Seasoned up for the smoker!
But First, Today started with waffles. Yummy chocolate waffles...I have a picture of them but no recipe, I need to tweak it a bit and will post later. They were made with coconut flour and were ultra fluffy. When I get it all worked out I will post it.
Yummy (yes that is powdered sugar you see, kids got theirs with snow)
I had a bite of the waffles but didn't eat them for breakfast, instead I opted for liver for breakfast. I know, I know, Daddy-O laughed at me the entire time I was eating them. When he went to the butcher I had him get me a half pound of chicken livers for me to try again. I ate a few batches of fried ones when I was pregnant trying to raise my iron. You always hear how good organ meats are for you and I am trying. I can chow on some marrow like it is buttah but the others I am still squeamish. So I am starting small and easy, chicken livers. I had intended on wrapping them in bacon and grilling them, but bacon never lasts in this house so...here is what I did.
Spicey Fried Chicken Livers
1/2 lb chicken livers
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chipotle powder
Lemon
Oil for frying (coconut or ghee)
Wash and pat dry livers. Cut in half, set aside. In a shallow bowl or dish blend flour and spices. You can tweak it for more or less or add any flavors you like. I added more chipotle because it lends a smokey flavor but also mucho heat. Heat your oil, when it is ready place your livers in the dish and toss to coat. Cook evenly spaced with plenty of room to breathe until golden brown and cooked through.
Warning!!! I am not sure if this is common or something we did wrong but these babies were popping like mini bombs. We have a screen to cover out skillet but watch out. It made for some good laughs with me and Daddy-O however.
I gave an extra dash of salt at the end and then squeezed some lemon juice to lighten them, it really took the bitter liver flavor down a notch so I recommend it.
My last bit of cooking for the day is a version of an old family recipe and a great football or tailgate food. I googled these one day because my mom once thought the name was derogatory. She was right, they are called Guinea Grinders and the name is a remark made toward Italians...think Malfoy and Mudblood. You can google these and get some background but what I found says it is a popular state fair food. Not sure how it became a family staple but then again my Grandmother was an amazing cook and our tiny hometown family recipes go from these to Lebanese dishes. You can also google these under Ginny grinders which I guess is the more PC version of the name.
Now grinders are typically a sandwich and while these are usually served with french bread and cream cheese in my family, they are just as tasty alone. I will be serving these with...toothpicks haha.
So here is what I made today.
Guinea (Ginny) grinders
2 lbs sausage or ground beef ( I used 1 lb of italian sausage & 1lb of beef)
1/2 tbsp fennel seed
1/2 tbsp crushed red peppers (you can use a whole tbsp but I cooled them down for the kids)
1 green pepper chopped
1/2 onion chopped
tomato or pizza sauce ( I used 15 ounces)
Mix meat, fennel and crushed red pepper together. Roll into balls. I roll into about ping pong size if it is for us but I make them bite sized for parties, they tend to last a whole 10 min instead of 5 ;). Brown on all sides in a cast iron skillet and place in crock pot. Add sauce, pepper and onion and cook on low for 8-10 hours or over night.
Eww touching raw meat ugh
Fry em up good so they don't fall apart in the slow cooker
This won't look like enough sauce, but it is be patient
Perfection!! I could eat my weight in these.
The longer these things cook the better. So if you are going to tailgate in the morning you can make them the night before. I also highly recommend that if you are taking these to tailgate or a party you make a double batch. I do not exaggerate when I say they are gone in 5 min. Every time we take them to a party Daddy-O makes me put some aside at home for him because they go so fast. They are that good. I do recommend that if you are serving non-paleo peeps or you are a wheat eater serve it with the italian bread and cream cheese. Just cube up some bread for sopping up some sauce and cream cheese to cut the heat. I will still eat these with a nug of cream cheese if I am not being ultra strict because it is good stuff!!
After my cook-a-thon this morning I left for some errands and came back to Daddy-O cooking hot sauce. We grow jalapenos ever summer and he makes the best pickled jalapenos EVER! He picked our last harvest of peppers and chopped some for his famous peppers and took the rest for his sauce. Look how pretty!!!
Don't let this fool you it is hot stuff!! I am convinced our jalapenos and habaneros cross pollinated because the jalapenos are nuclear. It isn't a hot sauce you can shake from a bottle more like a Thai chili sauce without the Thai flavors. Thick, hot and dang tasty. He is magic with some hot peppers. He makes a mean habanero jelly too, yes fraught with sugar but we use it for parties...most of the time ;).
On my final note I would not have a good post if I didn't show you some smoked pork magic. I bought Daddy-O (me) a smoker for his birthday last year and every time he uses it it gets better and better. I used to hate BBQ and smoked meats even chicken but for whatever reason I am a fiend now. We ate this hunk of yumminess with some Mashed Faux-tatoes and some of that killer hot sauce. Mmmmm
Smokey Pork...wish you were here ;) YUM!
Well hope you had a good Sunday and GO PATS!
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