Red Eye Gravy

I do love different types of gravies or sauces. Like I have said in the past, if you don't know how to make a good sauce or gravy, you need to learn. I have learned that good gravies/sauces help mask when you mess up a meal. Well not really, but its nice to think that! (*chuckle*)

This recipe is something that I came across a long time ago. I have made it a couple of times and prefer to use it with pork.

Ingredients:

olive oil
2 pork chops
2 tbsp salted butter
1 cup white mushrooms (baby bellas work as well)
2 - 3 tbsp all purpose flour
2 cups cold coffee
1 tbsp Worcestershire
1 tbsp whole peppercorn
salt if needed
Optional - 1/2 cup heavy cream

Sear the pork chops with the olive oil. Do this to both sides. You don't want to over cook the chops. You just want to brown them on both sides. You can finish cooking it in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes or until how well done you would like it cooked.

Place the pork chops off to the side. I am cutting the pork chops in half and adding a dressing full of mushrooms and other good stuff. This doesn't have to be anything fancy. If you don't want to have stuffed pork chops, that is ok. Just keep it simple.

Now you are ready to make your red eye gravy. Using the same pan that you cooked the pork chops in, add the 2 tbsp of butter. Once the butter has melted, add the mushrooms. Brown them and add some Worcestershire to the cooking mushrooms.

After you have cooked the mushrooms, move off to the side. Add the flour to the heated pan. Whisk the flour with a small whisk making sure the flour is cooked down and brown. Don't get it too brown (unless you want to).

Add the coffee to the flour mixture. Continue to stir. Also add the peppercorns to the sauce. Stir to make sure its well incorporated. Taste to see if you need to add additional salt.

As you can tell, this will be a great addition to the pork chop. I have also make a twice baked potato with a side salad. Very very good!!

 

Recently, I have made this with no mushrooms and added some heavy cream. This makes the red eye gravy lighter as well as creamier. This time I diced the pork into bite sized pieces along with fresh green beans, and garlic mashed new potatoes.

Salsa Tomatillo/Tomatillo Sauce

As in previous posts, I have shown you how to make a variety of salsas. This is one type of salsa that you can have it already premade, but I do prefer to make my own. This salsa is great to use as a sauce for other dishes.

Ingredients:

6 - 8 tomatillos
1 32 oz container of chicken broth (or 32 oz water)
1 large onion
4 jalapeños
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp mexican oregano (or 1 tbsp oregano)
1 bunch of cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

First, start to take the leaves off of the tomatillos. I like to use tomatillos as they bring color to some of my dishes.

Make sure you rinse them and place off to the side. Keep them whole as the boiling process will help in softening the tomatillos.

Start the heat on high and prepare a pot in which you are going to boil the tomatillos. Place half of the broth into the pot.

Add the tomatillos to the pot. Add the rest of the broth if you need to cover the tomatillos.

Dice up the onions and the jalapeños. With the jalapeños, you can take off some of the seeds and veins. This has the most heat, but I prefer to keep the veins with three of the jalapeños and devein the other. Once done, add to the pot.

 

 

Bring this to a boil. You can tell it is done because the tomatillos will have a not so green color. They should also be soft to the touch.

With the blender, add the tomatillos onions and jalapeños. Notice that I am adding the veggies first. Add the broth or liquid to the veggies.

Add the additional spices to the blender.

 

Puree the mixture until well blended. Add additional salt and pepper if you need to. I prefer not to add salt since I might have this with chips, but I tend to use it for enchiladas verdes or enchiladas verdes casserole.

Tasty Potato Patties/Cakes

It's been a very long while since I  have been able to make any posts on my blog. Having lost my job briefly in January, I was able to get back in the swing of things by returning to education and teaching new little ones in the elementary setting. Luckily, I still have been cooking, but I haven't had the chance to make any posts due to being non stop busy busy.

Well, this post is really easy to make especially if you have a small group of people who are planning to have brunch or breakfast.

Ingredients:

Leftover mashed potatoes
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheese (preferably monterrey jack, but any good cheese is good)
1 egg (more mashed potatoes, then add an additional egg or 2)
Seasoned panko breading (italian breadcrumbs also work)
Butter and olive oil

First, start by taking out the leftover mashed potatoes and place into a bowl. This works best when you have made the potatoes a day or two before. If you need to, add pepper and/or salt. I normally don't since the potatoes have been salted enough.

Add the shredded cheese to the potatoes. Mix the cheese and potatoes. I don't like to add eggs to this as the cheese will act as a binder to the cold potatoes. Start to make your patties.

Whisk the egg(s). Place off to the side. Get your tray full of breading and also place off to the side. Start to make heat up your butter/olive oil slowly on medium/low heat.

Dip each patty into the egg mixture and then coat with the breadcrumbs or panko (whatever you are using).

Start to place your patties into the heated pan. Allow to cook for about 2 minutes (or until brown) and then flip. You might need to add additional olive oil and butter as you cook all of your patties.

 

Once cooked, remove and place into a prepared dish with some paper towels. This allows the oil to drain from the potato patties. We have this with some different types of quiche. Very nice brunch indeed!!