Collard Oxtail, Blackened Crispy-Fried Pork, Mexican Cornbread, Scrap Apricot Pie

This is one of my very favorite meals. Inspiration: Collard Oxtail– my mother; Mexican Cornbread– my father; Blackened Crispy-Fried Pork– my husband. And the Scrap Apricot Pie– a combination of my parents, the memory I have of all the apricot pies Mother and Dad baked when I was a child in a hot kitchen during the summers, when they taught me how to finger pie dough to scrap together into delicious pies and pastries– I now bake for my own children. It’s been updated to my liking, but theirs is still the finest.

We swung on the trees, but the tree we climbed up into the most as kids was that apricot tree in the orchard, near the house, full of ripe– bright orange balls of fruit plucked by soiled hands and fingers. We climbed up into the branches, shaded from the leaves, and ate our fill of apricots. The tree was a good friend to us, gave us enough apricots for Dad and Mother to can into preserves, jams, cobbler and apricot pie, making it possible to have apricots in the winter months just as we had in summer. These are the memories I savor.

Scrap Apricot Pie ~

~ Skirt in the Kitchen ~

Have ready, Pate Brisee pie crust, recipe found under ‘Fresh Peach Pie’ on Skirt in the Kitchen– July 14, 2011.

Weight and slice 2 pounds fresh ripe apricots.

Scoop to measure 1/2 cup granulated sugar over apricots. To be added– 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar, a pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon Garam Masala, 1/8 cup pure maple syrup, 1 tablespoon cognac,

and just a little of freshly grated nutmeg. Lastly, add 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch.

Fill the pie shell, then cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator while preparing pie crust top so that pie dough stays firm, even firm for baking.

For ‘scrap pie’ appearance in which the edging of the scrap pie dough was usually made from– dough scraps, from the numerous pies that were baked, place the top crust over the bottom, immediately trim with a sharp knife, both the crust of the top as well as the bottom… add torn or cut strips of pie dough around the edge of the pie, pinching it in at places to secure it, giving it the rustic look. Brush on 1 whisked egg yolk with 1 1/2 teaspoons tap water over the top of the pie, then sprinkle generously with granulated sugar.

Place in a preheated oven set at 450 degrees F, baking for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temp to 350 and continue baking until pie bubbles with its juices, crust splits, browns and resembles a flakiness, approximately 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes in total from the very first time placed in the oven. Let the pie set several hours after it’s baked. This is even better the next day, keeping it refrigerated overnight. The crust does not get soggy, spices continue to seep together into the baked fruit and cognac.

For the savory side of the meal–

Collard Oxtail ~

~ Skirt in the Kitchen ~

In the bottom of a slow cooker, place 1/2 pounds beef oxtail, yellow chopped onion,

3 cloves finely chopped garlic, kosher salt, coarse black pepper,

fresh herbs of thyme and Thai basil.

Drizzle red balsamic vinegar over the meat and added ingredients. Cover the slow cooker and set on high temp

and begin to prepare the collard leaves.

Submerge into water, don’t just rinse them to clean them. Cut the stems away from the leaves.

Coil the strips of leaves, of both sides of the stem per leaf; coil, then cut again.

Start piling the cut collard leaves. They will cook down, so fill it to the top of the slow cooker, possibly needing to mash them down slightly for the lid to fit on the cooker.

Now add half a can of pigeon peas and half a can of cannellini beans. Drain the water from the cans except– You will not need any liquid than 1/2 of the liquid in the can of either vegetables, no stock– the juices from the beef oxtail will flavor the collards, harmonizing with the juices of the collards during cooking.

Slow cook for 4 to 6 hours, until meat is tender, falling off the oxtails with a fork.

This is very moist, extremely delicious, the best you will ever have.

Mexican Cornbread ~

~ Skirt in the Kitchen ~

My son, Caleb, came by– dropped in after work, “Hey, Mom, what are you cooking?”– “Mexican Cornbread,” I told him… “ALRIGHT!!”– With his finger, he comically put a smiley face into the cornmeal, lol… (:

In a large bowl, measure 1 cup yellow stone-ground cornmeal. Whisk in 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt, 1 tablespoon sugar.

Before going any further, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Go ahead and set a 10-inch black cast-iron skillet in the oven to heat up well, giving the cornbread a good crisp crust around the edges.

Pour in 1 cup buttermilk.

Largely grate extra sharp yellow cheddar cheese of 3/4 cup.

Grate 1/2 cup pepper-jack cheese the same way, large grate.

Beat 3 eggs at room temperature and blend into the combination of ingredients.

In 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, saute 1/2 of a large yellow onion and 1 minced garlic clove, then stir into batter. But do not saute the garlic until towards the end of sauteing the onion so that the garlic does not burn.

Stir into the batter 1 cup creamed corn, and one 8 3/4-ounce can of Del Monte whole kernel corn.

Drain one 4.5-ounce can of green chiles, finely mince the peppers to also add. If using a can of pre-minced chiles, still drain the can.

Dice 1/4 cup Dona Maria brand cactus and 1 fresh hot jalapeno (Not all jalapenos are hot.) to be added…

and fresh cilantro, and 1/8 cup finely chopped red roasted bell pepper. In 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, saute 1 large celery stalk, finely chopped… When cooked through, add all of it, even the leftover butter from the saute pan.

When everything has been added to the batter, stirred until moist, quickly brush into the preheated cast-iron skillet a tab of salted butter. Scrape batter into the skillet, sprinkle a little of the leftover grated cheddar for the top. Bake for 45-50 minutes.