The South Will Rise

The Secret to a Red Velvet Cake??

Meg — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:20:53 +0000

I made Red Velvet Whoopie Pies last night to take as dessert to a dinner party. The recipe was very simple recipe for the red velvet part- a box of cake mix, eggs, water and oil. I made two different fillers, a marshmallow and a cream cheese icing. Everything went very well, and they looked beautiful- I had rolled them in mini chocolate chips and red hots- it was just a fun dessert to make. Then Corby came home. And he tried one. And it was bad. Corby loves red velvet cake, and as this was my first attempt to make this, I was pretty excited for him to try it and love it and think that I was the best baker in the world. I was needless to say, very disappointed. What went wrong?? I, of course, tried one as well, and Corby was not lying- they were bad despite how pretty they looked. Fortunately, I had enough time to make a Cheerwine Cake which is always good. So, my goal this weekend is to find and make a good red velvet cake. I am not going to use a box mix because that clearly didn’t work. The standard recipe that I am finding on line seems to be:

2 cups sugar
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 ounces red food coloring
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon vinegar

There is some variations in the amount of baking soda and vinegar and cocoa powder, but I am going to be a master of this by Sunday so stay tuned!!

Strawberries and Blue Cheese with a Balsamic Vinaigrette

Meg — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:48:36 +0000

I am generally not a fan of baby showers, but I went to one for a friend last week that was truly delightful. It was a sit down dinner at an absolutely beautiful home, and all of the women were so smart and fun to be around, that I had a wonderful time. The best part about the baby shower was the niece of the hostess is a remarkable chef at the restaurant EVO (www.evopizza.com) in Park Circle in North Charleston. EVO is a great restaurant- amazing pizza!! Blake McCormick created the menu for the baby shower, and she did such a marvelous job, so of course I emailed her to ask for some recipes to share with you all. The thing I was most impressed with was a passed appetizers she had created using strawberries, blue cheese, and a balsamic vinaigrette sauce on top. It was so simple, yet so unusual and fantastic. I am going to actually just post what she responded in her email to me about how to make them.

“I used locally grown Ambrose farm strawberries, washed and trimmed of tops and cut in half long ways (this provides a steady strawberry). I used a firm goat cheese (drunken goat, it’s available at the Harris Teeter, it has a purple rind). Using a vegetable peeler, create small shaved slices of the cheese. For the topping, reduce down 1 cup of balsamic vinegar (preferably aged and of good quality) slowly, stirring periodically. Reduce down to a syrupy consistency, keeping in mind that as it cools it will thicken even more, so be aware of not taking it too far. Let cool completely before topping. Lay strawberries down on platter top with cheese and drizzle small amount of balsamic reduction and serve.”

I can’t wait to have a party to try this. Thank you so much Blake! If you haven’t been to EVO- you need to check it out if not for the pizza then for this amazing chef!! I am now off to Utah to ski at Alta until Sunday, and I couldn’t be more excited! Will post about it when I get back hopefully in one piece!

Keegan Filion Farm Fundraiser

David — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:55:18 +0000

Back in December there was a devastating fire at Keegan Filion Farm down in Walterboro. This farm provides a lot of produce and meat to restaurants in the area that support local farmers, and in keeping with that support, many of the restaurants in Charleston held a “barn raiser” yesterday to raise money to help save the farm. The restaurants included Fish, McCrady’s, Husk, FIG, Luca, Cypress, Fat Hen, Wild Olive, Slight North of Broad, Macintosh, EVO, Glass Onion and on and on. With this line up, of course we went. The event was at Lowndes Grove Plantation, and the food was amazing. We took Walker with us mainly because it was free to bring him, but also because unlike most 8 year olds, the way to get Walker to try something is to say it is “exotic”. Walker and his dad go on “bizarre food” trips- they have been to Spain, Italy, France, and Switzerland, and still to this day, Walker says his favorite food is tripe. Gross- as an 8 year old, there would have been no amount of money that you could have paid me to try the lining of a cow stomach, and to be honest, it might take a lot today. Walker is an extremely adventurous eater. His favorite dish yesterday (it was my favorite dish as well) was from FIG. Mike Lata, I know I have said this before, but is an absolute genius. FIG had as their station ricotta gnocchi with a lamb ragu sauce. So delicious. Some of the other dishes provided by these amazing restaurants were turkey sausage with sweet peppers and beer mustard on a toasted slice of French Bread, Hoppin Johns, Hot Tamales, blue cheese lamb lasagna, braised beef taco with grilled greens and onions, and others that I tried and loved and don’t remember exactly what was in it. And, I am happy to report that it seemed like they made a lot of money for the farm. I am so sorry that they had a fire, but I was thrilled to support them in this event as it was just wonderful! If you would like to help out Keegan-Filion farm, you can mail donations directly to the farm, at 1475 Keegan Drive Walterboro, SC 29488.

Peanut Butter Pie Fail

Meg — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:32:39 +0000

I love The Local Palate (www.localpalatemag.com), the new cooking/food magazine in Charleston. Yesterday, they put up a link to all of their recipes http://www.localpalatemag.com/recipes.html, and I tried the Peanut Butter Pie recipe. You know those days in the kitchen where everything goes wrong- you drop eggs on the floor, you burn butter, your flour explodes everywhere into a disasterous mess- that was pretty much my experience with trying to make a Peanut Butter Pie. You know when you have those days, and despite all the mess and frustration, your dish turns out marvelously- well that didn’t happen. Ok- here is the recipe from the Local Palate-

Ingredients:

2 cups peanut butter, smooth or chunky
1 pound cream cheese
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 pint heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
3 large egg yolks
1 Oreo cookie prepared pie shell
4 tablespoons peanuts, toasted
4 ounces shaved bittersweet chocolate

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, whip together peanut butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar.

Pour cream into a second mixing bowl or stand mixer. Whip cream with vanilla bean seeds to stiff peaks.

Fill bottom of double boiler with water and place on medium-high heat on the stove. Place egg yolks in top of double boiler and lightly temper egg yolks until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let come to room temperature.

Fold eggs into peanut butter mixture.

Fold in whipped cream with peanut butter mixture. Combine thoroughly.

Pour mixture into prepared Oreo pie shell. Top with peanuts and shaved chocolate. Place in freezer for 2 hours. Use a warm knife to serve.

Now- here is what went wrong. First of all- I could not find an Oreo pie shell as the store, so no big deal, I got a chocolate pie shell. Next, I decided to use my stand mixer to mix the heavy cream and my hand mixer to mix the peanut butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar together. Bad idea. Perhaps I might have used too small of a bowl, but mixing cream cheese, peanut butter and powdered sugar is not so easy- but mess aside- got it done. Now to the heavy cream and the seeds of a vanilla bean. I got some of the seeds out and the rest all over me, so I added some vanilla extract, but despite the work to get the seeds- my heavy cream did not whip… at all. It just stayed very milky and spraying everywhere. A phone call to my mother informed me that even though the recipe said heavy cream, I should have bought heavy whipping cream or just whipping cream and fortunately she had some at her house. In the mean time, I did not have a double boiler for the egg yolks- it took five attempts to get the three yolks needed. Not only that, but in my homemade double boiler of two pots on top of each other, are you supposed to have the bottom pot boiling before you put on the eggs- I don’t know, but I did not have the water boiling before I added the eggs, so I am not sure if the eggs turned out correctly. I took the eggs off of the stove to let them get to room temperature and rode my bike over to my mother’s to get her whipping cream. She only had 1/2 a pint, but it whipped beautifully, so I then added half of mine that I had been mixing for 15 minutes to no effect. Well, of course that diluted the whole mixture but I added it and the eggs to the peanut butter mix anyway. This part all went ok- and I put it in the pie shell and froze it and it looked very pretty. It really didn’t taste very good, and it wasn’t that it was horrible by any means, but just not great. I don’t know if it was the eggs or the bad heavy cream or what, but if I was to attempt this again, I would get some good whipping cream, and I would cut the amount of cream cheese in half as it was a very strong flavor and kind of hid the peanut butter flavor, and I would double the amount of powdered sugar to 1/2 a cup. I think you could do this without messing up the recipe too much as I had a ton of the pie filling left over. I will say the chocolate pie crust was very tasty, and if you can’t find oreo- this works just as well! Here’s to feeling like a complete beginner in the kitchen again!!

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts and Backgammon Night

Meg — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:28:28 +0000

I work at the Charleston Library Society which is a pretty special place. It is the third oldest library in the United States, and the collection of books, letters, maps etc. is unbelievably impressive. This is the main room of the Library- it is beautiful. And what better use for this amazing room than a backgammon club! I started the Charleston Library Society Backgammon Club in September, and it has been so much fun. The best part of Backgammon night is that the Library supplies beer, wine, and light snacks of which I am in charge. So, of course I test recipes on our little group. I tried out the Prosciutto Cheese Straws, Blue Cheese and Toasted Walnut Crostinis, Spiced Eggnog Pound Cake and on and on. Last night at Backgammon, I brought the Pioneer Woman’s Mystery Roll recipe which I put up in a post when we went out to visit her and Ladd. Check out the post for the recipe- super easy and they were a huge hit.

This morning I started thinking about what I was going to try next time, and then I started thinking about bacon because it is so good and I really love it. Amazingly, initially the two thoughts did not have anything to do with each other. Fortunately, I was awoke from my bacon daydream to google bacon recipes, and I came across bacon wrapped water chestnuts. I haven’t had those in so long, and I love them, and that is what I will be making for the next Backgammon Night! Here is the recipe from www.allrecipes.com that I will be using- I am pretty excited!

Ingredients

1 pound sliced bacon

2 (8 ounce) cans whole water chestnuts, drained

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup chili sauce

Directions

Cut bacon strips in half. In a skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until almost crisp; drain. Wrap each bacon piece around a water chestnut and secure with a toothpick. Place in an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish.

Combine the brown sugar, mayonnaise and chili sauce; pour over water chestnuts. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Skillet Cornbread and Marvelous Meatloaf

Meg — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:03:48 +0000

My sweet son Walker finally got home from New York this week, and I have, of course, been spoiling him rotten from missing him so much. I asked him what he would like for dinner the other night, and he replied meatloaf. This was a little surprising since I haven’t made meatloaf for him in well over a year, but as Corby and I love meatloaf too- that sounded perfect. It is such an easy recipe, and the best part is that it includes a lot of cheese which is great! I also decided to try skillet cornbread to go with it- people served a lot of cornbread at the parties we went to on New Year’s day, and I forget how much I like it. Here is the recipe for skillet cornbread and meatloaf- so tasty!!

Skillet Cornbread

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups stone ground cornmeal (I used yellow)

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp salt

4 tbsp melted butter

1 cup buttermilk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In large bowl, mix cornmeal, baking powder, flour, salt, 2 tablespoons of the butter, and 1 cup of buttermilk. This should be a pourable consistency- if it is too thick for your liking, you can add more buttermilk. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a large cast iron skillet, but don’t let the butter burn. Pour the batter into the very hot skillet and cook for about 3o seconds to 1 minute until it bubbles abound the edges of the batter. Immediately take skillet from burner and put into preheated over to bake until golden brown- about 20 to 25 minutes. When done- remove cornbread from skillet with the bottom side up onto a serving dish and enjoy!

Marvelous Meatloaf

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (you can have more depending on how many people you are feeding- up to 1 1/2 lbs I keep the same amount of the ingredients below)

1 cup bread crumbs (I used the Italian Seasoning breadcrumbs just to add flavor)

1 egg

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp oregano

1 cup ketchup (I usually use 2/3 cup ketchup and then the rest I use steak sauce)

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325. In a large mixing bowl, add the ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, salt and pepper, oregano, and ketchup. Mix together- I use my hands- until you form a large ball of the meat mixture. Put a sheet of tin foil on a baking sheet and roll out the meat mixture until you get a flat rectangle, not too thin, but not too thick either. Sprinkle most of the grated cheese on top of the rectangle, and then roll up the meat- kind of like a jelly roll with the cheese in the middle. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes. At around 40 minutes, I sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the loaf.

It was all so delicious, Walker asked for it again tonight!

A Happy New Year with Hoppin John

Meg — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:01:58 +0000

It is a tradition in the South to eat black eyed peas and collard greens on New Year’s Day to bring you luck for the coming year- the peas are supposed to represent coins and the collards are the color of money so the dish- called Hoppin’ John- will bring you wealth and luck in the New Year. I have to be honest, while all of that sounds great, and I would love some luck and fortune in 2012, I really can’t stand collard greens and I am not too fond of black eyed peas either. With that being said, here is the recipe for Hoppin John that I will be making today. Collards are usually served on the side, but I am not sure I can bring myself to make them- we will have to see.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of black eyed peas
4 cups of water
1 lb ham hocks
1 onion chopped (I like using a white onion the best, but any onion will work fine)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (because every dish should have some cheese in it- it is just better)

Directions:

Put all of the ingredients except for the rice and cheese into a pot and cover with water and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for an hour and a half. Then remove the ham hock and cut the meat into pieces. Return the pieces to the pot and add the rice. Cover the pot and cook until the rice is ready- about 20 to 25 minutes. Serve with the cheese sprinkled on top.

Here is what it is supposed to look like although I doubt mine will be this pretty.

I am including a recipe I found on Allrecipes.com for collard greens. Again, I really dislike them, but if I were to make them- this looked pretty yummy.

Ingredients:

2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 bunches collard greens – rinsed, stemmed and thinly sliced
4 slices bacon
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup red wine vinegar

Directions:

Place potatoes in a large pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Before the potatoes are finished, add the collards to the pot.

Place bacon in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain, and saute the onion in bacon grease until tender. Drain onions of grease, and add to the greens. Crumble in the bacon, and stir in the wine vinegar. Simmer over low heat until greens are tender, about 1 hour.

I hope these bring you luck and fortune, and I am looking forward to all of the fun baking and cooking in 2012. Happy New Year!!

Ham and Cheese Crepes and a hike to Babel Tower

Meg — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:08:39 +0000

I can’t believe that Christmas has come and gone already. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Corby and I went up to the mountains in North Carolina since it is Walker’s year to spend Christmas with his dad While we missed Walker tremendously, we had such a relaxing great time just the two of us. For your sake, I am going to break this up into two posts because I would just ramble and ramble and the post would be too long for anyone to read, and of course you don’t want to miss anything. So, the first night we got up to Linville, we made ham and cheese (yum) crepes. A friend had made these for us when we were in NYC a few weeks ago, and they were amazing- we had to try them ourselves. Our technique needs some working on, but they sure tasted good and were surprisingly easy.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter, melted

ham

grated mozzarella cheese

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, and then add the salt and butter and mix until smooth.

Heat a lightly oiled frying pan over medium high heat. Ladel the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.

Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Add in as much ham and grated cheese as you like. Loosen with a spatula and flip half of the crepe on top and then flip to cook the other side. Serve hot. This is where our technique left something to be desired as it is a little tricky. Make sure the frying pan is HOT.

These really were so easy and so good, and I think they come off as pretty impressive.

The next day, we went on a great hike down into the Linville Gorge to a swimming hole called Babel Tower- we didn’t swim. But it was so beautiful, and in the summer, it is a great place to go. There are several different places to jump off- very low places for me, and there is about a 20 foot jump which scares me to death, but is super fun for Walker. Here are some pictures. Tomorrow, I will post recipes about our Christmas day feast of Rommegrot and Canadian bacon strata and our hike up the profile of Grandfather Mountain- too fun!

You know what goes well with sailing (or anything)… tater tots

Meg — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:10:31 +0000

Saturday was a pretty great day. It started off with pepper jack cheese scrambled eggs and maple bacon and ended with macaroni and cheese fritters with green tomato jam, and in the middle was a fantastic day sailing with great friends and snacking on tater tots. I reconnected with a friend from college who is down in Charleston on his sail boat for a couple of weeks (not a bad life he leads), and he invited a group of us to go sailing with him on Saturday. Now, to be honest, I hate sailing- well I should say, I hated sailing. My dislike for the sport involves three very spread apart and very long stories that I won’t go into, but my last sailing venture ended up with us swimming to shore in a horrific storm and having the Coast Guard called to come save us- it really was not that much fun. But, never the less, I went sailing with my old college friend and a group of my best friends from Charleston. I think that it helped tremendously that the boat was significatly larger than the little sunfish I almost died in, and that there was very little wind to speak of. It also helped that we stopped at the Marina Variety Store (www.varietystorerestaurant.com) to pick up some sandwiches and, the best, some tater tots. Tater tots are so under rated and so under served. They really should be a staple like french fries. I think that tater tots go well with pretty much everything- sailing definitely included. So, the sail was fantastic, and we got to see Santa who was also out in his boat with Mrs. Claus and a couple of elves throwing candy and caroling to all the boats in the harbor- random but awesome. Here are some pictures from the sail.

Charleston is so pretty! So of course, as soon as I got home, I googled tater tot recipes. This one from www.food.com looked pretty good, and I will definetly try it, but Ore-Ida makes it so darn easy! The last thing I will add is that we went to Big Gun Burger Shop (www.bigguncharleston.com) on Saturday night after a few Christmas parties that were heavy on the alcohol and light on the food. This place is so great!! Not only do they serve late, but they also have a Twinkie Milkshake which is really amazing. I opted for the Mac and Cheese Fritters instead of a burger (which I have had and they are so good), and they were the perfect late night snack (other than tater tots of course, but they didn’t have those on the menu which goes back to my whole thing of them being under served!!)

Ingredients:

8 medium potatoes, cooked, peeled, and hot

1 tablespoon flour

1 dash pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons finely minced onions (optional)

canola oil or vegetable oil

Directions:

Finely shred or use a ricer while potatoes are still hot.

Stir in flour, salt, pepper and onion (if using).

Heat 1/4-in oil in heavy pan.

Form into small balls and drop in oil; fry until slightly golden.

A Blast 900 Class

Meg — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:43:24 +0000

Since I get to write about food and baking all the time, here is a quick post on the opposite. I took a Blast 900 (www.blast900.com) class this morning, and it was amazing! I feel like I made up for all the candy I ate at the gingerbread house party. It is an hour long class that rotates between treadmill work and weights, and they say you can burn up to 900 calories in an hour. Ok, so I ate way more than 900 calories of candy at the party, but this definitely helped!! Here is a picture from their facebook page to give you an idea of how badly my legs are going to hurt tomorrow.

Gingerbread House Party

Meg — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:07:19 +0000

We went to my sister’s gingerbread house party in New York last weekend, and Walker was so disappointed that he couldn’t take his gingerbread house on the plane home, we decided to have a gingerbread house party as well. Thanks to my mother’s genius when she was making houses for my sister’s party, she made five extra, because who doesn’t need extra gingerbread houses lying around? There were so many great things about this party. The first was that the only thing I had to do was buy the candy. I can do that. I can do that well. The only problem there is making sure all of the candy actually gets home. Here is the candy set up.

The second great thing about this party was the three families we had come over to help us decorate the houses. Two of the families are very old friends of mine who I have know since I was born practically, and we all three went from 1st through 12th grade together, and that includes boarding school in Connecticut. We had grown up decorating gingerbread houses together as children, and it was so much fun to watch our own children start this tradition for themselves.

The third thing I loved about this party was where my sweet old dog, Nemo, positioned himself. Now, since I didn’t actually have to do anything for this party other than buy the candy, and since I am currently at my real job without my mother’s recipe book in front of me, I can’t post at this time the recipe for gingerbread houses, but I will do an update this afternoon when I get home.

I might be biased, but I think these four gingerbread houses are the best gingerbread houses ever to be built. It is such a fun Christmas activity to do with children, and so much fun to eat after!

Update: Of course my wonderful mother sent me the recipe as soon as she read this!!

Gingerbread House/Men

Cream:

¼ cup butter

½ cup sugar

½ cup dark molasses

Sift:

3 ½ cups unbleached flour

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. cloves

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. ginger

2 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. baking soda

Add dry ingredients to the butter- sugar mixture alternately withabout ¼ – ½ cup water, or enough to be able to roll out the dough. Cut into shapes for a house or into Gingerbread men and bake on doubled, or even tripled layers of waxed paper. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

Icing Cement

Mix 3 egg whites at room temperature until they are very peaked and dry. Slowly add one box of powdered sugar.

Elizabeth Taylor, Le Creuset and Toys for Tots

Meg — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:48:29 +0000

I was asked last night if I went to the Elizabeth Taylor Jewelry Auction Preview while I was in New York last weekend. I did not. I heard the preview catalogue was $300 and since I don’t like magazines and really don’t like catalogues, I think that is a little on the ridiculous side. Despite all that, if I had won the lottery, a nice little Elizabeth Taylor bauble would probably be something I might enjoy. Who doesn’t need a $12,000 hand mirror?? So, since the Elizabeth Taylor catalogue (http://www.christies.com/elizabethtaylor/the_sales.aspx) is not going to be part of my Santa list, the only thing to take its place is the Le Creuset gift guide (http://cookware.lecreuset.com/cookware/content_GiftGuide2_10151_-1_20002). Yay!! This is so much more up my alley- well at least for every day, reasonable, not ridiculous jewelry things. There are some fantastic gifts on here in all price ranges. In the $50 price range- the metal active-ball corkscrew is awesome. My sweet friend who works at Le Creuset gave me one last Christmas, and I love it!

Another fantastic Christmas idea is one I got from The Bloggess (www.thebloggess.com)- if you don’t read her blog- you should. I fall out of my chair laughing at her posts. She is phenomenal, and I can’t wait until her book comes out this spring- you need to check her out! Anyway- she said that for the past several years, she has gotten a whole bunch of toys and donated them to Toys for Tots in her parents name which, I think is pretty brilliant. So, this year, she has four places you can donate to for the holidays. Project Night Night (http://www.projectnightnight.org/index.html) is a great organization that provides a “Night Night” bag for homeless children that includes a book, blanket and stuffed animal. The second is Toys for Tots (www.toysfortots.org). The third is the The Heifer Project and I am going to re post what she put up about it because it so funny:

The Heifer Project (http://www.heifer.org/ourwork/our-work). Basically it’s about giving livestock and training to families around the world, because llamas are awesome. Or something. I don’t know. I get confused after I see the llamas. But I do know that they do amazing work and that you can buy a share of a goat for $10. Which is great because you’re helping a family in need and you also get to tell your horrible aunt Frieda (who made you feel fat when you were 12 and won’t stop asking why you aren’t married yet) that for Christmas you bought a share of a goat in her honor. The ass end. Merry Christmas to everyone concerned.

The fourth is Wish Upon a Hero (www.wishuponahero.com)- people can post what they need, and you can look up by all sorts of criteria including zip code and grant a wish to someone in need.

Well, just a couple of thoughts in this holiday season- I need to start shopping!!

Grilled Pumpkin Soup, Oyster Sliders and a Black and White Eclair

Meg — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:18:26 +0000

I love New York. I am so glad I do not live there anymore, but I really do love it. We had such a fun weekend, and the weather, although not cold and Christmas spirit inspiring, was fantastic. The food was even better. We went to a lot of places, and I don’t think all of the walking we did was even close enough to cover the intake. First stop was Mas (La Grillade) http://www.maslagrillade.com which is a new restaurant down in the Greenwich Village that opened in September as a sister restaurant to Mas Farmhouse (www.masfarmhouse.com) which is just around the corner. Here, the chef, James Beard Winner Galen Zamarra, “feels that the basic technique of cooking over an open fire is the best way to honor the inherent natural properties of food”. While I don’t really understand all that, the food was amazing! I had a grilled romaine salad as a starter and then the grilled pumpkin soup with broiled goat cheese croutons, bluefoot mushrooms and chives and rosemary oil. It was amazingly delicious and a wonderful evening with great friends.

Even though we live in Charleston and have fresh oysters practically in our backyard, Corby heard about the oyster sliders at The Dutch (http://thedutchnyc.com), so of course, we went to try them. While I did not partake in the consuming of the oyster sliders, the restaurant had a great atmosphere and wonderful feel, and the look on Corby’s face while eating said slider- I am assuming they were pretty marvelous.

And last, but certainly not least, and probably my favorite of all was the Dominique Ansel Bakery (http://dominiqueansel.com/index.html) down in Soho we went to check out on Sunday morning. We unfortunately shared a black and white eclair- I say unfortunately because I wanted it all for myself and then maybe three others to go with it. It was the best eclair I have had in a very long time, and I feel like I am well versed in all things eclair as they are my favorite.

All in all, I feel like I got the best NYC experience. We walked everywhere, tried several new restaurants, had amazing dinners and wine and saw lots of old friends, got delayed for almost two hours at Laguardia for no apparent reason, and got in late last night exhausted and happy to be home. It was perfect.

Spiced Eggnog Pound Cake

Meg — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:38:19 +0000

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving! I am still so full, but it was all worth it. I remade a lot of recipes that I have put on this blog this past week for family members that I have not seen in a while. We started off on Wednesday night having my parents, all of my siblings and nieces over for dinner. Corby served up his now famous BBQ with coleslaw and a potato and bacon hash that was out of this world. I made a salad and used the Pimento Cheese pop-overs instead of croutons. Since we were having BBQ, my brother and his wife brought Bourbon Banana Pudding- I don’t have the recipe yet, but apparently it is from Joy of Cooking, and it was so so so good. The next day, I made the Prosciutto Cheese Straws for a pre Thanksgiving dinner snack- fantastic and a huge hit with my brother and father, and for Thanksgiving Day dessert, I made the Chocolate Bread Pudding that was the Le Creuset recipe contest winner, and it was just as good as I remembered it! We also got an Apple Crisp from The Co-Op on Sullivans Island (www.thecoopsullivans.com). The Co-Op is a great little grocery/deli that serves up great sandwiches and amazing homemade desserts- definitely check it out!

So despite the fact that it is 80 in Charleston today, I am now gearing up for Christmas- how is that possible!!! We are headed to NYC this weekend for a visit, and I am so excited to get some cold weather to get into the Christmas spirit. We are also going to my sister’s annual gingerbread house building party on Sunday before we head home which we have not been to in a long time and should be so fun! To also help get into the Christmas mode, here is recipe I love from Christmas with Southern Living from back in 2005- Spiced Eggnog Pound Cake- enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
3 cups sifted cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup eggnog
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons brandy (optional)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Powdered sugar
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon whipping cream

Preparation

Generously grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan; set aside.
Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer about 2 minutes or until creamy. Gradually add granulated sugar, beating 5 to 7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with 1 cup eggnog, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla and, if desired, brandy.
Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Stir cinnamon and next 3 ingredients into remaining batter. Spoon spice batter over plain batter. Swirl batters together, using a knife.
Bake at 350° for 50 to 55 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool on wire rack.
Place cake on a cake plate; dust with powdered sugar.
Combine 1 cup powdered sugar and whipping cream, stirring until smooth. Drizzle glaze over cake

My Bakery Wish List

Meg — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:17:39 +0000

Since I started writing this blog, I have been making a wish list of bakeries I want to visit. Red Truck Bakery (www.redtruckbakery.com) in Old Town Warrenton, VA is definitely at the top of the list. First off, I really love that they turned an old Esso Station into a bakery. Second, I really love the truck- an old 1954 red Ford farm truck- while I would not have the first clue how to drive it and would surely kill the transmission, clutch and any thing else in the engine, is really my dream truck. Third, and most importantly, I am obsessed with their menu- I look at it every day and wish that I could be there right when the bakery opens and smells so amazing. Today’s soup for example is potato with apple wood smoked bacon- heaven. If you live in the neighborhood or have the chance to be near the area, please check it out for me as it doesn’t seem that I will make it there any time in the near future. Fortunately- they ship nationwide (http://www.redtruckbakery.com/store)!! Here is some of the press from my favorite magazine- Garden & Gun:

“Leave it to a baker in moonshine country to create a dessert that rivals the Kentucky bourbon ball. The Double Chocolate Moonshine Cake from Red Truck Bakery in Virginia is made with legal hooch and enough rich chocolate to give you a food buzz. ”
~ Garden & Gun Magazine

It is getting to be time for Hot Chocolate

Meg — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:23:53 +0000

Despite the fact that it is almost 80 degrees in Charleston today, I have been craving hot chocolate. Maybe it is because I know in some parts of the country, ski season is just around the corner and I am missing my days as a ski instructor in upstate New York, or maybe it is because hot chocolate is just so delicious, that it is a drink that is craveable no matter the temperature. So, I got a packet of Marshmallow Lovers Swiss Miss mix and fixed a cup. Tasty, but I think we can do better. Here is a recipe I found on David Lebovitz’s blog (www.davidlebovitz.com) that is pretty special- I made a few changes to the recipe to suit my taste, and the great thing about this recipe is you can adapt it to whatever you are in the mood for- kahlua, a dash of rum if you are feeling up for it. David Lebovitz was named one of the top five pastry chefs in the San Francisco area and has been featured in every cooking magazine you can think of. He has written six books ranging from chocolate to ice cream to his favorite dessert recipes. Here is his recipe adapted by me for hot chocolate. So good!!

Belgian Hot Chocolate Recipe

1 quart 2% milk or use whatever kind of milk you drink- for those who like it very creamy, use half and half.
the original recipe calls for 8 oz of bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate and 4 oz of milk chocolate- I used 6oz and 6oz
tiny pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
a dash of vanilla extract
a dash of nutmeg

Warm about one-third of the half-and-half or milk, with the chopped chocolates and salt, stirring until the chocolate is melted.

Whisk in the remaining half-and-half or milk, heating until the mixture is warmed through. Add the cinnamon, vanilla extract and nutmeg.

Use a hand-held blender, or a whisk, and mix the hot chocolate until it’s completely smooth. Serve very warm and add as many marshmellows or as much whip cream as you like!

Cheese and Prosciutto Straws and a Steeplechase

Meg — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:54:47 +0000

After surviving the Saturday night sleepover of 11 eight year old boys, we got to have some grown up fun by the way of the Charleston Cup. The Charleston Cup is a steeplechase race that started twenty five years ago. However, this is only the eighteenth running of the race as they took an eight year hiatus. It was a spectacular day, and what better way to fight off complete exhaustion than to go spend the day drinking and eating at a horse race! I had not been to the Charleston Cup since I was about ten when we sat on the top of the car and bet pennies on all the races- so fun! As this was Walker’s first experience with horse racing, and because I wanted him to be entertained by something other than me, I gathered up all the change in the house so he would be able to bet as much as he wanted. Little did I know that kids don’t bet with pennies any more- it was $5 a race- big stakes- he didn’t win, but I let him keep all the change.

I was also blown away by the tailgates at this event. I was not informed until I had made a complete fool of myself gawking at everyone’s taxidermy and ice sculptures that there was a “best tailgate” competition going on. These were the people next to us- if that fox had been a taxidermied jackalope, they would have won! My thoughts on jackalopes requires a whole different post that may or may not happen at some point in the future. Anyway, back to the tailgates. Clearly, not only is a tailgate not complete without cheese straws, but I think you would be hard pressed to find- at least in my family- any event where there is drinking, cheese straws are pretty much guaranteed to be involved as well. With Thanksgiving coming up, and the whole family descending, I found this recipe for Cheese and Prosciutto Straws, that while I didn’t have time to make for the Charleston Cup tailgate (not to worry- they had other cheese straws there)- I will make them for pre Thanksgiving cocktail hour, and I am really excited about them.

INGREDIENTS
1½ cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter
2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese
¾ teaspoon cayenne pepper, divided
¼ teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
2 tablespoons heavy cream, divided
¼ cup finely chopped prosciutto
2 tablespoons flaky sea salt

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.

2. Preheat the oven to 400°. In the bowl of a standing mixer, blend together the butter, cheddar, ½ teaspoon of the cayenne pepper and the paprika. Gradually add the flour mixture and 1 tablespoon of the heavy cream. Fold in the prosciutto and mix until a dough barely forms. Divide the dough into two balls the same size, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flaky sea salt with the remaining ¼ teaspoon of the cayenne pepper.

4. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle, about 1/16 inch thick. Using a pizza cutter, knife or pastry wheel, cut the dough into ¾-inch-wide-by-6-inch-long strips. Transfer the strips to baking sheets and use a pastry brush to brush the strips with the remaining tablespoon of the heavy cream. Sprinkle each strip with the seasoned salt and gently twist each strip. Place in the oven and bake until golden and crisp, about 12 to 15 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough until all of it has been used. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Sean Brock’s Backyard Pulled Pork

Meg — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:58:43 +0000

There are so many reason why Sean Brock won the James Beard Award in 2010- McCrady’s and Husk are amazing restaurants, but we tried his backyard pulled pork recipe this weekend for a football watch party we were throwing, and I now think Sean Brock is a god. I am maybe slightly biased because Corby worked very hard on this, but it really was the best pulled pork EVER! (and here is a picture of the party which was so much fun!)

Here is what you need:

1 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon onion powder
One 12- to 14-pound bone-in pork shoulder, with skin (we used pork butt- either works fine)
About 50 hardwood charcoal briquettes
8 cups small hardwood smoking chips, soaked in water for 30 minutes and drained

Here is what you do:

Preheat the oven to 275°. In a medium bowl, whisk the mustard with the brown sugar, salt, pepper, paprika and onion powder. Set the pork shoulder, fat side up, in doubled 14-by-18-inch disposable aluminum roasting pans. Brush the pork with the mustard mixture. Roast, uncovered, for 12 hours, until the meat is very tender and is pulling away from the shoulder bone.
Tilt the pan and pour the roasting juices into a medium bowl; you should have about 1 1/4 cups. Refrigerate the juices for 30 minutes. Skim off the fat before using.
Meanwhile, light 10 of the charcoal briquettes. When the coals are hot, cover them with the remaining 40 briquettes. When all the coals are hot, arrange 6 cups of the soaked wood chips around the coals. Set the roasting pan on the grill grate over the coals and wood chips. Cover the grill, partially open the air vents and smoke the pork shoulder for 30 minutes.
Carefully remove the pork and the grill grate and stir the coals a few times. Scatter the remaining 2 cups of soaked wood chips over the coals. Replace the grill grate and return the pork to the grill. Cover and smoke for 30 minutes longer.
Transfer the pork to a work surface and let rest for 30 minutes. Pull the meat off of the bones; discard the bones, gristle, skin and fat. Using tongs and a fork, or your fingers, finely shred the meat and transfer it to a large bowl.

Growing up in South Carolina, I am completely biased towards the mustard based sauce, but any sauce would work on this magnificent dish. Here is the sauce we used:

Mustard Sauce:

1 1/2 cups prepared yellow mustard
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours to blend the flavors

Nashville: Avett Brothers, Arkansas vs. Vandy, and ohhh the food

Meg — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:12:48 +0000

We got into Nashville this past Friday afternoon just in time for dinner before the Avett Brothers concert at Bridgestone Arena. I have only been to Nashville once in the past and that was to look at Vanderbilt for college, so it doesn’t really count. Fortunately for me, thanks to Corby’s fantastic ability to find amazing restaurants, and readers suggestions, we were all set! As there were so many restaurants and so many yummy treats to eat, I will just provide a highlight as opposed to bogging you down with details of every morsel of food I put in my mouth. First stop was City House (www.cityhousenashville.com). Corby had read an article in Garden and Gun about the 50 best dishes in the South, and the House Made Belly Ham Pizza was on the list (www.gardenandgun.com/article/southern-foods-meats?page=0%2C2). The restaurant had such a great feel, the waiter was so helpful and friendly, and the pizza was really and truly special. Also, if you do go there, and you should, there is an appetizer called Frico- cheese over potatoes baked in the wood oven that is a must. Completely full and satisfied, we went to see the amazing Avett Brothers. I love them. The next morning, we were supposed to go for a run before the Arkansas vs. Vanderbilt football game, but it was cold, so we opted for the Frothy Monkey (http://www.frothymonkeynashville.com) instead. We saw a lot of runners on the way to this great coffee house, and they looked really cold, so I think skipping the run and getting an awesome hot chocolate and buttery croissant was a very good call. Onto the game- I generally LOVE stadium food, but I knew we were not only checking out two spots after the game, but then we were headed to dinner with some friends, so I limited myself to one hotdog. Arkansas won- yay! Now more food. After the game- thanks to a reader Jessica, we went to SATCO- the San Antonio Taco Company (www.thesatco.com). It was very near the Vanderbilt campus, and if any of you watch or care about college football and happened to catch the game this past Saturday- it was more than a little tense. Tacos, queso and beer put all right with the world again. We then made a quick stop at McDougal’s (www.mcdougalschicken.com) for some chicken fingers, and of the ranch, bbq, and house-made special sauce- special sauce wins- so good! Dinner was at Taco Mamacita which is always a fav with their super fresh ingredients and amazing margaritas. It was a very full day of eating. To top off such a fun weekend, we went again to a suggestion from Jessia to brunch at The Loveless Cafe (www.lovelesscafe.com). While there was a bit of a wait at this very popular place, the reason for the wait became very obvious when we were seated and the biscuits were brought out. Oh so good. We ordered the biscuit sampler as a side which came with a pulled pork BBQ biscuit, a steak biscuit, a chicken biscuit and country ham biscuit. If Corby had not ordered the Pit Cooked Pork BBQ and two egg breakfast, we would have come to blows over that BBQ biscuit- the BBQ was that good. Fortunately, this was Corby’s breakfast, and there was plenty of BBQ to go around. It was such a fun trip, and Nashville is a great town but I will be eating salads for a week to combat the obnoxious numbers of calories I consumed

Pimento Cheese Popovers

Meg — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:29:05 +0000

Corby has been making German pancakes on the weekend for breakfast, and since those don’t really have anything to do with Southern Baking, I have not blogged about them despite how amazing they are. He adds vanilla, cinnamon, powdered sugar, syrup- they are pretty special. But, the thing I like best about the German pancakes other than the sugar and butter and delicious taste, is how it puffs up in the oven. My son Walker gets the biggest kick out of that- to see how big and puffy the German pancake will get. So I decided to experiment with popovers and cheese, which I love. I got a popover pan and a recipe off the Internet and added my own twist of putting pimento cheese in them- I used Callies Pimento Cheese which is the BEST- they are so good, and so easy!

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon of salt

6- 1/2 tablespoon balls of pimento cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, and I have found it best if you put the popover pan in the oven while it is preheating. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs slightly, then beat in the flour, milk and salt until smooth, but be sure not to over beat it. What I have done, is when the oven is at 450, pour the egg mixture into a mixing cup or something with a pour spout. Open the oven, and pull out the rack with the pan on it, spray some cooking oil (I have used Pam) or pour a little oil in each popover cup. Then fill the cups up about half way- put a pimento cheese ball in each and then pour a little more of the mixture over top so that the cheese is covered. Then cook for 20 minutes at 450 then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and cook for another 20 minutes. I actually just left mine at 450 for about 25-30 minutes and they were perfect, and they got much bigger than the German pancake, so Walker was immensely happy!

The Local Palate- Charleston is a town where bacon is considered a vegetable!!

Meg — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 15:34:45 +0000

We have a new food magazine in Charleston called The Local Palate. The first issues arrived in my mailbox last week, and it is fabulous!! Here is their “about us” from their web page www.thelocalpalate.com and find them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/thelocalpalate :

We are a culinary magazine that focuses on the food culture of Charleston.

Charleston is a town where bacon is considered a vegetable, Sunday suppers are an honored tradition, farmers are revered community leaders and white chefs’ coats proliferate the cobblestone streets.

It is a town where African, Spanish, French, Jewish, and English influences meld seamlessly onto the plate; a town where major American food staples, such as rice and tea originated; a town where food knows no stranger and hospitality is a way of life.

Welcome to Charleston.
We’ll save you a seat.

What’s better than that- bacon IS a vegetable!! Will definitely be sharing recipes from this magazine- so excited to have it around!!

The Gateway to Bourbon Country: Blue Cheese and Toasted Walnut Crostinis with Kentucky Sweet Sorghum

Meg — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:40:59 +0000

I was searching for new fun recipes when I came across this website www.bourbonbarrelfoods.com, and what isn’t fun about bourbon? Here is a little bit about the company from their website:

Bourbon Barrel Foods is a maker of gourmet food products that reflect the rich heritage of Kentucky’s Bourbon Country, “The Napa Valley of the Bluegrass.” Our philosophy is to make quality gourmet sauces and seasonings by adhering to a three-word philosophy: slow, small, simple. From the farmer in southern Kentucky that grows the soybeans for our naturally fermented, small-batch soy sauce, to the grower in Eastern Kentucky that harvests the sorghum we use as a sweetener, we have a hands-on approach that requires us to search for the best the state has to offer and develop relationships with the farmers that get great satisfaction seeing their crops grow from the seed to the shelf.

Bourbon Barrel Foods is located in Louisville, Kentucky. The Gateway to Bourbon Country.

Fantastic!! What’s even better is that they have recipes on their site that look amazing. I am going home this afternoon to make this one!!

Blue Cheese and Toasted Walnut Crostinis with Kentucky Sweet Sorghum

Ingredients
6 to 8 oz crumbled blue cheese
2 oz walnut pieces
Bourbon Barrel Foods brand Kentucky Sweet Sorghum
1 baguette sliced into rounds

Directions
Preheat oven to 375
Mix cheese and nuts and
portion onto bread rounds
Drizzle sorghum on top and toast until melted and slightly browned
Garnish with fresh herbs or fruit
Can be served warm or at room temp
Should keep 2 days in sealed container

I am in love with this ad!

House-Autry Mills Seeks Recipes for 200th Anniversary Cookbook

Meg — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 13:45:54 +0000

Heat up the oil, gather the tasty ingredients and bring on the
good food – the search for the best Southern-style recipes starts now! To
celebrate its 200th anniversary as the choice of Southern cooks, House-Autry
Mills is asking the public to submit delicious Southern recipes for a chance to
be included in an upcoming House-Autry Mills cookbook.

House-Autry Mills is looking for Southern recipes that incorporate
at least one House-Autry product. Additionally, the company hopes to learn the
stories and traditions behind these special recipes. The best recipes will be
included in the cookbook and possibly featured on the House-Autry Mills
Facebook page, YouTube page or website at http://www.house-autry.com.

“House-Autry Mills will be celebrating its 200th anniversary in
2012, and we wanted to do something special,” said Jamie Hall, House-Autry
Mills business development manager. “Compiling a Southern cookbook gives us an
opportunity to hear from the people that have supported us for all these years
and preserve their recipes for future generations.”

To submit a recipe and the story behind it, visit http://www.house-autry.com/calling_all_southern_cooks.
The deadline for submissions is November 1, 2011.

About House-Autry Mills:

Based in Four Oaks, N.C., House-Autry Mills has been the choice of
Southern cooks since 1812. The company’s extensive product line ranges from
corn meal and breaders to hushpuppy and biscuit mix. Today, House-Autry Mills’
products are available through thousands of grocery stores in 37 states, as
well as foodservice distributors, restaurants and restaurant chains throughout
the United States.

For more information on House-Autry, visit www.house-autry.com,
find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HouseAutryMills
or follow on Twitter @HouseAutryMills.

919-844-2733

Glazed Gourmet Opened Today!!

Meg — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:39:11 +0000

We now have a gourmet doughnut shop in Charleston- I am beyond excited! Glazed Gourmet (www.glazedgourmet.com) opened on Upper King Street, and I hear they have a pumpkin doughnut that is extremely tasty. Can’t wait to check it out for myself! Will post with a picture and an update when I make it there. Here is a picture taken from their website.

Cattle, Football, and Petit Fours

Meg — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 15:14:32 +0000

I am back from trip to Oklahoma and Arkansas, and what a trip it was- I saw the sunrise three out of the four days we were gone! We spent two days in Oklahoma at the Drummond Ranch where Corby’s oldest friend Ladd and his wife, The Pioneer Woman (www.thepioneerwoman.com) Ree, and their four children live. It is so beautiful! The first day we spent with Ladd, the kids, and the cowboys shipping cattle. Cowboy Tim, Cowboy Sam, Cowboy Josh and the kids rounded up all the cattle from nearby pastures and brought them to a pen where they were divided into sections and weighed. Then the 18 wheelers backed up one at a time to the shoot where the cattle were then herded and loaded into the trucks. They shipped over 400 cattle in about three hours. It was amazingly efficient, and I only had to be on a horse for about ten minutes. It was terrifying.

That night, Ree and Ladd came over to the Lodge where we were staying and cooked us amazing steaks and Delicious, Creamy Mashed Potatoes. That is actually Ree’s name for the dish in her cookbook, and the recipe is below!

The next day, after watching the sunrise again- this time from my bed in the Lodge- which was much better, we drove to Fayetteville, Arkansas to visit Corby’s family and watch the Arkansas vs. Auburn game. Two very good things came from this trip- first, Arkansas won- which while I don’t really have any passion for football what so ever, it makes Corby wildly happy. Second, and more importantly, we went to Rick’s Bakery (www.ricksbakery.com) which was very much deserved after the extreme trail run Corby took me on Saturday morning. Wow! Of the many things I tried at Rick’s- donuts, petifores, cookies, and cake, I think the petifores with the Razorback decorative icing were my favorite, and who knew they were such a hit at tailgates. Everything was so good!! If you are in Fayetteville, AR for any reason, make a point to go there, and you will not regret it!

Delicious, Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

5 pounds Russet Or Yukon Gold Potatoes

3/4 cups Butter

1 package (8 Oz.) Cream Cheese, Softened

1/2 cup (to 3/4 Cups) Half-and-Half

1/2 teaspoon (to 1 Teaspoon) Lawry’s Seasoned Salt

1/2 teaspoon (to 1 Teaspoon) Black Pepper

Instructions:

Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces that are generally the same size. Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 to 35 minutes. When they’re cooked through, the fork should easily slide into the potatoes with no resistance, and the potatoes should almost, but not totally, fall apart.

Drain the potatoes in a large colander. When the potatoes have finished draining, place them back into the dry pot and put the pot on the stove. Mash the potatoes over low heat, allowing all the steam to escape, before adding in all the other ingredients.

Turn off the stove and add 1 ½ sticks of butter, an 8-ounce package of cream cheese and about ½ cup of half-and-half. Mash, mash, mash! Next, add about ½ teaspoon of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and ½ a teaspoon of black pepper.

Stir well and place in a medium-sized baking dish. Throw a few pats of butter over the top of the potatoes and place them in a 350-degree oven and heat until butter is melted and potatoes are warmed through.

Note: When making this dish a day or two in advance, take it out of the fridge about 2 to 3 hours before serving time. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or until warmed through.

Heading to visit the Pioneer Woman!

Meg — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:32:19 +0000

I am about to head off for a long weekend in Oklahoma and Arkansas- two states I have never been to. We are headed to Oklahoma this afternoon to spend two nights with the Pioneer Woman (www.thepioneerwoman.com) and her husband. Corby and the Pioneer Woman’s husband have been friends since they were 4 which is the reason for the visit. If you haven’t read her blog, book, cookbook or seen her TV show- you should. She is amazing. Not only is she an amazing cook- can’t wait to eat there!!- she is also an amazing photographer, and she home schools her four children. I can’t even help my sweet Walker with his homework without losing my mind. I try to emulate her photography occasionally. Here is how it turns out.

Clearly you can tell which one is my picture vs. her amazing picture. Corby on the ranch with the rainbow- beautiful. Corby on the creek with bad lighting- mine. Oh well.

So apparently, tomorrow on the ranch, they are shipping cattle. Apparently, we are helping. At least there will be good food at the end of it all. Here is one of her recipes for Mystery Rolls that is so easy and good and of course has cheese.

Mystery Rolls

6 oz crumbled blue cheese

1 stick of salted butter

1 roll of Pilsbury Biscuits

Preheat oven to 350. Place the stick of butter and the crumbled blue cheese on a baking sheet. Take out the biscuits and cut them into quarters. Place the baking sheet with the butter and cheese in the oven until it has all melted. When all the butter and cheese has melted, take the baking sheet out of the oven and dump the biscuit pieces onto the baking sheet. Stir around the biscuit pieces until they are fully coated with the butter and cheese, and then arrange in rows on the sheet. Place back in the oven for 8 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. They are sooo good!

Feast in the Field

Meg — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:21:36 +0000

Last night we went to a Feast in the Field event sponsored by Low Country Local First, FIG, and Garden and Gun Magazine. The setting was a beautiful spot on the river called Dirthugger Farm with lighted Live Oak trees, Spanish moss, and a sun set that was breath taking. The food was even better. Passed hors d’oeurves were deep fried stone crab balls, chicken liver pate, and oysters (because as everybody knows, October 1st is the official day you can start harvesting local oysters here in Charleston). The bluegrass band was fantastic, and they were giving boat rides on Scout crafts. The whole evening was magical. Dinner was family style and started off with Virginal Sheep’s Mil Ricotta and Oregano Grilled Sourdough bread- amazing! I actually kept the bowl of the ricotta next to me, and continued to eat it for the whole night with everything else that was served. At the same time, they brought out Escabeche of White Shrimp with Fall Vegetables and Fresh Ginger. It was gone before I could get a good picture. The Porchetta Tomato Celery Heart Lemon Confit was divine as was the Butter Pea “Pasta e Fagioli”. I could have eaten just that (and of course the ricotta) all night. The Wood Grilled Keegan Filion Farms Chicken Al Mattone with Charred Lemon Jus and Dirthugger Bread Salad was if possible even better.

The evening was topped off with Pear Tartatin with Honey Syrup and Pistachio Creme and the Board of Lowcountry Local First gathering with Chef Mike Lata for a photograph in the live oak tree!

For good measure, here is the sunset and the river. It was such a fun evening, and I can’t wait for next year!

Winner of the Le Creuset Recipe Contest- Chocolate Bread Pudding!

David — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 14:39:39 +0000

Thank you again for all of the entries for our recipe contest- they were amazing! Our winner is Sally who sent in Chocolate Bread Pudding. It is light, chocolate deliciousness and everything you want in a dessert! The picture I took of it when I made it for our Le Creuset judge did not turn out so well, so unfortunately I don’t have a picture to post, but the recipe will make up for it!

Chocolate Bread Pudding

6 cup bread cubes

4 cup milk

6 egg yolks

1-3/4 cup sugar, divided

1-1/2 tsp. vanilla

4 squares (1 oz. each) unsweetened chocolate, melted

4 tbs. butter or margarine, melted

6 egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Preheat oven 375F. Grease 12x8x2 inch baking dish. In large bowl combine bread and milk; let stand 10 to 15 minutes. In large bowl with mixer at high speed, beat egg yolks, 1 cup sugar and vanilla until light colored. Beat in chocolate and butter. Gradually stir in bread mixture. Pour into prepared dish. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until set. In large bowl with mixer at high speed, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually beat in remaining 3/4 cup sugar and cream of tartar; continue beating until stiff peaks form. Spread evenly on top of baked pudding. Bake in 375F oven 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm.

Makes 8 to 12 servings

Fat & Juicy and my new crockpot!

Meg — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:24:37 +0000

I recently learned of the phenom of The Crockpot Girls on Facebook. In the middle of August, three women out of Texas started a Facebook page for people to post their crock pot recipes- by the beginning of September, they had over 1,000,000 users. I have no idea how something goes viral like that, but I think it is amazing. So, of course, I went out and bought a crock pot. I have made a couple of chicken dishes so far, but last night’s was the best. I know this doesn’t really fall under the baking category, but it is very Southern! Two band mates in Charleston (they also have real jobs) decided their Bloody Mary Mix was the best, so they named it Fat & Juicy(www.fatandjuicymix.com), and it started selling like crazy! While I adore these guys, I don’t like Bloody Mary’s. So yesterday, while looking through recipes on www.crockpotgirls.com, I found Bloody Mary Chicken. As most crock pot recipes are, it is incredibly simple- put chicken and a bottle of Bloody Mary Mix in your crock pot and cook on low all day or on high for 4-5 hours. I, of course, used Fat and Juicy Bloody Mary Mix served it over brown rice, and it was amazing! Grab a bottle of Fat & Juicy and mix it with chicken for a delicious dinner or vodka for a delicious drink!

Mississippi Mud Pie

Meg — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:36:45 +0000

On top of working with the Lee Brothers last week, which was the best experience ever, I also moved. As all of you know, moving is not fun- at all! However, I now have a much bigger kitchen, and I also got some old Pyrex mixing bowls from ebay.com which are fantastic. My son asked me whether I was more excited about the new house or my new mixing bowls. The house wins by a slim margin. As a treat for all of my hard work this weekend during the move, I decided on chocolate. Nothing quite beats it- except for maybe cheese- but those are two totally different categories. I found this old recipe for Mississippi Mud Pie, and it is delicious!

Mississippi Mud Pie

Use a chocolate or vanilla cookie crust, or a graham cracker crust, to make this Mississippi mud pie (I used chocolate- so good).

Ingredients:

1/4 lb. butter, 1 stick

2 (1 oz. each) squares unsweetened chocolate

3 eggs

3 tablespoons white corn syrup

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

9 inch graham cracker, chocolate or vanilla wafer pie shell

Preparation:

In a saucepan, heat butter and chocolate, stirring often, until melted and well blended. Beat eggs; stir in the corn syrup, sugar and vanilla. Add the chocolate mixture to egg and sugar mixture, stirring well. Preheat oven to 350°. Pour filling into prepared pie shell. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until top is slightly crunchy and filling is set.
Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or dollop of whipped cream.

The Lee Brothers Cookbook Photo Shoot

Meg — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 16:52:45 +0000

Thank you all so much for the amazing recipes you sent in for our Le Creuset recipe contest! I don’t have a new recipe for my post today because I am in the middle of helping the Lee Brothers (www.mattandtedlee.com) with their photo shoot for their new cookbook. It is so amazing to watch all the preparations for delicious food and the extensive work everyone goes to get the perfect shot of the dishes or drinks. I have been total errand girl- everything from grocery shopping (my record is six different grocery stores in one trip- Harris Teeter, Whole Foods, Piggly Wiggly, Mt. Pleasant Seafood, Earthfare and back to Harris Teeter) to peeling peanuts to shelling and de-veining shrimp. And I am washing a lot of dishes. It is such a fun experience to watch a cookbook being put together, and the recipes are fantastic! More to come!!

One More Day for Le Creuset Recipe Contest

Meg — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:34:30 +0000

Only one more day to get your recipes in for a chance to win Le Creuset bake ware!! Send in your favorite dessert recipe to southwillrise.mp@gmail.com. We have some amazing entries so far!!

Gouda Grits and Seafood Goodness

Meg — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:57:31 +0000

We spent a long weekend down on Wadmalaw Island, just 30 minutes south of Charleston, SC. The weather couldn’t have been more beautiful, and we ate some good good food! Here are two of the best things we had. First- the crabs! I am not actually going to write a recipe for this as we caught fresh crabs, and a lot of them, put them in a pot with some seasoning and boiled them. Then we ate them. I am using “we” rather loosely as I am allergic to shellfish, but I did help catch the crabs and lived vicariously through everyone else watching them eat, and they are a lot better in pictures than grits (and here is the sunset thrown in as well)!

Next came the grits, which I ate. And ate. And ate. I am not sure if it has come across yet how much I love cheese. But I do. I love it so much! So Gouda Grits sounded pretty amazing when I ran across the recipe in Southern Living magazine. I have grown up eating my mother’s amazing cheddar cheese grits, and I have never strayed from that recipe, but this sounded too good to pass up, especially now that I am writing this blog which gives me an excuse to try just about anything! Here is the recipe. The next time I make this, I will cut it in half if not quarter because it made so much!

Gouda Grits

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup whipping cream

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 cups uncooked quick-cooking grits

2 cups (8 oz.) shredded Gouda cheese

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup butter

2 teaspoons hot sauce

Preparation

Bring first 4 ingredients and 4 cups water to a boil in a Dutch oven over high heat; whisk in grits, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat, and stir in Gouda and remaining ingredients.

Iced Rum Milk Perfection

Meg — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 14:05:40 +0000

My parents had their 40th wedding anniversary this past weekend, and to celebrate, they took the whole family down to The Inn at Palmetto Bluff (www.palmettobluffresort.com). We gave them pictures of the grandchildren. Now while that doesn’t seem like quite a fair trade, we hired Katherine Berdy out of Birmingham, AL (www.katherineberdy.com), and she took such beautiful pictures of my parents with all the kids- I think it was a really special present for them. My brother, who just got married and doesn’t have kids yet, said his “much more awesome” present was in the mail. But, back to the Inn- it was spectacular! We spent the days leisurely riding our bicycles to the pool or the tennis courts with maybe a stop at the bocce or the croquet courts. The food was magnificent, and the scenery of this little recreated river-town was really beautiful.

On Sunday, my mother took the girls to the spa for massages. After an hour of complete relaxation, my massage therapist, Andrea, told me to take my time getting up, and she would meet me outside with- well I was expecting her to say water but instead she said she would meet me outside with iced rum milk. ICED RUM MILK!! I don’t know if they had problems getting people to leave their luxurious rooms after the massages or if they are just that genius, but enticing me to get out of my comfy massage bed with iced rum milk was perfection. It was the most delicious, refreshing, lovely drink, and the best part of all- I got the recipe!!

Iced Rum Milk

2 cups half and half

2 cups heavy cream

2/3 cups simply syrup

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons nutmeg

combine 1.5 oz. of either bourbon or Malibu Coconut Rum with 4 oz. of the mix and pour over ice.

PS- don’t forget to send in your recipes for your favorite dessert for our Recipe Contest to Win Le Creuset Cookware!!! We have some fantastic submissions so far- send your recipes to southwillrise.mp@gmail.com!!

Recipe Contest- Win Le Creuset Cookware!!

Meg — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:24:57 +0000

I tried a new recipe last night for Gnocchi in a Fontina Sauce, and while it has nothing really to do with southern baking, I am going to share the recipe at the end of this post. The good news about all of this is that I had my dear friend who is in marketing at Le Creuset over for dinner last night to try the gnocchi, and we got to talking about this blog. We decided to have a recipe contest, and the winner will get an amazing, wonderful, useful piece of Le Creuset cookware! My friend is quite a chef and baker, and she has graciously agreed to be the judge for the recipe contest! So, think you have an amazing recipe for your favorite dessert?? Send us your recipe to southwillrise.mp@gmail.com by Friday, September 16th, and we will announce the winner and post the top three recipes on Friday, September 30th. We can’t wait to see what you send in!!

Now, here is the recipe for Gnocchi in a Fontina Sauce:

1 lb of refrigerated gnocchi

6 tablespoons of unsalted butter

2 tablespoons chopped shallots

8 oz of Italian Fontina cheese cubed

1/3 cup of heavy cream

3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Cook gnocchi until tender (about 5 minutes). Start the sauce at the same time you start cooking the gnocchi as you want the gnocchi to be done first. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for a few minutes until tender. Stir in the cream and heat until almost a boil. Gradually mix in the cheese, but be careful not to bring the mixture to a boil. Stir until smooth then remove from heat and pour over the cooked gnocchi. So tasty!!

All the Buzz- Caramel Cake

Meg — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:17:55 +0000

I read the book, “The Help” when it first came out and absolutely loved it! I have not had a chance to see the movie, but it is on the long long to do list. However, I have had a chance to sample the actual Caramel Cake that was featured in the movie which is clearly the most important part! The cakes in the movie were provided by Caroline’s Cakes in Annapolis, MD. She is a native of Charleston, SC and will hopefully be opening a shop here soon! Her bakery is centered around her Caramel Cakes, and they are phenomenal!! She has over 120,000 people on her list that order them every year! She obviously keeps this recipe pretty well guarded, so I am going to post another and quite tasty recipe for a Caramel Cake that comes from Eudora Garrison’s Favorite Carolina Recipes. Eduora Garrison was food critic and editor for the Charlotte Observer.

Caramel Cake

1/3 cup plus 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar, divide use

1/3 cup boiling water

3/4 cup butter

3 eggs

3 cups sifted cake flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla etract

Melt the one-third cup sugar in a heavy skillet, stirring constatnly until deep-brown syrup is formed- a process called caramelization. Remove from heat and slowly stir in boilin water, being careful that steam does not burn your hand. Set syrup aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Greas two 9-inch cake pans, place parchement paper in the bottoms, then grease and flour the cottoms and sides.

Cream butter in bowl with electric mixer. Add 1 and 1/4 cups sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until each is well incorporated. Stir in 4 tablespoons of the reserved syrup.

Sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Combine milk and vanilla. Add flour mixture to the batter alternately with the milk mixter, beginning and endin with the four mixture. Beat until smooth. Divide batter evenly among the two prepared pans and bake for 25 minutes, or until wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove pans from oven and let stand about 10 minutes, then turn out cakes onto wire rack, peel off paper and cool completely.

Caramel Frosting

3 cups (light) brown sugar, firmly packed

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons half and half

1/2 stick of butter (4 tablespoons)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix sugar and half and half in a heavy saucepan and cook, stirring over low heat until syrup reaches the soft-ball stage, 235 degrees on a candy thermometer. If lacking a thermometer, check doneness by dropping a tiny bit of syrup into a cup of cold water. When the syrup can be gathered up in fingers and will almost hold its shape, it has reached the soft-ball stage.

Remove pan from heat. Stir in butter, then let syrup cool. Add vanilla and beat until frosting reaches spreading consistency. A little cream (or half and half) may be add if mixture is too thick.

Cheerwine Cake- who knew cooking with soda could be so good!!

Meg — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 15:35:32 +0000

This past week was the first week of third grade for my 8 year old son, Walker. As a, “yay school is back in session” celebration, I decided to try a new recipe I was sent by The 1861 Farmhouse Restaurant in Valle Crusis, NC. They just added this cake to the menu and were so generous to share the recipe with us!! It is a Cheerwine Cake, and it is amazing!! My mother has a recipe for a Sprite pound cake, and I have a recipe for apple fritters using Mountain Dew, but this was the first I had heard of baking with Cheerwine. Needless to say, I think the people at the 1861 Farmhouse Restaurant are incredibly smart. For more of their yummy goodness, go check out their restaurant at www.1861farmhouse.com. Here is the recipe and a picture of how it turned out. I didn’t use the nuts in the icing because I don’t like them, but I would think that if you did, it would be delicious.

Cheerwine Cake

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 cup Cheerwine
1 tsp. almond extract

Icing:
1/3 cup Cheerwine
21/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup cocoa

Prepare cake as directed on box except substitute the water for the Cheerwine. Add almond extract, mix well. Pour into greased bundt pan.

Icing:

Heat Cheerwine, margarine and cocoa until it comes to a boil. Pour mixture over powdered sugar, blend til smooth. Stir in almond extract and mix in nuts. Let cool, pour over cake.

Sour Cream Blueberry Cake

Wordcake — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:04:54 +0000

We used to have blueberry bushes on the hill at my grandmother’s mountain house, and it was so marvelous to have blueberry pie, blueberry pancakes, blueberry muffins etc. all from blueberries that we had picked that morning. The bushes have unfortunately gone away, but I still have kept my love for blueberry treats. I came across an old recipe for a Sour Cream Blueberry Cake that is delectable. If you decide to make it, please let me know what you think!!

Sour Cream Blueberry Cake

1 stick butter

1 cup of sugar

3 eggs

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup blueberries

Beat the butter, sugar and eggs together until the sugar is dissolved, and it is a light creamy mixture. Then add the vanilla. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Add half of the dry ingredients to the mix then half of the sour cream and stir. Then add the remaining dry ingredients and sour cream and stir. Pour half of the batter into a large greased and floured pan. Cover with blueberries and top with remaining batter. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and enjoy!!

Cracked Pepper and Cheddar Cheese Biscuits

Wordcake — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:52:53 +0000

I am not sure what is better than waking up on a crisp summer morning in the mountains to homemade cracked pepper and cheddar cheese biscuits. I found a wonderful recipe in the Charleston City Paper from Robert F. Moss who has a fantastic blog! We have tweaked it a little bit to add the cracked pepper and cheddar which so far is my favorite combination, but earlier in the week we tried bacon and cheddar and jalapenos and cheddar which were also delicious!

Biscuits

2 cups flour

1 T baking powder

1/2 t salt

1/4 t baking soda

1/3 cup of cold butter

3/4 cup of buttermilk

1 tablespoon of cracked pepper

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

First, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl and mix together. Next, cut in the butter- it is important to use cold butter. Cover the butter lumps with flour and squeeze them between your fingers to break them down into smaller bits and rub the butter into them. What is left in the bowl looks like break crumbs.

Stir in the buttermilk and mix up the dough until the liquid is all absorbed by the flour. At this point, you add the cheese and pepper or whatever combination you choose. With your hands, knead and shape the dough until all the flour is worked in and the dough is of a single consistency. It should be still be slightly sticky to the touch, but not so sticky that it clings to your hands and the side of the bowl. Now you’re ready to roll out the biscuits.

With a rolling pin, roll out the dough on a board until it is between a half and inch and an inch thick. Cut the dough with a biscuit cutter or the top of a glass or cup. Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes until golden brown and crispy. So delicious!!!

For more hints and the whole blog post by Robert F. Moss go to http://www.robertfmoss.com/2010/12/old-school-biscuits.html

Bourbon Panna Cotta. Run, don’t walk.

Wordcake — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 08:00:03 +0000

I don’t know what sound more Southern than Bourbon Panna Cotta, do you?

Mmmmm, ramekins.

Therefore, since I can’t seem to keep my hands of off anything from A Yankee in a Southern Kitchen (a delicious little blog by Kim Morgan), here’s a recipe I found there for this delight which came originally from Frank Stitt’s Southern Table:

1 cup plus ½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons water

4 cups heavy cream

½ cup pecans, toasted and chopped

3 tablespoons good bourbon

2 cups whole milk

2 envelops unflavored gelatin

Set aside eight or ten – 8 ounce custard cups or ramekins.
Combine the ½ cup sugar, lemon juice, and water in a small heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, boiling until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to medium, brushing down the sides with a wet pastry brush to remove any sugar crystals, and cook, shaking the pan to swirl the caramel, until the caramel is a mahogany in color 10-20 minutes. Do not stir the caramel mixture.

For the complete recipe, please click here.

When in doubt, bake some Cuttaloosa Carrot Cupcakes

Wordcake — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 08:00:56 +0000

“A Yankee in a Southern Kitchen” is a sweet, homegrown blog filled with amazing recipes that are easy to follow and produce ridiculously fine results. Let’s hear it for this one:

Cuttaloosa Carrot Cupcakes!

1 3/4 cups finely grated carrots

1 cup crushed drained pineapple (save liquid)

1 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts or pecans- optional

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup corn oil

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Mix above ingredients together till well mixed.

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

Mix above ingredients together till well mixed, then add to carrot mixture mixing well. Divide into 3-8″ cake rounds that have been well greased or 18-24 well greased muffin tins.

Bake cake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or till knife comes out clean. 20 minutes for cupcakes. Cool on rack for 10 minutes then remove from pan.

For the entire post and the butter cream icing for these beauties, click here to go to “A Yankee in a Southern Kitchen”

Profiteroles. Enough said.

Wordcake — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 08:00:26 +0000

Yep, more from the mistress of the delectable Tender Crumb, Linda…

Profiteroles

“…Pate a choux, the basis for these profiteroles, cream puffs, eclairs, and gougeres, is a dough that is first cooked on the stove, then piped on baking sheet. Once in the oven, this magical dough tranform into light and airy pastry puffs that are just slightly crisp on the outside and almost hollow in the middle…”

For the complete and totally amazing recipe for making your own profiteroles that will blow everyone you know away and cause them to worship you wholeheartedly and for all eternity, please click here.

(How, you may ask, are profiteroles Southern? Well, let’s just say that they’ve been makin’ them down South since the 1800′s.)

Benne Wafers with Blueberries and Cream

Wordcake — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 08:00:08 +0000

I can’t keep my surfing fingers off of “A Yankee in a Southern Kitchen” – here’s yet another recipe hot off that delicious spot in the bloggosphere:

I think you may agree that benne wafers with blueberries and cream sounds like the most delicious summer treat ever conceived. Also, benne wafers are extremely Southern!

Charleston Benne Wafers with Blueberries and Cream

By Kim Morgan

A “Benne” seed is the old Southern name for “sesame” seeds. They were brought to the Lowcountry in 1769 by African slaves. They are still called Benne seeds to this day in the South, and frankly I would be surprised if that ever changes. It is part of the charm of the South. Southerners hold fast to traditions, refusing to budge, especially when it comes to food and entertaining. This is something we all can be grateful for, especially if you have the chance to try these wonderful buttery morsels.

Legend says that eating Benne seeds will bring you luck and good fortune. I am not one who subscribes to the notion of luck. Instead I prefer to hold to the belief that, “there are no coincidences” and that Benne seeds and the good fortune from eating them, are simply another of God’s great blessings.

There are countless ways to make Benne wafers and you will find that no two recipes are alike…

For the complete article and the recipe, click here to go to Kim Morgan’s excellent site.

Southern Coconut Cake. It’s Worth It.

Wordcake — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 08:00:28 +0000

I feel lucky to have randomly found Tender Crumb, a well-named baking blog with recipes and photos so compelling it makes one want to rush to the kitchen to preheat the oven. The mistress of Tender Crumb, Linda, is involved in a wonderful mass-baking-hysteria called The Cake Slice. This month’s installment of The Cake Slice features Southern Coconut Cake.

From Linda/Tender Crumb:

So far, every recipe that I’ve made out of Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes has exceeded my expectations, and I highly recommend that you go out and treat yourself to this cookbook.

Impossibly moist white cake layers are subtly flavored with unsweetened coconut milk, enveloped by a cream cheese buttercream frosting (I gained 5 pounds just typing those words) and covered with sweetened flaked coconut (oops, another 5 pounds).

With all of the cake making happening in my kitchen this month, I cut the recipe in half and baked the cake layers in two 6″ round pans. The instructions for the cake were pretty straightforward, and the layers were baked without a hitch.

For the coconut cake recipe and a whole lot more, please visit Tender Crumb here.

Bring It On: Blue Cheese Pecan Bread!

Wordcake — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 08:00:06 +0000

There’s been a lot of sweet stuff on here lately and so it’s high time for some savory. Kim Morgan writes about food on her blog A Yankee In a Southern Kitchen and here is yet another brilliant Southern delight from her long list:

Blue Cheese Pecan Bread

(Adapted by Kim Morgan from Martha Hall Foose- Screen Doors and Sweet Tea)

Wanting a change of scenery and something savory to smell in the house and only having an hour to do the trick, I opted to make this bread which I have had my eye on for some time. It is a snap to make, the house smelled wonderful all morning, and my daughter adored this bread. It is a light bread in texture and the flavor is very interesting, you don’t expect the blue cheese and pecans inside which are paired with crushed pepper on the top of the bread…

For the recipe (not to be missed!) and many, many excellent southern food articles and recipes, please visit A Yankee In a Southern Kitchen, here.

Banana Pudding Tart (on a porch, in summer…)

Wordcake — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:00:06 +0000

Something about banana pudding tart seems so supremely summery. I think this sort of fruit tart should be eaten in the twilight of evening while sitting on a porch with a tall glass of very cold milk. I can hear the crickets already…

Southern Banana Pudding Tart

Banana pudding is a classic, homestyle Southern dessert made with layers of vanilla wafer cookies (Nilla Wafers), sliced bananas and pudding or custard. Sometimes the dish is also topped with meringue or whipped cream to finish it off, as well. The dessert has actually been around for quite a while, as cooks around the turn of the 20th century looked for ways to use the then-exotic bananas in desserts and other dishes. Creamy bananas worked well with creamy custards. The Nilla Wafers were added somewhere along the line, probably to contribute a bit of extra texture to the dessert, and the recipe was made even more popular once it was printed as a standard recipe idea on boxes of the cookies…

For the recipe and the complete post from Baking Bites, please click here.

Lavender and Vanilla a Go Go!

Wordcake — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 08:00:21 +0000

A Southern Peach Cobbler Recipe with a Lavender and Vanilla Twist

Cobbler and the South are like bread and butter, peas and carrots, hook ‘em and horns, and other natural combination. This is not to say that they don’t have cobbler in the North, but when I think of the many ubiquitous foods in my Southern heritage, cobbler is a stand out. When I was growing up our family would visit Tennessee and South Carolina with stops along the way in Georgia to acquire bushels (or maybe pecks) of peaches that we’d take home to El Paso to peel and freeze. And while those carefully stored peaches would find their way into other dishes, their main reason for finding their way half way across the country was as filling for cobbler. There’s just nothing quite like a peach cobbler overflowing with juicy, ripe peaches, particularly when the preaches are so sweet they don’t even need more than a pinch of sugar. Of course Texas isn’t too shabby in the peach department either…

For the recipe and complete post from Fete & Feast (and for their food blogger’s guide to Austin!) please click here.

Biscuit Boulevard

Wordcake — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 08:00:37 +0000

Knoxville’s first annual International Biscuit Festival recently wrapped up. So, how did it turn out? Let’s see what KnoxNews had to say:

Biscuit Festival has big turnout
By Mike Blackerby

Judging by the turnout, East Tennesseans sure love their biscuits and all of the accoutrements that go with the delectable flour-based discs.

Saturday’s first International Biscuit Festival in downtown Knoxville served up a blitz for taste buds in a celebration of the heritage of Southern cooking whipped up by local restaurants and vendors.

More than 3,000 festival attendees packed Market Square, Market Street, Clinch Avenue and Krutch Park, sampling a hodgepodge of biscuits and the foods that embellish one of the South’s emblematic palate-pleasers…

For the complete article, please click here.

Sweet Tea Made Simple

Wordcake — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 08:00:18 +0000

Let’s put aside baking for just a moment (put aside what?, you say) – yes – yes – we simply must switch our focus for just a moment to…

Sweet Tea.

And let’s not fool ourselves, sweet tea is the perfect summer partner for anything else made southern. Is there such thing as too much sweetness? We think not.

On the Plate: Iced Tea in an Instant
By CAROLYN MAYNARD-PARISI

“For those unfamiliar with this supremely Southern invention, sweet tea is a staple of Southern kitchens. And let me tell you, when they say “sweet” down there they do not lie. Some recipes call for enough sugar to make a spoon stand up on its own…Make homemade iced tea instantly with some concentrate, a little simple syrup and lots of lemon.”

Read the rest of this piece on sweet tea from The New York Times, here.

Groom’s Cakes: Edible Art, Southern Style

Wordcake — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 17:52:49 +0000

There’s baking, and then there’s Baking. Folks who dare to create groom’s cakes and other forms of edible baked art are in another league entirely. And did you know that the tradition of groom’s cakes started in the south? Well, of course it did…

The Wacky World of Groom’s Cakes
by Robert Suddarth

When Shirley Maclaine hacks off the business end of an armadillo-shaped cake and Tom Skerritt thanks her for giving him a fine piece in 1989’s “Steel Magnolias,” groom’s cakes started a journey from regional custom to national trend. Armadillos abound in Texas but these days groom’s cakes run the gamut from sushi platters to horned toad to sneakers and tennis bags to barbecued hotdogs.

“That was a terrible armadillo,” sighs Earlene Moore of Earlene’s Cakes of Lubbock, Texas, a pioneer of today’s sculptural groom’s cakes. “The ‘Steel Magnolias’ cake was basically a two-D cake that was built up. It didn’t look real.” Moore created her own biologically accurate armadillo cake around the same time and sat him on a hidden platform of Rice Krispies Treats “so you could see his feet. I invented as I went along. There were no rules back then. And mine was 3-D all the way.”

Moore, who began baking professionally in 1975, says groom’s cakes reflect Southern hospitality, as “people in the south tend to be real gracious.” (For the complete article please click here.)

If you’d like to see some incredible examples of groom’s cakes, there is a slide show of images at the original article here.