Cuban-Style Creole Fried Chicken - Pollo Frito a la Criolla

Bone-in chicken thighs, marinated in a classic sour orange with onions, and a paste of garlic, oregano, and cumin, then pan seared and gently simmered on the stovetop.

Cuban-Style Creole Fried Chicken

If you're from the south, when you first saw the words "Creole" and "fried chicken" in the title to this recipe, you may have had certain expectations.

A southerner would likely expect any chicken that claims to be "fried chicken" to be one that has been dredged in seasoned flour and deep fried.

A southerner from the Deep South would expect a recipe claiming to be "Creole" to have the typical influences of tomato along with the trinity of onion, bell pepper and celery.

You'll find that neither of those elements apply to this Cuban-Style Creole Fried Chicken!

A Chinese-American dish of tender beef, tossed in a rich and robust sauce, with stir fried carrots, sweet bell peppers and green onion. Serve over steamed rice or cooked Asian noodles with a side of steamed broccoli.

Mongolian Beef

Okay. I have to admit. I have been seeing copycat recipes for this thing called Mongolian Beef all over the place for years.

Although an American creation and not authentic Chinese cuisine, it seems it's a favorite from P.F. Chang's restaurant, a place I have been to exactly once in my life. That visit was in Texas of all places, when we were there visiting family. I actually don't even remember what I ordered there to be honest, except that while it was good, it wasn't the Mongolian Beef.

Cabbage, tossed with salt pork and onion and smothered down with a little chicken broth. Simply seasoned, satisfying, comfort food.

Smothered Cabbage with Salt Pork

I love cabbage. Any way really, but most often when I pick up a head of cabbage thinking I might prepare something new for the website, most of the time I go with the simple fried cabbage I love so much.

It's actually pretty close to this version, though bacon based, and for some folks, as much as a full pound of it!

Minced cooked crawfish combined with egg, crushed saltines, seasonings and fresh parsley, shaped into patties and pan fried or air fried for a Deep South favorite.

Crawfish Burger Patties

Most everybody is familiar with seafood cakes in the form of crab cakes and tuna or salmon patties. All are well-loved and popular, especially here along the coast during Lent, but you may not have thought about crawfish!

I know that around the country as a whole, crawfish are, well... let's say a little weird and misunderstood and by the way you can substitute shrimp here as well, but here along the Gulf Coast and especially in Louisiana and Mississippi, crawfish season is anticipated every year like a kid at Christmas. 

Yep. Crawfish boils are a thing, and a pretty big thing here along the coast.

A cheesy pasta casserole made with a cream soup and sour cream base and rotini pasta.

Cheesy Rotini Casserole

This recipe is based on one that was popular back in the early 1980s among The Telephone Pioneers of America and was featured in their community cookbooks, Bell's Best and Calling All Cooks.

It was called Macaroni Casserole back then, because it was generally made with elbow macaroni. I used rotini pasta for my version because I had an opened box I needed to use up. Waste not, want not! 
 

An enhanced sweet cornbread that starts with Jiffy mix.

Hacked Jiffy Cornbread

I started this recipe website Deep South Dish back in 2008, when there really weren't many food blogs, much less many focused in any manner on southern cooking. Boy has that changed and talk about competitive!

There are now some very ambitious and focused 30-somethings out there and hey, I'm super proud of them. Support them please! They are hard workers.

On the other hand, me, I'm just a home cook, twice their age, sharing my recipes and just a tiny little bit outside of that league, so a special shout out to those of you who have been here and supported me and my old-school ways and recipes from the beginning. I love y'all!

Baby back ribs, seasoned with a flavorful rub, placed over a rack, steamed with stock and apple juice in the Instant Pot and finished with a caramelizing pass under the broiler or on a hot grill.

Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs

Ribs. More specifically, baby back ribs. So good and delicious!

We love them about any way they come really, but one of my top favorite ways to make them quite frankly, is in the oven. They are so tender and delicious and despite what the pro-Q'ers say, The Cajun and I love them that way.

The elements from my open-faced, spicy tuna melt come together in an oven-steamed hot tuna sandwich.

Cheesy Hot Tuna Sandwiches

Though they've been around a long time, you may not have heard about these yummy hot tuna sandwiches. They're a bit retro by now.

A riff on a tuna melt honestly, except while those are typically served open-faced on an English muffin and with cold tuna, topped with cheese and passed briefly under a broiler, hot tuna sandwiches are made on buns or rolls, wrapped and heated through in the oven.

Seasoned pork chops, seared in a skillet and smothered in gravy with caramelized vegetables.

Pork Chop Étouffée

We do so love to "smother" our food here in the Deep South!

I mean, what's not to love about food simmered in gravy or sauce? Good stuff! I mean, check these out y'all.

Cabbage Roll Bowl

Cabbage with ground beef or sausage, or a combination of them, cooked rice, tomato sauce and a little sweet and sour element - the flavors of classic stuffed cabbage rolls in a quicker shortcut, one-pot version.

Cabbage Roll in a Bowl

I love cabbage rolls, but the prep always seems overwhelming!

It's really not that bad though, it just seems so, because every time I go ahead and start them, I realize the dread of the "work" was mostly just in my head. It just seems so daunting to think about it all, but really, some of the prep can even be done ahead of time.

This dish is a bit of a shortcut on that classic stuffed cabbage flavor, but without that anticipated dread.