7-Up Pound Cake
Broadcast date 1/2/09
1 c butter or margarine, softened
½ c shortening
3 c sugar
5 eggs
1½ t lemon extract
1½ t vanilla extract
3 c all-purpose flour, sifted
7 fluid oz lemon-lime soda, such as 7-Up
Preheat oven to 300. Spray a 10” tube pan (or two 8”) with non stick baking spray with flour; set aside.
In a large bowl, beat butter, shortening and sugar at med speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add lemon and vanilla extracts, beating to combine.
Gradually add flour and 7-Up to butter mixture in three batches, beating well after each addition and ending with 7-Up. Spoon batter into prepared pan.
Bake 1 hour or until a tester inserted in cake tests done. Let cool 30 minutes. Invert onto a cake plate and let cool completely.
Smoked Pork Loin
Broadcast date 1/05/09
Marinade –
¼ c Dijon mustard
¼ c American bourbon or whiskey
¼ c soy sauce
¼ c packed brown sugar
2 T Worcestershire sauce
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 2½ to 3 lb boneless pork loin, fat on top lightly scored and tied
In a bowl, whisk together mustard, whiskey, soy sauce, sugar, Worcestershire and garlic in bowl. Place marinade and pork in gallon-size zipper-lock bag. Press air out of bag, seal and refrigerate for 2 hours, flipping bag after 1 hour to ensure that pork marinates evenly. (Pork can marinate up to 8 hours).
Spice Rub –
1 T brown sugar
1 T paprika
2 t chili powder
2 t ground cumin
1 t dried oregano
1 t salt
1 t pepper
¼ t cayenne pepper
2 c wood chips, soaked for 15 minutes
Combine all ingredients except wood chips in small bowl. Remove pork from marinade, pat dry with paper towels and rub spice mixture all over roast.
Seal wood chips in foil packet and cut vent holes in top. Open bottom vent on grill. Light 100 coals; when covered with fine gray ash, spread over half of grill. Arrange foil packet directly on coals. Set cooking grate in place and heat, covered, with lid vent open completely until wood chips begin to smoke heavily, about 5 minutes. (For gas grill, place foil packet directly on primary burner. Heat all burners on high, covered, until wood chips begin to smoke heavily, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high; turn others off). Scrape and oil cooking grate.
Arrange roast, fat-side up, on cooler side of grill. Cook, covered, until meat registers 130-135 degrees, about 1 hour, flipping and rotating roast once halfway through cooking. Move roast to hot side of grill and cook, covered, until pork is well browned on all sides and meat registers 140 degrees, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 15 minutes (temperature will rise to 150). Remove twine, slice and serve.
Sunday Chicken and Biscuit Pot Pie
Broadcast date 1/06/09
Filling –
¼ c butter
1 c chopped onion
1 c peeled, thinly-sliced carrots
½ c chopped celery
¼ c all-purpose flour
1 c chicken broth
1 c half-and-half
½ t ground black pepper
½ t dried thyme
3 c chopped chicken
1 pkg (9-oz) frozen sugar snap peas, thawed
In a deep 10 ½” cast-iron skillet, melt butter over med heat. Add onion, carrots and celery. Cook for approx 8 minutes or until tender. Gradually add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Gradually add chicken broth and half-and-half. Cook over med heat, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes or until mixture thickens. Add pepper, thyme, chicken and peas, stirring to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, for approx 3 minutes or until hot. Reduce to heat while preparing biscuits.
Biscuit Topping –
1-1/3 c cup self-rising flour
6 T cold butter, chopped
½ c milk
Cut butter into flour with pastry blender or two knives until butter is the size of small peas. Add milk, stir with a fork just until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and pat to ½” thickness. Cut with biscuit cutter or into squares with a knife or pizza cutter. Place biscuits on hot filling.
Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.
Texas Pecan-Crusted Chicken Skewers
Broadcast date 1/07/09
8 6” bamboo skewers
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
3 eggs
½ c milk
1 c flour
1 c finely chopped toasted pecans
1 recipe Country Gravy, recipe follows
Preheat oven to 400. Grease a baking sheet with cooking spray; set aside.
Cut each breast in half lengthwise. Season with salt and pepper. Insert a skewer so that it goes through the length of each piece of chicken. Set aside.
In a wide, shallow dish that will accommodate skewered chicken, stir eggs and milk with a fork to mix well. Place flour on a large plate and pecans on another large plate. Coat each chicken skewer in milk and egg mixture, then dredge into flour, covering well and shaking off excess. Then roll chicken skewer in pecans. Place on prepared baking sheet.
Bake 30 minutes or until cooked through. Arrange skewers on a platter and serve with Country Gravy.
Country Gravy –
2 T butter
2 T all-purpose flour
1½ c whole milk
1 T freshly cracked pepper
In a sauté pan, melt butter over med heat. Add flour, stirring well. Cook until flour turns golden brown. Add milk and black pepper. Stir well until all flour and butter are incorporated into milk. Cook 5-10 minutes or until flour tastes cooked-out. Season with salt and keep warm.
