Country Ribs with Sauerkraut

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Andrea

Where I come from, pork and sauerkraut is what you eat on New Year’s Day to welcome in the New Year and hope that it brings you some luck.

Homes all over will smell like kraut that day and grocery stores have sales on the stuff starting a few weeks before New Year’s.

It’s just not New Year’s if you don’t have pork and kraut. Scott embraced this tradition with open arms. Not really surprising since his previous tradition was boiled cabbage and ketchup.

Um.

I would wager a guess and say that this dish is probably a little tastier than that.

It’s also made with beer, onions, and peppers. Plus being tossed in a crockpot. Winner!

Andrea’s Country Ribs With Sauerkraut

4-6, Country Style Pork Ribs

1 32oz Jar of Sauerkraut, drained (but not rinsed!)

1 Onion, sliced thin

1 Green pepper, sliced thin

1TBSP Brown Sugar

1C Dark Lager Style Beer (I used Great Lakes Eliot Ness)

Big Pinch Red Pepper Flakes

Cider and Beer Brined Chops

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Andrea

As promised, this post is all about my most recent experiment with brining; combining cider and beer.

First, you all know that I love to brine. And if you’re eating pork or poultry, my opinion is always to brine that baby first.

I’ve done cider brines and I’ve done beer brines, but I have not combined them.

Last Sunday I decided to do just that. I had some cider that needed used up and I had a fall inspired pecan beer that would pair well with the cider.

I used up the last of the cider so I don’t know exactly how much was left but I’m going to guess about two cups or thereabouts.

Andrea’s Cider and Beer Brined Chops

2 Thick cut, bone-in pork loin chops (Blues Creek)

2C Apple Cider (get fresh and local!)

1 12oz Bottle of Abita Pecan Harvest Ale + 1/4C (more if you make gravy)

1/4C Brown Sugar

Slightly more than 1/4C Kosher Salt

Coffee and Cocoa Rub

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Andrea

You all know that I love a good rub down. Personally I’ll take a well rubbed hunk of animal over a marinated one any day of the week.

And twice on Sundays please.

Because of this I’m constantly creating new rubs and trying out different seasoning combos.

One that I couldn’t get out of my head was using coffee grounds in the rub.

If we had a compost pile or actually planted things around the house, those coffee grinds would be put to good use. For now they end up getting tossed and I feel like that is such a waste. I’ve been looking for new uses for them.

Some are to eat and some are for the body.

I decided to try out some of the grounds in a rub and both of us were pretty pleased with the results.

Andrea’s Coffee and Cocoa Dry Rub

1TBSP Coffee Grounds (whatever you used that morning is fine)

Sausage Gravy

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Andrea

While I might not have grown up eating traditional biscuits, we did eat traditional sausage gravy. If you are serving up sausage gravy in country gravy, I will be the first one at the table.

In fact, you might have to stop me from eating it before it even hits the table! I love it!

Country gravy where I’m from, is a white gravy loaded down with ground black pepper. It’s super easy to make and most times is paired with sausage or dried beef, and poured over biscuits or toast.

Using local ingredients takes this dish up to a whole other level. Once you start using local sausage, there’s no turning back.

Andrea’s Sausage Gravy

1lb Ground Bulk Pork Breakfast Sausage (or meat of your choice)

3TBSP (Heaping) of Unbleached All Purpose Flour (can also use white whole wheat flour)

2C Unsweetened Coconut Milk

1tsp Ground Sage

1tsp Poultry Seasoning

Olive Oil for sauteeing (about 2 tsp)

In a sautee pan add olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add in the sausage and cook until done. If the pan seems to have a bunch of oil in it, remove the sausage and drain. Leave some oil, add the sausage back in, add in the seasonings and stir. Then add in the flour. Combine and allow to cook for about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. If it seems dry, you’ll have to add in some more oil, just a touch!

Makin’ Bacon

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Andrea

Our household loves bacon. A lot. Thankfully we have access to local bacon that we purchase regularly. I buy it in one pound increments and typically freeze it right away until I’m ready to use it.

The trouble is that when I thaw it, obviously I now have a whole pound of bacon at the ready.

We might love bacon but we won’t eat a pound of it in one sitting.

No worries though because I just cook it all and then freeze whatever doesn’t get used.

That’s right, you can precook your bacon and then freeze it so that it’s ready when you need some smoky goodness in your life.

I cook my bacon in the oven on top of a cooling rack. This saves me from having to stand guard over a hot skillet with flying grease. Cooking it in the oven is so much easier! Plus you have the benefit of even cooking and taking that bacon as far as you want it to go. I like my bacon extra super crispy pretty please.

Creamy Cauliflower

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Andrea

Growing up, cauliflower wasn’t one of my favorite vegetables. I would eat it if I came across it on a veggie tray but that was with the help of some serious ranch dressing. Otherwise I didn’t touch the stuff.

Developing into an adult and with my ever expanding list of “Foods I Didn’t Eat But Do Now”, I decided to give cauliflower another try. I liked it well enough but then I discovered roasted cauliflower and fell immediately in love. We’ve been having roasted cauliflower at the HQ a lot this year!

Recently Scott and I were discussing Thanksgiving plans and possible side-dishes to make. The topic revolved around either sticking with the same old stuff or branching out and trying something new. One of the things he suggested was a creamy cauliflower type dish.

Hrm….

That got my wheels spinning and I decided to do a test run that very night! I came up with this creamy cauliflower casserole that both of us adored. It’s got a cheese sauce and prosciutto, so how can you go wrong?

Beer Brined Pork Chops

Posted on March 28, 2010 by Andrea

Since I’m going to be attending Beer Camp Columbus 2010 today, I decided it would be fitting to post a recipe using beer.

I am that kind of clever!

We love pork in this household. I often talk about my love for seafood and how I like to use that as my main animal protein source. I do enjoy the groundwalkers (said with a growly voice. Bonus points to those who get it!) as well and my favorite groundwalker is swine.

Yes you read that right, the good ole’ pig. My heart belongs to the swine.

If you are a long-time reader then you also know that I love me a good brine. Pork and poultry get brined, it’s house rules. I decided to try something fun and make some beer brined pork chops.

The first time I made these, after one bite, Scott looked me straight in the eye and said, “Andrea, if we weren’t already married, I would ask you to marry me right now.”

Spicy Shrimp and Sausage

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Andrea

Scott and I love seafood. Like LOVE it, in what probably results in something verging on ridiculous. I try to make sure that we have seafood at least twice a week since that is our preferred “animal” protein source. Tuesdays we have fish so that leaves another day free for whatever.

And while I don’t eat a lot of meat, one thing I love is sausage. My love for it would be just a few levels down from seafood. Seafood I would eat everyday if you gave it to me, sausage I have to be in the mood for. I swear I’m not trying to make a joke with that statement.

Sometimes those two wants just happen to collide with each other.

I will tell you that because I love food so much, I am constantly thinking about it. I would guess this is the way most foodies behave. Wondering about your next meal, when you can get in the kitchen and create. Or maybe that’s just me?

Read more on Spicy Shrimp and Sausage…

Spicy Mac ‘N Cheese

Posted on February 26, 2010 by Andrea

While I was hobnobbing it at the Foodbuzz Festival last year, I was one of the few who got to sample the spicy mac ‘n cheese that got passed around Friday evening. It was creamy and spicy and I was thankful that it was a small portion because it tasted extremely decadent.

I made sure to tell Scott all about it and since then he has been saying, “Mmm spicy mac ‘n cheese” at random points.

Mac ‘n cheese isn’t something I make all that often but I have been making it since Scott and I first moved in together. He grew up on that crazy boxed stuff and I personally think that stuff is disgusting (Gee do I want powder cheese? Or cheeze-whiz in a pouch for the “creamy” version. EW!). We didn’t have it at my house. We didn’t have mac ‘n cheese period, except when my neighbor would bring over some of the homemade kind which was amazing.

Tuesday Tip Thanksgiving Edition: More tips on Brining

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Andrea

It’s November gang and that means that Thanksgiving is just around the corner! Last year, OHC brought you Thanksgiving related Tuesday Tips all the way up till the week of Thanksgiving. It was so fun that I think we should do it again! Last year we discussed the benefits of brining your bird and if you are still not on the brining bandwagon, what are you waiting for?! Get it!

Today’s tip is also about brining because there’s always more to learn!

The basic base for a brine is water right? But brining liquid doesn’t have to be just water based, oh no friends, you can use anything. A list of things I’ve used in brining include:

Wine
Beer (hellz yeah!)
Apple Cider
Unsweetened cranberry juice

All that sounds pretty tasty right? And it totally is! A brine consists of:

Liquid
Salt
Sugar
Seasonings and miscellaneous veggies

Some people don’t use sugar when they brine but that’s not a practice I subscribe to, so for the purposes of this post, we will be talking about a sugar and salt brine. I typically will use just a touch less sugar in my brine than salt. If it’s a straight-on even amount, I find that the meat becomes too sweet and you lose some of the savory components of a lovely roast or grilled dinner.