Pulling Mussels from a Shell

***BONUS POST!!!!***

***This is a Repost.  I did this back in July of last year and was looking through my posts and decided it was time to revisit a few things.  That and I've had company two weeks in a row and haven't had time to write anything.  I also have so new readers so I thought I would take a minute to remind everyone to go back through the backlog of posts.  There's some good stuff in there.***

A great song from Squeeze.  Near to it as I can tell, it's about a guy on vacation just noticing whats going on around him.  Whether I'm right about its meaning or not, it's got a snappy beat and you can dance to it.

The Mrs. took the kids to Gulf Shores for the weekend leaving me to my own devices.  This happens from time to time and, for as much as I love my family, it is nice to eat the foods that no one else in the house eats, drink a little (or a lot) too much, and catch some naps.  In the case of the past weekend, only two of the three happened.  I could take this time to explain that I had a project with a local business that involved me cooking 5 gallons of Cream of Broccoli soup or that my hungover ass spent the first 5 hours of Saturday making pancakes and sausage for the local Farmers Market fundraiser.  Instead, I will regale you with another drunken tale of tastiness as it relates to Saturday night....and Mussels.

I enlisted the help of my niece, Jen, to come help me with the breakfast and as a bit of a reward we went to play a quick 9 of disc golf and went shopping for things she had never eaten...and drink copious amounts of Canadian Whiskey and Coke, otherwise know as The Chosen Drink of My People.  I also did a small piece of Asian BBQ Smoked Salmon that converted about 3 people (No, thank you  I don't eat salmon....HOLY CRAP!!! That's Good!!!) but I'll save that for another day.

The appetizer I picked was mussels and I freakin' love mussels.  I love them so much that the one thing I absolutely must not do is screw them up.  It's very much a case of taking something naturally wonderful and working around it instead of trying to make it conform to your likes.  So, relying on simplicity, this is what I did....

White Wine and Garlic Mussels

1-2 lbs. fresh mussels
2 cups Muscato or sweet white wine
1 stick Organic butter
1 medium shallot, finely shopped
4 cloves garlic, very finely minced
1 tsp white wine vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions, ends only

Melt the butter and saute shallots for about 5 minutes over medium high heat then reduce heat to medium low, add garlic, and saute both until the edges are just starting to turn brown.  Turn up heat, add Muscato and vinegar and simmer until reduced by half.

Keep the mussels in the fridge until your ready for them.  When you take them out, give them a shake in a bag or a bowl to "wake them up".  Some of them will be open and shaking them will close them up.  Any that remain open after a sound thrashing have, most likely, gone to that Great Sandbar in the Sky and should be discarded.  Ending up with ones head in the Thunder Jug on Saturday is always an option but its better to have the cocktails do that than a bad bivalve.

Add the mussels to the sauce and toss a couple of time to coat then cover with a lid and let them steam for around 5 minutes.  When they are all open, they are ready.  Add green onions and toss one more time to get the sauce in the mussels.  It's just that simple.

After the mussels, it was all down hill from there.  A couple of lamb blade steaks with toddies, a left over cheap steak I had from the night before with cocktails, the salmon that made people stand up and notice (the people that "Don't eat salmon" ordered an entire fillet for the next day.  Must have had some redeeming qualities, I guess), and cocktails galore.  The good news is that Jen and I ate like Kings and I think it was a fitting reward for helping sling pancakes.  The bad news is, her ride showed up a few hours earlier than expected and she left.  I had to get up way early the next day anyway to undertake the Soup Project and was worn out from the day so I was, for all intents and purposes, toast.  All's well that ends well....right?

Feeling satisfied that I had done some serious culinary damage, half lit from 4 too many BV and Cokes, and absolutely worn out, I am forced to admit the worst:  Your Food Loving, Wise Cracking, Foul Mouthed, Alcohol Slinging Booze Warrior.....passed out early.  I promise, I'll try not to let it happen again.

Party Well, Eat Better
Rob

Recipe Thieves and Pork Loin

**********CONTENT WARNING**********

There may be a bit of bad language in this one.  I had a whole rant about someone stealing my recipes and calling them their own all ready but my good friend Joelle (Check out her Blog as well.  She's got some good stuff over there) asked the most pertinent question that could have been asked:  What will a Rant accomplish?

She's absolutely right and it turns out that, in the heat of my anger, I came up with one Hell of a Pork Loin that was not only a hit, but was so outrageously, insanely good that I realized that instead of throwing foul words around, I should revel in what became of it.  Don't get me wrong, I like throwing foul words around and I am damn good at it, but in this case I am going to get it off my chest and then share what I came up with.  To the person that stole my recipe and called it their own:  You're a No Talent Ass-Clown.  There, I did it. 

So anyway, I had my niece and her girlfriend over for dinner and a few cocktails and resting in the fridge was a nice Pork Loin that I had left over from some chops I did earlier in the week.  Wondering what to do with it, Gina says "Wrap it in Bacon".  Ok, done.....now what to do.....?

Bourbon Bacon Loin Bomb

Soak a bunch of wood chips/chunks for about 2 hours, just to be ready.

2-4 lb. Pork Loin

6-7 whole strips of Bacon

Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder to taste

Season the loin to taste, wrap from end to end with bacon slices, and season again.  Wrap in several layers of foil and slow roast next to the coals (not over them) for about 4 hours.  The loin will be cooked at this point but it is no where near done.  Unwrap the loin, drain and save the drippings, apply the wet chips, and give the loin a heavy smoke for about an hour.  It will begin to dry the outside a little but that's going to get the bacon a bit crispy before the final step.

Bourbon Glaze
I used a store bourbon glaze and it wasn't half bad...except a bit spicy for the family.  I figured it couldn't be that hard to recreate and this is what I came up with.

1/2 pint Quality bourbon
1 cup Organic cane sugar
1/4 cup pecans, finely chopped
1 medium shallot, finely diced
1 clove garlic, finely diced
3 tbsp Organic butter, hold 2 tbsp in reserve
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute the shallot and garlic in 1 tbsp butter over medium heat until the edges just start to brown then add pecans to warm them up and get some of the flavors out.  Just about 30 seconds.

Add the bourbon and sugar and reduce to about 1/3 or you develop a thin syrup.  Turn off the heat and let cool for about 5 minutes and whisk in the remaining 2 tbsp butter.  It's going to give the sauce a nice sheen and is the hammer on the flavor nail.  Puree the pecans into the sauce using either a standard blender or an immersion blender.  Strain out any large pieces with a sieve.

Just when the bacon is staring to crisp on the loin, baste with generous amounts of the glaze about 4 times over a half hour.  You may want to add some charcoal to get the heat up before you start.  Remove from heat and let it stand for about 15 minutes before you cut into it.  If you have some glaze left, you can add the drippings you held back to it, simmer for about ten minutes, and use as a finishing sauce.

This is one of those things that just happened.  I was seriously uptight over someone swiping my recipes and with a nudge from The Mrs., I put something on the table that was one of a kind, over the top, and a carnivores dream.  Of course, the therapy wasn't quite complete until we shared cocktails for family and friends before, during, and after the loin...well after the loin.

Party Well, Eat Better
Rob

Big Changes are Coming

Greetings to the many that have graced this Blog with your viewing.

I follow my stats very closely and I'm finding that people are checking me out more and more often.  At this point, I'd like to ask that you sign up to follow the blog so that I have an idea of the people that are following me.  I would like to do everything in my power to answer your questions and give you the recipes that you really want.  I am constantly creating, testing....and eating to make sure I bring you the most devastatingly incredible things that you might do me the pleasure gracing you table with.

Now, I realize that I haven't posted in a few weeks and there is good reason for that.  To be sure, there are several good reasons for that.  Not the least of them are to make sure I bring you my local food and booze scene, my thoughts on the politics of food, and the goal that everyone should Eat Local, Eat Sustainable, and to Support Your Local Economy through Good Eating.  Having said that, let me say this......

Back Porch Spice Launch
I have been taking a lot of time and effort lately to ensure that not only do I provide the highest quality spice blends for my customers but that I can keep things fresh and new for the future.  In the past year, I have developed two new spice blends for everyday home use and I have not just a few more offerings in the wings.  I am also in the midst of researching other small "Flavor Masters" who have small companies with great products that are looking for a venue to get their products on the market.

To be sure, all of this news is useless unless you can access my products and the products of the those that I'm hunting.  Therefore, I will soon be announcing the launch of the Back Porch Spice Company Online Store.  As you can imagine, this is taking a great deal of time and hard work and is limiting my time to write about what I cook and drink.  As soon as I can get the website launched, I will be back to writing as much as I can fit in.  In the meantime, I have a few posts waiting in the wings that just need to be polished.  I'll get those out as soon as I can.

Local Food Productions

I can't say a lot about it since there are proprietary agreements going on but there is a project in the works to sell precooked foods and other tasty delights using only locally grown foods, to be sold only in local markets. This means that those products will not be available unless you live close to Carroll County, GA.  However, I would love to hear about people that have taken this bad economy by the throat and are building businesses around local, wholesome, natural foods.  On a side note, you will begin to notice your World getting a little smaller.  That's not a bad thing.

I realize there are no recipes this time around and that when that happens, I usually have something political to say.  In this case, I am doing my best to bring you quality.  Quality Blogs, Quality Content, and Quality Products.  Without Quality, you wouldn't be following me, now would you?

Party Well, Eat Better
Rob

P.S.  Please email me what you think.  Got an interesting tale that involves food and/or booze?  Want a recipe that I may have in my arsenal?  Wanna tell me what a jackass I am?  backporchspiceco@gmail.com is the place to do it.