How To Be a Retronaut offers up the full Savoy Cocktail Book from 1933. Tasty and beautiful!

Mississippi Craft Beer Week

Mississippi - the state with the least amount of breweries per capita and the only state that limits alcohol by weight (ABW) for beer to 5% - still managed to celebrate Mississippi Craft Beer Week last week. (Mississippi residents also remain legally unable to take part in the hobby of brewing beer at home, leaving Mississippi and Alabama as the only two states that have not legalized homebrewing.)

The week ended with the Raise Your Pints Beer Festival.

Lazy Magnolia offered up a recipe, Chocolate Stout Cupcakes, in celebration.

If you're interested in more info about beer in Mississippi, follow:

• Mississippi Brew Blog
• Mississippi Beer Nut
• Raise Your Pints
• Mississippi Malt Beverage Association
• Keg & Barrel Brew Pub
• Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company

Heat, sweets make big impression

Kathryn Stockett, author of the best-selling novel The Help, and Tate Taylor, who wrote and directed the novel's film adaptation, arrive at the Malco Grandview theater in Madison. / Joe Ellis/The Clarion-Ledger

The premiere of The Help was this Saturday in Madison. And, par for the course, most of what the stars remember from their time in Mississippi...the heat (and the food, too, of course!). Those of you who have read the book will know that one certain pie in the book becomes (almost) a character on its own, so it's very fitting!

In a story for The Clarion-Ledger, Leigh Cummins catalogs the food most fondly recalled:

• Sweet tea
• Fried chicken
• Banana pudding
• Caramel cake

Not bad memories at all!

Biloxi-Style Shrimp and Grits

Maybe it was just Biloxi, but the Shrimp and Grits I had growing up were not the soupy kind served in most restaurants today. Since it seems that restaurants lately only want to serve the soupy kind, I had to figure out the recipe for the kind I grew up on. So here goes...

For the shrimp, you will need 1 lb. of shrimp and half a stick of butter. Let the butter melt and then add the shrimp. Sprinkle liberally with lemon pepper, salt, and pepper.

For the grits: Bring 6 cups of water and a stick of butter to boil on high heat. Add 1 1/2 cups of quick grits (and follow package directions). After the grits are prepared, add a small block of Velveeta cheese (cut in small pieces) and add salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste. (Remember that grits don't have much taste on their own so it generally takes a lot of seasoning.) Beat three eggs. Add some of the hot grits to the eggs and stir in, then add the egg mixture to the grits. Pour into a 13x9 pan and bake for 1 hour at 300 degrees.

To serve, put grits in a bowl and spoon shrimp mixture on top (being sure to give each serving some of the butter sauce too).

Roasted Asparagus and Caramelized Mushroom with Goat Cheese Quesadilla

I tried Closet Cooking's Roasted Asparagus and Caramelized Mushroom with Goat Cheese Quesadilla tonight. It was delicious - and very filling for a vegetarian supper! (I'm trying to sneak in more meatless meals unnoticed. So far, so good!)

I cut the asparagus up in to smaller pieces than his picture shows. I didn't want to bite into one long stalk and have my whole quesadilla fall apart.

I haven't tried it yet, but I think the basic quesadilla filling would also be good tossed with some whole wheat penne and the cheese rather than serving it on the quesadillas. (But how do I love quesadillas...let me count the ways!)

I'm collecting future vegetarian recipes to try on my Very Vegetarian board on Pinterest. If you have any recommendations, leave a link in the comments!

Greek Yogurt with Warm Black and Blueberry Sauce

I tried this recipe tonight. It was yummy!

Only I just used blueberries. Because I'm too cheap to buy two kinds of berries. (I didn't even use all of the blueberries after all.)

Also, I did not buy the 2% Greek yogurt. (I grabbed the full-fat by mistake. And after seeing how many calories and fat grams it had compared to ice cream - I decided on Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream. Of course!)

This topping would be good on any thing: angel food cake, French toast, dessert cake cups. It's easy to make and quick - so you can make it and keep some in your fridge. (Pop it in the microwave for about 30 seconds to warm up...and enjoy!)

Muffuletta Dip

1  cup  Italian olive salad, drained
1  cup  diced salami (about 4 oz.)
1/4  cup  grated Parmesan cheese
1/4  cup  chopped pepperoncini salad peppers
1  (2 1/4-oz.) can sliced black olives, drained
4  ounces  provolone cheese, diced
1  celery rib, finely chopped
1/2  red bell pepper, chopped
1  tablespoon  olive oil
1/4  cup  chopped fresh parsley

Serve with: French bread crostini

PreparationStir together first 9 ingredients. Cover and chill 1 to 24 hours before serving. Stir in parsley just before serving. Serve with French bread crostini. Store leftovers in refrigerator up to 5 days.

I served with crostini but actually liked better with Wheat Thins and pita chips. I also used the leftovers as a salad topping and on quesadillas and it was just as delicious!

Recipe inspired by Kelli Tuttle, Drummond, Wisconsin, Southern Living, JANUARY 2011