I'd like to talk a few minutes about Mustard Greens and Greens in general. First of all, they're very, very healthy for you. Second of all, they're versatile. If you grew up in the 70's and 80's like I did, you probably had turnip greens out of a can or of the frozen variety. Not anymore - you can buy fresh ones at the store, or at a local Farmers Market, which I prefer. I think people are scared of them and maybe it's because they don't know how to prepare them. I've got an easy solution in the form of two recipes below. You can't screw it up, you can substitute a few of the ingredients and you're going to have a new found respect for the greens. My first experience with Mustard Greens was in the form of a salad that is wilted with bacon grease. I'll share that recipe, too. Now, this is not going to be the miracle you've been looking for if you think your kids will start consuming them in mass quantities. This is for all of you who want to eat more veggies and are tired of the broccoli, asparagus, and green bean rotation you've (I've!!) become accustomed to. Greens are also good if you want to amp up a veggie dinner during the summer, too. A typical veggie plate at our house is Mac and Cheese, Fried Potatoes, Sliced Tomatoes, Peas and Greens. Okay, I know Mac and Cheese is not a veggie, but it's homemade and to die for. Sorry, got off track there. So here we go:
Sauteed Greens
4 Bunches of Mustard, Collard or Turnip Greens
4 Slices of Bacon, chopped (You can also chop up part of a ham steak or use salt pork...all delicious variations. I used Prosciutto last night and it was awesome)
3-4 Green Onions, white and green parts chopped or a small Sweet Onion, chopped
4 Cloves of Garlic, sliced or chopped
1 Tbsp Butter
Salt, Pepper and Red Pepper Flakes to taste
Chop and Wash the greens thoroughly. I know 4 bunches sound like a lot, but they wilt down, so don't underestimate - buy 4 bunches. Pat them dry. While they are drying, fry the bacon or ham, or whatever you're using in a very large skillet or dutch oven until it's almost crisp. Remove it from the pan to drain, but don't pour out the grease. Add the butter to pan and allow it to melt. Once it's melted, turn the heat down to medium low and add the onions. Allow them to cook for a few minutes, then add the garlic and the greens. You may have to add the greens a bit at a time while they wilt down. Using a spoon or tongs, mix the greens so that they get coated with the delicious bacon and butter grease! (God..that sounds sooo unhealthy!!) Season to taste with the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and allow them to cook for about 15 minutes on medium low heat. Serve hot and enjoy!
Mustard Green Salad
3-4 Bunches of Mustard Greens, rinsed and chopped
1 Bunch Green or Red Leaf Lettuce, rinsed and chopped
1 Bunch Radishes, Sliced
1 Sweet Onion, Sliced
6 Slices of Bacon, Chopped
1 Tablespoon of Vegetable Oil
In a large salad bowl, mix the mustard greens, lettuce, radishes and onion. Using a medium to large frying pan, fry the bacon with the vegetable oil until crisp. Drain the bacon on paper towels and then sprinkle on top of the salad, reserving the bacon grease. You should have 1/4 cup of bacon grease. If you don't, add another tablespoon of vegetable oil to the pan, turn the heat to low and allow the vegetable oil and bacon grease to combine. Pour the hot bacon grease over the mustard green salad, add salt and pepper if needed and serve.
I will share the short ribs and potato recipes tomorrow. For now I will close with this piece on Paige:
Paige and I surprised Gary with dinner at Pappas Thursday night for his birthday. Paige has been there before and knows she has to behave. We've never had a problem with her...Thank God. They also put us at a table in the back just in case. (Smart people). Paige loves bread...and she loves butter...so much that when she couldn't reach the butter knife, she used her finger. Sometimes she spread the butter on the bread. Sometimes she just licked it off of her finger. At one point I wouldn't let her have any more bread (she'd eaten almost all of it by herself), so she just resorted to eating the butter off of the knife. When I asked her to stop, she said, "But you said I couldn't have any more BREAD. You didn't say I couldn't have any more BUTTER." She had a point...still, I couldn't let her lick butter off of the butter knife at Pappas. At Rockett Cafe, no biggie. Extremely classy steakhouse, uh no. Gary and I decided against a bottle of wine, not because we didn't want one, but what would people think about the two of us downing a bottle of wine and driving our 6 year old home. Since we didn't want anyone calling the cops on us, we opted to just have a glass with our dinner. (After the cocktails we sucked down while Paige was eating butter) A half bottle of wine equals a glass per each of us, so that's what we did. Jason, our sommelier, brought over a really nice Zinfandel, sat the cork dish on the table and before he could set the cork in it, Paige asked to see the dish. She noticed that she could see things in it; so he handed it to her and she held it up and started primping herself...she even reached into her purse for some lip gloss. Gary and I were MORTIFIED!! Ahh..but the best was yet to come. Paige was kind enough to hand the cork dish back to Jason, but as soon as he set the cork down, she asked to see it...which was no big deal. The big deal was when SHE LICKED THE WINE STAINED PORTION OF THE CORK, FOLKS!!!!! We all started laughing, out of sheer embarrassment and horror, and took the cork away from her. That wasn't enough for her. She sat there, watched him pour the wine and then ASKED HIM TO POUR A GLASS FOR HER!!!!! At that point, Jason sat down the bottle of wine and walked off. Paige had a busy evening, she ate all the bread and butter, half of her filet, and ice cream with chocolate syrup. It eventually became too much for her and she couldn't go on any longer:
Have a great day....I'll be back tomorrow......
Kelly
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