Recipe Testing for the Folks at food52

Sounds fancy, right? Well it is (kind of). I've mentioned to you guys that I follow and participate in food52's recipe contests every week. Since I don't always never win the competitions (there are some seriously amazing home cooks out there!!), the readers (me) get to sign up to test the recipes that the Editors pick.

I had the pleasure of being the tester for a recipe for "Mock Southern Greens". You guys know by now that I love cooking up southern food (spicy and greasy and delicious, who doesn't?), so I was happy to test out a new recipe for the southern greens I love so much. This recipe that I tested came from a mom of two who was just honored on the food52 website as the "cook spotlight" of the week. She has some awesome recipes out there, so go check out her blog as well... Shallot Jane.

To go with Ashley's delicious dish of southern greens, I whipped up some smokey and spicy rice.

Mock Southern Greens with Smoky Poblano Brown Rice

For the Rice:
1 cup uncooked brown rice
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp butter
2 medium poblano peppers
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1 small onion (rough chop)
1 tbsp smoky hot paprika
salt and pepper
olive oil

Turn on broiled and place poblanos under the heat. Cook until all sides are charred. About 2- 3 minutes on each side (10 minutes total). Remove and cover with a kitchen towel until cooled enough to remove the skin. Remove skin and seeds, and chop into small pieces.

While pobablos are charring, heat olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 3-5 minutes, until they start to soften up. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (2 minutes). Add salt, pepper and hot paprika. Add poblano and cook for 3 minutes. Add the rice to the mixture and let cook for 2 minutes before adding the broth.

Add the broth and butter. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, mix ingredients and lower to a simmer. Cover and let cook for about 45 minutes, or until rice is done. So creamy, spicy and delicious. But wait, there's more.....

Mock Southern Greens

by Ashley Samuel Pierson

1 bundle Swiss chard

1 bundle kale

12 oz. hot smoked sausage or andouille* (sliced)

3 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion (rough chop)

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/4 tsp cinnamon*

1/2 tsp smoked hot paprika*

salt and pepper

2 tbsp red wine vinegar*

* = modifications to original recipe

In a saute pan with high sides, heat olive oil over medium heat. Brown sausage for about 7 minutes. Add onions and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onions are soft and have absorbed the fat from the sausage.

Stir in 1 cup of chicken broth and stir. Add Swiss chard, and kale, cinnamon, hot paprika and salt and pepper. Turn down heat to medium low. Add lid to the pan and let greens cook for 20-30 minutes, depending on the kind of greens you use.Check your greens every so often to see if any extra liquid is needed. The greens should be moist, but not swimming in broth. Add extra broth if necessary.

Serve the greens and sausage over the smoky rice! Seriously beware of the poblanos you use in this dish. My poblanos were like little fire crackers, so we were sweatin'! Y'all go out and try this dish. Me, Brian and my sister loved it, even though we were chugging milk with dinner.