A Time to Splurge: Blackened Snapper with Cajun Cream and Fried Lobster

Sometimes in life, you just have to splurge! Sometimes, you deserve that plate of food that you’re not counting the calories or the cost.

Well, this is it for me – blackened red snapper with a Cajun cream sauce over yellow rice, topped with deep fried lobster, with Mexican street corn and sliced avocados on the side. 

When I want to cook a meal to treat myself, this is my first choice. It’s packed with flavor and meets all the components to delight all my senses. The fish is soft but flaky. The sauce is creamy and savory. The lobster adds the perfect crisp and crunch!  

The sides add the finishing touches. How can you go wrong with yellow rice covered with a white cream sauce packed with cheese and Cajun spices?  The Mexican street corn off-the-cob really is good enough to be eaten alone!

Zatarain’s makes a wonderful yellow rice. Just cook it according to package directions. And the same with the Mexican style street corn. You can find it in the frozen section, and it goes perfectly with this meal.

And just because I didn’t want any more space on the plate, I added the slices of avocado - who can say “no” to avocados?   

It’s time to splurge. You deserve it!

Red Snapper

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time:  Approximately 30 minutes

Ingredients

4 Red Snapper fillets
2 TB thyme
2 TB onion powder
2 TB Tony’s Creole Seasoning
2 TB avocado oil
1 TBS garlic powder

Directions

Clean fish very well with cool water on both sides and dry with a paper towel. Massage avocado oil on each fillet. Sprinkle all dry seasonings on fish and massage both sides and place in a roasting pan. Cover with foil and put in a preheated oven at 350 degrees. After 15 minutes, remove the foil and cook for approximately 15 more minutes or until fork-tender.

Cajun Cream Sauce

Prep Time:  20 minutes
Cook Time:  15 minutes

Ingredients

½ pint of heavy whipping cream
3 TB salted butter
1 tsp salt (to taste)
1 tsp of black pepper
1tsp of Tony Creole Seasoning
½ chopped sweet onion
1TB of chopped garlic

Directions

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add onions. Next, add all dry seasonings and stir together. Add garlic and heavy cream. Stir until cream becomes thick.

Lobster Tail

Prep Time:  20 minutes
Cook Time:  15 minutes

Ingredients

2 large lobster tails
1 tsp of seasoning salt
1 tsp of black pepper
½ cup of flour
2 cups of peanut or vegetable oil

Directions

Clean and de-shell lobster tails. Cut them into cubes or chunks. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Dust the cubes with flour. Get oil hot in a cast iron skillet and drop pieces in and fry until golden brown. 

Honeymoon Chicken: Pesto, Lemon, Olive, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Have you heard of Marry Me Chicken?

Well, I’ve got a riff on the famous and delicious dish, and, considering the nice zing that you get when eating it, we can just skip the ceremony and go straight to the honeymoon.

Background: I have joined a wonderful group on Facebook called “Cooking and Coping: Gathering Around The Virtual Table” which has been a nice source of food ideas, tips, and entertainment during the last year. Its membership is open to the public, and I highly recommend joining.

Those who participate in “Cooking and Coping” will often seize on a dish, and, for a while, its members will feature their versions.

One of the recent popular dishes being featured by different cooks was Marry Me Chicken. I’d never heard of such, but the flavor profile was instantly attractive: standard Mediterranean ingredients in a cream sauce.

As often happens when I find a new recipe, I look for variations online to note ingredient adjustments or variations of technique.

What I found with the Marry Me Chicken recipe was its kinship in flavor to a linguine recipe from Giada De Laurentiis.

So, as I often do, I joined the two recipes in matrimony. I said “I will” and “I do” and jumped to the good part.

Missing from the original chicken dish were green olives and lemon, and as both recipes feature olive oil, Parmesan, and basil, I figured that prepared basil pesto could serve as a partial substitute. I also used boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts to avoid any issues of uneven cooking and dryness.

The results were outstanding.

Serve, as I did here, with roasted potatoes and onion, or rice, or pasta, as you like.

I made the Lipton Onion Soup roasted potatoes recipe off the back of the box (added a large-dice sweet onion for giggles) to go along with the chicken, and its flavors blend with the chicken’s sauce beautifully.

Enjoy …

Honeymoon Chicken

4-5 chicken thighs (boneless, skinless)
1 tsp Tony Chachere’s or another spicy seasoning blend
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
½ - 1 tsp red pepper flakes
½ large lemon, zested and juiced
¾ cup chicken broth
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (not packed in oil, like Bella Sun Luci)
½ cup pitted green olives, sliced
2-3 TB prepared basil pesto
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Season chicken thighs with Tony’s or another equivalent spicy seasoning, salt, and pepper. Heat oil in an oven-proof pan. Brown chicken thighs for 4 minutes on each side and remove to a plate.

3. Quickly soften minced garlic in a hot pan, stirring quickly for about 30 seconds, and do not allow the garlic to burn.

4. Add in chicken broth and cream and stir to get the brown bits off the bottom. Bring liquid to a simmer.

5. Add red pepper flakes, lemon juice, zest, sundried tomatoes, green olives, basil pesto, and Parmesan and simmer for about 5 minutes.

6. Add chicken back into oven-proof pan and spoon sauce over each piece. Move pan to the hot oven and cook for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

7. Be careful removing the pan from the oven, and warn anyone who comes near not to touch the handle.  

8. Allow chicken to cool and sauce to thicken for about 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with basil leaves and additional Parmesan, if desired.

Let the Good Times Egg Roll: Pimiento Cheese with Yum Yum Sauce

LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULER! I’ve gotten really excited about egg rolls.

I was developing a recipe for Tex-Mex egg rolls for work, and while that was fine, it mostly made me want, y’know, non-Tex-Mex egg rolls. And Texican fusion made me think about other ways you could go with the concept.

So, I decided to have a little fun - a ham-spiked deconstructed pimiento cheese with a spicy mayo Southern Yum Yum sauce on the side for dipping.

It seemed like a good fit. And, it was.

With no further ado ...

Southern Yum Yum Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp pickled pepper juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp smoked paprika

Pimiento Cheese Egg Rolls

2 quarts vegetable oil
8 oz. freshly-grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
4 oz. freshly-grated Colby cheese
1 jar (4 oz.) chopped pimiento peppers, drained
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1 TB chopped pickled jalapeno peppers
1/2 cup finely diced ham steak
12 egg roll wrappers
1 medium red bell pepper, julienned
1 cup shredded baby spinach or green cabbage
1 egg, beaten, with 1 TB water

Directions

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for Southern Yum Yum Sauce. Transfer to serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Heat oil to 350°F in countertop electric deep fryer or in large Dutch oven.

In a medium bowl, combine cheeses, pimiento peppers, green onions, and jalapeno peppers. Stir in ham. Place egg roll wrappers on the work surface, on the diagonal (points facing north, south, east, and west). Spoon about 1/4 cup cheese mixture horizontally in line across center of each wrapper. Divide bell pepper and spinach or cabbage evenly among wrappers.

Brush top point of each egg roll wrapper with egg wash. Roll up egg roll from the bottom first, covering the filling, then tuck in sides and continue to roll all the way to the egg-washed top to secure.

Fry in two batches, 6 to 8 minutes each, turning once, until deep golden brown and 165°F in the center. Drain on paper towels for at least 3 minutes, then transfer to a cutting board and cut on the bias; serve with Southern Yum Yum Sauce and additional thinly-sliced green onions if desired.

Bingeworthy Peppers and Pork Chili Verde

I do not recall when or where I first encountered pork chili verde. I only know that by the time I moved back to Oxford from southern Arizona in 2008, I was a convert.

I soon quit making my signature Slap Yo Momma chili, with big steak chunks, and began focusing on this aromatic stew with succulent chunks of braised pork, roasted green chiles, tomatillos, and - YES - beans. Please do not come at me with exhortations on what’s “traditional.” Your chili, your business.

Unlike our common, ‘Merican version of chili, green chili with pork actually evolved in Northern Mexico as “Cerdo en Salsa Verde,” or pork in green sauce.

I took a fabulous food tour of Mexico in 2019 and quickly learned that ordering “chile verde” there will gain you a confused look and a plate of raw jalapeños.

This obsession reached new levels during the early lockdown days last year. What could possibly comfort the homebound like a pot of chili, fragrant enough to stop passersby in the street? I even went so far as to grow four kinds of chiles—mulatos, Hatch, Tam jalapeños, and poblanos—because Hatch only becomes available for a couple of weeks each fall.

Stemmed, seeded, halved, and either broiled or grilled to the perfect char, it’s quite easy to then cover the warm chiles with plastic wrap in a bowl to steam the skins off. Peel and chop the chiles, blend the varieties as you wish, vacuum seal, and freeze. Each frozen bag = one large pot of goodness, be it chili, simple beans, or tamales.

I’m so obsessed with smoked chiles, that may become my 2021 project. Smoked Hatch chiles? Yes, please!

Next order of business—make chili powder. Once you go homemade, you’ll never go store-bought again. I don’t have a “measured” recipe, but here’s how to make it:

• 10 chiles, preferably smoked*, or a mixture of anchos, arbols, California, and any other dried chile you like

• A small handful of whole cumin seeds

• Garlic powder, oregano, and smoked paprika to taste at the end

If you can find dried, smoked chiles, you will achieve Jedi-master chili powder. Curb Market in Memphis hand-smoked chiles in several varieties and they’re absolutely worth the trip if you’re day-drive close. Etsy also carries hand-smoked chiles, and Mexican groceries often carry fabulous dry chipotles on that wall of mystery ingredients.

Trim the stems off and remove the seeds from the chiles, then tear or cut them into roughly 1” pieces. Toast them in a dry pan with the cumin seeds until fragrant, careful not to overdo it because they will burn and turn acrid. Allow them to cool, add the other spices, then grind everything together in a blade coffee grinder (a blender would probably work) set aside for this purpose.

You can now delight your friends with a small tin of your badass chili powder as a dinner-host happy when we’re able to do such things again.

This Pork Chili Verde recipe lies somewhere among traditional Cerdo en Salsa Verde and a Colorado-style green chili. The traditional versions do not include chili powder and focus more on the green chile flavors.

Find something binge-worthy to watch and enjoy this dish with plenty of garnishes—lime juice, cilantro, sour cream, cheese, and/or Mexican crema.

Pork Chili Verde

Ingredients

3 lbs. pork butt / Boston butt, big chunks of fat trimmed, cut into 1” pieces
1 lb. tomatillos, papery skin removed, halved, or quartered if large. If unavailable, you can use a can of diced tomatoes.
2 lbs. Anaheim, Hatch, Poblano, or other mild green chiles, about 10-12 big peppers
2-3 jalapeño peppers
2 onions, diced
One head of garlic, top 1/4 chopped off
Toasted cumin
Chili powder to taste (optional)
¼ c. masa (corn flour); you can also thicken with tortilla chips that have been pulsed to fine crumbs in the food processor or make a roux in a separate pan if needed to thicken
4 c. chicken broth
BEANS, although not “authentic,” taste fabulous here. Kidneys or pintos.
Limes, cilantro, sour cream, Mexican crema, cheese, all the garnishes

Directions

Always wear gloves when working with hotter varieties of peppers.

Place the pork in a big pot with about half a cup of water, salt, and pepper, and render the fat over medium as you address the chiles. Once the pork looks rendered and browns a bit, about fifteen minutes, remove to a large plate or bowl that will catch the juices. Don’t wash the pot.

While the pork browns, roast the green stuff:  Lightly oil two sheet pans. Slice each chile, including jalapeños, in half lengthwise, remove the stems and seeds, and flatten skin side up on the baking sheets. Cut the tomatillos into halves (or quarters if they’re big), and place cut side down on the sheets.

Place one sheet pan at a time under the broiler and keep an eye on it. Remove chiles/tomatillos as they char. You want plenty of black skin, but try not to let them go until the flesh gets black. Charred tomatillos can go straight into a food processor, while the chiles cool in a bowl covered with plastic wrap.

Reduce the oven to 325º once everything’s roasted. When the chiles are cool enough to handle, peel the skins off. Chop half the chiles, set aside, and place the rest in the blender/food processor with the tomatillos. Blend until thick but still a bit chunky. You may need to work in batches. Set aside the chile/tomatillo puree for now.

Heat the pot over medium-high, add a bit of bacon fat (or oil), and add the chopped onions, salt, and pepper. If the fond begins to get too brown, add a bit of water or broth and scrape everything up, but make sure the water all burns off before you add the spices, which bloom in fat. Once the onions have softened, add the cumin and chili powder, stirring to coat until fragrant.

Add the chile puree, chopped chiles, pork with juices, the head of garlic, and either broth or water to fully cover (about four cups). Cover and place in the oven for at least an hour until the pork gets tender.

Add cooked beans, if that’s your business and you pay your own rent, and remove the garlic head. Once the garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze out the soft meat into the chili and stir it in, or put one big clove in each bowl and dip into it at will. I often put two heads of garlic in there and enjoy one squeezed onto crusty bread. This technique works for any garlic-friendly dish with a longish simmer and you’re welcome.

If the chili looks a bit thin, toast some masa in a dry pan, then mix it in. As noted above, you can also use crushed tortilla chips. Cornmeal is probably too coarse.

Hope Springs Eternal

Hello, beautiful people of the page! Well, Ice Apocalypse of 2021, that was something to talk about for sure. Hoping all of you came through unscathed; it was definitely EPIC by Mississippi standards.

My little town and surrounding areas were shut down for a solid week. It is so rare that we get significant winter weather this far south that we just do not have the equipment and resources that other areas have to keep the infrastructure up and running.

With this being said, HUGE shout out to our city, county, grocery and first responders who showed up every day and tried to make sure things were as good as they could be during this tricky time.

Power stayed on, gas was flowing, our mainstreets and areas of travel were clear and it was really nice to see neighbors coming together and taking care of each other as a community.

Needless to say, once the layers of ice and winter precipitation melted and the last snow covered roof was only a memory, the next logical thought was that of Spring on the horizon. A time of rebirth and life and hope.

Warm days filled with sunshine, color and smile-filled flowers peeking through the wintered ground, chirping birds in budding trees, and the hum and chirp of tree frogs and cicadas singing the people a spring song.

This time last year, as spring was beginning to come alive and we were all starting to think about our hopes and dreams for the upcoming year, the world was suddenly turned upside down by a global pandemic.

None of us were prepared for the tragedy and loss that we would experience in our personal lives, with our loved ones, the loss of more small businesses than I can even begin to count and the uncertainty of what the future would hold. Hope quickly turned into fear and loss.

If you had asked me any other time before 2020 of my feelings of being a business owner in small town America, I would have told you how lucky and fortunate I feel to have been given the gift in my life of The B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery here in Water Valley.

Be The Change. B.T.C.

B.T.C. is a woman-owned business on a bustling Mainstreet in a community where dreams are still possible, and life is, in fact, like a fairy tale - more days than not. If you asked me that same question pretty much any time last year after April, I would have told you it was a nightmare of epic proportions and filled with never ending disaster and that I wanted to quit.

The B.T.C. was the dreamchild and vision of my business partner Alexe van Beuren. I came into the picture about a year after the store was opened. I will not bore you with the story of how we came to be because it has been told a thousand times.

Our business is a labor of love filled with many hard days filled with work but also filled with joy, love, and hope. A place for everyone filled with many treasures in our grocery and delicious food in our cafe. A place for fellowship and community.

When it became clear in March 2020 what we were actually dealing with concerning COVID-19, the decision was made to totally close the cafe for a brief period due to safety concerns for the public. Quite frankly, it was the most gut-wrenching decision I have ever made. The cafe is my dream and a part of what makes me who I am. I had no idea if we would ever re-open this part of the business again.

My business partner and friend Alexe made the decision to keep the grocery open, motivated by a need to service her community during this dark time. For the record, this meant putting herself at great risk to go out into the world and source the products that she needed to deliver groceries to the front porches of people who were scared and sick.

Alexe is a strong person in general but this time filled with dread and stress and fear took a great personal toll on her - like most of us - so if you see her tell her “thank you,” because she did it for the good of her community and put her own needs to the side, 

We made it through last year, opened the grocery up to the public, and reopened the cafe for curbside service and pick up.

Now, once again, spring is upon us, and as a nation, we are in a much different place than the March of 2020.

Vaccines for COVID-19 are rolling out at a remarkable pace. Businesses are starting to re-open, and there are life and hope in the air. The rebirth and rebuilding are beginning, and we are starting to believe that we just might make it as a community.

We lost my father-in-law Laurence Harker to a COVID-related illness. Laurence was one of the sweetest, kindest and gentle humans I have ever known. Laurence was also not a quitter and had the mindset that when things get hard, you meet them head-on and push through.

We are pushing through, and while his loss is great, I think of him often because he loved the B.T.C., he loved me and he loved food.

Laurence would be pleased to know that we are keeping on keeping on and that once again we have hope in our hearts for a spring filled with life.

Please support your local businesses during this time of rebirth. Local and small businesses across the United States need you more than you know as they try to recover from the devastation of COVID.

Be kind to one another, help your neighbor, give more than you take from your community, and remember: Be The Change.

For anyone who experienced loss during this horrible time, my heart goes out to you, and I pray that you find peace as recovery begins and we try to live again.

Making Dining at Home Feel Like an "Occasion"

Restaurant reviews are my typical beat on this blog.  Unfortunately, quarantine has put a damper on this foodie’s travels lately; whether in light of COVID-19 and its dining restriction or being locked up in the middle of a winter ice storm.  That does not mean that dining at home cannot be fun or without whimsy, though.

When I first moved in with my boyfriend/now husband several years ago, one night I threw together a simple little cheese plate for us to snack on while waiting on dinner to finish cooking.  He loved it, and it has become a staple in our house ever since.  What once started out as a couple of types of cheese and some sliced apples has evolved into a full-blown Charcuterie Board. 

I’m proud to say it has become somewhat of a calling card when we have guests over, or when we are guests in others’ homes – everyone expects me to put together one of my “boards.”  While it sounds easy enough, it is more than just throwing items on a platter – I have been known to put an inordinate amount of thought into my boards, and have spent more than a few hours in the “gourmet” section of the store scrutinizing cheeses, assorted nuts, etc.  

There are many things, in my opinion, that make a charcuterie board irresistible but, first and foremost, is variety – size matters, my friends.  Pile it high with as many different delectable you have on hand:  hard and soft cheeses, cured meats, crackers/wafers, mixed nuts, perhaps some spreads (I’m partial to a little spreadable pimento cheese – the southerner in me, I guess), and don’t forget that colorful fruit!  Make it pop.  

The beautiful thing about having variety is that there will be something on there for everyone.  I literally cannot remember a time when I put a board together and every single person present did not nibble on at least one of the items I had assembled.  And it does not have to be a holiday, special occasion, or include guests.  Many a night I am happy to put thought and effort into a board for just the hubs and me.  It’s always fun.

Perhaps the most enticing aspect of diving into a charcuterie board, for me at least, is that you can drink what you want with it.  Red wine, white wine, tequila (ha!) – it all can work with it!   

If you have resisted doing your own boards because it seems like too much work, or you don’t know where to start, start small as I did and start honing those skills.  

You will love it and others will, too. Cheers!

Green Bean Salad with Major Grey’s Vinaigrette

Damn those New Year’s resolutions. Miles to go before we sleep and pounds to lose before I eat.

Salads can correct our wayward course of over-sweeting during the holidays. We eat a lot of greens, so a vegetable salad is a nice change. As well, it tends to be more filling. So, I thought that I’d share this green bean salad and dressing. It’s pretty special.

The genesis of the Major Grey’s dressing is a brown rice salad that we have been enjoying for years. Our friend Erin brought a rice salad to a get-together. Everyone raved. She pointed to a simple recipe called “Mum’s Bombay Rice Salad” on the Internet. Google that one and give it a shot. The key flavors in the dressing are yellow curry and Major Grey’s Chutney. 

I started playing with that dressing and discovered that changing the curry to prepared mustard with a dash of apple cider vinegar yielded a wonderfully sweet and tart concoction that is perfect for vegetable salads. 

The chutney’s predominant flavors are mango and lime, along with a wonderful mix of spices, and the sweetness is subtle once blended with olive oil, vinegar, and lemon juice. I had trouble finding Major Grey’s chutney at Wally World recently, but they’ve been rearranging everything, so perhaps it will reappear at some point. Our locally owned grocery carries a version in the sauces section, so I bet you can find it at your local store, too. 

Of course, this dressing and the salad ingredients are flexible to your tastes! I need to try it on a broccoli salad. I am sure that would be delicious, too. But you do you.

Enjoy …

Green Bean Salad with Major Grey’s Vinaigrette

Dressing

1/3 cup olive oil
3 TB Major Grey’s Chutney
1 TB prepared mustard (I use sweet and hot)
1 TB apple cider vinegar
½ lemon, juiced

Salad

1 ½ - 2 lbs. green beans, washed and snapped
1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup sundried tomatoes (not packed in oil like Bella Sun Luci)
OR dried cranberries
½ cup onion, diced (sweet or red)
½ cup red bell pepper, diced
1/3 cup almonds, slivered or sliced
½ cup feta cheese (optional)
4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)
Salt, to taste

Directions

Prep your green beans – rinse and snap off the ends and then snap into 2-3 inch pieces. Boil for about 8 minutes until crisp-tender. Drain and run under very cold or ice water to stop the cooking process.

Whisk olive oil, chutney, vinegar, mustard, and lemon juice together in a bowl. Add a pinch of salt.

In a large bowl, toss all remaining ingredients except bacon and feta cheese with the dressing. Salt to taste (it will take more than you think). Refrigerate for at least two hours, then sprinkle with cheese and bacon before serving. 

Cheese Straws for Your Ennui

It is not a bad thing to settle for the Little Way, not the big search for the big happiness but the sad little happiness of drinks and kisses, a good little car and a warm deep thigh.

—Walker Percy, The Moviegoer

Y’all, is it just me, or is this January an even bigger bummer than usual? It’s never super fun. I live in Minneapolis, and the magic and glittery glow of the holidays fades to snow that gets grey on the edges from car exhaust, and all that’s left is a cold austerity after we’ve spent all the money and eaten all the good cheese. But most years, January also feels filled with opportunities and fresh starts, maybe new approaches to eating well or breaks from alcohol. Not this year.

The virus, the distance learning, the political unrest in a country I was taught to believe was better than that, “exceptional,” if you will, the literal and figurative isolation ... has all led to the kind of general feeling of malaise that Walker Percy waxes on about in The Moviegoer. It’s this feeling that’s not exactly collective depression, but it’s something similar, and you can see it in the eyes of strangers, despite their masks, as you pass in the grocery store. The opposite of smiling with your eyes. It’s hard to have big goals right now.

So I’m not giving anything up this year. I’m not starting a new exercise routine, or learning a new language, or trying to improve myself in any super optimistic way. I did consider doing dry January, as I’ve done a few times in the past. I even ordered some of that Seedlip “botanical” not-gin, but then I found out it wouldn’t arrive till the end of the month, so maybe dry February is the way to go this year. It’s the shortest month, so it’s probably a more realistic goal anyway.

What I am doing, though, is treating myself to the spendy cheese and the fancy Prosecco-topped cocktails that usually stay firmly-planted in November and December. Why not? I’m less interested in improving myself this year and more interested in improving my attitude, and maybe some of my favorite recipes, too, even if it’s not “the right time of year” for them. Every day can be a celebration if you’re up for it. If the mind makes its own prisons, it can make its own parties, too, right? So in that spirit, I’m going to mix up a French 75 and make some sinfully decadent and truly delicious cheese straws, one of my favorite holiday snacks, for no reason at all, and for my ennui.

Over the holidays, I stumbled upon this recipe for press-free cheese straws, and I was intrigued. They were rolled and twisted into twee little twists that looked at least as adorable as the pressed version I grew up with. Plus … no extra specialty tool? No aggravation of my burgeoning carpal tunnel syndrome? Worth a try! 

And it was fine. But. I thought the lack of texture and browning on top was a little disappointing. What could help? Different cheese? Addition of a sugary element to aid in caramelization? A little umami to add depth? Actual depth in the form of forking the dough instead of just twisting? I decided to find the answer and try all the options. I started with the ’Times recipe, but I feel like I’ve made it my own.

Cheddar Cheese Straws

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 TB packed brown sugar
1 TB soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz. shredded* sharp Cheddar cheese
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

Instructions

Heat oven to 350ºF.  Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper. 

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, pulse flour, sugar, soy sauce, and salt. Add cheese and butter and pulse until the mixture comes together. 

Transfer dough to a large piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper and use wrap or paper to shape into a cylinder. Rest 15 minutes. Divide into 5 pieces. Divide each piece into 12 pieces, then roll each piece into a ball. 

To make twists, roll balls into 8-inch lengths, fold in half and twist, and place on parchment-lined pans. For forked straws (spoiler alert - this is the winning technique!), roll balls into 3-inch lengths, then spray fork with cooking spray and press into the dough on the bias, moving back and forth down each piece of dough to make hash marks on each piece. To make crisps, combine 4 pieces of the dough, roll out into a thin (1/4-inch thick) sheet, and cut into 4 thin strips. Repeat with remaining dough, or freeze for later use. 

Bake 8 to 11 minutes, until browned on the bottom. 

*Grate your own cheese. To prevent caking, pre-shredded cheese often includes cellulose, which is essentially wood pulp. You’re using the food processor anyway. Take the time to use that other attachment and grate your own cheese. It’s totally worth it. 

Here are the other flavors I tried:

Gruyere Pepper Thyme Cheese Straws

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 TB Dijon mustard
1 TB fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
8 oz. shredded Gruyere cheese
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

Thoughts: This one was a little dry. Great flavor, but maybe drizzle a little water into the dough until it’s soft and makes a nice ball. Loved the combination of mustard, pepper, thyme, and Gruyere, though.

Harissa Goat Cheese Straws

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 TB harissa
1 TB honey
1 tsp salt
8 oz. softened goat cheese
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

Thoughts: Super soft. Great taste, but to get enough harissa flavor to come through, it took a lot of harissa, which added excess liquid. I love the flavor combo, but it would be cool to try a drier heat (maybe 1 tablespoon of Thai red curry paste?) to achieve the same goal with less liquid.

Blue Cheese Straws

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 TB honey
1 tsp salt
8 oz. softened blue cheese 
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

Thoughts: Also quite soft, but still delicious. The color is a little grey compared to the others but super yummy.

Honestly, my take on the OG Cheddar straws was my favorite. Often in recipe testing, you learn you shouldn’t mess with the best. In all four tests, with firmer and softer doughs, I loved the “forked” straws. The increased surface area adds a ton of texture and creates more color and flavor on the cheese straws, mimicking the eating experience of traditional pressed cheese straws. 

Whatever flavor profile you prefer, I hope all of these delightful little bites inspire you to enjoy the good times – and the good bites – as they get us through this less-than-stellar time. Cheers to in-person toasts in the future!

Fry Me A River of Cheese

Well, y’all, 2020 is officially done. It was a doozy, for sure, and one we will all be talking about from our front porch rockers as we sip on whiskey filtered through sausage balls.

Happy New Year to each and every one of you loyal friends and foodies tuning in to our blog!

In Mississippi, when the cold, wet days of January set in, so does the punch drunk hangover feeling from the holiday season and the urge to hunker down and hibernate. 

Mississippians don't do well in the cold, gray weather that is winter in the South. We just don't. Folks are hard core grumpy, like get-off-my-lawn grumpy, and we look for little tidbits of joy and comfort to soothe the bitter cold that cuts through your skin like a knife on a 55 degree day. 

Brrrrr.

Hear me loud and clear when I say to y`all that there are fewer things more comforting and soul soothing than ooey, gooey, stringy, warm and melting cheese encased in a super crispy and crunchy breading that has been dancing in a pool of hot love; that is code for a deep fryer, in case any of y`all were wondering.

That's right, friends and neighbors, I speak of the beloved, revered and sacred fried cheese. Hallelujah and amen. 

Who doesn't like fried cheese, I ask you? I mean, I am sure there are “those” people somewhere, but they are not in my world.

Not eating fried cheese and not liking fried cheese are two totally different things, folks. Be suspect of those in your inner circle who do not like fried cheese.  Let them know you see them with the occasional raised eyebrow, and in extreme cases, the stank eye.

I believe in my whole heart that it's one of the questions you should ask people when you are in the getting-to-know-you stage: 

“Do you like fried cheese?” 

“No.” 

“Well, it was nice getting to know you, tell your mama and them I said ‘hi’.” 

Some things cannot be compromised on in life.

Fried cheese sticks are so easy to make, I am going to give you a no-fail recipe than can be executed with very little labor/prep and as a low-cost investment, and that is guaranteed to not only lift you into the heavens away from the January Grumps, but will also feed any angst-ridden teenagers who refuse to take the trash out. 

Trust me, they will gladly take the trash out if you feed them these little molten lava sticks of love.

Now before I give you this recipe I want to warn you that we are going to use string cheese -  that's right, string cheese.

If you are going to do any eye rolling, huffing and puffing, then now is the time to go ahead and get it out of your system.  

String cheese is a beautiful thing and is a versatile food item to keep in your fridge. (At a later date we might need to delve deeper into the Odyssey of string cheese.)

There are so many uses for this little cheese beside the obvious one of peeling away the layers and shoving into one's mouth with wanton abandon. 

You can thank me later, and all apologies will be accepted.

Easy Fried Cheese

12 string cheese pieces removed from the plastic and cut in half for a total of 24 pieces
¼ cup flour, all-purpose
1 TB cornstarch
2 large eggs, beaten
1 ½ cups panko breadcrumbs
¼ cup buttermilk
½ tsp dried basil
½ tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried oregano
2 cups Canola oil

Instructions

To begin, you will need 3 bowls. (I use medium-sized bowls; you do not want ingredients to be crowded for breading).

In one bowl, mix flour and cornstarch together and set aside. 

In the second bowl, mix buttermilk and beaten eggs. Set aside. 

In the third bowl, mix Panko breadcrumbs, basil, parsley, and oregano. Set aside.

For the breading process, begin by tossing cheese in the flour mix, shaking off excess flour, and dip in bowl #2 with egg mixture, shaking off excess, then bowl #3 with breadcrumbs, making sure to coat completely. I do this process in 3 batches because you do not want to overcrowd the bowls.

Set coated cheese sticks aside on a small plate or baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If you do not have parchment paper, wrap a plate or sheet in plastic wrap. Make sure to keep a little space in between each stick - you do not want them touching. Put cheese uncovered in the freezer for 30 minutes to flash freeze.

When ready to cook, use a smallish but deep pan to heat oil to 360 degrees and ready a plate or tray with paper towels to drain. 

Once the oil is to the proper temperature, gently place sticks in small batches one at a time. For me, I like to cook them just until you see the first drop of cheese beginning to poke out from the breading.  Using a slotted spoon or tongs, place fried cheese on paper towels to drain. Do not overcook, or all the cheese will ooze out. 

You will want to heat oil back to 360 each time before frying - do not let the oil get too hot or too cool. The temperature is very important in proper cooking.

Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce. I always go with Marinara and Ranch. Whatever you like is fine.

I make my marinara from scratch, but it is absolutely not necessary. This is a personal preference and adds extra steps and cooking. Open up a jar of your favorite sauce, heat it up and enjoy. Cooking should be fun and about what you like to eat. 

Enjoy! And when life gives you cheese - fry it! - because you can!

Notes : 

Buy a digital thermometer with a probe. They usually run around $12.00-$15.00. Trust me when I say this will be your best friend for frying and also for baking, where exact temperatures are important.

When frying anything, be careful when adding the items to the oil. You want to be close to the oil and gently lay whatever you are frying into the oil. If you are too high, the grease will splatter, and you will be a helpless burn victim with a huge mess to clean up. A slotted spoon works great for this. You can lower the spoon into grease and gently roll it off the side.

Do not overcrowd the oil. Patience is important, and you will be rewarded.

 When frying, you want to have enough room for whatever you may be cooking to be able to “dance” in the pan, never touching. 

Overcrowding also drops the temperature of the oil too quickly and will give you a soggy breading. 

To Live and (Fine) Dine in Mississippi

I live in Mississippi.  A State, which can boast of great writers, down-home cooking, and that “southern hospitality” thing of which you always hear is actually a REAL thing in these parts.  It’s not always easy for this foodie, though, to find restaurants with fine cuisine and, most importantly, a decent wine selection to accompany that cuisine. I’m sure I may be only one of three southerners who just can’t get excited about eating barbeque – stone me now!  It’s akin to trying to scratch a spot on your back and your itch being just out of reach.

Being the aspiring oenophile I am, I have a monthly subscription to the “Wine Enthusiast” magazine, and every year it ranks the “100 Best Wine Restaurants” in the United States.  Imagine my excitement when reviewing the list for 2019, and I saw a restaurant from Mississippi has FINALLY made the list!  I made a note of it (since I live 3 hours from Jackson, Mississippi) and vowed the next time I found myself in Jackson, I would eat at Caet Seafood Oysterette.  As luck would have it, 2 months ago, some friends and I met up in Jackson for a weekend, and I told them this just had to be one of the places we tried.  I got no complaints, so off we went on our dining adventure.

Caet offers both indoor and outdoor dining options, as well as seats at its Oyster Bar.  The inside of the restaurant was a little noisy for my liking, but it definitely had the vibe of a trendy wine bar, which just happens to offer up delicious fare from Chef Derek Emerson (no stranger to other successful eateries in Jackson).

Their wine list did not let me down.  Besides providing an extensive selection, it takes the impressive further of step of offering actual drinkable wines by the glass (sadly, that is rare), half bottles, and full bottles.  Some of my companions prevailed upon me to select a bottle for us to share, which, admittedly, can sometimes cause no small amount of anxiety on my part.  Nobody wants to be the rube that picked out a bottle of wine for the table that tastes like cough syrup.  Fortunately, the 2006 Rioja I selected drew rave reviews from the table.  

Favorites at our table included the melt in your mouth Wood-Oven Baked Crab Fondue with warm crostini, the Jumbo Sea Scallops with sweet corn risotto and tomato parm broth and, my personal favorite, the Breadless Jumbo Lump Crab Cake soaking in tarragon lemon butter (beyond decadent).

This experience pleased my palate on all levels, and I’m heartened to see our great State is expanding its culinary options, and these establishments surviving during the days of our COVID pandemic makes it all the more reason to raise our glasses and say “Cheers.” I give it 5 out of 5 pours.

A More Perfect Union: Potato and White Bean Soup

I set out to make a hybrid of classic potato and white bean soups, but I needed that one thing to make them meld. 

And I found it: Boursin herb and garlic cheese.

I’ve been buying the three-pack of Boursin at Costco. It includes two boxes of herb and garlic and one box of shallot and chive. It is great to keep in stock for multiple reasons, chief among them that it is a great, quick snack with crackers, but it is also a versatile cheese that can elevate many of your dishes. 

Use a block with your mashed potatoes and you can forego milk, butter, and sour cream. Just add a little reserved potato water to thin it out, and you have a rich and flavorful side dish with no risk of a gummy disaster.

And Boursin herb and garlic is perfect for grits. Since we lost the Kraft garlic cheese roll so many years ago, I have floundered and lamented cooking grits without it. I went from yellow Velveeta to white Velveeta before finally discovering that Boursin is the perfect addition: the flavor is spot-on and it gives grits a light, fluffy texture.

The potato and white bean soup is easy to make though you do have to tend it at first. But you don’t have to get the blender out and can just give the potatoes a light mash near the beginning. The only complaint I got was that I should have doubled the recipe because there was none left. This batch makes 5-6 servings so adjust the amounts as needed.

Enjoy …

Potato White Bean Soup

2 TB butter
2 TB olive oil
3 Russet potatoes, medium sized, peeled, large dice
1 medium sweet onion, diced
4 ribs celery, diced
4 carrots, peeled, diced
1 quart chicken stock
8 oz. packaged diced ham (like Hormel, optional)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can cannellini or white kidney beans (rinsed, drained)
1 can great Northern beans (rinsed, drained)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp black pepper
5.2 oz. block of Boursin garlic and fine herb cheese, softened
Salt, to taste  

Instructions

Melt butter and heat oil in a soup pot on medium heat. Add the potatoes and cook for 10 minutes, stirring to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan, and adding ¼ cup of chicken stock to help them steam off. You will add stock 2 – 3 times as it reduces. Once the potatoes soften a little, give them a light mash to release some of the starch and thicken the stock. 

Add the carrots and cook for about 5 more minutes, stirring. Add a little more stock if you need to keep the potatoes and carrots from sticking.

Add the onion and celery and cook for another 5 minutes until they start to soften. Add a little more stock if you need and stir as needed. 

Add the garlic, ham, black pepper, and Italian seasoning and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Keep stirring.

Add the remaining chicken stock and reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a little water, if you want to thin it out, but you probably won’t need it.

Add Boursin cheese, dollop by dollop, and stir until melted and blended. Add beans and continue to simmer for about 5 minutes until beans are heated through. Salt to taste.

Serve with cornbread, of course!

Cinco De Mayo in December, Anyone?

This meal was discovered by my oldest daughter, Sydney Camille.  She found it – of all places! -  on TikTok!  

All she said was: “Mom, doesn’t this look good?!” 

I was sold and had to try it, with my own spin, of course!  

It honestly was the perfect storm.  My husband is a principal with amazing coaches and teachers.  I’m lucky enough to reap some of the benefits.  Coach Tawater smokes the best meat and shares great meat with us all the time.  I thought it would be perfect for our quesadillas.

Coach Tawater had just given us a Boston Butt, smoked to perfection, and fork tender!  All the needed ingredients were in the cabinet.  I didn’t need to go to the store for one single thing.

The Tik Tok dances, I never am able to pull off, but a Tik Tok recipe, I was sure I could do!  

The meal was paired with fresh avocados, fresh cut white onions, black beans and corn, and a fresh kale and broccoli slaw.    

The meal was so delicious, and it tasted so authentic. It reminded me of many years ago when I taught kindergarten in Memphis. 

Eight of my sweet students spoke no or very little English upon entering my class, and I didn’t speak Spanish, but by May we were so connected.  I decided to plan a huge Cinco De Mayo party in my class. I met with their parents and they eagerly helped plan the event. My students’ parents prepared all the food and it was the most amazing Mexican food I had ever tasted!  We had everything from soups to tacos! It became a tradition every year in my class!  

We integrated the history of Cinco De Mayo in reading, writing, math, social studies, and science. It was such an amazing time for my students and me alike! We learned so many things about Mexican culture.  My students enjoyed every moment, but the finale of food and music was the best part of it all! 

Boston Butt Quesadillas with Liquid Gold

Prep Time: Smoked for 10 hours (precooked for this meal)
Cook Time:  3.5 hours

Ingredients

½ portion of Boston Butt (pre-smoked and cooked) 
3 poblano peppers
3 red and 3 yellow sweet peppers
One white onion (cut in half)
1 garlic clove
fresh thyme
Beef Bone Broth or Stock (mine is made from Oxtails!)
3 bay leaves
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp black pepper
large tortillas (I use tomato basil)
1 small bag Mexican shredded cheese

Preparation

Place meat into a deep skillet, cast iron if you have it. Place all the vegetables on top and on the sides of the meat. Pour in broth until completely covered. Place lid on top and allow to simmer for 2 hours. Check and stir every thirty minutes.

After two hours, pour all liquid and vegetables into a blender and puree. Shred meat and pour puree onto the meat and allow to simmer for 1 hour. Salt to taste. Add cheese and meat inside the tortilla and fry in a lightly greased skillet. Flip until golden brown on both sides. Garnish the quesadilla with chopped white onions and avocado slices, plus jalapenos if you’re brave.

Save some of the jus from the simmering meat pot and place some in a frying pan with 1 TB of oil. Get the skillet good and hot then crack eggs into the hot pan and cook for 30-45 seconds, gently flip, and cook the same on the other side. 

The jus and egg are LIQUID GOLD. Use it to dip your quesadilla in before every bite!

 Black “Beane” & Mexican Style Corn

Prep Time:  10 min.
Cook Time:  20 minutes 

Ingredients

1 can of black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 frozen bag of Mexican style corn 
Salt (1 tsp or to taste)
Coarse black pepper (1 tsp or to taste)
Garlic pepper (1 teaspoon)

Preparation

Mix everything in a saucepan. Allow to simmer.

Kale & Broccoli Slaw

Prep Time:  10 minutes
Cook Time:  10 minutes

Ingredients

1 bag fresh Kale
1 bag fresh broccoli 
1 bag shredded Carrots
1 bag shredded brussels sprouts
3 tsp mayonnaise
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp black pepper

Preparation:

Mix everything and refrigerate.

Twice as Nice: Baked Rice

Rice gets a bum rap these days with keto and low-carb dieting in fashion.

Unless you have a health issue like diabetes that requires lower carb meals, weight loss still results when you lower your total caloric intake appropriately. Lower and count your calories, and the weight will come off. It took me over a year to drop 14 pounds that way, but I accomplished my goal and feel good about it.

Avoiding rice altogether is difficult – it’s a filling, cheap staple. If you eat brown, unprocessed varieties, it’s pretty nutritious as well. We finally adapted to eating brown rice after a friend suggested that we get the boil-in-bag version. It does turn out perfectly every time.

There’s a recipe going around The Wood called “Parker’s Rice” that my friend Lauren shared with me. It is similar to a recipe that’s been going around the Internet for years called “Stick of Butter Rice.” It only takes four ingredients and some salt and turns out beautifully – perfectly cooked and great flavor.

But that basic recipe screams for variations, and I made it again attempting to put together a version more akin to Dirty Rice – that Louisiana favorite that makes my heart sing.

So, I will give you both recipes. Adapt as you might!

French Onion Rice

1 can French onion soup
1 can beef broth
1 cup rice
½ stick unsalted butter
1 tsp salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice butter and place in the bottom of 9 x 9 dish or small casserole dish. Stir together rice, soup, salt and broth and pour into dish. Cover dish (aluminum foil or otherwise) and bake for 40 minutes. Remove cover and bake 5 – 10 more minutes until all moisture is absorbed. Stir and serve!

Easy Louisiana Dirty Rice

16 oz. roll of sausage
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 can French onion soup
1 can Golden Mushroom soup
¾ cup water
½ stick unsalted butter
1 tsp salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown sausage in a pan with bell peppers. Drain fat. Place meat in the bottom of 9 x 9 or small casserole dish. Slice butter and place on top of sausage and peppers. Stir together rice, soups, water and salt and pour into dish. Cover dish (aluminum foil or otherwise) and bake for 40 minutes. Remove cover and bake 5 – 10 more minutes until all moisture is absorbed. Serve with your favorite hot sauce!

The Hotty Toddy Chili Bowl

Come September, down here in the landmass of Mississippi, the blood starts pumping, and our minds switch from lazy afternoons spent under shade trees to rustling leaves with whiskey rivers and punch bowls waiting to be filled.

Now, in other places, fall means a break in the heat of summer with cool and crisp mornings, candy corn colored leaves dancing in the air before gently falling to the ground. The arrival of Mums sold from the local 4-H, cinnamon brooms, and all things pumpkin spice.

In the South, the arrival of September has a different meaning to most folks. This is a hallowed time, you start to get your mind right, and the focus quickly shifts from flip flops, deviled eggs, and sweet tea in the fridge - it shifts ... to football. Specifically, SEC football and all things SEC  football.

Preparations begin for tailgating - tablecloths must be ironed, the silver must be polished, and the whiskey must be stocked.

For me, I grew up in Oxford, five minutes from the University of Mississippi, and five minutes from The Square. That means that I support the Red and Blue and all things Manning, and if you know me, then you know I am a ride or die fan.

We do our tailgating on sacred ground - The Grove. No joke - we do not come to play. When you show up in The Grove, you need to be ready to show out. Your family honor is on the line.

When my wife and I were looking at dates for our wedding in September, the first thing we did was check the football schedule - I am not even kidding y’all. No one wants to be the rube who schedules their wedding on the Saturday of a home football game. The people closest to you will be “blessing your heart “ for years to come because you did not have the good sense to check the football schedule before picking a date to marry your beloved.

We were not going to be The Ones … just saying.

Tailgating is a source of pride for all the SEC schools; we just do it just a little different, and we really try to kick it up a notch. Football is religion, and in the same way, you wouldn't show up to church without a quarter or two for the collection plate, you don't show up empty-handed at the tailgate without some food or a bottle of whiskey.

Again, you do not want to be The One.

Sadly, I do not attend many tailgates in my older years. But make no mistake, I still respect the game and value the importance of chandeliers hanging from canopy tents in The Grove.

A pot of chili will be your best friend for this occasion. It can be cooked the day before (and it's actually better if it sits overnight ), and it carries well. Go buy a cheap pot with a lid that can be abandoned at the tailgate after the whiskey takes hold.

Warm chili and cool weather go together like Earth Wind and Fire. Trust me when I say your tailgating family will respect your game for actually bringing something that was cooked.

Have fun, enjoy the moment and the atmosphere, make new friends, and drink all the whiskey,  pull for your team, just leave the tiger tails and the cowbells at home!

Hotty Toddy Chili

1 lb. ground chuck
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, whole
1 whole cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 can Ro-tel diced tomatoes with green chilis
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato puree
Juice of 1 fresh lime
1 bottle or can of your favorite beer
1 package of your favorite chili spice mix
Hot Sauce to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

Put ground chuck, onion, jalapeno, and cinnamon stick in the bottom of the pan and brown on low heat the same way you would for tacos. Do not drain. Once the onions are soft, and the beef is cooked all the way through, add all remaining ingredients. Stir well to mix, cover with a lid and cook on a low simmer for 4 hours. You will want to stir every 20 minutes or so to make sure beans do not stick to the bottom of the pot. If you need to thin it out to your liking, just add a little chicken stock or water. Garnish with avocado and sour cream or any of your favorite chili toppings!

The Artist’s Palate: Hawaiian Chicken with Wild Rice

This meal is beautiful on the plate and was inspired by my youngest daughter Zoe, an artist with an amazing eye for style and color. 

To know Zoe is to love her. She likes dressing up and looking her best every day. As a baby and until this day, she does not like to just sit around in her pajamas. She has always liked getting up and getting her day started and spending hours painting. I think everyone in our family owns large and small canvases created by Zoe Taylor.  

Zoe always loved food and eats with her eyes. If it doesn’t look pretty on her plate, she will not dare try it. At a football game last year, she reluctantly tried a chicken kabob that had pineapples on it. She loved it! She devoured it and asked me to make them at home. Of course, as requested, I made kabobs on the grill, but because they were so good, I wanted to make it as part of healthy meal prep.  

I decided to cook chicken tenderloins (or you can slice chicken breasts) with the same marinade, and as a side, I added wild rice loaded with fresh onions, garlic, carrots, and broccoli. I was a little worried about Zoe liking it because it did not look like the kabobs that she was accustomed to enjoying. Well, she tried and loved it, and now it’s a go-to meal for the entire family.    

This meal is simple, quick, healthy, and tasty! And pretty! The entire family enjoys it and it tastes even better the next day.  

Hawaiian Chicken

Prep Time: 15 minutes 

Cook Time:  Approximately 30 minutes 

Ingredients

6 chicken tenderloins (or butterflied chicken breasts) 
1 can of pineapple chunks
1 cup soy sauce
2 TB brown sugar
2 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp blackened seasoning
1 tsp black pepper
3 TB olive oil

Preparations

Rinse chicken and butterfly breasts, if using instead of tenderloins. Massage olive oil into each tenderloin. Mix all dry seasonings and massage over chicken. Heat skillet with oil. Add chicken to skillet and brown quickly on both sides. Add pineapple and remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Let simmer, flipping chicken after 2.5 minutes. Simmer until sauce thickens and chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Loaded Wild Rice

Prep Time:  15 minutes

Cook Time:  25 minutes 

Ingredients

Box of wild rice (your choice)
3 TB sesame oil
1 tsp salt, to taste
1 tsp coarse black pepper
1 tsp garlic, minced
2 cups broccoli 
1 large white onion, diced
1 cup carrots, diced

Preparation

Fully cook rice according to package directions. Heat oil in a separate frying pan, but be careful not to overheat sesame oil as it has a low burn point. Add all veggies and seasonings and cook until tender. Drain rice completely and add to the frying pan. Fold all ingredients together. 

A Love Letter to Lake City, Colorado

I have been going out west on my husband’s motorcycle with him every Summer for the past 12 years, so those who know us are always asking about our favorite towns, restaurants, etc.  There are too many beautiful places, and wonderful places to eat, to ever definitively name JUST one place.  A little town named Lake City, Colorado, wormed its way into my heart a long time ago, though.

Once a mining town, Lake City it a quiet little place nestled in the San Juan Mountains, and a population of less than 500 people.  It’s your quintessential 1-horse kind of town.  Don’t expect swinging nightlife, a good internet connection, or a chain restaurant or hotel of any kind.  On my first time spending the night in Lake City I asked the server at our restaurant where a good place in town was to get a manicure.  She literally laughed in my face.  Sigh.

I soon came to learn, though, this is a place to which you come for breathtaking views, fresh air, a chance to hear yourself think, and good food & hospitality.  A place to recharge your batteries.  A place where you greet the elk on your walk to dinner.

Lake City gained a little notoriety and a place on the map (as it were) in the late 1800s when a man named Alferd Packer was charged with murdering and cannibalizing some prospectors with whom he was serving as a tour guide.  After being stranded with the prospectors without provisions, he returned alone & surprisingly healthy.  He was arrested, escaped, later captured in Wyoming, and returned to Lake City to face trial; the jury found him guilty for the murder of one of the prospectors.  He was ordered to be hanged but underwent many trials & appeals.  In the end, he was paroled in the early 1900s.

Fortunately, there are less desperate dining options in Lake City these days.

When you wake up in the morning, it is well worth the mile or so walk down the road to eat breakfast at the Lake City Bakery.  Everything and I mean everything, behind their counter is homemade and baked fresh daily.  I’m partial to the cream cheese pastries myself, but there are both savory and sweet options from which to choose.  Pies, pastries, fresh bread, and coffee whilst sitting outside are a little piece of Heaven.

When it comes to dinner in Lake City, there is only one place to dine as far as I’m concerned:  Climb Elevated Eatery.  Linda Lovegreen and Jerry Johnson opened this establishment a few years ago after years of dreaming of it; she cooks and runs the kitchen, and he keeps the front of the house friendly and welcoming.  Their restaurant derives its name from Lake City itself, as it is a place where visitors come to hike, ATV, ride bikes, etc., to the surrounding higher elevations.

The beautiful thing about Climb Elevated Eatery is that it offers excellent food without pretentiousness, and the menu offers enough variety to scratch whatever itch you have that particular day – pasta, wild game, and fresh fist.  You can dine inside or out, and it will usually be Jerry himself serving you and making sure you are comfortable.

I highly recommend the charcuterie board (mostly farm to table ingredients), the fettuccine alfredo (so creamy!), and some of Jerry’s homemade cocktails!  I always leave there full and happy, so it deserves 5 out of 5 pours. 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷

Like so many cool and amazing places, I fear it is only a matter of time before Lake City becomes touched by the outside world and commercialized.  As for now, though, I think of it is a little oasis in which I’m lucky enough to spend a few days every year completely shut off from the outside world.  Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.

The Janky Wheel Summer and The Not Janky Turkey Burger

Summertime 2020 was epic, one for the record books. In my mind, I will always think of it as the "janky wheel" summer. 

COVID-19 kicked in full-tilt boogie. Instead of grills, bikinis, and tiki torches, we searched for hand sanitizer, toilet paper, ground beef, and normalcy.

What is more normal than whipping the old Chevy truck down to the local grocery and loading up the janky wheel cart with some burger fixin's? Maybe only the purchasing of toilet paper for our homes.

For a brief window in time during the summer of 2020, these items were unavailable due to the virus sweeping our nation. I don't know about y'all, but for me, this was a "What-the-actual-Hell" moment. 

I remember thinking to myself as I pushed my empty and creaking janky wheel cart through the store, that I would be damned if I were going to be denied the small pleasure of summertime hamburgers. With all the crazy happening in the world, it would not be hamburgers - or the lack thereof - that tipped me over the edge.

Something had to be done. It was time to use all my Southern woman, turn-the-water-into-wine, hard-scrabble resilience into a plan of attack.

Two things happened almost simultaneously. Firstly, I realized that I may, in fact, be the crazy person you hear Southerners talk about trotting out on the front porch for the world to see. And second, it occurred to me that I was flinging ground turkey into my janky wheel cart with wanton abandon.

Never in my life have I been a fan of turkey burgers, especially in place of a real 100% all-beef burger. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I possessed a deep and loathing hatred of the turkey burger and that even speaking it aloud into the universe, it rolled off my tongue with a little spit. 

I am not opposed to turkey being a healthier option in our daily lives, but I am opposed to food that does not taste good.

Up until this point, I had never had a turkey burger that tasted good. Please hear me, People of the Page, when I say to you that life is just too short to eat bad food.

After much soul searching, profanity, and necessity-being-the-mother-of-all-invention, I was able to create a recipe for turkey burgers that not only passes as edible but will get that slapping arm and foot-stomping reflex crunk-up.

I am thrilled to share it with y'all and to say that even in the darkest of times, there is hope. Good exists in the worst of situations, and as long as we keep pushing that creaking janky wheel cart forward, we are going to be alright.

Not Janky Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

1 lb. package ground turkey (look for 85-15% ratio)
8 oz. package mushrooms (I like baby bellas, but any mushroom is fine), chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1- 5 to 6 oz. container of blue cheese crumbles (if you do not like blue cheese you can leave out or cut back on amount)
2 heaping TB ketchup
1 TB chopped garlic (glass jars in the produce section)
1 TB Worcestershire sauce
1 TB red wine
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 egg, beaten
½ cup Panko breadcrumbs
Olive Oil
Lawry's Seasoned salt

Directions 

Heat a skillet or saute pan with just enough olive oil to cover the bottom (2-3 tablespoons). You want it hot, but not smoking. Add onions and mushrooms; cook until onions are translucent. Remove from heat and let cool for about 5 minutes; add the entire mixture to a food processor (do not drain the oil) and pulse until mixture is fine but not a paste.

In a separate bowl, add all the remaining ingredients and mix well with hands. Once thoroughly mixed, add mushroom mixture and combine well.  The mixture will seem a little wet to you, and that is fine. If you want the burgers to have a texture close to a beef hamburger, add just a little more Panko. Patty out just like you would a regular hamburger.

To cook, I use a hot cast iron skillet with just a touch of olive oil in the bottom. Sprinkle both sides of each burger with the Lawry's seasoned salt.

The burgers will form a nice crust, so do not worry - they are not burning. These need to be cooked all the way through since we are using turkey and cooking times will vary.

Use any bun you like and dress with any topping you like. There are no rules. It should be fun to make and taste good.

The burger in the photo is dressed with a blueberry chipotle mayo (½ cup mayo, 1 chipotle pepper-pureed, and a tablespoon or so of blueberry jam), honey bacon strips, shredded lettuce, thin-sliced peaches, and pickled red onion.

Finding the Past: Abyssinia Restaurant and Ethiopian Cuisine

Ethiopian food is the ultimate in living off the land.

Last year, I began a quest to find healthy food that tastes amazing. My adventure led me and my family to a little Memphis restaurant called Abyssinia.

My search for yummy flavors included a couple of requirements: plant-based yet satisfying, so that I did not feel like I was missing out. And when my family found Abyssinia, we knew we had reached our destination.

We found a group of people who immediately started talking to my husband in their native language because they were sure he was Ethiopian! They did a double-take at my youngest daughter, assuming she must be as well. 

With such a love for cooking, I could not resist the temptation to try learning and creating these wonderful dishes myself. This food made us search our minds, the world, as well as our past, and we instantly fell in love with the beauty of Ethiopia’s rich history and amazing food.

There is a reason why Ethiopia has been described as the land of bread and honey. Grains, including sorghum, millet, teff, and wheat, all grow well in the temperate climate. And honey, collected by ancient beekeeping techniques, is used in everyday meals.

Every time I went to the restaurant, I would engage the chef, a beautiful kind woman whose skin and face looked like royalty. She and her husband delighted in my interest and shared their recipes, step by step. 

They sell a spice mix called “berbere,” red lentils, green lentils, and shiro which is powdered chickpeas. I explained to them what I had already learned, and they laughed in astonishment!  The husband said, “Wow, you really have been studying and you are serious!” 

He gave me ghee right out of the kitchen and explained the importance of getting the cabbage right! He was so enthused he gave me a turmeric that he proclaimed was the “right kind.”

After searching out spices, recipes, YouTube videos, and relying heavily on the nice people from my favorite Ethiopian restaurant, I finally built up enough nerve and motivation to try it.

My family absolutely loved it, and so do I!  We could taste the unique flavors that only Ethiopian food could provide. Now, at least monthly, this is a part of our dinner menu. When my girls smell the red onions, ghee, and berbere simmering, they know I’m prepping for an Ethiopian meal. 

Cooking Ethiopian is a true labor of love – seriously! - because you are constantly mixing, turning, and adding until the food is complete. The only thing that I’ve not attempted is injera (Ethiopian bread) which is served with everything they cook. It is a process that I’m scared to attempt on my own. As a result, I normally purchase spinach and herb soft tortilla as our substitute at home. 

On my plate, you will find my rendition of Yedora Key Wot - stewed chicken with a variety of spices, red peppers, onions, garlic, ginger, pure filtered butter (ghee) with feta cheese (they normally have homemade cottage cheese); Zil Zil Tubes (sliced prime sirloin sautéed with red and white onions, garlic, Berbera, and ghee); cabbage (made with turmeric and other spices),  collard greens (simmered with a variety of Ethiopian spices); red lentils (a variety of spices); and Shiro (chickpeas with red onions, and a variety of spices). 

The spices are like none that you’ve ever tasted before - but you will want more, for sure!    

So, are you up for an adventure in food? Are you ready to take a journey of your own?

Find the food, and you can find your past.

Merigold Tomatoes: A Unique Delta Dish

It was a recipe hunt. I found myself craving a dish that Deltans typically call “Merigold Tomatoes,” a simple tomato dressing with cheddar cheese. Alas, no recipe. Or so I thought.

The dish was originally served at the McCarty family's Gallery Restaurant in Merigold. I asked the Google Machine if it had a recipe, and I could not find one from anyone claiming to have the original recipe sourced to the McCarty family, as the McCartys and their progeny, as far as we know, have never shared publicly the exact recipe with anyone.

I did find a recipe from Chef and Restauranteur Robert St. John. It looks like Mr. St. John has three versions, one of them published in the Desoto Times back in 2003.

I made Mr. St. John’s public version of the recipe a couple of Sundays ago, and we enjoyed it immensely, but the balsamic vinegar and extra sugar did not result in the food memory that Buddy and I have of the dish. And, unfortunately, I don’t have Mr. St. John’s cookbook available to see the other two versions that he has come up with.

Then, I remembered: Buddy’s old recipe box. Buddy had a recipe collection back in 1994 when we first met. Hand-written recipes on notecards, many from his mother. And there it was.

Buddy’s recipe was a copycat version that came from the late 80’s or early 90’s and would have been sourced out of Sunflower or Leflore Counties, so there’s a good chance it’s close to the original recipe that many Deltans are familiar with. And there’s a good chance that the recipe that we have came from Trish Berry, as when I called her, she confirmed that it “sounds about right.”

I will note that I added the herb profile and the chicken broth and broke down the steps beyond Buddy's "stir together and cook until bubbly." But, that's what I do? Yeah, that's a question.

So, whether the food memory is from the dish at the restaurant or from the recipe that we have had for decades, I don’t know. Sweetened or added vinegar? Not sure. But this dish is delicious. Enjoy …

MERIGOLD TOMATOES

1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
2 TB butter
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 package cornbread, cooked to directions (or a small skillet from scratch)
28 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained (good quality like Red Gold)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 TB basil
1 tsp Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Cook the cornbread and let it cool. If you are making it from scratch, you want a small skillet amount. Once cooled, crumble cornbread in a large mixing bowl.

Melt butter in skillet and add onion and bell pepper. Cook about 7 minutes until both start to soften. Add garlic and cook a couple of minutes making sure the garlic doesn’t brown too much. Add chicken broth, basil, Italian seasoning, and pepper and cook until broth is reduced by about half. Salt the mixture to taste. Dump mixture in mixing bowl with cornbread and stir.

Stir in undrained diced tomatoes and cheddar cheese. Add more salt, if needed. Transfer to a casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees until bubbly – about 30 – 35 minutes.   

The Cure for the Summertime Blues: Tomato Pie

My mother Butchie was a fantastic cook, and she loved summertime cooking – West Indies Salad, BLT’s, cucumber and tomato salads, and anything on the grill.

But her favorite food in the entire world was a tomato pie.

Growing up, we always had a bowl of “Wayne Smith” tomatoes in the kitchen. Mr. Wayne is from my hometown of Brookhaven, and he grew the best! Butchie would eat those tomatoes like an apple.

I have been making some of Mom’s favorites at the Tallahatchie Gourmet here in Oxford. I find it almost therapeutic to be making what she loved, especially in this day and time. It’s comforting – to my heart and my soul.

Honestly, I am not sure what Mom would think of everything going on in the world right now. I do know that the thought of no Ole Miss and Saints football would weigh heavily on her, but that’s another story for another day.

So, here’s to Butchie’s tomato pie, the cure for the summertime blues …

Tomato Pie

9” deep dish pie crust
5 tomatoes, sliced
1 cup mozzarella
1 cup Parmesan
1 cup sharp cheddar
2 TB chopped fresh basil
1 cup Duke’s mayonnaise

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Salt and pepper tomatoes. Layer tomatoes in the pie shell. Mix cheeses, mayo, and basil and spread mixture over tomatoes. Bake 30 minutes.