Category: grill thrills
Steak Bites with Horseradish Whipped Cream
| November 29, 2018 | Posted by Wendy Perry under appetizers, Christmas, grill thrills, here's the beef!, Mindless Mutterings from the Teacher's Lounge, party foods, published |
Steak Bites with Horseradish Whipped Cream
Who doesn’t love steak? If you are looking for a “sure to please” appetizer for your holiday gatherings, you’ll surely want to add this one to your table. They are quick and easy to make, yet really spiffs up the menu. The horseradish whipped cream on the side for dip’n is just right for these steak bites too.
Keep an eye out and pick up your preferred cut when on sale. Go ahead and cut up the pieces, then freeze to have on hand for quick fix’n. Even better, go ahead and freeze in the marinade so that all those flavors can spend some time getting to know the steak making your bites even more better!
I do hope you will give these a try, and come to my facebook community and tell me what you think. See the recipe where it first appeared in the December 2017 Carolina Country Magazine, or below where you can print.
- 4 lbs. lean beef (rib eye, filet or sirloin) cut into 3/4" cubes
- 4 tablespoons oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup grapeseed or olive oil
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons horseradish
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise (Duke's preferred)
- freshly ground black pepper
- pinch sugar
- minced chives
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Combine marinade ingredients. Put beef into zippered bag. Pour marinade over, seal and toss to coat. Marinate, refrigerated, 30 minutes to overnight.
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Heat half the oil and butter in cast iron skillet to medium-high heat. Add steak pieces, making sure not to crowd (cook in batches adding oil and butter as needed). Sear until “crust” forms.
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For whipped cream: Whip cream until stiff peaks form. Fold in remaining ingredients. Garnish with chives. Serve with steak bites.
Note: Be careful not to overcook as the meat will continue cooking after removing from heat.
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.
What time is it? Muscadine time….
One of my favorite things about the arrival of fall would be grapes! Muscadine grapes…. native to the south grapes. We know, as they turn into those sweet little balls of deliciousness and ripen into nature’s candy, that fall is on our doorstep. And for those of us who are drained by the heat and humidity of another North Carolina summer, they are a harbinger of cooler days ahead!
I have fond memories as a child of the vines…. one was in my Mama and Daddy Hocutt’s back yard… a vine he’d planted and tended and nurtured long before I came along in 1958. He left us when I was just 8, but I still can remember going up under that big shady vine with him that would be hanging full of luscious scuppernong grapes. We would suck the slimy pulp and juice out of dozens of grapes, spit seeds, laugh… then fill our bowls to put in the refrigerator to get nice and cold for later. I remember how sweet the air that surrounded us was. I remember how nice and cool it was up under there. I remember…
Now let’s stop right here and do a little grape lesson…
Scuppernong grapes are muscadines, but not all muscadines are scuppernongs…. got it? Scuppernong is a variety of muscadine… but many of us grew up with only scuppernongs and thinking they were one an the same and only muscadine, so we grew up believing what turned out to be a myth.
OK… back to the topic at hand!
So, I’d never cooked anything using muscadine grapes. The few recipes I’d come across just seemed like a whole lot of work with those seeds and skins and all… for only a few bites of something. Oh my, was I WRONG!
A couple of years back, my old friend Lisa Prince (at NC Department of Agriculture) asked me if I would like to be a part of an episode of Flavor, NC they were going to be filming on muscadine grapes! And if so, I would need to come up with a few recipes using them. Well of course I would LOVE to be a part of a show I love… and helping promote goodness grown here in North Carolina… but I admit, a bit of panic set in about creating grape recipes! But I love a challenge and new culinary adventures, so I jumped right on it.
However… my first question as we were to film in November…. where the heck shall I get grapes at that time of year?
First thing I learned… you can freeze grapes! Whaaaat?
Yep, Lisa assured me so and said they would have bags for me to work with! Who knew?!? So folks, as we are in the prime days of our muscadine grape season here in North Carolina, grab yourself some big old zippered bags and freeze away! Because when you see my Muscadine Crisp recipe, you’ll know why.
So with that worry aside, I started googling, and “Pinteresting” (my new word) to find inspirations and “how-tos” from others who have created muscadine grape recipes. I quickly learned… these are about as scarce as a fresh muscadine grape in April! I could count on one hand anything close to what you’d call “creative” that my searches turned up.
No problem… I’ll figure this out because that’s what I do… even if I have a limited supply of frozen grapes, with little room for error to recreate or start all over. (Insert mini panic attack, but hey, I’ve GOT this.)
Well it just so happened that in the time between I was to do this creation and then make again for filming the show, I had previously planned another of my culinary adventures up… wayyyyyy up in the NC mountains to the John Campbell Folk School, for a week-long 18th Century Open Hearth Cooking Class!
{Let me digress here for a moment to tell you that this place is “all THAT and then some!” If you love learning new things… in the old school way, be it wood-working, blacksmithing, banjo or dulcimer making and playing, art by needle/thread/fabric and a gazillion other things, GO THERE! My jaw was on the floor at our lunch on Friday as we all gathered to display our accomplishments that week and I long to go there again and again. A small group actually built, from scratch, their own dulcimers AND learned to play a few songs from Sunday eve till Friday noon!}
So… in my hearth cooking class, where I learned the most amazing things and actually cooked in a ginormous hearth so big we could bend over up in it to move pots and kettles and coals around (while hobbling on crutches as well), we cooked things each day, 100% authentic to that era.
Hearth at John Campbell Folk School and WAY bigger than it looks in this picture!
We even learned which of the herbs we could harvest from the garden there to use in our cooking since not all of them had been brought “here” yet. Recipe choices would be laid out on a wooden table (that was, of course, made at the school in the woodworking shop) that was draped in vintage cloth and we would select those we wanted to prepare. Well normally, I wouldn’t choose any sort of baked thing, but low and behold, there laid a “receipt” for a Muscadine Pie! And as it was in October, there were muscadine grapes there in the mountains in our pantry fridge. I grabbed that one right away so I could get down to the nitty gritty (and get my fingers stained and “broke in”) of this muscadine phobia here, where I had an instructor who could help me with this self-imposed terror.
First, I had to… MAKE DOUGH for my pie! A terrifying thing in itself…. that turned out to be a piece of cake.
Next, I had to prepare the grapes, and to my surprise, wasn’t such a big deal either… as I had no idea the hulls were a part of the filling. (And oh my, the soft baked texture in the sweet muscadine syrup of the pie was divine!)
Without belaboring this story to get to why we are here (my Flavor, NC grape recipes!), I share my very first ever muscadine creation! I even “garnished” it with some edible violets from the garden and a dough design of a bunch of grapes (unlike how you see muscadines growing)… LOL Pretty snazzy, eh?
…my first muscadine creation!
And I’m here to tell you, this may have been the b.e.s.t. pie to ever cross my lips. It SO inspired me to get in my cookhouse when I returned home to create muscadine recipes for the show. I think the timing was surely one of those Godwink moments… to put that muscadine challenge before me, the week before I was to attempt my first creations, with few resources “out there” to help me. I knew in that moment as I savored that deep, rich grape infused pie… yet, I’ve got this too!
Fast forward to getting back home, after pulling my cute little Squash Blossom Vintage Camper into, and back out of the mountains… as far into the mountains you can go in North Carolina and still be IN North Carolina. Eight hours, much of which was the definition of “white knuckles.”
My adventure to John Campbell Folk School!
I didn’t fully set up Squash Blossom due to an ongoing foot “issue” but just enough to sleep at night! So this is the abbreviated Blossom….
My mini Squash Blossom set up at John Campbell Folk School.
So… back at home, it was time to hunker down and get some muscadine recipes created for the show! I had sent Lisa my thoughts and she liked them all. My creations were Muscadine Pepper Jelly, Muscadine Shrub and Muscadine Grape and Gingersnap Crisp. Now I’m here to tell you, although I don’t care for a lot of sweets, this crisp may be in my “Top 5” of the best things to ever cross my lips in that category… not to mention the incredibly wondermous smell of it fresh out of the oven!
We had such a fun time filming this episode in my vintage cookhouse and in the process, I overcame my intimidation of “the grape” cooking, created some tasty recipes, and fill my freezer each fall with grapes to enjoy making my crisp during cold, winter, fireplace months. Find and enjoy all 3 of my Flavor, NC Muscadine Grape recipes down below.
Fun day filming Flavor, NC Muscadine Grape Episode in my cookhouse with friend Lisa Prince!
We had this crisp for our family Christmas dessert last year, and might again this year too.
Muscadine Grape & Gingersnap Crisp on Flavor, NC
My Muscadine Pepper Jelly is yummy over cream cheese… or as a baste on chicken or pork & veggie kabaobs!
Muscadine Pepper Jelly over Cream Cheese or as a Chicken or Pork & Veggie Kabob Baste!
And to freshen up, how about a nice Muscadine Shrub?
Refreshing Muscadine Grape Shrubs for Flavor, NC!
I hope you will enjoy my recipes, and leave a comment about ways you enjoy muscadine grapes too!
- about 6 cups muscadine grapes, washed
- about 1 1/4 cups sugar*
- about 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 30 small gingersnap cookies
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice
- pinch sea salt
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 stick cold butter cut into small pieces
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Preheat oven to 350.
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To prepare grapes: Over bowl (to capture juices), cut grapes in half (scissors work best) and push seeds out with thumb. Toss grape halves (hull and pulp) and juice into bowl. Stir in sugar and flour. Mix well and put mixture into prepared baking dish.
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Put all topping ingredients except butter into food processor. Pulse until cookies are roughly chopped. Add butter and continue pulsing until incorporated and mixture is crumbly.
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Scatter crumbs over grape mixture. Bake about 30-40 minutes until hot and bubbly. Baking time will vary a bit depending on depth of baking dish.
*If grapes are super ripe and sweet, you might use a bit less sugar.
This recipe will do best in 9×9” or 11×7” baking dish.
- 5 cup muscadine grape juice
- 1 box pectin
- 5 cups sugar
- 1-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
- 1-2 finely diced jalapeno jelly, optional
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Heat grape juice and pectin in heavy bottomed pot. Whisk to dissolve the pectin. Stir in sugar and peppers. Bring to a boil for one minute. Remove from heat and put into hot sterilized jars. Process as usual.
- about 4 cups muscadine grapes
- 2 cups sugar, (see notes)
- 2 cups vinegar
- aromatic herbs, optional (I use rosemary)
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Combine grapes and sugar in large jar with lid. Muddle to break up grapes and incorporate with sugar. Cover and sit in a cool dark space for up to 24 hours. Shake occasionally so that sugar dissolves.
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Add vinegar and any aromatics as desired. Cover and shake. Let this mixture steep in cool dark place or refrigerator for about a week (or more) to let the flavors meld.
Using a sieve or cheesecloth, strain the syrup into jar. This mixture will keep in the refrigerator up to six months (if it lasts that long!).
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To serve: Pour a bit of the syrup over ice and top with club soda or sparkling water. For cocktails, omit the water and add a splash of liquor. Those that work well are vodka, rum and gin.
Generally, you will want to mix one part syrup to about 3-4 parts sparkling water. Champagne shrubs are tasty too!
- Sugar options: Most any sugar (and combinations) will work. Just be sure the sugar you use complements the grapes (or whatever fruit you use).
- Vinegar options: Apple cider vinegar tends to offer best flavor for shrubs, but other flavorful vinegars work nicely, as long as they do not complete with and drown out flavor of the grapes.
So… visit a local muscadine farm right now while the get’n is good… and if you don’t have time to use them, fill up your freezer so when hunkered down on a cold winter’s day, you can make yourself this Crisp… you will be SO glad you did!
Cheery Grilled Corn with Hoop Cheese & Bacon Dust
| July 3, 2017 | Posted by Wendy Perry under bacon & belly, cook & eat nekkid, cook'n with NC goodies, corn, garden goodness, grill thrills, molasses, wendy's signature recipes |
I know, I got you with BACON dust, right? Well then let’s add Cheerwine to the party too!
Cheery Grilled Corn with Hoop Cheese & Bacon Dust
Bacon doth make everything more better, and on my “Cheer”y grilled corn is no exception. We’ve all seen the “same old same old” grilled corn recipes…. usually Mexican in nature. Well y’all know this southern gal is an evangelical when it comes to preaching that we should all cook and eat local. And around here, it’s North Carolina goodies, but the same applies wherever your “local” might be. Local and nekkid…. the way God gave it to us!
So when it was decided I’d do something featuring sweet North Carolina corn for the July issue of Carolina Country magazine, my little brain went to spinning…. because I do love some grilled roasted toasty corn. But I wanted to give it some good old North Carolina pizzazz, and when I opened my fridge and pantry to find my inspiration…. there it was, glistening in my face…. CHEERWINE!
We are the proud birthplace of Cheerwine here in North Carolina and all celebrating their 100th birthday this year with them. So a basting glaze with that was “it!”
So then, I needed cheese. I grew up loving hoop cheese. My mama, rest her soul, was no cook and made no bones about it. I can count on both hands (actually more like one) the cooking memories I have of her. But one of those that I vividly remember was the nights she would take out her well seasoned 10″ cast iron skillet (I’m sure my grandma gave her to be a 60’s housewife!) and melt hoop cheese daddy had brought home from the little family-owned downtown Zebulon grocery store up the street from First Federal Savings and Loan where he worked.
That hunk of bright orange cheese, with its cherry red rind, would be wrapped in “freezer locker” paper. While mama’s canned biscuits were burning in the oven (she cooked everything on HIGH or 500…. no other settings were needed on our appliances!), she was melting that greasy gooey hoop cheese in that skillet.
I really don’t even recall having anything “on the side” with those cheese biscuits… and adding a side dish might have sent mama into culinary panic and running for the hills! So cheese biscuits it was. A “Menia supper” in all its glory.
OK…. let’s hop off memory lane and get back to this corn thing!
I know hoop cheese crumbles nicely, so keeping with my local and southern recipe and ingredients, Ashe County Hoop Cheese would be the perfect cheese to crumble and throw on the hot corn off the grill. I can pick that up at the Raleigh State Farmers’ Market, but if that’s not convenient for you, many grocery stores carry hoop cheese, and you’ll likely find it sold down the road in your local country store with saltine crackers…. if you are fortunate enough to live out in the country!
But my corn needed one little something else. And naturally, I concluded that should and must be…. B.A.C.O.N.! Bacon Dust!
So once I had all of this new concoction in my head, I could hardly wait to make it. With plans at the beach with the family that coming weekend for a mess of steamed crab legs, I knew testing my new recipe with that crowd that would be perfect, one of my gaggles of guinea pigs… and what’s better alongside crab legs than corn?
Well turns out my first trial run was perfect and didn’t need any tweaking. (A recipe developer loves it when that happens!) Lips were smack’n and fingers were being licked…. and nothing was left but a big old pile of gnawed off corn cobs and demolished crab shells….
Remnants of happy time and happy bellies!
So I’ll leave you at that… and wish you and yours a fun and safe and most blessed July 4th! I do hope this week or sometime soon while corn is plentiful you will give this recipe a try. And if you do, come back and tell me what your crowd thunk about it! I’m pretty darn sure you will be the hostess with the mostess and be crowned “best corn” winner.
And while here, don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss more local goodie recipes to come!
And God Bless America! Land that I love…
- 2 cups Cheerwine® soft drink
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1/2 cup stone ground mustard
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 teaspoon sage
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 dozen ears of fresh corn shucked and cleaned
- 1/2 pound hoop cheese crumbled
- 12 ounce package bacon cooked and crumbled into "dust"
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Heat gas or charcoal grill to high heat. While grill is getting hot, combine Cheerwine, molasses, mustard and butter in heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce to low boil and cook until sauce has reduced to about half, making a thickened glaze. Remove from heat and whisk in sage.
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Put corn onto hot grill, baste with glaze and cover. Turn every 1–2 minutes, basting as you turn, until charred in spots (about 8–10 minutes). Remove to platter and while hot, scatter with cheese crumbles and bacon dust. Drizzle with any remaining glaze. Serve immediately.
Grunt?… or Slump? Campfire Blueberry Peach Fruit Grunt
| June 29, 2017 | Posted by Wendy Perry under baking (she said in terror), blueberries, cook'n with NC goodies, grill thrills, pie please, skillet cookery, sweet treats, wendy's signature recipes |
So which is it…. Grunt? or Slump? You might have seen these descriptions for fruity desserts and wondered…what the heck? Well you will be happy to know that grunts and slumps are one in the same! Now don’t confuse them with cobblers, crumbles and crisps, buckles, brown bettys, pandowdy or the regionally almost-famous North Carolina Sonker! Are you fully befuddled now?
Each one of these baked goods are delicious in their own way, but are not the same… and traditionally include fruit, flour, sugar and butter. What can be wrong about any such thing? So, let’s have a quick lesson to un-confuse ya.
Let’s start out with the grunt, aka slump, since this post’s recipe is just that! Featured in June’s Carolina Country Magazine, you will find my Campfire Fruit Grunt recipe down below you can easily print out and make for your crowd this July 4th!
Originally an English steamed fruit dessert, a grunt/slump is basically a cobbler, but cooked covered on a campfire or grill… or stovetop, rather than inside the oven. This kinda sorta steams the topping (typically a biscuit type dough)… and when it cooks, it makes a “grunting” noise around the edge and topping… thus, the name “grunt.” And once done, it “slumps” down into the skillet…. voila, “Slump!” I’m particularly fond of crispy crunchy things, so you will find the topping on my grunt/slump recipe below to have a bit of those features rather than a softer biscuit dough as you will find with traditional recipes.
Cobbler… the name comes from the “cobblestone” appearance of the baked topping of a cobbler. Traditional cobblers are cooked casserole style and topped with biscuit dough and once cooked resemble cobblestones you may see on an old street…. not pie crust as many folks do these days. If you are served cobbler with pie crust on top, that’s pie, not cobbler! Sometimes you might even see a “crust” bottomed cobbler too. The filling cooks down into a fruity syrupy goodness. Nowadays you might see cobblers topped with such things as cookie dough and even cake batter.
Crumbles and Crisps... as the name says, this crumbly-topped fruity baked goodie is topped with an oatmeal struesel mixture…. thus, you have a “crumbly” topping. Nowadays these have become one and the same. Originally, the main difference was that crisp toppings had oats while crumbs did not. Other toppings might have nuts, graham crackers or cookies in the mixture.
Buckles… these are kind of a cake with fruit on top of the batter and a crumb topping. They are kinda sorta like a coffeecake, but have a softer and more buttery texture. And of course the name…. because it buckles when cooked!
Brown Bettys…. from Colonial days, this dessert usually features layers of sugared apple slices and buttery crumbs, most often made from stale bread. Our ancestors wasted nothing and of course, would turn old bread into a sweet treat!
Pandowdy… this is basically a pie without a bottom crust. Pieces of crust dough are scattered about the top and as ready to serve, broken up into the fruit with a spoon a bit and “dowdied” up so to speak. Traditionally made with apples, pandowdy can be made with any sort of fruit. Molasses is sometimes used as sweetener in Pandowdy, or Pan Dowdy, spelled both ways.
NC Surry County Sonker… The Sonker is indigenous to North Carolina and so loved that it has it’s own festival (1st Saturday in October) and “trail.” Over in Surry County, the rich heritage of the Sonker is celebrated and showcased on the trail in cafes and restaurants. Sonkers are cooked casserole style, like a deep dish pie, in a rectangle baking dish. Back in the day, it was often cooked in a big bread pan so there would be a plenty to feed all the farm hands that day. As for its composure, you will get differing opinions on that. Some say it has a bottom crust while others say only side crusts. Either way, the fruit is often covered with a lattice pastry top. Pretty much any sort of fruit can be used, combination of fruits…. and some even have vegetables like sweet potatoes… one of the most popular kinds of sonker. No matter the crusts, a milk “batter” is poured over top, and the cooked sonker is served with milk “dip.”
I could go on and on about the sonker and will one day do a post just on that topic. For now, you can read more about its history at Our State Magazine.
And for a traditional Sweet Potato Sonker, here’s a recipe I prepared and styled for this piece a few years back when at Our State Magazine as food stylist and recipe developer. (This is not my recipe.)
There are other similar fruit desserts, but will save those for another time… like Clafouti, Shortcakes, Boy Bait, Long Cakes, Bird’s Nest Pudding and some I may not even have heard of. Today’s post will get you started…. so throw yourself together this Grunt/Slump I recently created for Carolina Country’s June edition. I declare, here in mid-blueberry/peach season in North Carolina with folks camping and grilling all around, there’s no reason not to! So stop by your local peach and berry farms or farmers’ market and get some fresh summer fruits… your favorites, and GRUNT!
Grunts (also called Slumps) were born in New England and are a steamed cobbler that “grunt” when cooking and “slump” as they settle. This treat will make you the envy of the campground! Great as a dessert, but also enjoyed as a breakfast treat as well.
- 12" cast iron skillet
- about 3 cups each fresh blueberries and sliced peaches
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3/4 cup self-rising flour
- 1/2 cup self-rising corn meal mix
- 1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice
- pinch salt
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 5 tablespoons butter softened
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/3 cup milk
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Prepare coals or heat grill to medium high heat. Put fruits, sugar and cornstarch in skillet and stir to combine.
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Put all dumpling ingredients except milk into zippered plastic bag. Squish with fingers until butter has been incorporated and you have a crumble mix. Blend in milk.
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Add dollops of dumpling batter on top of fruit, leaving space for it to bubble and “grunt.” Close grill lid to cook. If cooking on open coals, cover with foil.
Cook over indirect heat for about 15 minutes until hot and bubbly.
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