What I Cooked: 3/1/17 A Plate Full of Southern Goodness

I finally gave up the pre-packaged sauces today. Time for a purely homemade meal.  Today I reached for some tried and true favorites: Southern Living's easy Crockpot ribs, Martha Stewart's Perfect Macaroni and Cheese (Make half the recipe in an 8x8 baking dish if you have a smaller family.) and my own amalgamation of several different collard green recipes.  I grew up in a transplanted southern family, so these flavors definitely take me home.

While purists may scoff at the cooking method, these ribs benefit from saucing and broiling after a long day in the Crockpot to replicate the char produced from grilling.  No, they don't have that smoky grilled flavor, nor did I have to go out and man a grill all day.  

The mac and cheese is one of the best recipes I've found . For the first time today, I substituted the Parmesan for gruyere.  No back story. Just forgot to buy it.  It tasted very good, but I prefer the extra nutty edge that gruyere gives the cheese sauce. Try it both ways and decide which you prefer.  

As for the collards, I have tried them many ways.  I like the flavor of bacon vs. the ham hock, which honestly grosses me out.  Today I had an epiphany.  Instead of chopping the bacon, I should just leave it whole because I don't like all the little bacon pieces in the finished dish.  Wish said epiphany had come before I cooked the greens, but there's always next time.  For seasoning, I cook sliced onion with the bacon and then sauté the greens until they wilt.  I add chicken broth just to cover and simmer for an hour or so.  I also add a tablespoon or so of dark brown sugar at this stage.  Once the greens are done, I add red wine vinegar to cut the richness. You can do this to taste. If you like a little spice, you can add crushed red pepper flakes at the end of the bacon and onion cooking.