Tag Archive for: southern baking

New Mom Meals

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My dear friend Kendall is having a baby today, maybe even as I write this.  It was scheduled which is how I know it could be happening right now.  I am currently hanging out with her first son Kevin before I take him to camp, and then I will pick him up this afternoon and take him out to the hospital.  I think that is going to be a very difficult ride.  Kendall and Robert do not know what they are going to have, but they will send out a text to all of us who are waiting very impatiently to tell us all the good news.  When I pick Kevin up from camp this afternoon, I will know if it is a boy or a girl, and he still won’t, and of course, Kendall and Robert want to be there when he finds out.  So basically I am trying to bribe Kevin not to bribe me into telling him.  I am pretty sure I am going to win this one.  I texted Kendall this morning asking if there was anything I could bring her this afternoon like beer, cold cuts, soft cheese or anything else she has not been able to eat for the last 9 months.  She said she would let me know.  In that vein, I found a great web site (TheKitchn.com) for 10 great meals to bring new moms http://www.thekitchn.com/what-foods-to-bring-a-new-mom-10-recipe-ideas-176173.  Chances are I will bring donuts and beer mainly because I think she will like that better than healthy chicken.

Brownie Dessert

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Pinterest always makes me hungry.  I love looking at the wonderful food photography, and all of the recipes are great.  I did read a really funny quote from DJ Joe Kelly about all of the food photography that is constantly on Facebook and Pinterest.  He said:

“Remember the old days…when you used to have dinner…then grab the camera, focus it, and take a picture of your food? You’d then take the roll out of the camera, drop it off at the Fotomat place, and you’d pick it up a few days later…. Then, you’d pick out the best photo of your food, go back to the Fotomat, drop off the negative, get copies of the photo made….then, pick them up a few days later. You would then take the photos, put them in envelopes, add stamps, then run down to the post office and mail the pictures of your dinner to all your friends. Remember all that?

Of course not! You didn’t use to take photos of your food – why are you doing it now?

Studies show Facebook would be much less traveled if people just stopped taking pictures of their food!

Apparently, your friends onhttps://thesouthwillrise.com/wp-admin/post-new.php Facebook aren’t the only ones tired of this practice.Some restaurants are now banning picture taking in their dining rooms since all the camera flashes are disrupting the ambiance and disturbing other diners.

If you eat a nice meal and don’t take a photo, did it really happen?”

I thought it was pretty funny, but despite that, I do love this new trend.  Here is a fantastic Dessert Brownie recipe I found on pinterest via Luscious Food Recipes for the Soul while drooling on my desk.

Brownie Dessert

Ingredients:

2 brownie mixes
1 extra large egg
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 (8 oz.) containers whipped topping
1 (3 oz.) package instant chocolate pudding
1 (3 oz.) package instant vanilla pudding
3 1/2 cups milk
1 Hershey candy bar or chocolate syrup

Directions:

Mix brownie mixes according to directions. Add egg. Bake in 9×13 inch greased and floured cake pan. Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar and 1 container whipped topping. Put this mix on top of the cooled brownies. Blend puddings and milk together and put on top of the cream cheese mixture. Top with another layer of whipped topping. Put chocolate shavings or chocolate syrup on top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

 

 

Sour Cream and Chives Biscuits

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I do love a good biscuit- piping hot and steamy.  It can be the perfect breakfast- you really don’t need much else.  Fortunately, my wonderful husband makes amazing biscuits- not nearly as often as I would like, but when he decides to make biscuits, they are a work of art.  We are heading up to the mountains next weekend with friends, and Corby has said he will make biscuits.  I am excited.  I usually do not have a preference for flavor of biscuit, but I found this recipe for sour cream and chives biscuits that sounds pretty darn awesome, so maybe he will make these!!

Sour Cream and Chives Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 cups Bisquick baking mix

1 cup dairy sour cream or 3/4 cup plain yogurt

1 tbsp dried snipped chives

Directions:

Heat oven to 450°. Mix all ingredients until dough form, beat 30 sec. Turn onto surface dusted with baking mix; gently roll in baking mix to coat. Shape into ball; knead 10 times. Roll 1/2 thick. Cut with 2″ cutter dipped in baking mix. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet until golden brown, 8-10 min. Makes 12 Biscuits. Sour Cream-n-Chives Drop Biscuits. After beating, drop dough by spoonfuls onto lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown. 10-12 min.

So Many Cravings

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It has been an eventful week in our house with Walker out of school.  I took him fishing with a friend on Tuesday where he caught one red fish, two blue fish, two baby sharks, six big sharks and the biggest stingray I have ever seen.  Needless to say we did not swim in the ocean on Tuesday.  Yesterday, Corby, Walker, Nemo and I drove up to Lake Summit in North Carolina to drop Walker off for three weeks at Camp Mondamin.  This is Walker’s third time at Mondamin but his first time for three weeks.  He was so excited, and fortunately for me, the camp puts up pictures every day for the parents to see how the kids are doing.  And from the pictures this morning, it looks like the first day was a blast.  So, now that Walker is off for a couple of weeks, Corby and I have decided to do a cleanse.  I guess this is a good time to do it since we don’t have to cook Walker meals and there are not snacks in the house.  But on the other hand, now also would be a good time to go out to dinner and movies and bars etc since we don’t have to get a babysitter.  But, alas, we have chosen the cleansing route and this being the first day, I want to eat my desk.  My lemon, maple syrup, cayenne pepper concoction is not really doing it for me right now.  I am instead thinking about cheese, pastries, bread, crackers, milkshakes, cheese, hamburgers, bread and more cheese.  So I have decided to post my all time favorite recipes and to live vicariously through writing them out.  Here is the first one- keeping it pretty simple here with an old fashion grilled cheese sandwich.  (The two pictures are of Walker and his shark and then the car ride up to camp- Nemo did not want Walker to go!)

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Ingredients:

4 slices of white bread

3 tbsp butter

cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat skillet over medium heat. Generously butter one side of a slice of bread. Place bread butter-side-down onto skillet bottom and add 1 slice of cheese. Butter a second slice of bread on one side and place butter-side-up on top of sandwich. Grill until lightly browned and flip over; continue grilling until cheese is melted. Repeat with remaining 2 slices of bread, butter and slice of cheese.

Frozen Strawberry Daiquiris

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Tomorrow is Walker’s last day of 4th grade.  He keeps saying he can’t believe how quickly the year went by. I can’t believe how quickly the year went by.  The years somehow keep getting faster.  Fortunately, while summer does seem to disappear on me too quickly as well, I am looking forward to enjoying the long lazy days ahead.  Walker heads to camp for three weeks next week, and everyone keeps asking what I am going to do- the answer is nothing.  I am pretty excited about it.  Well, nothing is a relative term because I do plan on making strawberry daiquiris and sitting on my porch.  Here is my favorite daiquiri recipe- hope you enjoy it as much as I plan to.

Frozen Strawberry Daiquiris

Ingredients:

3 cups sliced strawberries
1 cup white rum
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 (12-ounce) can limeade concentrate, thawed and undiluted
1 cup crushed ice
6 lime slices (optional)

Directions:

Place the first 4 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. Add ice; process until smooth. Serve immediately; garnish with lime slices, if desired.

Delicious Cream Puffs

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Happy Memorial Day!  We spent a wonderful weekend out on boats and at the beach.  The weather could not have been more perfect, and I am now convinced that every tourist who is currently in Charleston wants to move here, so I should probably get my real estate license as opposed to my continuous attempts at baking.  However, baking is clearly more fun.  We are grilling out tonight, and I am going to make cream puffs for dessert.  I am pretty excited about it.  I know that most people just cut the puffs open and fill with pudding or custard that way, but I am going to try to fill them without cutting them in half- it will probably be a huge mess but should be fun.  Because I love vanilla custard, that is with what they will be filled.  I might make chocolate custard as well, but we will see how it goes.

Cream Puffs

Ingredients:

1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
Bring the water to a boil in a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the butter.  When the butter has melted, add the flour mixture all at once and stir vigorously.  Cook and stir until the mixture forms a ball that doesn’t separate.
Remove from the heat and cool slightly (about 1 minute).  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each one until the dough is smooth.
Drop heaping tablespoons of dough about 2-inches apart onto a greased baking sheet.  Or transfer the batter to a pastry bag with a round tip and pipe circles about 2-inches in diameter and about 1-inch apart onto greased baking sheets.  Bake the puffs for about 30 minutes until they are golden brown and puffy.  If the puffs are medium-size, bake for about 22 — 25 minutes, and if the puffs are mini-size, bake for about 17 — 20 minutes.  Remove the cream puffs from the oven and cool on a cooling rack.

Vanilla Custard Filling

Ingredients:

2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
pinch of salt
4 large egg yolks or 2 whole eggs
2 cups milk
1 vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:

On a piece of plastic wrap, or in a small bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, flour and salt. In a saucepan, combine and whisk together the egg yolks and milk, or whole eggs if you are using them.

Gather the corners of the plastic wrap, or the bowl and pick up the starch mixture, pour it on top of the eggs and milk and whisk well to be sure that all of the cornstarch and flour are dissolved. Add the vanilla bean. (if using the extract, add it at the end of the recipe.

Set the pan over moderate heat and cook the custard for about 12 minutes, until thickened and brought to a boil. To do this, stir on and off for the first 5 minutes, then stir constantly for 7 minutes longer until the cream really thickens and reaches a boil.

Remove pan from the heat. The cream is done when smooth and thick enough to leave a clearly defined line when you draw your finger through the cream coating the back of the spoon.

Remove the vanilla bean, rinse it, and set it aside to reuse. If you are using extract instead of the bean, add it now. Add the butter and whisk until melted and blended in.

Pour the cream through a sieve into a bowl. Stir in any additional flavoring if using it. To prevent a film from forming on top of the cream, press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface. Cool cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Beignets and a Fun Wedding

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We went to a friend’s wedding in Wilmington, NC this past weekend.  I have never been to Wilmington, and it was awesome!  We got into town on Thursday and walked down to a restaurant on the river.  The city is so beautiful and strolling along the streets, the historic homes were so much fun to look at.  We stayed for the weekend out at Wrightsville Beach which is a 20 minute drive from downtown Wilmington.  I had been to Wrightsville once before as a child, but I did not remember what a wonderful, quaint beach town it was.  It was a perfect weekend with amazing weather, beautiful morning runs on the beach, fun boat outings in the afternoons, and the most fun wedding activities at night.  The rehearsal dinner was in Wilmington at the City Club.  The terraced garden leading up to the house was spectacular.  Here is a picture.  The atmosphere was so fun and lively and the food was delicious.  As the groom had spent a lot of time in Louisiana, there was a Cajun theme to the event, and so for dessert, they served a King cake and beignets.  I could not eat enough of these.  They were really really good.  And fortunately, I have a deep fryer, so guess what I am making this weekend!  Here is the recipe I am trying from www.food.com.  I will let you know how it turns out.

Beignets

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup milk
1 large egg
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 pinch nutmeg
4 -6 cups vegetable oil (for frying)
confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

Combine the water, milk and egg in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and the sugar and mix until the batter is smooth.
Pour the oil into a large, deep pot or a deep fryer and heat to 360ºF.
Drop the batter by spoonfuls into the hot oil and fry, turning two or three times, until they are golden brown and puffy.
Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with confectioners sugar.

Berry Breakfast Cobbler

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Walker and I have a morning routine that really never varies during the school week- I guess that is why they call it a routine.  I wake Walker up at 7- we get dressed, and he goes downstairs to fix breakfast while I make the beds.  Corby on the other hand, usually gets up around 6 and is doing work or reading the paper when we get downstairs.  Walker eats breakfast while I feed Nemo, our dog and let him out.  Then we leash up Nemo and go outside to the corner to wait for Walker’s carpool and Corby heads to work.  After everyone is out of the house, I get about 30 minutes to exercise. I do work out videos in our den. I love them.  I have a ridiculous collection of them.  Anyway, after I work out, I shower and then ride my bike to work.  Breakfast is usually whatever candy is at the front desk of the library which defeats the entire purpose or maybe is the entire purpose of working out- not sure which one.  So, I have been trying to find easy, slightly more healthy breakfast options than 8 Hershey Kisses.  This berry cobbler from www.allrecipes.com is super easy, quick and so delicious, and it is sweet enough for me not to go into sugar withdrawal after switching from candy.

Berry Breakfast Cobbler

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups mixed frozen berries

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 cinnamon stick, ground
2 tablespoons flax seeds, ground
1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

Directions:

Stir the berries and brown sugar together in a microwave-safe bowl; heat on High until the berries are hot, about 2 minutes, stirring once about 1 minute into the heating process. Stir the ground cinnamon, ground flax seeds, and coconut into the heated berries and serve.

 

Glazed Lemon Bread

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Now that it is finally getting warm out and hopefully staying that way, there is nothing more refreshing on a hot day than the taste of lemon.  For some reason to me, the taste of lemon always seems cool.  This is a great recipe for a glazed lemon bread which is really a dessert, but I think it is a treat any time- especially for breakfast.

Glazed Lemon Bread

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped walnuts2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 1 9×5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the lemon peel. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt and baking powder.
Blend the flour mixture into the egg mixture, alternately with the milk; stir just to combine. Fold in the nuts; mixing just enough to evenly combine. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean.
In a small bowl, dissolve 2 tablespoons sugar in the lemon juice. After loaf has cooled for 10 minutes, spoon glaze over loaf.

Grits and Hominy

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Growing up the words grits and hominy were interchangeable.  There was no difference between the two, and it has only been recently that I found out there actually was a difference.  It was actually brought up last night as a topic of conversation preceding dinner.  What is the difference between grits and hominy.  The answer is is actually only in the way they are ground.  Grits are made from hominy.  Hominy is a corn kernel removed from its hull, and grits are ground up hominy (either stone ground or commercially milled- obviously stone ground is the best).  No matter the answer, both are superb for breakfast or any time.  Here is my favorite sausage and grits recipe since I can’t eat shrimp.  But of course, if you are in Charleston, the best place for either of these is the Hominy Grill!!

Sausage and Grits

Ingredients:

1 pound bulk spicy pork sausage
4 cups water
1 cup quick-cooking grits
4 ounces shredded Gouda cheese
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
3 eggs, beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until the sausage is crumbly and lightly browned. Drain off the grease and place the sausage in a bowl. Meanwhile, bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Stir in the grits, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook and stir constantly for 5 minutes until the grits are tender, or follow package directions.  Stir together the sausage, cheese, butter, hot pepper sauce, and eggs. Fold in the grits until combined, then spread into an ungreased, small casserole dish. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown on top, 30 to 40 minutes.