Man are the holidays upon us! This week has been a tough one, Heath was sick and then Jacob and now I'm on the living edge of the same! Before the sick set in, I hit the kitchen to throw together a few snacks for tomorrow at my mom's house. All the Roarks and all the Johnsons (my mom's family) will get together to eat until we're ill and then play dirty santa.
I'm making:
My sister in law Kim made these last night and of course, one to steal a recipe...here's my version
about 30 BABY BELLA MUSHROOMS. cook and drain 1 lb GROUND SAUSAGE and add 3 blocks of cream cheese. Season mixture with UBON'S SEASON'TUP AND UBON'S MEAT MARINADE. Stuff cheese mixture into mushrooms and throw a few teaspoons of butter in the bottom of the pan and bake.
I made this up after some serious thoughts. I thought it would end up more like a cheesestraw, but it didn't. It ended up tasting like a buttered biscuit with jelly. not too bad.
2 sticks of BUTTER, 1/3 cup of SUGAR go into the mixer and beaten until fluffy. Add 2 EGG YOLKS and incorporate. add 1 teaspoon of SALT, 1 teaspoon of UBON'S SEASON T'UP, 2 cups of AP FLOUR, 1/4 teaspoon of BAKING POWDER and mix. Make sure you push down the sides of the mixture to ensure even mixing. add 2 CUPS OF SHREDDED CHEESE. mix well. Roll into 1 inch balls and push a thumbprint into the ball of dough. Into the little dimple, add a dab of HOMEMADE JELLY. I'm using some strawberry peach that one of Heath's patients made. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.
I had some of the mushroom filling left over so i added some chopped basil and some olive tempanade and turned it into a cheeseball. not too shabby for leftovers
One more
2 cans of ARTICHOKE HEARTS chopped. 2 blocks of CREAM CHEESE, 1 package of shredded MOZZERELLA. add some of your favorite seasonings and bake for about 20 minutes at 350. Serve with crackers, toasts, or pita chips.
If I don't post before Tuesday, hope your Christmas is beautiful!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007
1st annual Scott's Soup and Sing a Long
Now I'm not one to brag, ok, I am. Last night we had our first holiday party. We invited about 30 or 40 folks that we work with or have made friends with here in the Yazoo area. Heath's sister in law has hosted a long tradition of soup and drinks then a drive to 3 or 4 homes to carol. Before joining the Scott family I'd only gone caroling with my church as a kid...and that nearly never included liquor! We decided to borrow that tradition and make a move to take our neighborhood by storm.
We set out walking and stopped at about 5 houses. You can imagine the sight...30 people, one guitar and an accordion. After an hour or so of wandering the neighborhood and serial caroling we came back to the house for soup, drinks and snacks. I'm going to lay out a few of the snacks that we had.
Chevre Tart: 1 package GOAT CHEESE broken up and mixed with fresh herbs. I used BASIL, DILL AND THYME because its what I had. I used premade FILLO DOUGH CUPS. into those I layered CARAMELIZED ONIONS, the GOAT CHEESE, and CARAMELIZED DICED PEARS. YUM!
Easy Sweets: 2 packages of crushed GRAHAM CRACKERS, 2 cups of CHOCOLATE CHIPS, 2 cans of SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK. mix together and pour into a baking dish lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Easy!
Lamb Chops: I removed the silverskin from 4 racks of LAMB. I coated each with BASIL INFUSED OLIVE OIL. I mixed together GARAM MASALA, UBON'S SEASON'T UP, AND A LITTLE KOSHER SALT. I coated the lamb with this rub. Beginning with the fat side down, I seared the lamb in OLIVE OIL. After it had a nice crust, I flipped the lamb and did the same thing to the other side. I removed the lamb from the pan and let it sit at room temp for about 2 hours. I put the lamb into a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes and cooked the lamb to rare. When we removed it from the oven, we allowed it to cool for about 15 minutes before cutting into chops. I served with a mustard sauce: YELLOW MUSTARD, CREOLE MUSTARD AND HOMEMADE JELLY. about 3 tsps each mixed together and served on the side.
Over the Top Cocoa: 2 quarts of WATER, 2 cups of COCOA MIX, into a crockpot. to each cup add a shot of GODIVA LIQUEUR, and one shot of CARAMEL LIQUEUR.
Snowflake Martini: for a pitcher, 3 cups of WHITE CRANBERRY JUICE, 2 cups of VODKA, 1 cup of COINTREAU. Shake and Serve with a cranberry floating in the drink
Pictures later!
We set out walking and stopped at about 5 houses. You can imagine the sight...30 people, one guitar and an accordion. After an hour or so of wandering the neighborhood and serial caroling we came back to the house for soup, drinks and snacks. I'm going to lay out a few of the snacks that we had.
Chevre Tart: 1 package GOAT CHEESE broken up and mixed with fresh herbs. I used BASIL, DILL AND THYME because its what I had. I used premade FILLO DOUGH CUPS. into those I layered CARAMELIZED ONIONS, the GOAT CHEESE, and CARAMELIZED DICED PEARS. YUM!
Easy Sweets: 2 packages of crushed GRAHAM CRACKERS, 2 cups of CHOCOLATE CHIPS, 2 cans of SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK. mix together and pour into a baking dish lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Easy!
Lamb Chops: I removed the silverskin from 4 racks of LAMB. I coated each with BASIL INFUSED OLIVE OIL. I mixed together GARAM MASALA, UBON'S SEASON'T UP, AND A LITTLE KOSHER SALT. I coated the lamb with this rub. Beginning with the fat side down, I seared the lamb in OLIVE OIL. After it had a nice crust, I flipped the lamb and did the same thing to the other side. I removed the lamb from the pan and let it sit at room temp for about 2 hours. I put the lamb into a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes and cooked the lamb to rare. When we removed it from the oven, we allowed it to cool for about 15 minutes before cutting into chops. I served with a mustard sauce: YELLOW MUSTARD, CREOLE MUSTARD AND HOMEMADE JELLY. about 3 tsps each mixed together and served on the side.
Over the Top Cocoa: 2 quarts of WATER, 2 cups of COCOA MIX, into a crockpot. to each cup add a shot of GODIVA LIQUEUR, and one shot of CARAMEL LIQUEUR.
Snowflake Martini: for a pitcher, 3 cups of WHITE CRANBERRY JUICE, 2 cups of VODKA, 1 cup of COINTREAU. Shake and Serve with a cranberry floating in the drink
Pictures later!
Sunday, December 9, 2007
A New Development for Ubon's BBQ
This weekend was the 15th annual Christmas at the Riverplace. For those of you not in attendance, that's the throwdown at Brian Campbell's family home. Brian and his family are Ubon's team members.
About 15 or 16 years ago my sister and i meandered down the way at Tom Lee Park during Memphis in May. We weren't really old enough to be drinking, but we'd found a way. A strange man dressed as an arab offered to purchase my sister and I for a camel, a chicken and 3 barrels of oil. Of course it was love at first beer. I'm sure you've guressed the weirdo was Brian.
After a couple of years we needed a whole hog cook and Brian was in the market for a non-arab-dressing team. It was a match made in heaven. Last year Brian won his first Grand Champion with the whole hog in Murphysboro, IL. He won't always admit that he cried and cried...I think all of us did. We won the Mississippi Delta State Championship this October with the Whole Hog.
We are excited to have surprised Brian last night. Next year will be our 17th Memphis in May, and our first to compete in the Whole Hog division. 2 hogs, lots of beer and a large time!
Memphis here we come!
About 15 or 16 years ago my sister and i meandered down the way at Tom Lee Park during Memphis in May. We weren't really old enough to be drinking, but we'd found a way. A strange man dressed as an arab offered to purchase my sister and I for a camel, a chicken and 3 barrels of oil. Of course it was love at first beer. I'm sure you've guressed the weirdo was Brian.
After a couple of years we needed a whole hog cook and Brian was in the market for a non-arab-dressing team. It was a match made in heaven. Last year Brian won his first Grand Champion with the whole hog in Murphysboro, IL. He won't always admit that he cried and cried...I think all of us did. We won the Mississippi Delta State Championship this October with the Whole Hog.
We are excited to have surprised Brian last night. Next year will be our 17th Memphis in May, and our first to compete in the Whole Hog division. 2 hogs, lots of beer and a large time!
Memphis here we come!
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Christmas Parade Dinner
Well, Tuesday night is the Yazoo City Christmas Parade. This parade is held on Yazoo City's Main Street. My family lives about 3 blocks from the parade route. We're excited because this is our first year in Yazoo and we will be able to host our family after the parade. My daddy always makes a thermos of hot chocolate and another of hot spiced tea. He and mama plan ahead and have a bunch of snacks...so I'm not sure why we have dinner!
Tuesday night I'm going to make a hearty beef stew for the family. I saw Tyler Florence cook a beef stew once and I took some of his ideas. My cousin Buddy once told me that he was making some sort of beef dish and he threw in some of 'that ole thyme' (pronounced like time but with a th). While I love making fun of him, he's right, that ole thyme and beef are like peas and carrots. Here's what I'm making...it's going to be enough to feed at least 9 of us.
Coat 2 lbs of BEEF (this may be a roast that's cubed or stew meat.) with flour. In a big pot heat 3 tbsp OLIVE OIL. Add beef and 2 large chopped onions and cooked until beef is browned. Once beef is brown add 2 cans BEEF BROTH, 1 cup RED WINE, 3 cups WATER, chopped (large pieces or baby) CARROTS (to taste), chopped POTATOES (large pieces or small red potatoes), MUSHROOMS (I'm using shitaki), 2 tbsp UBON'S SEASON T'UP, 2 tbsp THAT OLE THYME, Salt, Pepper to taste. The longer this simmers the better it will be. If you've got a fair ammount of flour on your beef that will serve as a roux to thicken.
I'm going to make corn bread, nah, I'll get mama to fix that...I usually cop out and make JIFFY.
Tuesday night I'm going to make a hearty beef stew for the family. I saw Tyler Florence cook a beef stew once and I took some of his ideas. My cousin Buddy once told me that he was making some sort of beef dish and he threw in some of 'that ole thyme' (pronounced like time but with a th). While I love making fun of him, he's right, that ole thyme and beef are like peas and carrots. Here's what I'm making...it's going to be enough to feed at least 9 of us.
Coat 2 lbs of BEEF (this may be a roast that's cubed or stew meat.) with flour. In a big pot heat 3 tbsp OLIVE OIL. Add beef and 2 large chopped onions and cooked until beef is browned. Once beef is brown add 2 cans BEEF BROTH, 1 cup RED WINE, 3 cups WATER, chopped (large pieces or baby) CARROTS (to taste), chopped POTATOES (large pieces or small red potatoes), MUSHROOMS (I'm using shitaki), 2 tbsp UBON'S SEASON T'UP, 2 tbsp THAT OLE THYME, Salt, Pepper to taste. The longer this simmers the better it will be. If you've got a fair ammount of flour on your beef that will serve as a roux to thicken.
I'm going to make corn bread, nah, I'll get mama to fix that...I usually cop out and make JIFFY.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Something from my Father in Law
I started dating my husband almost 14 years ago. Before we officially started dating he took me home to meet his family and told his nephew "she's NOT my girlfriend." Of course that's a rookie mistake made by many men and served as a means to seal his fate. Before we left headed back to school I made sure I was his girlfriend.
I always found my husband's dad to be interesting. He has methods of doing things that are sort of complicated. He makes a wonderful chowder. It's very rich and I can't eat much of it, which of course always hurts his feelings. He always fusses about how long it takes and how complicated the process is. Same with his beef stroganoff. Now understand me, when he cooks, it's awesome. But you always hear about how complicated it is and how long it takes.
On one trip to the beach my husband decided to make his dad's chowder. We accidentally found out it isn't quite as complicated as was rumored. I tried to come up with a stroganoff recipe for the restaurant and had to go to the source of the best I've ever had. I took part of my father in law's recipe and uncomplicated it. I'm cooking it tomorrow for lunch and serving it with a side salad. Here's my less complicated version:
Take 1 lb of BEEF. Use whatever you can find. Stew meat, sirloin, whatever is cheap. Cut it into strips. Mix 1 cup of FLOUR and 1 tbsp of UBON'S SEASON'T UP (or your lesser seasoning). Dust your beef in this mixture. Chop one small ONION. Dust in your flour mixture. You can pan fry this in batches or do what I do and deep fry. Melt 3 tbsp of BUTTER OR OLIVE OIL and add 3 tbsp of your leftover flour mixture. Allow to cook until slightly brown. (this is a roux) Add about 3-5 cups of BEEF STOCK. Dump all your flash cooked beef and onions into your stock/roux mixture. Add 1/2 cup of SOUR CREAM. Add salt, pepper and seasoning to taste. Allow to simmer until thick. Serve over rice or pasta.
Variations to this could include using ground beef instead of stripped beef or using leftover potroast. Sometimes I add mushrooms to the panfry/deepfry. Some people add cream of mushroom soup. I don't see the merrit in this. (GASP! I'll be lynched by southern women everywhere so don't tell on me.) If you want mushroom flavor add mushrooms. If you want the cream of flavor add some extra cream. I just don't get that cream of whatever recipe must!
IF you want you can talk about how difficult this is to fix and I won't tell a soul.
I always found my husband's dad to be interesting. He has methods of doing things that are sort of complicated. He makes a wonderful chowder. It's very rich and I can't eat much of it, which of course always hurts his feelings. He always fusses about how long it takes and how complicated the process is. Same with his beef stroganoff. Now understand me, when he cooks, it's awesome. But you always hear about how complicated it is and how long it takes.
On one trip to the beach my husband decided to make his dad's chowder. We accidentally found out it isn't quite as complicated as was rumored. I tried to come up with a stroganoff recipe for the restaurant and had to go to the source of the best I've ever had. I took part of my father in law's recipe and uncomplicated it. I'm cooking it tomorrow for lunch and serving it with a side salad. Here's my less complicated version:
Take 1 lb of BEEF. Use whatever you can find. Stew meat, sirloin, whatever is cheap. Cut it into strips. Mix 1 cup of FLOUR and 1 tbsp of UBON'S SEASON'T UP (or your lesser seasoning). Dust your beef in this mixture. Chop one small ONION. Dust in your flour mixture. You can pan fry this in batches or do what I do and deep fry. Melt 3 tbsp of BUTTER OR OLIVE OIL and add 3 tbsp of your leftover flour mixture. Allow to cook until slightly brown. (this is a roux) Add about 3-5 cups of BEEF STOCK. Dump all your flash cooked beef and onions into your stock/roux mixture. Add 1/2 cup of SOUR CREAM. Add salt, pepper and seasoning to taste. Allow to simmer until thick. Serve over rice or pasta.
Variations to this could include using ground beef instead of stripped beef or using leftover potroast. Sometimes I add mushrooms to the panfry/deepfry. Some people add cream of mushroom soup. I don't see the merrit in this. (GASP! I'll be lynched by southern women everywhere so don't tell on me.) If you want mushroom flavor add mushrooms. If you want the cream of flavor add some extra cream. I just don't get that cream of whatever recipe must!
IF you want you can talk about how difficult this is to fix and I won't tell a soul.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
My meds are kicking in
this maybe a bit outside of how i usually post. I constantly diet, so of course I bought a box of bridge mix. it's gone down hill since even last christmas. where are my chocolate raisins! Ah ha! there was the one in the box. My dad always has the coolest and most awful christmas candies. Maybe I will do my research and give you the recipe for my Great Granny Sally's Fruit Cake.
(I took my sleep meds...so sorry if this makes no sense) I think its time to bring some of the older Roark Family recipes. This weekend I'll get some together to post when I'm lucid.
(I took my sleep meds...so sorry if this makes no sense) I think its time to bring some of the older Roark Family recipes. This weekend I'll get some together to post when I'm lucid.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
