Baked chicken gets a jazzy sauce from those bottom of the jar jams, jellies and preserves lurking in the back of your fridge.

Bottom of the Jar Gooey Baked Chicken

Ever had a jar of preserves or jam that seems to just keep getting shoved aside in the fridge and ignored? Use it up to create a nice sauce to jazz up some plain ole chicken!  Rachael Ray is the one who introduced me to the "bottom of the jar" theory, and I use it often since it's a great way to create a super-easy sauce, and add a punch of flavor to an otherwise plain baked or grilled chicken, and other meats.

Just add enough bottled Italian dressing to the jar and shake it up - so simple! You can also use orange juice as the acidic element of your marinade instead, or apple juice with a bit of apple cider vinegar works well if you're doing pork chops. Just fill the jar up with whatever you're using and shake. Pull out some of those other condiments lurking in the door of your fridge and get creative!

I like the combination of spicy/sweet, so for this I added in a bit of Tiger Sauce, a sweet pepper sauce that is a staple in our house, but any good regular hot pepper sauce would be fine or you can eliminate it altogether, or use another condiment, if you prefer.

Here's how to make it.

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Classic Turkey Club Sandwich with Cajun Mayonnaise

A classic turkey club sandwich with garden deli turkey, crisp bacon, garden fresh tomatoes, romaine lettuce and finished with a spicy Cajun mayonnaise.

Classic Turkey Club Sandwich

Recently we were having a discussion on the Facebook page about what to eat when it's too hot to cook and two of the most popular responses were tomato sandwiches and BLTs - both of which I love. I couldn't help but think of an old fashioned club sandwich though, so the next time I cooked some bacon, you know I planned a few extra slices to have ready for one! Sliced turkey breast, crisp bacon, garden fresh tomatoes and lettuce, sandwiched between lightly toasted bread with a bit of mayo - what a great summer sandwich! Be sure to sprinkle just a bit of salt and pepper on those tomatoes too to really bring out their garden fresh flavor.

If you haven't joined us on Facebook check it out sometime! We not only have some great discussions there, but our members share their own recipes on occasion - like this incredible Carolina Peach Salsa, and I also publish Facebook exclusives, like our member generated Crockpot Cookbook, and sneak peek recipes like Cucumber Dill Tea Sandwiches and the Zesty Herbed Rolled Dumplings, that Facebook fans get to see before they make it here to the site.

This is really another one of those non-recipe recipes, I've suggested a Cajun Mayonnaise just in case ya might like to kick it up a bit.  Hopefully, like the Classic Patty Melt, this will serve as a reminder that you probably haven't had one of these in awhile, and ... that you should remedy that! Enjoy.

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Recipe: Classic Turkey Club Sandwich

 with Cajun Mayonnaise
From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

Prep/Cook time: 15 min Yield: 1 Sandwich

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Per Sandwich:

Ingredients

• 3 slices of wheat or white bread, toasted
• Regular or Cajun mayonnaise
• 2 to 3 slices of turkey breast meat
• 2 slices of crisp cooked bacon
• Sliced fresh tomatoes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Shredded Lettuce

Instructions

Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on one side of two slices of the bread.  Add the turkey breast to one slice and top with the other slice, mayonnaise side down.  To the top of the bread, add more mayonnaise, and top with the bacon, then the tomato and last, the lettuce. Spread a light layer of mayonnaise on the last slice of toasted bread.  Push toothpicks all the way through into each quarter section of the sandwich and cut into quarters.

Source:  http://deepsouthdish.com

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Grilled Tomato Basil Chicken Wrap with Bacon
Roast Beef Po'boy
Fried Egg BLT

Posted by Mary on July 27, 2010

Images and Full Post Content including Recipe ©Deep South Dish. Do not repost elsewhere without explicit permission. All rights reserved.
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Cajun Mayonnaise Recipe

A great all purpose mayonnaise with a Cajun kick, that goes great on just about any sandwich.  Try it on this Classic Turkey Club!

Cajun Mayonnaise
From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon of chopped, fresh parsley
1 tablespoon of spicy mustard, like Emeril's
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of Zatarain's Big & Zesty Creole
   Seasoning, or your favorite Cajun/Creole
    seasoning, or to taste
Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

Combine and refrigerate until needed.

More Sauces

Zatarain's Big & Zesty seasoning is a large flake seasoning that looks like this:

.

A diner classic, Patty Melts are made with very thin, oval shaped burger patties, and served on thin grilled rye bread, with caramelized onion, and Swiss cheese. Just amazingly delicious!

Classic Patty Melt

Patty melts have been around forever and are a classic diner food, but I don't hear much about them anymore. I happen to love them though and what's not to love? A thin burger - read that again, thin burger - on grilled rye with caramelized onion, sandwiched between melted cheese - it's pretty much good ole comfort food.  When's the last time you had one?

Now, from what I know, a classic patty melt is supposed to be made only with Swiss cheese, as in the above picture, but The Cajun prefers his with good ole American cheese.  Some would say that is all wrong. I don't know...

Sure looks good to me. So I say, use whatever cheese makes you happy. Here's how to make them.

Click Here to Read More & to Get Recipe »

Shrimp and Fettuccine

This recipe for Shrimp and Fettuccine was in my Mama's collection and written in her hand which always makes me nostalgic and miss her even more than usual. She had written at the bottom of the recipe, "this dish will make them scream for more," which always makes me smile. Well, I don't know about all that, but I can say that this is definitely a restaurant quality pasta dish that, despite the inclusion of artichokes, The Cajun gobbles up and declares delicious! That's a winner to me.

The original recipe called for linguine, but I only had fettuccine in the house, so I think that either would work well for this dish.  I also used lemon thyme from my garden.

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Shrimp and Fettuccine
From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

1 pound of shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pound of fettuccine or linguine noodles, prepared
   al dente, according to package directions
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup of diced andouille or other smoked sausage or ham
4 green onions, sliced
1 (14 ounce) can of artichokes, drained and quartered
1 (2 ounce) jar of pimentos, drained
1 teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon of chopped fresh oregano
1/2 teaspoon of paprika
1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of Zatarain's Big & Zesty Creole
   seasoning, Slap Ya Mama, or your favorite
   Cajun/Creole seasoning, or to taste
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) of unsalted butter
Sprinkle of red pepper flakes

Peel and devein the shrimp; pat dry with paper towels.  Prepare the pasta in well salted water, according to package directions for al dente. Reserve 2 cups of the pasta water before draining. Drain pasta and set aside.

Heat one tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet and cook the smoked sausage or ham until seared; use a slotted spoon to remove and set aside. Add additional oil to the skillet if needed, and sear the shrimp, remove and set aside with the sausage.  Add the sliced green onion to the skillet; cook and stir for about a minute. Add the artichokes and pimentos; cook and stir until warmed through.

Return the meat and shrimp to the pan and add the herbs and seasonings, up to and including the salt and pepper. Add the butter and cook and stir until butter has melted and seasonings are well distributed. Stir in the reserved pasta water, about 1/2 cup at a time, until a nice sauce has developed. You may or may not use all of the reserved pasta water. Toss in the drained pasta; taste and adjust seasonings. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and serve immediately.  A side salad and bread are perfect for this dish.

Source: http://deepsouthdish.com

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Shrimp Spaghetti
Crawfish Velveeta Fettuccine
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To me a good Cowboy Burger should have a smoky element and a spicy element - Worcestershire, BBQ & steak sauce, just a dash of Liquid Smoke, and a bit of cayenne and chipotle chili powder. Top it with thick cut peppered bacon.

Cowboy Burgers

I love burgers on the grill and there are about a million ways to make them I suppose. Some people are burger purists - insisting that burgers must be meat and nothing more, putting all of the additional flavors on top of the cooked burger.  Others don't mind mixing flavor accents right into their burgers. I personally like burgers both ways, and this recipe is one of those mix-in types.

I have no idea how Cowboy Burgers came to be named, but I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with football and everything to do with hard working ranch hands.  They do usually involve some element of steak sauce and bacon at minimum.  To me a Cowboy Burger should have a smoky element and a spicy element - so I like to use a combination of Worcestershire, BBQ and steak sauce, with just a dash of Liquid Smoke, and a bit of cayenne and chipotle chili powder and then like to top them with a thick cut peppered bacon. That combination gives a nice, spicy kick, without setting your mouth on fire. I prefer not to use salt on burgers for the most part since it tends to draw out moisture.

Here's a tip. If you line a baking pan with aluminum foil, you can use it to place the raw burger patties on, and then, once you transfer those to the grill, remove the foil, discard it, and reuse the baking pan to carry in the cooked hamburger patties.

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Recipe: Cowboy Burgers

From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

Prep time: 10 min |Cook time: 10 min |

Yield: About 6 to 8 burgers

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Ingredients

• Thick cut, peppered bacon, at least one slice per burger, cooked crisp
• 2.25 pounds of ground chuck
• 1 tablespoon of light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of steak sauce (like A1)
• 1 tablespoon of BBQ sauce
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
• Splash of Liquid Smoke, optional
• 1 teaspoon of chipotle chili powder
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 1-2 large Vidalia or yellow onion, cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices with rings intact, 1 slice per burger
• Drizzle of olive oil
• Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Additional Garnishes: Mayonnaise, BBQ sauce, lettuce, sliced tomatoes, Fire 'n Ice pickles or pickled jalapenos.

Instructions

Cook the bacon to crisp and set aside.  Place the ground beef in a large bowl. In a separate small bowl, combine the brown sugar, steak, bbq and Worcestershire sauces, and Liquid Smoke, with the chili powder and cayenne.  Add to the ground beef and use a fork to toss.  Form into 6 to 8 large, tight balls and place onto a foiled lined baking sheet. Gently flatten and shape the patties and create a very slight thumb indention into them. This will help the burgers from puffing up and becoming rounded instead of flat.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Brush both sides of the onion slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; set aside.

When ready to cook, grill the burgers on well-oiled grates, indented side up first, over direct and high heat, for about 3 minutes, or until seared and browned.  Turn and continue cooking until done, another 2 to 4 minutes, or until done to desired level.  Do not press down on the burgers! Meanwhile also add the onions to the grate and cook until lightly browned, turn and cook other side. Toast buns on the top rack of the grill.

Place a thin layer of mayonnaise on both sides of the bun.  Add the burger and top with BBQ sauce and pickles or jalapenos. Sprinkle with a pinch of shredded cheddar and top with grilled onion, tomato, bacon and lettuce.  Serve immediately.

Makes 6 to 8 burgers, depending on the size

Source: http://deepsouthdish.com

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Pepper Jack Stuffed Burgers
Onion Burgers
All American Burger

Posted by Mary on September 11, 2011

Images and Full Post Content including Recipe ©Deep South Dish. Do not repost elsewhere without explicit permission. All rights reserved.
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Electrolux #splits: Classic Old Fashioned Soda Fountain Banana Split

Noticed a lot of banana splits around the net today? Well hopefully you will, because in order to spread the word and raise money for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, Foodbuzz is sponsoring a posting challenge and Top 9 takeover! In a Top 9 Takeover, Foodbuzz asks all Featured Publishers to construct a post around a theme, and then for one day only, all of the Top 9 posts reflect that theme. This time, it's all about banana splits, and Foodbuzz has agreed to donate $50 for every Banana Split post by a Featured Publisher.* Well, y'all know I'm all over that!

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States. It is an insidious disease that can strike without warning or cause, since the symptoms of ovarian cancer are very often vague and subtle, making it difficult to diagnose.

Now I pondered a bit on what kind of creative and unusual foodie banana split I could come up with, but you know what?  To me, there is really only one banana split. A classic, old fashioned, soda fountain banana split. Let's face it, I'm a simple, country cook and no foodie gourmet, so what else would you expect from Deep South Dish?

A fresh banana, split lengthwise, vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream nestled between the slices, and finished with pineapple topping, strawberry topping, and chocolate syrup, whipped cream, a sprinkle of chopped nuts and of course, at least one cherry on top. It is, at least in my eyes, the perfect, ultimate banana split.

You can make your own calorie free contribution to the cause at Kelly Ripa's Kelly Confidential/Foodbuzz website because for every banana split made online at the site, Electrolux will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund and as a bonus, you'll be entered for a chance to win the daily prize, $50 toward sweet summer treats, AND the grand prize - the ultimate kitchen "split" - the new stand-alone refrigerator and freezer from Electrolux. Nice, huh?  Hurry on over and create your own calorie-free banana split for the cause!

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Classic Old Fashioned Soda Fountain Banana Split
From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

1 banana, split lengthwise
1 scoop each of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream
Pineapple topping
Chocolate syrup
Strawberry topping
Whipped topping, like ReddiWip
Finely chopped nuts
Maraschino cherries, with the stem

Cut the banana in half, lengthwise. In an oblong dish or banana split boat, place the banana slices on the outside edges.  Place a scoop of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream in between the banana slices. Top the vanilla ice cream with the pineapple topping; the chocolate ice cream with the chocolate syrup, and the strawberry ice cream with the strawberry topping.  Squirt a dollop of whipped cream on top of each ice cream scoop, sprinkle nuts on top and place one cherry on the top of the center ice cream, or one cherry on each scoop!

Serve immediately.

Makes 1 serving.

Source: http://deepsouthdish.com

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Southern Peach Ice Cream
Homemade Strawberry Buttermilk Sherbet
Watermelon Strawberry Granita


*Up to $5000, and Featured Publishers must meet certain posting guidelines.

Images and Full Post Content including Recipe ©Deep South Dish. Do not repost elsewhere without explicit permission. All rights reserved.

~

Watermelon Strawberry Granita

I tell you what, the good Lord sure knew exactly what he was doing when he planned for ripe and juicy tomatoes, cucumbers and watermelons right in the midst of The Dog Days of Summer Down South. They are, every one, cooling foods, loaded with water and we've sure been eating our share of them here lately, no doubt.  If you're heated up, I promise you that a big ole slice of ice cold watermelon will cool you down right quick and well, I thought, why not take some and turn it into a granita? Y'all, it's like instant air conditioning.

A granita is basically a frozen concoction, made from a mixture of simple syrup and some kind of flavoring, usually fruit juices and/or pureed fruit, wine and even coffee. The mixture is partially frozen, then agitated by scraping it all over with a fork, and placing it back into the freezer, where the procedure is repeated several times over the course of a few hours. I use an 8 x 8 pan because I think it gives the perfect snow-like texture, but a larger 9 x 13 inch will freeze it faster, if you're in a hurry.

Most granitas won't require this much fruit - maybe about 2 to 3 cups of juice or pureed fruit, or some combination of both - but with a composition of primarily water in the watermelon, I did want to concentrate the flavor. I also thought that the addition of strawberries would give the granita a bit more body and I added both the juice and zest of half of a lemon to give that extra punch of freshness that goes so well with strawberry.  The flavor turned out just right, and with these hot days here these past couple of days, well, let's just say I've been in it more than a few times.

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Watermelon Strawberry Granita
From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

Zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 cups of water
1-1/4 cups of sugar
About 5 cups of seedless watermelon cut into chunks,
   roughly 1/4 of a small watermelon
2 cups of whole fresh strawberries, cut into chunks
Extra chunks of watermelon and/or strawberry for garnish, optional

Zest 1/2 a lemon; set aside. Make a simple syrup by combining water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil; boil for 5 minutes and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, add the lemon juice and the watermelon to a blender and puree. Add the strawberries and the lemon zest to the blender and puree. Combine the watermelon mixture and half of the simple syrup; taste and add additional simple syrup as needed. Pour into an 8 x 8 pan and place into the freezer.

Freezing time will vary, but check it first at about 2 hours (sooner if you use a larger pan) to see if the mixture has firmed up somewhat around the edges, but is still slightly slushy in the center.  Take a fork and scrape across the surface of the frozen edges, dragging the fork from the outside edges toward the middle. Return to the freezer and as you think about it, pull it out and scrape it some more, about every 30 minutes or so. By the way, if you happen to go too long, don't stress over it. Just leave the pan on the counter and it'll soften enough in a few minutes for scraping. Then just continue the process. The secret to a good granita is the frequent agitation of the scraping.

To serve, scrape the granita again and transfer into chilled individual serving dishes. Looks really pretty in a martini glass. Garnish with a chunk of watermelon or strawberry, if desired.

Note: Both watermelon and strawberries will vary in sweetness so you may not need all of the simple syrup. Add some, taste and then adjust.

Source: http://deepsouthdish.com

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Inspired by Lemonita Granita from my newest cookbook, Skinny Italian by Teresa Giudice {that's JU-dee-Chay, btw}, yes, of The Housewives of New Jersey. Yes. I am obsessed a fan. Whaddaboutit?

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Zesty Herbed Rolled Pastry Dumplings

Rolled Pastry Dumplings

From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish
Published: July 14, 2010

These rolled dumplings for chicken and dumplings came about during one of these rainy periods we'd been having lately when I was poking through this rather overloaded freezer of mine, when I ran across a few chicken carcasses, some homemade stock and some already cooked chicken ... all taking up far too much room. After a bit of discussion on Facebook between soup, stew or chicken and dumplings - well, chicken and dumplings won out. I guess rain or snow, sleet or hail, or even oppressive southern heat and humidity ... you just can't separate us southerners from our chicken and dumplings!

Since I had it pretty easy on the chicken part of this recipe, courtesy of my freezer, I thought it would be a great opportunity to put up a rolled dumpling recipe - which effectively made the dish I was making, Chicken and Pastry, rather than Chicken and Dumplings. Some people also call this style of dumpling "slick dumplings," and turns out that they do get kind of slick like once those thin pastry dumplings soak up in the stewed chicken.

Now, I would never be so bold as to exclaim that there is only one way to make the best dumpling. Clearly there is not.  I grew up with the bigger, soft and fluffy drop dumplings and personally I prefer those myself. Many other folks grew up with the thinner, rolled dumpling which is what they love and prefer. Neither way is better or easier than the other, they're just each a different kind of texture experience, so I say give them both fair time!

I did decide to experiment a bit with some seasonings and was thrilled with the outcome. Of course, you can simply omit the extra seasonings for a very basic rolled dumpling, if you prefer. These savory dumplings could also be used in a number of soups or stews as well, and by the way - they freeze great! 

Whisk together the flour with the poultry seasoning, black pepper, Creole seasoning, sage, and parsley. Add the shortening and cut it into the flour until it forms pebbles.

Make a well in the center and add most of the buttermilk or milk; use a fork to draw the flour into the milk. Add the remaining buttermilk and mix; dough will be a bit shaggy.

Form mixture into a ball and turn out onto a lightly floured surface, kneading three or four times, then press flat into a disk.

Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until very thin - about 1/8 inch or 1/4 inch if you prefer them a bit thicker. I went a bit thicker on mine. Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut into 1 inch squares or thin strips, as desired.

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Zesty Herbed Rolled Pastry
  for Chicken and Pastry/Dumplings
From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

2 cups of self rising flour
1/2 teaspoons of poultry seasoning
Black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon of Zatarain's Big & Zesty Garlic & Herb
   Creole Seasoning, or your favorite Creole
   seasoning, optional*
1/4 teaspoon of dried sage
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup of shortening
3/4 cup of buttermilk or whole milk
Stewed chicken

Whisk together the flour with the poultry seasoning, black pepper, Creole seasoning, sage, and parsley. Add the shortening and cut it into the flour until it forms pebbles. Make a well in the center and add most of the buttermilk or milk; use a fork to draw the flour into the milk. Add the remaining buttermilk and mix; dough will be a bit shaggy. Form mixture into a ball and turn out onto a lightly floured surface, kneading three or four times, then press flat into a disk. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until very thin - about 1/8 inch or 1/4 inch if you prefer them a bit thicker. Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut into 1 inch squares or thin strips, as desired. Drop into slow boiling broth, give a gentle stir to coat all of the dumplings, then cover and allow to cook about 5 minutes or until dumplings are cooked.

Note:  I didn't care for the quality of these frozen, so I recommend making them fresh.

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*Ingredients in Zatarain's Big & Zesty Garlic & Herb Creole Seasoning, contains in part, salt, red pepper, oregano, garlic, onion, sugar, and paprika.

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.

Cucumber dill cream cheese sandwiches are a classic southern finger food at parties, weddings, a ladies brunch, bridal and baby showers, but truthfully, they are just as wonderful just to enjoy anytime served with a side of sliced garden tomatoes for a light, cool lunch.

Cucumber Dill Tea Sandwiches

It sure is hot isn't it? And it's not only hot in The South, it's pretty much hot everywhere here lately it seems.  Well, these little tea sandwiches are cool as a cucumber, literally!

Commonly found at weddings, bridal showers and parties of all kinds in The South, they are a delightful and cool lunch and a great way to use some of those summer cucumbers. Traditionally served on thin, white bread, crusts removed, and honestly, a bit addictive. Some people like to do a separate cream cheese spread and layer ultra thinly sliced cucumbers on top - you'll find that variation in the recipe below. Others, chop the cucumber. I prefer the cucumber grated and mixed in.

If you are making these up for a party, you can make them ahead, leaving the crusts intact, stack them standing and wrap them with foil, then slide them back into the sandwich bread bag to freeze until needed. Thaw first, then trim and cut each sandwich into fourths before serving. A triple decker, made with three slices of bread per sandwich also makes a pretty presentation.

You can also transform this into a cucumber dip for vegetables, chips and crackers, by using the juice from the cucumber and some extra mayonnaise.  The butter is optional, but does help to provide a moisture barrier keeping the sandwiches from getting soggy, especially when making them ahead. You can eliminate that if you like and you can also substitute non-fat cream cheese or neufchatel cheese if you wish to lower the fat.

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Recipe: Cucumber Dill Tea Sandwiches

©From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

Prep time: 30 min |

Yield: 12 to 48 sandwiches, depending on how you cut them

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Ingredients

• 1 loaf of square topped, thin white bread
• Unsalted butter, softened at room temperature, optional
• 1 large or 2 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded, grated, squeezed and patted dry
• 1 (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon grated Vidalia onion
• 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise
• Kosher salt and white pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tablespoon of chopped fresh dill, plus more for garnish

Instructions

Put a very thin layer of butter on each slice of bread. After grating the cucumber, place it into several layers of paper towels and squeeze out the excess liquid; repeat if needed.  Mix the cucumber with all of the remaining ingredients well and spread between two slices of bread. Cut off crusts and cut into fourths.

Sandwiches can also be made ahead and frozen whole. Cut the crusts off and slice into fourths after thawing.

Increase mayonnaise and include the juices of the cucumber to transform this into a dip.

Variation: If you are serving a small amount of these for a ladies tea or brunch, a very pretty and classic southern presentation is to cut the bread into rounds. There will be a lot of waste but save those pieces and bag them in the freezer for bread crumbs! Instead of adding the cucumber to the spread, slice those about 1/4-inch thick, either peeled or unpeeled. If you use a fork to scrape along the rind or a peeler to peel away only sections of the cucumber it makes a very pretty edge. Mix up the cream cheese mixture and pipe a dab onto the bread, place a cucumber round on top, and pipe another dab of the cream cheese mixture on top. Garnish with tiny sprigs of dill. Gorgeous!

Source: http://deepsouthdish.com

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©Deep South Dish

Check These Out Too!

Roasted Red Pepper Pimento Cheese Sandwiches
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Posted by Mary on July 12, 2010

Images and Full Post Content including Recipe ©Deep South Dish. Do not repost elsewhere without explicit permission. All rights reserved.
.

Fresh shrimp dipped in a batter, then in a seasoned flour, and fried to a golden, crispy crunch.

Batter Fried Shrimp

Fried shrimp is a Deep South favorite, no real surprises there. Batter fried shrimp is just another delicious alternative from classic southern fried shrimp that we enjoy in this area.

I use my freezer a lot. Not only to put up fresh tomatoes, blobs of tomato paste and fresh citrus juices, and fresh sauces, veggies, basil pesto, rolled dumplings, precooked chicken, and homemade stock, and really ... just about anything that can be frozen, but especially leftovers.  Course there comes a time when the freezer starts getting so full, I have to start working through some of it, so I've been trying to do that here recently.

As much as I would love to hold on to my fresh Gulf shrimp, it won't last forever, so I decided to take a few of the larger ones we had frozen, butterfly them and deep fry them. For the most part, when I make fried shrimp, I usually use medium sized shrimp and simply devein them and toss them in a seasoned flour, and reserve the larger ones for stuffing or grilling, but sometimes I'll leave the tip of the tail intact, butterfly them and do this batter fried shrimp.

Mise en place - you've certainly heard that here before. Well, it is an especially important practice when frying shrimp.  They fry super fast, especially with a deep fryer, so you'll want to have the rest of the meal going. Prepare the shrimp by cleaning, deveining them and butterflying them first. I decided to serve the shrimp with a nice mixed garden salad, so I made those plates up even before starting to bread the shrimp. A side of black eyed peas with jalapeno, were jazzed up with some sauteed onion and bacon and started on the stovetop. With the fryer heating, I was ready to start the process of breading the shrimp.

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Grilled Pimento Cheese Turkey Burger with POM Coca-Cola Glaze

A moist flavorful turkey burger, filled with sweet onion, apple, pepper jelly, fresh herbs, a touch of oatmeal and finished with a pomegranate glaze, pimento cheese and coleslaw.

Turkey Burger with POM-Cola Glaze

I represented POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice in the POM Wonderful Recipe Battle with a Take 2 rematch against another blogger representing Coach's Oats. The recipes were required to be both savory and summertime BBQ related, and make use of both products.

I have certainly shared my love of POM Wonderful, it's amazing antioxidant properties and great taste, both straight up out of the bottle and as an ingredient in beverages and cooking, but Coach's Oats were new to me. Well, I know that some of you are big fans of steel cut oats, so I tell ya, these are definitely worth a look y'all. Imagine a 100% whole grain oatmeal with the texture of steel cut, that is stovetop ready in 5 minutes, and can also be microwaved! Yep! Not 30 to 45 minutes - but only 5 minutes - thanks to a special process called Cracked n' Toasted™.

For the battle, I knew instantly I wanted to marry the two elements of POM and Coach's Oats in a turkey burger, but the challenge would be to create a turkey burger that is both moist and flavorful. Inspired by the Trump Bar and Grille's Mar-a-Lago burger, I sought to have each of the ingredients used to compliment the other – the apples and sweet onion in the burger, the tartness of the POM Wonderful glaze, the sweetness of the peppers in the pimento cheese, and the added texture from the crunch of the spicy coleslaw. It all came together beautifully.

The sweet onion and apple also helps to keep the burger moist and adds a bit of flavor and sweetness, while the Coach’s Oats adds a boost of tenderness, flavor and fiber. The lemon zest counters some of the sweetness and adds a bit of freshness - just a couple of passes over the microplane is really all you need. Dried herbs can be substituted for the fresh herbs by reducing them by half, and a mango chutney or apricot jam can be substituted for the pepper jelly. I used homemade pimento cheese and homemade coleslaw, both of which, together with the POM glaze, can be made ahead. For ease of preparation and to save time, you can certainly substitute store-bought on both.

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Southern Summer Succotash

Southern Succotash

From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish
Published: July 5, 2010

Hope everybody had a wonderful holiday weekend with friends and family, and an extra day off today to recover. All the carbs and meat of late have me in the mood for some veggies and what a great time to introduce some summer succotash!

Succotash is generally a dish built around corn and some kind of bean - down here that generally is baby lima beans, though there are many regional variations.  It's a dish that's been around a long time, being taught to the colonists by Native Americans - though they would have originally used a bean other than lima beans. Limas came to us from South America a bit later. The term "succotash" is generally thought to mean boiled corn kernels and originating from the word msickquatash used by the Narragansett Indians of Rhode Island.

To be honest, I love a simple mixture of lima beans and corn, with a bit of onion, some butter, and maybe a splash of cream. You can make succotash using fresh, frozen or even canned vegetables, so it's pretty much a year round dish you can serve anytime. In the summertime, however, succotash just calls for fresh corn on the cob, fresh garden beans, if ya got 'em (though I tend to use frozen baby limas), some sweet Vidalia onion, garden fresh tomatoes and bell pepper. You could even add in some summer squash, zucchini or red sweet peppers, if you like.  Mmm, so good, so fresh - I swear I could eat the entire pot of this all on my own!

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Southern Summer Succotash
From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

1/2 pound of frozen baby lima beans
1 tablespoon of olive oil 
1/2 cup of chopped ham or smoked turkey
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1/4 cup of chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion
1/4 cup of chopped green bell pepper
2 ears of corn 
1-1/2 cups of sliced fresh or frozen okra
1 can of Rotel tomatoes, drained, optional
1/2 tablespoon of granulated sugar
1 large tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped 
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 turns of the pepper grinder

Cook the lima beans according to the package directions; drain and set aside.

In a large stainless heavy skillet, heat the olive oil on medium.  Cook the ham until browned; add the butter to the skillet.  Add the onion and bell pepper and cook over medium until softened, about 3 minutes.  While that is cooking, cut the corn off of the cob and use the dull edge of the knife to scrape down the milk; set aside.

Add the okra to the onion and bell pepper; cook over medium for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the drained Rotel, corn, and sugar; cook and stir on medium for about 5 minutes.  Add the fresh chopped tomato, lima beans and cream, reduce heat to medium low and cook for about 10 minutes or until heated through; stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper; taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Serve immediately.

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Source:  http://deepsouthdish.com

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Weekend Cocktails - Strawberry Watermelon Mojitos

Just a quick fly-by since I promised to post this in the 4th of July recipes post.  My computer is runnin' slow as Moses tonight anyway. I'm pretty sure its memory is a bit sluggish and I know how it feels. 

Hope everybody is having a great start to what is hopefully a long holiday weekend - Happy Independence Day!

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Strawberry Watermelon Mojitos
From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

2 large strawberries, hulled, rinsed and coarsely chopped
1 cup of chopped, seedless watermelon
Juice of one lime
1-1/2 to 2 ounces of simple syrup, or to taste
5 mint leaves
2 ounces of good rum
Ice to fill glass
Club soda or lemon-lime soda
Lime curls and/or extra mint leaves, for garnish, optional

In a blender, whirl the strawberries, watermelon, lime juice and simple syrup until liquid. In a tall highball or collins glass, add the mint leaves and muddle with the handle of a wooden spoon, just enough to release the oils of the mint. Add 2 ounces of rum on top and fill glass with ice. Top it off with the strawberry watermelon mixture {strain out the pulp if you like} and a splash of club soda; stir well and garnish.

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Source:  http://deepsouthdish.com

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Root Beer Glazed Drumsticks

From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish
Published: July 1, 2010

I have been wanting to get a root beer glaze up for awhile and finally got around to it - just in time for the 4th! You can use whatever chicken parts you prefer, drumsticks just happen to be my most favorite part of the chicken - so juicy, tender, and full of flavor, especially with a brine.

I wrote the recipe using Barq's root beer in the bottle - as in glass bottle, not plastic bottle - because frankly I grew up on it and think that it is the best root beer there is. I realize some of you will dispute this. I also realize it's not likely available except for down here, and believe me, it's getting a bit hard to come by in the bottle even here anymore.  Substitute your favorite root beer.

Knowing that the root beer reduction would be pretty sweet and would only be used as a quick mop at the end, I went ahead and did a dry rub also to sort of counter that sweetness a bit.  I just did not let it dry marinade but about 30 minutes, though longer would certainly be fine. They melded together well and I was very pleased with the outcome.

Directions here are written for a gas grill, because that is my tool of choice, so adjust as needed for yours. You'll want to cook it until juices run clear when pierced and the internal temperature registers about 165/170 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Enjoy!

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Root Beer Glazed Drumsticks
From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

Brine:

4.5 pound package of chicken drumsticks
Just under a gallon of water
6 tablespoons kosher salt
6 tablespoons granulated sugar

Whisk together the salt and sugar with the water until dissolved. Place chicken into a zipper bag and pour the brine over, seal, set in a container and refrigerate for two hours. Drain, rinse well, and pat dry.

Rub:

1/4 cup of paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Slap Ya Mama, or your favorite
   Cajun/Creole seasoning, or to taste, optional

Mix together the rub ingredients and rub all over the chicken. Loosely cover and let sit in refrigerator until needed, or at least 30 minutes.

Barq's Root Beer Glaze:

1/2 bottle of Barq's, or your favorite
   root beer (roughly a cup)
1/2 cup of light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup of ketchup
1 tablespoon of BBQ sauce
2 tablespoons of pepper jelly or other jam/jelly
1 teaspoon of spicy mustard

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until reduced and thickened.  Hold over very low heat until needed. 

For the Gas Grill:  Preheat grill 10 minutes with all burners on high.  Oil the grates and sear the chicken over direct heat on high, about a half minute per side. Turn all but one burner down to medium/medium low and move the chicken to the cooler part of the grill.  Grill a total of about 20 minutes, or until juices run clear when pierced, and the internal temperature registers about 165/170 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Turn a quarter turn about every 5 minutes while cooking and brush with the warm glaze the last 5 minutes or so of cooking.

Can also be baked at 350 degrees for about 40 to 45 minutes or until done, turning often.

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Source:  http://deepsouthdish.com

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