My First Blog

This is my first blogger post. I don’t have any pictures of this meal, but I will add them later for future meals. I prepared a very non-traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner for my family. I love turkey, but I wanted to try something different this year. This year I made Pork with Bacon and Onion gravy, Garlic Red-Skinned Mashed Potatoes and Cornbread Dressing.   

For the Pork:

Preheat oven to 250ºF.

I used cheap end cut of the pork shoulder. I seasoned pork with my house Créole seasoning, but you can use a store bought Créole seasoning such as Tony Chachere’s^®. I toss my pork in a dry batter mix/blend of flour, fine cornmeal and cornstarch. Shake off excess. I heat my oil until hot, but not too hot, just as if you are frying chicken. I place my pork pieces in pan. Do not over crowed pan. Fry in batches if necessary. Place cooked pork on plates with paper towels or even better a rack. Place pork in a casserole dish. Wrap very tight with foil. Do not add any liquid. Pork will make its own juices. Place casserole dish in oven. Bake for about 2 ½ hours. The pork will be very tender when done. You can place pork in pot with bacon and onion gravy or serve separately.

For the Bacon and Onion gravy:

I add 1 diced sweet onion and ½ pound of chopped bacon. I sauté my bacon and onion in a frying pan until soft. I add about 1 tablespoon minced garlic. I continue to cook for a few more minutes. I add a ½ diced bell pepper to pan. Continue to cook until bell peppers are soft. I don’t measure, but add equal amount of flour to bacon grease. You want to slightly brown flour. Don’t overcook. I begin to slowly whisk in chicken or pork stock to avoid lumps. Add stock to reach the right consistency of gravy. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. I finish gravy at the end with chopped scallions. If you want to fancy this gravy up, use pancetta bacon and shallots with a little white wine.  

 For the Garlic Red-Skinned Mashed Potatoes:

I place red potatoes (new potatoes) in cold salted water. My rule of thumb is to add just enough water to just cover the potatoes. I love red potatoes because they have a lot of flavor and you don’t need to peel them. Cover and bring to a boil. Cook potatoes for about 30 minutes or until tender. While potatoes are cooking, melt unsalted butter in pot with some minced garlic. Sauté garlic in butter until slightly brown. Add heavy cream to pan. Pour hot butter and cream mixture over potatoes. Mash potatoes with a potato masher. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

For the Cornbread Dressing:

I have to admit I used a box cornbread stuffing for Thanksgiving. My mother usually makes cornbread stuffing for the holidays, but she was not feeling well. I must confess I am not a fan of cornbread stuffing, but my mother, who is from Alabama wanted it. Since I am a northerner I prefer bread stuffing, sausage stuffing or rice dressing (dirty rice) from Louisiana. I have to say I made it taste okay by sautéing onions, and celery in butter. I used some chicken stock for the liquid. I bake stuffing in oven for about 25 minutes. Maybe I should put more effort into learning how to make it properly. Oh well it still came out good. Love ya ma!