Red Beans and Rice...in the crokpot!

After the success of my white beans crockpot experiment, I decided to branch out to red beans and rice this weekend. And we had some deer sausage we needed to use up to make room for more deer sausage coming, so it was doubly nice!

Generally, I use Emeril's Red Beans and Rice recipe (just using andouille sausage instead of the tasso and ham). I had pinned this crockpot red beans and rice recipe from Cooking Light to try, but I did notice it only had three stars (out of five) - which was a cause for concern. So I decided to meld the two recipes together.

Here is the Shawn Emeril Cooking Light Crockpot Red Beans and Rice Mashup...

1 lb red beans
1 container chicken stock
1 lb andouille sausage (or spicy deer sausage), sliced
1 yellow onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 bunch of celery, chopped
3 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp red pepper (less if you don't like it spicy)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
3 bay leaves
Cooked rice
1/4 cup chopped green onions for garnish, if desired

Put the red beans in the crockpot. You will add the stock to enough water to equal 9 cups of liquid total.

Saute the sausage in a cast iron skillet. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to the crockpot but leave the drippings in the pan. Saute the onion, pepper, celery and garlic until tender, about 5 min. Add to crockpot along with the rest of the seasonings (thyme through bay leaves).

Cook on high for 5 hours or low for 8 hours. Remove bay leaves before serving over cooked rice. Garnish with green onions, if desired.

Turkey Spaghetti for National Spaghetti Day

We unknowingly - until after dinner anyways - celebrated National Spaghetti Day on January 4. We were knowingly celebrating turkey stock - or the turkey aftermath of said stock anyways. After Thanksgiving, my husband decided to master soup stock - and we have discovered that though we like chicken better than turkey we much prefer turkey stock to chicken stock. It's much richer! So when we need more stock, we are on the lookout for great turkey leftover recipes.

I decided to start close to home and begin with the chicken recipes I knew we loved and just substitute turkey. This chicken spaghetti was my first experiment (and I hope the rest are just as successful!)

Turkey Spaghetti

3 cups of shredded turkey
16 oz. spaghetti
4 cans chicken broth
5 sticks celery, diced
1 onion, diced
1 stick butter
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 small pkg of Velveeta, cut into small cubes
Paprika

Boil the spaghetti, as directed on the package, in the 4 cans of chicken broth. Reserve the broth when draining the spaghetti.

Saute the celery and onion in the butter until soft, about 5 min. Add the turkey to heat up (if not hot).

In a Dutch oven, combine spaghetti, sauteed vegetables with turkey, the soups, and the Velveeta. Add enough chicken broth to make it all juicy. Sprinkle paprika on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 min.

Greenwood's Viking Range to be sold for $380M

Food service equipment maker Middleby Corp. says it will buy Mississippi-based oven and kitchen appliance maker Viking Range Corp. for $380 million. Fred Carl Jr., Viking's founder and chief executive officer, tells the Greenwood Commonwealth that the manufacturer of upscale kitchen appliances will stay in Greenwood. He expects few changes resulting from the new ownership other than future growth in the city of its birth.

Read more from The Clarion Ledger here.

Quentin's Birthday Turtle Cheesecake

Quentin's birthday request is always Turtle Cheesecake. Every year, I have tried a different recipe - and every year the result is a delicious-tasting cheesecake with a layer of caramel that can almost break a tooth it gets so hard in the oven!

No more. This year, I took matters in my own hands and just created my own recipe.

I made it in a 13x9x2 pan because we were having folks over and needed a little more for others to help celebrate too!

Crust:
2 cups crushed graham crackers
1 stick butter
2/3 cup brown sugar

Melt butter and stir in graham crackers and brown sugar. Pat into bottom of greased 13x9x2-inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 10 min.

Filling:
3 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened
4 eggs
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla

For filling, in a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on low to medium speed until smooth. Add eggs and beat well. Beat in sweetened condensed milk, sugar, and the vanilla. Pour filling over baked crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes until set. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Glaze: While cheesecake is still warm, pour 17-oz. jar of Mrs. Richardson's Butterscotch Caramel Topping on top and spread evenly with knife. (You can try other caramel toppings, but there is a wide variation of taste and texture in ice cream toppings - and I can only vouch for Mrs. Richardson's!) Add Heath Bar bits and pecan pieces.

Chill cake from two to 24 hours. Enjoy!

How to Make Your Own Twinkies

They're in. They're out. They might. They won't. They could. The judge might make them...

Well, you don't have to worry about it anymore. Just go make your own Twinkies!

Don't Be a Turkey!

According to NBC News, one-third of the turkey we cook for Thanksgiving Day gets thrown away. What's worse, throwing away turkey isn't just bad manners or a big waste of money ($282 million), it's also bad for the environment (when you take into account how much energy and water is used to raise those turkeys).

To do my part, I've rounded up my favorite ways to use leftover turkey. (And if you have any recipes you love using rotisserie chicken, just use turkey instead!)

• Turkey Enchiladas
• White Bean & Turkey Chili
• Smoked Turkey Sandwiches on Cranberry-Pecan Quick Bread
• Grilled Turkey, Bacon, Radicchio and Blue Cheese Sandwiches
• Toasted Turkey & Brie Sandwiches
• Turkey Tetrazzini

Chicken in White Wine

Chicken in White Wine. I made this last week, but used real bacon and kept skin on chicken. (Take that, Weight Watchers!)

Next time, I would season/blacken the chicken before browning to make a crust with the skin. I added my own spices but it still could have used more. The gravy it makes is SUPERB!

Remember, I collect all of the recipes I have actually made on this Pinterest board (with comments). I try to eventually post them here too but sometimes life gets in the way!

South Mississippi restaurants gathering supplies for East Coast

Several Coast restaurants are collecting supplies through Operation BBQ Relief to take to the East Coast to feed families displaced by Hurricane Sandy. Donations of non-perishable items such as cleaning supplies and plastic gloves are needed, as well as seasonings, barbecue sauces and rubs, charcoal and industrial-sized cans of vegetables and beans are needed.

Learn more here.

Mahi Soft Tacos with Chipotle Cream Sauce

It is not often that my husband brings me a cookbook, marks a page, and says, "Please make me this." So I was intrigued by this Mahi Soft Tacos with Chipotle Cream Sauce recipe in Crazy Sista Cooking from the get-go. (We had just left a weekend of fish tacos in Gulf Shores, so I thought he'd be tired of them by now.) We are trying to incorporate more fish into our home cooking, and this one is definitely a keeper. I think the Chipotle Cream Sauce would be great as a dip for boiled shrimp or crawfish too...or tossed with some cabbage for an oyster po-boy. (is very spicy though so if you don't like heat, you may want to cut the peppers in half!)

4 8-oz. fresh mahi-mahi fish fillets
4 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 tbsp taco seasoning
1 can seasoned black beans, washed and drained
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded white cabbage
1 cup shredded purple cabbage (I used a bag of coleslaw mix)
12 6-inch corn tortillas
Chiopotle Cream Sauce
Lime
Salsa

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Coat fish with 2 tbsp olive oil and seasoning. Set aside.

Warm black beans. Combine cheeses in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix cabbages.

Wrap tortillas in foil and warm in oven for 10 min.

In a large cast iron or heavy skillet, heat remaining 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat until it sizzles. Gently place fillets in skillet. Cook on side for 3 to 4 min. Carefully turn fillets and continue cooking for another 3 to 4 minutes or until fish is cooked through. Remove from heat and chop into bite-sized pieces.

To assemble taco, top warm tortillas with fish, black beans, cheese, and cabbage. Drizzle with Chipotle Cream Sauce and fold in half. Serve with salsa and lime wedges.

Chipotle Cream Sauce

4-5 whole chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (found in 7 oz. cans)
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp taco seasoning
2 cups sour cream

In a food processor, combine whole chipotle peppers, lime juice, lemon juice, salt, cumin, and seasoning. Blend until peppers are pureed. Add the sour cream and blend thoroughly until smooth. Refrigerate and serve chilled.

Slow-Cooker Sweet and Spicy Chicken

This is what Martha's looked like. Not mine.(I did cook it on low. Maybe it's better on high. My skin did not stay on at all. It all cooked down.)

The recipe was still yummy. It just DID NOT LOOK ANYTHING LIKE THAT!

And I made this Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore recently - and my family thought it was the same recipe. It tastes that similar. Only this second recipe looks much healthier (on face value). No oil. No skin. (No extra time in flash frying it.)

When I tried Martha's recipe, the chicken was all gone but there was lots of tomato sauce left, so I combined her recipe with my traditional Shrimp and Grits and voila...



I don't know what it's called, but I liked it. (My husband just tolerated it, however, and my son didn't want to eat it with the tomato sauce. MEN!)

Maybe Sweet and Spicy Shrimp and Grits?! ;)

Breesy Mac

Drew Brees' favorite pre-game carb loading dinner won big at our house. Leave it to New Orleans to take a basic mac-and-cheese recipe and make it absolutely decadent! (But this is the kind of hamburger helper the adults will be just as thrilled with as the kids!)

Breesy Beefy Mac
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup chopped andouille
1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 tablespoon flour
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped jalapeños
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar and American cheese (plus extra for topping)
3/4 cup uncooked macaroni or pasta of your choice, cooked and drained
Melt the butter in a hot skillet, add andouille and sauté. Once the andouille is crispy, add ground beef. Break up the ground beef, and cook until the beef is done all the way through. Stir in flour until smooth.

Add heavy cream and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer until mixture thickens. Add tomatoes, jalapeños, salt, pepper and cheese. Cook until cheese is melted, stirring slowly (about 2 minutes

Mix the cheese sauce with the cooked pasta, and place into a well-greased oven safe dish. Top with a layer of shredded cheddar and bake for 7 minutes or more at 375 degrees, until dish is heated through and cheese is golden brown.

[ via Times Picayune ]

Crawfish Pasta

When we get crawfish, our eyes are almost always bigger than our stomach. (More, please!) So I have these little freezer bags full of crawfish in the freezer. This recipe is a perfect way to use those!


1 ziploc bag of frozen crawfish (about 2 cups)
2 tbsp butter
Minced garlic
1 block cream cheese
1 cup milk
1 lb fettucine
Parsley
Parmesan cheese

Thaw the crawfish. Prepare the pasta as described on bag or box. Melt the butter over medium heat in a Dutch oven and add garlic and crawfish. Add cream cheese and melt. Slowly add 1 cup milk. (If you want it to be a thicker sauce, you can use half heavy cream and half milk.) Put the drained pasta in with the sauce and mix. Warm and serve with fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese on top.

Grilled Marinated Swordfish

Honestly, I haven't seen swordfish in the seafood restaurants I frequent (excepting on the wall, anyways). But we have made a resolution to start trying more fish dishes, and Kroger had swordfish steaks today, so we decided to give it a try.

This marinade was very tasty and Quinn grilled it perfectly - my only beef with this fishy recipe was the price. (Six bucks for that one steak! Yes...we split it.) I'm all for adventures in cooking and all, but who knew exploration was THAT expensive!

I served it with mashed potatoes and sauteed asparagus. (I figured we needed the potatoes as I was too cheap to buy two steaks!)  Yummy!

25 Things to Know Before You Become a Restaurant Critic

Great list of 25 things to know before you become a restaurant critic. My favorite?

Every time you eat in someone’s home, someone will say, “How many stars would you give this?”

Slow Cooker Meatball and Tortellini Soup

Two of my family's favorite recipes involve cheese tortellini and Italian-style meatballs, so, honestly, I knew this recipe would be a hit before I even served it. But it was an even bigger hit than I expected! And it also gave me several ideas for future crockpot soup recipes. Basic broth + veggies and extras + add tortellini or any refrigerated or frozen pasta about 45 minutes before serving = yummy dinner!


½ bag of frozen Italian Meatballs (1 pound)
1 bag (1 pound) refrigerated cheese tortellini
Beef Broth (32 oz.)
1 can (15.5 oz) Navy Beans
1 can (14.5 oz.) Italian Diced Tomatoes
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 tbsp oregano
Salt & Pepper, to taste
Grated Parmesan Cheese


Pour beef broth in slow cooker and add beans (do not drain), diced tomatoes (do not drain), onion, garlic, celery, oregano and frozen meatballs.

Set slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours.

About 30-45 minutes before you’re ready to eat, add frozen tortellini (or pasta). Allow to cook thoroughly. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Ladle into bowls and top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Social Media & Food: A Match Made In Heaven [Infographic]

I suppose this is why when anyone asks me where I got a recipe from, my husband and son answer, in unison, while rolling their eyes: "Pinterest!" ;)

It also reminds me of a reminder that I saw recently: It is in fact possible, it seems, to eat something - at home or at a restaurant - without posting a picture on Instagram first. Who knew?!

See the full-size graphic here.

New 'Food & Drink' category goes live on Apple's App Store

On July 12, Apple's App Store launched a new Food & Drink section. The category currently has 2,824 paid and 4,040 free iPhone apps and 1,121 paid and 1,039 free iPad apps.

How We Accidentally Ruined Tomatoes

For those of you who insist that grocery store tomatoes taste awful compared to those in your childhood.... Well, you are right! It seems we accidentally ruined tomatoes by trying to make them bright red (which, it seems, is when we want to buy them).

Corn & Zucchini Saute

I'm continuing my summertime recipes as it's getting warmer and warmer down here already. We broke out the shorts last weekend!

Corn & Zucchini Saute

2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 tsp garlic, minced
2 cups fresh corn (about 4 ears)
2 medium zucchini (1 lb), quartered lengthwise, then cut cross-wise into 1/4-inch pieces
1/4 tsp ground cumin
Salt & pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat till hot but not smoking, then cook green onions, stirring occasionally till softened about 3 min. Add garlic and cook, stirring 1 min. Add corn, zucchini, cumin, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, till zucchini is tender, four to six minutes. Stir in cilantro and season more with salt and pepper, if needed.

Herb and Cream Cheese Fondue

I recently received this e-mail from a friend. She had just sampled some and verified its superbness for us...

Herb and Cream Cheese Fondue Recipe

3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped, or ½ tablespoon dried
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped, or ½ tablespoon dried
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped, or ½ tablespoon driec
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 to 1 ½ cups light cream

In a large, heavy, non-stick skillet, saute’ the garlic in the olive oil, just until tender.  Add the cream cheese, and continue cooking on low heat, stirring until the cheese is smooth and melted. Gradually stir in the cream, a little at a time until the mixture reaches the right consistency for dipping.  (It thickens as it cools.)  Add the parsley, oregano and basil, and continue cooking for two or three minutes to the let the herb flavors blend.  Transfer to a warm ceramic fondue pot. Serve with cooked, shelled shrimp, tortellini, French bread, Wheat Thins, scallops, chicken, vegetables, etc.

Note:  The recipe can be made a day ahead and refrigerated, but you will need to add more cream before serving. (It thickens when chilled.)  Shrimp and scallops cook quickly and dry easily when overcooked, so it’s best to prepare them shortly before serving this fondue recipe.  Serves 6

Penne & Spinach Pasta Toss

This recipe combines three of my favorite qualities - quick, easy and delicious! And it will be another great recipe for the summer months.

Penne & Spinach Pasta Toss

8 oz penne or ziti, uncooked
8 cups (8 oz) packed baby or torn spinach leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 3/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions, adding spinach to water durng last minute of cooking and stirring till wilted.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 2 min. Add broth and bring to a simmer, cook 4 min.

Drain pasta and spinach; add to skillet, tossing well. Simmer 2 min., tossing frequently. Stir in tomato; heat through. Toss cheese lightly in mixture with two spoons till cheese slightly melts. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This is from the April 2005 issue of Everyday Food and it is quite good. The sweet and sour sauce is not too thick, too sweet or too cloying. I think it will be a great warm-weather recipe addition to the Secret Recipe Box. 

Sweet and Sour Chicken

2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp cornstarch
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
4 tsp sugar
3 tbsp vegetable oil
4 bell peppers (red, green, yellow or a combination), cut into 1-inch pieces
8 scallions, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces, white and green parts separated
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Cooked white rice
1 cup pineapple tidbits

In a large bowl, toss chicken with 1 tbsp each soy sauce and cornstarch, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. In another bowl, combine remaining 2 tbsp soy sauce and tbsp cornstarch, vinegar, ketchup, sugar and 1/2 cup water; set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Cook half the chicken, turning occasionally, until browned and almost cooked through, 4 min.; remove. Cook the remaining chicken in another tbsp oil; remove.

Add remaining tablespoon oil to the pan. Add peppers, white parts of scallions and garlic; cook over med-hi, stirring, till peppers are crisp-tender, about 3 min.

Whisk soy-sauce mixture; add to pan. Return chicken; add scallion greens and pineapple. Cook, stirring, till sauce has thickened and chicken is cooked through, about 2 min. Serve immediately over rice.

We can make this hard or we can make this easy...

Crawfish Etouffe (The Hard Way and The Easy Way)

6 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped celery
1/2 c. chopped bell pepper
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs thyme (or EASY: dump dry thyme in as desired)
2 1/2 cup fish or shrimp stock (HARD: Make stock by boiling crawfish shells, heads, etc. in water with cut up onion or EASY: 2 1/2 cup canned chicken broth)
1 c. diced tomatoes (or EASY: 1 can diced tomatoes, rinsed and drained)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper
Hot pepper sauce
2 tsp Worcestershire
2 lb crawfish tails - save shells to make broth  (or EASY: 2 lb frozen crawfish tails, thawed)
1/2 lemon, juiced (or EASY: a few teaspoons of lemon juice)
1 c. chopped green onions
1/4 c. chopped parsley (or EASY: sprinkle dried parsley till it looks right)

In a large heavy saucepan, melt 4 tbsp butter and whisk in flour. Make peanut butter-colored roux. (The only way to make a roux easier is to keep a bottle of wine by the pot.) Add veggies and seasoning. Cook 6 to 8 min. Add stock, tomatoes and spices. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 30 min. Add crawfish, lemon juice, green onions and parsley and cook for 15 to 20 min. Add remaining butter and stir to combine. Serve over rice.

I have tried it both ways. Both are delicious!

Zesty Barbecued Shrimp

Melt a stick of butter in the pan. Slice one lemon and layer it on top of the butter. Put down l to 1 1/2 lbs. large or jumbo fresh shrimp, then sprinkle one pack of dried Zesty Italian dressing mix. Put in the oven and bake at 350 for 15 min.

Serve with toasted French bread slices to sop up the butter. (Can put the bread in at 350 degrees for about 10 min. and it will be ready.)

Yum!

(This is the first time I've made this recipe and mine were a little hard to peel. Might try a little less time next time.)

Cream of Coconut Cake

Cream of Coconut Cake

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup cream of coconut
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 lb confectioners' sugar
• Flaked coconut (optional)
• Toasted hazelnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9x13 inch pan (for a sheet cake) or two 9-inch pans (for a layer cake - my preference).
2. Combine the cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, cream of coconut and the sour cream and mix well for 4 minutes. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 40 minutes. Let cake cool then frost with cream cheese frosting and top with flaked coconut.
4. To Make Frosting: Combine the softened cream cheese, vanilla, almond extract, and confectioners' sugar. Mix until smooth and spread over cooled cake. Top with flaked coconut and toasted hazelnuts, if desired.

Mediterranean Vegetable-Cheese Pie

I tried out some summer fare recently as the temperatures are already beginning to rise down South. I baked the pie for Saturday night supper but it actually taste better for brunch on Sunday - I think the flavors need a little time to meld together - and I will add salt to the recipe when I try it again. It needs some. The recipe is from Self magazine, April 2005 - they attribute it to Rancho La Puerta Spa, Tecate, Baja, California.

Mediterranean Vegetable-Cheese Pie

Olive oil cooking spray
2 med.-sized potatoes, peeled and sliced in 1/8-inch rounds
8 oz (about 8 cups) baby spinach
3 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
2 whole eggs
3 egg whites
1 cup nonfat ricotta or cottage cheese
1 tbsp feta, crumbled
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil or dill (or 3 tsp dry)
3 Roma tomatoes, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
1 1/2 tbsp grated Asiago or Parmesan
1 1/2 tbsp grated lowfat mozzarella

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. Line bottom of plate with potato slices. Cut remaining slices in half and arrange around side of plate. Bake 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Coat a saute pan with cooking spray and saute onion over low heat till tender, about 5 min. Add spinach to pan and let wilt, about 2 to 3 min. Remove from heat. Drain excess fluid from onion and spinach mixture. Stir in olives.

In a medium-sized bowl, beat eggs and egg whites. Stir in ricotta and feta. Add half the basil or dill and set aside. Spoon onion and spinach mixture into pie plate over potatoes. Layer on egg mixture, then slices of tomato. Bake 20 to 25 min. or till egg is set and a knife inserted into pie comes out clean. Sprinkle grated cheeses evenly over top of pie and top with remaining basil or dill. Return to oven for 5 min. or till cheese melts. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 min. Cut pie into four wedges. Serve immediately.

Per serving: 192 calories, 4.8 g fat (2 g saturated), 20.5 g carbohydrates, 17.5 g protein, 7.8 g fiber

Glazed Lemon Cake

This cake is easy to make and delicious! Everytime I bring it, I get asked for the recipe. (I have also added poppyseeds to the recipe for a neighbor that wanted a lemon poppyseed cake and I have baked it like a bread loaf. It's very versatile.)

Glazed Lemon Cake

1 package white cake mix
1 package instant lemon pudding
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 cup lemon-lime soda
1 cup confectioner's sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice

In a mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, oil and eggs; beat on medium for one min. Gradually beat in soda. Pour into a 13x9x2 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 min.

Combine sugar and lemon juice and spread over warm cake.

Crockpot Shrimp Creole

Crockpot Shrimp Creole

1 1/2 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup diced green pepper
28 oz. diced tomatoes
16 oz. tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 bay leaf
Tabasco to taste
1 lb fresh shrimp, shelled

Combine all ingredients except shrimp in crockpot. Cook on low for 7 to 9 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours. During last hour, turn crockpot to high and add shrimp. Cook one hour. (Goes great with a green salad and a loaf of Gambino's French Bread.)

Sausage and Pepper Stew

This recipe is from the February/March 1999 Fine Cooking. (Yes, I've been making it that long.)

I, of course, take several shortcuts. I have included the original recipe here, but I don't tie up a bouquet garni - I just dump dried basil into the soup (so much for "fine cooking" at my house). I also cut the sausage up into small pieces before sauteing in oil, rather than leaving them whole. I don't use 3 tbsp olive oil - I just mist a little olive oil in the pot I cook the stew in. (I'm sure the sausage is enough fat for one recipe.) And double the recipe because this freezes well!

Sausage & Pepper Stew

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/4 lb hot Italian sausages
1 med. onion, thinly sliced
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 green bell peppers, cored, seeded and cut into thin strips
28-oz can tomatoes, drained and chopped (I use diced though)
2 cups water
3/4 cup uncooked small pasta (tubetti, ditali or shells)
5 sprigs fresh basil and 5 sprigs fresh mint, tied together in a bouquet garni
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a large skillet with a lid, heat the olive oil over med-hi heat. Add the sausages and onion; cook, turning the sausages to brown all sides, until the onions are just tender, about 8 min. Add the garlic and bell peppers and cook another couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes, water, pasta, basil, mint, salt and pepper (make sure the pasta is submerged). Raise the heat to high and cook until the liquid starts to boil. Turn the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the sausages feel firm and the pasta is tender, about 25 min. Cut the sausages into slices or leave whole for serving.

"Nice job, assholes."

That's how John Currence summed up on Twitter New Orleans' Times-Picayune decision to dismiss Brett Anderson as their food critic. Also on Twitter, Susan Langenhennig announced that she will take over that role eventually. (She is the fashion editor and has been doing food reviews off and on.)

It will be interesting to see how food/restaurant reviews change as newspapers change. I can remember a time when every local newspaper had a "critic." A critic that was actually a critic and reported honestly on the food and service. The argument has always been that no one will buy advertising from folks criticizing their product - but now most have switched 180 degrees to slick PR pieces couched as food journalism (sometimes hilariously obviously).

But if a food critic can't survive in a town as food-centric as New Orleans, where can he?

Update: It seems Anderson is on a sabbatical, not unemployed.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

This was dinner tonight. A little late. Because I swore I had bread crumbs, but didn't. I think my husband thought I was just coming up with an excuse for a scooter ride, but I really thought we had breadcrumbs.

Anyways, if you don't forget the breadcrumbs, you should be able to start prep at 6:30 p.m. and have it on the table by 7:30 p.m. I bought the thin-sliced breasts and didn't beat them, but I think they still could have used some beating. (And, in my book, any excuse to use a meat mallet is a good one! Everyone talks about getting the newlywed woman a rolling pin to garner some respect around the house, but I'd take a meat mallet instead any ol' day.)

Cooking Light recommended serving it with mashed potatoes and green beans, but it's pretty filling on its own, so I just served it with sauteed asparagus. And I substituted Canadian bacon for prosciutto. (If you're bored one afternoon, walk in to your local Wal-mart and ask someone where the prosciutto is. It didn't end well. I just went with the Canadian Bacon. And in all fairness I know where the prosciutto is at Kroger and I never have to ask, so maybe the response would be similar.)

While making it, I started wondering why it's called "cordon bleu." No blue cheese. It just means "blue ribbon" in French so no help there.Wikipedia is not much help on the history - just says it's not named after the famous cooking school. Then I discovered, despite the French name, the dish is distinctly American. Just a trendy, fancy name for a trendy, fancy dish served at trendy, fancy restaurants...and at my house, too, of course!

A keeper recipe no matter the name! Enjoy!

Hot and Sour Soup

My husband and I both love Hot and Sour Soup, but I had not found a recipe to try that was fairly basic (until this one). The chili paste definitely makes it spicy, so if you don't like the heat leave it out. The basic broth is yummy, but you could add to or leave out the bamboo shoots, snow peas, shrimp, etc. and add whatever you wanted.

Cheeseburger Soup

1 lb ground round (or leanest ground beef you can find)

1 small onion, diced

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 cans chicken broth

1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, washed and drained

3 tbsp butter

1/4 cup flour

16 oz. 2%-milk Velveeta cheese, cubed

1 cup milk

Salt and pepper to taste

1 bag baby spinach (optional)

In a large stock pan, brown beef and onion. Add 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce. Add chicken broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil.

In a small saucepan, melt 3 tbsp butter. Add 1/4 cup flour and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or till bubbly. Add to soup. Bring the soup to a boil and cook and stir for 2 min. Reduce heat to low. Stir in the cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until cheese melts. Add baby spinach (if desired).

(Adapted from this recipe)

Iron Horse grill to re-open

A downtown Jackson dining staple that has been closed for years could reopen as soon as late next year.
The Simpson Group intends to spend $6 million rehabilitating and expanding the Iron Horse Grill restaurant, which will reopen at its longtime home near Pearl Street.

Read more from Jeff Ayres in The Clarion-Ledger here.

My Lucky New Year's Day Menu

Black-eyed peas have symbolized good fortune since ancient Egyptian times, so it's not strictly a Southern thing. In the South, you eat the black-eyed peas for luck and the greens for money. (You can always cheat and just serve a baby spinach salad for the greens if you don't like collard greens or turnip greens enough to spend that much time cooking them.) I always serve both with cornbread - whether it brings luck and fortune or not, it can't be a bad thing to start the first day of the year with such a delicious meal! ;)

Hoppin' John is the traditional black-eyed dish, but I prefer this Stewed Black-Eyed Peas recipe. The recipes are similar but the stewed black-eyed peas are a bit more soupy (and have andouille sausage instead of ham).

Stewed Black-Eyed Peas
1 lb andouille
1 c. yellow onion, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
4 cloves garlic
Thyme
4 bay leaves
3 tsp dried parsley
8 c. chicken stock (or 4 cans chicken broth, like I use)
1 lb dried black-eyed peas, soaked overnight
1 tbsp minced garlic

Cut sausage in half lengthwise and into 1/4-inch slices. Brown over medium heat. Add onions, salt, cayenne, garlic, thyme, bay leaves and parsley, stirring, until the onions are wilted, about 5 min. Add the stock, peas and garlic. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, till the peas are tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the bay leaves and serve warm with rice.

I tried this new recipe last year and liked it too, if you want more of an appetizer (or you like your greens with lots of cream and cheese!).

Hot Turnip Dip (via Sherry Lucas of The Clarion Ledger)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped turnip greens, cooked according to package directions and well-drained
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 drops Tabasco

Saute the onion and celery in the butter until soft. Stir in mushrooms, saute until they are browned. Add the flour, stir until smooth, then add the heavy cream. Cook till slightly thickened. Add the turnip greens to the mixture. Add the cheese, stir until melted. Season with Worcestershire and Tabasco. Serve warm.

And, of course, any day is lucky that includes Mexican Cornbread, which always has to go with the black-eyed peas and greens at my house!

Happy New Year from my house to yours!



Collard Greens

We just spent the weekend in New Orleans, and I enjoyed the turnip greens at Mother's so much, I had to dust off my collards recipe...besides you'll need it for New Year's anyways!



10 to 12 slices bacon, diced
1 cup chopped onion
16 ounces frozen collard (or turnip or mustard) greens
water
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
dash red pepper
dash black pepper
2 tablespoons butter

Cook bacon just until almost crisp; add onion and sauté until onion is tender and bacon is crisp.

Put chopped mustard greens in a medium saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes. Drain. Add bacon and onion, along with ham, if using.

Toss with seasonings and butter to taste.
Serves 4 to 6.

Saltine Toffee Bark

This recipe is from the December/January 2012 edition of Taste of Home magazine and is VERY yummy! It would make a great homemade gift for Christmastime! (I don't think my guys will ever let this see the door, but perhaps you'll have better luck!)

Saltine Toffee Bark

40 Saltines
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
1 8-oz. pkg Heath bits

Line a 15x10x1-inch baking pan with heavy-duty foil. Arrange Saltines in a singler layer on foil; set aside.

In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in sugar. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 min. or until sugar is dissolved. Pour evenly over crackers.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 min. or until bubbly. Immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips. Allow chips to soften for a few minutes, then spread over top. Sprinkle with toffee bits. Cool.
Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until set. Break into pieces. Store in an airtight container.

A Tale of Two Gumbos

We can make this hard or we can make this easy. 
Southern Living (Dec. 2004) has a quick-and-easy Chicken & Sausage Gumbo recipe that is delicious. It is much lighter than traditional gumbo and perfect for those of us watching our calories. The second Chicken & Sausage Gumbo recipe is Emeril's. It's not quick and easy (or light), but it is delicious. (I've been making it for about four years now - so I can vouch for the recipe.) It's always made for Christmas dinner at my house.

Quick & Easy Chicken-Sausage Gumbo

1/2 lb smoked sausage, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
1 to 3 tbsp vegetable oil
5 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
2 large garlic cloves, pressed
1 medium-size green bell pepper, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
1 to 2 tsp Creole seasoning
4 cups chopped cooked chicken
Hot cooked rice

Cook sausage over high heat in Dutch oven 5 min., stirring often. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels.

Add enough oil to drippings in Dutch oven to equal 3 tbsp, and whisk in flour; cook over med-hi heat, whisking constantly, 5 min. Add onion and next three ingredients; cook 5 min., stirring often. Stir in broth and next two ingredients. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 min. Add sausage and chicken; simmer, covered, 5 min. Serve over rice. (Contributed by Clairiece Gilbert Humphrey of Charlottesville, VA).


Emeril's Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo

1 c. vegetable oil
1 c. flour
1 1/2 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped green bell peppers
1 lb smoked sausage, cut up
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne
3 bay leaves
8 c. water
1 lb chicken, cut up
1 tsp creole seasoning
2 tbsp parsley, fresh
1/2 c. green onions
1 tbsp file powder (optional - I never include it...it's thick enough on it's own and I like my gumbo a little soupy)
1 bag frozen sliced okra (my addition...not in Emeril's original recipe)

Combine the oil and flour over med. heat. Stir slowly 20 to 25 minutes. (This is the critical stage in any gumbo. You have to stand right over it and watch the color. When the roux is the color of a Hershey's chocolate bar (pictured above), it's about right. But one minute of not watching can be the difference between a perfect roux and a burnt mess. I also find it helpful to stir the roux with a whisk rather than a spoon - but I have no idea why this is better...can't explain the science, it just works for me.) Add onions, celery and bell pepper and stir 5 min.

Add sausage, salt, cayenne and bay leaves. Stir 4 min. Add water and stir till combined. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to med-lo. Cook, uncovered, stirring occassionally, for one hour.

Season chicken with Creole seasoning and add to pot. Simmer for two hours. Add okra and cook for as long as directions on the bag suggest. Remove from heat and add parsley, green onions and file powder (if desired). Remove bay leaves.

Gifts That Give Back

Kohl's is offering Good Housekeeping's A Very Merry Christmas Cookbook for sale and 100% of the proceeds go to kids' initiatives. Kohl's Cares' Good Housekeeping cookbook sells for $5 and goes to benefit kids' health and education initiatives nationwide.

Mississippi to stop certifying organic farms

Jim Ewing reported in The Clarion-Ledger that the Mississippi Department of Agriculture is no longer going to certify Mississippi organic farms, due to budget cuts. Now, Mississippi farms would have to pay to have a certifier come from out of state.

Dr. Bill Evans, Mississippi State University Truck Crops Experiment Station expert, told the Mississippi Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association that as of Dec. 31 the state Department of Agriculture would no longer be a certifying agent for Mississippi growers during a recent conference in Vicksburg.

There are only about 25 certified organic farms in the state. That number is likely to decline now.

Free Thanksgiving cookbook from Martha Stewart and celebrity chefs

Get a free downloadable Martha Stewart Thanksgiving cookbook packed with tips and recipes to make your holiday feasts delicious and memorable.

The 77-page 2011 Thanksgiving Hotline Cookbook is filled with more than 40 recipes by Martha Stewart and other acclaimed chefs like Daniel Boulud, Emeril Lagasse, Sunny Anderson and Sara Moulton, among others. The chefs will also answer questions on Stewart's Sirius radio show Monday-Wednesday (Nov. 21-23) from 7 a.m. til 5 p.m. Isaac Mizrahi also offers tips on entertaining and there's a helpful planner, too. If you want to tune in, you can get a free 30-day trial at http://www.sirius.com/.

Click here to download the cookbook. 

Take time to stop and smell the cranberries

A survey in the November 2011 issue of Food Network magazine reports that 54% of folks PREFERRED canned cranberry sauce (even the foodie geeks like myself who read that magazine). I only wish I had this piece of information before spending one Thanksgiving (many, many years ago) making HOMEMADE cranberry sauce to impress a boyfriend who had professed his love for cranberry sauce. When I proudly brought my homemade cranberry sauce and gingerly set it down on the table, he asked where the canned cranberry sauce was. With the wedges. Shaped like a can and all.

Let's face it... it just wasn't meant to be. ;)

Winn-Dixie Asks Mississippians to "Give a Meal" This Holiday Season

Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. recently announced it has joined forces with Feeding America to launch the Give a Meal program, which gives Mississippians (including Winn Dixie employees) the opportunity to help provide food to nearly 37 million Americans facing hunger this holiday season. Give a Meal runs through Jan. 4 and is available in all of Winn-Dixie's stores in Mississippi. Every $1 donated during the campaign helps provide eight meals to people in need.

There are three simple ways for Winn-Dixie guests and team members to support the Give a Meal effort:

1. Donate at the register - this allows guests or employees to make a $1 or greater donation when purchasing groceries;
2. Donate online at www.winn-dixie.com/giveameal by charging a donation to a credit card;
3. Purchase Winn-Dixie brand products -- a portion of the purchase will be donated to Feeding America.

In addition, some stores will offer prepackaged nonperishables in $5 and $10 increments that can be donated to the regional food bank immediately after purchase at marked collection barrels near the store exit.

Small is the new big (but it's still hard to find)

Charlie Mitchell, in a recent Clarion-Ledger article, talks of a new movement to bring local back to food production (and purchasing). I was riding home from a meeting in Laurel down Hwy. 15 yesterday and passed many "farms" - and as Mr. Mitchell points out many of them appeared to be merely acreage. But there were quite a few signs of "buy honey here," "fresh eggs on Tuesday," and my personal favorite, "Please don't pick pecans from this tree."

The problem is finding these places as a consumer. Even in Mitchell's article, he doesn't give one example of local Mississippi farm that would fit in the new locavore movement. After much searching last year, I found a farm near Madison that would let me purchase grass-fed beef...as long as I bought half the cow.

Even in the example that Mitchell gave, Polyface Farms, the food-sales emphasis is more on selling to restaurants than to locals. In order to effect a change from Big Food, as it is often described, we have to find a better way to market and educate folks about Little Food (starting with making it much easier to find and purchase)!

p.s. If you are in the state of Mississippi and you sell local food goods or produce, please leave your contact information here. I will start a master list!

Seven Mississippi Cookbooks That Make Great Holiday Gifts

Have a picky foodie on your holiday shopping list? Check out these seven Mississippi cookbooks that make great holiday gifts (and also let  you share your love of Mississippi at the holidays too).

• Come On In – Contains 385 triple-tested recipes from the Junior League of Jackson and includes a fish guide in the back.
• The Mississippi Cookbook – Features over 1,200 recipes from all over the state (pared down by the state Cooperative Extension Service after collecting over 7,000 recipes). A special section includes the favorite recipes of the wives of former governors.
• Fine Dining Mississippi Style: Signature Recipes from Mississippi’s Restaurants and Bed & Breakfast Inns by John M. Bailey. Features more than 350 recipes and also serves as a fine dining guide for the state.
• Vintage Vicksburg -  In its ninth printing, this cookbook by the Junior League of Vicksburg offers over 900 recipes, beautiful color photographs and local historic scenes.
• New South Grilling by Robert St. John – St.  John shows why grilling is not just for the main course and even shares what non-Southerners should know about Southern food. (And this is a great gift for the grillmaster on your shopping list!)
• Square Table Cookbook – A collection of recipes from Oxford, with artists and authors who hold Oxford dear  thrown in for lagniappe.
• Best of the Best from Mississippi – Fifty-three  of Mississippi’s favorite cookbooks contributed their most popular 400 recipes to this Quail Ridge Press compilation.

Quiche Lorraine

Before the oven

8 slices bacon, crumbled
1 large onion
3 eggs
1 large can evaporated milk
8 oz. grated Swiss cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
Pepper
2 tbsp butter
1 large unbaked pie shell

Brown bacon; remove and crumble. Saute onion in bacon grease. Beat together eggs, milk and seasonings. Put bacon in bottom of pie shell. Put onions on top of bacon and then the cheese. Pour milk mixture over all and dot with butter. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 min. Let stand 15-20 min.


After the oven

Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers

We made these during the 4th of July festivities. They are easy and delicious!

Jalapeno Peppers
Cream Cheese
Bacon

Cut large jalapeno peppers in half and get seeds out. Fill with cream cheese and wrap with a piece of bacon. (We put it on the grill with other stuff but you can also bake at 350 degrees until the bacon is done.)

Fine Print: Recipes from the Backs of Boxes, Bags & Cans

Tomato-Basil Dip

1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese, softened
3 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp Italian dressing
2 tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp finely chopped basil
Spread cream cheese onto bottom of 9-inch pie plate.

Mix tomatoes with dressing; spoon over cream cheese. Sprinkle with the cheese and basil.

Serve with crackers or fresh vegetables. Makes 1 3/4 cups or 14 servings of 2 tbsp each.

[ via Philadelphia cream cheese package ]

Mississippian's sauce is fit to eat

Mississippian Eric Miller and his father grilled pork loins and sold them during the holidays in his hometown of Anguilla. They couldn't get a good bottled barbecue sauce to baste the meat with after it cooked - so they just decided to make their own.

Soon after, the "secret sauce" the Millers used on their pork loins were as sought after as the meat itself. Eventually, they started selling the sauce separately it was so requested. Thus Fit to Eat Sauce was begun.

Reed's Food Technology in Pearl took the secret recipe and created a large batch of the sauce. Professionally bottled versions of the sauce (the original was distributed in mason jars) debuted in June.It's currently sold in 41 from Corinth to the Gulf Coast (including Persnickety in Madison, Interior Markets in Fondren, The Cupboard in Clinton, and Everyday Gourmet in Jackson).

For a complete list of locations, visit http://www.fittoeatsauce.com/. (The site also has some recipes for you to try too.)

Fine Print: Recipes from the Backs of Boxes, Bags & Cans

Philly BBQ Ranch Chicken Dip

1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup BBQ sauce
6 oz. grilled chicken breast strips, chopped
2 tbsp Ranch dressing
1/4 cup chopped red peppers
2 green onions, sliced
Spread cream cheese onto bottom of microwaveable 9-inch pie plate; top with barbecue sauce and chicken. Microwave on high 2 min. or until heated through; top with remaining ingredients. Serve with crackers and cut-up fresh vegetables.

[ via Philadelphia cream cheese package ]