The Heart Of Texas

Pecan Pie has been one of the defining foods from Southeast Texas all my life.  One of my culinary heroes has made many millions on his definition of pecan pie.  Through the years his pecan pie has dominated the culinary world.  People from around the globe order his pies on an annual basis to consume and to give as gifts.  I'm proud to say I was acquainted with the man.  However, I am also a purist and his pies have artificial corn sweeteners and I can't abide by that!  No way!  If the recipe calls for Karo Syrup throw it in the trash! Well, that would be rude, so understand in the back of your mind it could be far better! My pecan pie recipe is all organic and it is the most flavorful pecan pie ever!  I know, I've tried them all.  That and there are a few proprietary ingredients only the most delicate of palates could decipher. Sweet, but not overly-sweet.  Fresh organic Brazos River bottom pecans lightly toasted in a black iron...

Crawfish Pie I like to use southeast Texas crawfish when they are available.  The next best thing are Lousiana crawfish.  Although I have used the Chinese imported crawfish many times to make etouffee and gumbo.  It just doesn't feel right!  I got the urge for a crawfish pie the other day and I bought 2lbs of crawfish tails.  It turned out real good.  Here are the ingredients - 2 lbs southeast Texas crawfish tail meat (tastes better than LA) ~ :o) 2 medium 10/15 onions 2 bell peppers with the skin removed (blister method) 6 stalks of celery 5 carrots chopped 3 green onion stalks 1 cup of okra 1 T black pepper 1/2 T pink Himalayan sea salt 2 T thyme 5 cloves of garlic 3 T extra virgin olive oil cayenne pepper to taste Pie Crust 4 cups of sifted flour (I like to grind my own summer wheat berries) 8 ozs butter 1 cup of water +- 2 t salt I use a #12 black iron skillet and it works perfect.

After experimenting with various flavors and methods the following is my conclusion to a very flavorful base mayonnaise.  Adding ingredients such as  Sriracha adds a bit of color and fire.  Homemade mayo is very easy and well worth the effort. Ingredients: 1/2 T pink Himalayan sea salt 1/2 T granulated onion 1/2 T granulated garlic 1/2 T ground yellow mustard seed 2 T apple cider vinegar The juice of 1 lime 3 C avocado oil 2 large eggs Method: Add all ingredients except to oil to a wide mouth quart Mason jar.  I use a submersible blender and I mix the ingredients.  I then continuously run the blender while I relatively slowly add the avocado oil.  I fill up the Mason jar as much as possible without making a mess.  I blend well and then I refrigerate.  The flavor is excellent!

Boiling crawfish is an annual springtime event in our family.  Typically, we buy a 35# sack of crawfish on a Saturday morning and boil them in the afternoon.  Farm raised crawfish are delicious, but the wild crawfish are far and away better!  Living in Southeast Texas has its advantages and crawfish is definitely one of them! Through the years, I have had the advantage of connections in the crawfish world.  As a kid we seined ponds and creeks for crawfish.  In the 80's we bought fresh wild crawfish for $25 per 35# sack.  My brother in law is in the freight forwarding business and we would give him an offshore cooler and he would put it on the truck.  The truck driver, as a favor to my brother in law, would stop in Crowley, Louisiana and pick up wild crawfish at cost!  We did this dozens of times and I had no idea, how lucky we were! Over the past 20 years crawfish have become Lobsters of the Bayou!  Last weekend I picked up a sack...

Paul Prudhomme popularized the blackening process.  The process of heating a black iron skillet to very hot and quickly cooking meat coated with his signature spices most of the time with butter.  The theory was the thick coating of spices would quickly caramelize protecting the meat and creating a delicious outer crust.  I have been blackening both fish and meat for many years.  I always blacken meats outdoors because of the huge smoke cloud the process created.  Recently I ordered blackened beef tenderloin at Prudhomme's restaurant, K-Pauls', in New Orleans and it was delicious! The spice mixture I used on the steaks pictured was as follows:  granulated garlic, granulated onion, freshly ground tellicherry pepper corns and pink Himalayan sea salt.  I used about 1/3 of a stick of Kerrigold butter.  Enjoy!

Paul Prudhomme was the king of blackening fish.  His blackened red fish brought the red fish to the brink of extinction!  Well maybe not that extreme, but it was bad.  If all of Prudhomme's methods are done correctly, in a residential setting, you have to do it outside.  The cloud of smoke will run you out of the house. It has been raining constantly for 4 days and I was looking for an opportunity to blacken the cod outdoors.  I needed to get them cooked, so I modified the method and it turned out great! I rinsed the fillets and patted dry.  I sprinkled granulated garlic, granulated onion, fresh cracked black pepper, pink Himalayan sea salt and sweet organic paprika. both sides.  I put them all in a black iron skillet and put the heat on low.  I put a few tablespoons of grass-fed butter in the skillet with the fillets until it completely melted. I then removed from the heat and carefully dipped the top of each fillet in the butter. I pre...

First off, you have to have a very hot fire!  I like a hardwood fire because it adds exceptional flavor. If it was not for the added depth of flavor, I'd cook my steaks on a cast iron skillet all the time! A fire suitable for cooking steaks should literally engulf the meat in fire the second it hits the grate. A couple or 3 minutes on each side and you will have a dark crust and a rare, tender, succulent steak!