweet Cast Iron Bake

Serves 4

2 Tbs Smoked Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Red Stick Spice Company
2 Tbs Jay D’s Spicy & Sweet Rub
1 pork tenderloin, about 1 lb.
½ pound Brussels sprouts, halved
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Rub pork tenderloin with 1 Tbs of smoked olive oil and 1 Tbs of Jay D’s Spicy & Sweet Rub. Sear on all sides in a cast iron pan and set aside. 

Toss Brussels sprouts with 1 Tbs of smoked olive oil and 1 Tbs of Jay D’s Spicy & Sweet Rub and sear in the same pan on all sides. 

Add seared tenderloin on top of Brussels sprouts bake in cast iron pan for about 10 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145ºF.

Lodge Cast Iron Nation: Marty Nation Short Ribs and a Giveaway!

Prepping veggies for the Marty Nation Short Ribs

If you know me, you know I'm a huge fan of cooking but I'm not a fan of the clean up that comes afterwards. This is one of the main reasons I love cooking with cast iron. A quick scrub and a rinse and you're on your way to making something delicious! Lodge Cast Iron has a new cookbook out by the name of Cast Iron Nation. It's a super comprehensive collection of gorgeous recipes from soups and desserts to main events and sides all made with an array of Lodge Cast Iron products.


****You have a chance to win a 12-inch lodge skillet and the Cast Iron Nation cookbook from right here on Bite and Booze - details at the bottom of the post****










Flipping though the Cast Iron Nation cookbook, I noticed a pretty intense recipe for beef short ribs. I happened to have some delicious grass fed beef short ribs from Indie Plate in my refrigerator and my trusty Lodge Cast Iron Dutch oven, so I decided to try out Marty Nation's Short Ribs (pg.144). Indie Plate is such a great resource for Baton Rouge. Put simply, they connect farmers to consumers through an online farm-to-table grocery delivery service.

Marty Nation's Short Ribs from the
Lodge Cast Iron Nation Cookbook

While this recipe is a bit time consuming, it comes out very much like a traditional beef stew, and the local, fresh beef really put this dish over the top. I wanted something creamy to go along with the bold flavors of the short ribs, so I also served up an easy whipped cauliflower dish.











Marty Nation's Short Ribs
Serves 4-6

5 lbs beef short ribs, cut into 2.5" lengths
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. canola or other vegetable oil that can withstand high temperature
1 cup chopped yellow onions
1/2 cup chopped carrots
3/4 cup chopped celery
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tbsp. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup hearty red wine
1 1/2 cup beef stock
6 medium russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and halved
3-4 medium yellow onions, quartered
4 large carrots cut in to 1.5" pieces
1/2 lb green beans, trimmed and cut into 2" lengths
1 cup green peas

1. Preheat the oven to 375º.
2. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the oil in a Lodge 7 quart cast iron Dutch oven over high heat until very hot. In batches, add the short ribs in a single layer, and sear until golden brown on both sides. Remove the ribs from the pan, and pour off and discard all but 2 tablespoons of fat.
3. Add the chopped onions, carrots and celery to the Dutch oven, and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until tender and translucent, 15-20 minutes. Add the tomato paste, stir, and reduce until darkened, about 4 minutes. Add the flour, and stir until fully combined with the vegetable mixture; cook another 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
4. Add the wine, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot. Reduce the wine over medium heat by three-quarters, then add the short ribs, pour the stock over the ribs, and simmer over low heat until the liquid is reduced again by three-quarters, about another 15 minutes. Place in the oven, and roast, uncovered, until the short ribs seem to be about 80% done, 1-1 1/2 hours. Add the potatoes, quartered onions, and carrot pieces to the pot. Return to the oven, uncovered, and cook until the vegetables and short ribs are tender. Add the green beans and peas, and cook until they are tender, another 5-10 minutes.
5. Remove the pot from the oven. Transfer the meat (which should be so tender that it's falling off the bone) to the center of a large platter, and surround it with the vegetables. If the sauce seems too thin, reduce it over high heat on top of the stove. Another way to thicken it would be to purée the chopped vegetable in it using an immersion blender. Pour some of the reduced sauce over the mean on the platter and serve the remainder in a pitcher at the table for anyone who desires extra sauce. 

Whipped Cauliflower
Serves 4

1 head of cauliflower
2 tbsp. half and half or heavy cream
1 tbsp. butter
2 sharp cheese
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of Herbs de Provence

1. Clean and trim the cauliflower, breaking it into medium sized pieces. 
2. Place in a microwave safe bowl with 2 tbsp. of cream and 1 tbsp. of butter. 
3. Microwave, uncovered, on high for six minutes. Stir to coat cauliflower with cream/butter mixture. Microwave for another six minutes on high. 
4. Remove from the microwave and put into a high speed blender or food processor along with the cheese. Puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. You can adjust the cream and butter to your preference.

Marty Nation's Short Ribs and Whipped Cauliflower

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Emeril's One Pot Blogger Party: Deep Dish Pizza

After a world-wide search for bloggers, I am honored to be one of 20 selected to participate in a "Blogger Party" sponsored by Emeril Lagasse's new cookbook: Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders.  The challenge: make at least nine meals out of the book over the next three weeks, blog about them, and enjoy!  After all, it does mean I'll get to eat pretty well too!  The book officially releases on September 27th, so I'm actually getting a sneak preview, and now through Bite and Booze, so are you!  Plus, I also get to give away a second copy of the book and some other cool items.  Stay tuned for opportunities to win!

To get things started I wanted a recipe for a food that I love but had never actually cooked before.  When I saw the recipe for Meat and Veggie Lover's Deep Dish Pizza, I knew that would be a pie worth baking.  I've long enjoyed the deep dish, especially in Chicago, but I had never attempted to make one myself.  I figured that I ought to be able to make it in a cast iron skillet easy enough (although the recipe does call for cake pans).

Step one was to head to Calandro's Supermarket to stock up on all the essentials... I mean ingredients (yes, that is a six pack of Tin Room Amber in the bottom left of the cart... no, it was not in the recipe).  Calandro's had everything I need to make this pizza from the semolina flour to the fresh kalamata olives.  One stop did the trick!

I actually started with the pizza dough because it needed time to rise.  The dough contained active dry yeast, water, semolina flour, all purpose flour, olive oil, and salt.  Once I got it kneaded and set aside to do its things, I started working on the sauce.  Making a pizza sauce from scratch is definitely the way to go.  I started with toasting a few fennel seeds before adding in some olive oil.  Once the oil was hot the onions hit the pan along with the garlic, oregano and thyme sprigs, red wine, red pepper flakes and other seasonings.  Once all of that was cooked down I added the peeled cherry tomatoes and let it all simmer together.

With the sauce ready, Calandro's hot Italian sausage browned, and mise en place in place, I was ready to return my attention the dough. 

 I actually had enough dough for two pizzas so I cut it in half and then began to roll it out!

Once I thought I had flattened the dough out evenly enough and large enough to cover my cast iron skillet, I laid it on top of the pan and used my chef's knife to trip around the edges.  This skillet was looking delicious already!

First in went a nice layer of grated mozzarella followed by some Boar's Head pepperoni that I picked up at Calandro's.

Next up came the rest of the toppings.  Sausage, bell peppers and mushroom all filled the pie.  The olives were also added before a second layer of grated mozzarella.

Then came multiple ladles of that delicious tomato sauce.  I couldn't believe how delicious this sauce was.  I almost didn't want to put it into a pizza... and then I fortunately thought better of that.  Putting it in a pizza was the BEST thing I could possibly do with it!

The sauce was topped with freshly cut basil and oregano and then layers of sliced mozzarella that I got from the deli at Calandro's.  It ended up working out perfectly for the top part of the pie.  I also added a little more basil and oregano to the top for a little garnish, then into the hot oven it went!

The result made my taste buds leap of my tongue.  After pulling the pie out of the oven I topped it with some parmigiano-reggiano that I grated by hand then allowed it to cool before digging in.  The mozzarella on top had turned golden brown and the crust developed the perfect form and function for a tasty deep dish.  The recipe as a whole took several hours of work, but the kitchen is a good time, and this pizza was completely worth it!  I can't wait to see (taste) which recipe out of Emeril's book I pick next!

Sea Scallops Topped with Bacon and a Pear and Bourbon Reduction Chutney

Friendsgiving is a pot-luck, family-style dining event brought to our group of friends by the organizers of our weekly dinner club, Sara and Rachel. The hosts instructed each attendee to bring at least one dish and a bottle of wine for the festivities. I graciously took the assignment of an appetizer because I felt like it gave me the most flexibility to shy away from traditional Thanksgiving fare and think outside the box a little bit.

I made a Pear and Bourbon Reduction Chutney the day before to pair with some sea scallops and bacon.  My idea was to make bacon wrapped scallops, but that didn't work out so well.  Fortunately, as you'll see, I was able to improvise!  The preparation on this day began with a couple pounds worth of fresh, thickly sliced bacon strips from a local butcher shop. 

Mmm... bacon!!

I first boiled the bacon because I wanted it to stay flexible in order for me to wrap it around the scallops.  It turned out that the thick bacon was really too large to properly wrap my smaller-sized scallops, so I abandoned that plan.  I removed the bacon from the water and fried it to a crisp in a cast iron skillet.  Crispy bacon is ways better anyway!
 
The next part of the appetizer involved me searing some sea scallops.  I cooked the scallops in the same skillet that I used for the bacon, leaving a little of the liquified bacon fat to give them a nice golden brown sear on the outside. 

Half of My Scallops Searing in a Cast Iron Skillet

The scallops finished their searing, the bacon remained crispy and warm, and the chutney chilled in the fridge, awaiting the dinner party and Friendsgiving!  Upon arrival at dinner club I set up shop on the table.  The scallops were spread out on a steel chaffing dish.  Each delightful scallop was then topped with the savory, crispy, meaty portion of a thick-cut bacon slice.  Using a spoon, I then placed a portion of pear and bourbon chutney on each strip of bacon to round out the flavors and wrap up the finger food dish. 

Seared Sea Scallops topped with Bacon and a Pear and Bourbon Reduction Chutney

My opinion probably shouldn't count as much because I made the appetizer and in my experience the chef or creator will be the harshest critic of his/her own work. The bacon and chutney stood out to me as being really delicious, but this was the first time I've ever seared scallops and they didn't come out all that great to me. I thought they were okay, but nothing exceptional. I can do better. In all reality, I think if they were a little fresher and would have been eaten when they were hotter off the skillet, everything would have been fine.  Everybody at the party sure seemed to enjoy them though, and that is what really counts!  I got quite a few compliments about the creativity, presentation, and taste of the dish as whole.

If I may take a step back to the drawing board for a second, Chrystal and Amir with The Duo Dishes asked that I incorporate asparagus into the dish when I pitched the idea of scallops and a pear-bourbon sauce.  Thinking that maybe I could spear the scallops with asparagus, I purchased some of the green stalks during my trip to Southside Produce when I bought the pears.  Unfortunately, the scallops were too small and the asparagus was too giant to actually do any spearing, so once again I was forced to improvise. 

Fresh Asparagus Stalks Awaiting an Olive Oil and Slap Ya Mama Bath

I generously coated the asparagus in olive oil and sprinkled in some Slap Ya Mama white pepper blend since it was my popular seasoning choice of the night.  The asparagus was then covered in foil and placed in a 400 degree oven for a while.  I can't actually tell you how long because I never set a timer or watched a clock.  I base my cooking on judgement, texture, and taste rather than measurement and time.  Good thing I don't try to bake too often!  I checked the vegetables a couple times before I decided the texture was right for consumption, then pulled it out of the oven and brought it over to Friendsgiving along with the scallop, bacon, and chutney appetizer.

Italian Olive Oil and Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning used for the Asparagus

My dishes were ready and so was I!  Friendsgiving had finally arrived.  All that was left to do now was eat, drink, and be merry!  I'll make sure to tell you all about the wine, dinner, and homemade ice cream on the next edition of Bite and Booze!