Category: garden goodness
collards + cabbage + frost = “cabbards” time…. with Crispy Cornbread Cookies, Molasses Bacon Butter & Pot Likker
The time has just about come for the annual “cooking of the cabbards” to fill the freezer! Like a squirrel stowing away acorns for the winter, I too, “get my cook’n on” once our local collards have had a good kissing o’ the frost. Some think that’s just an old tale, but not this gal, lovingly called THE “Collard Queen” by those lucky enough to have had some bestowed uponst them by said ‘queen’ or have rubbed their full bellies after a sit’n at her table… served up with a side of Crispy Cornbread Cookies, some Molasses Butter, a warm cup of Pot Likker or cold buttermilk. And don’t forget the farmers’ market treasures… including a menagerie of homemade chow chows destined to crown a heap’n helping of fall’s green ‘gold!’
So I’m in my kitchen a few days ago cooking cornbread cookies for this here post… setting up my photo shot, and about to savor the very last tidbit of my 2010 stash of cabbards I lucked up and found tucked into a back corner of the freezer when…”ding dong”… my doorbell rings. My kitchen sidekick and 7YO nephew hollers…“Dee Dee, who is THAT?” (seeing as how it is mid-afternoon and we’re still in our loungy clothes watching movies, blogging and eat’n). I looked at him and said… “I have NO idea!” But I surely am hoping it’s somebody that won’t mind my receiving them in my ‘old lady house dress,’ (probably something akin to what my grandmas were wearing when they cooked collards) and Wyatt, running around in his ‘underdraws.’ I swing the door open, and there stands my cousin Mark… 
who I see fairly rarely, but usually when he drops by (less often than the proverbial blue moon), he has some sort of vegetable(s) gleaned from a nearby garden. He leads me out to the back of his pick up truck (the preferred method of transportation for most of us country folk)… and what do I see…. THESE! *C.O.L.L.A.R.D.S*
I’m not believing this… as mere seconds ago I’m in my kitchen, cooking up, photographing and in the middle of writing this very blog post about collards… when a big ole’ mess of them land on my front porch… the weirdness of this timing is CRAYzee! And as delighted as I am about all this, I’m trying to factor in my head… when in the world can I squeeze cabbard cook’n into this particular week’s schedule... with a TV show taping (see show video at My Carolina Today!) and a ginormous exciting photo shoot for Our State Magazine (where I’m so blessed to be food stylist and recipe developer…so subscribe if you don’t already, and buy holiday gift certificates too). But never one to let a little thing like ‘limited hours in the day’ get in my way… a cabbard cook’n will commence! I decided to just throw ’em in my big chest freezer till that can happen…something I have had to do before, and equates to that sweet kiss of frost… a BIG deep freeze kiss!
So without further ado, here is my much requested method for cooking collards (or in my case, “cabbards”). These are sooo good, and worth every minute of effort it takes to get from the back end of a truck to your supper (and sometimes breakfast) plate.
Wendy’s Locally Famous Cabbards (Cabbage + Collards)
Wendy’s Cabbards
As THE “throw cooker” that I am (come see my Throw Cooking web page and recipes), I’m going to tell YOU how to throw these together… exactness is not important here! These are the necessary ingredients and process. I have, on occasion, cooked these in MASS to fill my freezer for the winter, but you can do any amounts that work for you. A couple of years ago, I cooked 40 lbs. bacon and forget how many birds to have broth and bacon grease for 100 lbs. cabbage and 50 lbs. collards! It took me quite some time to figure all this out, but because the collards ‘evaporate’ and disappear in the pot, I decided to see what happened if I added in some cabbage… and it makes the collards even better… sweeter… AND, the cabbage doesn’t disappear as much as the collards… so you end up with a whole lot more “cabbards” to store away and nobody but you knows this little secret, till NOW!
- Chicken(s) or Hen(s)
- Bacon (lots!)… more that you think… you need a goodly amount of rendered bacon grease
- Collards… about 1/2 as much collards as cabbage (washed real good)
- Cabbage… about twice as much cabbage as collards (washed real good)
EQUIPMENT:
- BIG pot
- Cast Iron Skillet
- Tongs
- Time
Put some water in a big old pot and throw your chicken(s) or hen(s) in there. Bring to rolling boil, then reduce heat and keep cook’n till you have some tender bird and a big ole’ pot of chicken stock. Take that bird out and make yourself a mess ‘o chicken salad or freeze for cooking in other stuff, like Chicken Pot Pies or Brunswick Stew.
Get that big old cast iron skillet out and fry up a LOT of bacon. Sometimes on cabbard cooking day I’m outside doing all that AND cooking up a ginormous amount of my “Almost Famous Brunswick Stew”-will post that soon if you ask!… so I invite folks to drop by and eat bacon sandwiches. Put this bacon grease into a big can (coffee can works great).
Rough slice the cabbage. Throw some in the pot of broth, alternating with handfuls of torn collard leaves. As it wilts, keep adding more to the pot. Let this cabbard mix boil and boil… the more ‘tenderer’ the better.
On a burner beside this pot, put your big iron skillet on med-hi and add (generously) some bacon grease. With tongs, grab some of the cabbards and plop into the hot skillet, including some of the wondermous Pot Likker they produced. Start chopping with long-handled veggie chopper… as they cook down and shrink as you chop, continue grabbing more cabbards with your tongs and continue this process, stirring around to incorporate the bacon grease. Once these are really tender and chopped real good, dump into big bowl to cool before putting into containers and continue doing this until you’ve cooked all your cabbards.
Cool’n Cabbards
When packing into containers, I try to leave good head space and top off with some of the broth so when heating, that is there to give a little moisture while warming.
Serve with Cornbread Cookies with Molasses Butter and mug of Pot Likker or Cold Buttermilk.
Cornbread Cookies with Molasses Bacon Butter
Wendy’s Crispy Cornbread Cookies
It’s really easy to throw together these crispy crunchy Cornbread Cookies and they are the perfect sidekick for your Cabbards.
- your favorite hushpuppy mix
- finely diced onions (any kind…sweet, green, scallion, chive, etc.)
- sugar
- freshly ground black pepper
- lard
Mix hushpuppy mix according to package directions. Add in onions and sugar to taste (you want these to be lightly sweetened and the sugar helps make them crispy too). Grind in some pepper. If your mix is really thick, add a little more water or milk/buttermilk, whatever you are using until thinner and pourable/spoonable. I like to let my mixture sit about 10 minutes before cooking to adjust this consistency as it will thicken as it sits (but also, the flavors will marry a bit).
Heat thin amount of lard in cast iron skillet on med-high heat. With a tablespoon, spoon into hot skillet and spread thin with back of spoon. Fry until golden brown and flip; repeat on the other side. Drain well on brown paper bag or paper towels.
Serve with Molasses Butter alongside Cabbards with mug of Pot Likker or Buttermillk.
MOLASSES BUTTER
- Softened Butter
- Molasses
- Bacon Grease, optional
- Cinnamon or Apple Pie Spice, optional
Drizzle some molasses over butter and swirl to blend.
VARIATIONS: To make Molasses Bacon Butter, stir in a bit of bacon grease. A bit of cinnamon or apple pie spice is also tasty in Molasses Butter, depending on what you will be serving it with (especially great with pancakes, waffles or French Toast too)!
Enjoy y’all… and please throw me your comments below AND ‘share’ with all your friends!
“Traditional Southern Thanksgiving Favs…with a Twist”
- Twisted Southern Thanksgiving Table
Being the “throw cooker” that I am, those of you that know me know I’m gonna throw a twist into a meal or recipe, any chance I get. Well there’s no reason Thanksgiving should be exempt from my voodoo. My friends
Valonda and Sharon invited me back again to their show, NBC17’s My Carolina Today Show, here in the Raleigh Triangle market… those two are so cute and fun I can never say no to their invites… although being a big girl as I am, I feel like Goliath Chef beside them. I’m sure they must wear something like Size -4 or something like that… and so bubbly I just wanna pinch their cheeks… bless their hearts! I usually take my clogs off during taping to help a little, but forgot when taping this week… the show will air tomorrow (Thursday, November 16th)… so as I post, I don’t have a link to the video yet they always throw up online… I’ll come back with that!
When Sharon asked me at my last visit to come up with ‘something’ for Thanksgiving, I didn’t have any ideas right off the bat like usual… but a couple of weeks ago, as usual, I had a vision… of one thing, and that’s all it takes to get me going. They asked me yesterday if I just magically ‘come up with this stuff,’ and I told them, “well, actually, yes.” My inspiration this time was collards. (And when I come up for air in-between this week’s BIG projects…. I’m going to post my “Almost Famous Collards” for you, and how I throw ’em together.) Once I had the collard vision, everything else just flowed right out of me… and so now, I introduce to you…
- My Southern Thanksgiving Table… with a twist!
As you look through these realllllly easy recipes, you’ll see all our usual stuff found on Turkey Day Tables, at least mine anyway… turkey, cranberry sauce, collards, stuffing (AKA dressing), turnips, butternut squash, sweet potatoes and pecan pie ~ just twisted out a bit. I hope y’all enjoy these and reallllly hope you will give me some feedback down there in the ‘comments’ box, and also, PLEASE SHARE on your Facebook pages and with your friends… I really need to get more folks here and need your help! I give you entertainment and wondermous recipes, and all I ask is that you invite a few folks to subscribe…
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Gotta run… as Food Stylist and Recipe Developer for Our State Magazine, gotta be up realllllllllll early in the morning and in Greensboro BY 7:30…. to shoot some wayyyy outside the box special recipes I developed for February issue… been working on them for a few months! Can’t tell ya any more than that… Top Secret, but you just run yourself on over and subscribe right now so it will come right to your mailbox in mid-January! (It’s a perfect gift that gives all year long too… for yourself or others.) You are just not gonna believe your eyes. Lordie Mercie, they are bringing in video folk too, to film the ‘behind the scenes’ of the assembly of these recipes and what goes on at a special photo shoot like this, so this gal needs all the ‘beauty rest’ she can get… but to tell you the truth, I’m SOOOO excited about this and feel like it’s my Christmas Eve and don’t anticipate much sleep, ‘tween that and the tornado watches going on thru the night. I’m about to bust wide open to tell folks about this… by my lips are sealed… for a few more weeks anyway.
So… hope you enjoy these recipes… and Share Away!
FOR 1 page PRINTABLE RECIPES, click HERE! Or, click the recipe name.
Grilled Barbecued Turkey
Grilled Barbecued Twisted ‘n Kicked Turkey
We’re twist’n & kick’n up Thanksgiving this year with some new ways to cook and serve traditional oldies. Everybody loves grilled goodies and this turkey is no exception. This recipe features some culinary goodies made here in North Carolina but you can sub your own favorites as well.
Recipe By: Wendy Perry
Serving Size: however much you cook!
Sliced Turkey breast (you can used cooked)
Turkey Legs (raw)
Tiny Town Turkey Rub (from Savory Spice Shop Raleigh-visit one in your area or order online!)
1 cup NC’s Fireside Black Jack BBQ Sauce Visit their Web Site
½ cup NC’s Crooked Condiments Gaelic Ale Mustard Visit their Web Site
1 teaspoon jalapeno powder (more or less to taste) (also from Savory Spice Shop)
TURKEY: To save time, you can buy cooked turkey breast.
Shake (generously) some Tiny Town Turkey Rub onto turkey.
SAUCE: Mix BBQ sauce, mustard and jalapeno power in small bowl.
Slice (cooked turkey) and place on grill. Baste with sauce and grill on each side until well-heated and sauce has caramelized a bit.
Cook raw turkey legs, turning frequently, until at 165° by thermometer. Once done and before removing from grill, baste generously with sauce and turn a few
times to allow sauce to glaze and caramelize.
Use this to also to baste Bacon Wrapped Collard Rolls with Stuffing.
Recipe Copyright© Wendy L. Perry, Inc.
May be shared with credit cited and link back to this blog
Cranberry BBQ SauSal
Throw your guests a twist at Thanksgiving or any time you serve turkey or chicken with this SauSal… (a little Sauce with a hint of Salsa)
You can throw this together in about 10 minutes with a bag of cranberries and some goodies you probably have on hand!
Recipe By: Wendy Perry
Serving Size: 8+
1 bag fresh cranberries
¼ cup favorite BBQ sauce
1 cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
¾ cup your favorite salsachopped cilantro
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
Throw everything but cilantro and jalapeno into heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for about 8-10 minutes, until berries have popped and sauce has thickened.
Pour into serving bowl and chill. At serving time, sprinkle with cilantro and jalapeno. Serve with BBQ Turkey and Bacon Wrapped Cabbage Rolls and Stuffing.
This is also good on leftover turkey (and ham) sandwiches and wraps.
Recipe Copyright© Wendy L. Perry, Inc. May be shared with credit cited and link back to this blog
Bacon Wrapped Collard Rolls with Stuffing
Bacon Wrapped Collard Rolls with Stuffing
Collards….
the quintessential southern green, and no traditional Thanksgiving table in these parts would be complete without ‘em. But this year, throw together some of these and throw on the grill along with your turkey for a real surprising twist… and your dressing, or stuffing, whichever you call it, is tucked inside! Like most of this meal, these can be made ahead and just throw on the grill when you cook your turkey.
Recipe By: Wendy Perry
Serving Size: 8
8 collard leaves, torn into large pieces
8 slices bacon
4 cups your favorite stuffing
toothpicks
BBQ Turkey Sauce (see that recipe up above)
In deep skillet or pot, heat water 2 inches deep. Once boiling, throw collard leaves into water (stacked on top of each other). Blanche several minutes until tender. Remove and drain in colander being careful not to tear leaves.
Cook bacon in layers of paper towels in microwave (or skillet) several minutes until almost done, but still soft and pliable.
Lay collard leaf onto flat surface. Spoon ½ cup of stuffing horizontally and roll up. Wrap a slice of bacon around the roll and secure with toothpick. Continue until all rolls are completed.
Throw on hot grill and baste with the Turkey BBQ Sauce, turning to glaze while sauce lightly caramelizes and bacon finishes cooking. Serve with grilled turkey.
Recipe Copyright© Wendy L. Perry, Inc.
May be shared with credit cited and link back to this blog
Rosemary Skewered Fall Veggie Kabobs
Rosemary Skewered Fall Veggie Kabobs
These are really easy to throw together for a new twist on traditional Thanksgiving vegetables. You can also make these ahead of time to throw on the grill with the rest of your Grilled Turkey Day meal.
Recipe By: Wendy Perry
Serving Size: 8
8 stems of fresh rosemary
8 (or more) fresh Brussels Sprouts
16 1” chunks fresh turnips
16 1” chunks fresh butternut squash
1 large red onion, cut into 1” square slices
1 stick butter, melted
Few sprigs fresh sage
salt and freshly ground pepper
Strip leaves from rosemary stems, leaving about 2” of leaves on tip end. Set aside.
Steam Brussels Sprouts in microwave until tender but not mushy, about 3-4 minutes. (Time will vary depending on wattage of your microwave.)
Steam turnip and squash chunks in microwave until crisp tender being careful not to overcook; if too done, they will break apart when sliding onto skewers.
Thread onto skewers… squash, turnip, onion, sprout, squash, turnip, onion (or whatever pattern you choose)… I use 1 Brussels Sprout in center but you can add more if you like.
Throw onto grill making sure tips with leaves are over unheated area so they won’t burn off. Use sage stem with leaves to baste with melted butter while cooking. Grill, turning gently with tongs, until slightly charred on all sides. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper or seasoning of choice.
Recipe Copyright© Wendy L. Perry, Inc.
May be shared with credit cited with link back to this blog
BUTTERscoth PECAN Skillet Pie
Yummmm….
cooking and serving pie from a skillet just seems to make ‘em taste better! This pie just says ‘fall’… with the toasty pecans and richness of the butterscotch. Top with Sweet ‘Tater & Molasses Ice Cream and get ready for accolades all around for your DEElicious DEEssert.
Recipe By: Wendy Perry
Serving Size: 8
1 1/2 cups pecan pieces
2 tablespoons flour
3 large eggs – beaten with whisk till slightly frothy
1 11 ounce bag butterscotch morsels
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter — melted, cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 unbaked pie shell, (I use Pillsbury from dairy section, not frozen)
Sweet ‘Tater & Molasses Ice Cream
Sea Salt
Preheat oven to 350.
Spray 10″-12’ cast iron skillet; place crust into prepared pan. It will naturally ‘ruffle’ as shown in picture.
In medium bowl, mix pecan pieces with flour. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into pie shell and bake 350* for about 40-45 minutes.
Let pie cool before slicing as it is easier to cut at room temperature.
Serve with dollop of Sweet ‘Tater & Molasses Ice Cream and pinch of sea salt.
Recipe Copyright© Wendy L. Perry, Inc.
May be shared with credit cited with link back to this blog
NC Sweet ‘Tater * Molasses Ice Cream
North Carolina Sweet ‘Tater & Molasses Ice Cream
Lordie Mercie.
You just don’t get much easier than this when it comes to Throw Cooking. This is a fun and easy recipe for little ones to throw together with you in the kitchen. Eat as is, or plop some on top of a slice of BUTTERscoth PECAN Skillet Pie.
Recipe By: Wendy Perry
Serving Size: 8
1 ½ gallon vanilla ice cream, softened
2 large sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
1 tablespoons apple pie spice
½ cup molasses
sea salt
Put softened ice cream into mixing bowl. Throw in sweet potatoes and spice. Drizzle with molasses and swirl into ice cream mixture. Refreeze.
Serve as is or over pie with a pinch of sea salt on top!
Sweet potatoes can be cooked in microwave on high power, about 10 minutes. Cook until soft when squeezed with a towel. Be sure they are well cooled before adding into ice cream.
Recipe Copyright© Wendy L. Perry, Inc.
May be shared with credit cited with link back to this blog
That’s all for now folks!
Are your bloomers exposed tonight?
| January 21, 2019 | Posted by Wendy Perry under edible flowers, garden goodness, Horticulture & Agriculture, Mindless Mutterings from the Teacher's Lounge, salads, slaws and such |
- Tub ‘o Chive
Gotcha!
I’m not much on that yard work stuff… but on occasion, it’s simply necessary. I’ve been at it for weeks, in snippets (to make it more digestible)… in order to make sure I’m as de-snakified as can be. Because for those who know me, know that I DO NOT DO SNAKES. Period. No such thing as ‘good snakes’ for this girl. I actually have thought that I probably need to check myself into some sort of snake phobia program, except I’m sure that would, at some point, involve the handling of snake(s)… therefore, I’m not inclined to voluntarily enroll.
One of my favorite early spring treats are my blooms… thus the importance of bloomer protection! Did you even know you can EAT those fluffy little lavender flowers? Some folks do not know this, and so this, my friends, is for you! (I have had folks look at me like I’m some sort of weirdo when plucking these and snacking while strolling around the yard.) There are quite a few edible flowers, (note: make sure they have not been treated with chemicals and pesticides… or peed on by passing critters)… and my very favs are chive flowers. I grow mine in fence hanger boxes and in the Hungarian Baby Bathtub (see picture) so they stay up off the ground and ‘pee free.’ They are really pretty on salads, and a nice surprise for folks not used to eating floral matter. I, however, don’t always make it back into the house with them… I snack tub side.
The ‘by product’ of these bloomers are the chive fronds… is that what they are called? I don’t know, and because I know you really don’t care, I’m too tired from all that YARD WORK today to go research proper ‘chivese’ so for now, they’re fronds!
OK… I got a bit diverted there. Back to bloomer protection! Short of hauling that big ass Hungarian Baby Bath Tub in the house (and not even possible at this point due to the Ben Gay slathered ‘every muscle aches in my body’ condition), I am putting faith in those annoying
Oh, P.S. Do YOU eat chive bloomers? (I’m just trying my best to get y’all to put something in that comment box down there!)….
And please click the ‘like’ button (if you do) and share on your FB pages and invite your friends to come here too. THANKXXX
Candy Apple Slaw… fall in a bowl!
| October 23, 2018 | Posted by Wendy Perry under apples, cook & eat nekkid, cook'n with NC goodies, garden goodness, published, salads, slaws and such, sensational sides |
And just like that, it’s fall! A few morns have dang near felt like we went from summer right into winter. Time to fire up those pig cookers around here in North Carolina and gather ’round friends and family.
Each month, I create a couple of recipes for Carolina Country Magazine. The November issue is their annual food issue, so I get to do some extra goodies for that. The issue will hit mailboxes in the next few days and I’ll be back then to share the recipes I did along with my “How To Host A Pig Pick’n” article. Till then, I’ll share one of my others…
Our 2018 NC State Fair has come and gone… and I had fun again judging some of the daily special cooking contests… 3 this year. Something I think about in fall at fair time is candy apples. So I threw together this Candy Apple Slaw recipe… which would be great to serve at a pig pick’n… or just on your supper table! We have dozens of varieties of apples here in North Carolina and some farmers’ markets have rows of them available for tasting before you buy. So visit your local market and find some shiny red apples for this recipe!
Enjoy this Candy Apple Slaw… and be sure you’re subscribed to my Table Scraps newsletter… about to re-launch after being asleep for a while!
Candy Apple Slaw @ Carolina Country Magazine!
This sweet and tangy slaw is a tasty, colorful fall side dish. Enjoy the variety of textures … crispy bits of apple along with the chewy cranberries and toasty nuts.
- 6 cups chopped cabbage
- 4 large red apples, diced, not peeled
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup thinly sliced red onions
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon celery seed
- 1 1/2 cups toasted pecans, divided
- 1 1/2 cups crushed peanut brittle,* opt.
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Put cabbage, apples, cranberries, onions, seasonings and half the pecans in a large bowl. Add dressing and stir to coat.
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Pour into serving bowl and chill several hours.
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At serving time scatter with remaining pecans; scatter optional peanut brittle to add a delightful candy crunch.
*Store bought or your own.
Honey Orange Grilled Watermelon
| August 20, 2018 | Posted by Wendy Perry under appetizers, cook & eat nekkid, cook'n with NC goodies, garden goodness, grill thrills, honey, sensational sides, watermelon |
…a tasty sweet and salty side that pairs great with spicy grilled meats.
As summer wanes, there’s still an abundance of fresh watermelons! So grab yourself one and do some Honey Orange Grilled Watermelon “steaks.” These really do not need a printed recipe…
Just whisk a little OJ into some local honey. Cut the “steaks” in 1/2″ pieces. Place on hot grill and baste, cooking on each side just a couple of minutes to get a light char. That’s it… unless you want to take it up to a “more better” level by scattering with some crunchy Maldon Sea Salt and some freshly ground black pepper! This salt isn’t required but is great to have on hand, and readily available now in many places, so put on your shopping list and add to your pantry.
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