Mississippi Food in Vegas?

If you didn’t know, I am originally from Mississippi. There is a restaurant here in Las Vegas that has always caught my eye when I drove by- the M&M Soul Food Café (Mississippi Mary is what the M’s are for). It is not in the best part of town, but that is usually where the good food is, right? It was really busy- we went on a Sunday morning for breakfast, and the crowd was mixed- people of every color, age and background- I consider that a great sign!

Andrew went with the ham steak and I had the catfish nuggets. It was all super yummy and a great taste of home. The biscuits were fluffy. The sweet tea was delicious (and authentic- you have to add enough sugar to practically rot your teeth while the water is still super hot so it melts in just right!) When I am craving some good Mississippi food this may just be where I will head- if I’m not in the mood to cook, that is!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

It has been awhile since I have shared a cupcake recipe, and I thought, in honor of Christmas coming up, I would share a red velvet cupcake. It is so traditionally Southern and the red just screams Christmas. I think this is a great recipe, because the frosting is just a smidge different. It has marshmallow cream and almond extract, which is just a little surprise if you are expecting regular old cream cheese frosting. Delicious!



Red Velvet Cupcakes

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 Tbsp. Dutch processed cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. red food coloring
2 ½ cups cake flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar


1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, at room temperature
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup marshmallow crème
¼ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp. almond extract
1 (1 lb.) bow powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Place cupcake liners in muffin tins.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed. Beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. In a small bowl, mix the cocoa and food coloring. Add to the sugar mixture and mix well.

Sift the flour and salt together into another large bowl. Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Beat in the vanilla. Combine baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl and then add to mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared liners.

Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out cleanly, 14 to 18 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

For the frosting: Using an electric mixer on high speed, blend the cream cheese and butter together in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Change mixer speed to low and add the marshmallow crème, extracts, and powdered sugar, and blend just until well combined.

My Paula Thanksgiving

Wow, it has been a little while since I have posted! It has been busy, busy, busy! Went to Philadelphia for a conference and then Andrew and I went to New York for a few days. So much fun! And I had some delicious Philly Cheese Steaks- I will be trying to make my own version here soon.

Then 2 days after we were back from that trip, we had Thanksgiving. It was my last meal to cook from Paula Deen Celebrates! That’s right; I am done with the cookbook- one year and every recipe from the book. It was a great experience to have people over and have good food so often. Not that I ever really need an excuse for good food!


Now, the Thanksgiving menu had 13 recipes, and I knew I was just going to be getting back from our trip, so I shared the recipes with others. My mother in law and sisters in law each made a couple of recipes, and it was really fun to share the Paula-ness with them!
Here’s what we made:
Turducken
Brown Gravy
Southern Cornbread Dressing
Deviled Oysters
Southern Green Beans
Sweet Potatoes with Butter and Brown Sugar
Stuffed Cranberry Sauce
Ambrosia
Turkey and Stuffing Casserole
Fresh Apple Cake
Double- Chocolate Cream Pie
Pumpkin Cheesecake



Know what a Turducken is? It’s a chicken stuffed in a duck, stuffed in a turkey. Yup! And Paula’s recipe? Go to turducken.com and order one. So that was not too hard!

It was all very delicious and a great way to end the year of Paula! (Although with my love of her, I am sure she will be popping up from time to time...)

Tortilla Soup- Perfect for a Chilly Fall Night!

I love a good tortilla soup! A delicious, spicy broth ladled over crunchy tortilla strips. And I think it is so important to eat it quickly before the strips lose that crunch! This is a delicious version that takes the basic and adds shrimp and avocado- how can yo go wrong? It's amazing!

Here's how you do it:









Now here's a little more information:

Shrimp and Avocado Tortilla Soup
6 servings

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
6 (6 inch) corn tortillas cut into half and into strips
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 Anaheim chilies, seeded and chopped
1 (16 oz.) can chopped tomatoes
1 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 quart chicken stock
1 Tablespoon lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 ripe avocado, diced
1 lb. cooked small shrimp

In a medium skillet, heat 2 Tablespoons of the oil over medium heat; when hot- add the tortilla strips and cook in batches, until they are crisp and golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels; set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat the remaining 1 Tablespoon of oil; add the onion and chilies, cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes. Add tomatoes, cumin and cayenne and cook until flavors are well blended, about 15 minutes. Stir in the stock, lower the heat and simmer until slightly reduced, about 20 minutes. Add the lime juice and add salt and pepper.

Divide tortilla strips, avocado and shrimp into bowls. Ladle hot soup into bowl and serve immediately.

New Project!

So, most of you know that I was involved in a little thing called the Real Women of Philadelphia over the summer. You know, the thing with Paula Deen and all the cream cheese? It was amazing! Now, I am lucky enough to be involved in a new project with them! Check out this video from Adam Butler, Brand Manager for Kraft and Philly, as he explains what it is all about...




You just have to stay tuned to see how they got me involved!

Until then, if you wt to get involved, all you need to do is get some of the new Kraft Natural Shredded Cheese with a touch of Philly, then take a picture of it, upload it onto the Real Women of Philadelphia (yes, you will need to create a profile, but it's free and super simple), then Kraft will donate 20 meals to Feeding America for each photo. If you are really in the mood to help- make a video of your recipe and Kraft will donate 40 meals!


Oh, and go to the website for more info, or to get a $1 off coupon for this yummy new cheese!
http://www.realwomenofphiladelphia.com/

Halloween Party!!!

One of my favorite holidays is Halloween. It in no way compares to my love for Christmas, but it is way up there. I love the decorations and the treats and the costumes and the parties. We had a really fun party at our house the night before Halloween this year. Food, friends and fun- nothing better.


I love the food for Halloween. There are so many opportunities to do creepy but yummy things. Here are a few that I did:





Witches’ Fingers
Mozzarella cheese sticks and pepperoni wrapped in pizza dough, painted with green egg wash and an almond as a fingernail.




Oxtails
This one was out of Paula Deen Celebrates, her cookbook that I am cooking through this year. Literally chunks of oxtails roasted with onions, peppers and Worcestershire sauce. Interesting- the meat was delicious and very tender, but it is a very fatty kind of meat. But what is more creepy and Halloween-ish that "oxtails"?




Mummy Dogs
So easy- hot dogs, but in half and wrapped with refrigerated pie dough. I served them with honey mustard and a chipotle bbq dipping sauces.



Monster Eyeballs
Donut holes covered in white chocolate, with gummy savers and m&m’s for the eyes.



Ghost Brownies
Just box brownie mix, large marshmallows, warmed vanilla frosting poured over and mini chocolate chips for eyes.




Also, I did a Treat Table. One of the sections from Paula Deen Celebrates is Homemade Christmas Gifts. I decided to give them out at Halloween instead. I thought it would be cute. Cause, hey- what scream Halloween, if not fruitcake and peppermint bark? Here’s what I made and gave away: Fruited Rice Curry Mix, Lemon-Dill Rice Mix, Russian Spiced Tea Mix, Greek Salad Dressing, Peppermint Bark, Pretzel-Peanut Bark, Cheese Straws, Oven Caramel Corn, Icebox Fruitcake, Apricot- Ginger butter, Cinnamon- Honey Butter and Herb Butter. Yes, all of that.

A Paula Menu Brunch

Wow… This post is long over due. In honor of my sister in law, Becky, coming into town a while ago (she lives in Orem, Utah- about 6 hours north of Las Vegas) I decided to have a brunch. Not just any brunch, but a Paula party brunch. As in, cooking my way through Paula Celebrates! kind of a brunch. Becky has been so excited and supportive of everything cooking and Paula related, so I wanted to include her in a Paula menu since she has missed so many others. We had a ton of fun, even though no one else showed up!



The recipes were:
Collard Green Wontons- fried pockets of spicy greens and cream cheese
Crab and Spinach Casserole- a layer of garlicy spinach under a cheesy, creamy layer ot crab- yum!
Baked Tomatoes- -covered in crunchy breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese
Hash Brown Casserole- an old classic- bread, sausage, onions, cheese and hash browns soaked in eggs and baked until golden
Blueberry Gems (muffins)- light and delicious
Pecan Pie Muffins- actually tasted just like pecan pie
Hummingbird Cake- basically banana nut bread/cake with cream cheese frosting

My personal favorite would have to be the wontons- they were fabulous, and unique! Here is that recipe:

Fried Collard Green Wontons

Ingredients
• 1 pound ham hocks, smoked turkey wings, or smoked neck bones
• 1 teaspoon House Seasoning, plus more for seasoning
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce
• Olive oil, for drizzling
• 1/2 large bunch collard greens
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 70 wonton wrappers, approximately
• Peanut oil, for frying

Directions
In a large pot, bring 1 1/2 quarts water to a boil and add the meat, House Seasoning, seasoned salt, hot sauce, and a drizzle of olive oil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, wash the collard greens thoroughly. Remove the thick stem that runs down the center of the greens by holding the stalk in 1 hand and stripping the leaves from the stalk with your other hand. Stack 6 to 8 leaves on top of each other, roll up, and slice into 1/2 to 1-inch ribbons. Place the greens in the pot with the meat. Add the butter. Cook the greens, stirring occasionally, until the greens are tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. When they are done, taste and adjust seasoning.
Remove the collard greens with a slotted spoon and transfer to a large bowl. Remove ham hock and chop into pieces. Place into bowl with collard greens. Mix in the softened cream cheese, working it into the mixture.
Have a bowl of water ready and dip your finger in it, running it along the seams of the wonton before pressing to seal. Place a scant teaspoonful of the collard green mixture in the center of a wonton wrapper and fold into a triangle. Repeat with the remaining wrappers. Place on a parchment or waxed paper lined baking sheet, covered with a damp paper towel, until ready to fry.
Heat 3-inches peanut oil in a heavy deep pot to 350 degrees F.
Fry the wontons in batches until they are golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Place on paper towels to drain and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

San Diego

This past weekend Andrew and I went to San Diego for the wedding of our dear friend Sam. He was one of Andrew’s best men in our wedding last October and Andrew was able to return the favor this year. It was a beautiful wedding and we are very happy for Sam and his bride, Jon.





We were also able to stay for an extra day and just play in such a beautiful city. We had asked a local, Jon’s niece- Sarah, for recommendations for good Mexican food. She said that Lolita’s has the best burritos and to get the California burrito, which has delicious carne asada and fries, yes fries, in it. It was yummy!





>We also went to the zoo and had some fun there. It is a huge zoo and we didn’t even get to see many of them in our time there. But out favorites were the hippos, monkeys and, of course, the pandas.




Now, for dinner, we had a special treat. It was amazing, delicious, fabulous… I could keep going… But more about that in another post, once I learn to master a recipe or two to share… You’ll just have to keep coming back!



After dinner, we were stuffed so we decided we would take a nice walk on the beach before we started the drive back to Vegas. It was a beautiful evening. However, we could just not pass up the sweets shop by the beach. We stopped and got some very interesting treats. Andrew got chocolate dipped bacon and I go the chile chocolate. I almost got the chocolate dipped whole jalapeno, but I wanted to have a reason to go back… They were both delicious and my spicy chocolate reminded me of some brownies I made a while ago- they are delicious, fudgey chocolate with a surprise kick of subtle heat at the end. I want to share that recipe. Enjoy!


Chile Brownies
Makes about 2 dozen

1 ½ tsp. Chile flakes
1 (19.5 oz.) package fudge brownie mix
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup water
2 cups dark chocolate morsels, divided
3 Tbsp. Unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. heavy cream

1. Grind pepper flakes with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Combine brownie mix, pepper flakes and cinnamon in a bowl, whisk to combine. Stir in eggs, oil and water until blended. Add ¾ cup chocolate morsels to batter; spoon into a lightly greased 13x9 pan. Bake at 350 for 28-31 minutes. Cool completely.

2. Place 1 cup chocolate morsels and butter in a large glass bowl. Microwave on high 1 minutes or until melted; stir in cream. Pour mixture over cooled brownies, spreading to form a thin layer.

3. Melt remaining ¼ cup chocolate morsels and drizzle over brownies. Sprinkle with Chile flakes.

Sopapillas

Let me start off by saying… Andrew LOVES Sopapillas! I felt quite a bit of pressure when I took this one on because I wanted to get them right! Sopapillas are a Southwestern dessert- they are native to the American Indian cuisine of the Southwest, not necessarily of Mexico (if I have my culinary history correct). They are these fried pillows of dough that puff up and are hollow in the center. Traditionally, they are served with meals as the bread and if there are any left, you eat them with honey for dessert. They seem to now be served just as a dessert, unless you are at an authentic restaurant (such as Sadie’s in Albuquerque- Andrew’s favorite); but as a dessert they are absolutely fine with me! They truly are heavenly.

The fear when making them was- will they puff??? Andrew has told me of being served dense, non-airy, non-pillow little bricks of dough. That is not what I wanted. So I Google searched and got out some cookbooks, and I did my research. I came up with what I thought was a winning recipe. And… SUCCESS! They were light and golden and airy and delicious. Drizzled with honey and cinnamon, I now understand the love of Sopapillas!


Ingredients
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 3/4 cup warm water, plus more as needed
• Peanut oil, for frying
• Honey or cinnamon sugar, for serving

Directions
Sift the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Add the shortening and water, work them in with your hands to make soft, pliable dough. Add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if the dough feels too dry. Gather the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Put the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour so it will firm up a bit and be easier to roll and cut. (Dough can be prepared 1 day ahead, refrigerated.)

Unwrap the ball of dough and put on a lightly floured surface, cut in half. With a floured rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a circle, about 1/4-inch thickness. Using a paring knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into triangles as you would a pizza. You should end up with 6 or 8 triangles per circle.

Heat 2-inches of oil to 375 degrees F in a heavy skillet or deep pot over medium-high heat.

Fry a few of the sopapillas at a time, keeping an eye on maintaining the oil temperature. As the sopapillas puff up and rise to the surface, flip them over with a slotted spoon or skimmer; about 2 minutes on each side. Carefully remove the sopapillas from the oil and drain on several layers of paper towels. Cool slightly. Serve hot with honey or cinnamon sugar.

Macroni and Cheese- Spicy, Cheesy Goodness!

I truly believe that macaroni and cheese may be one of the best foods ever invented. It is a staple of the Southern table (as well as the rest of the country, but I like to feel some ownership as a Southerner). The way that true macaroni and cheese has to be made is with roux, a butter and flour paste that will thicken the milk. A crunchy, buttery breadcrumb topping is preferred, but not absolutely necessary. (But why would you leave it off?

I remember being invited over to a friends house when I was like 6, and her mother made mac and cheese that was- if you can believe it- pasta, milk and processed cheese slices melted in a pot. I told her that was not the way you made mac and cheese, and I refused to eat it. The mother was not pleased with me. (And I have to say, she was not from the South!)

To spice it up, I could not decide between jalapenos and chipotle peppers. If you don’t know- Chipotle peppers are just smoked jalapenos that are sold in a can in a delicious adobo sauce. Jalapenos have more of a quick, sharp, fresh heat while the chipotles are a slow, smoky, long lasting heat. So, of course, I made both. I took them to a family dinner at the in-law’s house and the reviews were divided. Totally depended on which flavor each person preferred. Both were delicious but if you are a jalapeno lover, you will prefer that over the chipotle. Makes sense, huh? So pick your favorite and enjoy! (Did I mention the bacon?!?)

Spicy Macaroni and Cheese

2 cups dry elbow macaroni
4 Tbsp. butter, divided
2 Tbsp. flour
2 tsp House Seasoning
1 tsp dry mustard
Dash cayenne pepper
2 cups whole milk
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided
½ lb bacon
¼ cup diced pickled jalapeno peppers with juice OR 2 diced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
½ cup Panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375. Cook macaroni according to package directions and drain; set aside.

Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in saucepan. Whisk in flour, house seasoning, mustard and pepper, and cook for 2 minutes. Add milk and whisk; stir constantly over medium heat until sauce thickens and is smooth. Add 1 cup cheese; stir until melted.

Cook bacon until crisp and crumble; drain on paper towels. Add bacon and your choice of pepper to cream sauce. Also add cooked macaroni. Stir to combine. Pour into a greased casserole dish. Top with remaining 1 cup cheddar cheese. Melt other 2 Tbsp butter and combine with bread crumbs. Sprinkle on top of cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes, until bubbly.

Jalapeno Jelly

There are few things that are more Southern that canning. My grandmother (who is actually an admitted Yankee but made many concessions for my farm-raised, pure Mississippi boy grandfather) has made homemade pickles for as long as I can remember. Pickles, jams, jelly- all very Southern. How will I add a Southwestern kick? Spicy peppers, of course! If you have not had jalapeno jelly, let me tell you- it is a fabulous thing. You can use it all sorts of ways, but my favorite is just on a cracker with some cream cheese- it may sound odd, but it is delicious!

So, I had never even thought about canning and had to do some research on how to can, how to make things gel and of course, how to seal the cans. I found a recipe for Jalapeno Jelly/ Jam- the recipe calls for straining out the peppers, but I left them in, for a chunkier jam type consistency, and it was delicious. So you can strain, or not, depending on what you think you will like.



1 large yellow pepper, seeded
14 jalapeno peppers, some seeded- depending on level of desired heat
1 ½ cups apple cider vinegar
1 pinch salt
4 cups sugar
3 oz. liquid pectin

1. Combine the bell pepper and jalapeno peppers in the container of a food processor or blender. Process until finely chopped/ pureed. This can be done in batches, if the peppers do not fit.
2. Transfer the peppers to a large saucepan, and stir in the cider vinegar. Bring to a boil, and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain the mixture through at least 2 layers of cheesecloth, and discard pulp. You should have about 1 cup of liquid.
3. Return the liquid to the saucepan, and stir in the salt and sugar until dissolved. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When the mixture comes to a rolling boil, boil for one minute, then stir in the liquid pectin.
4. Ladle into sterile jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Seal jars in a hot water bath. Refrigerate jelly after seal is broken.

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

I love, love, love cupcakes! They are so “in” right now. I would love to make cupcakes all day! I found a recipe on the www.cupcakeproject.com for cookie dough cupcakes- they have a center of raw cookie dough as well as a ball of the dough on top. I mean, is there anything better, more comforting, more indulgent than cookie dough?

And don’t worry- the dough is egg-less, so no worries about anyone getting sick. I just had to try these. Her cooking times were way off for my oven- 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes- but when I checked them at 12 minutes, they were almost burnt (definitely crispy and way too dry). So I would say either drop the temperature to 350 or only cook for 10 minutes at 400. Do not freak out about “burning” the butter for the cupcake batter- it is really easy to do and gives the cake such an amazing, deep, rich, yummy, buttery flavor.

Burnt Butter Cupcake Batter

2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
¾ cups self rising cake flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
5 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
2-3 Tablespoons milk

First, burn the butter- place butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until it turns a dark golden color (3-5 minutes). Take the pan off the heat and strain into a bowl to remove sediment. Let it sit until it solidifies (30 minutes room temperature or 10 minutes in the fridge).

Once butter is soft/solid, mix all ingredients but milk with a mixer. Once well blended, add milk slowly until well mixed.

Fill 12 cupcake liners halfway (the self rising flour will make the batter double in size). Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes.

When cupcakes cool, cut a hole in top and push in a ball of cookie dough. Cover with cookie dough frosting and place another ball of cookie dough on top. Yum!


Raw Cookie Dough Recipe

2 cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
4 Tablespoons whole milk
1 cup chocolate chips (mini size)

Mix all ingredients together until well combined.
(I waited to add the chocolate chips until after I took out the amount for the frosting)

Cookie Dough Frosting

Mix 1 cup of raw cookie dough with ½ cup of heavy cream. It tastes just like cookie dough, but spreads perfectly!

Award Winning Empanadas!

After mentioning my Paula Deen experience with the Real Women of Philadelphia in my last blog post, I thought I should explain a little for anyone who didn’t know what it was all about. I entered an online competition (it was considered a “talent search” and not a “cooking contest”) by submitting videos of myself preparing recipes with Philadelphia Cream Cheese. I was chosen as one of 16 finalists and flown to Savannah for one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Here is the clip from the awards show about the appetizer cook off:



The other finalists were amazing women and I am so blessed to have them all as friends now. We were treated like royalty- we stayed at the only 5 star hotel in Savannah, we went to all the best restaurants (Paula’s of course, but also some fancy- schmancy ones), we were driven around in a caravan of black SUV’s with tinted windows and bodyguards dressed in all black, and we got a private tour of Savannah that included Paula’s home. Of course we got to hang out with the fabulous Paula Deen a couple of times- she is the funniest, most gracious and down-to-earth person I have ever met. I was so impressed with who she is. It truly was the experience of a lifetime and I am so blessed that I got to be a part of it!




Anyway, here is the recipe for my "award winning" (or at least finalist level) Empanadas, if anyone wants to try them:
(Brandon, Paula’s personal style guru- he designed the set, her new line of furniture and co-authored Paula’s latest style book- he said they were “like crack”- meaning delicious and addictive- so be careful!)

Spicy Breakfast Empanadas:
1 lb. hot pork sausage
8 oz. cream cheese
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 tsp Paula’s House Seasoning
1 tsp cumin
1 can refrigerated jumbo biscuits
4 oz. cream cheese
½ cup sour cream
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
½ tsp garlic salt

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a cookie sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray.
2. In a large skillet, over medium- high heat, cook sausage, crumbling into small pieces. Once cooked through, drain fat. Add cream cheese to sausage and stir until melted. Add Rotel tomatoes, House Seasoning and cumin. Stir to combine.
3. Open can of biscuits; separate raw biscuits into 2 halves. Flatten with your hands to make larger. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of sausage mixture onto center of biscuit. Fold biscuit in half and seal by pressing seam together. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before serving with Chipotle Cream.

Chipotle Cream: In a small saucepan combine cream cheese, sour cream, chipotle peppers and garlic salt. Cook over medium heat until cream cheese is melted and all ingredients are combined.

Paula Potato Party

One of my goals for this year was to cook through one of Paula Deen’s cookbooks. Yes, I was inspired by the Julie/Julia book and movie phenomenon. It has been a lot of fun and I am a good ¾ of the way through the book. There have been a lot of delicious recipes, some average ones, and just a whole lot of calories in general. She in no kidding about the butter, my friends. I am such a fan of hers and it was such a treat to have her sign the actual cookbook that I have been cooking through when I was in Savannah for the Real Women of Philadelphia!




The cookbook is Paula Deen Celebrates! and it is a year’s worth of celebration menus- New Years, Valentines, Mardi Gras, Fourth of July, Christmas- and also lesser known holidays/events- Elvis’ birthday, May Day, Football party, etc.- you get the idea. The menu that I recently did was the “Graduation Potato Bar” which was meant to be a buffet of baked potatoes and various delicious topping to be served after a high school or college graduation- perhaps open house style. I changed it up just a smidge- I was only having a few people over and I wanted everyone to be able to try everything, which would be difficult with full baked potatoes, so I made mashed potatoes so we could all try a nibble of everything.



The recipes in this menu (other than the mashed potatoes) were: Chicken A La King Topping, Steak and Mushroom Topping, Creamed Seafood Topping, Spinach Salad with Homemade Dressing, Savannah Sheet Cake and Chocolate Chip-Coffee Cookies. Yummy!

Churro Peach Cobbler!

How to give peach cobbler a Southwest kick? With churros, of course! I took Paula Deen’s recipe from ‘The Lady and Sons Savannah Country Cookbook’ and put my own twist on it. Churros are a fried Mexican treat, covered in cinnamon sugar. They are very popular at state fairs and Disneyland; they are also my favorite treat to get when I am finished shopping at Costco. Not sure if that is a nationwide Costco treat… Anyway, I decided to be a little more authentic and go to my local Mexican market (see previous blog post) and get churros there. To be honest, the ones at Costco are better, or at least not stale. I also tried placing the churros 2 ways- before baking and just for the last 10 minutes. The ones that were placed on for the entire baking period sank. While they were delicious baked into the peach goo, there was the lack of presentation wow factor. So that is the way I will do it from now on.


Recipe:
2 cups peeled, large chopped peaches
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
¾ cup self rising flour
¾ cup milk
4 (8”) churros

In saucepan, bring peaches, water, sugar and cinnamon to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir often to make sure sugar is dissolved.

Preheat oven to 350. Put butter in deep dish and place in oven to melt. Mix sugar and flour; add milk slowly to prevent lumping. Pour over melted butter- do not mix. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup- still do not stir. Bake 30 minutes.

While baking, cut churros in half length-wise, making 2 long strips. Cut these into 1” chunks. Remove cobbler from oven after the 30 minutes- add churros to top- bake another 5-10 minutes, until juices are bubbling up around the churros.

The Mexican Market

In the spirit of not only giving y’all my Southern roots, but authentic Southwest flavors as well, I decided to explore my local Mexican markets. There are quite a few here in Las Vegas- the first that Andrew and I went to was Las Palmas, and it was not much bigger that a local 7-11, and was also similar as far as the local clientele. But they seemed to have great produce, what little there was. Next, we headed to Mariana’s, which is more of a Mexican supermarket, although it is locally owned. This place was huge and had an amazing variety of products. Not being from Mexico, I am not sure it they had everything you could ever need, but I would imagine so.


We went on a Sunday morning, and let me tell you, this place was packed! You literally had to wedge yourself through the people, especially around the produce areas and meat counter. And the produce was amazing. I think people may have gotten annoyed at the silly white girl slowing things down by taking goofy pictures, but other that a few frowns and rolling of eyes, it was no big deal. The meat counter offered all kinds of meats you can not really get at your local Smith’s- cow tongue, pig and chicken feet, tripe… But they also had some amazing looking carne asada and chorizo. The bakery was also pretty fabulous. I picked up some churros- stay tuned for what I put together with those!!!

The only thing that concerned me was that the produce department, as well as the meat counter, seemed to be buzzing not only with the hustle and bustle energy of excited patrons, but with flies as well. A lot of flies. They kind of grossed me out. But perhaps that was just part of the authenticity. I have asked around and have gotten more recommendations for Mexican markets, so I will follow up on those. Overall, Marianna’s was a great experience, and the first place I will head to get Mexican products.

Low Country Boil

On the coast in the Southeast, especially the Atlantic side (Georgia and the Carolinas)- there is a treat called a Low Country Boil. It consists of throwing smoked sausage, new potatoes, corn on the cob and shrimp into a large pot of seasoned water to boil. It is usually dumped out onto a table covered in newspaper (after being drained) and enjoyed family style. The Gulf Coast (Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama) does something quite similar but usually with crawfish in place of the shrimp and sausage. Attend a crawfish boil and you will hear “Pinch the tail and suck the head”- they are referring to the crawfish, not something naughty… so be prepared for that.

But back to the Low Country Boil. My attempt to give it a kick was to use Chorizo Sausage (a spicy Mexican sausage) instead of regular smoked sausage and to spice up the dipping sauces to go with it. I got some chorizo that was tied in links at my local Mexican market. You normally put in precooked (smoked) sausage cut into 2-3” pieces, but that would not work with raw chorizo- hence, tying the raw sausage in casing into links. So I put it all in the pot and invited over some friends. While chorizo was great in theory, it did not turn out quite as I had hoped. We drained the boil, then had to cut off a link, and then cut the casing off. Chorizo is a pretty greasy sausage and the grease is very thick and very red, and it oozed out when the casing was cut. My friend Deanna commented that the whole procedure was very “LorennaBobbit-ish”! Next time I will just try to find a fancy jalapeno/chorizo infused smoked sausage. But the accompanying sauces turned out pretty fabulously!



Low Country Boil

¼ cup old bay seasoning
¼ lb smoked sausage, cut into 2” pieces (per person)
2-3 small new potatoes (per person)
1 ear fresh corn, broken in half (per person)
½ lb. large fresh shrimp (per person)

Fill a large pot with enough water to cover all ingredients.
Add sausage and Old Bay Seasoning- boil for 20 minutes so sausage can flavor the water
Add potatoes and boil for 15 minutes.
Add corn and boil 10 minutes more.
Add shrimp and cook 3 minutes. Taste a shrimp- if done, drain immediately and serve.

Chipotle Potato Sauce

½ cup mayo
½ cup sour cream
2 cups finely chopped yellow onion
1 tsp Paula House Seasoning
3-4 diced Chipotle peppers and adobo sauce

Avocado Cilantro Sauce

1 cup sour cream
1 ripe avocado, pitted and chopped
½ cup cilantro
1-2 Serrano chilies, depending on desired spiciness
1 tsp Paula House Seasoning
¼ cup water.

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to bowl and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until time to eat- the avocado will discolor (turn brown) if left in open air.