Thursday, December 15, 2011

Hearty Beef (Venison) Soup

Hearty Beef (Venison) Soup

by Sonny Ithipathachai on Tuesday, December 28, 2010 at 1:31pm
It's cold outside, very cold, and Mother Nature just dumped 10-12" of snow on good ol'Wilson, NC.  We're not used to seeing that kind of snow in Eastern NC.  So this is a great recipe to warm the bones after you've had enough playing in the snow and cold.


Ingredients:

1 Can Sweet Corn (use the whole can, water and all)

! Can diced tomatoes

2 table spoon diced garlic (store bought diced garlic is just fine)

6 pieces of bacon

6 Cups of 1" cubed flank steak, or venison ham (brown this as much as possible before adding to soup)

2 lb. of ground beef, or ground venison

6 stalks of celery (diced 1/2" thick)

2 medium size yellow onion

4-6 stalks of carrots (diced 1" thick)

4-6 medium size red potatoes

1/3 cup liquid smoke (hickory flavor)

1/2 cup wostershire sauce

1/2 cup of soy sauce (add more to taste)

1 table spoon black pepper.

1 table spoon rose mary

Get your skillet as hot as possible and drop in some vegetable oil, (two table spoons), spread the oil evenly in the pan.  Drop in the meat and let brown.  Do not move the meat much and let it sear.  Do not let the meat cook for over 2 minutes.  Flip the meat and try to brown as much as you can.  If you cook the venison too long, water will come out of the meat and it will turn gray.  It is important to sear the meat.  Put the meat, and drippings into a Dutch oven, or slow cooker.  I prefer the slow cooker.

Dice carrots 1" in length, dice celery 1/2" in length, dice onions very small.  Cut potatoes into 1 1/2" cubes.  Put all into the slow cooker.  Add all the ingredients and put on low heat for 6 hours.  Add the 2 lb. of ground beef directly to the soup and mix well.  Cook for another 4-6 hours.  Add water if needed.  Taste to see if it needs some crushed red peppers for added spice.

If you want to turn this into a stew, just dissolve some corn starch in cold water and add gradually until it thickens.

Serve hot, with a healthy heaping of grated Colby jack or sharp cheddar cheese and oyster crackers.

Chew Slowly and Enjoy.

Yum Neu "Thai Beef Salad"

Yum Neu "Thai Beef Salad"

by Sonny Ithipathachai on Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at 5:00pm
This is an awesome cold dish.  Yum Neu is "Beef Salad", but you can also make Yum Gai "Chicken", Yum "Hotdog", Yum Ta Lay "Seafood Salad".  This dish is very similar to cerviche.

Meat:  London broil, or any lean cheap cut of beef.  Alternatives are: chicken, sausage, hotdogs, shrimp, and mixed seafood.

Preparation:  I like to broil the meat on high with lots of Montreal Seasoning on both sides.  The trick is to have the middle raw to pink.  It doesn't matter that the meat is a little raw because like cerviche, the lime juice will cook the meat as well.

Ingredients:  Sliced red onions, sliced roma tomatoes, sliced cucumber, sliced green onions, 3 diced jalapeño, chopped cilantro, fresh lime juice from 4-5 large limes, fish sauce, sugar, coarse salt, a dash of MSG (optional).  MSG gives lots of people headaches if used too much, but to definitely enhance the flavors of a dish.  Just use it sparingly.  It goes called "Accent" in the grocery store.

Tip:  It is best to taste the raw jalapeño first.  Some jalapeño peppers are hot and some are not.  You don't know until you bite into one, so it's best to know what you're dealing with before you end up adding too much to the dish.

Doin The Deed:  Once the meat is done, trim off any excess fat.  Slice it as thin as possible against the grain.  This will make it tender.  Set the meat aside.  Slice all your vegetables.  Using a large bowl, mix in veggies and meat, add 1 table spoon fish sauce, 1 table spoon sugar, and dried chili powder.  Mix well with both of your hands, this is the best way to get a good mix.  Taste and make sure it's not too bland.  Once everything taste balanced, put the dish in the fridge for two hours or to sit overnight.

The longer this dish sits, the better the flavors.  This dish is eaten cold with a good healthy heaping of Jasmine rice.  Very easy to make, and is perfect for those warm summer days.

Chew slowly and enjoy.

Tom Yum Goong "Lemon grass Shrimp Soup"

Tom Yum Goong "Lemon grass Shrimp Soup"

by Sonny Ithipathachai on Friday, September 24, 2010 at 4:44pm

 Lemon Grass Shrimp Soup:

This is absolutely my all time favorite dishes in Thailand.  Everywhere I go in Thailand, I will order this soup.  Each place makes it a little different, but it’s basically the same.  The smell that comes from the soup will overload the senses.  Done right, it should be tangy, hot, sour, and addictive.  The ingredient to make this soup are much harder to come by, so you will have to look around a bit to get all the ingredients.  By far, when people find out I cook Thai food..this is the # 1 request for soups.

Healthy Food Article
Can a soup fight cancer? If it's a Thai favorite called Tom Yung Gung, the answer just might be yes.
Made with shrimp, coriander, lemongrass, ginger, and other herbs and spices used in Thai cooking, the soup was found to possess properties 100 times more effective than other antioxidants in inhibiting cancerous-tumor growth.
Researchers at Thailand's Kasetsart University and Japan's Kyoto and Kinki Universities became interested in the soup's immune-boosting qualities after noticing that the incidence of digestive tract and other cancers was lower in Thailand than in other countries.
Many common Thai spices have feel-great benefits, our judges point out. Ginger aids in digestion, turmeric is an anti-inflammatory, and lemongrass has long been used in Asian medicine to help treat colds and ease tummy troubles.


Meat:  Fresh (heads-on, or heads off) shrimp.  I prefer heads on because it makes the soup flavor more intense.  Restaurants serve it with heads off, as not to offend the customer.  Most Westerners prefer their food not stare at them at the dinner table.

(Optional) Sometimes we go in the grocery store and see this mix bag thing.  It's got squid, octopus tentacles, shrimp, scallops, etc. in it.  Buy it!  Throw it in the soup and eat it!  It's good!  Tilapia is a great fish for soups as well.

Soup Stock:  The easiest way to do this is buy two cans of chicken broth.  The harder and tastier way is to make your own chicken broth, or seafood broth from fish heads.  O.K. that sounds gross, but wow the flavor is awesome!  I'm giving you options people.

Spices:  Lemon Grass, look for freshness, no discoloration.  Smell it!  It should smell good.  You will not use the outer layers, and don't eat it!  It's just used for flavoring.  Cut the lemon grass into 2" long pieces and down the middle.  Kalanga, again this stuff is expensive and hard to find.  Kalanga looks like ginger root but is much bigger and rounder.  You can use about 4 slices per soup, and again you don't eat it.  Kiffir Lime Leaf is very hard to find.  This is like two leaves on one stem.  It's funny looking and doesn't look like anything here in the West.  Take it and rip it apart into small pieces to intensify the flavor, again we don't eat this stuff...it just makes the soup smell great.  Jalapeño or Thai peppers to taste.  Some like it four stars, some like it one star.  Dried chili pepper puts some kick in it too.  Must have Tom Yum Shrimp Paste.

Fish Sauce, sugar, and this is a must (FRESH lime juice).  I use about 4 whole limes or lemons for each soup, sometimes more.  A trick is to put the lemon/lime in the microwave for about 1 minute.  Take it out and roll the palm of your hand on the lime pressed against a cutting board, when you slice it, the juices will come off easier.  Knorr vegetable soup mix....just a pinch.

Veggies:  Fresh diced tomatoes, and fresh sliced mushrooms, thinly sliced onions.

Doin the Deed:  I bring the two 12 oz. cans of broth to a boil and throw in two heaping tablespoons of Tom Yum Shrimp Paste in.  Mix it well.  Put in two table spoons of fish sauce, 4 lime juice, 1 to 2 table spoon sugar, 1/4 salt, pepper, and all the leaves, lemon grass, and galanga.  Boil for about 1 to 2 minutes to get the ingredients mixed.

Next, turn off the heat or turn it down as low as possible for adding the seafood.  There is nothing I hate more than over cooked seafood.  It doesn't take long for seafood to cook.  Mix in the tomatoes, fresh mushrooms, Knorr mix, and onion slices now.  Keep mixing and watching...once the shrimp turns pink...take it off the heat.  Throw some sliced green onions and cilantro for looks, and you're done.  The soup doesn't have to boil to be done.  Taste and check for balance.

I eat this from a bowl and throw in some Jasmine rice for good measure.  It should be tangy, sweet, sour, salty, and all around good...Flavors are more intense the next day...if you can keep from eating it all the 1st day.

Thai Curry Dish

Thai Curry Dish

by Sonny Ithipathachai on Friday, September 24, 2010 at 4:02pm

Thai Curry:



I just got back from Southern California to see my best friend Brian Lay.  He asked me to make a Thai dinner party for him and I noticed there were a little bit of left overs, but NO Thai curry left over at all.  I think someone might have even licked the bowl, so now I will write and post this information and recipe here for you to cook and enjoy at home.

Thai cooking is simple and basically country cooking.  It's the ingredients that sets it apart and makes it taste fresh and healthy.  It is distinctive in that it balances the flavors of sweet, sour, hot, and salty all at the same time.  The most important part of Thai cooking is tasting while you're cooking and to never add too much!

Curry:  Curry can be red, green, or yellow.  The red curry is the hottest and most intense.  Yellow and green are much milder.  You can buy all of these curries at a decent Asian market.  It will come in paste form, and you only have to use it sparingly.  This is by far the easiest way to make a curry dish.  It can come in a large container, or even a small packet.

Meats:  A curry dish has strong flavors and is not subtle.  You can use sliced chicken, pork, beef, and seafood.  Always remember to slice the meat thin, so it will cook quickly.  You can mix a combination of meats as well.

Vegetables: I primarily will use canned bamboo shoots and straw mushrooms in my curries.  I might also add fresh green beans, sliced tomatoes, and sliced onions.  I know this is not completely traditional, and it has been mentioned to me by my cousin that "real" Thai curry doesn't have some of the ingredients I use.  So what's, I'm making it up as I go along.  I will also use thinly sliced red bell peper for appearance, as well as green onions, garlic, hot peppers, and cilantro.

Sauces:  Salt, Sugar, Fish Sauce, ground chili peppers, canned coconut milk. (Fish sauce stinks, and most Western nose are not used to it, but it is a staple in Thailand.  You can use soy sauce, but it's not as authentic.  Fish sauce has no smell when it's cooked in the food)

Preparation:  Heat up a sauce pan on medium heat, put in some oil and two big table spoons of curry paste.  Add three to 5 cloves of thinly diced garlic.  Keep stirring with a wooden spoon to brown the garlic.  You will get a very strong smell all over your house, so close the doors to your bedrooms.  Never let the garlic get black because it will be bitter.  Just keep stirring until it turns a nice golden brown.

Once this is done, you can put in two cans of coconut milk and reduce the heat.  The coconut milk will give this dish a very rich and creamy texture.  Keep stirring and mix everything well.

Next add the canned bamboo shoots, onions, and straw mushrooms.  Keep mixing.  I would use about two thinly sliced chicken breast for a two can coconut milk curry dish.  Add the chicken, and again lower the heat to medium/low.  I will barely let the curry boil.  Put the lid on the sauce pan and cook for approximately 2 minutes.  Check to see if the meat is cooked.  Now add in the hot peppers, 1 to 2 table spoon fish sauce, a teaspoon of salt, table spoon sugar, chili powder to taste.  Taste the curry to see if there is balance and adjust as needed.

Mix well.  To finish this off, you will add the tomatoes, green onions, and chopped cilantro last.  Also throw in some fresh Thai Basil.  Turn off the heat and serve over a bed of Jasmine rice.

Note:  The curry dish will intensify the longer you cook it, or leave it in the fridge.  I actually like eating the curry the next day after leaving in the fridge because the spices and ingredients mix well when the dish has cooled down.

Seafood Delight

Seafood Delight

by Sonny Ithipathachai on Thursday, February 18, 2010 at 9:36am
This is one of my all time favorites because I love seafood.

Ingredients:

1 Quart of high fat chicken stock. I usually keep the water from chicken that I par boil and reduce it...almost like demiglace.

1 package of Black mussels

1 package of "baby squid" whole. I cut these into halves

1 whole large onion "chopped"

5 carrots "chopped"

1 can of Hentz herbs and garlic tomato sauce

1 cup to Texas Pete

5 clery stalks "chopped"

1 lb. shrimp "peeled"

1 lb. of fish of your choice (almost any fish will do) no bones

2 cups of chopped sweat peppers mixed with hot peppers

ACTION: Bring the chicken stock to a boil. Put in all the chopped vegetables. Add all the meat and boil for about 10 minutes. Add the sauce, Texas Pete, and put on low....simmer for another 10 minutes. Serve this over pasta...spaghetti or linguini does great. Roll up your sleeves and dig in

Liver and Onions Recipe (Awesome)

Liver and Onions Recipe (Awesome)

by Sonny Ithipathachai on Friday, October 30, 2009 at 11:24am
I used deer liver, but I guess you can substitute calves liver or beef liver for this recipe.

1 large liver sliced against the grain 1/2" thick.

1 beaten egg

House Autrey Spicey seafood batter

Corn starch (add 1/4 to seafood batter)

Old Bay Seasoning (add 1/2 table spoon)

Milk

1 Large White Onion

Cilantro

Heavy sweet Soy Sauce

4 Large sweet peppers

2 Jalepeno peppers

Olive Oil

Instructions: Soak the liver overnight or two hours in milk (plastic bag)
beat an egg in a bowl. Mix seafood batter, a little corn starch, and Old Bay in another bowl (To taste).

Put your skillet on Med-High, add a table spoon of olive oil, dredge the liver through the egg and coat with the batter. Fry on each side for approximately 2 minutes. Remove and place all the liver on a plate to cool.

Clean out the skillet. Put another 2 table spoon of olive oil in the pan, use Med-High heat, and begin to sautee sliced onion and peppers for 4 minutes. Add two table spoons of heavy sweet soy sauce. Stir fry now.

Onions should start to carmelize with the added soy sauce. Throw in the cooked liver and plenty of cilantro, stir fry and cover for another 4 minutes.

Serve over white rice, and add white pepper gravy as an option. Use a little bit of A-1 to dip the liver in. Awesome taste and texture....chew slow and enjoy.

Taco, Rice & Cheese!

Taco, Rice & Cheese! Yeah, it's back baby!
by Sonny Ithipathachai on Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 4:40pm
While I was a young Marine stationed in Okinawa Japan, I was introduced to late night 3:00 to 4:00 a.m. hang over food. This was usually TRC (Taco Rice & Cheese), Yaki-Soba, and or Yaki-Tori. Taco Rice & Cheese has become a traditional favorite of my kids, and is flexible and can take on many flavors.

Ingredients: 1 lb. ground beef cooked and seasoned with Taco mix.

2 cups cooked white rice, or brown rice for you health nuts.

8 to 12 oz. mexican cheese, or even mozzarella cheese (as long as it's cheesy)

Directions: spray some butter non-stick into a casero pan. Put in white rice evenly about 2"
to 3" high. Next layer the ground beef. Next spread the cheese over the
ground beef evenly. Bake in the oven at 350 F. Watch carefully, and wait until
until the cheese is slightly burned...to golden brown.

How to Eat: Cut out square pie wedges out and put on a plate. On Okinawa we alway used
Soy sauce, ketchup, and Texas Pete to flavor the TRC. Take your fork and mix
well. Savor the flavor. TRC picks up more flavor after it's stored in the fridge
for the next day.

The way I do it here in the U.S. I put freshly chopped tomatoes, sweet onions,
green onions, chopped avacado, jalepeno peppers, and corn on top. You can
all kinds of things on TRC to enhance the basic meaty, cheesy, and filling rice
concoction. This is truely a terrific EAST meets WEST dish. Been eating for 20
years.

Additional Note: Adding black beans to TRC gives an almost Cuban kinda flavor. Please
experiment with TRC, I've even added crushed Fritto's....made it like
Fritto Pies, like back in my Jr. High days.


Chew Slowly and enjoy.

Tangy Teriyaki Dry Ribs

 Slow cooking and low indirect heating is the key.  These were on the grill for 2 and a half hours.  Put them over the coals for the last touch and carmelization.



Tangy Teriyaki Dry Ribs

by Sonny Ithipathachai on Thursday, June 18, 2009 at 2:42pm
Ingredients:

Weber charcoal grill

1 rack of pork ribs

Montreal Seasoning

Vinegar

Wostershire Sauce

Heavy Sweet Soy Sauce

Oyster Sauce

Crushed chopped garlic

Sugar

Kikoman's soy sauce

How To: 1st trim off as much fat as you can off the ribs. In a shallow pan mix in equal parts of soy sauce, vinegar, and wostershire sauce for a marinade. Put in fridge overnight.

Start up a good amount of coals for the grill. This may take 10-15 minutes with a coal flue starter. I use a metal container that accepts paper in the bottom to avoid charcoal lighter fluids. Once the coals are ready, dump them in the far side of the grill.

Take the ribbs out of the fridge and press on Montreal seasoning on both sides of the ribbs. Place the ribbs on the opposite side of the coals. Put the lid on and position the exhaust hole right above the ribbs. The goal is to cook with indirect heat. Cover the grill and cook for 1 hour.

Start preparing the Oyster sauce, garlic, sugar, soy sauce in a mixing bowl. At the one hour mark, brush on the Oyster sauce mixture onto the ribbs. Do this for both sides. Cover the ribbs and let cook another hour. Total cook time should be between 2 hours and 2 1/2 hours. Remove from grill, chew slowly and enjoy.

Venison Heart Fried Rice

Venison Heart Fried Rice

by Sonny Ithipathachai on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 11:24am
Venison Heart Fried Rice: O.K. this is not for the "picky" eaters. Cut the heart out, open up the chambers and get all the blood out. Cut out the valves, they are tough. Now remember it kinda sounds gross to eat heart, but it's really just a muscle like anything else. Put the heart in a sauce pan, cover with water and boil slowly.

Ingredients: 4-6 cups of prepared white rice. Cooked in a steamer, and set in the fridge overnight.

2 cups finely chopped onions

1 cup finely chopped carrots

4 tablespoon of heavy sweet soy sauce, just regular soy will do

2 tablespoon of finely chopped garlic.

1 tablespoon of sugar

2 eggs

4 tablespoon of olive oil, or asian sesamee seed oil

1 cup of red or orange bell pepper finely chopped.

1/2 tablespoon of white pepper (black pepper will do)

Assembly: After slow boiling the heart for 30-45 minutes, drain, wash, and let cool overnight in fridge.
slice the heart in small bits, or very thin slices. Set aside in bowl.

Using a frying pan heat up your oil on medium to medium-high. drop in the garlic, wait 1 minute and let the garlic brown, but NOT burn. Now add in all your hard vegetables (onions, bell peppers, carrots) stir fry for 2-minutes. Must hear the sizzling, move vegetables to the side, add a little oil and scramble two eggs in the middle.

Now throw in the rice and hearts with seasoning, pepper, soy sauce, and sugar. Stir fry, breaking all the rice lumps up, turn the rice over, and over. Cook for another 2-5 minutes.

Serve hot and enjoy with some Green Mint Tea.

Von and Sarah Favorite Deer Burger/Steak Burger Recipe

 


Von & Sarah's Favorite Venison/Steak Burgers

by Sonny Ithipathachai on Friday, June 5, 2009 at 10:53am
Ingredients:

Good Kieser rolls with seseme seeds

2 lb. ground venison

2 lb. 80/20 hamburger meat

(Note: The above can be substituted with high quality steak run through a meat grinder. Yes, it doesn't makes sense to put top quality steak in a grinder, but then it does makes sense. I'll explain later.)

1 package Lipton Onion Soup mix

Bread crums

1/2 chopped onions

Olive Oil

Chopped Garlic (four cloves)

Toppings of your choice

"How To:" In a large mixing bowl, mix equal parts of fatty hamburger and ground venison. Add Lipton Onion soup mix, onions, garlic, and 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Add a little bit of bread crums as well. Mix well.

When making the hand patties, you can make them 1" to 1.5" thick. Since the meat is very lean, it will not flame up on the grill, and cook through better than fatty meat. DO NOT press hard when making the patties, but just enough to keep the patties together.

Get the coals "hot" on the BBQ. Spray some Pam non-stick on first. Cook the patties for about 4-5 minutes on each side and on an open coal bed. Do not use lid to cover the burgers!

This will make a huge "I can't get my mouth around this thing burger." Stack it high with fresh sliced garden tomatoes, sweet onions, pickles, A-1 sauce, and lettuce. Put a long tooth pick in the middle to keep everything together as you pick it up with both hands. Serve with fries, and maybe some corn of the cobb if it's in season. This is my kids all time favorite recipe and they always ask me to make it for them!

(Note: Taking the best cut steak and putting through the grinder for this recipe is awesome! The steak burger does not have to be cooked as long on the grill (2-3 minutes per side), and can be safely eaten while a little pink in the middle. Its a steak in every bit! Unbelievable!) "Enjoy and chew slowly."

Carolina Caviar "Summer Bean Salad"

Carolina Caviar "Summer Bean Salad"

by Sonny Ithipathachai on Friday, June 5, 2009 at 2:48pm
Ingredients:

1 Can Black-eyed peas (must have this!) drained

1 Can Black Beans (drained)

1 Can Kidney Beans (drained)

1 Bunch Cilantro (finely chopped)

1 Bunch Parsley (finely chopped)

1 Bottle Zesty Italian Dressing (Do not skimp and get the cheap stuff)

4-10 cloves of Garlic (your preference) (diced)

1 Bell Pepper Red or Orange (diced)

4 Fresh Jalapeno peppers (diced) "optional"

1 Vidalia Onion (diced)

4 Roma Tomatoes (diced)

Short Small Pasta (2 cups cooked) macorroni or similar size

Lime Juice

Sugar

Salt

"How To:" Mix all the finely diced vegetables and beans together in a large mixing bowl and mix with a wooden spoon. All pieces should be of similar size to the beans, add Italian dressing, salt, sugar, lime juice to taste. Add in cooked pasta. Refrigerate overnight and serve chilled. This makes an excellent and healthy side dish for hot summer days. "Chew slowly and enjoy."

Summer Ice Cream Pie

Summer Ice Cream Pie

by Sonny Ithipathachai on Friday, June 5, 2009 at 1:32pm
Ingredients:

1 Box of gram crackers

1 Container of Bryer's French Vinilla Ice Cream

1 Bottle Hershey's Chocolate Shell

Crushed walnuts

Melted caramel cubes

Whipped Cream

"How to:" Take a shallow baking pan with two-inch sides. Crush the gram crakers and layer the bottom. Pour in a layer of melted caramel, add a couple of cups of diced walnuts, fill the remainder of the pan with 1.5" of vinilla ice cream, pour on a layer of Hershey's chocolate shell, put back in freezer to harden. Take out and cross hatch design with remaining caramel. Serve with a healthy does of Whipped cream on top. (Disclaimer: This recipe did NOT make the healthy list, but my kids enjoy it.)

Made this during my days working in an icecream shop.

"Blackened Redfish" Or Any Other Thick Fish

"Blackened Redfish" Or Any Other Thick Fish

by Sonny Ithipathachai on Friday, June 5, 2009 at 11:27am
Ingredients:

Thick filet Redfish, Tuna, Wahoo, Mahi Mahi, etc. that is at least 1/2" to 1" thick

Butter, or Olive Oil

Paul Prudone's Cajun Blackening Seasoning, Tony Catcher's Seafood Mix, or Ol'Bay

"How To:" This is an alternative to frying fish, but requires a large cast iron skillet, and a turkey fryer.

Get the skillet "white" hot, as hot as you possibly can. Always, always cook this outside, or it will smoke out your house. When the skillet is hot enough melt the butter. Don't get scared because it will catch on fire. Olive oil won't.

Season the filet on one side only and drop the seasoned side on the white hot skillet. Wait 2 minutes before flipping and do NOT press down on the fish steak. Flip the fish with one stroke. You will actually see the filet start to shrink if the pan is properly hot. Do not season both side, because this will make the fish too salty. I prefer my fish to be a little raw in the middle, so I don't keep it on as long.

Remove from skillet. Sprinkle on fresh cracked pepper, and squeeze a lime slice on top. This is a much healthier alternative to frying. "Chew slowly and enjoy."

Southern Fried Crappie Filets

Southern Fried Crappie Filets

by Sonny Ithipathachai on Friday, June 5, 2009 at 10:18am
Ingredients:

8 to 16 (bone removed) crappie filets, skins removed

House Autry Seafood flour (Must be House Autry, don't use anything esle)

Corn mix

1 plastic bag

Tony Catcher's Seafood Seasoning, or Ol'Bay Seasoning

Canola Oil for frying

Whole Milk or 2% Milk

"How To:" In a shallow marinating pan mix crappie filets and milk together. For those people that say they do not like fresh water fish, this will blow their socks off. The milk will get the lake water taste out of fresh water fish. Let filets soak in milk for about 1 day to two hours.

Put House Autry in the large plastic bag, use two to four table spoons of Corn meal. You want to have the corn meal to be about 1/4 to 1/6 of the total batter. The corn meal will give the batter a crispyness. Add the Ol'bay to taste. I like mine spicey so I use about 3 tablespoons. Shake up the bag before adding the filets to mix everything well.

Get your oil up to a minimum of 350 F, but not over 400 F. The grease has to be hot enough to fry the fish quickly, but not so hot that it will quickly burn the left over batter in the oil.

Drop your filets in the bag and shake vigorously, then drop the filets in the hot oil. Be careful of splashing oil, it hurts. Cook the fish for 2-3 minutes on each side. The filet should be a dark golden brown, but not too light in color. Remove filets and put on a plate with a paper towel to soak up the excess grease.

Serve "hot" with french fries, hush puppies, and a cold glass of beer. "Chew slowly and enjoy."

Venison Tenderlion With Bacon

Venison Tenderlion With Bacon

by Sonny Ithipathachai on Friday, June 5, 2009 at 10:00am
Ingredients:

1 large venison tenderlion, or beef tenderlion "Filet mignon"
1 package of thick sliced backon, enough for the amount of meat to be wrapped.
Worstershire sauce
Texas Pete "Hot Sauce"
Kikoman's Soy sauce
Regular sugar, or brown sugar
fresh garlic

"How-To": Cut the tenderlion into 1" to 1&1/2" thick slices and marinated with equal parts worstershire, hots sauce, and two table spoons of sugar. Do this in a bowl to taste. Use a shallow pan and put meat in the refridgerator for 1 day.

Remove the meat and put on a flat cutting board. Put fresh sliced garlic around the edge of the tenderlion, while wrapping the tenderlion with a strip of bacon to hold the garlic on. Do this tightly, then use toothpicks, "I prefer a metal skewer", to hold the bacon to the meat. The garlic should be sandwiched between the bacon and the tenderlion.

Cook on "Open flame" around 6-10 minutes on each side. I prefer cooking on coal, but if you have a gas grill that's O.K. too. Serve hot, next to a bed of Jasmine rice, and fresh steamed carrots or broccoli.
"Enjoy and chew slowly."