Tag Archive for: southern baking

Banana Pudding and BBQ

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This question may have been asked a million times, but it hadn’t occurred to me until recently- why is banana pudding always served as dessert at BBQ restaurants?  Not that I am complaining at all- I love banana pudding, it is one of my favorites.  It is such a staple at my favorite BBQ haunts that I have always taken it for granted, but we had a curious experience up in the Catskills pertaining to BBQ that got me interested in this question.  We were down in the small town of Phoenicia, at the bottom of the mountain, and we saw a BBQ stand.  Intrigued and thinking this might be a quick and easy thing to grab for dinner, we went to the stand to buy some BBQ to take home with us.  When Corby asked to buy 3 lbs of BBQ, the proprietor of the stand was incredibly confused and asked, “Do you want a 3 lb sandwich?”  “No, no- we just want to buy 3 lbs of BBQ- you know, in bulk.”  This did not actually help.  “In bulk? I don’t know what you mean,” our friendly salesman said.  When Corby then said, “You know- in bulk- so we can take it home… for dinner… later… We are from South Carolina,”  we just got completely blank stares.  “Well, do you at least have any banana pudding?” I asked- more stares.  Clearly, we were speaking different languages when it came to BBQ.  We laughed about this the whole way home, and I am sure they laughed about the crazies from South Carolina who wanted a 3lb BBQ sandwich for a long time, too.  So, needless to say, we will be waiting until we return south to get some BBQ- especially in bulk.  But I did start wondering why banana pudding is always served at BBQ.  After some googling, I haven’t found an answer.  It seems that bananas were imported (as they are not naturally found in the United States) from Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, etc, so it makes sense that they would be more abundant in the South.  Vanilla Wafers weren’t around until 1901-1902, and while they make banana pudding that much better, that is no explanation.  My explanation would be that some genius was eating BBQ and then had banana pudding for dessert and thought, “Now those are the two best things I have ever eaten and should always be together.”  I applaud that person and agree wholeheartedly.  Here is the original Nilla Wafer Banana Pudding recipe from Nabisco (http://www.nabiscoworld.com/recipes/recipe.aspx?recipe_id=55431), and if you have any other insights on this issue, please share!!

Banana Pudding

Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/3 cup flour
 dash salt
3 eggs, separated
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
45 NILLA Wafers, divided
5 bananas, sliced

Directions

MIX 1/2 cup sugar, flour and salt in top of double boiler. Blend in 3 egg yolks and milk. Cook, uncovered, over boiling water 10 to 12 min. or until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
RESERVE 12 wafers for garnish. Spread small amount of custard onto bottom of 1-1/2-qt. baking dish. Cover with layers of 1/3 each of the remaining wafers, bananas and remaining custard. Repeat layers 2 times.
BEAT egg whites on high speed of mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread over custard, sealing well to edge of dish.
BAKE 15 to 20 min. or until lightly browned. Cool slightly. Top with reserved wafers just before serving.

More from the Mountains: Bear Claws

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This is my 11-year-old Springer Spaniel, Nemo (named before the fish).  As you can see, he is a ferocious beast.   Despite the fact that he still looks like a puppy, he is getting old.  His hips are going, and he sleeps most of the time.  However, this morning, he recaptured some of his youth when, at 5:45 am, he demanded to be let out.  I dragged myself down the stairs and opened the door- my eyes still basically closed, thinking he would just quickly do his business and come right back in.  Well, instead, Nemo, the ferocious beast, found and scared a bear cub off our front porch.  The barking and scrambling that ensued, I thought that there was a raccoon or something, except that when I ran onto the porch, I saw this. I did not get a picture of the cub because, well, this is a huge bear, and I did not want to hang out for too long.  But I woke everybody up in the house, and we all watched them safely through the upstairs window as they went up the hill.  I have to say,  when I am out on the boat in Charleston, I still get super excited to see dolphins- it never gets old.  Bears on the front porch, this could lose its appeal pretty quickly!  In honor of Nemo continuing to keep us safe and our hopefully never-to-return visitor, the bear and her cub, here is a fun recipe I got from www.tasteofhome.com for bear claws!!

Bear Claws:

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
5 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
1-1/4 cups half-and-half cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 egg white
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup almond paste, cubed
1 tablespoon water
Coarse or granulated sugar
Sliced almonds

Directions

In a bowl, toss butter with 3 cups flour until well coated; refrigerate. In a large bowl, combine yeast and remaining flour.

In a saucepan, heat cream, sugar and salt to 120°-130°. Add to yeast mixture with 1 egg. Beat until smooth. Stir in butter mixture just until moistened.

Place dough onto a well floured surface; roll into a 21-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Starting at a short side, fold dough in thirds, forming a 12-in. x 7-in. rectangle. Give dough a quarter turn; roll into a 21-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Fold into thirds, starting with a short side. Repeat, flouring surface as needed. (Do not chill dough between each rolling and folding.) Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours or until firm.

For filling, in a small bowl, beat egg white until foamy. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar and almond paste; beat until smooth. Cut dough in half widthwise. Roll each portion into a 12-in. square; cut each square into three 12-in. x 4-in. strips. Spread about 2 tablespoons filling down center of each strip. Fold long edges together; seal edges and ends. Cut into three pieces.

Place on greased baking sheets with folded edge facing away from you. With scissors, cut strips four times to within 1/2 in. of folded edge; separate slightly. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Lightly beat water and remaining egg; brush over dough. Sprinkle with sugar and almonds. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Naked Berry Pies

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When we were in Nashville this past fall, we went to the Loveless Cafe for breakfast one morning.  It was awesome, and I have been dying to go back since then.  Since I am up in the Catskills and nowhere near Nashville, making one of their Naked Berry Pies will have to do.  As you will see, “naked” refers to the fact that you do not use a pie pan to make these amazing delicious pies.  We have friends coming up this weekend with their three boys, and I can’t wait to try out this recipe http://www.lovelesscafe.com/recipes.  I am thinking of using blueberries- if anyone else tries them with a different fruit, please let me know how it turns out, and I will try to put up a picture of my attempt this weekend!!

Recipes from the Mountains

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We arrived in the Catskill Mountains on Saturday to the most beautiful blue skies and 75 degree temperature.  The weekend was spectacular, and I woke up this morning to rain and 55 degrees, and that does not upset me at all.  I got a fire going and turned on Wimbledon, and I think this might be the greatest vacation ever.  We are up here for four weeks which is pretty awesome for so many reasons.  We get to be with friends that we only see in the summer, we get to avoid Charleston heat in July, and we get a change of scenery from the beach to the mountains.  We are in Twilight Park which is a tiny little summer community in Haines Falls, NY.  This place is a special little piece of heaven that I love so much.  Here is the view that we look at every day over the Hudson River Valley.  My day consists generally of getting Walker ready and off to camp for the day and then deciding which hike I am going to do, followed by swimming at the pool, maybe a nap, lots of reading, and fixing dinner which is usually cooked on the grill.  It is kind of like I am at summer camp too.  I love making burgers up here, and I change up my burger concoction pretty frequently, but here is one of my favorites.

Pepper Jack Burgers:

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

1 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Combine everthing in a mixing bowl and mix everything together (I use my hands) and then form patties.  Pretty straigh foreward, but I think adding the pepper jack cheese into the meat mixture adds great flavor and I love have cheese in the burger as well as on top.  Grill to your liking and enjoy!

 

Creme de Menthe Bundt Cake

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We had some friends over a few weeks ago for a BBQ and asked them to bring dessert.  It was one of the better decisions I have made because my friend brought a Creme de Menthe Bundt Cake.  I had never had this cake before, and it was amazing.  I love mint, mint chocolate chip ice cream, York peppermint patties, anything mint-related- which is funny because while Walker has a palate that likes just about anything, the one thing he doesn’t like is mint.  This actually works out well when I get a big box of Junior Mints at the movies, and I don’t have to share with him.  Back to the cake, though,  even Walker, with his aversion to mint flavor, loved this cake.  After we all had had several pieces for dessert, and my friends were getting ready to leave, her children were outraged that she was leaving the leftover cake for us.  Normally, I would have insisted that she take the cake with her, but I really, really wanted the rest of that cake, so it stayed with us (although I don’t actually think it made it through the next day since Corby and I both had pieces for breakfast the next morning).  I have been thinking about that cake off and on since then, and it has now come down to the fact that I need another one.  Fortunately, I have the recipe!

Creme de Menthe Cake:

Ingredients

1 package yellow cake mix
1  package instant pistachio pudding mix
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup creme de menthe liqueur
1 container sour cream
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan.

In a large bowl, stir together cake mix and pudding mix. Make a well in the center and pour in oil, eggs, liqueur and sour cream. Beat on low speed until blended. Scrape bowl, and beat 4 minutes on medium speed. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

 

2 More Days until the Father’s Day Cake Give-Away

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Only two more days until we do our drawing for the Father’s Day Daisy Cake Give-Away!!  Here is the wonderful note we got from Caroline, our Mother’s Day winner.  All you have to do to enter is comment on this post or the original post.  Who doesn’t want a yummy hummingbird cake from www.Ilovedaisycakes.com!!!  Good luck!

Thank you, thank you to the South Will Rise for making me the happiest mama in Charleston! My Red Velvet-y Daisy Cake was a dream  – a deep jewel color with seams of cream, moist (I don’t like that word but it is the only one I can use to describe its sumptuousness, EVEN after several days in the fridge (we rationed our…selves to very thin slices)) and frankly the best cake I can remember eating. Unfortunately I had to share it with my sister, four nephews and nieces and their parents visiting from Bavaria AND my very hungry husband, so it disappeared QUICKLY. I am definitely going to order one the next time I need a special gift for someone, and most of all, the next time I am in need of Cake Therapy myself!

 Lots of love, Cxx

Father’s Day Daisy Cake Give Away

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Our Mother’s Day Daisy Cake Give Away was so successful and fun that we are doing another one for Father’s Day!  All you have to do to enter is comment on this post- so easy!  The cake this month is a Hummingbird Cake, which sounds amazing, and I know with Kim Nelson, the owner of I Love Daisy Cakes, behind it, this cake will be something special.  For a little recap of Kim and all her greatness, she appeared on the show Shark Tank and received a $50,000 investment from Barbara Corcoran to help take I Love Daisy Cakes to the next level.  And it did!  Kim has gone from making around 2000 cakes a year to over 25,000.  She has most recently appeared on the Nate Berkus Show and will be cooking on the Today Show at the end of this month.  This lady makes the best cakes around.  So, just comment on this post with a smiley face, a thought about cake, or even a thought about Father’s Day, and you will be entered to win.  We will announce the winner next Friday, June 15th.  Keep your thoughts on cake and good luck!

My Grandmother’s Chicken Salad

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My grandmother used to make the best chicken salad in the world.  Whether we were visiting her in Columbia or up in the mountains, during the summer, there was always a big green tupperware container of chicken salad in the refrigerator.  She refused to give my mother the recipe for years which was pretty maddening since we only got the chicken salad when we would visit.  Of course, we loved to visit my grandmother anyway, and it was not just for the chicken salad, but it certainly was a bonus.  Even after my grandmother relented and gave us the recipe, we never made it.  It had become a thing that was special to have when we were with her.  Corby and I were up in the mountains this past weekend, and I missed having her chicken salad so much.  It was what we would pack for lunch on our hikes, and it was always what we would snack on when we came home from playing tennis.  So, I pulled out her recipe and tried it out.  The first attempt was ok but definitely needed improvement.  The second attempt after adjusting some measurements turned out much better.  I don’t think I will every be able to replicate how delicious my grandmother’s was, but it sure is fun trying, and even getting close is better than not having this chicken salad at all!!

Here is her original recipe, and on the sides are what I changed after my first attempt.  I like it much dryer so I cut back on the mayonnaise and sour cream.  Hope you like it as much as I do!!

Chicken Salad

8  – 10 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped into pieces (I cooked them slowly for a while over medium heat in a lot of chicken broth and then used a fork to pull the pieces apart.  The second time, I put the pieces in a food processor, but I thought that cut it up a little too much, but Corby liked it better that way.)

3-4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped (I only used one egg, again that I put in a food processor, and I thought that was perfect.)

2 cups chopped celery (chop very finely)

½ cup mayonnaise (I ended up using 3 tbsps)

½ cup sour cream (and 3 tbsbs of this as well)

Durkees dressing (I put two big heaping tbsbs of the Durkees.  This is a strong taste, but it will mellow.)

4 Tbsp. lemon juice (I only used 2 tbst of the lemon juice, but it cuts the Durkees taste so add more if you want.)

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix in everything together in a big bowl and refridgerate

 

Hospitals, Limos and Meringues

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Still reveling in the relaxation of my girls weekend- I for some reason thought last week was going to be a breeze.  I knew there were some things to do to get ready for Walker’s birthday which was on Sunday, but his party had been organized, my mom was making his cake, his dad and grandparents were coming into town and Walker was going to stay with them over the weekend- all of these things made it seem like the week and weekend were going to be stress free.  But then life happens and Walker gets a trimmed branch in his leg Wednesday night which resulted in his first ER visit.  I know that I should be happy and thankful that it has taken him this long- just shy of 9 years to actually hurt himself enough to wind up in the ER, but I really just wish he would never hurt himself again ever.  I would post a picture of the bone-deep gash in his leg, but it is really pretty disgusting so I won’t.  Walker really was a trooper through the whole experience and watching him all loopy on morphine was really pretty funny, and 12 stitches later, I thought- OK, that was a small glitch and he won’t be able to play in his last soccer game, but we made it through this.  Then we went back to the doctor on Friday to get his bandages changed and his leg was infected.  Well, of course I have been reading the horrible story about the woman who fell on the zip line, and every terrible thing that could happen to my sweet little boy rushed into my brain.

Fortunately, Walker did not have to be admitted overnight- but he did have to get another round of IV antibiotics, and they switched his oral antibiotic to a stronger one, so hopefully now, we are all in the clear.  In fact, you wouldn’t have even known that he had a bone-deep gash in his leg as he prepared for his birthday party on Saturday afternoon.  All Walker wanted to do for his birthday party was have a limo- clearly, the coolest thing ever to an 8-year-old- he didn’t want to go anywhere or do anything, he just wanted to have a dance party with his friends in a limo.  I thought this was ridiculous.   His dad thought it was a terrific idea- so I caved in on the condition that his dad ride in the limo with the kids- not me.  When the stretch Hummer that his dad had reserved pulled up, these kids went nuts- they piled in, and off they went for an hour long drive that would end at the playground around the corner so we could all have cake and ice cream.  It actually was a fantastic party for the kids- they had a ball, and since all Corby and I had to do was set up the cake at the playground and wait for them to return, it was a pretty easy party for me as well- Walker’s dad and his step mom (who decided to go for the ride as well at the last minute and thank goodness she did because two adults is always better than one when dealing with 12 kids in a limo) definitely got the bad end of this deal as he reported about the utter mayhem and extreme loudness that was the limo ride.  The next day was Walker’s actual birthday, and we all met up at my parent’s house for a birthday dinner celebration. Walker’s dad and step mom and their two children who are 5 months old and 17 months old, Walker’s paternal grandparents, me, Corby, and my parents and of course Walker all celebrated his 9th birthday and toasted ourselves for turning out such a wonderful boy.  The best part of the whole night outside of the many many bottles of wine and Walker himself, was the cake.  Walker decided he wanted a meringue cake with vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce and whip cream.  My mother makes the best meringues in the world, and she gave me the recipe to share with you! So despite all the craziness of the week with hospital visits and limo birthday parties, ending any week with a meringue cake always makes it better!

Meringues

Beat:
3 egg whites at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. water

When stiff peaks form, very slowly add 1 cup sugar.
Form into small shells or 3 large discs on DOUBLE -layered waxed paper.
Place in a 200 oven and let bake all night.

For shells- serve with a scoop of ice cream and drizzle with your favorite sauce.

When making the large discs- scoop ice cream into two 9 inch cake pans that are lined with wax paper (keep excess paper on the sides to lift out ice cream later) and press down until it is flat and is about 1 inch thick.  Store in freezer over night while the meringues are baking.  In the morning, layer one meringue disc on the bottom, then the ice cream, then another meringue disc followed but the second ice cream and finally the last meringue disc on top.  Cover the whole cake with whip cream and drizzle your favorite sauce on top.

And the winner is…

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CAROLINE!!!!! Walker hosted the drawing this morning before school with the help of his trusty sidekick Nemo (or the lazy dog on the floor).  Thank you all so much for entering the contest, and not to worry, because you still have two more chances to win!  We will be doing another cake for Father’s Day and another to celebrate Kim cooking on the Today show, and since you entered this contest, your name automatically goes into the next one.  We are super excited to hear how the cake is, and Caroline, we will be in touch via email to get all of your information so we can get you the cake.  I hope you enjoy!  Stay tuned as I am off to the country for my first- in a very long time- girls weekend.  I can not wait!  And we also have Walker’s birthday coming up- here is a picture of a cake my sister sent me that we will be trying to recreate.  I think it is pretty fantastic.