Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Snack attack again!

I'm on the board of directors for the Yazoo Main Street. We're trying to get some new stuff going and to create a buzz with our awesome down town. Friday night Joann Adams is hosting the party for us. Her family owns a good many buildings in the down town area and they have got some exciting stuff happening. If I were single I'd be moving in down there!

Can you imagine that I'm doing the food? Official caterer! So here we go:

Delta Caviar:

This one is so simple and so yum. It's a beautiful bowl filler and serves up perfectly with crackers, toast rounds, or Fritos. There's no mayo so it's a great snack for trips or summer. I'm sure it would be even more yummy if you had summer vegetables. This is the easy version:

1 can each: BLACK BEANS, BLACK EYED PEAS, WHITE CORN, WHOLE KERNEL CORN, DICED TOMATOES. 1 small jar PIMENTOS, 1 small jar finely chopped JALAPENOs, 1 large bottle ITALIAN DRESSING. 1 tablespoon SEASON T'UP, SUGAR. 1 large bunch chopped CILANTRO. Mix and let sit over night for best results.


Smoked Chicken Pate:
We have a restaurant and I'm always looking for a way to use everything we have and this is a perfect use for our smoked chicken. I think it would work with regular chicken BUT I wouldn't recommend it. The smokey flavor of the chicken is what gives this it's flavor.

1 lb PULLED SMOKED CHICKEN into the food processor until it's a paste. Add 1 BLOCK CREAM CHEESE, 2 tablespoons MAYO, 1 teaspoon SEASON T'UP. Mix well and form into a block. Serve with crackers or toast rounds.



The Statesman Cheeseball

My sister, our husbands and I went to Delta State. The Delta State mascot is the Statesmen. Who ever heard of the Statesmen? Well, years ago (as legend has it) my friend and old neighbor Robert Black suggested that Delta State adopt a more suited mascot: something green and white and tough. His answer was okra. So the non-mascot for Delta State has become the Fighting Okra. (Picture a stalk of okra wearing boxing gloves.) here's my homage:

1 block CREAM CHEESE, 6 stalks PICKLED OKRA chopped fine, 1 jar OLIVES chopped fine, 1 tablespoon RANCH DRESSING MIX, 1 teaspoon SEASON T'UP, chopped HERBS of choice. Mix well and form into a ball. serve with crackers.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Carolee is an inspiration!

We spent a large part of the weekend helping Heath's mom move into her new house. The new house isn't far from the old one, maybe 100 yards. But moving furniture is always a big job and can be a hungry one.

In the days and weeks that have passed before and since Heath's dad died we've been able to spend time getting reacquainted with Heath's brother Seth, his wife Carolee and their kids.My sister in law Carolee has always been one of my very favorite people. She is a woman of many talents. She's always thoughtful and has been a great encouragement to me during the years I've known her. In fact...lots of what I do in my own home is in an effort to emulate hers. (Oh yeah, that soup and sing along at Christmas? STOLEN from Carolee. Those 'impromptu' gatherings? STOLEN!) Their home is welcoming and warm and always, always a place to find an over the top snack option.

This weekend Carolee came to the moving not just to help but, as always, to feed. She said she found this recipe in one of those chick-ish magazines, but in my heart and mind I just know she was blessed with it in a dream!!! OK, my version. (which is essentially hers.) THE most delicious bread, well, ever.

3 cups of SELF RISING FLOUR, mixed with 1 cup of SUGAR, and one BEER. I did a test run and tried a plain ole Miller Lite and a separate loaf with one delicious SMITHWICKS. (Smithwicks is an Irish red beer.) We loved both, but slightly preferred the one with the Smithwicks. It just had....something. OK, so mix those 3 ingredients. The dough will be sticky and heavy. Pour into a greased loaf pan. put into a preheated 350 degree oven. cook for 30 minutes and pull out of the oven. melt 1/2 stick of butter and pour over the top and return to the oven for another 15 minutes. Carolee would be ashamed because she topped with 1 whole stick of butter. I feel sure that the entire stick of butter will make it even more delicious. total bake time is 45 minutes.


Now for dinner I made a grilled turkey and havarti sandwich and cried a little at the perfection. I feel sure it will make me cry in delight again when I try it with some homemade mayhaw jelly.

Back!

Sorry for the absence!
It's been a while. We've had a tough spring. We lost Heath's dad on Easter. Our hearts are still sad, but our friends have had strong arms and warm hearts. We are fortunate.

Ok, so on to food!


I've been playing with some cold recipes. Spring always makes me think picnics are a good idea. They almost never are. But dinner with friends and some time on the porch is a great idea. Try these:



Southwest salad:
pop the woody ends off of a bunch of ASPARAGUS. put them into a ziplock bag with some OLIVE OIL and KOSHER SALT. make sure that the asparagus is oiled and throw onto a grill. Add 2 RED BELL PEPPERS to the grill. Char the outside of the pepper and the asparagus. Put the asparagus into a bowl and the peppers into your zip lock. Close up the zip lock and allow the peppers to steam. Take a FLANK STEAK and drizzle olive oil and heavily season with UBON'S SEASON'T UP. grill steak and allow to rest. Peel your pepper and remove ribs and seeds. cut into chunks and add to asparagus. I mix up a little olive oil with some good good balsamic vinegar and pour over the peppers and asparagus.

Combine 1/2 cup of MAYO, 1/2 cup of MILK, 1/2 cup of SOUR CREAM, 1 packed of RANCH DRESSING MIX, 1/2 cup of SALSA. Mix well and allow to sit in the fridge.

for assembly: in a bowl add your SALAD GREENS, crumble some CHEVRE, add sliced rested FLANK STEAK, and drizzle with your salad dressing. toss with tongs. spoon over asparagus and pepper mixture. sometimes I add some calamata olives for some salty. don't leave out the chevre. it's yum.


Delta Muffaleta:

Easy sandwich that turned out pretty good. slice a round of HAWAIIAN BREAD. fill with HAVARTI CHEESE, ROAST BEEF, TURKEY, HAM. I made a chutney with sliced and mashed STRAWBERRIES, HONEY, SALT, PEPPER, AND BALSAMIC VINEGAR. I mayo-ed the bread and topped. I know it sounds strange...but it was really good.

OK...I'll be back