Renfro Italiana: Penne with Fennel & Sausage

In an attempt to only spend my money on good tasting produce, I purchased the Capay Veggie Box check it out at Capay Organics, it comes once a week and delivers delicious veggies and fruit locally grown and perfect tasting. A new veggie came upon me in the experiment: fennel bulbs. Fennel grows like a weed in Frisco and smells and taste of licorice.  I have never dabbled in eating the weed. With a little inspiration from Saveur (check out the original recipe), I have rendered a licorice tasting vegetable into an edible delight. 

Penne Pasta with Fennel & Sausage:

1 bag penne pasta

3/4 lb. italian sausage

3/4 lb. fennel bulb, chopped fine and thin

1/4 of an onion, chopped fine

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

1/4 cup red wine, I used Syrah

1/2 cup chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

red pepper flakes

1/4 cup heavy cream

In a large skillet, brown italian sausage on medium-low heat, add onion and continue to brown about ten minutes total. Add garlic once sausage is browned, cook for one minute. Stir in wine, fennel, chicken stock, and cook until fennel is tender about 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper

While your making the sauce, begin to heat up a large pot of boiling water for the pasta. Once water boils, cook pasta until al dente and drain, should be about 8-10 minutes. Once pasta is ready, stir pasta and heavy cream into sauce, mixing and coating pasta in sauce. Serve hot.

I also steamed some broccoli for about 5 minutes and served it with the pasta. 

Crabby crab crab...

The only time in life when it is good to have crabs is when you get to eat them. Unfolding before you is a new take on Sunday night dinner: Fresh crab meat on warm polenta cakes drizzled with an herbed gruyere cream sauce. Budgetary discipline forces us to enjoy food within our means, so eating out at place like Gary Danko on a regular isn't within our means,  but that doesn't mean we can't eat five star.


Boiled crab:

2 live dungeness crabs form local market
sea salt or kosher salt
Old Bay seasoning (optional)
1 pair of metal tongs
1 big pot of water







First things first, fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil, you can add salt or Old Bay seasoning to water.

Meanwhile, fill your sink with cold water and 1/4 cup salt. Get some tongs to hold crabs and say a prayer for your crabs for giving their lives and submerge them in salt water, you can add a dash more salt to them for good measure. Salt water purges the impurities, let them purge in the water for about 15-20 minutes. When the water is boiling, place crabs in boiling water.

Once the crabs are in, cook crabs on high for about 10 minutes or until crabs turn red, be careful not to overcook crabs, tastes nasty!! Remove crabs from water once red and let sit on a plate until cooled and ready to clean. Clean crab and set meat aside.

If your a novice, here's a helpful video from the Sacramento Bee:
How To Clean & Crack Crab

Herb Cream Sauce Crab:
1 cup organic chicken broth
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh marjoram, chopped fine
1 tablespoon fresh parsley , chopped fine
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teapsoon pepper
1/2 cup Gruyere reserve cheese, shredded
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon cornstarch

In a saucepan on medium-low heat add chicken broth, butter, garlic, herbs, salt, paprika, and pepper. Let simmer together for 3 minutes to infuse flavors. Then add heavy cream and mix well, stirring alot. Add gruyere, then add teaspoon cornstarch to thicken, cook for 3-4 minutes until thickened.

Fried Polenta:
1 tube polenta, slice 1/2 inch thick slices
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter

 In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium heat. Cut polenta in 1/2 inch thick slices and once pan is hot place polenta slices flat side down in the skillet.

Fry polenta 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Once golden, remove and place on paper towels to absorb oil and cool.







Plate the polenta on a plate, top with crab meat and drizzle warmed crab sauce on top. We steamed asparagus with ours, but you can eat it plain all on its own for a good time too.

Renfro Loaded Potato Bake

This potato bake is a universal meal. It is a dinner that also can count as a breakfast and vice versa. It is one of those rare meals that suffices flavor, sophistication and ease into a single pan. After trying this potato chorizo fusion, I have discovered a new love for the spicy Mexican sausage that will now hold a new place in my stomach and kitchen. For those of you seeking a new way to transform your side of potatoes into a full fledged meal give it a try. This is our new twist on a comfort food that takes little effort with maximum pay-off; little cook and prep, cheap, and you can munch on it for days in a variety of ways.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. spicy chorizo sausage
1-2 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, cut in even bite sized pieces
2 strips bacon, diced
1 green pepper, cleaned and cut in strips
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 onion, cut thin
1/2 cup Gruyere cheese shredded
1 cup crumbled Goat cheese
salt and pepper to taste
green onions, chopped for topping


First prep the potatoes, by preheating oven to 400. Chop potatoes in even sized chunks, season with salt and pepper. Butter the bottom of a large casserole dish and add potatoes making an even layer. Bake in pre-heated oven for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a large cast-iron skillet to medium. When hot, add bacon, when fat starts to cook out and bacon begins to brown add garlic, onions, peppers. Cook until onions are translucent. Add chorizo to mixture and cook until browned. Optional to take some of the spice fat from the chorizo and pour it on top of roasting potatoes, continue to cook for 30 minutes.

Remove potatoes from oven, layer the meat and veggie mixture on top of potatoes. Sprinkle goat cheese over the meat and veggies, sprinkle gruyere on top of that. Top with chopped green onions. Bake in over for 15-20 minutes until cheese melted, and can also broil for 5 minutes if want an extra crunch.

Serve hot with sour cream and hot sauce.

We ate ours with asparagus on the side to get our dose of fibrous ruffage.

Ribs the Renfro way...

This Saturday, our family attempted to attend the Underground Farmer's Market check out: http://foragesf.com/market/about/) in San Francisco at Public Works building. After being punched in the pocket with a 5 dollar entrance fee our almost 1 year old daughter was denied entrance. Get this, it was a 21 and over farmer's market with a full bar. Pretentious or what. Nowhere on the website did it advertise its snobberristic 21 and up age limit, completing excluding families from attending. Who needs a full bar to be at a farmer's market anyway.
After overcoming the obstacles of a family outing we divied ourselves into teams to explore the wonders of the elusive underground farmer's market. As a result of our underground farm foraging we walked out with an exclusive San Francisco BBQ sauce called SFQ, check out sfqinfo.blogspot.com. Perfect timing for ribs on sale at Whole Foods. So in our rib recipe we must give props to Chef John whose sauce we used, and knocked our socks off. I must say, as a southerner I have been truly disgusted with the bbq aesthetic of the Bay Area, but after trying SFQ, I must say I have a new respect for Bay area sauce. Right on Chef John, check out his blog: http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/ to see some more awesome food cookery. Thanks for the sauce Chef, but we'll take the meal from here....

Renfro Rub:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup salt
1 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon Coleman's mustard powder
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

Mix ingredients well, and rub generously over the front side of ribs. Note: this will make more than needed for 1 rack of ribs, set aside in a small jar and save for the next rib experience.

Rib Preparation:
Find a good rack of ribs that has some good fat marbled on it, depending on how much fat you want on your ribs, personally, we prefer fatty ribs, trimmed because they hold more flavor. Start off by rinsing the ribs, pat them dry, remove membrane from back of ribs, trim fat, and season front side of ribs with rub. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees, once heated. Place rib in large pan, wrap in foil or cover pan in foil. We find that when you cook them in foil it makes them a little more tender, but if you cook it in the pan it makes a better crust on ribs, but then you must remember baste the ribs every thirty minutes. Let ribs cook for 3 hours at 300 degrees, basting as neccesary. After 3 hours, check for tenderness of ribs. Remove from oven and get ready to grill.
About 30 minutes before removing ribs from oven, heat up charcoal grill. Wait until coals are hot and put front-side down on the grill and leave for three minutes with lid on and check it. If ribs have enough char on crust, them flip over and apply first layer of sauce to front side with backside charring on grill. After cooking for 2 minutes flip over and char frontside with sauce, cook then flip over and re-glaze ribs. You should repeat this for about 3 more times, cooking the ribs for a total of 9 minutes on the grill altogether.

Simples Sides: Baked Yams & Beet Greens:
About an hour before you remove ribs from oven the yam ready. Scrub yams in water and prick all over with a fork. Place in oven and cook until tender about an hour. Remove from oven and let cool. Serve with butter, and flavor with a sprinkle of salt and brown sugar.

For the Greens:
When the ribs are about 10 minutes from being done and the yams are cooling off, begin the beets preparation.
For the beet greens, I cut off the tops of beets, soaked them and rinsed them twice in cold water and chopped them in two inch thick cuts. I also left only about an inch of stalk on the ends, because I am not a huge stalk person. If you like the stalks, then you leave them on. Preheat a burner to high on stove to steam beet greens. I add about 2 inches of water to a medium sized sauce pan, place my steamer in it and once water has come to a boil on stove, I add beet greens, steaming them for about 3-4 minutes in the pot. Serve immediately with ribs and yams. I found that beet greens sloshed around with the ribs and bbq sauce is quite heavenly. Hope you all think the same.

Burgers & Fries: Renfro Style

As the end of the year comes, I think it is time to reflect on the old and bring in new ways of life in the new year. This new belief is cooking at home to ensure consistently good food for the money. More and more these days I am finding an intolerance for badly cooked restaurant food, I find it more a reliable use of my money on food it to just make the food I crave at home with the family from scratch. I figured logically it would take just as much effort to go to the store and cook the food I wanted than take the time to go to a restaurant, find parking, and order food, pay leave and go home. The craving you might ask, burgers and fries. Meat, bun, a little onion, a dash of mustard and a slather of tomato gravy: aka ketchup tossed in your stomach with a side of well salted fresh french fries and you have something that verges on divine intervention inside from the complete encompassment of american flavors: good and greasy. Hope you all enjoy...

Renfro Stuffed Burgers :
(makes about 2 medium burgers)
3/4 lb. fresh and lean ground beef
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped jalapenos

Form two meat patties, create a cavity in the center with your thumb. Fill center with shredded cheese and jalapenos, close hole by pushing patty meat over hole. Grill on panini grill for about five minutes until done. Serve on a bun with condiments of choice. Delish

stuffing for burgers

burgers ready to be stuffed

the finished product, ready to be eaten...

fries like daddy used to make...

Homemade Fries:
1 single russett potato, cleaned, peeled, cut in even slices
salt for after frying
1/2 liter of shortening

Heat shortening on medium-low with thermometer reading 350 degrees. Soak cut potatoes in water to remove starch. Soak for about 5 minutes, drain and set aside for oil to get hot. When oil is at 350, drop fries into oil and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Put fries on a plate layered in paper towels to absorb oil. Sprinkle with salt, serve hot with ketchup. Goes really good alone or with a burger.

the aftermath...

Simple effort, Sophisticated and yet Christmas...

In the Renfro family we do it big, but we do it real simple at the same time. After spending Thanksgiving tied to the stove like a slave, we needed a neccesary revolt, we chose to do simple effort, yet sophisticated christmas dining style. Cocktails, bacon wrapped scallops, crab legs in butter, new york strip steak, escargots, butternut squash puree, chanterelle mushroom gravy, balsamic roasted brussel sprouts. This meal was made possible from the gift of a Barilla Panini Grill, the meat was all cooked on the grill and came out backyard style in the pouring rain on christmas day. God bless..

Supplies:

Cokteezy Drink:
ice cubes
mango juice
grapefruit juice
1 shot skyy vodka
mix ingredients well in a shaker, strain, and serve. Flavor vodka with juice according to tastes preferences of alcohol strength. Drink chilled..Hmm delish.

Foods:

Butternut squash puree:
2 butternut squashes, smalled sized
1/3 cup heavy cream
salt to taste
1 teaspoon ginger powder
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup water

Preheat oven to 400. Halve squash, clean out the guts, put faceside down in cooking pan, add about 1 cup water to bottom of pan and a dash of salt. Bake until fork goes easily through, about 30 minutes. remove from oven. Let cool. Scoop out squash into bowl. Add butter, ginger, cream, salt, blend until well smoothed as possible. Set aside and serve hot with rest of meal.

Brussels coming hot out the oven...

Brussell sprouts:
2-3 cups brussel sprouts
2 tablespoons butter
1 chopped thin cippolini onion
4 tabespoons balsamic vingear
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Halve brussel sprouts sprinkle with salt and pepper, pour melted butter and balsamic over sprouts, mix well. Pour onto baking sheet and bake until tops brown about 15 minutes in oven. Serve hot, goes good with mushroom gravy.

Mushroom Gravy (makes about 1 1/2 cup):
1/2 cup chantrelles chopped
3/4 cup trumpet mushrooms
1-2 garlic cloves, diced
1/2 small cippolini onion, chopped fine
1/4 cup bacon fat
1 heaping tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 heaping tablespoon fresh marjoram, chopped
1 cup water or so
1/4 cup flour

In a small cast iron skillet over medium heat, add water and mushrooms, garlic, onions, heat up, add bacon fat, flour, and herbs, stir well. Cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes, keep adding water to thickness and flavor liking, until becomes a creamy consistency.

Bacon wrapped scallops

Bacon-Wrapped scallops:
5 slices of black forest maple bacon
5 medium sized scallops (fresh not frozen)

Sear bacon first until browned, then wrap around scallop, sealing with toothpick, sear bacon wrapped scallop for about 2-3 minutes on a panini press on "sear" in remnants of bacon fat or over medium heat on stove. Serve immediately.

Steak sitting in salt and pepper

New York Strip:
salt and pepper to taste
1  10 oz. new york strip steak

Let steak sit for a minute at room temperature to absorb salt and pepper. On a panini press sear steak on sear setting for about 2-3 minutes on each side for a medium rare steak. Let rest out of panini press for 5-10 minutes, then cut and serve.

Crab Legs:
1 whole crab, cleaned, pre-cooked
3-4 tablespoons melted butter

Steam crab for about 2-3 minutes to re-heat. Serve immediatly with butter.

Escargots:
4 escargots, pre made
We bake them in a muffin tin at 350 for 5 minutes, serve hot with bread.

The trick is to get all the food hot at the same time. We suggest cooking the butternut squash first, make puree, meanwhile, prep steak with salt and pepper, begin cooking mushroom gravy, Prep brussel sprouts, clean and chop them, season and set aside. Sear bacon for scallops, then wrap around scallop, set aside. Roast brussel sprouts and pre-heat panini press. Cook steak, while steak is resting, after about 5 minutes steam crab and sear scallops, add escargots to the oven and cook. By the time you are done cooking the scallops and crab, the steak has rested, brussel sprouts and escargots are ready and just heat the butternut squash up and eat. Delish...

Christmas Cooking in 2010

Merry Christmas to all, may your belly's be warm and your hearts happy!!!

Christmas Giving: DIY Body Butter

Cold winters, dry skin, body butters become helpful gifts for the season. I made a variation of this many years ago and decided to have another try to give out in the spirit of giving. We did two variations; one lavender and feminine, one unscented gender neutral.

Supplies:
1-2 Cheesecloth or straining pouch
2 large pots (stainless steel)
beeswax (1 tablespoon per 8 oz container)
2 liters grapeseed oil
2 liters olive oil

the beginning stages....

essential oil of choice (we used lavender, lemon eucalytptus, juniper berry)
1cup green tea (osthmanthus fancy and jasmine pearls)
3 cups calendula flowers
2 cups chamomile flowers
1 cup lavender flowers
1/2 cup jasmine flowers
7 ounces vitamin e oil
18  8 oz. containers (used glass canning jars)

(makes about 18 8 oz. jars of body butter)



Lavender Body Butter:
Combine 1 liter grape seed and one liter olive oil in a stainless steel pot over low heat. Add 1 1/2 cup calendula, 1 cup chamomile, 1 cup lavender flowers, 1/2 cup jasmine, and 3 ounces of vitamin e. Stir and cook over low heat in oil for about 3-4 hours. Herbs will start to darken in color by then, strain oil in cheesecloth or straining pouch. Add 5 tablespoons of beesewax and 1-2 tablespoons lavender essential oil  to infused oil and dissolve beeswax with oil in a double boiler. When fully dissolved, pour into 8 oz glass jars, should fill about 3/4 of the way. Let cool. Oil will begin clear and darken to a green when fully settled. Use immediately for relaxing, dry skin relief.

Unisex Body Butter:

The butter cools....

1 liter grapeseed oil
1 liter olive oil
3 ounces vitamin e oil
1 cup green tea
1 1/2 cup calendula
1 cup chamomile

Combine  1liter of olive oil and 1 liter of grapeseed oil together. Add vitamin e, green tea, calendula flowers, chamomile, stir. Cook over low heat for about 3-4 hours. Once herbs and tea have browned, after 4 hours, strain oil in cheesecloth. Add infused oil back into double boiler on medium low heat and add 4-5 tablespoons beeswax to oil and dissolve. Once dissolved pour into glass jar, about 3/4 full. Allow to cool completly. Mixture will go from clear green to solid green. Makes about 8 8 oz jars of butter.

Will look like this when almost cooled...

Thanksgivin' Dessert 2010: Coconut Cream Pie

Coconut Cream Pie with Meringue 

Ingredients for Coconut Cream Pie:
frozen pastry pie shell
unsweetened coconut milk
whole milk
cornstarch
5 eggs
salt unsweetened coconut
vanilla extract
butter

There are many stages to this pie, follow in order for best results...

Pre-heat oven to 400, thaw frozen pie shell and bake until golden brown. Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown, let cool.

For Coconut Cream:
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup unsweet coconut milk
1 1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup unsweetened coconut (optional if you want a custard)
2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter

Separate 5 egg yolks, set aside. In a saucepan combine sugar, coconut milk, and  1 cup of milk. Cook over medium heat until scalded, that is when it almost boils and it starts to foam. Meanwhile, combine remaining 1/2 cup of milk with cornstarch, whisk well until you make a mixture and let sit. Whisk egg yolks with salt. Slowly add 1/2 coconut/cow milk mixture to egg yolks to temper them. Whisk well. Add yolk and milk/cornstarch mixture to remaining pot of coconut and cow milk and whisk furiously over medium heat until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla, and butter. Whisk together until well mixed.

Pour filling into pie shell. Top with meringue.

For Meringue:
3 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
3 tablespoons sugar

Pre-heat oven to 350. Whisk egg whites and tartar until egg whites form stick peaks,  slowly sprinkle sugar into meringue, one tablespoon at a time until well whisked. Scoop meringue onto pie, starting in center and slowly spreading out meringue with spatula until it reaches over edges of pie shell. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Pumpkin Pie like Mama used to make....

Mama's Punkin Pie aka Pumpkin Pie!

I love pumpkin pie, anytime of year, but the best is the one my mom used to make. Here is my recollected take on a delicious pie to sooth the soul and satisfy the tummy.

For the pie:

2 frozen traditional pie shells

For the filling:
2 large eggs
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Defrost pies, when thawed prick all over with fork tips. Warm in oven until golden brown about 10-15 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk 2 eggs thoroughly. Add pumpkin, yoghurt, heavy cream, white & brown sugars, cinnamon, grated ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt, and mix well.
When pie crust is golden, remove from oven. Pour filling evenly into pie crust. Reduce oven temperature to 375 and bake for 35-45 minutes until firm. Let cool completely and serve with whipped cream.

Delish!!!!

Weeble Pie

Weeble Pie

Renfro Family rendition of shepherd's pie, Weeble pie. A great all in one meal: meat, potato, and vegetable......

For Mashed Tatos:
3 large russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
4 tablespoon heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

For Top & Middle:
1 packet frozen peas, thawed

Named after the one & only Weeble!!!

1/2 cup shredded cheese ( I use a cheddar & parmesan mix)

For Meat:
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
3-4 garlic cloves chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped in small rounds
1/2-1 lb. ground beef
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup chicken or beef biullion
1-2 tablespoons flour

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add potatoes, cook until tender, about 15 minutes, drain, mash in a bowl, add heavy cream, salt and pepper, mix well, and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat up olive oil on Medium. When hot, add onions, carrots, and garlic, salt and pepper to taste, cook until onions turn clear, then add ground beef and rosemary. Cook on medium until meat browns and stick to pan bottom somewhat. Add buillion to skillet and flour. Cook down for about five minutes until about half of buillion is absorbed.

Evenly spoon meat and veggies into bottom of casserole dish with the liquid. Top with cooked peas. Spoon mashed potatoes on top of peas so as not to smash the peas. Spread an even layer over peas and meat. Top with shredded cheese.
 Place pie into preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes until cheese top is golden on top and liquid is bubbly underneath. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Scoop onto plates and serve with ketchup, ketchup with sriracha if you want spicy. Enjoy!!

The Finished Product...

Meheranara Spicy Chili

My future husband gave me the Joy of Cooking for my birthday, only the best cooking book ever! This is my interpretation on a chili recipe they had in there, delicious with an evolving smoky spice. Dare your tastebuds to try it.


Meheranara Chili:

2 slices bacon, diced
5-6 garlic cloves minced
2 onions, chopped fine
1 jalapeno, sliced thin with seeds removed
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 cup dark beer
28 oz. can of tomatoes, plus one cup water
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can kidney beans
3 tablespoon chili powder
 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
salt & pepper to taste

In a skillet, brown bacon. Remove bacon while leaving drippings. Dry and salt and pepper beef. Add beef, onions, jalapeno, and garlic to skillet and cook down until beef if browned and crispy on bottom. Add beer to mixture and cook down till it is not longer foamy and most of the liquid is gone. Add hot ingredients to pot and then add tomatoes, kidney, back, and pinto beans, chili powder, chili flakes, bacon crispies, taco seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for about 3 hours until thickened and dark. Serve with cornbread. Goes well with fresh chopped onions, sour creme, and shredded cheese on top.

Childhood Dinner Revisited: Artichokes, Wild Rice, and Snapper

Word to the wise, start rice first, it takes the longest to make.

Steamed Artichokes w/ Lemon butter

3 artichokes, cleaned and cut.

1 bay leaf

1 slice lemon

water

large pot with lid

Cut thorned edges off of artichokes. When leaves get to the top, chop off the dense leave section. Cut off end as well. Fill pot about 1-2 inch deep with water or until the steam collander and water are touching. Bring water to a boil with lemon and bay leaf in it. Add cleaned chokes with their tops down in the lid. Steam for about 35-45 minutes or until leaves come off easily.

Lemon Butter

3-4 tablespoons butter

juice of half a lemon (meyer preferred)

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh pepper

Melt butter and lemon together for about 30 seconds in microwave, add garlic salt and pepper. Mix well and serve warm with chokes as a dip.

Wild Rice goes good with it:

1 cup rice

2 cups water or broth

1 tablespoon butter

Combine all ingredients, bring to a boil. Stir, reduce temperature to low and cook for about 50 minutes. Serve with artichokes.

Chris’ Snapper

1 pound fresh snapper fillet

cast iron skillet

1 teaspoon Valle De Sole Dark Chili Powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1 tablespoon butter

Heat skillet to medium-medium high, add butter, let it melt down. Once butter browns just a tad, add fish fillet and cook it for about 4-5 minutes on each side depending on size of fish, if small fillet cook for only 3 minutes on each side. Remove from skillet and serve with rice and artichokes.