Creamy Gumbo Potato Salad

A scoop of creamy potato salad, nestled into a bowl of gumbo.

Gumbo Potato Salad

The second you saw Gumbo Potato Salad as the title of this post you probably thought one of two things. You knew exactly what I was talking about or you thought I'd gone and lost my mind.  Don't worry. The Cajun himself looked at me like I had two heads, and I'm pretty sure that it was the same look I had the first time I saw a guy I was dating put a scoop of potato salad in his gumbo.

This "gumbo" potato salad, unlike the more common and chunkier Southern Style Potato Salad, has no eggs or pickles and is mostly mashed. It's perfect for eating with gumbo, whether you scoop it right into the gumbo bowl, or serve it on the side.  Some folks like it that way with red beans too.  While the concept is pretty much a regional thing, if you live down in this part of The Deep South, you either grew up with your family putting potato salad in their gumbo, or else it's totally foreign to you. If you come from the latter, you can find recipes or references in several popular Louisiana cookbooks including Donald Link's Real Cajun, Time-Picayune's Cooking up a Storm, and John Besh's My New Orleans, to name a few.

My mother in law actually makes her regular potato salad more on the creamy side like this anyway, though she does include the eggs and pickles, and a bit more mayonnaise and mustard than I do. Adjust those ingredients as you like them. 

Whatever you do, don't stir the potato salad into the gumbo! It is intended to be served freshly made, even just a little bit warm, and scooped right in the bowl. You eat it by taking a bit of the potato salad on a spoon, and then dip the spoon into the gumbo. Use an ice cream or cookie scoop to scoop it right into the gumbo, with or without rice, whatever you choose, or simply serve the potato salad in a dish on the side.

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Southern Iced Tea with pineapple, orange & lemon juice

Southern Fruit Iced Tea

From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish
Published: February 25, 2011

Southern Iced Tea made with pineapple juice, orange juice and lemon juice - and a touch of cherry juice, if you're so inclined. Now if that doesn't scream spring, I don't know what does! Okay, yeah. I know I'm a little early. And, I know we are technically still in the winter season, yes, even down here, but this little taste of spring weather that we have experienced in the past couple of weeks has had me in the mood for ushering in springtime. It's a short lived season down here anyway, but one of my favorite times of the year.

Even though this winter has been uncharacteristically cold even for The Deep South, except for those rare occasions where bringing out the cocoa is more appropriate, southerners drink iced tea pretty much year round to be honest. Fruited iced tea is a favorite and most recipes do include some combination of orange, pineapple and lemon juices, though there are variations.  I like this combination when made with my iced tea concentrate, and when I have a jar of Maraschino cherries in the fridge, I like to add a bit of the juice too.

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 1/2 gallon (8 servings)

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Southern Fruit Iced Tea
From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

One batch of Deep South Dish Iced Tea Concentrate
1 cup of granulated sugar*
1/2 cup of pineapple juice
1/2 cup of orange juice
Juice of one lemon
1/8 cup of cherry juice, optional
Lemon, orange or pineapple slices and/or Maraschino
   cherries, for garnish

Make one basic recipe of my iced tea (I do 5 tea bags, 4 cups water, steeped 5 minutes), except after steeping the tea, squeeze tea bags and remove, and set the tea aside to cool slightly. To a 2-quart pitcher, add the warm tea concentrate and stir in the 1 cup of sugar until dissolved. Add the pineapple juice, orange juice, lemon juice and cherry juice. Fill the pitcher with ice, top off with water, only if needed, to fill the pitcher, stir and serve. Garnish with a slice of fruit and a cherry, if desired.

Double to make a gallon

Note: Keep in mind that different brands of juices have different levels of sweetness so you may need to make adjustments in the additional sugar.

Source: http://deepsouthdish.com

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Mint Iced Tea
Strawberry Iced Tea
Spring Sangria

Images and Content ©2011 Mary Foreman/Deep South Dish. All rights reserved.
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Chicken Fried Chicken with Southern Peppered Milk Gravy

Similar to our beloved southern fried chicken, a boneless, skinless chicken breast is pounded thin, dredged in flour and fried. Served with a drizzle of creamy milk gravy made from some of the pan drippings, it is truly good ole comfort food.

Chicken Fried Chicken

Sounds a little silly doesn't it?  I mean fried chicken is just, well, fried chicken, how could it be a chicken fried chicken? Right?  A Facebook reader posed that very oddity when I mentioned I was making Chicken Fried Chicken for Sunday supper.  It really just refers to the preparation - a method similar to chicken fried steak - and, what sets it apart from traditional bone-in fried chicken. For this dish, a boneless, skinless chicken breast is pounded flat, sort of like a schnitzel, then dredged in flour and fried. Then, like it's kissing cousin, it is served with a drizzle of creamy milk gravy made from some of the pan drippings. Good ole southern comfort indeed.

One advantage to the huge chicken breasts that you find in the stores today is that once you pound them out, you can usually get two cutlets out of one breast.  You're not tenderizing here, so all you need is a simple rubber mallet, the flat side of a tenderizer, or even a simple rolling pin to pound the thicker part of the breast flat. Once flattened and cut, season the chicken on both sides with a light sprinkling of Cajun seasoning.

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Homemade Crunch and Munch Caramel Nut Popcorn

A wonderful popcorn treat that is delicious made fresh at home - popcorn tossed in a buttery caramel toffee coating with your favorite nuts, what is not to love about that?!

Homemade Crunch and Munch

Way more than Cracker Jack, way more than dark Caramel Corn, Butter Toffee Popcorn - or more specifically Crunch and Munch - has always been my love. What sets Butter Toffee apart from Caramel Corn? I don't really know! I know a lot of people simply call this Caramel Corn, but to me Caramel Corn has a much deeper, richer molasses flavor and is darker in color. Butter Toffee popcorn, is more brown sugar buttery, and lighter in color than Caramel Corn to me. But, that's just me, because The Cajun just calls this Caramel Corn. I can tell you one thing that we agree on about it. It is addictive!

Okay, so it's true there's a little work behind this snack, and yes, it makes a mess that requires you soak a few pots too, but it is so very worth it. Some recipes add baking soda and vanilla, but I don't know why, and I really don't find the recipe needs either. I also know that some people make this using bags of microwave popcorn, but I have kinda gotten into the habit of popping corn fresh on the stove top and really enjoy the whole process. To me, it just tastes better, plus I like adding in my own real, pure butter right into the cooking process too. Besides, there was that whole microwave popcorn health scare thing. Oh you didn't know about that? Me either, well, not until after the fact anyway, but that's a whole 'nother post.

If you prefer to skip that step, you can certainly substitute microwave popcorn. Most standard size microwave popcorn brands will yield somewhere between 3-1/2 to 5 cups of popcorn, so you would need somewhere around 4 bags. One-half cup of raw popcorn kernels will yield about 4 quarts (16 cups) of popped popcorn, so you can see as with most packaged products, it is much more economical to use raw kernels.

This recipe makes what I consider to be one batch, meaning it pops well in my smallest stainless Dutch oven, the pot that I like to use for popcorn. It's  about 4-1/2 quarts in size. Certainly do as many batches as you like! I'm not gonna say how many we went through over the weekend.

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Shrimp and Sausage cooked in a spicy tomato, roux and trinity enhanced sauce, and served on a bed of Garlic Cheese Grits.

Gulf Coast Shrimp and Grits

Grits are a southern dish for sure, and though classic Shrimp and Grits is more of a Low Country Southern dish, than it is a Deep South Coastal dish - don't y'all know we sure took it up down here too!

Grits are a perfect southern side dish with eggs for breakfast no doubt, but we certainly bring them out of pantry for other meals down here too. Eggs in Purgatory makes a perfectly good dish for brunch or even for supper, as does Grits and Grillades and here, Shrimp and Grits.

Now, some southerners get all stuffy about grits. I personally don't care whether they are stone-ground grits, quick cooking grits or what, I love me some grits. Good ole Jim Dandy quick cooking grits are perfectly good enough for this gal that they grace my pantry regularly, so that's what I used here. Go right on ahead and whip up some stone ground grits if you prefer. For this dish I'm also using my regular stovetop Garlic Cheese Grits, with cheddar cheese, since cheddar is also a fridge staple. Feel free to use your favorite cheese instead.

For my Shrimp and Grits recipe, I keep it pretty simple, incorporating the elements The Trinity with a very small roux, add in some spicy Andouille sausage, or just regular smoked sausage if you prefer, some Cajun seasoning, and a bit of tomato. Fresh tomatoes are perfect when at their peak, but a can of regular diced tomatoes are perfectly delicious too, and, if you like, use a can of Rotel to bring up the heat level further. The hardest part of this dish is having all of the ingredients ready to go, so put the practice of mise en place in place before you start cooking.

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A creamy chicken soup that uses strips of flour tortillas as a dumpling.

Chicken Dumplin' Soup

How can you not love a soup that is called Chicken Dumplin' Soup? I mean really!

When we were chatting one day over on the Facebook page about Chicken and Dumplings, or more specifically, drop dumplings versus rolled dumplings, one of the readers there mentioned using tortillas as her dumplings. When I ran across this recipe for soup and saw that it used tortillas for dumplings, I knew I had to try it. Boy am I glad that I did. It is downright yummy y'all!

The recipe was adapted from a cookbook called Bless Your Heart: Saving the World One Covered Dish at a Time, by Patsy Caldwell. I mean, how can you not love a cookbook with a name like that either?!

This is a southern cookbook that focuses on the one thing we southerners know for sure. That food is for much more than just eating. As the author notes, it is also for showing concern, expressing sympathy and sharing excitement.  Food gives us the chance to show that we care, and that is shared in any number of familiar potluck recipes that we prepare, over and over again.

If you've ever been on the receiving or the giving end of the funeral food circuit, and if you're a southerner you certainly have, then you'll recognize many of the recipes in this cookbook for that one reason alone. Caldwell covers a wide range of other occasions that we also cook for too though, whether its church potlucks, tending to the sick, family reunions, party time, book clubs, festivals, tailgating and good ole comfort foods - you'll find recipes suitable for each occasion here in this wonderful cookbook.  I absolutely adore it! This recipe for Chicken Dumplin' Soup falls under the category of "Tending the Sick - Food for What Ails You," because, everybody knows, that's a perfect occasion for a pot of chicken soup.

Super, super easy to throw together too. Let's make it!

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Favorite Menu Ideas for Sunday Supper Meals

Spaghetti Daube, Old Fashioned Pot Roast, Grits and Grillades, Smothered Pork Roast with Rice, Coca Cola Ham, Shrimp Sauce Piquant, Cajun Courtbouillon, Garlic Roasted Chicken, Baked Ziti - my Collection of Main Dish Favorites for Sunday Suppers

Sunday Suppers in the south are a big deal - or at least there was a time when they sure used to be.  Supper was on the table at a certain time, and everybody, without exception was expected to be there.  It was a time when the good china, and the manners, came out. It was a time when the family all gathered together in one spot and shared a meal and conversation about their life, their week, their plans and their dreams.

Some of you call it Sunday dinner, but whatever you call it, it was considered the main meal of the day on Sunday, most often served earlier than the usual weeknight dinner, usually somewhere between 1 and 3 in the afternoon.

Even in the south though, I'm afraid that Sunday Supper has taken a back seat to the busyness of life, but I sure wish it would experience a revival. I think in this age of technology, we all need that time to unplug and reconnect as human beings with one another, and face to face... not on Facebook, or email, or through cell phone texting, but in real live conversation.

So put all that technology away for an hour or so, strictly ban it from the table, and gather everybody together for Sunday Supper again. While the family may be resistant and even awkward at first, I think you'll be pleased with the results in the long run.

These are just a few of my favorite possibilities for Sunday Supper Main Dishes, plus two of my favorite homemade rolls. Generally they are meals that take a little more time to put together, to cook, or maybe require an ingredient or two that keep them from being a regular on the weeknight dinner table.

Be sure to check back as I'll continually be adding to the list!

What's your favorite meal for Sunday Supper?

Sunday Supper Menu Ideas

Beef

Oven Braised Chuck Roast with Potatoes and Carrots

Spaghetti Daube with Creole Gravy

Creole Pan Seared Meatloaf with Tomato Gravy

Oven Braised Beef Brisket

Old Fashioned Pot Roast

Oven Roasted Beef Rump Roast

Oven Braised Beef Eye of Round Roast

Cajun Beef & Pork Boulettes with Brown Sauce

Grits and Grillades

Sunday Gravy - Spaghetti and Homemade Meatballs

Pork

Slow Cooker Pork Roast with Vegetables

Smothered Pork Roast with Rice

Sage Pork Roast with Apple Pan Sauce

Roast Pork with Spicy Sweet Onion Sauce

Brown Sugar Glazed Coca Cola Ham

Seafood

Shrimp Sauce Piquant

Eggplant Josephine

Cajun Courtbouillon

Shrimp Creole

Seafood & Okra Gumbo with Shrimp, Crab & Oysters

Shrimp and Crab Stuffed Mirlitons

Chicken and Turkey

Pot Roasted Chicken with Bacon, Onion and Potatoes
Baked Chicken with Creamy Almond Sauce
Southern Fried Chicken

Oven Roasted Hen or Turkey with Buttery Pan Sauce

Lemon Roasted Chicken



Chicken and Gravy

Garlic Roasted Chicken with Vegetables

Roasted Stuffed Boneless Turkey Breast

Rotisserie Style Sticky Chicken

Oven Baked Cajun Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

Slow Cooker

Italian Pot Roast

Coca Cola Roast Beef

Slow Cooker Pork Roast with Vegetables

Sunday Casseroles

Southernized Baked Ziti

Baked Spaghetti

Southern Chicken and Cornbread Dressing

Mama's Lasagna - Coming Soon!

Bread

Old Fashioned Yeast Rolls

Homemade French Pistolette Rolls

Desserts

Southern Banana Pudding with Homemade Custard

Moon Pie Banana Pudding

Mama's Red Velvet Cake

German Chocolate Cake

Perfect Southern Pound Cake

Apple Dapple Cake with Maple Glaze

Strawberry Cake with Coconut and Pecan

Southern Caramel Cake

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Cane Syrup Glazed Sriracha Hot Wings

Sriracha Hot Wings glazed with Steen's pure cane syrup

Sriracha Hot Wings

From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish
Published: February 11, 2011

Y'all know how I love my wings, so they certainly were destined for the Super Bowl menu this past weekend. I decided I wanted to try something a little different though and pulled together this Cane Syrup Glazed Sriracha Hot Wings recipe. I wanted something with a sweet and spicy mix to it, so decided to try some pure cane syrup with Sriracha sauce, instead of Louisiana hot sauce. Don't be frightened by the 1/4 cup of Sriracha. Though these wings absolutely have some heat to them, the sweetness of the pure cane syrup really does help to balance it out.

Instead of cooking these on a rack like I often do with wings, I decided to let them soak in the spicy, sugary sauce as they cooked. Glad I did. After turning them several times, they glazed beautifully. Similar to my Sticky Sweet and Spicy Wings, if you like those, I think you'll like these too.

Hey, and in case you didn't notice, I actually did take the time to segment these. Finger-licking good y'all and we sure enjoyed them. They'd make a great addition to any party, including those upcoming Mardi Gras festivities. Enjoy!

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Cane Syrup Glazed Sriracha Hot Wings
From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

4 to 5 pound package of chicken wings
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
1/2 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter
1 cup pure cane syrup (like Steen's)*
1/4 cup of Sriracha hot chili sauce, or to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Disjoint the wings if desired, and reserve tips for homemade stock, or leave the wings whole if you like.  Place wings fat side down on a baking sheet. Season wings with salt, pepper and a light sprinkling of garlic powder; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the syrup and Sriracha sauce; cook over low heat until loosened.

Using a brush, dab the sauce on the wings and then turn them. Try to avoid brushing since you'll brush off the seasoning. Season the other side of the wings with salt, pepper and garlic powder and dab with the sauce. Bake on the lower rack of the oven at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove, turn, dab additional sauce on the top and return to the oven for 10 minutes longer.

Remove the wings and increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees.  Turn the wings and dab with additional sauce on the top and return to the oven, but on the middle rack. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.  Remove, dab with sauce; brushing up sauce from the pan. Turn, dab, and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes or until done. Remove and turn wings to coat and plate.

Tip:  When using any kind of syrup, spray a glass or metal measuring cup with non-stick spray and the syrup will usually slide right out.

*Note:  Can substitute another brand of cane syrup, pure maple syrup, sorghum syrup, or even some molasses, loosened with a bit of corn syrup.

Source:  http://deepsouthdish.com

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Louisiana Hot Wings
Spicy Barbecued Wings
Buffalo Style Hot Wings

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Pretzel S'mores for Valentine's Day

Pretzel S'mores with Valentine's Sprinkles

I wish I could say that this idea for Pretzel S'mores was my brainchild, and though the recipe method is mine and completely different from the original, the idea came from a Rold Gold pretzel ad I saw while thumbing through a copy of Sunset Magazine in a waiting room.

Since mini pretzel twists are kind of like little heart shapes, I thought these would make the cutest Valentine's Day project for the kids too, so just like the Rolo Pretzel Turtles, grab your little sous chefs to help with making these treats. Though you will want to handle topping these when they come out of the oven, they can certainly help with unwrapping chocolates, counting out or lining up pretzels, setting up the mini marshmallows, and even adding the sprinkles at the end.

Just like the Pretzel Turtles, these are easy too. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line up the pretzels on a parchment lined baking sheet and top them with a small piece of plain milk chocolate. I had some leftover mini Hershey bars and solid mini eggs hanging around from the holidays, so that's what I used. The mini Hershey bars have four segments, each of which fit nicely on the pretzel.  Hershey kisses would also work great, or whatever solid, small-sized milk chocolate you have on hand.

Set aside the same number of pretzels for topping and gather up 3 mini marshmallows for every pretzel, then squeeze each set so that they sort of stick together; set those aside. If your marshmallows are really fresh, they may not be all that sticky. Just set them up together in groups of three.

Place the baking sheet with the pretzels on it in the preheated 350 degree oven for about 1 to 1-1/2 minutes, just until chocolate has softened. These are the little egg shaped chocolates that I cut in half. They worked great!

Once you remove the pretzels from the oven, turn on the broiler. Immediately press the marshmallows into the top of the melted chocolate.

Place the baking sheet under the broiler, and keeping the oven door ajar, toast the tops of the marshmallows. This will only take a minute or less, so keep an eye on them!

Remove the pan and holding the reserved pretzels by the sides, immediately and carefully press it down onto the top of the browned marshmallow. Let cool, then drizzle tops with melted chocolate, sprinkle top with grated chocolate, and add sprinkles if desired.

They kinda do look like little hearts don't they? Pile a few in small cellophane gift bags, tie them with some pretty red or pink ribbon, and I think they'd make a very nice favor or gift for Valentine's Day!

Of course, you don't have to sprinkle them for Valentine's Day - you can make these for any day! Here are a few where I simply grated chocolate over the top of the hot marshmallow, though it will stick better with a drizzle of some melted chocolate first, or you could also drizzle, and then add some plain chocolate sprinkles. Have fun with it!

Pretzel S'mores with Grated Chocolate

Omit the oven process entirely by following the original recipe. Pipe melted chocolate onto the holes of the pretzel, by melting 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave or in a double boiler. Cool slightly and use a zipper bag to pipe, then let cool. Dab each pretzel with marshmallow cream on top, instead of using toasted mini-marshmallows, and top with a pretzel. I found the oven method and mini marshmallows to be easier.

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Pretzel S'mores
From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

Butter snap, waffle or mini pretzel twists
Mini Hershey bars
Mini marshmallows
Melted chocolate or almond bark, to drizzle
Grated chocolate, for garnish, optional
Sprinkles, for garnish, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Line up as many pretzels as you want on the paper. Grab three mini marshmallows for each pretzel and line those up, gently smashing them together; set aside in groups of three if they won't stick together. Unwrap the mini Hershey bars and break the bars into four individual squares, placing one square on top of each pretzel. If using kisses, set them on the pretzel pointed side up. Place into the preheated oven for about 1 to 1-1/2 minutes, or just until chocolate is softened. Line up an equal number of pretzels for the top in the meantime.

Remove pretzels from oven and turn the oven to broil. Work quickly to carefully press one group of three mini marshmallows into each softened chocolate square. Return tray to the oven under the broiler, with the oven door ajar, for only about a minute or less, just until the tops of marshmallows are lightly browned. Keep an eye on them!

Remove and immediately and carefully press the reserved pretzels on top. Let cool slightly, then drizzle melted chocolate on top, sprinkle top with grated chocolate, and/or add sprinkles if desired. Set aside to cool. Stack in small gift cellophane bags and tie with a ribbon for gift giving.

Note: Can substitute Hershey kisses, or any small sized, solid milk chocolate for the mini Hershey bars.

Source: http://deepsouthdish.com

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Saltine Cracker Candy
Rolo Pretzel Turtles
Rocky Road Squares
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Dianne's Italian Sausage and Peppers - Featured Reader

Dianne's Italian Sausage and Peppers

I am humbled every day by the membership over on our Facebook page. They are a great group of people, willing to help another reader at the drop of a hat, when someone is in search of a recipe that I don't have up at the site. There are some incredibly talented cooks over there too, many of whom are more than willing to share their tried and true, favorite, and sometimes heritage, family recipes. There are a lot of great recipes that show up exclusively on the Facebook page, some even award-winners, so if you haven't joined us over there yet, you should!

While Deep South Dish has been centered primarily around sharing my own southern recipes, I also want to honor our members and bring some of their recipes outside of the pages of Facebook and email. I decided to start a feature honoring you and your recipes, because bottom line, this site and it's sister Facebook page, are really all about you and us sharing recipes with each other, so that they continue to live on.  If you're a reader here or a Facebook fan and would be interested in being a featured reader here on Deep South Dish, please email me for the details. Really all it requires, is your recipe, a couple of pictures and a bit about you and how the recipe came to be a favorite. That's it!  Dianne Ledet has offered to join us here as our first reader feature. Enjoy!

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Hi! My name is Dianne and I am a lifelong Houstonian, having been born and raised in Houston, Texas, where I still live with my retired Cajun husband.  I have three grown children and three beautiful granddaughters. My husband and I are big sports fans, who love the Houston Astros, Rockets and Texans, and... Auburn football! 

I still work full time and while I do love to cook and I enjoy the recipes here at Deep South Dish, I also love recipes with shortcuts – like this one – that I can fix in a snap when I get home after a long day at work.  This recipe for Italian Sausage and Peppers is a re-creation of a favorite from a local Italian restaurant in my hometown. It's one of those incredibly tasty, but super easy recipes, that can be put together quickly.

I use two packages of Italian sausage links and prefer to use one sweet Italian sausage and one hot Italian sausage.

Slice the sausage links about 1/2-inch thick, and place them in a large skillet. Cook, stirring often, until sausage is evenly browned.  Add 1 to 2 medium onions cut into strips, using however much you like, and cook until they are translucent.

Stir in three cups Marinara sauce. I like to use the Buitoni fresh marinara sauce found in the refrigerated section, but Paul Newman’s marinara sauce is also great.

Bring the mixture to a boil and then lower heat to simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Stir in four large green bell peppers, that have been cored, seeded, and cut in strips. Cook for an additional 10 minutes and that folks, is it!

Serve with crusty Italian or French bread. Pillsbury makes a good one that is usually found in the store next to the biscuits and dinner rolls.

Buon appetito! 

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Dianne's Italian Sausage and Peppers
From the Kitchen of Dianne Diffey Ledet

2 packages link Italian sausage (one sweet, one hot)
1-2 medium onions, cut in strips
4 large green bell peppers, cored, seeded, cut in strips
3 cups Marinara sauce
Loaf of crusty Italian or French bread

Slice sausage links about 1/2-inch thick. Place sausage in a large skillet and cook, stirring often, until sausage is evenly browned.  Add onion strips and cook until onions are translucent.

Stir in marinara, bring to a boil and then lower heat to simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Stir in peppers and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Serve with crusty bread.

Source: http://deepsouthdish.com

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Sausage with Rigatoni in Tomato Cream Sauce
Southern Beef and Sausage Goulash
Southernized Baked Ziti

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Thank you Dianne for sharing your delicious recipe and your beautiful photographs, and for agreeing to be our first Reader Feature!
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The Ultimate Jalapeno Chicken Poppers - A Bacon Wrapped Chicken Appetizer

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin tenders, then pounded and stuffed with a cream cheese, cheddar cheese, jalapeno popper blend and rolled, dabbed with barbecue sauce, wrapped in bacon and finished with a sprinkle of brown sugar. 

Jalapeno Chicken Popper

If you're looking for the ultimate appetizer, I think that you'll love these Bacon Wrapped Chicken Poppers.  They are a bit labor intensive, but simply delicious and a fantastic finger food addition for your party. Inspired by Warren's Chicken Bites in Trisha Yearwood's cookbook Home Cooking, I decided to take bacon wrapped chicken a little bit further. Basically, I married my Fried Jalapeno Poppers with my Spicy Sweet Bacon Wrapped Chicken to create this Jalapeno Chicken Popper.

First I decided to brine the chicken breasts in a salt water solution to help keep them moist and tender. Once you cut up chicken into smaller pieces, it tends to kind of dry out more when you cook it so I thought the brine would help with that. Pat them dry. Cut the breasts into four tenders and then cut those in half, for a total of about 8 slices per breast. Pound the strips thin.

Click Here to Read More & to Get Recipe »

3 Envelope Crockpot Roast Beef Sliders with Caramelized Onion

Make Meal #1 of this 3 Envelope Roast a traditional supper of roast & mashed potatoes and Meal #2 can feature these yummy sliders made with caramelized onion and Swiss cheese on toasted buns.

Three Envelope Crockpot Roast Beef

A well loved recipe, this Three Envelope Roast could possibly be the easiest roast recipe ever. Made with one envelope of dry onion soup mix, one envelope of dry Italian dressing mix, and one envelope of dry brown gravy mix and a little bit of water - dump it all in a crockpot and that, folks, is it!

One of our Facebook readers reminded me of this roast recently, and it'd been awhile since I'd made one. With the big game around the corner, I thought it'd be a flavorful roast to use to make some roast beef sliders.

Just as I was about to put this roast in the crockpot, the doorbell rang and the UPS guy handed me a box containing samples of Pace Picante Sauce, courtesy of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program. I wondered if adding picante sauce to this already flavorful roast could possibly transform it even further. In case you missed it, the other jar was used to make a terrific Picante Shrimp Dip, using some leftover shrimp from the New Orleans Style BBQ Shrimp I had just made. The dip was amazing and I loved the added flavor from the Pace Picante Sauce.

Click Here to Read More & to Get Recipe »

Charleston Cheese Dip, made with cream cheese, cheddar and swiss cheeses, bacon, jalapeno, green onion, and topped with panko & bacon.

Charleston Cheese Dip

I was poking around in my Trisha Yearwood Home Cooking cookbook again, and ran across this recipe for her Charleston Cheese Dip. Trisha said it was her take on a dip she had while on tour one year with a stop in Charleston.

Hotels generally leave amenity baskets for celebrities in their rooms and this time, the basket was accompanied by a cheese and cracker tray featuring this cheese dip, made from Cheddar, Monterey Jack and cream cheese, and topped with bacon. A super cheesy dip? With bacon? Oh yeah, y'all know this dip lovin' gal is so there, and what an excellent addition to the dip collection, especially with the Super Bowl right around the corner.

By the way, if you're still looking for some great menu ideas and party foods for game day, check out my Football Party Food and Best of the Best Super Bowl Party Food Menu idea pages. It's a Super Collection of links to my very own tried and true game day snacks, appetizers and main dish recipes and all in one spot. Check it out!

Click Here to Read More & to Get Recipe »

Southern BBQ Pork Brunswick Stew

Ingredients have varied over the years, often using chicken or like here, leftover pork, but one thing is certain, and that is, no matter the region of The South, Brunswick Stew is a southern favorite.

BBQ Pork Brunswick Stew

This Barbecue Pork Brunswick Stew was one of the recipes I had in mind when I bought that 9-pound pork shoulder recently. I started with a wonderful Spicy BBQ Crockpot Pulled Pork, but already had a couple of planned leftovers meals in mind from that one meal, and this was one of them. Now before I start, let me say I don't lay any claim to this being an "authentic" version of Brunswick stew. I'm not from the Brunswick area, so it's just my interpretation.

Truth is, there are many forms of Brunswick Stew these days, though Brunswick County, Virginia lays claim to the original, dating back to to 1828 when a camp cook for Dr. Creed Haskings, a Virginia State Legislator, created it in a large iron pot on one of Dr. Haskings hunting trips. The original stew was very simple, consisting of only squirrel meat, onion, a few seasonings and stale bread. (No squirrels were harmed in the making of my stew y'all! ;) A debate was stirred, however, when Brunswick, Georgia laid claim to the invention of this very same stew.

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The plaque on the pot situated in Georgia, states that "the first Brunswick stew was made here in the Brunswick - Golden Isles area in early Colonial days," said to be July 2, 1898, clearly after the first record of the Virginia Brunswick stew.  Other Georgians dispute that claim, however, saying that the first Brunswick stew was actually cooked in 1771, not 1898, under the direction of Gen. James Oglethorpe, the state's founder - well before the Virginia claim. The Virginia General Assembly attempted to put the debate to rest by issuing an official proclamation in January of 1988 that cited Brunswick County, Virginia as "the original home of Brunswick stew," but... I hear that Brunswick County North Carolina has a claim on this stew also.

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Sounds like any other good ole southern rivalry to me. This one runs deep enough, however, that there is actually a friendly competition held every year around October to determine the ultimate Stewmaster Champion, with many other mini-competitions that lead up to it. 

The ingredients have varied over the years since the original of course, with chicken generally replacing squirrel, or sometimes rabbit, and the addition of vegetables, but one thing is certain, and that is, no matter the region of The South, Brunswick Stew is a southern favorite. I decided to go with leftover pork this time.

Somewhere along the line, barbecued meats and sauce made it's way into Brunswick Stew, I'm guessing that it's because Brunswick Stew is often a staple dish served at barbecue cookouts, so some clever cook thought to combine the two, probably after having a bit of both leftover. It's entirely possible that barbecue joints had something to do with that, needing a way to recycle barbecue leftover from the day before. Today a Barbecue Brunswick Stew might include barbecued chicken, beef, or pork, or even a combination of all three. A smokey barbecue sauce is usually added to the stew, for some people a little, for others a lot. I found a cup to be about perfect for me.

Since I had planned this stew for some pork leftover from the Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork, it seemed natural to start off with a bit of bacon - as if I need an excuse. Most traditional Brunswick Stew recipes aren't very likely to contain bacon and probably not The Trinity either, but y'all so know I'm gonna totally go there, don't ya?

Then we add in some tomatoes - I used stewed here, but you could use canned whole tomatoes and break them up, or use canned diced tomatoes. When tomatoes are in season, certainly use those. Let the tomatoes simmer for about 10 minutes before adding in 3 cups of chicken stock or broth.

Three diced potatoes are added in with the stock at the same time, brought up to a boil, and then allowed to simmer covered, for about 20 minutes.

Since canned goods are a pantry staple in this house, rather than the usual frozen vegetables, I decided to use canned tomatoes, corn, and beans as well. Thanks to the good folks at Allens sending me some coupons, I was able to use Allens products for my stew!

Okay the truth is, I already loved Allens products anyway - Sugary Sam's sweet potatoes, Veg-All mixed veggies, Popeye's spinach, Trappey's black-eyed peas, and of course all kinds of Allens vegetables and their newest line of Seasoned and Southern Seasoned vegetables. Open the doors of my pantry and it's a given that you'll find quite a few of those.

Allens is just a reliable and tasty canned product that I have loved for years, and I am happy to share them with y'all, but it was mighty nice of them to reward me for being a loyal consumer of their stuff. Besides, you gotta love a company where "serving up memories" is their motto!  Food. Family. Memories y'all.

Add in the corn - I use both whole kernel and creamed, the green lima beans and the leftover barbecued pork. You can certainly use a commercial barbecued canned or frozen pork if you don't happen to have any leftover. In fact, you can also add in some barbecued chicken and beef too if ya like!

Stir in the pork and add some barbecue sauce.

And let it all warm through. Easy. Simple. Delicious. And perfect for this upcoming blizzard.

Allens is family owned and operated and is 100% U.S. grown and distributed y'all, so be sure to pop by their site and check out their line of canned and frozen products and grab some great recipes too while you're there. Many of their products are gluten free and kosher by the way. Stop by and take a peek at their Southern Kitchen too. You're bound to find some southern memories and classics you'll love.

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Recipe: Southern BBQ Pork Brunswick Stew

From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

Prep time: 15 min |Cook time: 30 min |

Yield: About 4 to 6 servings

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Ingredients

• 3 slices of bacon
• 1 cup of chopped onion
• 1/2 cup of chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup of chopped celery
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans of stewed or diced tomatoes, undrained
• 3 cups of chicken broth
• 3 potatoes (about a pound), peeled and diced
• 1 can of corn, drained
• 1 can of creamed corn, undrained
• 1 can of green lima beans, drained
• 3-4 cups of shredded BBQ pork
• 1 cup of smokey flavor barbecue sauce
• Couple dashes of hot sauce, optional
• Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions

Cut the bacon into a pot and saute until softened. Add the onion, bell pepper and celery and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the stewed tomatoes, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the chicken broth and potatoes, bring back up to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. To that add the corn, lima beans, barbecued pork, barbecue sauce and hot sauce. Simmer until everything is heated through. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Serve with some cornbread, a side of coleslaw and some southern iced tea and you have one mighty fine southern meal.

~Cook's Notes~

Variations: For Chicken Brunswick, stew a whole chicken along with some aromatics (onion, carrots, celery) and covered with water until done. Remove, reserving the broth and deboning the chicken. Proceed with the recipe substituting chicken for the pork, using the homemade chicken stock, and eliminate the barbecue sauce, if desired. Don't feel like stewing a chicken? Just pick up a rotisserie chicken and debone it.

Tip:  Can use leftover pork, or substitute an equal amount of canned or frozen commercial barbecue pork product. Be sure to include all of the sauce in the package. Can make BBQ Brunswick with a combination of pork, chicken and beef if desired. Can also substitute an equal amount of frozen corn and frozen lima or butterbeans, or use fresh, cooked vegetables.

Source: http://deepsouthdish.com

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Disclosure: Allens provided me with free product.

Posted by Mary on February 1, 2011

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