A New Orleans restaurant favorite, seasoned oysters and bacon are threaded on skewers, passed in a buttermilk egg wash and dredged in flour and fried. Serve with a lemon butter sauce, toast points and lemon wedges.

Oysters en Brochette

Laissez les bon temps rouler y'all!

Yep, Mardi Gras season is in full swing down here along the Gulf Coast and our first parades rolled on this weekend.

It is thought that this dish originated at Galatoire’s restaurant in New Orleans, though it initially is believed to have come from a Réveillon Christmas Eve dinner menu, though don't quote me on that! It may just be that Galatoire's is the only restaurant left that still serves it. Does make sense though as it's a bit fancy looking, isn't it? 

Still, amid the food and festivities of Mardi Gras, well, it really just fits in right here too.

This Boston butt begins with an overnight dry rub marinade, then cooks low and slow in your oven, producing a roasted exterior crusting with a beautifully tender pork. It's perfect to pull for sandwiches, or to use in other recipes like Piggy Mac, hot pork dips and pulled pork spaghetti.

Oven Roasted Pulled Pork

I reckon nothing makes a proQ'er crazier than home cook versions of pulled pork. Can't blame them really. A quality, authentic wood-smoked pulled pork takes a lot of time, love and attention. The finished product is certainly worthy of praise.

I'm pretty sure that I can speak for many of us home cooks when I say we would gladly take a plate of delicious pulled pork and burnt ends that someone slaved over and carefully monitored in a wood fired smoker all day long. We would be ultra-thrilled, but for us home cooks, as the saying goes ain't nobody got time (or patience) for that!

Okay, well some of you might. But I do not.

A rich baked spaghetti that includes spaghetti noodles mixed with sour cream, cottage cheese, eggs and cheese, topped with a meat sauce and finished with a layer of Cheddar, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

Million Dollar Baked Spaghetti

Million Dollar Spaghetti is another one of those baked casseroles that has been around for a long time, although, it's gotten some recent viral attention on TikTok in the last year.

Like I said in a previous post, with social media, all things old become new again!

Although I am not a TikTok user, or even a fan, I have to admit it is kinda cool to see old recipes getting a revival with some younger folks.

Great Northern beans, made easy cooked in the Instant Pot, seasoned with the trinity of southern vegetables and a little bacon for flavor, and served with pan seared or air fried smoked sausage.

Instant Pot Great Northern White Beans

Once upon a time, I didn't think I needed an air fryer. Until I got one.

And, I didn't think I wanted a pressure cooker either.

Like many of you, I had witnessed a disaster with one of those old-school, scary stovetop pressure cookers, when our dinner ended up on the ceiling instead of in our bellies, and boy was my Mama mad!

Nope. Never had an interest in going there.

So, I wasn't a whole lot interested in these newfangled ones either.

A long-held and well-loved casserole, made with chopped cabbage, onions, salt and pepper, and a classic southern combo of mayo and cream soup, topped with a buttery, cheesy cracker finish.

Cabbage Casserole

Any of y'all who have been around Deep South Dish for any length of time, know how much I love cabbage. I especially love the boiled or fried versions, which frankly, is what I make the most, even when my original intention when I bought a new head of cabbage was to write something new for the website!

What can I say?!

A hot bean dip made with blackeye peas, cheese, andouille sausage, tomatoes, onion and chopped pickled jalapeno in a cream cheese and sour cream base.

Cheesy Hot Black-eyed Pea Dip

When you say Black-eyed Pea Dip, most folks think about Texas Caviar, or what I call Southern Caviar because all across the south, we tend to have our own versions, like my Mississippi Style Texas Caviar. It's a type of bean salsa, usually made using some form of an Italian dressing as a base.

This is not that.

This is more of a basic bean dip but made with black-eye peas instead of the more often used pintos or white beans.

Slow Cooker Greens and Potlikker Soup

The flavors of a New Year's Day meal - pork, greens and blackeye peas - in a convenient soup, with a slow-stewed and concentrated, vitamin-enriched potlikker base. Serve with skillet cornbread to complete the meal.

New Year's Slow Cooker Greens and Potlikker Soup

Even though this is a good soup anytime, with New Year's around the corner, I wanted to prepare a true potlikker soup, meaning not a shortcut version like my Beans and Greens or Swamp Soup, both of which could technically qualify as a potlikker soup.

Instead, I wanted to prepare a more genuine homemade version using a long, slow stewing of the greens to form a solid potlikker from the greens. What better way to do that than with a slow cooker?

This is actually my first slow cooker recipe in awhile!

A tender brown sugar and pecan cookie widely known in South Louisiana as cocoons and very popular around the holidays. Pictured here with Pecan Crispies and Sugar and Spice Cookies.

Brown Sugar Cocoons

I'm sure you'll recognize these cookies as they are a holiday favorite, for sure!

These wonderful cookies are known by many names, mostly depending on how they are shaped. Some of the more familiar ones being fingers, ladyfingers, crescents, sand tarts, sand dabs, Mexican wedding cookies, Russian teacakes, Chinese tea cookies, butterfingers, petticoat tails, pecan dreams, snowballs, moon cookies, sandies and Italian wedding cookies, they are well-loved. I'm sure there are many other names they are known by around the world!

A traditional noodle pudding made with wide egg noodles in a sweetened egg custard sauce with cottage cheese and sour cream and finished with a buttery, brown sugar cornflake topping.

Sweet Noodle Pudding

I just want to first start this off by saying I am not Jewish.

I don't know a thing about traditional Jewish holiday meals or traditions.

I don't know what foods are most appropriate for certain occasions or when.

When I ran across this recipe for noodle pudding in the cookbook by Julie Albert and Lisa Gnat called Bite Me, I was fully skeptical, but I decided to give it a try,

A classic sugar cookie with the inclusion of spices, perfect for the holiday cookie tray.

Sugar and Spice Cookies

Certain spices just speak to the holidays don't they?

They make their way into a lot of baked goods during the season and just the aroma can stir up some memories of holidays past - those days we all seem to miss and long for in today's trying times.

Most spiced cookies use molasses though, and the flavor of molasses can be a bit overwhelming. I didn't really want that depth of flavor in these cookies. I was searching for a lighter sugar cookie with just a hint of the flavors of the holiday.