Thanksgiving 2023 at the Farm

Posted on by December 29, 2023

We hosted the family and friends Thanksgiving and had 25 attendees. This was the first Thanksgiving that Susan Combs attended and helped a lot. Below is some of what we prepared.

Cranberry-Jalapeno Relish

Pimento Cheese Dip – Same as last year

Shrimp Dip – of course

Smoked a 14 lb. Turkey that had been:

  • spatchcocked and dry-brined Tuesday at about noon.
  • Injected with Tony Chachere’s Creole Style Butter Marinade injection mix as recommended by Meat Church.
  • Rubbed on EVOO and seasoned with our Creole Poultry Seasoning.
  • Smoked it in the Recteq at 325 until the breasts were at an IT of 160° and the legs were 180°. The smoke time was about 3 hours.
  • Pulled it, cut it into two pieces, and added pats of butter. Then wraped it in foil to rest in the small blue cube for about an hour.
  • Results – Everyone said it was good. It was moist with a light smoky flavor in the skin. It would have been great if we could have made it to our level of spiciness with some cayenne.

Deviled Eggs with Shrimp and Bacon – Made our usual deviled eggs [sans the usual amount of cayenne pepper] and added finely chopped roasted shrimp. The shrimp were lightly seasoned with our Creole Seasoning before roasting at 400°. Made with shrimp as Piper liked them a lot last year in a cajun restaurant in Houston. It would have been great if we could have used cayenne in the filling.

Green-Bean Casserole – This was the first time we made this southern traditional dish.

Green Bean Casserole

Posted on by November 29, 2023

We have not made this dish in a long time so found an inspirational recipe here. It was very good as it was rich. Plus, Susan’s stirring made it special. We made this for the 2023 Thanksgiving Meal at the farm.

Ingredients

  • 4, 14.5-ounce cans of Whole Green Beans
  • 1 can of Cream of Mushroom soup
  • 8 strips of thick-cut bacon, cut into small dice
  • 1 medium-sized yellow onion, diced small
  • Heavy cream – enough to fill the can of mushroom soup
  • 1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
  • black pepper
  • 1 can of crispy fried onions

Instructions

  1. Drain green beans.
  2. Dice your bacon strips very small and add them to a skillet. Cook until crispy and golden brown. Remove and drain. Set aside. Drain some of the bacon grease from the skillet reserving some for step 3.
  3. Add your diced onions and sauté until golden brown and soft.
  4. Add the can of Cream of Mushroom soup. Fill can with heavy cream then add it to the soup and onion mixture. Stir until it is a smoother gravy consistency, add in your cheese. Remove from heat and stir until the cheese is melted.
  5. We used a 9 x 13 inch casserole aluminum pan. Add the beans, and spread them evenly. Pour the sauce over all the beans. Then sprinkle the crumbled bacon over the whole thing. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes in the center of the oven.
  6. At the 30-minute mark, sprinkle the whole casserole with the onion bits and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. The whole thing will be bubbly. Let rest for 10 minutes minimum before serving.

We made the recipe through step 5 then reheated on Thanksgiving Day with the onion bits on top. It was definitely the best green bean casserole we have made to date.

Ina Garten’s Cognac Gravy Recipe

Posted on by November 22, 2023

11/22/2023 – Homemade Make-Ahead Gravy

Recipe by Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa from here. This is Mary’s traditional Thanksgiving recipe. There is another one that uses red onions. Mary always makes this one.

Makes: About 4 cups

Ingredients

  • ¼ lb. (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1½ cups chopped yellow onion (2 onions)
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 cups chicken stock, beef stock, or pan drippings, heated
  • 1 Tbsp. Cognac or brandy
  • 1 Tbsp. heavy cream (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large (10- to 12-inch) sauté pan, cook the butter and onions on medium-low heat for 12 to 15 minutes, until the onions are lightly browned not burnt. Don’t rush this step; it makes all the difference when the onions are well cooked.

2. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and whisk it in, then add the salt and pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock or pan drippings (or half and half etc) and if using, Cognac or brandy, and cook, uncovered, for 4 to 5 minutes, until thickened. Add the cream, if desired, and serve.

MAKE AHEAD TIP: You can store the gravy, covered, in the refrigerator for several days. Heat it slowly before serving.

Jambalaya Thanksgiving Wednesday 2023

Posted on by November 4, 2025

11/22/2023 – We made a double batch for dinner with the Hughes and Leonards as they arrived late afternoon. We generally followed the usual recipe for Chicken and Sausage jambalaya but Mary said it was the best one we have made and there were a few differences. Therefore, this post attempts to ID the basic ingredients and quantities in a narrative format.

  1. Chopped 6 cups of yellow onions, 3 cups each of celery and bell peppers so we had a 2:1:1 ratio.
  2. Fried 10 lbs. of cleaned-up leg quarters (small ones that had been on sale). Before frying the quarters had been salted to dry brine for 24 hours then seasoned just before frying with Kit’s Creole Seasoning. Removed the meat with the fried skin. Had 4 lbs 2 oz. of meat from the 10 lb. bag.
  3. Chopped about: 18″ of Alabama Specialty Meats Sausage; 8 oz. andoulli sausage; 4 oz. of tasso. Lightly sauteed them then removed them.
  4. Sauteed the veggies in the frying pot and added in stages until the first was beginning to have soft edges. Added about ½ cup of garlic.
  5. Simmered for about 15 minutes.
  6. Added two large cans of Blue Runner Jambalaya Mix stirred to blend and heat up.
  7. Added the meats and simmered for about 30 minutes.
  8. Adjusted the spices.
  9. Turned off and covered to rest until everyone arrived; i.e. about 5 hours.
  10. Served over Jasmine Rice.

Cranberry-Jalapeño Relish

Posted on by November 21, 2023

11/20/2023 – Mary and sister Susan made this for the first time in advance of Thanksgiving 2023. It was great. It was inspired by the recipe here.

Ingredients

  • 6 oz. bag of dried cranberries
  • ½ cup orange juice. [This was too much. Should have started with maybe half of this and added if needed.]
  • ½ cup diced red onion
  • ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced – Did not include this due family that does not like heat.
  • ¼ cup fresh lime juice
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. In a mixing bowl, combine cranberries, orange juice, onion, cilantro, garlic, jalapeño, lime juice, cumin, and salt.
  2. Stir together and chill for 2 hours before serving.

BBQ Chicken on the Recteq No. 3

Posted on by December 21, 2024

6/3/2023 – This Q turned out very good. It differed from the recent ones as it used a slower pre-smoke and a spicer sauce. The additional smoke time due to a lower temp start followed by a sauce with 6POGS made a really good Q. The spice was about right for Alabama although it was weak for Texas.

  • Trimmed thighs quarters of fat and excess skin. Salted both sides lightly to dry brine, sprinkled on Creole Poultry Seasoning under and over the skin. Put back into the refrigerator for about 3 hours.
  • Premixed 1 cup of So-Good BBQ sauce with 1 tbsp of 6POGS Rub and 1/4 cup of ACV.
  • Preheated Recteq to 255°F.
  • Placed chicken in Recteq and smoked to an internal temp of 155 in the largest leg.
  • Painted on the blend of So-Good BBQ sauce and increased Recteq to 300°F.
  • Painted on the sauce 2 times as the IT rose.
  • Cooked for about 30 minutes until it reached an internal temp of 185°F in the largest leg.
  • Removed chicken from Recteq, covered tightly with aluminum foil, and allowed it to rest for about 20 minutes.

FWIW – Recteq’s recipe calls for the Recteq to be at 350° and the final IT of 195°.

We have made this several times since the cook above. The important part is letting them get to at least 185°. We now make the sauce blend with Creole seasoning instead of 6POGS.

Air Fryer Garlic Butter Steak Bites

Posted on by October 9, 2023

9/26?/2023 – This was an easy prep that turned out great. The meat bites were tender even though it was not a high-quality cut. That was surely helped by the steak having been dry brined and seasoned with black pepper before it was vac-packed and frozen. This was inspired by the post here.

Ingredients

1 pound sirloin, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
? teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Directions

  1. Preheat the air fryer to 400°F.
  2. Toss cubed steak with oil, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.
  3. Lightly brush the air fryer basket with oil. Add the steak, spreading it out in an even layer, and cook 7 minutes.
  4. Combine the butter, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic powder in a large bowl. Add the hot steak bites and toss to coat. Serve with chopped green onions.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

Posted on by October 9, 2023

10/3/2023 – This very good dish was inspired by the recipe by the Mediterranean Dish, Suzy Karadsheh, here.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails attached
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons of our homegrown red pepper flakes made it far too hot. See the instructions below.
  • olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 5 garlic cloves chopped fine
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1 15-ounce can diced manzano tomatoes. She used fire roasted.
  • ¼ cup tomato paste
  • Black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • ½ cup chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

  • Pat the shrimp dry and season with kosher salt and 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
  • Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for 45 seconds to 1 minute over medium heat until they are mostly pink. Move the shrimp and its juices into a small bowl.
  • In the same skillet, heat another 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-high until shimmering. Reduce the heat to medium then add the onions and garlic. Cook tossing regularly until the onions have softened and turned a light golden brown and the garlic does not burn. Add the white wine and cook until reduced by half.
  • Stir in the diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Season with kosher salt, black pepper, the oregano, and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes. Bring to boil, then lower the heat so the sauce to simmers for 10 minutes or so until thickened.
  • Return the shrimp to the skillet and mix into the sauce. Cook until the shrimp is just all pink. Serve over rice with bread to clean the plate.

Smoked Salmon & Mahi Mahi

Posted on by December 25, 2023

7/9/2023 – Smoked Salmon & Mahi Mahi on the Recteq with mesquite pellets. The salmon was done the same as on 11/26/2022 and the Mahi Mahi was similar but included Kit’s Creole Seasoning.

Instructions

  • Preheated the smoker to 225 degrees using Recteq’s Mesquite pellets.
  • Seasoned the flesh side and edges of the salmon filets with Dijon mustard, kosher salt, and coarse ground pepper.
  • Seasoned the Mahi Mahi fillets the same then added creole seasoning moderately.
  • Placed salmon skin-side down on a mat in the smoker and Mahi Mahi beside them. Smoked for a little more than an hour until the internal temperature of the much thicker salmon reached 135° (F).

The salmon was good. The Mahi Mahi seemed overcooked as with it then than the salmon it reached temp sooner then could have overcooked.