Am I Nuts?

Could be! You tell me!

Anybody who knows me well, knows that I do some pretty weird stuff when I get antsy. (That’s southern for nervous)  And this weekend I’m really antsy about that storm in TX. One of those weird things I do is eat. A lot. Anything not nailed down. I’m trying to get that under control. So instead of eating all these gorgeous pecans right now, I’m going to give you a few fall recipes I hope you’ll enjoy. Pecans are extra delicious snacking when toasted in the oven. They freeze well for later use and well I think they’re just yummy what ever you do with em !

So here you have it, the best of my Fall snacks and sweets!

Toasted Salted Pecans

1 pound of halves
2 Tablespoons oil
2 Tablespoons butter
Salt to taste

Melt oil and butter together on a cookie sheet in a 250 degree oven.  Mix in the pecans and salt.  Bake for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes.  These are wonderful!! (store in zip loc type bags or tightly covered)

Pecan Pralines (The Creamiest Ones Evah!)

1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons water
1 cup pecan halves

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the light brown sugar, granulated sugar, heavy cream, butter, and water. Place over a medium-high heat and stir constantly until the pralines reach the softball stage, 238 to 240 degrees F. Add the pecans to the candy, and pull the pan off of the stove. Continue to stir the candy vigorously with a wooden spoon until the candy cools, and the pecans remain suspended in the candy, about 2 minutes. Spoon the pralines out onto a parchment or aluminum foil lined sheet pan and cool completely before serving.

Pecan Pie (My Formerly Secret Recipe)

Topping:
3 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pie:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 un-baked deep-dish (9-inch) pie shell
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine all topping ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese, sugar, salt, vanilla, and egg until combined. Pour into pie shell. Top with chopped pecans. Pour topping over pecans. Bake for 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Pecan Tassies (Mini Pecan Pies Too Good For The Kids)

Filling:

• 3/4 c. light brown sugar, packed firmly
• 3/4 c. chopped pecans
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp. softened butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla flavoring
• Dash of salt

Shells:

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 c. plus 3 tbsp. butter, softened
• 1 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

SHELLS: Combine flour, butter and cream cheese. Stir until blended. Shape dough into 24 balls, then refrigerate them while preparing the filling.

Combine first six ingredients, mix until blended. Place each dough ball into a greased 1 3/4 inch opening of a tart pan, shaping each ball into a shell. Spoon mixture into tart shell only 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until brown. Cool completely before removing from tart pans. Yield: 24 tassies.

So now you know just how nutty I am! (Pun intended)

This Ain’t Your Mamma’s BarBQ

Well, its almost Friday, looking forward to the weekend, and heck the 4th of July is just around the corner. I thought I’d share my fabulous BarBQ Shrimp recipe with you all. Bring this to the table at your next outdoor gathering, and you’ll be the star of the party!

Now, gentle readers, when I say Barbecue Shrimp, I am not talking about helpless crustacean, slathered in bottled barbecue sauce, then some how thrown on a grill. Nope, contrary to what that lovely, though somewhat uppity and expensive restaurant in Pawleys Island, SC says, that just ain’t how ya do it.

One of my signature dishes , this fabulous shrimp rendition most likely originated at Pascale’s Manale restaurant, a funky neighborhood Creole Italian joint located on Napoleon Ave. just down the street from my Uncle Phil and Aunt Anna, in Uptown New Oleans and has been a local favorite for as long as anyone can remember. The name is a bit misleading because the shrimp are not grilled or barbecued but actually baked in a spicy butter and olive oil sauce in the shell. There are a number of variations including one by Emeril in which he removes the shells before cooking and used them in a stock as part of his sauce, but I find that his version, while good, requires way too much in the way of time and preparation. At home much to the surprise of some of our guests, I cook mine like Manale’s, in the shell. The shrimp are baked in the shell for a reason. The shells contain the essence of the shrimp taste and they flavor the sauce during the baking process. Without the shells the sauce would be tasteless. We normally split the shells down the back using scissors to make the shrimp easier to peel after cooking. (A little bit of time that your guests will thank you for)

The process of eating BBQ shrimp is every bit as important as the way they are cooked. Here is how we do it New Orleans style. First of all, USE YOUR HANDS! Forget  the  knife and fork; this is a messy process, it brings out the kid in everyone and don’t forget to have plenty of napkins or paper towels and handi-wipes around for cleanup. That being said, here is how it’s done.

DO NOT TRY TO EAT THEM UNTIL THEY HAVE COOLED. When you feel that you can eat them without burning your lips, take one of them by the tail, dredge it through the sauce, and suck the sauce that clings to the shell. Then, peel the shrimp, and repeat the same process, dredging the peeled shrimp through the herbs and spices that have collected on the bottom of the dish. Then you eat it, all the while savoring all of the wonderful flavors that have combined to make this very special dish. A very important part of this process consists of dipping pieces of French bread periodically to soak up the sauce. Remember SPE, suck, peel, and eat. Easy’nuf and shonuff good!

So, here, with apologies to the original chef (for my slightly changed recipe) is how ya cook ‘em.

4 pounds unpeeled, large fresh shrimp or 6 pounds shrimp with heads on
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 lemons, sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons Creole seasoning
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

1 or 2 Bottles Abita Amber Beer* (Emeril uses white wine, but thats way too high-brow for me)

French bread (use the baquettes not french rolls for this one) heated

Spread shrimp in a shallow, aluminum foil-lined  pan.

Combine butter and next 12 ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until butter melts, and pour over shrimp. Cover and chill 2 hours, turning shrimp every 30 minutes.

Turn out into a well seasoned iron skillet and bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20 minutes; turn once.

Serve with the heated french bread, right from the iron skillet.

Now, in the summer, I take this cooking outside and use that iron skillet on the grill. Its not a problem with the skillet because of course it’s flame proof.  If you don’t have an iron skillet, I reccomend you invest in at least one, use any grill safe utensil that you have or just opt for cooking inside.

Don’t worry if you can’t find the Abita brand beer (its brewed in Louisiana and great but any amber beer will work.) Don’t forget, you’re cooking off the alcohol so even those who don’t drink will like this dish! If you’re concerned, leave it out, but I promise it makes the taste!

Serve this with a side salad of your choice, I reccomend the watermelon salad from yesterday’s post and you’ve got dinner for 6.  Yummy!

This Is How Ya Do The Watermelon Crawl

Quick, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind when I say Summer in The South? Yep, hot, sweltering hot days. And most of my childhood, those sweltering hot days were usually accompanied by, you guessed it WATERMELON. Here are my favorite 3 great summer coolers for the adults and a couple of family favorites. Enjoy!

Watermelon Martini

• ½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice or ½ ounce sour mix
• 1 ounce melon liqueur
• 1ounce citrus-flavored vodka (use the good stuff)
• 1 ½ ounce freshly pureed watermelon
• Crushed ice
  Sprig of mint, for garnish
  Small slice of watermelon with rind, for garnish

In a cocktail shaker, combine lemon juice, melon liqueur, vodka and watermelon puree over crushed ice. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with mint sprig and watermelon slice and serve.

 

 

Kudzu Queen’s Dream (fit for Royalty)

• 2 oz. Reposado* tequila
• 2 scoops fresh watermelon
• 1 mint sprig 1 oz. simple syrup
• 3/4 oz. fresh lime juice

Muddle mint and watermelon. Add remaining ingredients. Shake and strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with mint sprig.

*Tequila Reposado
A Reposado Tequila is the first stage of “rested and aged”. The Tequila is aged in wood barrels or storage tanks between 2 months and 11 months. The spirit takes on a golden hue and the taste becomes a good balance between the Agave and wood flavors. Many different types of wood barrels are used for aging, with the most common being American or French oak. Some Tequilas are aged in used bourbon / whiskey, cognac, or wine barrels, and will inherit unique flavors from the previous spirit.

Watermelon Margarita (Frozen)

• 5 cups watermelon, cubed, seeds and rind removed (about 1 3- to 4-pound melon)
• 1 cup silver Tequila
• 1/2 cup Cointreau or Triple Sec
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup sugar
  Watermelon slices (optional), for garnish

Preparation:

Place cut watermelon in airtight container and put into freezer overnight.

Put the frozen watermelon and remaining ingredients into blender and blend until smooth.

Pour into margarita glasses and garnish with a wedge of watermelon if you like.

Watermelon Pickles

• 2 quarts water
• Rind from 1 large watermelon
• 1/2 cup(1 dL) salt
• 2 1/2 cups(6 dL) cider vinegar
• 2 cups(400 g) sugar
• 2 teaspoons cloves
• 1 small stick cinnamon, in pieces
• 2 tablespoons whole allspice

Remove the pink pulp from the watermelon and cut the rind into manageable pieces. Cover with boiling water and boil for 5 minutes; drain and cool. Cut off the green outer skin of the watermelon rind and remove any remaining bits of pink pulp. Cut the rind into 1-inch strips or squares or any shape you prefer. You should have 8 cups of cut-up rind. Mix the salt with 1 1/2 quarts cold water and pour over the rind. Let stand at room temperature for about 6 hours. Drain, soak in several changes of fresh, cold water, and drain again. Cover with fresh, cold water, bring to a boil, and simmer just until tender when pierced with a fork; drain. Mix the vinegar, 1 cup water, and the sugar in a pot, then add the cloves, cinnamon, and allspice tied in a cheesecloth bag. Simmer until the sugar dissolves. Add the watermelon rind and simmer until it is clear, adding more water only if necessary. Remove the spice bag. Pack in hot, sterilized jars and cover with the boiling liquid, leaving 1/4-inch headspace, and seal. If you wish, process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes.

Ginger Watermelon Pickle: Add 1-2 tablespoons chopped preserved ginger to the vinegar mixture

Watermelon Salad

• 1 (5-pound) watermelon
  
• 1 Vidalia or other sweet onion
  
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  
• Salt and pepper
  
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
  
• 4 ounces feta cheese crumbled
  
• 6 whole mint sprigs

Cut the flesh from the melon and cut into bite size pieces, removing and discarding the seeds, and set aside. Peel and slice the onion into rings.
In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, salt, pepper, and whisk until salt is dissolved. Slowly whisk in the olive oil, a few drops at a time. Add in the chopped mint, taste, and adjust seasonings.
In a large bowl, combine the melon, onion, and feta. Pour the dressing over the melon mixture and toss gently until everything is coated and evenly mixed. Garnish with mint sprigs.
To serve, divide salad among individual plates and garnish with mint leaves

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