Over the Wire

Scalloped Corn

• 1 can cream style corn (2 cups)
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1/2 cup milk 1/4 cup cracker crums
• 1/4 cup chopped pepper and9 1 tablespoons chopped pimento
• 1 tablespoon margerine
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix well and place in a buttered casserole. Bake at 350 until it sets.

McAlilly Pecan Pie

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 stick margerine
• few grains of salt
• 1 cup of white Karo
• 1 cup of coarsely chopped pecans
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream margerine and sugar. Add Karo, well beaten eggs, salt and vanilla. Place pecans
in the bottom of a frozen pie shell. Pour mixture over pecans. Bake until firm, approximately
35 -40 minutes until firm. ( I place my pie shell or a cookie sheet before I pour the mixture
in the pan and then put it in the oven- much easier to get in the oven without spills.-)

McAlilly Squash Casserole

• 6 yellow squash cooked and mashed
• 1 stick of mmargarine
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup cracker crumps
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 whole eggs slightly beaten

Mix ingredients togetter well. I use a hand mixer. Put in 1 quart greased casserole. Sprinkle
cracker crumbs. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes

Watch What Mama Puts in the Salad Salad

Salad recipe from Mom

Toss in any of the following with the salad.  Use any combinations, variety, but the same dressing!

• Small can of sliced black olives
• Small can of mandarin oranges sans juice
• Roasted pecan pieces, sunflower seeds, walnuts
• Summertime tomatoes
• Bacon bits—-Sam’s favorite
• Banana peppers
• Fresh mushrooms
• Small slices of Granny Smith apples
• Finely chopped yellow or red peppers

No-Color-Cept-Green Salad

Mom’s recipe

• 3 stalks of green onions
• 3 stalks of celery
• 1 can of artichoke hearts
• 1 can of heart of palm
• Feta cheese—-crumbled
• 1 bunch of red leaf or green leaf or romaine (or any combination)

Wash each leaf thoroughly and lay each one spread-out on a bath towel.  Add a layer of paper towel when the first layer covers the towel. Keep washing and layering until all the lettuce is clean.  Starting with one end of the towel, roll it to the other end, rolling up everything. Fold the entire roll in half. Using the sprayer attachment of your faucet, shoot water on this bundle, but don’t drench the entire thing.  Place in your refrigerator…the best place is the salad crisper.  For some reason this method makes the salad crispier and better tasting.  It can stay in the frig a couple of days or one hour.

Green onion and celery can be tricky in a salad….most people don’t want to know they are eating either; they are more apt to say…”I hate celery” and “I don’t want to eat onion” than “Wow, this salad tastes amazing!”  Strategic slicing is imperative.  For the green onion, peel away the dry, outside layer of the stalk.  With a very sharp knife cut very thin slices of the bulb…I’m talking poster board thickness thin.  Cut working your way up into the green stalk; this is the point when the slices can be about 1/8 inch thick.  Stop cutting when you think, “I wouldn’t eat that.”  

Celery must be prepped before cutting. I learned this tip from a former roommate’s mom who served every meal with cloth napkins.  Celery needs to be stripped—literally.  At the top of the stalk, peel the outer layer that radiates outward from top to bottom.  Do this from one side of the radius to the other.  Clean the inside of the celery and lay it on a cutting surface. Split the stalk lengthwise into three strips by pulling your knife down the stalk like you would draw a line down a piece of paper. Now, dice the strips into fine pieces.  Your celery contribution to the salad will be crunchy, but uncelery-like.

Artichoke is like a schizophrenic person—-one plant, but two different personalities.  One end is soft and mushy when you chop it into pieces.  The other gets tough and nasty.  Peal away a couple of the outer leaves of the “top” of the choke. Next, with a very sharp knife (serrated works best with this bugger), slice the choke into very thin strips.  Cut toward the “bottom” until it looks “hairy”. Turn the remaining part upside down and chop away.

Heart of palm is the perfect salad vegetable….easy to cut and great to taste in the mix.  Caution: Some stalks are tough at one end.  Chop up about half a can.

Add crumbled Feta to the top, and you are ready to toss with dressing.  Where in the world did the word dressing for that part of the salad come from? I require two things for a dressing:  Italian and toss with hands a minute or two before serving.

Black Bean Soup

Black Bean Soup with Lemon-Lime Juice

Mom’s recipe, takes a little longer

• 1 16 oz. pack (about 2 1/2 C) dried black beans
• 6 bacon strips, chopped
• 3/4 C finely chopped celery
• 3/4 C finely chopped onion
• 3/4 C finely chopped carrots
• 10 C low-salt chicken broth
• 1 large chopped tomato
• 1 C (packed) chopped fresh parsley
• 1 1/2 T minced garlic
• 1 minced jalapeno chili
• 1 T red wine vinegar
• 2 t ground cumin
• Sour Cream Topping
• 3/4 C sour cream
• 2 t fresh lemon juice
• 2 t fresh lime juice

Place beans in large bowl.  Add enough water to cover by 3 inches.  Let stand overnight.  Drain well.

Cook bacon in large pot over medium heat until brown, but still soft—about 4 minutes.  Add celery, onion, carrots and saute until vegetables begin to soften, about 10 minutes.  Add beans, chicken broth, tomato, parsley, garlic, jalapeno, vinegar, and cumin.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer soup until beans are very tender, stirring occasionally about 2 hours.

Working in batches, transfer soup to blender and process until slightly chunky puree forms.  Return soup to pot.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared one day ahead.  Cover and refrigerate.  Bring to simmer before continuing.)

Mix sour cream, lemon juice, and lime juice.

———————————————————————————

Black Bean and Rice Soup

Quick recipe, came off the back of a Good Season’s spice pack

• 2 cans black beans, undrained, divided (15 oz. each)
• 3 C water
• 1/2 C chopped onion
• 1 envelope Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing & Recipe Mix
• 1 1/2 C Minute Brown Rice, uncooked

Place 1 can of the beans with liquid in the blender; cover and blend until smooth. Pour into a large pan.

Stir in remaining beans, water, onion and salad dressing mix.  Bring to a boil.  Stir in rice.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 5 minutes.

Chicken and Rice Chowder

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 2 stalks, chopped celery
• 1 cup quartered, fresh mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons Brummel & Brown
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 32 oz carton low sodium chicken broth (can also use the broth if you cook a whole chicken)
• 4 cups cooked/cubed chicken breast (you can cook a whole chicken or get 32 oz chicken in a can)
• 2 boxes uncle ben’s rice with seasoning
• black pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 cups milk

In a large saucepan/pot cook carrots, celery, and mushrooms, in hot butter (B&B) over medium heat until tender. Add broth, chicken, wild rice, and pepper. Cook and stir until mixture is bubbly and slightly thickened (20-25 minutes to get the rice cooked). Stir in milk, heat through. 

Kentucky Cornbread

Mom’s recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups self-rising cornmeal
• 3/4 cup Wesson oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 8oz container of sour cream
• 1 small can of cream corn
• salt to taste

Mix all ingredients well. Pour into hot, greased skillet that was put in the oven while you preheat it to 350 degrees. Bake @ 350 for 45 minutes. May be frozen.

City Grocery Shrimp and Grits

My friend Stuart said this weekend that this is the best recipe for grits he’s ever had, so I’m saving it here. 

CITY GROCERY SHRIMP ‘N GRITS RECIPE

Oxford, MS

FOR THE GRITS:

• 1 cup quick grits 
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 
• 3/4 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese (white) 
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons paprika 
• Original TABASCO® brand Pepper Sauce to taste 
• Salt and pepper to taste 

FOR THE SHRIMP:

• 2 cups chopped smoked bacon 
• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1 1/2 pounds (20- to 30-count) shrimp, peeled Salt and black pepper 
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic 
• 3 cups sliced white mushrooms 
• 3 tablespoons white wine 
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice 
• 2 cups sliced scallions 

Cook grits according to package instructions; as they are finishing, whisk in butter, cheeses, cayenne, paprika and TABASCO® Pepper Sauce to taste.

TO PREPARE SHRIMP:

Cook bacon until it begins to brown; remove from heat and drain on paper towels. Crumble bacon and set aside. Strain drippings and set aside.

Heat a large skillet until very hot; add olive oil and 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings. As oil begins to smoke, toss in shrimp to cover bottom of pan. Before stirring, season with salt and pepper. Stir until shrimp begin to turn pink; let pan return to original hot temperature.

Stir in minced garlic and bacon bits, being careful not to burn garlic. Toss in mushrooms and coat with oil briefly. Add lemon juice and wine, and stir for 30 seconds or so until everything is well coated and incorporated.

WHEN READY TO SERVE:

Stir in sliced scallions and cook about 20 seconds. Serve immediately over the aforementioned, patiently waiting cheese grits. Enjoy, burp, and reminisce about those fine meals at City Grocery.
Makes 3 to 4 servings. 

Recipe courtesy of Chef John Currence, City Grocery, Oxford, MS.