Rice Dressing

New Year's Day is not complete without this old Cajun French Menu,
Turkey, Pork or Beef Roast, Rice and Gravy, Rice Dressing, Cabbage Rolls, Black Eyed Peas, Yams, Potato Salad, and Rolls, not one pie, but three, Sweet Potato, Pumpkin and Fig or Cream Cheese Pie and a Coconut cake.

So here is my Rice Dressing Recipe which is very simple...

Ingredients:

1 lb of ground pork
1 lb of ground beef
2 cups of chopped green onion tops
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 large chopped onion
1 rib of chopped celery
1/2 chopped bell pepper
Seasonings of salt, black pepper, paprika
2 or 3 cups of cooked whole grain white rice

Instructions:

In a black dutch oven saute ground pork, ground beef and all of the chopped seasonings until brown.  Lower heat and simmer about a 1/2 hour; stirring about every 10 minutes so it won't stick to the bottom of the pot.

Add seasonings of salt, black pepper and paprika. About  one Tablespoon of salt, one teaspoon of black pepper and a teaspoon of paprika or more if desired.

Add cooked white rice a large spoonful at a time to the meat mixture until blended to your desire.

Stir in some chopped green onion tops and use the green onions as a garnish topping.

Bon Appetit!



.

I bought some of those little yellow gel balls to clean my kitchen disposal. The citrus smell only stayed with the disposal less than a day and I didn't feel like it did the job of cleaning the blades.

So, I sliced a lemon and froze the slices on a cookie sheet in the freezer. After they were frozen, I bagged them and kept them in the freezer.

Drop a frozen slice in your disposal and voila, a clean smelling disposal!!!

Peach Brandy for an Aperitif.

My Grandmother Toussel's Peach Brandy is finally ready! She made this every year at Christmas time. The recipe is on page 3. It turned out a pretty mellow color with an undertone of orange.  Ready to enjoy over crushed ice as an aperitif. Remember the sweetness is perfect to make the palate ready for a savory meal.  Bon Appetit!

Gus Savant is now decorated and in his place shining brightly...

BROCCOLI SOUP

Since broccoli is so abundant at this time of the year, I decided to make a warming soup as my grandmother used to call brocolli soup.

Ingredients
1 or 2  large heads of Broccoli
1 pint of heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1 small onion finely chopped
1 Tablespoon of dried celery flakes
1 teaspoon Soy or Worcestershire sauce
4 Tablespoons of butter
3 Tablespoons of All Purpose flour
2 vegetable cubes
Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Crusty French bread

Preparation
Steam broccoli, drain; setting aside the liquid
Chop broccoli and mash as finely or as coarse as you prefer
Melt the butter over low heat
Stir in flour until it makes a paste and turns light brown
Add finely chopped onion, stir until wilted
Add heavy cream and milk to the flour mixture and stir until creamy
Add some of the brocolli liquid that was set aside a little at a time
until it is the consistency of a heavy soup
Add broccoli and celery flakes
Simmer

Serve with shredded cheese and crusty french bread.  Bon Appetit!