Frank's New Year's Eve Blackeye Peas

Happy New Year! For good luck we all make black eye peas, but I love my recipe so much, I can't wait till New Year's Day to make them. Check out the video.

What you will need

• About 1.5 pounds of blackeye peas
• About a pound of country-style smoked link sausage
• About a pound of pre-cooked smoked pork (i.e. loin or chops)
• One head of green onion chopped
• About two to three cups of chopped celery
• Two red bell peppers chopped
• One package of shitake mushrooms chopped
• Two tablespoons of minced garlic.
• Chicken broth for liquid

Add all ingredient to pot and bring to boil. Then cook/simmer for three to four hours. I don't soak the peas, so cooking time will take longer. Keep an eye on your liquid, as the peas will absorb as it cooks.

Blackeyed Peas: Halfway Home

Here is a pot shot. Note the chives I added at about halfway cooking time.

The Christmas Gift: Beef Fillet

My brother Mike gets some pretty darn nice gifts at his workplace during Christmas. For example, check out the beef fillet that he prepares in the videos below. That was probably an $80 cut of meat. Heck, all I got at my office was some chocolate covered cookies ...

Beef Fillet - Seared And Ready For The Oven

Mike seared the fillet on the stop top for a bit.

Deglazing The Pan

Here Mike is making a little gravy after we take off the fillet.

Cutting The Fillet

Now Mike skillfully cuts the fillet. BTW, it was so tender you could cut it with a fork.

Ready To Dig In

My brother Don is ready to dig in, and he comments on the nice presentation.

Splendid Stuffed Turkey Breast

One thing I like doing is going in the grocery store and making up a recipe as I roam the shelves. This time I was wanting to do pecan encrusted something. Well, I didn't find all the ingredients I wanted, so I decided to go with something else. Stuffed turkey breast tenderloin. It is pretty simple to do. I was not sure how this would turn out, but it was great.

What you'll need:

• 1 - turkey tenderloin (split the breast for the stuffing)
• Peppers finely chopped (I used hot peppers, but your favorite will work)
• Green onions finely chopped
• Shitake mushrooms chopped
• Shredded 4 cheese blend.
• Smoked bacon to wrap the breast

Stuff the green onions, peppers, cheese and mushrooms in the turkey breast. Then wrap with bacon strips. I used a tagine cooker to prepare the dish. Cook on low heat for two hours. I had left over onions, peppers and mushrooms that I put down in the base of the cooker. I mixed these leftovers with my mashed potato side. BTW I cheated on the mashed potatoes and used Country Crock potatoes. They are very good. If you don't have a tagine cooker, it could be done in the oven as well. I suspect many variations of the stuffing would work too.

Give it a try and enjoy.

Turkey Breast, Stuffed And Ready

It's time to turn on the tagine cooker and let her simmer for two hours. I wonder how this creation will taste.

Stuffed Turkey Is Done

Check out the stuffing sliding down at the first of the video. Oh, it is so good.

Splendid Slow Smoked Salmon

Simply the best way to cook salmon is what I am about to show you. It has simple ingredients, but does require time and diligence.

You'll need:

• 1 - salmon fillet (I had it cut in half)
• saltwater brine (2 tablespoons sea salt/cup of water - make sure sea salt is stirred well to dissolve and soak fish for 2 hours)
• olive oil for basting (baste every hour or so while slow smoking)
• wood chips for smoking (I used soaked hickory chips wrapped in foil, plus thumped a few extra chips in later in cooking after original chips played out)

Fill smoker pan with water. Place fillets on foil on the rack to keep fish from sticking. Slow smoke for eight hours and then enjoy. Best stuff on earth. I used a Brinkman Electric Smoker, but any smoker on low heat will work.

Smoked Salmon The First Basting

Smoked Salmon Halfway Home

Note I am talking soft, so the neighbors don't think I am crazy filming my food...

Slow Smoked Salmon Is Done

BEHOLD in Silence

It Is Even Better On Day 2

Try it cold with saltine crackers...

Frank's Cajun Chicken Noodle Soup

Check out my video of my recipe for Frank's Cajun Chicken Noodle Soup. It is super simple to do. Here's all your need:

1. 1 pack of Bear Creek Chicken Noodle Soup mix (Don't mind the pack's instructions)
2. 1.5 to 2 pounds chopped sausage
3. 2 (12.5 ounce) cans of Tyson Chunk Chicken
4. 3 cans Original Ro-Tel
5. 1 pack (12 ounce) Pictsweet Seasoning Blend
6. 1/2 clove garlic minced
7. Chicken Broth for liquid - you'll need more than the 8 cups called for by the noodle mix

Bring to a slow boil, then simmer for at least 2 hours - longer won't hurt. When bringing to a boil, stir often to keep mix from sticking to the bottom of your pot.

Frank's Cajun Chicken Noodle Soup - Pot View