Grand’s Alabama White Barbecue Sauce

 

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Photo Credit: SouthernBite.com, 2014

 

White Barbecue Sauce is a regional favorite found in the foot hills of Appalachian Mountains of Northern Alabama. Pit master, Bob Gibson is credited with concocting white sauce back in 1925. This tangy, mayonnaise-based condiment was traditionally used to dress chicken. But today, just about every BBQ joint in the area has  a white barbecue sauce on their menus,  and they use it on their meats as a marinade, and place it on their tables for serving.

The sauce is so versatile, that you can eat it with everything, using it as a dipping sauce  french fries to chicken wings and ribs and even as  a dressing for pulled pork sandwiches. Seriously, this unique, tangy flavor is the perfect compliment to just about everything.

To make a White Barbecue Sauce you really only need  four ingredients: mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, and coarsely ground black pepper. My Grand’s  original recipe called for a little buttermilk and just a touch of heavy cream, to give it a salad dressing- like consistency. But I tweaked it just a little  bit, by adding Creole Mustard and Horseradish to her recipe and it turned out just fine.


Makes About 2 Cups


Ingredients:
2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 to 1/2 cup buttermilk (as needed for the desired consistency)
6 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
6 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon Creole mustard
1/8 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2-3 teaspoons granulated white sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced

 

Directions:
Whisk together all ingredients until blended. Pour into a Mason Jar, cap tight with a lid and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

 

TODAY.com Parenting Team FC Contributor

Pork Tonkatsu with Ponzu Cherry Compote

 

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Tonkatsu is one of the most beloved “western style” Japanese foods in Japan. A pork cutlet is dredged in flour, egg, panko and then fried. “Ton” is Japanese for pork, and “katsu” is derived from the word for cutlet. The best thing about tonkatsu is that it’s super easy to make.

The highlight of this dish is the ponzu flavored cherry compote. Ponzu (ポン酢?) is a citrus-based sauce commonly used in Japanese cuisine. It is tart, with a thin, watery consistency and a dark brown color. Ponzushōyu or ponzu jōyu (ポン酢醤油) is ponzu sauce with soy sauce (shōyu) added, and the mixed product is widely referred to as simply ponzu.The element pon arrived in the Japanese language from the English word punch. Su (酢) is Japanese for vinegar, and hence the name literally means vinegar punch.

To make the dish even more Asian in flavor, mizuna would have been used in the salad.
Mizuna (ミズナ（水菜）which loosely translated into English as  “water greens” is also known as , shui cai, kyona, Japanese mustard, potherb mustard, Japanese greens, California peppergrass, or spider mustard is a cultivatedvariety of Brassica rapa nipposinica. The name is also used for Brassica juncea var. japonica. The taste of mizuna has been described as a “piquant, mild peppery flavor…slightly spicy, but less so than arugula. A vigorous grower producing numerous stalks bearing dark green, deeply cut and fringed leaves. They have a fresh, crisp taste and can be used on their own or cooked with meat. I Japanese cuisine, you will find them pickled. Highly resistant to cold and grown extensively during the winter months in Japan.

This dish is easy to make and takes less than thirty minutes to complete, from start to finish. The finish plate for each serving is a pork cutlet topped laying on a bed of dressed arugula and  with a cherry compote and a sprinkling of lemon zest.

 

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh  dark cherries*
2 cloves garlic
1  package of fresh argula
4 pork cutlets
2 Tablespoons ponzu sauce
3 Tablespoons honey
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Kosher salt, to taste
Ground Black pepper, to taste
1 Teaspoons mustard powder
1 cup  Japanese panko bread crumbs
1 egg
Zest of 1 lemon

Directions:
Wash produce. Roughly chop cherries, discarding pits. Peel and mince garlic. Place the pork between to sheets of plastic wrap; using a meat mallet, rolling pin or small heavy pan, pound to about an  ½ inch thickness. Remove pork from the plastic and  pat dry with a paper towel.

Prepare Ingredients:

 

To make the cherry ponzu compote: In a small bowl, combine the honey and ponzu sauce. Add  the cherries and stir to combine. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Set aside.

 

To bread the pork: In a large shallow bowl, combine flour, salt, and pepper. In a second large shallow bowl, whisk together the egg with mustard powder. In a third large shallow bowl, add panko bread crumbs. Season pork on both sides with salt and pepper. Add to flour, turn to coat, then shake off excess. Add to egg, turn to coat, then allow excess to drip off. Add to panko bread crumbs, pressing to adhere.

Bread Pork:

 

 

 

To cook the tonkatsu: Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large pan over medium heat. When oil is shimmering, add pork and cook until browned on outside, 3-4 minutes per side. Remove from pan and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Cook Pork Tonkatsu:

 

While pork cooks, in a large bowl, combine  garlic, and 1 teaspoon vegetable oil. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Add the arugula and toss to coat.

 

To serve, divide the  pork tonkatsu and salad evenly between plates. Spoon the ponzu cherry compote over pork; garnish with the lemon zest  and serve.

Enjoy!

Cook’s Notes:
If fresh cherries are not available, frozen dark cherries can be used in this recipe. Just be sure to thaw and drain any excess water before using.

Canned cherries can also be used, just omit the honey, if the cherries are packed in a heavy syrup or glaze

TODAY.com Parenting Team FC Contributor

Chicken Scaloppini with Lemon Butter and Wilted Spinach

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Adapted from Chef Wolfgang Puck
2016


Serves 4


Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, each 6 to 8 ounces
Kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground white pepper, to taste
1/2 cup King Arthur’s Whole Wheat Flour
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil, plus extra as needed
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra as needed, chilled and cut into pieces
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup cold water
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon sliced fresh scallions
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/2 cup pine nuts, coarsely chopped
Sauteed spinach, for serving (Recipe Follows Below)

Directions:
In preparing the scaloppini, use a sharp knife to cut the chicken breast halves crosswise and at a 45-degree angle into slices 1/2 inch thick. With a meat mallet, pound each slice to an even 1/4-inch thickness. Set these scaloppini aside. Repeat with the remaining chicken.

Season the scaloppini on both sides with salt and pepper, to taste.

Add flour to a shallow plate. Dredge each scaloppini in the flour covering  both sides and  shaking off excess flour before setting it aside on a platter or tray.

Heat a large sauté pan over high heat. Add 3 tablespoons of the oil and heat it until it swirls easily in the pan and is shimmering. Swirl the oil to coat the bottom of the pan.

Add the scaloppini in a single layer without overcrowding and dot with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Cook until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. With tongs, remove scaloppini to a heated platter and cover with foil to keep warm. Cook any remaining scaloppini, adding a little extra oil and butter as necessary.

Deglazing the pan by adding the lemon juice and water to the pan. Stir and scrape with a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan browned bits (fond). Boil until the liquid reduces and thickens slightly, 3 to 4 minutes.

To finish the sauce, stir in the honey. Then, while whisking constantly, stir in the remaining butter a few pieces at a time, adding more as it melts, to form a thick sauce. Stir in most of the scallions and parsley, reserving a little for garnishing. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve the scaloppini, place the sauteed spinach on a large platter. Place the scaloppini on top of the spinach, layering like roof shingles. Spoon the sauce over the chicken on the platter. Garnish with the remaining parsley, scallions and pine nuts and serve immediately.

Sautéed Spinach with Garlic
Serves 2 to 4
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 pound baby spinach leaves, thoroughly rinsed and dried
Kosher salt, to taste
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon granulated sugar

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat, until shimmering. Add the garlic and sauté, stirring frequently, for 1 minute, to flavor the oil.

Add the spinach to the skillet. Cook, using tongs to turn it almost constantly, until it wilts and reduces greatly in volume but is still bright green, about 2 minutes. Remove the garlic cloves. Season with a little salt and, if you like, the red pepper flakes and a little sugar. Serve immediately.

TODAY.com Parenting Team FC Contributor