Mississippi Barbeque Princess

Smoked Catfish with lemon and capers.

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:31:00 +0000

I'm always looking for something new this time of year. Today I had my dad smoke 5 lbs of very fresh catfish from Simmons.

Mix together cream cheese, flaked smoked catfish, seasoning, lemon juice and zest and dill. Serve on a cracker with capers and a lemon wedge. I'll get a better picture soon.

I post, therefore I am

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:51:00 +0000

I've had a lot of absences in the last year. I'm ready for my loudest confession. I ate mostly vegetarian while I was pregnant. Less than even really vegetarian, I ate white rice and corn and cake. Mmmm cake.

I got sidetracked by cake. Anyway! I had a few creative ideas, but mostly, I stuck with frozen rice or corn. I couldn't figure how to marry my whole hearted support of eating pig with my newfound respect and craving for only vegetables. The missing connection?

Vodka

Oysters!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:38:00 +0000

Last night Heath and I went to Lucedale for his brother's annual "Hogg" Party. This started 10 years ago with a small hog that Heath and I helped Seth cook. It's grown into an amazing 2 day party. Last night was awesome!

My niece Meghan works at a couple of John Currence's restaurants in Oxford. She can shuck and plate a dozen oysters in less than 2 minutes. Last night I ate oysters with crackers and cocktail sauce shucked with love by sweet Meg. By this morning, I was popping open those babies myself, slurping them down and enjoying every bite.

We had a couple of hundred oysters on the half shell this morning that Heath's brother Seth put onto his grill. This is something we'll do again. Each oyster was sprinkled with tobasco and parmesan cheese and left to smoke for about 10 minutes.

I can die now.

Seafood Crepes with a Lemon Dill Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 02:55:00 +0000

Could it be? My grand return to the blog? Let's talk about my dinner and then I'll fill you in on my absence.

I can't pretend that I made those beautiful crepes. I found them in the produce department at Kroger. This recipe would be much more impressive had I made crepes myself. But given my eminent birth to an 8lb baby...I think you'll give me a pass. Here's what I did with the store bought crepes.

filling: (this will sound familiar)
1 lb ground sausage, browned *1 block of cream cheese * 1 cup of lump crab meat * 2 teaspoons of season it up. mixed well.

spread filling along with 3 steamed asparagus spears over the crepe, roll up and cook over the griddle at 350.

For topping/sauce:
melt 1/2 stick of butter together with a 1/2 cup of olive oil. Season peeled shrimp (1 lb) and drop into oil/butter mixture. When shrimp begins to pink, add 2 tsp of flour and use whisk to make sure everything gets mixed well. Once the butter/flour mixture begins to thicken, add 1 cup of chicken stock and continue to whisk. incorporate 1/2 cup of half and half. Add chopped dill, lemon zest and about 2 tbsp lemon juice.

top the browned crepes with shrimp and sauce.

This took less than 20 minutes to cook and we loved it. My daddy said "I don't like crepes. Well, I never had any." He's a convert!!

Thanks for putting up with my absence. As many of you know I'm very pregnant. I have a section scheduled for next tuesday September 1. One of the pregnancy symptoms I've had has been a strong craving for foods I don't always eat....fresh fruit, vegetables (I mean who craves celery??) I've found myself eating probably 80% vegetarian. What kind of princess of bbq does that???

I planned a grand return to the blog a few weeks ago and gave up when my caramelized endive and riddicho was NASTY. I hope that I'm getting back to what we all like. But please be patient. I've got to get this baby here! I plan to be cookin in Cleveland at Octoberfest...well, I'll be there!

Ubon's and Jubon's

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Mon, 18 May 2009 22:00:00 +0000

David Rosen, long time resident of New York City, raised in the metro area, had just finished standing in a very long line for a plate of Memphis style pulled pork from Ubon’s Barbeque at the 2007 Big Apple Barbeque Block Party in Madison Square Park. He commented to one of the guys pulling pork, "This is terrific." Allen Campbell, member of the Ubon's cooking team, replied, “You know, you’re eating that all wrong….” David responded "then I'll get back in line and do it the right way." After all, he wanted to experience barbeque the way it’s intended. Instead Allen brought David up onto the trailer, within arm's length of Ubon's smokers, and taught him - everything on the plate, goes on the bun - especially the cole slaw. David and his family spent the next 4 hours visiting with Allen, Garry Roark, Leslie Roark Scott, and Brian Campbell. And so, an obsession began.

Ubon’s Barbeque was invited to join Danny Meyer’s Big Apple Barbeque Block Party in 2004. Danny's dream was to help New Yorkers come to love the kind of BBQ he grew up on by inviting top pitmasters from across the country to the Madison Avenue festival. “We were completely honored and totally unprepared for what we were getting into,” says Pitmaster Garry Roark. Roark’s Ubon’s Restaurant, in Yazoo City, Mississippi, had been open for almost a year when Garry and his daughter Leslie headed to the Big Apple for the first time. “We were so nervous about how we would be received. It’s hard to explain a serious relationship with barbeque to people who think cooking a hot dog on a grill is barbeque,” says Leslie Roark Scott, “but from the very start we were treated like rock stars!”

David, Allen and Leslie stayed in touch and the Ubon’s family invited him to bring some friends to the Memphis in May World BBQ Championship in 2008. The New York boys booked hotels and got their airfare; they were coming to Memphis. But, they didn't know what to expect. They actually made back-up plans just in case they felt uncomfortable or "in the way." What they found was the complete opposite! The hospitality extended past a friendship and into the realm of family.

Three weeks after MIM 2008, on a sunny, hot NYC June day, David and his future teammates: Brian Jay, Adam Rosen and Bob-O Livingston, suited up in cotton and disposable gloves and joined Ubon’s on Madison Avenue for the 2008 Big Apple Barbeque Block Party. “You entertain friends…you make family work,” said Garry. David and his friends found that their passing interest in the art of barbeque had turned into a passion for smoke.

Over the next year, plans were made for Jubon's (David and his friends) to enter Memphis In May’s 2009 “Patio Porkers Division” and cook ribs to be judged. They chose the name Jubon’s in honor of their mentors and their heritage. First, t-shirts were made, then, the rub and ribs were developed and perfected. Ubon’s helped get a smoker, tent, tables, fence, Ubon's BBQ Sauce and raw ribs to Memphis. Jubon’s weathered rain, wind, mud, heat, humidity, and a new smoker, not to mention putting together a blind-box for the first time. They had great ribs, but didn’t make it to the Finals. They missed being in the top three by 0.3 of a point (which they would learn after the awards ceremony).

Ubon’s, cooking in the Professional Shoulder Category, made Finals! This would be their 3rd trip to the Finals in 18 years. Their Finals' presentation began and ended with hoards of people wearing Ubon's and Jubon's shirts cheering, yelling and clapping on the muddy walk out in front of the booth. Ubon’s made it to the big stage with a 3rd place win.

Then, out of nowhere, a little bird brought great news for those four Jewish kids from NYC, Jubon’s would get up on stage too. The boys from NYC received a 4th place trophy! When asked what a Jubon's is, David replied “We’re four Jewish kids from New York City cooking barbeque in the Deep South -- At least the salt is kosher!"

With MIM 2009 still fresh in their memories, Ubon's focus has already turned to packing up the trucks and trailers and making the long drive back to the 2009 Big Apple Barbeque Block party the weekend of June 13-14. Its just around the corner. Aside from getting to see their new family and friends, Garry Roark says, “Come on, we’re a bunch of Mississippi Rednecks cooking barbeque in the big city This is what barbeque is all about.”

Jack Daniels World Championship BBQ

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 02:34:00 +0000

Ubon's was one of 78 teams drawn to participate in the 20th annual Jack Daniels World Championship BBQ Contest. This invitation only contest featured teams from all over the world. We were one of 2 teams from Mississippi. We were in good company. I think we felt a little intimidated as soon as we pulled up next to the creek there in Lynchburg. We were fairly prepared to face the weather: 55 degrees and raining. Much different from where we qualified: 115 and sunny. I think we represented Mississippi well. We brought home a 2nd place trophy in the Jack Daniels Pork category.

We went old school. Warm Ubon's painted it onto our pork entry. Ain't no school like the old school.

Diamond D got me thinking!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 04:46:00 +0000

This Barbeque Season has been busy for us. We've cooked in: Vidalia, LA (1st place hog), Madison, MS (2nd ribs, 3rd shoulder) and Cleveland, MS (4th rib, 1st hog, Grand Champions). It's been a good season and will continue to be as we get ready to head to the Jack next week.

We've touched base with some old friends and reestablished some old relationships. We've had time to strengthen our family/barbeque family relationships as well. This was our 13th year with the Campbell family. Our team has also met and gotten to know some new faces. We've spent the last weekend with our new team member Reggie. Reggie is awesome and I can't wait for you to meet him if you haven't already.

The last 3 weekends we've spent with Dr. Swinestein and Diamond D. These are some of the most amazing folks you'll run into. They are good spirited, funny and very talented.

Michael Wayne (Diamond D) started talking about his mama's Green Chili. I have been thinking about it for days now. Tracy (Diamond D also...and one of the finest bbq chicks ever) found me this recipe and I think it will be friday night supper for the crowd:

Sun of Nikki Chili Verde

Instructions:

Heat 2 tbsp Wesson oil
Brown 3 pounds cubed pork loin
Add ½ diced Vidalia onion
Add 1 can chicken broth
Add 3 tablespoons chicken base
Add 1 tablespoon hot Italian sausage mix
Bring to a boil - cook for 45 minutes

Dice one 27 oz can of green chili peppers

Then add 1/3 of green peppers with the following ingredients
½ lb tomatillos diced
5 Serrano peppers diced
2 packets of surgar
1.5 teaspoons garlic granules
1 teaspoon celery salt
½ teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 tablespoon cumin
4 jalapenos diced
1 can green enchilada sauce
6 tablespoons goya recaito sauce

Continue to cook for 1 hour then add the following ingredients:
1/3 of green peppers
1 teaspoon of hot green chili powder
1 teaspoon of mild green chili powder
2 teaspoons of cumin

30 minutes later add the following ingredients:
2 teaspoons of cumin
1 dash of hot green chili powder
1/3 chopped green peppers
Salt to taste
Cook additional 15-20 minutes

Ready to serve!

YUM! I'll let you know how it turns out.

Thanks Tracy!

Crab Bisque

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:12:00 +0000

Sunday night we had about a pound and a half of hand picked snow crab meat. I decided to make one of my favorite things...bisque.

I needed some seafood shells to make this work so I started a veloute:

1 stick of butter. 1/2 cup of flour. melt and stir until blonde. Add beef or chicken stock and allow to simmer. season. In a separate pot add olive oil and allow to heat. To the heated oil add coarsely chopped carrots, celery, and onion. Once they have browned, add shells from 2 lbs of shrimp/crab. Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and 2 teaspoon of paprika and continue to brown. Add 1 cup of white type wine to deglaze. AFter deglazing add your veloute.

This mixture needs to cook for about 45 minutes. add seasonings of choice and continue to taste through the process. After 45 minutes push your bisque through a sieve. it's important to both drain and to push all available flavor through.

Return to stove and continue to heat. Add 1/2 cup of cream. once the bisque is steaming add thawed corn, about a cup, cooked crab meat and shrimp. This will only need to heat gently. adjust seasoning with worchestishire, seasoned salt.

drizzle with sherry.

Yum. It's a little labor intensive but 100% worth the work.

The Jack and The Story

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 03:08:00 +0000

Today is a good day! We found out late this afternoon that we've been drawn for The Jack Daniels World Championship Barbeque Contest. This is a pretty big deal! It's been at least 10 years since our last trip to The Jack. This invitation only contest is held in Lynchburg, TN on the grounds of the world famous Jack Daniels Distillery.

On our last outing to The Jack I was still playing with our ribs. Heath and I decided that this was as good a time as any to do a bit of experimentation and for some reason we thought tequila flavored beer would be the key to winning. We came in last. Dead Last. Granted it was in a field of talented professionals, but still. LAST. I'll admit it: I cried. Like a whiney titty baby. If you think there's no crying in bbq, you're wrong. It was like being the last place Ms. Universe contestant. You know you can't be that bad, but you're still the biggest loser in the world.

About a month ago my daddy and I recorded an interview with The Story's Dick Gordon.
Daddy let me do most of the talking. OK, I did nearly all of the talking because I occasionally like to be the center of attention. Ha! The interview airs tomorrow night at 7:00 on Mississippi Public Broadcasting. If you can't catch this tomorrow night, please download the podcast.

A busy weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:57:00 +0000

My cousin got married and Jacob was in the wedding. We catered both the wedding and the rehearsal. We had a great time. The wedding was beautiful. My friend Melanie handled all of the flowers and I think we made a good team! Most of the food was stuff you've seen the recipe here for. Except:

Marinated Cheese Salad:
1 lb cubed cheddar cheese, 1lb cubed pepper jack cheese, 1 can black olives, 1 can of artichoke hearts, 1 jar of roasted red peppers, 1 jar of green olives, 1 jar of pickled mushrooms. Mix together. For the marinade: 1 bottle of balsamic vinegar, 1 bottle of red wine vinegar, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 package ranch dressing seasoning, 1/2 cup of season 'tup. Allow to soak for at least 24 hours. If you're going to hold this salad for a while...and it will hold for a good while, wait for about 2 hours before serving to add cheese. It will start to dry out after a day or so.

Monday was Labor Day AND Jacob's birthday. We had a weekend of party food. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

Today, I felt a little down. I think sometimes that happens when I've been blown away and busy. When I've accomplished everything I needed to and have the chance to decompress, I find that the slow pace can be mistaken for being down. So tonight we needed something hearty, something different. I think mixed influences and took fusion to the limit. I'm thinking this was Greek sauce, Middle Eastern Meatballs and Semi-Indian vegetables. But, it seemed to work.

Sauce:
Blend together: 1 small container of cottage cheese, 1 cucumber, seeded, 1/2 cup of mint, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup of milk. It was simple and a great dipping sauce for the meatballs. I think it would work well as a summer salad dressing too.

Meatballs:
Mix together: 1 lb of ground lamb, 1lb ground beef, 1 cup mint leaves chopped, 1 shallot chopped, 1 teaspoon cilantro, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon season 'tup. Form into a patty and skewer with 2 bamboo skewers. A small skewer will hold about 3 of these patties. Grill for about 3 or 4 minutes per side. Ours weren't quite done so we microwaved for about 2 minutes.

Vegetables: slice mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, red bell pepper. salt and drizzle with olive oil. Microwave for about 7 minutes. Heat 1 can of coconut milk, 1 tablespoon mint, 1 teaspoon green curry, 1 teaspoon garam masala seasoning, 1 tablespoon splenda/sugar.

I think it was just what we needed.

X MAN

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:47:00 +0000

X MAN

Kansas City Barbeque Society Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:20:00 +0000

We cooked this weekend in Madison, MS. We broke a long-standing Ubon's rule: Don't cook when it's hot. On Saturday evening I got in the car and it was 115 degrees. We cooked the 4 KCBS categories: chicken, beef, pork and ribs. We spent hours on chicken. My daddy has been cooking chicken my whole life. His daddy cooked chicken daddy's whole life. Sheesh! We experimented and tried and played and sampled. We looked at sample boxes, we played with how to place the chicken. In the end, we had 5 people sweating and threatening and spiting and cussing over some damn chicken! We didn't do too bad. We got an 8th place with the chicken we turned in.

Ultimately we borrowed a recipe from our friends over at Hebrew Hogs.
We marinated the chicken thighs over night in an acidic orange marinade:

5 cups of Ubon's BBQ sauce (OR 1 cup ketchup, 1 cup cider vinegar, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup hot sauce) and 2 cans of mandarin oranges, 1/2 cup of your favorite seasoning pureed in a food processor. Before smoking, we injected with an apple juice seasoning solution. We smoked our chicken for about 40 minutes and then finished on a charcoal fire. We used our rib sauce but any super sweet sauce that is warm from the grill will work. It's best if it isn't a super thick sauce. Dip the chicken into the sauce and return to the grill. repeat about 20 times.

Grillin for Life was a great contest. It was as hot as the very 3rd floor of hell, but we enjoyed the process. We finished up with 8th place chicken, 4th place brisket, 2nd place pork and 1st place ribs. Oh, and GRAND CHAMPION! So we're qualified for the draw for Jack Daniels in 2009. We had a great sponsor and look forward to working again with Smithfield. Our ribs were perfect. We're excited to be working with such an amazing product!

Next post: the X MAN movie!

Seafood Left Overs

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:44:00 +0000

We've started going to Dauphin Island, AL when we need some beach time. Dauphin Island is not crowded, it's remote and quiet. From one beach house you can see the gulf and the bay.

Skinner's Seafood sells shrimp that was caught the night before. Heath and I stopped on our way out on Sunday and bought shrimp, crab claws and lump crab meat. We shared with our friends and had some left over shrimp. We did dinner for our friends and had this:

Seafood Au Gratin: (because I never think I have enough food I also added some Simmon's Catfish)

Layer catfish fillets, shrimp and lump crab meat. Top with this sauce and bake: 1 stick of butter melted and lightly browned with 1/2 cup of butter. add 2 cups of chicken stock, 2 cups of milk. When the sauce returns to a simmer add cheese, at least 2 cups. You can choose the cheese. We used cheddar, colby, jack. Pour sauce over the seafood. Heath melted butter, crushed crackers, cheese and added to the top before baking. *My secret to this kind of a sauce is that I will always add a splash of cooking sherry, and a few dashes of hot sauce. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Grits and Greens: (Alright so I just finished reading Hissy Fit and Keeley made this. I did adjust!)
In a sauce pan heat 2 cups of chicken stock and 2 cups of half and half. Add a cup and a half of grits when the liquid comes to a boil. Honestly, I just poured in grits, and when it was too many grits I kept adding water until the consistency was was right. After your grits are creamy add 2 cups of mozzarella cheese, 2 teaspoons of hot sauce, salt, pepper and 1 bag of frozen turnip greens. Pour into a greased casserole dish and top with parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or so.

Corn Potato and Tomato Salad:
Cut corn off left over crab boiled corn (or use canned white corn), chunk up left over boiled potatoes, and dice tomatoes. Mix together 1 cup of mayo, 1/2 cup of ranch dressing (homemade is best), chiffonade basil, 1/2 cup of sour cream, and seasonings. Pour over vegetables and allow to sit for a couple of hours.

I love feeding my friends.

Summer Figs

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:02:00 +0000

>

I apologize for my absence. I've had a little surgery and have been out of commission for a couple of weeks. It's almost killed me! I guess you don't realize how much you love something until you have an extended absence from it.

It's full on fig season! Most homes in Mississippi have at least a small fig tree either on the property or their neighbor has one close by. We have questionable luck with most fruit trees, but for some reason figs nearly always are plentiful. My neighbor, Jim, has a huge tree in his back yard. He fought off the birds to pick me a gallon of figs. I offered a barter, he bring me the figs, I'd cook him my chicken and fig pasta.

On my first trip to NYC back in 2001, I had a day alone. You can imagine how scary that was for a Mississippi girl new to any big city, especially one where I didn't have a car and needed others to help me find my way. I know how to get around the city now without being afraid. That first day alone I was starving and stopped at the first Italian place outside the Spring Street Station. I sat on the side walk cafe and ordered the special for the day: chicken with figs. I was homesick by that Saturday and figs sounded like home. I had something that wasn't comfort food, but it was an inspiration.

figues chez les porcs

This easy starter translates to: figs in pigs. Wrap each fig in 1/2 a slice of bacon. Arrange in a dish and bake for about 20 minutes at 350. Leave stems on and watch for bacon to begin to firm. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar to serve. This is so elegant and unexpected. The sweet and savory are the perfect mix.

For an unexpected Chicken and Fig Pasta

Fry 1lb of bacon. Remove bacon and brown 2 diced chicken breasts and 1 chopped onion. Remove from pan. Add 1/4 stick of butter to bacon drippings. Add 1/4 cup of flour and stir to a blonde roux. To roux, add 3 cups of chicken stock and 1 cup of wine. I used red because it was open, white would be fine. Also add 1/4 cup of golden sherry, salt, pepper, and basil. Allow to reduce until thick.

While sauce is reducing. I roasted 20 figs on a char-grill until caramelized and allowed to macerate in balsamic vinegar for 20 minutes. Boil Bowtie pasta until al dente.

To assemble: Add chicken, onions and crumbled bacon to the reduced sauce. Add figs, including vinegar to the sauce. Toss with Pasta and serve warm, with a salad and crusty bread.

Berry Berry Good Pizza

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:44:00 +0000

Sunday night we had dinner at Jim's house. We decided to go after I'd already been to the grocery store, so I had limited decisions for putting together a dessert. Here's my Berry Pizza:

In a pan add 2 cups of frozen peaches and a cup (or two) of frozen berries. Add 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of sherry and allow to come to a boil. Make a slurry of 2 tablespoons of flour and 2 tablespoons of water and add to the boiling fruit. Roll out one tube of refrigerated pizza dough. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Spoon the fruit and some of the syrup over the pizza crust and bake for about 15 minutes. While the pizza is baking mix together a block of cream cheese, a cup (or so) of powdered sugar and enough of the left over syrup for the frosting to thin.

When the pizza crust is beginning to turn golden, drizzle the cream cheese mix over the top and allow to cool to room temp. Jim had some 'delta blues' bluebell ice cream. and it was a good mix.

A Pie for my friend Melanie

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 05:31:00 +0000

My neighborhood is an amazing one. We try to get together every week, especially the few families who've got children the same age and who just 'clicked' from the first day. Tonight we went to the Yates' home for crawfish and shrimp. Melanie's house is always so perfect, so welcoming and truly beautiful.

I always feel like one should bring a gift if visiting another's home. It almost seems tacky to me not to. There's the added bonus that I love, truly love, cooking for my friends. We only had a few minutes so I put together this pie. It needed at least an hour to reach proper consistency, but we couldn't wait that long and ate it with a spoon.

In an Oreo Cookie Crust, layer caramel (from the ice cream section) sauce. Heat 1/2 cup of whipping cream in the microwave until steaming and bubbling. add 1 cup of dark chocolate chips. add a cup of whipping cream to keep the sauce thin. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan and mix with 1 tablespoon of flour. add in the chocolate sauce and cook until thick. If this breaks (mine did) put into a mixing bowl and whisk whisk whisk. Add to your pie crust and chill. Would be good with whipped cream or a meringue.

Melanie said it had a 'fancy' 'chocolate truffle' taste.

It was yum.

Father's Day at the Lake

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 03:13:00 +0000

My sister and I decided to have a family party at her house on Lake Lorman. We had a small crowd, just us and our families and our parents. We spent a few hours taking turns being humiliated and delightedly pulled behind their boat on a two seated inter-tube. We spent a couple more house lazing in the sun next to the pool, then a couple of hours taking turns playing guitar hero. We somehow managed during that time to progressively eat everything that Jen and I cooked or assembled. Jen and I were going for a very salad-y cold menu that could be easily transported from the kitchen to the boat to the pool and back to the TV room.

My sister can make something as simple as a relish tray look elegant and complicated. It's one of those standard southern dishes that people don't always remind you to throw together. I think Jen has made it her mission to always include it because of our family gatherings at my mom and dad's house. For some reason our genetics require that we constantly buy pickled items. My parents could have 30 jars of assorted pickled stuff at any given time. With backups in the pantry. Jen began the tradition of the relish tray at some family gathering. It was essentially a means of consolidating the fridge, but she made it seem that it was a sharing of the pickled bounty: pickled okra, mushrooms, olives, onions. Sweet, dill, sour, bread and butter, spicy cucumber pickles. Pickled pepperoncini, cherry or red bell peppers. My sister has the relish tray down to an art. She and her kids also made a really good chicken cheeseball and 7 layer dip.

We threw together some turkey tortilla wraps. These were simple but fairly creative: a thin layer of cream cheese, then homemade mayhaw jelly (peach or apple would be a good substitute) then the turkey. Rolled up and sliced as a pick up food. Another is guacamole dip spread over the cream cheese and layered with turkey and cheese. The kid's favorite was a simple peanut butter and jelly wrap.

I threw together a few cold salads:

Broccoli and Fruit Slaw
2 packages of shredded broccoli stalks with carrots and cabbage, 1 jar of bottled coleslaw dressing, 1/2 cup of dried cherries, 1/2 cup of dried cranberries, 1/2 cup of golden raisins. Combine with salt and pepper.

This was great in a pita with some grilled flank steak and some roasted red peppers and onions.

Southern Cucumbers

During my childhood days with my next door garden we had thousands of cucumbers every summer. My grandmother kept a bowl of white vinegar, onions and cucumbers in her fridge at all times. Usually with ice floating in it if it was coming to the table. This is my version:

Heat 12oz of red wine vinegar, 1/2 cup of white vinegar and 1 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil and combine. Set aside to cool. Slice 3 cucumbers. Layer cucumbers, dill and basil, cucumbers, dill and basil, cucumbers. Add 6 pieces of candied ginger and a handful of whole black peppercorns. Pour vinegar mixture over and allow to marinate for as long as you can. Last night I added 2 more cucumbers to the brine for later.

Artichoke salad

In keeping with my genetic code I throw this salad together any time I have people coming anywhere near my table:

1 can of artichoke hearts, 1 jar of pickled baby corn, 1 jar of cherry peppers, 1 can of black olives. Drain and cover with 1 container of red pepper italian dressing and 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar. Allow to sit over night if possible.

Tomato Moz

I stopped at the Fresh Market and got vine tomatoes, hand rolled mozzarella, and basil leaves. I sliced layered and drizzled with basil olive oil and good balsamic vinegar. This was good with sliced turkey in a pita.

I'd like to pretend that we were so very elegant and that this is what we feasted on all day but there were also cheetos and snickers in attendance. It wouldn't be a super snack day without those.

Happy Father's Day to the wonderful men in my life.

More NYC

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:56:00 +0000

I can't say enough how much fun we had in NYC. We worked out butts off in the heat. Maybe the best part was the time we spent with our friends. Here are more pictures:

Barbeque Princess' Pictures

If you'll notice part way through there's a few pictures of Brian serving Iron Chef America's Ed Levine. Pretty cool for us foodies!

Summer Food

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 01:14:00 +0000

We moved into the house I grew up in when I was about 2. Mr. and Mrs. Westbrook lived in the house next door. I can remember how the house smelled. It was a combination of the two things that seemed to sum up the two of them: fresh baked something and cedar. Mr. Westbrook was retired and he swore up and down that he'd once owned a monkey. He worked daily in his wood shop and shot squirrels with his bb gun. Each spring he put in a huge garden. They didn't have any family in town, but we were right next door. In fact, their chairs faced a big sliding glass door that looked out into our front door. They literally watched my sister and I grow up. Jennifer and I always looked forward to helping him in the garden. He had the patience of Job. We knew he loved us because he planted 10 plants with "tommy-toes" (cherry tomatoes) and he didn't eat them. We would eat them right off the vine until we were almost sick. The garden was full of all of the best things: squash, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, pink eye purple hull peas, butter beans, green beans, sweet potatoes, and cucumbers.

During peak garden season we'd walk outside each morning and he'd have a 5 gallon bucket full of whatever he'd picked before the sun was too hot. I came up with my spaghetti sauce one summer out of sheer desperation. I couldn't bring myself to throw away all those tomatoes. And I mean, really, how many tomato sandwiches can one person eat? Well, a lot, but by August they aren't quite the delicacy they were in late May.

I made a trip to Sunflower last night and had a moment of pure nostalgia. Something in the zucchini made me miss growing up, Mr. Westbrook's garden, Mrs. Westbrook's cakes, shelling peas and tomato sandwiches. I bought zucchini and eggplant and wished for a 5 gallon bucket full of fresh vegetables. I like to think they would have liked what I made while thinking of them:

Slice 2 zucchini and 1 eggplant and lay out on a rack. Salt heavily and allow to sit at room temp. After about 30 minutes, turn and repeat. Rinse the vegetables thoroughly. This process helps remove the bitterness and keeps the vegetables from turning to mush.

Layer zucchini and eggplant in a casserole dish. Spread a layer of softened cream cheese. Top with 1 lb of browned sausage. add another layer of the vegetables. Pour one can of tomatoes over the top. (I wish I had that bucket of tomatoes!) (I think it would be better if you sliced fresh tomatoes.) Sprinkle a layer of mozzarella. Now, I will admit that I cheated here, but it made it so easy: Top with 2 pouches of tomato/basil pasta sauce. top with mozzarella and parmesan. This is weird but helped...microwave for about 10 minutes and place in a 350 oven for about 30 minutes.

Serve with pasta.

Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 23:26:00 +0000

NYC Pictures

thanks Alex!

My friend Alex

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:45:00 +0000

My friend Alex over at http://carefree-beachbum.blogspot.com/ spent the weekend with us up in NYC. I've spent most of the last couple of days obsessing over what people had to say about us at the Block Party. By and large the comments have been kind. Alex was our official documentarian and did a great job. Have a look:

http://s304.photobucket.com/albums/nn173/Alexousa104/BBQ/?albumview=grid&mediafilter=images

If only I knew how to turn something into a link! Help!

Maybe we should start again...

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:20:00 +0000

We just got back from the Big Apple Barbeque Block Party. In fact, the Ubon's trailer and crew are still in transit from the big city. Over the weekend my daddy and I were able to spend some time with Elizabeth Karmel (http://www.GirlsattheGrill.com/). She something of a celebrity in my world. I will admit to you that I was more than a little star struck. Elizabeth is a major champion for us Cue Chicks. At Elizabeth's suggestion I'm going to backtrack and tell you the story that I should have started this blog with: Why I am the Barbeque Princess.

When I was about 11 my dad decided to start the process of bottling and selling my grandfather, Ubon's, sauce. In 1989 Daddy, Mama and a few of their friends decided to cook in the backyard competition at the Cleveland, MS Octoberfest Contest. Daddy had a grill and a card table and cooked some wicked chicken. Who knew that plain ole barbeque chicken, delicious though it may be, was nothing close to what the judges were looking for. They didn't win a trophy but Daddy made friends and found a new love. Daddy and his friends invested in t-shirts (I mean it's official if there's a tshirt for it, right?) and they hit the road. The first few contests were a bust. In 1990 I was a senior in high-school and my daddy forced my sister and I to drive up to Octoberfest. We showed up on Saturday (show day is never ever the fun day) and we cut out as soon as we didn't make the finals. It was official, my parents were enjoying old people fun.

At some point that barbeque season we got a pass down for Memphis in May and the Friday before my graduation from high school mama and daddy made my sister, Jennifer, and I catch a ride to Memphis. Mama called us and told Jen and I to bring out mud boots. We balked because we’d agreed to wear the t-shirts with skirts. When we got to Tom Lee Park, we found a good 6 inches of mud. And lots of old people. Having fun.

Alright, alright, about 4 hours in and we were hooked. We were so hooked that my sister stopped being a vegetarian and started eating ribs. We were so hooked that the next fall if there was a contest, Jen and I were there.

In the fall of 1992 we headed to Possum Town Pig Fest in Columbus, MS. I had grown weary of doing gate duty. Jen and I were obviously BBQ Eye Candy. I was at a pretty decisive time in my life. My daddy has always been easily persuaded by his girls. I’ve been a master of manipulation for a long time. The best way to get my way with daddy was to convince him that putting me at the presentation table was his own idea. I may have even protested a little so he’d really think it was his idea. Daddy cooked some show ribs that you wouldn’t believe. I smiled, I flipped my hair, I flirted, I sold some damn good ribs. I used every skill I had as a southern woman. I got lucky that my daddy knew what he was doing when he cooked those ribs. When we got the notice that we’d made it to the finals my dad and I looked at each other and knew...we make one hell of a team. My research tells me that history was made that day. I was the first female to do a table presentations in the finals round and the first to win a State Championship/Grand Champion.

By 1993 I was tired of getting the look to my daddy to check facts. So I got my butt up and I learned. I started cooking the ribs myself. I watched my dad step gracefully back so that I could find my own place at the table. I’ve prepped and presented in 50 or more contests in the 16 years since my first start. I’ve changed recipes and methods. I think after all this time, I may have finally found the right combination that will help me continue getting into the finals. I’ve stepped far out on a limb and created my own sauce. I was always afraid of making too many changes. Daddy likes to “dance with the girl that brung you.” I think you should always dance with the better looking one.

We cooked in Pearl, MS back in April. An old family friend watched our finals presentations for hog, shoulder and ribs. When I began the presentation, I knew I had some beautiful ribs. I was full of energy, full of pride. My daddy stood right behind me in his traditional spot. My sister accidentally laughed too loudly when I described my rib rub as having ‘paprika, the sweet and smokey friend of the rib.” I was unfazed! On I went because I knew I had a winner.

My friend said later that she teared up because of how my daddy looked at me, at how proud he was of me, at how she could tell how pleased he was to have me smack up in his old people fun.

So I’m not so sure that I consider myself barbeque royalty so much as I consider myself my daddy’s Barbeque Princess.

For my new friend Elizabeth...a couple of sauces

Ubon's Comeback Sauce:

1 cup prepared mayo
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of cider vinegar
2 tablespoons of hot sauce
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1 small onion, minced (I would consider sauteing in butter until wilted, depending on personal prefrence)
salt, pepper, red pepper, lemon pepper to taste.

mix together, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or so.

serve with fried pickles, sweet potato fries, as a salad dressing, or as a dipping sauce for chicken or sausage.

Ubon's Come Hither sauce

(My friends the Rosen boys, don't like mayo so this is for them:)

1/2 cup of yellow mustard
1/4 cup of honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup of ketchup
2 tbsp hot sauce
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
minced onion optional

serve with chicken, on beef sandwiches, over cream cheese with crackers

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:06:00 +0000

Well, as reported we had a fabulous time at Memphis in May. I thought you might want to see for yourself. Please note the pictures at the shopping cart parade/walk about.

http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn104/cbuckalew/Memphis%20N%20May/

We are getting ready to head to New York for the Big Apple Barbeque Block Party. I will keep you posted!

The Legend....oh and Mike Mills too!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Thu, 29 May 2008 00:36:00 +0000

My friend Amy Mills Tunnicliffe and her daddy Mike Mills co-wrote one of the greatest barbeque books ever: Peace, Love and Barbeque. (don't have it? shame on you! get it on amazon.com) Amy and I share many things in common. One is that she and I love our daddies. Amy went so far that she wrote a book and pretended her dad helped! (Just joking. When I envision it it's more like how it would be with me and my daddy...I'll write the book if you'll stop telling me that story daddy!) By the way, Amy's dad is Mike Mills. In case you haven't read about him in Bon Appetit or Vogue and in case you've never seen or heard of the Food Network, Mike Mills is known as 'The Legend'.

Mike own Memphis Championship Barbeque and 17th Street Bar and Grill; he's the creative consultant for Blue Smoke in NYC. Mike also "owns" a little contest called Memphis in May due to his holding the Grand Champion title oh 3 or 4 times, some trivial record that stands to this VERY day!

We got to spend some time with Amy and Mike at this year's Memphis in May. Thanks to Mike we are included each year in the Big Apple Barbeque Block Party. http://bigapplebbq.org/2008/ It's an honor to be included in the block party, but for Daddy and I, it's a big deal to be included at Mike's suggestion.

Amy sent me an email with a recent article about "comeback sauce." It seems that comeback is a southern staple, but nearly totally Mississippi-centric. I've looked at lots of descriptions and 'thousand island dressing meets remoulade" seems to be the most apt. Most of the recipes I've seen have 2 secret ingredients and several steps. All restaurants in Mississippi have a special comeback sauce/dressing. We are no exception. Mine is just very very simple (yet oh so Ubon-centric!)

1 cup Mayo. 1 cup Ubon's BBQ Sauce. 1 tablespoon Ubon's season t'up. Mix. pretend you worked all afternoon. squeeze a lemon or wave a magic wand over it and call it a secret ingredient, but it's just those 3. But sh! don't tell. There are people who want us to bottle it!

This little magic sauce is good on anything you can imagine. Onion rings. Fried pickles. Sweet Potato Fries. Pork sandwiches.

The picture is my mom, Mike and the Princess herself (me).

Think if I start calling myself the princess it will catch on? hm. I'll give it a try.

Doc had a birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie Scott) — Fri, 23 May 2008 13:08:00 +0000

This week was my husband's birthday. Sometimes I feel like I've stolen him from his family of origin and displaced him into my own world. Reality tells me that we've done a good job of creating our own world with very good friends and close family.

One of my strengths is how easy it is for me to plan and feed a dozen friends. I decided this week to celebrate Heath's birthday with 12 or 15 close friends. Heath loves lasagna and so that's what I did for him.

Lasagna for 12

3lbs of ground beef browned with 1 bag of season blend (onions, peppers and celery. You could do the chopping but I didn't.) Add 4 cans of diced tomatoes, 4 large cans of tomato sauce, 1 cup of red wine, garlic, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, sugar. (a teaspoon or so of each.) Allow to simmer for as long as possible. You will need to assemble this at least an hour before it starts to bake to re-hydrate the lasagna noodles. No I refuse to precook those! I suppose you could but it's a pain in the ass and doesn't change anything. OK to assemble. layer sauce, then dry noodles, then ricotta cheese. sprinkles shredded cheese of choice: I used parmesan, mozzarella, assiago. You can adjust to your taste. cheddar isn't a bad idea, but for the love of heaven, let's avoid processed cheese food. NOW repeat layers, sauce, noodles, cheese, cheese. I would make sure I had at least 3 layers. Here's the secret to lasagna that will slice and not fall apart. cook low, 275 for about an hour and allow to sit for about 15 minutes before serving.

I also did a freak out. What if I didn't have enough food? This is almost never the case. But to be safe, and to make sure the little kids had a 2nd option I made a cheese lasagna. I think I made this one up on the fly:

melt butter in a pan and add an equal part of flour. To this add chicken stock and a splash of sherry. ok, maybe a gulp of sherry. Once this is bubbly I started adding cheese. cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan, colby...whatever I had. The sherry gives it sort of a fondu flavor. I layered my cheese sauce with the noodles and separated noodle layers with ricotta cheese. this baked with the lasagna.

And of course the cake...

Jacob and I decided to try our hand at baking and we made a pretty good effort. We used a strawberry cake mix and added an extra egg to make the cake, hm, i don't know, more dense? we also added fresh strawberries. these turn purple in the cake and maybe it wasn't the best idea but it sure was good. after our cakes cooled we layered the first with sliced strawberries then a layer of a simple chocolate ganache. This is so simple that I am almost ashamed! heat 2 cups of heavy cream and pour over 2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips. blend with a whisk until all combined. it will be glossy and yummy. place the top layer of the cake on. for the icing: 1 sick of butter flavored crisco. Trust me here, it holds up better than regular butter. Add a couple of cups of powdered sugar, then a couple more. You will know when the consistency is right. add a little vanilla paste and cream to help everything come together. Now I was frosting this cake after I took a sleeping pill so it was UGLY. I couldn't figure out how to get a good crumb coat and my layers were a little uneven. Even so, this cake was pretty good.

OK, I'm off to the barbeque world.