Friends that you make along the way.........
You make all sorts of friends along the way when you are involved with food. Recently I found myself at a show next to a booth for Papa Joes Salt ably presented by the company owner, Michelle Pringle. We got to talking and I found that Michelle, a school teacher, had the industrious nature to take her grandfather's (Papa Joe) family condiment and seasoning recipe public with a wonderful product she proudly named Papa Joes Salt. I tasted some of her food samples at the show and immediately bought the product. I took it home and tested some of my recipes using Papa Joes in them. Wow! What pop! The product is so good I decided with Michelles permission to endorse it and publish my recipes right here. You can get your very own jar of Papa Joes Salt by clicking on the link to her website shown below.
Here are some recipes you can try out using Papa Joes. There are other recipe ideas on Michelles website:
Herb Coated Pan-Seared Tenderloin
Ingredients for 8 Servings:
8 beef tenderloin steaks (each about 1 inch thick)
2 TBSP finely chopped fresh Rosemary, stems removed
2 TBSP Papa Joes Salt
ground black pepper
3/4 cup finely chopped parsley
3 TBSP dried sage leaves
1 cup fresh chopped basil leaves
4 minced garlic cloves
10 large dollops of Dijon mustard & extra-virgin olive oil
Sauce:
2 TBSP Butter
1 cup red wine
2 large dollops of Dijon mustard
Extra Papa Joes Salt and ground black pepper seasoning
Instructions:
Garnish: Chop and mix the parsley, sage, rosemary, basil, minced garlic and 1 TBSP Papa Joes Salt. Slightly thin 10 dollops of Dijon mustard with extra-virgin olive oil in a bowl. Using Papa Joes Salt, lightly salt and pepper both sides of the raw beef. Coat the edge of steak all the way around in mustard thinned with oil and roll its edges in the chopped garnish. Cover and refrigerate coated steaks until ready to cook.
Cooking Beef: Over medium-high heat, heat one or two skillets (use no oil). Quickly place all eight steaks into the hot pan(s) and sear them on side one for four minutes. Turn once. Sear on second side for four minutes. Remove all from pan and set aside on a fresh plate. Juices will collect on the plate and will be used in the sauce. These steaks will be rare to medium rare when served. If anyone requires a medium steak (5 min per side) or well-done steak (5-1/2 min per side), increase the cooking time.
Sauce: Leave empty skillets on medium-high heat, immediately deglaze the pan(s) with the cup of red wine. Scrape pan(s) with a wooden spoon to hasten deglazing. Combine the contents into one pan. Reduce the volume of the wine by half, add two large dollops of mustard. Pour into the wine and mustard any juices that have come off of the steaks and collected on the plate. Heat and whisk thoroughly. Add butter. Gently stir until warm. Season lightly with Papa Joes Salt.
Plating:
Plate one filet on a large flat dinner plate. Spoon two tablespoons of warm sauce over the filet. Serve with a side of flavored red rice and/or roasted vegetables.
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Low Country Red Rice
Ingredients for 8 servings:
4 slices bacon, sliced into 1 inch pieces
2 cups uncooked rice
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (16 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 red bell pepper; chopped finely
1 green bell pepper; chopped finely
1 tsp Papa Joes Salt
ground black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp sugar
Instructions:
Chop onion. Chop red and green peppers. Slice bacon into 1 inch pieces. Reserve.
Use a large saute pan that has a tight-fitting cover. Over medium heat fry the bacon until brown (do not drain the bacon fat). When the bacon is mostly rendered, add the dry rice. Stir well coating all of the rice with bacon grease and continue to cook and stir until bacon crisps.
Push the rice and bacon to the edge of the pan and fry the chopped onion in the center of the pan. Stir frequently until the onion is transparent (about 5 minutes).
Add the canned tomatoes and an extra can of water to the pan. Add chopped green and red peppers to the pan. Bring to a boil. Stir in 1 tsp of Papa Joes Salt, a few dashes of black pepper and 1/2 tsp of sugar. Stir well and cover the pan with the tight-fitting lid. Reduce heat to lowest setting and simmer for 20 minutes until rice is done and water is fully absorbed.
In true Low Country fashion, do not stir or otherwise disturb the rice during the 20 minutes of simmering. If there is still loose water in the pan after 20 minutes allow the rice to cook uncovered for a few minutes longer while the water reduces down and is absorbed by the rice. Stir well and taste before serving. Season with Papa Joes Salt and ground black pepper to taste; then serve.
Plating:
Plate with tenderloin steak.
Spicy Sausage and Potato Soup
Ingredients for 8 Servings:
2 tsp Papa Joes Salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 large white onion; finely chopped
4 large starchy potatoes; peeled and medium diced
2 quarts of chicken broth
1-1/2 TBSP vanilla
3/4 cup fresh parsley; chopped
1-1/2 lbs Italian sweet sausage meat, remove the sausage casings
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1/2 stick butter; Softened and cut into chunks
1 TBSP flour
1 quart heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan-Reggiano
Instructions:
Peel and dice potatoes. Chop onion and parsley. Remove sausage meat from casing.
In a large stockpot add potatoes, onion, chicken broth and half of the parsley (save some parsley for use as garnish). On high heat, bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Add Papa Joes Salt, ground black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until all vegetables become tender but not soft.
While the vegetables cook in stockpot, in a separate saute pan, over medium-low heat, slowly cook the sausage meat. Drain the fat away a few times during the cooking to allow some good brown caramelized sausage bits to form on the bottom of the pan. When the vegetables in the stockpot are tender, drain the fat away from the sausage one more time. Pour 1/2 cup of the heated chicken broth/stock into the pan to deglaze. Scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the sausage pan and pour the sausage and the deglazing liquid into the soup.
In a separate bowl mix cream and flour well so all of the flour is dissolved. Add it to the soup and sausage mixture and cook until soup thickens. Then stir in the butter, vanilla and balsamic vinegar. Simmer soup another 10 minutes. Taste. Add more Papa Joes Salt to taste.
Plating:
Plate in large soup bowls. When you ladle the soup, dig down in the pot to get sausage and vegetables in each bowl. Then go back and top off each bowl with more soup. Garnish with grated parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. Serve hot!
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Risotto Parmesan with Porcini Mushrooms
Ingredients for 8 Servings:
2 quarts of mushroom (preferred) or vegetable stock
4 oz dried porcinis (look for these in produce department, Portabella can be substituted)
1 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
1 TBSP butter
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry Sherry
12 sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 cup grated Parmesan-Reggiano
1-1/2 tsp Papa Joes Salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions:
If Portabella mushrooms are substituted, wash them well. Place mushrooms and stock or broth in a saucepan and bring stock to a boil. Add 1 tsp Papa Joes Salt and 1/2 tsp ground black pepper. Stir in well. Reduce heat to low and leave stock simmering. Strain mushrooms from stock, cover the saucepan and continue simmering the stock. Coarsely chop the porcinis (Portabella) and reserve.
Chop the shallots. On a burner right next to the simmering stock, use a large skillet to heat oil and butter over medium-high heat. Add chopped shallots and saute 2 minutes. Add Arborio rice. Stir rice well to coat with oil and butter. Saute, 2 minutes more. Add sherry and cook until the liquid is completely absorbed. Add several ladles of hot stock (no mushrooms at this time) and reduce heat to medium. Simmer uncovered, stirring frequently until liquid is absorbed. As soon as the liquid is absorbed, ladle half of the remaining hot stock into the rice. Repeat this step of adding half of the remaining stock each time after the liquid is absorbed by the rice. Stir mixture each time you add broth and remove from heat when the rice is cooked to al dente. Taste it to be sure the rice is firm to the bite but not hard. There may be some unused stock left over. Cool and store any remaining liquids if there are any. The ideal total cooking time for perfect risotto once you put the rice in the pan is 22 minutes. The consistency should be creamy. Chop the leaves from 4 sprigs of fresh thyme and stir into rice with 1/4 cup of grated cheese and the chopped mushrooms. Season risotto with added Papa Joes Salt and pepper to taste.
Plating:
Serve as a main course or side dish with grated Parmesan-Reggiano on the table to add to taste. Garnish with thyme sprigs.
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Classic Greek Salad
Ingredients for 8 Servings:
2 large heads Romaine lettuce
1 small red onion; very thinly sliced
8 ounces cracked and pitted black olives; preferably Kalamata
1 green bell pepper; chopped
1 red bell pepper; chopped
3 large tomatoes; chopped
2 small or one large cucumber; sliced (small ones have fewer seeds)
1 cup crumbled feta cheese (ready crumbled with extra spices already added is okay)
4 pieces of pita bread; quartered
Dressing Ingredients:
3/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp Papa Joes Salt
1 tsp dried oregano
2 lemons; juiced
ground black pepper to taste
Instructions:
Rinse and dry the lettuce in advance and allow it to dry completely so it will be crispy. Reserve 8 whole leaves from the head for use on the plate to hold tossed salad. Chop the rest of the 2 heads just before serving.
Assemble the non-lettuce ingredients and the dressing, well in advance to allow them to marinate in the refrigerator. Slice onion and cucumbers. Chop peppers and tomatoes. In a large bowl, combine the sliced onion, pitted olives, bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, and feta cheese. In a separate bowl, whisk together the olive oil, papa Joes Salt, oregano, lemon juice and black pepper. Pour half of the dressing on the chopped ingredients, toss, cover and place bowl in refrigerator to marinate until ready to complete and serve salad. Reserve other half of dressing at room temperature until just before serving.
When ready to serve, reserve 8 whole pieces of lettuce for plate garnish. Chop the rest of the Romaine lettuce and place in a large salad bowl with other marinated ingredients. Be sure the bowl is large enough to toss the salad well after the rest of the dressing is added. Re-whisk the remaining dressing and pour over salad; toss thoroughly and plate.
Plating:
For plate presentation, place one large romaine lettuce leaf on a salad plate (trim to provide just a slight overlapping of the plate. Place a serving of the dressed, tossed salad onto the trimmed leaf and serve with pita bread cut into quarters. |
Greek Olive Crusted Salmon
Ingredients for 8 Servings:
8 six-ounce salmon fillets (or other fish as desired)
1 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
16 ounces cracked, pitted and sliced Kalamata black olives
Topping Ingredients:
1/2 lb Manouri cheese; cut into small cubes (substitute: Kasseri cheese)
1/2 lb feta cheese; cut into small cubes
1 large or 2 small red onions; chopped
1 TBSP Papa Joes Salt
4 TBSP chopped fresh thyme
3 TBSP chopped fresh oregano
3 TBSP chopped roasted garlic
2 TBSP chopped capers
1/2 bunch fresh parsley
Instructions:
Peel 2 heads of garlic and slice cloves lengthwise in half. Heat oil in a pan at moderate to medium heat and add the garlic. Watch the pan and stir to make sure the garlic does not burn. As pieces of garlic turn golden brown on all sides remove them from the oil and place them on a paper towel to drain until all of the garlic is done. This pan roasted garlic will be used as part of the topping ingredients and as a plating garnish.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Chop, cube and combine all of the topping ingredients (except bread crumbs and olives). Remember to keep some garlic, capers and herbs in reserve for the garnish. Slice most of the olives and reserve for assembling salmon topping. Save 16 whole olives for plate garnish.
Assembling topping on salmon: Grease a large baking pan and equally space the 8 salmon fillets in the pan. Equally divide the topping into eight portions and pat each portion onto each fillet. Sprinkle the sliced olives onto the topping, and then sprinkle the bread crumbs onto the olives. Lightly press down the bread crumbs and olives. The topped salmon can be covered and stored in the refrigerator ahead of time and brought out when it is time to cook in the oven.
Bake the fillets for 15 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees. While the bread crumbs should be a golden brown in 20 minutes, you want to be sure that the fish is not overcooked. If the crust does not brown in 20 minutes and to preserve the moistness and tenderness of the fish, you may lightly brown the top crust under a broiler for 1 minute or less rather than continuing baking it in the oven longer than 20 minutes.
Plating:
Plate the fillet over the Spanakorizo. Place two generous piles of Spanakorizo, slightly separated, in the center of the plate. Place the salmon between the two piles of Spanakorizo. Garnish the edges of each plate with olives, capers, roasted garlic, freshly chopped thyme and oregano and a sprig or two of parsley.
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