Cheeseballs make great party appetizers and the chipped beef version is exceptional. Made with dried beef, green onions, horseradish, Cajun seasoning, Worcestershire and parsley, then rolled in more dried beef and parsley.

Chipped Beef Cheese Ball

Okay y'all... we're going old school today, in the name of cheese balls and this cheese ball in particular! Along with the pineapple one, this has always been one of my favorites in the family of cheeseballs. I don't know why I got away from making them really, but I'm glad I got back to it. They make great party food!

Typically these were made with all of the chipped beef in the cheese ball, and finished with a roll in fresh chopped parsley, but I think that it looks nicer with some of the beef on the outside as well, and it's a pretty good indicator of what kind of cheese ball it is to your guests too.

Just remember, all cheese balls are best made 1 to 2 days in advance whenever possible to allow the flavors to all meld together, and they are also best when allowed to come to room temperature before serving too.

A near lost south Louisiana classic, calas are a flour and yeast fritter, made with cooked rice and flavored with sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Creole Calas (Rice Fritters)

I've certainly mentioned this before, but we eat a lot of rice here in the Deep South, and there's almost always some leftover. We have lots of ways to use that leftover rice (just click that link to see a few) including sweet things, like rice pudding and these sweet rice fritters, called calas.

A near lost classic, Calas hold a past in the city of New Orleans, though their origins date back more likely to Africa. In the French Quarter, Cala ladies would wrap fresh, piping hot Calas in towels and carry them in a covered bowl on top of their heads, hurrying to the streets to sell them, shouting "Calas, belles calas, tout chauds!"

Photo Credit: Times Picayune

 

A simple, tender and light, old-fashioned hot milk cake, but the real star here is the broiled, caramel and coconut topping.

Lazy Daisy Cake

Some of you will fondly remember this cake from your mother or grandmother's kitchen from long, long ago. Others of you likely have never heard of it.

Back in the day, dessert was as much a part of the supper plate as were meat and three, and this cake often made an appearance. Called Lazy Daisy Cake, and sometimes Busy Day Cake, because it is just simply so easy to throw together, it is really just a very basic, old fashioned, boiled milk pan cake.

The cake itself is wonderfully tender and light, but what sets it apart, is this lovely, crunchy, broiled caramel and coconut topping.

Old Fashioned Broccoli Salad with Bacon and Pecans

Old fashioned broccoli salad, made with red onion, celery, carrots, raisins, nuts and bacon, and a mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar dressing. Serve as is, over spoon over leaves of romaine lettuce.

Old Fashioned Broccoli Salad

This poor ole broccoli salad has been languishing around for me to showcase it on the blog forever. Very patience little green veggie. Truth is, while The Cajun won't even give it a fair run, broccoli is one of my favorite veggies. I love to eat it most just simply steamed to be honest, though I've been known to fry it on occasion too. What can I say?

This old fashioned, creamy, boiled dressing has a unique, tangy flavor that is excellent on coleslaw, potato salads and vegetable salads, like Old Fashioned Broccoli Salad.

Old Fashioned Southern Boiled Dressing

Another one of those classic heritage recipes, old fashioned boiled dressing has sort of fallen out of favor with the convenience of commercially bottled dressings. It's history was one of the common folk, dating back to the the time prior to the late 19th century, when only the wealthy were able to afford the finer cooking oils for fancy vinaigrettes and creamy dressings.

I guess you could say that it sort of falls somewhere between a hollandaise sauce and homemade mayonnaise, but with the familiar tangy, sweet and sour flavor we southerners love. It's one of my favorites and it really takes next to nothing to whip it together either. Despite the name, just like Boiled Drinking Custard, it should never actually be boiled, but only simmered slowly in a saucepan or in the top of a double boiler until thickened.

Most commonly used as dressing for pasta salads, potato salads or plain boiled potatoes, in coleslaw, in deviled eggs, drizzled over meats, or tossed in vegetable salads, like Broccoli Salad. It can also be thinned down with milk to make a fabulous salad dressing for lettuce wedges.

Copper Pennies Carrot Salad - Sweet and Sour Carrots

Copper Pennies, an old fashioned chilled carrot salad, made with thinly sliced carrots, sweet onion and sweet bell pepper, soaked in a sweet and sour vinegar marinade made with canned tomato soup.

Copper Pennies Carrot Salad

Just like pineapple, we southerners also love our sweet and sour dishes.

From salads, to green beans, to pickles, that combination of flavor has long been a southern favorite and Copper Penny Carrots are another dish that falls into that category. Named so because they resemble pennies, it is a cold marinated salad of thinly sliced vegetables - carrots, sweet onion and sweet bell pepper - tossed and left to marinade in a hot, sweet and sour mixture of tomato, vinegar and seasonings.

Also known as bronze pennies, they are as fabulous as a holiday side as they are at a barbecue, and perfect for the Easter table.

Old Fashioned Baked Pineapple Casserole

 

Old School Baked Pineapple Casserole, a favorite holiday side dish in the south, made with the unlikely combination of pineapple layered with crushed Ritz crackers and shredded cheddar cheese. Somehow it works!

Baked Pineapple Casserole

We southerners sure love our pineapple dishes. From sweet to savory and everywhere in between, we enjoy it in a multitude of dishes, and this is one of the oldest. Another one of those tasty dishes that doesn't really photograph all that pretty, and, at first glance, certainly seems an unlikely and odd combination of ingredients to pair together.

Like its southern sisters Watergate Salad, 5 Cup Salad, and Old Fashioned Cherry Coke Salad, it's also another one of those difficult to place recipes in a menu listing - but, indeed, it is intended to be a side dish, and not a dessert.

Grandma's Old Fashioned Boiled Custard Recipe and Eggnog Base

A heirloom recipe, Old Fashioned Boiled "Drinking" Custard, was once used regularly as a simple drink meant to sooth the sick. It's a rich and creamy beverage, just like Grandma used to make, delicious anytime and an excellent base for homemade eggnog.

Old Fashioned Drinking Custard

Looking for the best eggnog recipe? Well, look no further than old fashioned boiled custard, because that is the beginnings of a most excellent eggnog. I'm pretty sure that boiled custard, or "drinking" custard as it was once commonly referred to, is decidedly southern. Not only is it a traditional drink in The South for the holidays, but it was often used to comfort those in the sick bed. I do know one thing for sure, we southerners absolutely do love our custards, and we love them in many forms.

Old Timey Rum Balls or Bourbon Balls

Rum or bourbon balls made with crushed vanilla wafers, powdered sugar, cocoa, ground nuts and bourbon or rum. Balls may be rolled in a variety of coatings including powdered sugar, cocoa mixed with powdered sugar, ground nuts or crushed cookies.

Old Timey Rum Balls

Old timey bourbon or rum balls have been a holiday favorite here in The Deep South for as long as I can remember, and this is the basic recipe, with a few coatings and add-in variations. While I know that cake balls and cookie truffles are all the rage these days, to me these are the original title holder since the 1960s.

Even if you think you don't like fruitcake, I'll bet you'll love this heirloom recipe. It can be made into mini loaves as pictured, bar or drop cookies or even as a bundt cake!

Old Fashioned Mini Fruitcakes

This None Such Old-Fashioned Fruitcake recipe dates back to at least the 1960s, and maybe even before that, since None Such Brand has actually been around since 1885. This was based on an old label recipe from the None Such Mincemeat product, and it's the recipe that my mother-in-law used year after year when she baked up her holiday fruitcakes.

Let me tell all of you fruitcake haters. You've not had fruitcake until you taste a homemade fruitcake!

A classic southern side, slices of apples are fried in a mixture of bacon fat or butter and brown sugar then tossed in a dusting of traditional apple pie spices.

Southern Skillet Fried Apples

Skillet fried apples aren't deep fried y'all! As I've mentioned before, in the South we refer to frying things a lot, even though it often has nothing to do with submerging a food item in deep boiling oil.

So many folks outside of the South associate our recipes titled fried cabbage and fried corn the same as they do our fried chicken, which of course, we love, but the truth is, very often, the term "fried" simply refers to the cooking of something in what we call a frying pan aka skillet. Yep. Simple as that!

Five cup salad, and all of its expanded cup versions, is another old fashioned fruit salad that is perfect for any holiday table. A very simple but delicious and well-loved dish.

Old Fashioned 5 Cup Salad

Five Cup Salad is another fruit salad that has been around forever - well, for as long as I can remember anyway - and, while it's good any time of the year, is a great addition to the holiday table too.

Many of us will remember it from days gone by in our Mama's and Grandma's kitchens, but as always, there are some variations that have appeared in this fruit salad over the years. Some adding additional cups of various ingredients, some even changing up the fruit, but I think this version represents the old, basic 5 cup salad.

Congealed salads may have gone the wayside in many southern homes, but this Cherry Coke Salad might just bring you right back to it.

Old Fashioned Cherry Coke Salad

Coke Salad. The Amazing Coca-Cola Salad. Cherry Cola Salad. Fruit salad embedded in cherry Jello. Congealed Salad.

It's known by many names, but it's that last term that tends to garner harsh judgment toward the old gelatin encased salads. It's name comes, of course, from that fact that the contents - be they fruit or vegetables - are thickened, or congealed, into gelatin. I'm not sure why congealed salads fell out of favor, and all but disappeared from the holiday table. Maybe it was the term "congealed" that made them sound un-appetizing, but really, although some were made using a bit of shredded vegetables, most are made with fruit, and are simply fruit salads encased in Jello.

A diner classic and a long-held family favorite, Salisbury steaks made from ground beef and a few seasonings, takes a shortcut with mushroom soup for gravy.

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Salisbury steak is another one of those classic, old fashioned, dishes that we Southerners love and is comfort food at it's best. This recipe is one that has been around my kitchen for a very long time.

Yes, y'all. It utilizes our good old southern béchamel {that's Campbell's Condensed Cream of Mushroom soup for those of y'all with a more sophisticated palate}, but of course, if you like, simply substitute a gravy mix, onion soup mix, or make up your own homemade version of cream soup or gravy - with or without the mushrooms - just please quit yakking about it to those of us who are endeared to our cream soups, alright?

Eggs are dropped into a bed of fiery tomato sauce, made from fresh tomatoes paired with chunky Rotel and enhanced with bacon, onion and sweet bell peppers, and then passed in the oven to set, topped with cheese and served over cheese grits.

Eggs in Purgatory

Eggs in Purgatory is one of those recipes that I consider to be a lost classic. You don't hear about it much anymore, though thanks to us bloggers, it seems to be making a resurgence in the past couple of years.

I see folks doing it all the time, but I have never been one to put ketchup on eggs, though I do love them with salsa, especially in a breakfast wrap. I absolutely adore these Eggs in Purgatory though, done up in a bed of thick and spicy creole tomato sauce. They are just delicious!

Old Fashioned Seven Layer Salad

 

Classic 7 Layer Salad topped with a mayonnaise dressing is a common salad for barbecues and cookouts, parties, potlucks, church suppers and holidays, but why not make one just because?

7 Layer Salad

Seven Layer Salad is a good old-fashioned salad that has been around for years. It's perfect for cookouts, potlucks, church socials, reunions, funerals, and of course, the holidays!!

A salad made with 7 layers, typically with lettuce, sometimes tomatoes, chopped and sliced boiled eggs, peas, celery, bacon and cheese, or really whatever your favorite tossed salad ingredients are. Then the salad is topped off with a thick layer of a mayonnaise-based dressing, often Ranch dressing, and tossed just before serving.

Seven Layer Salad was a very popular salad back in the 70s and 80s, and though it kind of went the wayside for awhile, it seems to be making a resurgence. Since I am determined to bring back some of those old classics, I, for one, am thrilled.

 

  Watergate salad is a well-loved fruit salad, made up of pistachio pudding with marshmallows, pineapple and Cool Whip and often other add-ins.

Original Watergate Salad

This original Watergate Salad is another one of those classic recipes that dates back to the 70s and that just about every southern cook has in their party file, though like everything else, with some variations. It's still a very common dish at baby showers, bridal showers, and even weddings down south, and I honestly cannot remember a single event that Mama catered where this wasn't expected on the table.

New Orleans Old Sober - Yakamein Beef Noodle Soup

Yak a Mein, New Orleans Old Sober Soup is most often made from beef, always includes boiled eggs, and is offered with condiments of soy sauce, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and ketchup.

Yakamein Beef Noodle Soup

Known by a couple of different names and spellings, Yakamein (Ya Ka Mein) Soup, often just called "Yock," picked up the name "Old Sober" in New Orleans, for its alleged healing powers in warding off the after-effects and resulting hangover from late night French Quarter partying.

A popular soup in several areas of the United States, Yakamein, was sold mostly in neighborhood mom and pop bodegas of New Orleans in days past but became a lost recipe there for a bit. Maybe the flooding of Hurricane Katrina contributed to that in New Orleans.

Sweet bell peppers stuffed with a mixture of ground beef, Italian sausage, rice & a Creole tomato sauce, topped with cheddar cheese, slices of Velveeta or your favorite.

Creole Stuffed Bell Peppers

I absolutely adore stuffed bell peppers. The Cajun? Not so much.

Remember his aversion to veggies?

Well, the poor bell pepper falls right into that category of any other whole veggie that is stuffed - even though most often the very veggie he is rejecting whole, is mixed in the stuffing anyway! So, as with any stuffed vegetable, he will just eat the stuffing from a stuffed bell pepper, and throw away the pepper.

Silly man. I mean, he eats green bell pepper a lot. How many recipes do y'all see here that contain The Trinity - onion, celery, and ... hello ... green bell pepper? Lots. Sigh.

A Deep South Courtbouillon is a roux-based fish stew, made with creole tomato sauce, stewed down and reduced, and used to poach fish - often redfish, red snapper or catfish.

Cajun Coubion - Courtbouillon

A court bouillon is a French poaching stock made from water and typical stock veggies - onion, carrots, celery - in which generally fish is cooked. But that's the French.

Down here in The Deep South, Courtbouillon {pronounced COO-bee-YON or COO-bee-ON} is a sort of roux-based, creole tomato sauce, stewed down and reduced, and most commonly used to poach redfish, though red snapper or catfish are fairly traditional also. 

If you enjoy fish, this is a great dish for Lent, that is somewhat similar to Bouillabaisse, though I side with Marcelle Bienvenu, Times Picayune contributor, and author of the fantastic Cajun/Creole cookbook and a top favorite in my personal collection, Who's Your Mama,Are You Catholic, and Can You Make a Roux?