In The Kitchen
May 12, 2020
Breakfast Casserole - Porter Style
Hope this post finds you well. Here's a new dandy comfort food cooking vid for you!
If you need a quick satisfying breakfast option this one wins (mind you, this would make a great lunch or dinner too with a side salad).
It's the sort of thing you can wing, and ingredients can be changed up like nobody's biz. Our family is all about toppings, so...do consider them when serving this gem. See my suggestions below.
Cheers + love from the countryside xxx
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1 LB. Bulk Italian sausage- cooked
1 yellow onion chopped
10 eggs
1 1/4 C. milk
2 cups cheddar cheese
Salt + freshly ground pepper
4 cups frozen hash-browns
Mix all ingredients and pour into a 9 x 13 baking pan.
Bake for approximately one hour or until no longer jiggling in the center.
Try the following toppings + condiments for taste bud goodness.
Jalapenos
Avocados
Tabasco
A bed of greens.
A dollop of sour cream
Scallions (our go to for everything)
Salsa
Ingredient substitutions or additions.
Leeks, mushrooms, jalapenos sauteed in advance in butter and salt.
Gruyere cheese...or a mix or cheeses
Bacon
April 22, 2020
Baked Chicken Goodness
Hello love!
Thought we'd share another Porter family favorite. We do a few versions of breaded baked or fried chicken, this one is an absolute winner.
It's as easy as things get for an incredibly satisfying dinner. Since we shoot these videos in our home don't mind us chatting here and there with our boys. We have 4 teenage sons, and while none of them want any camera time, things are still going on around us...dart games, lawn mowing, firewood runs etc!
You may want to make a smaller amount of this lusciousness than we do, but I will add...this chicken is good, good, good the next day! Trust me... I am the queen of leftovers.
I hope you'll give this one a whirl, I promise it'll become a favorite. We love it with a salad, and rice or some kind of potato.
Cheers + love from the countryside xxx
Preheat oven to 375 degrees + prepare a half sheet pan with parchment paper
2 sticks of unsalted butter
5-7 cloves of fresh minced garlic
2 cups of fresh bread crumbs ( baked in 375 oven for 12-15 minutes)
2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
12-14 bone in skin on chicken thighs
Salt
Pepper
Melt butter along with garlic.
Mix together bread crumbs + cheese. Season with salt + pepper.
Dip chicken into garlic butter then dredge in bread crumb + cheese mix, place each piece on prepared half sheet pan.
Add any leftover butter or bread crumbs to top of chicken.
Bake for about one hour until chicken is browned.
April 17, 2020
Spicy Bloody Mary Recipe
Hello Love! I hope this post finds you well and staying tucked.
As the days are blending into somewhat of an interesting blur we thought it might be nice to shake things up and share our Spicy Bloody Mary Recipe with you.
I always think of Bloody Mary's as a weekend brunch thing. But these are scrumptious any day of the week and they are delectable with or without vodka! Someday when we're all having gatherings again consider a Bloody Mary bar with all the fixins' for your guests!
I'm not sharing exact amounts of ingredients as we tend to go very spicy. Truth is, you can't mess these up! We believe Clamato juice makes the best version of this drink, but of course do what works for you! And don't forget to drag these gems through the garden and then some!
Clamato juice
Vodka
Worcestershire sauce
Prepared Horseradish
Pickle juice
Tabasco sauce
Italian seasoning
Garlic powder
Dijon mustard
Fresh lemon + Lime
Celery salt
Black pepper
Mix the above ingredients together and pour over a tall glass of ice. If you want to salt the rim of your glasses try a lemon pepper salt for a unique twist.
As for the add ins...it's endless and such a fun place to play! Here are the things we tend to go with.
Pickled green beans, asparagus, brussel sprouts
Scallions
Marinated mushrooms
Bacon ( yes really)
Large cooked cold shrimp
Cheers + love from the countryside xxx
April 4, 2020
Rumaki Appetizer
Hello Love!
We hope you're well and finding a bit of beauty in your days. Here's a new bit of goodness we're sending along with love from the countryside. xxx
This is our absolute favorite appetizer. And I would say our signature bring-to-any-gathering app. It disappears in minutes. Kids and adults love it.
Our 4 boys beg for it. Not kidding. Over the years we've made lots of changes as to how we make it, this is our current fave.
If you want to make these even more interesting, try the Devils On Horseback version. It's a date stuffed with blue cheese then wrapped in
bacon. We use the same sauce and sometimes do half and half for parties, holidays etc.
This recipe is also fabulous with a piece of cooked liver alongside the water chestnut, bacon wrapped and using same sauce.
These are a great make-ahead, pop-back-in-the-oven-to-heat-and-serve option. As for me, a plate of these with a salad and a glass of wine is dinner!
Rumaki
Makes approximately 50 appetizers
Arrange bacon side-by-side a parchment-covered sheet pan.
Place bacon in cold oven and heat to 425, cooking for 12-15 minutes.
Remove bacon from oven, let cool, then cut each piece in half.
Wrap each water chestnut with a half piece of bacon, and secure with a toothpick.
Arrange each wrapped chestnut on a parchment covered sheet pan.
Place back in oven for 12 minutes or until bacon looks brownish.
Place cooked chestnuts on paper towel to absorb remaining grease and place into a oven-safe baking dish.
Mix ketchup, brown sugar and soy sauce together with a tablespoon of garlic powder and a pinch or two of Italian seasoning.
Coat the wrapped chestnuts with sauce and place back in 425 degree oven for 15 minutes or until bubbling.
2 cans whole water chestnuts
1 cup ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 lbs bacon
garlic powder
Italian seasoning
March 5, 2020
Big Ol' Griddle Sandwiches
At least once a week we make big ol' griddled sandwiches - crowd pleasers matter when you have four teenage boys who eat as much as ours do.
This is one of those dinners that's super easy and if there are leftovers, they don't last long the next day. A vegan version of this would be fabulous, but our boys like meat in their sandwiches so we go for it and layer things up.
These are incredibly satisfying, and while I'm not a huge sandwich person, I cannot resist these. I often make an aioli and slather it on thick; it's usually Gus who asks for that as he scoots his way out the door for basketball practice, knowing he's coming home to these beauties. But mayo and mustard do the trick, too. Or, thousand island...oh...better yet: blue cheese dressing!! ...yeah perfect.
There's no wrong way to concoct a hearty sandwich. For us it sort of comes down to what's on hand. We often add leftovers into these, if there are any. This is one dinner we make that many of you have seen in our stories, and have asked for a video. Hope you enjoy it!
Cheers + love from our country kitchen to yours!
xxx
February 12, 2020
Smashed Potatoes
When the two of us get in the kitchen to cook good food and make cocktails the video can go a bit long. Making good food that our four boys swoon over is no question one of our favorite things to do. We also love to entertain, and swoon-worthy bites are a must! These easy-to-make smashed potatoes always win. We make them often and change the toppings on a regular basis. You can make them fanciful as we do for our Christmas Eve fete, when we top them with crème fraîche and caviar, or make them crowd-pleaser style as we're sharing in this recipe. Give yourself the freedom to try all sorts of toppings and combinations. I told John the other day I was craving these with a chunk of lobster and a nice aioli. Can you stand it?What are you going to top yours with when you make them?
Cheers and love from the countryside!
xxx
(Click HERE to download a PDF of the recipe)