Pimento Cheese

Pimento cheese is a staple in the south.  I've seen people serve it with veggies, on a slice of white bread, and grilled.  The Linda Blondheim Art Studio hosted an Art Lover's Salon recently.  I was responsible for lunch and brought a tray of homemade pimento cheese sandwiches over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pimento Cheese:
(Martha Foose)

Ingredients:

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped sage

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

8 ounces Colby cheese, grated (2 cups)

8 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (2 cups)

1 (4-ounce) jar chopped pimentos, drained

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Pumpernickel bread, or bread of your choice

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sage, lemon juice, mustard, cayenne, and Worcestershire sauce with a rubber spatula. 

Add the two cheeses and pimientos, blending thoroughly to combine. Season with salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Spread between 2 slices of bread and grill if you want.

Sweet Tea Pie

I've mentioned before how much I love tea.  I consider it my own personal crack.  In my opinion it's acceptable to drink for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  I love it.  While watching Paula Deen the other day I saw an episode that had one of my favorite cookbook authors on it as a guest, Martha Foose.  She was making something called Sweet Tea Pie.  It looked amazing and I decided that I needed to try it.

This turned out really great.  I added some extra lemon to the mix because I tend to like extra lemon in my tea anyway.  The filling was really silky and it was different than any other pie I've had.  I will definitely make it again.    
                
This also covers our Flavor of the Month for January.

Sweet Tea Pie:

(Martha Foose- Screen Doors and Sweet Tea)

Crust:
6 oz softened cream cheese
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour


Filling:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
8 large egg yolks
3/4 cups strong black tea, cooled
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt


For the crust:
In an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until well combined.  Add the flour and mix until the dough forms a ball.  Pat the dough into a 9-inch pie pan.  Chill until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 350.

For the filling:

In an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar at a medium speed until light.  Add the yolks one at a time, beating at low speed until well incorporated.  Slowly add the tea, lemon zest, and lemon juice.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Add the flour, cornmeal, and salt and mix well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared crust.

Bake for 45 minutes or until set.  Cool completely on a wire rack and then chill for 2 hours before serving.















Print Me Out

Buttermilk Biscuits

I love biscuits.  There are days that I seriously crave biscuits.  I love them with jam, honey, cane syrup, and as sandwiches.  They are perfect for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Biscuits are something that I associate with my Grandma.  She would pull up a stool to the kitchen counter and let us "help" her make them.  (I think all that we did was make a mess.)  She never used a biscuit cutter, just the rim of a juice glass.

I decided to make biscuits one morning.  I was on vacation and had some buttermilk that I needed to use up.

Buttermilk Biscuits:
(adapted from Screen Doors and Sweet Tea)

2 cups all-purpose flour (use Martha White or White Lily)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons lard or vegetable shortening
1/4 cup buttermilk, cold

In a bowl (or food processor) combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add butter and work until the mixture is the size of peas.















Using a fork stir in the buttermilk until all of the flour is moistened.  On a floured surface knead the dough for 1 minute.  Pat into a 1/2-inch circle and wrap in plastic wrap.  Chill for at least 20 minutes or overnight.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  With a biscuit cutter or other sharp edge cut the biscuits into circles.  Place on a baking sheet with the sides touching just a little.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Feel free to brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter when they are still warm.

BBQ Shrimp- Part 2

Remember when I shared my new love affair for New Orleans BBQ Shrimp?  I was determined to make it but I didn't know when.  Well, tonight was the night! 

Publix had shrimp on sale so I decided that it was better time than any to try it out.  I am so glad I did.  It's my new favorite shrimp recipe.   I used a recipe that came out of Screen Doors and Sweet Tea, which is one of my favorite cookbooks.  I tweaked it a little bit and it really is fantastic.

New Orleans BBQ Shrimp:
(adapted from: Screen Doors and Sweet Tea)

1 cup unsalted butter
½ cup olive oil
¼ Worcestershire Sauce
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon blackening spice (I use Old Bay)
½ teaspoon Old Bay
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 lemon, thinly sliced
3 pounds of shrimp with the shell and tails on. (21-25 count)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400*.

In a large ovenproof skillet over low heat. Melt the butter with the olive oil.

Add the Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt, old bay(s), black pepper, thyme, rosemary, oregano, and lemon slices.

Add the shrimp and stir to coat well with the sauce.

Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the shrimp is pink. Stir occasionally.

Spoon the shrimp and sauce into bowl and serve with sliced French bread.

If I was smart i'd keep all of the shrimp shells and make a seafood stock out of them.  I can't wait to make this again.  It was amazing.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Another recipe from Screen Doors and Sweet Tea by Martha Foose.  I love sweet potatoes and I love biscuits.  This sounded like a perfect combination to me!  Serve warm with a little butter and honey!


Sweet Potato Biscuits:
(Screen Doors and Sweet Tea)

1 cup mashed baked sweet potato
2/3 cup whole milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 450*. Grease a baking sheet and set aside.

In a medium bowl, the sweet potato, milk, and butter. Sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add to the potato mixture. Gently mix the dry ingredients into the sweet potato mixture to form a soft dough. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until a deep golden orange tinged with brown. Serve warm or let cool on a wire rack.

Sweet Potatoes... On Crack!

It's been a rough day for Mrs. T.  In an attempt for me to get my mind off of things I have been going through my cookbooks.  Some of them I haven't looked at since my bridal shower.  One of the ones I was looking at was Screen Doors and Sweet Tea by Martha Hall Foose.  It's a great cookbook that is full of amazing southern recipes.

I haven't been able to make any of these recipes yet but I've been slowly going through the book and typing them up so I'll have them whenever I have a chance to start cooking.  Here's one that I found tonight.  It looks amazing.

Inside-out Sweet Potatoes:

(Screen Doors & Sweet Tea)

1 cup crushed cornflakes
1 large egg
6 sweet potatoes, baked and mashed
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon sherry, bourbon, or vanilla extract
8 large marshmallows
Canola oil, for frying (1 ½ cups)

Put the cornflake crumbs in a shallow dish. Beat the egg with 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl, set aside.

Combine the mashed sweet potatoes with the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder, flour, orange juice, and sherry. Working with your hands, use the mixture to encase each marshmallow, forming a ball. Dip each ball in the egg wash and then roll in the crumbs. Refrigerate while preparing to fry.

Preheat oven to 200*. Set a wire rack over newspaper or paper towels to cool and drain the balls after frying.

In a 2-quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat to 375*.

Fry the balls one or two at a time for 3-4 minutes, turning as needed, until lightly browned. Remove with a spider or slotted spoon, and place the drained balls on the prepared rack and in the oven to keep warm while frying the remaining batches. Serve warm.

**photo credit: pauladeen.com**