Saturday, October 27, 2012

Title Town's Famous BBQ Nachos with Pulled Pork, Pan Fried Red Onions, Candied Jalapenos, Pimento Cheese-Beer Nacho Cheese Sauce, & Green Onions

Title Town's Famous BBQ Nachos with Pulled Pork, Pan Fried Red Onions,
Candied Jalapenos, Pimento Cheese-Beer Nacho Cheese Sauce, & Green Onions
Have y'all missed me?? I know, I know... I've been gone for like two weeks. I'm like deathly ill and I've actually been in the hospital since Monday, but I have had a fever above 102 since October 14th. Crazy, right? So, forgive me, I have not been in the posting mood. But, I'm trying to get back into the swing of things and what's better than my favorite, tailgatin' recipes. And these hit home for me. Every game day in Tuscaloosa involved tailgating on the quad, partying with friends, and then ending the night with a night out on the Strip at the bars. Well, at one of our favorite hangouts, there was a small BBQ stand that made the best BBQ nachos. Can you think of anything else that would be better than nachos after a long day? Nope. So, I knew that I would eventually make my own version, kicked up just a bit. Big Bad Wolves' Nachos were pretty simple... chips, pulled pork, nacho cheese sauce, and jalapenos. Well, mine are loaded with pulled pork, BBQ sauce, pan fried red onions, candied jalapenos,  green onions, and a homemade Pimento Cheese-Beer Nacho Cheese Sauce. These are so good y'all and just perfect for game day. I mean, it's a rule that you gotta have these while visiting T-Town (or Title Town) as we call it. Now, let's hope that the good 'ole Crimson Tide will pull out a win for us tonight because I sure need one to make me feel better. I hope y'all are all doing great and I promise I won't disappear for that long again!! Enjoy :)




For the Pan Fried Red Onions:
2 Medium Red Onions, Sliced
4T Unsalted Butter
¼C Vegetable Oil
Salt & Pepper, To Taste
  
For the Pimento Cheese-Beer Nacho Cheese Sauce:
12oz Beer
1C Sharp Yellow Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
½C Pepperjack Cheese, Shredded
½C Colby Jack Cheese, Shredded
1T AP Flour
8oz Cream Cheese, Room Temperature
1 Clove of Garlic, Minced
4oz Pimentos, Drained & Diced
Salt & Pepper, To Taste

For the BBQ Nachos:
Tortilla Chips
Pulled Pork, Warmed & Tossed in BBQ Sauce
Your Favorite BBQ Sauce, For Drizzling
Shredded Pepperjack Cheese, For Topping
Prepared Pan Fried Red Onions
Prepared Pimento Cheese-Beer Nacho Cheese Sauce, Warm
Candied Jalapenos, For Garnishing
Minced Green Onions, For Garnishing
Sour Cream (optional)

Directions:
1. For the Pan Fried Red Onions: Cut the onions in half and then slice them into thin half-rounds. Heat the butter and oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions, salt, and pepper and sauté for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 more minutes until the onions are browned and caramelized. Allow the onions to cool.
2. For the Pimento Cheese-Beer Nacho Cheese Sauce: Add the beer to a saucepan over medium heat and bring it to a boil. While you are waiting, toss the shredded cheese with the flour. Once the beer is simmering, whisk in the cheese and all of the remaining ingredients. Whisk until all the cheese has melted and you have a smooth, creamy sauce. Keep warm until ready to serve.
3. For the BBQ Nachos: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with Pam. Pour tortilla chips onto the prepared pan and top with the shredded cheese and BBQ pulled pork. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is just melted and the chips have started to crisp up. Remove the chips from the oven and immediately transfer them to a serving platter. Top the nachos with the pan fried red onions, spoonfuls of nacho cheese sauce, candied jalapenos, a little more pulled pork, a drizzle of BBQ sauce, and green onions.
4. Enjoy while still warm and with a dollop of sour cream.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Pretzel Wrapped Sausages with Jalapeno-Beer-Cheddar Cheese Sauce

Pretzel Wrapped Sausages with Jalapeno-Beer-Cheddar Cheese Sauce
I haven't been able to post a tailgatin' recipe recently, but I'm back at it again. And these will be perfect for all the men & women at your parties :) Who doesn't love a good stadium dog? Or a good ole' salty pretzel? Or some of that store-bought nacho cheese? No one. We all love it. Especially while drinkin' at a football game. So why not make them at home and combine them all together? I was so excited when we made these because I knew that I could substitute beer brats for hotdogs, and lemme tell you, soooo much better. And when they are wrapped in soft, pillowy homemade pretzel dough, they are the perfect drunk/football/party food. You of course hav'ta dip them in the cheese sauce that is fully loaded with beer and jalapenos. This is the essential main course to any tailgatin' fiesta, people. And they are hand-held deliciousness!! Enjoy :)


For the Pretzel Wrapped Sausages:
8 Pre-Cooked Sausages, Hotdogs, or Brats
1 ½C Warm Water
1T Sugar
1 Package of Active Dry Yeast
4 ½C AP Flour
2t Salt
2oz Unsalted Butter, Melted & Cooled

For the Bath:
3 ½Q of Water
1C Baking Soda
1 Large Egg + 1T Water, Beaten

For the Topping:
Sea Salt
Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

For the Jalapeno-Beer-Cheddar Cheese Sauce:
12oz Beer
2C Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
1T AP Flour
8oz Cream Cheese, Room Temperature
1 Clove of Garlic, Minced
2T Candied Jalapenos, Minced
Salt & Pepper, To Taste

Directions:
1. For the Dough: Combine warm water and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water and set aside for 5 minutes, until mixture is foamy. Add the flour, salt, and melted butter. Using the dough hook, mix on low speed until well combined. Increase speed to medium and knead dough until it is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, creating a ball of dough around the dough hook, about 5 minutes. The dough will be soft, pliable, and just a bit sticky. Remove from bowl, form into a ball and place in an oiled bowl. Dust the top with flour, then cover with plastic and let sit in a warm place and allow the dough to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Place baking racks in the center and upper third of the oven. Preheat oven to 425° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and lightly brush the paper with oil (Don't skip the oiling, it’s important to brush the paper or the pretzels will stick).
2. For the Pretzel Wrapped Sausages: Combine water and baking soda in a large pot and bring to a boil. While the water comes to a boil, turn the dough out onto a clean, lightly oiled work surface. Divide the dough into eight even pieces (one per sausage). You want to make a rope with each piece of dough. Start with the fingers of both hands in the center of the dough, and roll, moving your hands outward as you go. Roll the dough along the oiled surface until you have about a 24" (for whole dogs) piece of rope. Starting at one end, roll the dough around a hot dog gently (without stretching too much), pinching and sealing each end well. When water has come to a boil, gently lower a few of the dough-wrapped dogs into the boiling water and allow it to boil for 30 seconds. Using a skimmer (flat, slotted spatula), carefully remove them and place on the oiled parchment. Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle each with some salt and pepper. Bake in the preheat oven until they reach a deep, golden brown color, about 12-15 minutes. While they cook, prepare the cheese sauce.
3. For the Jalapeno-Beer-Cheddar Cheese Sauce: Add the beer to a saucepan over medium heat and bring it to a boil. While you are waiting, toss the shredded cheese with the flour. Once the beer is simmering, whisk in the cheese and all of the remaining ingredients. Whisk until all the cheese has melted and you have a smooth, creamy sauce. Keep warm until ready to serve.
4. Serve the pretzel wrapped sausages on a platter with the Jalapeno-Beer-Cheddar Cheese Sauce for dipping.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Mountain House Trip 2012

Here are some pictures from our trip up to our mountain house this weekend.
We had a blast... carving pumpkins, spiked apple ciders, hiking, bonfires, and s'mores...
I am already counting down the days until I can go back again
Enjoy :)

Friends Since Forever 
One of my First Best Friends
The Family at Whiteside Mountain
View from our Porch
Saturday Dinner: Sweet-Tea Brined Chicken, Classic Mac n' Cheese,
Broccoli Salad,  & Grilled Corn
The Fog Rolling In... Isn't it spooky?
Girls at Whiteside 
We were really proud of our pumpkins :)
Before Our Hike
Me + My Mountain Man on Our Hike
Heirloom Pumpkins at the Farmer's Market 
What a Great View 
Hangin' at the House
So Pretty...
Kisses for my Friend 
Tophat Soccer Girls
Light-Up Pumpkins at Night
I was kinda obsessed with my heirloom pumpkin, haha
Check back tomorrow for another recipe, y'all!!
XOXO, Juliana

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Alabama White BBQ Chicken Sandwich

Alabama White BBQ Chicken Sandwich
While I was at the University of Alabama, there were a couple restaurants that we loved. And one go-to restaurant for us was Newk's... a sandwich, salad, and pizza joint. It always had good food at affordable prices, which is a plus for college students. My favorite sandwich was the Newk's Q. This consisted of roasted chicken, crispy bacon, smoked provolone, and a classic Alabama White BBQ Sauce. It always hit the spot, especially after a night of drinking. Have y'all ever been to Newk's? And did you love it as much as we did? This would be one great sandwich for tailgating or a day of watching football!! Enjoy :)

For the Sandwich:
4 Slices of French Country Bread, Fried in Bacon Fat
Leftover Dry-Rubbed Beer Can Chicken, Sliced & Warmed
Homemade Alabama White BBQ Sauce
8 Slices of Applewood Smoked Bacon, Cooked until Crispy
4 Slices of Smoked Provolone Cheese
Red Onions, Sliced & Caramelized

Directions:
1. Fry the pieces of bread in leftover bacon fat until golden brown and crispy. Keep warm.
2. Spread some Alabama White BBQ Sauce on both slices of bread, and then top one slice of bread with a slice of smoked provolone cheese, warmed Dry-Rubbed Beer Can Chicken, crispy bacon slices, caramelized red onions, an extra drizzle of sauce, and one last slice of cheese. Stack the sandwich together and either finish cooking in a sauté pan or in the oven until the cheese has melted and the sandwich is warmed through.
3. Enjoy while warm. 

Sunday, October 7, 2012

BBQ Shrimp & Charred Corn-Goat Cheese Grits with Roasted Rainbow Cherry Tomatoes, Country Ham, & Red Eye Gravy

BBQ Shrimp & Charred Corn-Goat Cheese Grits with Roasted Rainbow Cherry Tomatoes,
Country Ham, & Red Eye Gravy
Sorry I haven't posted anything in like a week. We've been up at the mountain house since Thursday and we aren't coming back until Tuesday. But, I will try to post a recipe the next two days to make it up to y'all. Meanwhile, I'll keep enjoying the peace and quiet, along with bonfires, s'mores, fried chicken, pumpkin carvin', hikes, and spiked apple cider. Today, I decided to post a new Shrimp & Grits recipe because well, it's one of our favorites as y'all know. In fact, my these shrimp and grits are one of my favorites meals, ever. This time though, I wanted to make a kinda-sorta "brunch version" that would be perfect on a late Sunday morning. The grits are loaded with lots of good stuff... goat cheese, charred corn, and cream. And then, they are topped with a southern sauce called Red Eye Gravy, which gives the dish a nice acidity and sweetness. Also, we all know of my obsession with anything-roasted-tomato, so I piled the plate with some roasted rainbow cherry tomatoes. I decided to toss the shrimp in my favorite BBQ spice rub for a sweet & smoky taste, and it was perfect. And don't you forget to garnish with country ham, green onions, and a little more crumbled goat cheese for good measure!! Enjoy :)

For the Barbequed Shrimp:
1lb Wild Georgia Shrimp, Peeled & Deveined
Your Favorite BBQ Rub
Butter or Oil, For Sautéing

For Charred Corn-Goat Cheese Grits:
1C Stone-Ground Grits
1 ½C Heavy Cream
½C Milk
1 ½C Chicken Stock 
1C Fresh Corn, Grilled or Charred
6-8oz Creamy Goat Cheese, Room Temperature (plus extra for garnishing)
4T Unsalted Butter
Salt & Pepper, To Taste

Roasted Rainbow Cherry Tomatoes:
2C Rainbow Cherry Tomatoes, Cut in Half
Olive Oil, For Drizzling
Salt & Pepper
Fresh Rosemary Sprigs

For the Red Eye Gravy:
4oz Thinly Sliced Country Ham, Cut into Pieces
1T of Reserved Fat (any fat can be substituted)
½C Coffee
¼C Coke
1T Maple Syrup (plus extra if you want it a little sweeter)
1 Beef Bouillon Cube
2T Unsalted Butter
Salt & Pepper, To Taste
A Splash of Water (it may be needed, this is optional)

For the Shrimp & Grits:
Prepared BBQ Shrimp, Cooked
Prepared Charred Corn-Goat Cheese Grits
Prepared Roasted Rainbow Cherry Tomatoes
Prepared Red Eye Gravy
Thinly Sliced Green Onions, For Garnishing
Crumbled Goat Cheese, For Garnishing

Directions:
1. For the BBQ Shrimp: Toss the shrimp in your favorite BBQ dry rub until coated. In a large sauté pan, melt some butter or oil. Add the seasoned shrimp and cook until just done and still tender (don’t overcook). Remove the shrimp from the sauté pan and set them aside on a plate until ready to serve.
2. For the Charred Corn-Goat Cheese Grits: Bring heavy cream, milk and chicken stock to a gentle boil in a heavy saucepan. Add grits and reduce heat to medium low. Whisk occasionally at first, then whisk more frequently as the grits begin to thicken, watching carefully to make sure the bottom of the pot does not scald. Cook until the grits are thick and creamy, about 45 minutes to an hour. Add more liquid if you feel they are too thick, and continue cooking until desired consistency is reached. Season generously with salt and butter, adjusting to personal taste. Stir in the corn and goat cheese into the grits. Add salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm until ready to serve.
3. For the Roasted Rainbow Cherry Tomatoes: Preheat oven to 400 °. Toss tomatoes with olive oil and kosher salt and arrange on a sheet pan cut side up. Top the tomatoes with a few sprigs of rosemary. Cook for approximately one hour until they are soft, shriveling, and turning golden brown.
4. For the Red Eye Gravy: Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the ham and renderuntil golden brown. Remove the ham from the pan and set aside on a plate and keep warm. To the pan, add the coffee, coca cola, and maple syrup and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the butterand the bouillon cubeand stir to incorporate. Reduce the sauce in half to thicken slightly. Taste the sauce and season with salt & pepper to taste and possibly a splash of water.
5. For the Shrimp & Grits: Scoop some of the Charred Corn-Goat Cheese Grits into a deep bowl, and then spoon on some of the Red Eye Gravy over the top. Add on the roasted rainbow cherry tomatoes and BBQ shrimp. Garnish with green onions, crispy country ham, and crumbled goat cheese. Enjoy immediately.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Dark Chocolate Covered Stout Marshmallows with Caramel & Crushed Peanut Butter Pretzel Topping

Dark Chocolate Covered Stout Marshmallows with Caramel & Crushed Peanut Butter Pretzel Topping
It's my midterm week, and it's absolutely dreadful. I feel like every single teacher has assigned five projects for me to complete before Thursday. Ugh, c'est la vie. But luckily enough for me, I get to head up to our family mountain house for an extra-long weekend. We're bringing friends with us and it will be filled with cookouts, hiking, drinking, and bonfires. This of course calls for homemade marshmallows for some daggum s'mores. I always make Vanilla Bean Marshmallows, but this time I decided I would also make some beer marshmallows for some variety. I know, beer flavored 'mallows? Are you in heaven yet? They do exist and they are utterly delicious. The ones we will be using for s'mores will be plain, but I ended up making a batch of some geeked out beer marshmallows that would knock anyone's socks off!! I topped the pillowy squares with a homemade layer of chewy caramel, and then dipped them into tempered dark chocolate, so that they were completely coated. While the chocolate was still soft, I garnished them with crushed peanut butter pretzels, a drizzle of white chocolate, and a sprinkle of vanilla bean fleur de sel. And then, I went all crazy and added some potato chips to a few, and they were awesome!! I will leave it up to you with how over-the-top you want to make yours... I mean you could easily just make the beer marshmallows and call it a day. I won't hate!! Anyway, we will be enjoying these this weekend, so I'll make sure to come back and post some of the pictures of these epic s'mores, just you wait!! Enjoy :)
Crushed Pretzels & Salty Potato Chips... The perfect marshmallow topping. 
For some variety, I made some white chocolate covered marshmallows... 
And then drizzled them with dark chocolate :) 
This is one big bite... Do you see the caramel layer??
For the Beer Marshmallows:
3 ½ Envelopes Unflavored Gelatin
1C Chocolate Stout Beer, Divided (It needs to be cold and flat for this recipe)
2C Sugar
½C Dark Corn Syrup
¼t Salt
2 Large Egg Whites
1T Vanilla

For the Caramel Layer:
2C Sugar
2C Heavy Cream
1C Light Corn Syrup
½t Salt (plus a little extra for sprinkling the top of the finished caramel)
4½T Unsalted Butter

For the Dark Chocolate Coating:
10oz 70% Bittersweet Chocolate, Coarsely Chopped
Peanut Butter Pretzels, Roughly Chopped For Garnishing
Fleur de Sel, For Sprinkling (optional)

For the Marshmallows:
Prepared Beer Marshmallows
Dark Chocolate Coating 
Melted White Chocolate, Optional
Vanilla Bean Fleur de Sel, For Sprinkling (optional)
Peanut Butter Pretzels, Roughly Chopped For Garnishing (or potato chips can be substituted)

Directions:
1. To flatten the beer, take the cap off the bottle and leave open overnight, or pour beer into a bowl and whisk vigorously to remove some carbonation… just make sure it is cold.
2.  For the Marshmallows: Oil bottom and sides of a 13x9 rectangular metal baking pan and dust bottom and sides with some confectioners’ sugar. In bowl of a standing electric mixer or in a large bowl sprinkle gelatin over ½C cold beer, and let stand to soften. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, second ½C of cold beer, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240°F, about 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.With standing or a hand-held electric mixer beat mixture on high speed until fluffy, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about six minutes if using standing mixer or about 10 minutes if using hand-held mixer. In separate medium bowl with cleaned beaters beat egg whites (or reconstituted powdered whites) until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat whites and vanilla (or your choice of flavoring) into sugar mixture until just combined. Pour mixture into baking pan and don’t fret if you don’t get it all out (learning from my mess of a first round). Sift ¼C confectioners sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallow, uncovered, until firm, at least three hours, and up to one day.
3. Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up one corner of inverted pan, with fingers loosen marshmallow and ease onto cutting board. With a large knife trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallow into roughly one-inch cubes. (An oiled pizza cutter works well here too.) Sift remaining confectioners’ sugar back into your now-empty baking pan, and roll the marshmallows through it, on all six sides, before shaking off the excess and packing them away.
4. For the Caramel Wrapping: Lightly butter an 18" X 13" sheet pan. In a large heavy sauce pan (the caramel will more than triple in volume, so you need plenty of space) over medium heat combine sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1C heavy cream. Stirring constantly with a silicon spatula or wooden spoon, bring the mixture to a boil. This will take some time. It is important that you don't turn up the heat because candy requires patience. Once the mixture boils add the remaining 1C cream in a slow trickle so that you do not cool your caramel mixture and it continues to boil uninterrupted. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow it to boil for 5-6 minutes without stirring. Add butter one tablespoon at a time, stirring after each melts. Clip on your candy thermometer and allow to boil over medium-low heat until the mixture just hits 250°F (or the Firm Ball stage) stirring occasionally. This should take about 30-40 minutes; if your temperature is climbing too quickly you might need to reduce heat all the way to low. By the same token, if you're not hitting 250°F by 40 minutes you might want to increase the heat a bit. Once you've hit the right temperature, quickly remove from heat and pour into your prepared pan or onto the greased stone slab, spreading it out in an even layer. To prevent any crystallization, don't scrape the pan as you pour, just allow what clings to the pan to remain in it (you can scrape it into a smaller dish and eat it later, odds are it won't be crystallized). Allow your molten caramel to cool to room temperature. Once it has cooled, invert the caramel out of the pan onto a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut the caramel into squares (exactly the same size as your marshmallows) and place a caramel square on top of a marshmallows until all of them have been covered. Let the caramel sit on the marshmallows in the refrigerator for about an hour (this will help the caramel stick to the marshmallows). After they have chilled, begin to cover them in chocolate. 
5. For the Dark Chocolate Coating: Melt ¾ of the chopped chocolate in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Remove the bowl from the pan and add the remaining chocolate, stirring until smooth. Cool the chocolate until a thermometer inserted at least ½inch into the chocolate registers 80 degrees. Return the water in the pan to a boil and remove it from heat. Set the bowl with cooled chocolate over the pan and reheat, stirring, until the thermometer registers 88-91 degrees as necessary. Remove the bowl from the pan. Stick a marshmallow on a fork or skewer and submerge in the melted chocolate, letting the excess drip off and scraping the back of the fork against the rim of the bowl if necessary.  Place the coated marshmallow onto a parchment lined baking sheet to stand until the chocolate is set, about 1 hour. Make sure to top the marshmallows with crushed pretzels and a sprinkle of fleur de sel while the chocolate is still soft. Repeat with the remaining marshmallows until all of them have been coated with chocolate.