Smoked Sausage Mac and Cheese with Panko Bread Crumbs

 

There is nothing more delightful than Mac and Cheese. A basic hearty and savory confection filled with childhood memories. The smell of the kitchen, The warm cheesy gooey, buttery goodness and the crunch of the bread crumb topping.

Well…with that being said and I think I have your attention? Here is my version of the “Classic” with a country twist…Smoked Sausage and Panko Bread crumbs.

The Ingredients: Smoked Sausage, Extra Sharp Cheddar, Milk, Sour cream, Macaroni, butter, Panko Bread crumbs and Aunt Cora’s Soulful Seasoning…Simple

Boil noodles in Salt water and shred cheddar. Combine the Cheddar, milk and sour cream in a sauce pan over low heat and whisk together.(keep heat low not to break sauce) Reserve some the cheddar for topping.

Cut up Smoked sausage into small cubes and combine with well drained noodles in ramekins. When cheese sauce is ready pour over macaroni and sausage, top with additional cheese and bread crumbs. Sprinkle with Aunt Cora’s.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, bake for about twenty minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.

By J. Harold Strudwick… “The Soulful Traveler”

Naan Bread Pizza

 

I have been making these Pizza’s for a while now and finally after many request for something so simple and fun I acquiesced. There are several recipes that you can use and I have a few…but for this recipe I will show you the “Rustic”…I call it that because of the few ingredients needed and we all have them at home.

Naan Bread, Chopped Black Olives, Hamburger, onions, sour cream, Spiced Tomatoes, Olive oil Sharp and Vermont white cheddar cheese. (Simple)..

Place the Naan bread on a sheet tray or pizza Stone. Brown the Hamburger and add seasonings that fit your taste. (spicy, Italian, Creole and so on) Shred the cheese, slice the onion and drain the can of tomatoes. Once the prep is done (about 10 minutes) you are ready to start building your Naan Bread pizza.

Start with spreading a generous amount of sour cream on the Naan Bread, followed by cheese, Hamburger, spiced tomatoes, sliced onion and more cheese. Place in a 375 degree oven for about fifteen minutes….melt, brown and serve. Enjoy with a friend.

Herb Encrusted Pork Shoulder

This is a very simple recipe…. and always a favorite savory rustic pork presentation.

The ingredients:

1. One pork shoulder with the Fat cap and bone in.
2. Hawaiian Salt 1/2 cup
3. Coarse Black pepper 1/4 cup
4. Chopped Garlic 1/4 cup
5. Horseradish mustard 1/2 cup
6. Mixed Herbs of your choice.

Place Pork Shoulder in a roasting pan fat side up. In a bowl add salt, pepper, Garlic and horseradish mustard. Mix into a paste and rub onto meat with the fat cap up. Chop 1 onion, two potatoes, a tomato and place in the roasting pan. In a preheated 450 Degree oven roast covered for an hour, reduce temp to 250 and roast another 2 hours. Perfect pork Shoulder……Done

“The Soulful Traveler” J. Harold Strudwick

“Iron Skillet Family history in food”

If you have inherited one of these from a relative that cooked all the time with Love and soul,you are truly blessed with some down home family history.

If you earned yours through kitchen time and seasoning,.. well lets just say you know the value of a non stick”Skillet” and how it came to be.

Pass it on to the next generation with all the history you create feeding your family in a life time.
The “Skillet will be here long after you are gone and so will the food memories and recipes that you attach to it.

The “Skillet” a forged iron history of Soulful family recipe’s both past and present with thoughts of the hands that used them.. including mine….

The “Soulful Traveler”

Soulful Sunday by “The Soulful Traveler”

Sweet Heat Balsamic BBQ Roasted Wings

Fried Green Tomatoes “Southern Basics”

By J Harold Strudwick

There is not much thought that goes into this recipe other than the sheer enjoyment of the flavors and smell in the kitchen. The sweet floral scent of spring green tomatoes, salt, pepper and p-nut oil frying away. The drizzle of clover honey over hot fried tomatoes straight out of the pan gives them that sweet and salty taste that is to die for. Once again a simple recipe with southern style.

Ingredients:

Two Green Tomatoes, 1 cup of Flour, 1 egg (egg Wash), Natures seasoning to taste, p-nut oil or Crisco and Clover honey.

Slice the tomatoes not to thick and not to thin. Create the egg wash set aside. Mix flour with a generous amount of Natures seasoning. Dredge tomatoes in flour mixture…shake off excess, dip in egg wash and back in flour…Repeat for all tomato slices. Pre-heat oil to medium heat and fry tomatoes until they are golden on both sides. Remove from oil to a paper towel. While still hot serve with a drizzle of clover honey. Done….

thesoulfultraveler.wordpress.com

BlackBerry Barbecue Sauce and Marinade

By J Harold Strudwick

A lot my friends have been asking for this recipe and out of respect, I feel no good or great recipe should go unshared. Friends not unlike family become stronger and bonded when we share our knowledge and wisdom whether it be about food, life or how to fix a transmission on a 68 Buick wildcat all of which I have some knowledge about….This sauce is deep rich, colorful and sweet. It has the aromas and flavors of late spring berry picking and early summer honey. I hope you enjoy.

The ingredients:

1/4 cup Blackberry Jam, 1/4 Cup of Molasses, 1/4 cup of honey, 1/4 Cup of packed brown sugar, 1/4 Cup of Worcestershire Sauce, two cloves of chopped garlic, 1/4 Cup of Apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup of Soy Sauce, tsp. of black pepper, and 1 tsp. of smoked chili powder. Combine in a glass bowl and whisk to emulsify. Allow to steep over night, the flavors meld and intensify.

This can be a marinade or a  BBQ sauce. For a marinade leave as is and cover your choice of meat . for a BBQ sauce….place in a sauce pan and reduce. The flavors will become very intense. Reduce on low to medium heat as to not scorch because of the sugar content. Enjoy!

thesoulfultraveler.wordpress.com

Blackened Catfish, Yellow dinner grits with okra and tomatoes.

If there is one southern favorite that any one can enjoy its catfish. I remember taking my son catfishing on the Ohio river we had a great day of fellowship and bonding between father and son. The memories and laughs will last a life time. Watching our poles bend under the stress of dinner trying to get away and reeling in the big ones to meet their culinary demise.

This spicy recipe reminds me of how special that time really was…

Yellow dinner grits…you should know this by now if not use white rice…

1 to 2 pounds of catfish fresh caught or store bought depending on how adventurous you are. Drizzle with olive oil, Season with Aunt Cora’s Soulful seasoning, Cayenne pepper and black pepper to desired heat profile. (some like it hot!) Simple…Place on a sheet pan and broil until flesh is firm but not dry. Keep your eye on the prize!

Clean and cut about 20 pieces of okra and 1 heirloom tomato large dice. Place in a small sauce pan with 1 cup of water, 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, tsp. sugar, with salt and pepper to taste. Also add 1 clove of garlic minced. Simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes until tender.

Plate your cheesy grits or rice remove fish and place on grits top with okra and tomatoes and you are ready to eat.

		Catfish…. VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

https://thesoulfultraveler.wordpress.com/

Red Beans & Plantation Rice with Spicy Roasted Wings and Biscuits

By J. Harold Strudwick

There are some classics that I love “as is” and this is one of them. My best friend and love of my life is another (Kim)…but lets just talk about this recipe. Some recipes take you down home and memory lane faster than a southern thunder storm runs you in the house in the summer. Such is the warm and inviting flavors and aromas created in the kitchen when this meal is on the burner. Everyone will come running for this simple but very affordable meal. Beans and rice are common in just about all cultures that have struggled through lean times, But as times for these cultures got better they never forgot the very thing that sustained them this simple but soulful meal.

1 Bag Red beans Dry or two medium cans. Do I really have to explain how to swell beans? Simmer beans in water with 1 clove of garlic minced, 1 medium onion chopped, 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons of aunt Cora’s Soulful Seasoning and Tabasco Sauce. Be very careful with the salt, if swelling your beans in salt water there should be more than enough left after the rinse. Simmer for about and hour over low to medium heat slightly covered. Make spice adjustment near the end.

1 cup of long grain rice, 2 cups of beef stock, or chicken stock and a pat of butter. Bring water to a boil with butter and stir in rice as not to disturb the “Boil”. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Do not disturb rice by removing lid or continued stirring. LEAVE IT ALONE! for 25 to 30 minutes. Fluff rice and before serving fold in a 1/4 of a cup of coconut milk.

1 pound of cleaned chicken wings. (By cleaned I mean no feathers) Drizzle with EVOO and season with Sea Salt and coarse black pepper, and your favorite Cajun, Creole, or Jerk rub. Roast at 400 for about 30 45 minutes until crisp and juices runs clear. Serve!

       “The Soulful Traveler”