December 30, 2010

Collard Greens & Pork Soup

INGREDIENTS...
DIRECTION...

2 ounces salt pork or pork jowl, cut into 1/4" x 1/4" x 1" strips
     Place a 6 qt stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
     Fry the salt pork for a few minutes to release fat & liquid.
     The pork bits are called "lardons". Remove & reserve.
3 pork chops (bone in preferred!)
     sear chops on both sides. allow to cool. Remove bones & reserve bones & meat.
1 large onion, large dice (3/4 inch)
2 ribs celery, diced
2 large carrots, diced
     add, saute until onion is translucent
2 cloves garlic
     add, stir in well, don't let it get too dark
2 large bunches of collard greens, well-washed, shredded* (or 2 bags chopped, pre-washed)
     stir in chopped greens, until wilted
3-4 quarts fresh water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
     add just enough water to cover the contents of the pot.
     Add half of the lardons.
     Also add the bones from the pork chops, if there were any.
     Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for at least 30 minutes. The amount of time will vary with how young & tender the greens were to start with.
     Test for doneness of greens - they should be very tender!
1 (15 ounce) can navy beans, drained, rinsed **
     Remove bones from the soup
     Dice the reserved pork chops, and add to the soup.
     Stir in beans, and heat through, approx 5 more minutes.

Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle a few crispy lardons on top, and a drizzle of 3-2-1 sauce. Serve with crusty bread or fresh cornbread.


3-2-1 sauce
----------
1 tablespoon of prepared red chili. I like the Lee Kum Kee stuff that comes in 4 oz jars.
2 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoon cider vinegar
mix together & serve with soup.

JoAnna Minneci, http://ChefJoAnna.com/

* lay out leaves flat, use a knife to cut out ribs, then arrange into layers. Roll up into a huge cigar shape, and cut cigar lengthwise down the middle. Stack the two sides and slice into 1/2" strips.

** of course you can soak and simmer your own dried beans, but I'd be so proud of you if you made soup in the first place I can forgive you for opening a can of prepared beans. <3 Technorati Tags: Chef JoAnna is a and who's starting a in

June 21, 2010

where ya been?

I don't do stuff like foursquare or brightkite , but if i did, you'd have seen me checking in from some interesting places of the past three weeks!

Kelly's work took him to Salzburg, Austria... but we opted to make a vacation out of it, since his airfare would be paid for. We went to Frankfurt, Germany for two days, took a train through Munich to Salzburg, Austria spent a week there, and then took another train through Innsbruck, and went to Verona, Italy for another week. Finally, we took a quick train to Milan for a day, before flying out from Malpensa, IT.

Kelly and I drove to Atlanta to fly out of the airport there, so we could get a direct flight. Four hours in the car wins easily over several hours trapped in an airport trying to make a connecting flight! The bonus, of course, is that Atlanta is also the home of the closest IKEA I got to get some more stuff for my kitchen there.

My camera suffered from the curse of the Duomo in milan (the one snapshot of the famous church was the last my camera ever recorded!) and although it was a great camera, I imagine it will be more expensive to repair it than replace it. The photos are safe, tho, on removable media.

Now that we're home, though, I'm eager to settle in and start doing cooking lessons and working on the restaurant. As soon as i get a camera that works again, I'll upload the whole journal and the corresponding photo & video. We ate well, and looking at photos & reading my descriptions will be a good way to experience that again, without the calories!

Technorati Tags: Chef JoAnna is a and who's starting a in

May 04, 2010

Mockingbird Acres: New photos! Virtual open house!

Hi, everyone!

Despite the rain and tornado watches, the open house did actually take place on May 1st.

(by the way, we’re far enough south from Nashville that we’re not suffering any effects of flooding at all, not to mention we’re at quite an elevation up here.)

I’ve finally taken photos of the dining room, including the newest addition, “Cabinetzilla Jr.”   Consider this a virtual open house... Please take a peek and let me know what you think!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mockingbirdacres/

JoAnna

January 31, 2010

Photos of the ice storm, as seen from Prospect, TN

Hi, everyone!

We’ve survived the weather here, luckily not having to endure any power outages or lack of telephone service.

Today the sun is shining brightly, and the sparkling ice lining every single pine needle, twig and branch is catching the light and making a gorgeous display.  

Kelly just blogged about it, including some photos of the ice storm, as seen from our house.

(http://MockingbirdAcres.blogspot.com)

JoAnna


January 24, 2010

[[ Mockingbird Acres ]] It's too early to get eggs!

Kelly’s written a new blog entry, so here’s a reminder to check out the blog.

By the way, I’m not sure if I’d posted an announcement to this in a while, so you might scroll back and read a few earlier entries.

http://MockingbirdAcres.blogspot.com

Hope you’re all well!

JoAnna