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.

Mmmmm.... Fried Chicken!

When I was in high school, my grandmother showed me how to make fried chicken. It was, as fried chicken always is, delicious. I have not attempted fried chicken since then. There is something about hot oil that just kind of scares me. And an open pan of oil can splatter and it is messy! I don't like messy. But, thinking about doing a Southern blog, I knew I had to conquer my fear of the hot oil in order to do the quintessential "Southern fried chicken." However, I love a short cut or making things a bit easier on myself, and I decided that perhaps a deep fryer was the answer to my concerns. Andrew (who loves a fried snack) was a very good husband and drove me to 4 different Wal-Mart’s to find the model I wanted- a large capacity, cool touch model that has a fold down basket handle. (Please imagine my happy grin and contented sigh as I typed that).




I tried to make my chicken spicy by adding hot sauce to the eggs and cayenne to the flour, but no luck. While it was delicious, it was not spicy. I think that next time I will make mashed potatoes and spicy chipotle gravy to go with it. That should warm it up a bit!








Here’s the chicken recipe:

¼ cup seasoned salt
1 ½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup hot sauce, any brand
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups self rising flour
1 Tablespoon cayenne pepper
oil, for frying

1. Cut each breast into 2 long pieces. Rub with seasoned salt and place in a pan just large enough to hold chicken in one layer.
2. Combine hot sauce and eggs in a large bowl; whisk to combine. Pour over chicken. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator at least 1 hour, or overnight.
3. When ready to fry, heat the oil in a deep fryer to 360. Combine flour and cayenne pepper in a bowl. Take a piece of chicken from marinade, allowing excess to drip off, and coat in the flour. Shake off excess and rest on a rack until oil is ready.
4. Place chicken in fryer basket and submerge, cooking 5 minutes. Remove from basket and drain on paper towels. Enjoy!



I did the boneless/skinless to limit for heart healthy reasons (if that can be said while also utilizing a deep fryer…) and also because Andrew doesn’t really like meat on a bone. However, the same recipe can be used for regular chicken pieces with bones and skin and whatnot- just increase the frying time.

Collard Greens... Yum? Yes!!!

Ok… So- collard greens… People in Las Vegas generally do not cook them or eat them. They can be a bit bitter and are an acquired taste that we Southerners love. My husband, Andrew, does not love them. He is, if fact, fairly disgusted by them. So my goal for these Southern collard greens with a Southwestern twist is to get Andrew’s thumb’s up.

Here’s what I came up with:

Spicy Collard Greens Au Gratin


½ lb. bacon
1 large yellow onion, chopped
14 oz. bag washed and trimmed collard greens
1 jalapeno pepper, most of seeds and ribbed removed, diced
1 Tbsp. chipotle Tabasco sauce
2 ¼ cups chicken broth, divided
12 oz. bag baby spinach
½ cup heavy cream
2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese, divided
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 cup Panko bread crumbs


1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Fry the bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove from pan, leaving grease in pan. Crumble bacon and set aside.
3. Add chopped yellow onion to bacon grease and cook until soft and browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan.
4. Combine collard greens, jalapeno, Tabasco sauce and 2 cups of the broth in the skillet- allow greens to wilt over medium heat, cover and cook over low heat for 45 minutes, until most of liquid has evaporated.
5. Add the spinach and additional ¼ cup chicken broth and cook until wilted. Add cream and 1 cup of shredded cheese. Stir to combine.
6. Spray an 8x8 dish with non-stick cooking spray; add collard green mixture to pan. Sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese.
7. Combine melted butter and bread crumbs, spread over cheese.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until crumbs are lightly browned

This was so yummy. And, yes, the goal was accomplished:

Peaches and Cream Cupcakes

So, in honor of my time in Georgia, I decided to make a Peaches and Cream cupcake. I took inspiration from the recipe at www.cupcakeproject.com but added a creamy center. However, attempt one with their made-from scratch recipe had the cupcakes peeling off with the paper wrapper. So for round 2, I used a box mix (which I in no way feel in cheating) and added peach jam. Much better!

Peaches and Cream Cupcakes



Cupcake:
1 box butter yellow cake mix
1 cup peach jam

Filling:
6 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
¾ cup marshmallow crème
2 Tbsp. heavy cream

Frosting:
3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla paste
1/3 cup peach jam

Make cupcake batter according to package directions on the cake mix box, adding the jam and mixing thoroughly. Pour into lined cupcake pans and bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out cleanly. Cool completely.

While cupcakes are baking, mix together the ingredients for the filling with a hand mixer. Put filling into a pastry bag fitted with tip that will allow you to pipe into the cupcake’s center. When the cupcakes are cool, fill them.

Also while cupcakes are baking, mix ingredients for frosting. Frost cupcakes however desired (piping bag or just slather on).



Note: The vanilla paste in the frosting gives it the speckled look of vanilla beans and really does make it taste just a smidge more fabulous. However, I had used regular vanilla extract in the first cupcake attempt, and it was delicious as well.

First Post!!!

Hello everyone! Welcome to my blog! A month ago, I never would have thought I would be “blogging.” But I have just returned from the experience of a lifetime with Paula Deen (one of my most favorite people ever!!!) and it made me want to share myself and my love of cooking with whoever wants to know about me. I just returned from Savannah, GA where I was a finalist in the Real Women of Philadelphia talent search!

(This is a picture of me in Paula Deen's kitchen!!!)

Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Paula Deen teamed up to find 4 hosts that would share an online cooking show, help write a cookbook and generally lead an amazing online community at http://www.realwomenofphiladelphia.com/. I was one of 16 finalists in 4 categories. Sadly, I did not go on to be one of the hosts, but I enjoyed one of the best weeks of my life!

These are all the fabulous women I cooked with in Savannah- they are all amazing!

I came away from Savannah with these 3 ideas/goals:

1. I desperately want to own a house in the historic district of Savannah GA and spend days sipping sweet tea on the porch. If you have not visited Savannah, put it on your must- see list.

2. I may or may not want to start a cupcake business. (Who doesn’t love cupcakes?)

3. I am reaffirmed in my passion for cooking and entertaining. It is what I am passionate about. I want to share my love with anyone who will take it!

So, here is what I am going to do- I am going to spread my love of all things Southern but with a Southwestern kick. I grew up in Mississippi but I live in Las Vegas, so I want to bring the South to the Southwest! Get ready for Southern dishes, a whole lot of Paula Deen (you will learn about my love for her), some spicy food, and probably some cupcakes thrown in too!

I had to throw in a picture of me chattting with Paula in the cookoff kitchen

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