Southern American

Pimiento Mac and Cheese

Posted Sun, 09/25/2011 - 11:07 by Audrey

I made a tweaked version of this Bon Appetit recipe. It was good, especially from a mac and cheese perspective - gooey and all the rest of that. I'm not sure how I actually felt about the pimento cheese aspect of it. Perhaps next time I will downplay the pimento and just use the basic recipe as a base for a more traditional mac and cheese dish.

Ingredients
1 7- to 8-ounce red bell pepper, seeded, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, halved, divided

Jalapeño Mint Jelly

Posted Mon, 08/15/2011 - 19:48 by Audrey

Adapted from epicurious.

Yield: 3 half-pints

ingredients

7/8 cups finely chopped fresh mint, divided
3/4 cups water
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
3/8 cup cider vinegar
1 tbsp (25 mL) strained fresh lemon juice
2 jalapeño peppers, finely chopped
1 pouch liquid fruit pectin

preparation

Pickled Beets

Posted Sun, 05/01/2011 - 16:49 by Audrey

Yield: 5 pints

~12 medium sized beets (ideally, your beets are the same diameter as your jars)
1 cup water
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup sugar

Wash beets well. Trim roots, but leave attached to vegetable so the beet doesn't bleed too much when cooked.

Put beets in boiling water for 30-45 minutes (until they peel easily).

Peel beets. Put in cold water to cool.

While beets are cooling, mix water, vinegar, and sugar. Warm on stovetop until hot, but not boiling.

Meanwhile, warm jars and lids. Use mandolin to slice beets ~1/8-1/4" thick.

Shrimp a la plancha and Grits with Creole Chutney

Posted Sun, 02/27/2011 - 20:05 by Jon

This was inspired by the Jose Andres' Gambas a la Plancha recipe, and having some fresh shrimp from Arganica. I was feeling a craving for a more cajun-y shrimp-and-grits setup, however. So, I figured there's no reason not to just do both. I left the grits simple, and focused on the shrimp and the chutney-like goop.

A ton of salt
3 whole shrimp per person
grits, plus water and butter for their preparation.

For the creole chutney:

1/2 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 mild jalapeno
1/2 bell pepper (red preferred)
1 small tomato
1 tsp molasses

Elaine's Lemon Meringue Pie

Posted Sun, 08/08/2010 - 17:36 by Audrey

My grandmother makes the best lemon meringue pie. She swears by the My-T-Fine brand of lemon pie filing mix, though I've decided that Jell-O brand is an acceptable substitute. Her secret is the lemon juice.

To make this into a pie, we use a one of Jon's pie crusts, pre-baked. However, you could just as easily fill bowls, ramekins, etc. and have as a tasty pudding treat.

Filling Ingredients
1 box lemon pie filling
1/4 cup sugar

Simple Biscuits

Posted Mon, 07/05/2010 - 09:04 by Jon

The vintage Joy of Cooking book I have had always held the answers to almost any question in the kitchen - the last stop before a call to Mom, basically. I've always found its biscuit recipe lacking, though. So when I stumbled across this one when trying to make a biscuit-topped cobbler, I wanted to keep it for posterity:

Biscuit Dough

1 tablespoon shortening
1 cup flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients; cut shortening in with pastry blender or knives. Add milk gradually to make a soft dough. If too soft, add a little more flour.

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Deviled Potato Salad

Posted Sat, 07/03/2010 - 15:51 by Audrey

Because of my awesome cole slaw recipe, whenever BBQ season rolls around I always forget that I also have an awesome (borrowed) potato salad recipe.

I have unabashedly used Rachel Ray's recipe and added eggs (in my opinion, a must!).

BBQ'ed Ribs

Posted Sat, 05/29/2010 - 12:35 by Jon

From Jon's Dad's methodology:

Cook the ribs slow and then start to put the sauce on ....along with salt and pepper.

1 rack of Pork Spare Ribs (not the "country style" which are thicker and harder to cook thouroughly)
Salt and pepper

Sauce:
2/3rds bottle of Kraft BBQ (Hickory or Mesquite Smoke style)
Vinegar to taste
2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
1 gollup of molasses (~1/4 cup)

Shrimp and Grits

Posted Fri, 02/26/2010 - 20:28 by Jon

For the shrimp:
8 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 T butter, melted
1 T cajun seasoning
dash Old Bay
dash Celery Salt

For the grits:
1/2 cup grits
2 1/4 cups water
2 T unsalted butter
1 t salt
1 t minced garlic
1/2 cup grated cheese (a 50/50 mix of cheddar and jarlsberg works great)
dash paprika

Granny's Tea Cakes

Posted Sun, 02/14/2010 - 14:06 by Jon

1 egg
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. vinegar
1/2 c. milk
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 c. shortening
Flour (see below, but about 3 cups in the mix)

Mix all ingredients except flour. Gradually add flour until the shortening is mixed in and the dough is stiff enough to roll out. Roll on floured surface. Cut cookies out and bake at 400 degrees until brown, 10-12 minutes. Top with sprinkled sugar or icing:

Black And White cookie style frosting:

(Let cookies cool completely before starting)

4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup boiling water

Audrey and Jon

One year and counting!