Syrup and Biscuits

Mother’s Day Anew (Recipe: Picnic Menu)

Jackie Garvin — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:17:30 +0000

I love special occasions: holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, parties. You name it, I love them all. The food, festivities, well wishes, laughter and overall happy moods are delightful. They leave me with a euphoric feeling that lasts for days and days. Sometimes, it never goes away.

Mother’s Day was one of those special occasions that I look forward to the most. All that changed when my mother died March 2009. Mother’s Day became a day of grieving. It was the hardest day for me to get through, much harder than her birthday or the anniversary of her death. My joyful anticipation of Mother’s Day turned into dreaded darkness. I missed my mother and just didn’t seem able to manage the awful sadness on Mother’s Day.

Out of sheer determination, I was going to make Mother’s Day 2012 happy again. So, amid the sweet fragrance of lavender and gardenias along with the birds and butterflies, we had a party in our backyard. Not just any party. We had a live band. Not just any band. It was a jazz trio that included our son playing bass.

Jazz trio!

Along with the fragrant flowers, butterflies, birds and jazz, we had lots of people. Some of those people were my children…….

Daughter Marcia

Daughter Amy and son-in-law David

Son Tyler

…..and grandchildren.

Jackson and Ella

Jackson and Ella buzzing by Uncle Tyler as he plays.

Some of those people were friends.

Friends!

One of those people was my husband.

My husband in the one NOT dressed in black. We don't want to confuse him with the musicians.

The scene was perfect. People enjoyed the music and each other. A nice breeze kept us from burning slap up until the sun went behind the house leaving our backyard completely shaded.

Children romped….

This is romping.

and played.

Handsome dudes playing!

I wasn’t sad.

Happy!!!!

Guests arriving bringing their chairs, food and drink. A guest book is on the wooden table in the foreground. Guests signed in...well, most of them did.

The party was meant to be a celebration of Mother’s Day. I asked the band to select a piece that we could dedicate to mothers. The mothers were asked to stand be recognized and the band played the dedication song immediately following. They chose ”My Girl” and played it beautifully. It was my intention to literally put my heart and soul into to making this a great and special occasion for everyone who attended. A little piece of my heart went into the Mother’s Day story I wrote and handed out to the mothers. The story was printed out on pretty linen paper which is perfect for Moms. You can read that story by clicking here but you won’t see the pretty paper. You’ll just have to take my word for it.

Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

Y’all come see us!

All images above are courtesy of Amy Garvin Wren. Yes, she is my daughter. No, I didn’t make her snap all the photos. She volunteered. I’m glad because she did an outstanding job!

Picnic Menu

The concert was from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, the perfect time to enjoy your dinner and listen to a great jazz band. Everyone brought their own food and drink. My job was to feed and water my husband, the band and myself.

For picnics, fried chicken is a favorite entree. But, don’t forget about roasted chicken. It has everything that fried chicken has and it’s much easier to make. Well….it doesn’t have the that great crispy crunchy skin, but, it’s so much easier to make than fried chicken. It really is tasty and can be enjoy hot, cold or at room temperature. We love dark meat in our house so I roast the leg and thigh pieces that have the skin and are bone-in. Simply rub them with olive, sprinkle on your favorite seasonings (the sky’s the limit) and place on a prepared baking sheet. Roast at 350 degrees for about one hour or until the internal temperature of the thigh is 165 degrees.

A great alternative to a mayonnaise based potato salad is my recipe for Parsley and Chive potatoes. The potatoes can be roasted or boiled. With our high outside temperatures, you need to be careful about mayonnaise based dishes.

All of my menu choices can be made ahead and enjoyed at room temperature. I did keep the tomatoes and cucumbers in a cooler until we were ready to eat.

Roasted chicken quarters (see about for instructions)

Parsley and Chive Potatoes

Sliced Fresh Tomatoes and Cucumbers

Garlic and Herb French Bread

Buttermilk Pie

Strawberry Limeade Sparkling Cooler

Sit Down and Cool Off(Recipe: Strawberry Limeade Sparkling Cooler)

Jackie Garvin — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:09:42 +0000

Hot weather is a favorite topic of conversation for Southerners. We know our summers are hot. They always are and always will be but that doesn’t stop us from talking about how hot is and complaining about it. We do a lot of complaining about the heat. We can’t help ourselves. We listened to our parents, grandparents and great grandparents complain about the heat. Who are we to break the tradition? So, we complain and complain and complain. We not only complain about how hot it is, we worry about everyone else getting too hot. We encourage people to stay cool. We tell them, “Sit down right here and cool off. Lawd, it’s hot weather. Can I get you something cool to drink?”

Granted, it’s easier for us to stay cool now than it was back in the day. I remember the days prior to air conditioning. All my school days were spent in the Deep South and I never experienced an air-conditioned classroom until college. I know hot. But, we survived, nonetheless. And we complained. We still complain.

Cold drinks are a necessity. We can’t get enough of them. I drink gallons and gallons of water. I consume much more water than any other beverage. After I have coffee in the morning, I drink water for the rest of the day. As much as I love water, it’s nice to have a special beverage occasionally. Southern Sweet Tea and Fresh Squeezed Lemonade are favorite standbys that I make often and drink from time to time. Here lately, I’ve had a particular taste for lime. I like the contrast to lemon and it provides a different flavor profile. However, I don’t care for straight up limeade too much. So, I came up with a limeade concoction using another of my favorite fruits: strawberry.

Strawberry season is over for us so I used frozen strawberries instead of fresh. An out of season strawberry is about as tasty as styrofoam. Frozen is better. Next strawberry season, I’ll use tasty strawberries from Plant City, FL.

I used a simple syrup for sweetening. If you don’t want to use sugar, try a natural sweetener such as honey or agave nectar and adjust the amounts accordingly. The amount of simple syrup depends on the sweetness of the strawberries. You might not need the full amount.

I made a double batch because I wanted to freeze some of the purée to have later. Pouring it into ice-cube trays would be logical. However, I don’t own any ice-cubes trays. I used my mini-muffin tins instead. Spraying with non-stick spray before filling made them easy to pop out with the tip of a sharp knife.

Mini-muffins tins make a good substitute for ice-cube trays in a pinch.

I’ll use two for each glass and let them sit in the glass for a few minutes until they start to get slushy before adding the wine. If you can’t wait for the ice cubes to get slushy, just put them in plastic bags and beat them with a rolling-pin. You can use another object other than a rolling-pin to do the beating. That was just a suggestion.

Y’all come see us!

Strawberry Limeade Sparkling Cooler

Strawberry Limeade Sparkling Cooler. One for me, two for friends!

The amount of simple syrup needed will depend on the sweetness of the berries. You might not need the whole amount. The proportions below make a double batch. Use some now and make the rest into ice cubes for later use.

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

2 pounds (6 cups whole strawberries without added sugar)

1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

1/2 cup loosely pack mint leaves

1 (750 ml) bottle sparkling wine or 1 liter ginger ale or lemon-lime soft drink, chilled

Add water and sugar to a small saucepan to make a simple syrup . Heat until sugar dissolves and set aside to cool. Once cooled, add simple syrup and the rest of the ingredients to a food processor. Blend until smooth.

Place 1/2 cup strawberry purée into a glass. Slowly pour in 1/2 to 1 cup (depending on size of glass) of sparkling wine or ginger ale or lemon-lime soft drink. Stir well before serving.

You might also enjoy:

Southern Sweet Tea

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade

Graduation Day! (Recipe: Graduation Party Menu)

Jackie Garvin — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:19:07 +0000

We did it! We graduated the last of our chickens from college. I’m not literally speaking of chickens. I’m talking about “chilluns” or “churrins” or “young ‘uns”. The last one. We’ll be empty nesters as soon as that whole job thing kicks in.

Congratulations, Tyler!

I planned a menu for the graduation party that could be done ahead. Everything was waiting for us when we got home. That’s my kind of party! Oh, wait. This wasn’t my party. It was for Tyler.

Before I get into the menu, I have some pictures I want to share. We’ve live in this house since Tyler was in first grade. I have a picture of him on the first day of first grade.

Tyler first day of first grade on the front porch.

Next is the picture of his high school graduation day standing on the same front porch.

Tyler ready for high school graduation. Same front porch as first grade.

And now we have college graduation.

Tyler ready for college graduation. He's been standing on this porch since 1st grade!

I made a chronological photo album for all three of my children (chickens, chilluns, churrins, young ‘uns) when they graduated high school and presented it to them at their graduation party. By the time Tyler graduated from high school, he had forgotten about the picture I had taken on the front porch the first day of first grade. He thought nothing of me telling him I wanted a picture of him by the front door in his high school graduation cap and gown. He was quite surprised when he got to the last page in his photo album. The last two pictures were the first grade picture and the graduation picture. That was an emotional moment for the whole family and one I’ll never forget.

Now I will switch hats from Mama-beaming-with-pride to party planner and let’s talk about the menu. I mentioned that I wanted all the food prepared ahead of time. Everything held up well and turned out just the way I planned. Everything except Aunt Bea’s Cream Cheese Pound Cake. There was nothing wrong with the flavor, mind you. It was so moist that it fell into three pieces as I was transferring it from the tube pan to the cake plate. I had intended to slice up several pieces and put them on a serving tray to take a picture. You know…to make it seem like the cake turned out perfect and wasn’t a colossal fail. I just slap forgot to do it and the cake was eaten before I realized I never took a picture. The post about Aunt Bea’s Cream Cheese Pound Cake will have for another day. That’s the only menu item that doesn’t have a picture. The items highlighted in blue are a direct link to the recipe. Just click on the name of the dish.

Graduation Party Menu

Southern Antipasto Tray

(click here for Deviled Eggs recipe)

deviled eggs, roasted red peppers, pickled okra, Spanish olives, banana pepper rings, bread-n-butter pickles

Pimento Cheese/crackers

Pimento cheese. The pate` of the South.

Slow-cooker Split Pea Soup

Slow-cooker Split Pea soup. Made with ham and loads of vegetables.

7 Layer Salad with 9 Layers

7 Layer Salad with 9 Layers. More layers means more flavor.

Aunt Bea’s Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Slush Punch

Slush Punch served non-slushy and with Rainbow Sherbet

More is More (Recipe: 7 Layer Salad with 9 Layers)

Jackie Garvin — Mon, 07 May 2012 01:00:26 +0000

I often wondered what gives recipes staying power. Sometimes recipes will be wildly popular for a while and then fade away. What might be this year’s most sought after recipe will only be forgotten about next year. Obviously, a dish must taste good in order for it to become popular. But once it gains popularity, there’s no assurance it will stay in the spotlight.

Seven Layer Salad is a recipe that has staying power. I’ve known about it for over 30 years and it keeps turning up at covered dish suppers, baby showers, family gatherings and picnics. Not only does it turn up, it gets eaten. Folks genuinely like the taste of this salad.

Whoever was smart enough to think of lining the top layer of the salad bowl with peas is a pure out-and-out genius. Not only do peas keep the salad dressing from getting to the lettuce and making it soggy, they make the salad unique. You don’t often expect to find raw peas as part of a green salad. Maybe this salad doesn’t qualify as a green salad. It does have bacon, eggs and cheese in it. When you get right down to it, there’s a whole bunch of things about this salad that makes it interesting. I realize that you could put the dressing over the cheese, bacon or even the egg layer and it would serve the same purpose as the peas in that it would keep the salad dressings from getting to the lettuce making it soggy. The peas are just so unexpected. Maybe it’s time for me to stop swooning over the peas in this salad. One last thing before I stop obsessing over them. With the dressing poured on top of the peas and the some of the peas popping through, I don’t even think the top of the salad needs to be garnished. Once again, “Yea for the peas!”

The ingredients can be suited to your liking. Use your favorite type of cheese that shreds well. Substitute your favorite raw veggies for any of the layers. If you use tomatoes, I recommend a cherry type because of a lower water content. If you use a regular tomato, you should deseed it and squeeze out most of the juice. I suppose you could use ham for the bacon but why would you want to do that? Eggs are eggs and nothing else compares so you may want to use eggs. There are any number of variations for the salad dressing. I prefer the mayo/Ranch dressing/sugar combo that I include as part of this recipe and I don’t vary from that. It goes without saying that I think you stick with the peas and certainly include them.

My salad wound up with 9 layers. That’s perfectly all right. You can have 6 layers or 10. This is a very forgiving dish.

The amount of ingredients for each layer will depend largely on the size of your dish. I used a standard trifle dish and fill the center with lettuce and spinach and layer the rest of the ingredients along the outside so they show up nice and pretty in the clear bowl. I would recommend you do the same. The spectacular colors are one of the best things about this dish. And the peas. They’re spectacular, too!

Y’all come see us!

7 Layer Salad with 9 Layers

1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded

1 package fresh baby spinach

4 or 5 radishes, thinly sliced

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

6 to 8 sliced bacon, cooked and chopped

4 boiled eggs, sliced

8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

1 (10 ounce) package frozen English peas, partially thawed

1/2 cup mayonnaise (I prefer Duke’s)

1/2 Ranch dressing

1 tablespoon sugar

Layer lettuce and then spinach in the bottom of the bowl. Reserve some of both to build up the center so the rest of the ingredients can go along the side of the bowl.

Lettuce and spinach. Starting to build the layers.

It’s hard to tell in the above pictures that I’m mounding the lettuce and spinach in the center. I used my OXO hand-held mandoline to thinly slice radishes. Look how perfect they are! The picture below makes it a little easier to see the mound in the center.

Radishes are the next layer. Spinach and lettuce are mounded in the center.

Continue layering the next four ingredients in order concentrating them on the outside of the dish. The cheese is spread over the entire dish in an even layer. Peas go on top of the cheese and the peas evenly cover the cheese. Mix together mayonnaise, Ranch dressing and sugar. Pour over the peas. Cover and refrigerate overnight before serving. Some recommend tossing the salad before serving. I don’t ever do that. I let folks serve themselves and get as much or as little of the dressing as they prefer. That’s the way I roll.

7 Layer Salad with 9 Layers after sitting the refrigerator overnight.

You might also enjoy:

Simple Fruit Salad

West Indies Salad

A Close Second (Recipe: Slow-cooker Split Pea Soup)

Jackie Garvin — Thu, 03 May 2012 22:51:14 +0000

As with most Southerners, I have been eating peas and butterbeans all my life. We wait all year for them “to come in”. The food that Southerners call peas are a summer crop and are distinctly different from the English pea or garden pea variety.

Since my history with this Southern delicacy is long, I thought I had just about eaten every variety of Southern pea known to mankind. Then, along comes one of the restaurants at Blackberry Farm serving up a variety of Southern pea called Washday Peas. Not only did this magnificent restaurant have Peas and Cornbread as a menu item, but they served this wonderful heirloom variety that was a new eating experience for me. I pray I never get to the point in my life that a bowl of peas and cornbread doesn’t excite me. The taste of Washday peas was alluring and intoxicating. I needed to find out more about them or bust wide open trying.

The Blackberry Farm restaurants get a lot of their produce from their gardens that are on the grounds. The next day, I made a beeline to the garden in hopes that I could spend some time with their Master Gardener, John Coykendall. My mission was two-fold: listen to every word John has to say about anything and everything because he’s fascinating AND find out about Washday Peas.

According to Mr. Coykendall, the pea gets its name from its utilitarian purpose. Back in the day, washing clothes was an all day job. After the back-breaking job of getting the laundry done, folks still had to be fed. Washday Peas became a favorite on washday because they were easy to shell and could be cooked in about the same amount of time that it took to cook a skillet of cornbread. They were considered fast food minus the drive-through.

I don’t have any of the heirloom seeds to plant and I’ve never known anyone, except Mr. Coykendall, that’s grown them. The taste reminds me of Split Peas. I eat Split Peas and dream that they’re Washday Peas freshly harvested from my garden. Thank goodness no one has ever been arrested for dreaming. I also appreciate hearing the hum and whirring of my washer and dryer.

Y’all come see us!

Slow-cooker Split Pea Soup

Split peas do not require soaking as do many dried beans. However, they do need to be rinsed before cooking. This soup is satisfying and easy to assemble. It uses ingredients that you are likely to have on hand in your refrigerator and pantry. Best of all, it just flat out tastes good. And it reminds me of Washday Peas.

1 (1 pound) package of dried split peas

2 cups diced cooked ham

3 carrots, diced

3 celery stalks, diced

1 medium sweet onion, diced

2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch fresh parsley

1 tablespoon Lawry’s Season-All Seasoned Salt

1 1/2 quarts chicken stock

Layer all ingredients in stockpot in order. Do not stir. Cover and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or low for 7 to 8 hours. When done, stir well before serving.

Split Pea Soup cooked in a slow-cooker with ham and lots of vegetables.

One-two Punch (Recipe: Slush Punch, versions 1 and 2)

Jackie Garvin — Tue, 01 May 2012 22:19:41 +0000

Punch is a favorite party beverage for Southerners. We love parties and we love to serve punch at our parties. There are as many variation for punch as Carter’s has little liver pills. It usually has a fruit juice base and we throw in all sorts of other things such as ginger ale, tea, milk, ice cream or sherbet.

A variation called “Slush Punch” became popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. You make it ahead of time, freeze it in a gallon jug and then partially thaw before serving. The punch remains slushy which is not only refreshing but negates the need for ice or an ice ring. Make ahead dishes are always on my party menus. They decrease the party day stress and help you to get organized a little better. It’s a beautiful thing.

I had two events rather close together for which I wanted to serve punch. Considering the closeness of the dates of the events, I needed two different versions of punch. I can’t have people thinking I serve the same thing over and over, for Heaven’s sake. This recipe answered the calling like a champion. It makes up two gallons and one gallon is all I need to fill my punch bowl. At the first event, I served the punch in the traditional “slushy” manner. For the second event, I completely thawed the punch but kept it ice-cold in the refrigerator and pour it over scoops of sherbet in the punch bowl. I kept both versions kid-friendly. You can certainly add spirits or liqueur if you so desire.

The consensus was pretty evenly divided with about half preferring version 1 and half preferring version 2. Overall, it’s palate pleasing. And it’s cold. We can’t ever have too many cold drinks south of the Mason-Dixon line. The weather gets hot here more than it’s not. We’ve seen several 90 degree days so far this year and it’s only May 1. Lord, please help us through this summer.

Y’all come see us!

Slush Punch – version 1

I’ve had this recipe in my file for over thirty years. I’ve made some modifications to the original recipe that I think have even improved an already delicious punch. You can change the flavor of the Jello to suit your tastes. Also, if you can’t find raspberry lemonade, just use two cans lemonade. Change up the flavors to suit your taste. All that matters is that you like the flavor. Simply use my measurements as a guideline for the amount that you need to yield 2 gallons of punch.

I froze the punch in two (1-gallon) plastic jugs. In that size container, it needs to thaw 5 hours before serving. If you use gallon freezer bags or other size containers, the thaw time may be different.

1 package (0.6 ounces) strawberry Jello (other flavors may be substituted)

6 cups water

2 (46 ounce) cans pineapple juice

1 (12 ounce ) can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

1 (12 ounce) can frozen raspberry lemonade concentrate, thawed

1 (12 ounce) can lemonade concentrate, thawed

1/2 gallon water

1/2 cup sugar, optional

1 liter ginger-ale

In a large bowl, dissolved jello in 6 cups boiling water. Add remaining ingredients, except ginger-ale, and stir well. Taste before adding the sugar. You may not need it. Pour into two (1-gallon) jugs. Freeze for at least 24 hours. Thaw one gallon 5 hours before serving. Pour into punch bowl. Add ginger-ale. I used about half the liter. One gallon is just about the right amount for a standard size punch bowl. I had to cut the top off the plastic gallon container to get all the punch out. Once it’s in the bowl, you can break up the large chunks very easily.

Slush punch, version 1. Let's par-tay!

Slush Punch – version 2

This version isn’t served slushy, but it uses the same base as version 1. Completely thaw the punch before serving but keep it ice-cold in the refrigeration. Scoop out your favorite sherbet into the punch bowl before adding the punch. I used Rainbow (orange, lime, pineapple) and scooped about 1 1/2 quarts. Pour in the punch and top with ginger-ale. Once again, I used about 1/2 a liter of ginger-ale. Use more or less to your liking. The ginger-ale isn’t required but I think the carbonation makes the beverage seem more party-ish.

Slush Punch, version 2. I love seeing the floating sherbet scoops!

Blessings Abound (Recipe: Hot Country Potato Salad)

Jackie Garvin — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 02:38:40 +0000

When an opportunity comes along to tie past generations to the present, I consider it a blessing. Such an opportunity came my way this Easter morning. Our church placed a cross in the courtyard that we were to fill with fresh flowers. I had contemplated my newly planted daisies which are beautiful and bursting with color. My husband’s thoughtful suggestion to place one of my Granny’s Amaryllis lilies on the cross touched my heart. My grandmother was a woman of very simple means who would rake and scrap to save up $7.00 in order to purchase one lily bulb. That was an exorbitant expenditure by her lifestyle standards. She proudly showed off her lilies every chance she got. Regretfully, I never thought to ask her for one of the bulbs while she was living. By a stroke of good luck, my sister was able to get a pot of Granny’s lilies from one of her former neighbors. I cherish those flowers and anxiously await spring so I can see my grandmother’s face in each one of the blooms. As you might imagine, I feel a close connection to those lilies.

Placing one of Granny’s lilies on the cross Easter morning carries both spiritual and emotional significance. She was a woman with an unshakable love of God and certainly shaped my faith today. I could feel her tears of joy raining down from heaven as I chose the perfect spot on the cross for this very special bloom.

Granny's Amaryllis lily on the flower cross

Another view of the flower cross. The lily is on the right.

My daughter, Amy, wanted to host Easter at her house this year. In the sixteen years that I’ve lived in this house, this is the first year that Easter dinner wasn’t cooked in my kitchen. She came over yesterday and wanted to gather bunches of daisies and borrow several canning jars. I couldn’t wait to see what see what she was up to.

Her table was beautiful! She didn’t miss a detail. The colors were yellow, white and mint green. She had scattered several canning jars filled with brightly colored daisies all along the table. The napkins were ridiculously cute folded into bunny rabbit ears. Her wine glasses, with a black strip for writing names, served as placeholders.

Spring colors of yellow, white and mint green. A perfect theme for Easter.

Gorgeous daisies in canning jars.

I want to fold my napkins like this all the time. Maybe I can learn to make Basset Hound ears!

My wine glass/placeholder.

Place setting

The dessert table. My son-in-law's mother and I both made the same Easter Bunny cake with our children when they were small.

The table decorations were beautiful and creative and the food was fantastic. Our entire family, and my son-in-law’s family, enjoyed the meal together. It’s always a blessing to have your family around for a special celebration. In the midst of the day, the most special blessing to me was seeing my beautiful daughter as a gracious and confident hostess. She attended to her hostess duties with the ease of a seasoned veteran. Even though the ham’s cooking time was a longer than anticipated, she maintained complete composure. She has the gift of entertaining.

A beautiful Easter morning, Granny’s lilies, a family gathering and a confident, gracious daughter. I’m blessed.

Y’all come see us.

Hot Country Potato Salad

A standard on our Easter Dinner menu is Hot Country Potato Salad. This heritage dish is my family’s answer to German Potato Salad in that it’s eaten while still warm for the first go-round. The leftovers are good cold. It made its way to the table at every special occasion and was a standard for Sunday Dinner. It’s rustic and simple: no onions or celery.

A dressing is made of mayonnaise, pickle relish, salt and pepper and poured over the hot potatoes which absorbs the dressing and flavors the potatoes.

7 or 8 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed in 1 inch cubes

5 eggs

3/4 cup mayonnaise (I prefer Duke’s)

1/4 cup sweet pickle relish

1 teaspoon ground pepper, divided

2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

Place potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Add 1/2 the salt and 1/2 the pepper and place the eggs on top of the potatoes. There’s no need in messing up another pot to boil the eggs when they can cook right along with the potatoes.

Boil potatoes and eggs together.

Cover, bring to a medium boil. Cook 10 to 15 minutes or until potatoes are done but not mushy. Drain. Remove eggs and place them in cold water to cool. Peel eggs when cool enough to handle. Chop four eggs and leave one whole for garnish.

: 4 eggs diced, one left whole for garnish

Place potatoes and eggs in large bowl. Mix together mayonnaise, pickle relish and remaining salt and pepper. Pour over potatoes and eggs and gently toss to coat the potatoes well.

Potato salad

Taste for seasoning and adjust. Slice whole eggs and garnish. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers.

Dig in!

You might also enjoy:

Parsley and Chive Potatoes

Asparagus and New Potato Hash

Buttermilk and Chive Scalloped Potatoes

Dotted Swiss for Easter (Recipe: Easter Dinner Menu Suggestions)

Jackie Garvin — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 01:26:43 +0000

Long before the religious significance of Easter had meaning for me, the holiday was all about colored eggs, the Easter bunny, baskets filled with goodies, egg hunts and dotted Swiss. My two sisters and I always got new Easter frocks which my Granny sewed. Dotted Swiss, a smooth fabric with tiny raised dots, was my mother’s fabric of choice for our Easter dresses. She loved it. And she loved seeing us dressed in it. It’s a good thing we were all girls.

The choice of dotted Swiss fabric came with a stipulation. It couldn’t be pink. She liked seeing by sisters dressed in pink but she felt I had too much red in my hair to wear pink or red. That was a fashion rule according to her. Something about the colors clashing. My hair color messed it up for all of us. She wanted all three dresses identical. We wore matching Easter dresses for years. Identical Easter dresses was a source of joy for my Mother.

It took a long, long time but I finally figured out that people with auburn/red hair can, indeed, wear pink. The notion was seared deeply in my brain. My mother had somewhat of an obsession with it. She never missed an opportunity to point out an auburn/red-haired person that she spotted wearing pink or red. She felt it her duty to use that as an educational experience so I learned properly and would never commit such an egregious act. Fashion rules have relaxed. However, wearing pink comfortably took some doing. I had to work my way into it and get over the fact that I was breaking one of my mother’s rules. I’ve always been a rule follower and remain so even today.

As I write this post on Palm Sunday, I realize how different the meaning of Easter is to me now as I think about the upcoming events of Holy Week and Easter. Just as I have grown in my understanding of fashion and colors, I’ve grown in my faith and understanding of this most Holy holiday. I wish you the peace and joy that I have in my heart.

Y’all come see us!

Easter Menu Suggestions

Traditionally, Southerners enjoyed cured hams for Easter. The reason was rooted in practicality. Prior to refrigeration, hogs weren’t butchered before the first frost which was usually late fall. Curing was a long process and the first cured ham wouldn’t be ready until around Easter which made it the perfect main dish for the holiday. I hope you might be able to get some inspiration from list of suggested menu items.

MAIN DISH

Baked Glazed Ham

Herb Roasted Chicken

Roasted Turkey

SIDES

Roasted Roma Tomatoes

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Sweet Potatoes Oven Fries

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Coleslaw

Macaroni and Cheese

Stewed Summer Squash and Onions

Succotash

Deviled Eggs

Okra Fritters

Parsley and Chive Potatoes

Asparagus and New Potato Hash

Roasted Carrots

Buttermilk and Chive Scalloped Potatoes

Green Beans and New Potatoes

BREADS

Roasted Garlic and Herb Bread

Southern Buttermilk Cornbread

No Rise Rolls

Sally Lunn Bread

Garlic Cheese Biscuits

Easy Buttermilk Biscuits

DESSERTS

Williamsburg Inn Pecan Bars

Coconut Cake with Sour Cream Filing

Banana Split Cake

Lemon Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze

Easter Basket Cupcakes

Cane Syrup Cake

Coca-Cola Cake with Coca-Cola Icing

Red Velvet Cake

Right Smart (Recipe: Old Fashioned Brunswick Stew)

Jackie Garvin — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:25:28 +0000

Soups and stews are an all time favorite. They represent a maximum degree of efficiency in cooking, variety, cost effectiveness and creativity, which makes them just plain smart cooking. A generous bonus is found in the magnificent flavor. They may be rustic or fancy, simple or complicated; although I must question the soundness of making them complicated. A simple rustic soup or stew is a beautiful thing. And it’s smart cooking. Changing it up and making it complicated takes away the smart cooking aspect and turns it into…..well….I shan’t utter another word.

Smart cooking means that you use things that are available before they spoil. It also means that you can stretch out the meal to feed a whole bunch of hungry folks without breaking your food budget. Heaven knows, food budgets get stretched to the hilt these days. Smart cooking also means that you may be as creative as your little heart desires. Soups and stews get tasted all during the cooking process in order to make necessary adjustments. If an added ingredient results in an undesirable flavor, you can fix it by throwing in different flavors for balance as opposed to a roast where you have to wait until the dadgum thing finishes cooking to figure out how it’s going to taste. Not so with soups and stew. You can taste and adjust as many times as it takes to achieve the desired outcome. That’s right smart.

The nostalgic component of soups and stews appeals to my heart and soul and helps me feel a strong connection to my ancestors. They would throw together soups and stews from scraps of this and that and anything they could rake up. Adding lots of liquid would enable to them to feed many. My people never worried about breaking their food budget. They were much too poor to even have a budget. If they had food, they ate. If they didn’t have food, they went hungry. You can bet your bottom dollar that nary a drop of food went to waste. That would be an unforgivable sin in their eyes. To this day, long since they all have moved on to heaven, it makes my heart sad and tears well in my eyes to think of the hard, hungry times that my loved ones experienced. As such, I feel it’s my calling to pass on their stories and the lessons learned by living in such harsh conditions. I thank God everyday for the blessing of being a link in the lineage of such admirable and good people. I’m undeserving and I’ll never forget that.

Y’all come see us!

Old Fashioned Brunswick Stew

I used a jelly canner (extremely big pot) that measured 13 inches across and 9 inches high. When the stew was all done, I had the pot filled about 3/4 full. I don’t know how many gallons it made, but it was a bunch. You can feed lots of folks and still have some leftover to freeze. This stew freezes exceptionally well. That’s smart, too!

An intense tomato base is necessary for an authentic flavor. In addition to diced tomatoes, ketchup or tomato paste is essential. I prefer ketchup for the touch of sweetness it adds. If you have an aversion to ketchup or wish to eliminate sugar, substitute tomato paste, not tomato sauce.

Old Fashioned Brunswick Stew

1 whole 4 to 5 pound chicken

1 (4 to 5 pound) bone-in Boston butt pork roast, cut in large pieces

5 onions, divided

1 bay leaf

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 pounds whole kernel corn (I prefer Silver Queen)

2 pounds tiny green limas, shelled (we call these butterbeans)

2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes and the juice (or use an equivalent amount fresh tomatoes)

2 pounds okra, sliced

32 ounces ketchup

1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Place chicken and Boston butt in an extremely large pot along with one whole peeled onion, a bay leave and one tablespoon kosher salt. Cover with water and simmer 3 to 4 hours or until both chicken and pork are shreddable. Remove chicken and pork and let cool. When they’ve cooled enough to handle, remove bones, skin and excess fat. Shred. Strain cooking broth and return to large pot. Add chicken and pork back to the extremely large pot.

chicken and pork, shredded

Chop the remaining 4 onions and add to the extremely large pot. I want the meat and onions to cook all alone to give the onion flavor a chance to permeate the meat before the other ingredients were added.

lots and lots of chopped onions

Bring to a boil and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes. Permeate, onions, permeate!

chicken, pork and onions settling in the extremely large pot to simmer for a while

After 30 minutes, add peeled and chopped potatoes. Don’t make the chopped size any smaller than an inch or the potatoes will cook to mush.

peeled and chopped Yukon gold potatoes

And…..here’s the rest of the gang ready for the extremely large pot. I use fresh corn, okra and butter beans if available. If not, I will substitute good quality frozen. Fresh or canned tomatoes may be used.

butter beans (green limas), corn, okra, tomatoes and ketchup

Add Tobasco sauce and bring to a boil. Cook for 30 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Serve hot.

Enjoy with soda crackers. You may know them as saltines.

You may also enjoy this post which contains the culinary history of Brunswick Stew as well as a recipe for another version:

Slow-cooker Brunswick Stew

Well Worth the Wait(Recipe: Orange and Rosemary Braised Pork Shanks)

Jackie Garvin — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:35:43 +0000

I gained a new perspective on shank possibilities on a recent trip to Colonial Williamsburg, one of my favorite places on the face of the planet. I ordered Braised Pork Shanks off a restaurant menu because, to my knowledge, I had never eaten pork shanks and love to try new foods. While the food was being prepared, a Google search on the ol’ Blackberry taught me that smoked pork shanks are commonly called ham hocks when they’re smoked. Ham hocks! I had stars in my eyes, instantly. Maybe the stars were actually tears. I felt like I needed to dance. My husband didn’t agree. Bless his heart. He’s not a foodie. Don’t get me wrong. When he likes food he really likes it. However, he doesn’t get excited about food. He’s never had the wonderful experience of swooning over good food. That enthusiasm can’t be taught. It’s coded in your DNA. I’m sorry he missed out on that coding. Who knows what he was doing the day it got passed out. I, on the other hand, was the first person in line. Food thrills me. Everything about it thrills me. I can truthfully say, “I’m in love with food.”

While service was wonderful at our restaurant, my excitement and anticipation made it seem like it took forever to get my pork shank meal. I felt as though I would burst wide open trying to be patient. The wait was well worth it. The pork shanks were butter tender and flavorful. I promised myself to diligently search for fresh pork shanks as soon as we got back home. To my surprise, the butcher at my local grocery was more than willing to accommodate my request. He explained to me that they only received one fresh ham per day and cut the shanks from that. The daily yield is but two. He went on to say he’d be happy to save them up for me. After expressing my sincere gratitude , I asked him to call me when he had six. That’s exactly what he did. Customer service is still alive and well at Publix grocery stores. At least in the meat department. At least in the meat department of the store where I shop.

This inexpensive cut of meat has all but been forgotten except for being used to cure for ham hocks. The toughness requires a long cooking time which suits me just fine. I love nothing better than meat dishes that can be put together rather quickly and then popped in the oven for a long cook time requiring no attention.

In preparation for this meal, I set out in my yard to gather what I thought would add flavor. I believe if it grows together, it goes together, so I’m comfortable experimenting with different combinations of what ever happens to be in season. I wound up with oranges, rosemary and parsley. That combination isn’t written in stone and can easily be changed season to season. If those items aren’t available to you, substitute anything you can get your hands on. In slow cooking dishes, the flavors blend together and nothing stands out. They’re complementary and kind to each other. Try apples, thyme and sage. Or peaches, rosemary and parsley. The sky’s the limit.

Y’all come see us!

Orange and Rosemary Braised Pork Shanks

Orange and Rosemary Braised Pork Shanks

4 to 5 pounds fresh pork shanks (skin on)

1/4 cup flour

1 tablespoon homemade taco seasoning and meat rub (or use your favorite seasoning or meat rub)

1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil, divided

3 cups good quality stock (homemade or commercial)

2 cups white wine

2 large onions, peeled and sliced

4 to 5 cloves garlic, minced

3 carrots

2 celery stalks, including leaves

2 oranges, sliced

2 bay leaves

1 spring fresh rosemary

1 bunch fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

cornstarch, optional (for thickening the braising liquid)

Mix together flour and seasoning. Lightly coat pork shanks. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a heavy skillet, preferably cast iron, and sear shanks on all sides.

Seared pork shanks

Remove from skillet when browned. Add onions and more olive oil if necessary. Cook onions until they begin to brown slightly. Add garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Pour stock in skillet and scrape all the pieces from the bottom. Add wine and put shanks back in the pot. They need to be mostly covered with liquid.

The pot with only a few of the ingredients: onions, garlic, stock ,wine and pork shanks

Place carrots, celery, oranges, rosemary, parsley and bay leaves on top. Cover well.

This is how the pot looks with everybody in.

Cover tightly. Cook at 300 degrees for 3 to 4 hours or until the pork shanks are tender and falling off the bone.

After 4 hours of slow cooking....the meat is falling off the bone tender

Remove meat. Strain liquid. Cook on medium-high until reduced by half. If the gravy is not thickened to your liking at the end of the cooking time, dissolve about one teaspoon of cornstarch in some water and add it back to the gravy while it’s boiling. It will thicken almost immediately. Remove skin and bones from the pork shanks and add them back to the gravy. Taste for seasoning and adjust. Serve over cooked rice.

Fork tender, melt in your mouth goodness over rice

Mardi Gras Dinner Party

Jackie Garvin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 01:22:05 +0000

Mobile, AL, my hometown, was the first city in the United States to celebrate Mardi Gras. The tradition is carried on today. Since moving away 26 years ago, we’ve never been back during Mardi Gras season. We have to celebrate in another way. We decided (read: I made the decision and my husband brilliantly supported it) to have a Mardi Gras themed dinner party.

We played jazz and Zydeco background music.

For table decorations, I randomly scattered beads, coins, masks and derbies down the center of the table. All the decorations were in the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold and were obtained from a local party store.

I wanted to set a pretty table using Old Country Roses china which is festive and highlights Mardi Gras colors .

A balance of formal and informal for table settings keeps the party elegant but comfortable.

Formal aspects were: table seatings, china and crystal wine glasses. Informal aspects were everyday water glasses, whimsical table decorations and tableware rolled in napkins instead of being placed in a formal matter beside the dinner plate.

Shrimp and Crawfish Etouffee was served in the cups.

Vases filled with coins and beads made a fun centerpiece for my outdoor dining table where we enjoyed our King cake dessert.

The menu was primarily Cajun food. I included a marinated vegetable dish for color and visual appeal.

MENU

(click on the name of the dish to go directly to the recipe)

Red Beans and Rice

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

Shrimp and Crawfish Etouffee

Copper Penny Salad

King Cake

Laissez le bons temp rouler!

Keeping it Real (Recipe: Shrimp and Crawfish Etouffee)

Jackie Garvin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:02:11 +0000

Southern cuisine has a famous first cousin. It’s called Cajun and it’s a welcomed member of the family and follows the principles of authentic Southern food: unpretentious, made from local ingredients and flavorful. The biggest difference is in the heat level. Cajuns definitely have more of an affinity for hot peppers in their everyday food.

There are two sources of bona-fide Cajun inspiration that I rely on to teach me the culture and the food: Paul Prudhomme and Justin Wilson. Both are well-respected chefs and authors. Justin Wilson had a cooking show on PBS before Food Network TV was a glimmer in some producer’s eye. He was famous for the catchphrase “I gawr-on-tee” and had a particular fondness for his “sippin’ wine” that stayed within reach while he was demonstrating his cooking skills. His trademark overalls, impressive girth and pleasant disposition created an endearing image in the eyes of his many fans, myself included. He was a raconteur (storyteller) in a class all to himself. Many of his TV shows are found on YouTube. Chef Paul Prudhomme has a different personality and isn’t quite as much a character and entertainer as Justin Wilson but there’s no mistaking his authority on Cajun cuisine and cooking talents. Among his many accomplishments is the famous New Orleans restaurant K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen which he opened in 1979 with his late wife, K.

Both of these gentleman have my admiration for staying true to their culture and keeping it real.

Etouffee is a classic Cajun dish that is simply shrimp or crawfish, or in my case both, stewed down in a gravy and served over rice. The romantic French name belies the rustic nature of this dish.

It’s good, I gawr-on-tee it!

Y’all come see us!

Shrimp and Crawfish Etouffee (pronounced eh-two-FAY)

I took inspiration from Paul Prudhomme’s recipe for Shrimp Etouffee. Judging from the amount of pepper (black, white and cayenne), Chef Prudhomme must have a stronger constitution than I can ever imagine. I reduced the amount of cayenne from 2 teaspoons to 1/4 teaspoon and the amount of white pepper from 1 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon. While his ingredient list didn’t specify kosher salt, that’s what I used. Using my modifications, the spice blend seemed perfectly balanced. The use of table salt instead of kosher salt would have made the blend too salty. I recommend making an adjustment to the amount of salt if you prefer table salt to kosher.

I substituted olive oil, a healthy fat, for some of the butter without compromising the flavor and richness of the dish. The original ingredient list called for 6 to 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter. I only used three.

Additionally, I increased the amount of vegetables in the trinity (onion, green bell pepper, celery). Instead of two pounds of shrimp, I used one pound of cooked crawfish tail meat and one pound of raw shrimp. If you have an aversion to crawfish, also called mudbugs, or can’t find them, use two pounds of raw shrimp instead.

3 cups seafood stock, divided. (If you don’t have seafood stock, substitute a good quality chicken or turkey stock but don’t use plain water.)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

10 to 11 tablespoons olive oil, divided

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup celery with leaves, finely choppped

1/2 cup green bell pepper, finely chopped

3 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 pound peeled raw shrimp

1 pound crawfish tail meat, cooked, peeled and deveined

1 cup green onions, finely chopped

hot cooked rice

Mix salt, peppers, basil and thyme together. Set aside.

kosher salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, white pepper, dried basil and dried thyme

Heat 7 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy pot until smoking ( 3 to 4 minutes). Gradually whisk in flour. Whisk until roux is about the color of peanut butter (3 to 4 minutes). You must whisk constantly and don’t take your eye off the roux even for one minute. It starts browning quickly. If you burn the roux, dump it out and start over.

roux....just the right color

Remove from heat and add prepared onions, celery and bell pepper and one tablespoon of the dry seasoning mix. Keep stirring constantly until the roux has cooled, approximately 5 minutes.

chopped vegetables and dry seasoning added to roux

Bring stock to boil in a large saucepan. Gradually whisk in roux. After it’s well incorporated, reduce heat, continue stirring and cook for an additional two minutes. Set pot aside.

Heat 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan (at least 4 quart) over medium high heat. Add shrimp and green onions. Cook for 2 minutes, constantly stirring.

shrimp and green onions after two minutes cook time

Add cooked crawfish meat.

cooked crawfish tail meat goes into the pot

Gently stir it in.

everybody's ready for the gravy!

Add the gravy and three tablespoons of butter to the pan with the seafood and onions. Shake the pan until the butter metlts. Add remaining dry spice mixture, stir and remove from heat.

For each serving, make a ring of rice in a serving bowl, add etouffee in the center. Serve immediately.

Shrimp and Crawfish Etouffee with rice

You might also enjoy:

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

The Dignity of Southern Food(Recipe: Simple Fruit Salad)

Jackie Garvin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:07:06 +0000

It’s hard to define and recognize a cuisine in today’s mobile society. People move about and take with them dishes from one cuisine and mesh them into another. The lines have blurred. Cajun and Creole are prime examples of this. The distinction between the two was pronounced at one time. Now, the differences are barely recognizable..

Southern food is undergoing a bit of an identity crisis. It’s not that Southern food can’t figure out who it is but rather that some folks have confused authentic Southern food with modern adaptations that include convenience foods which weren’t available to early day Southern cooks such as processed cheese (spread and block versions), non-dairy whipped topping (tub and aerosolized can versions), commercially prepared cream soups, packaged dry soups and cake mixes. The ever-increasing reliance upon these convenience items in Southern kitchens has led some folks, who regards themselves as culinary authorities, to describe Southern cuisine as lazy, “dump and stir” and undignified. People who only see my native cuisine through that prism are uniformed. Southern food often falls prey to culinary elitism. I think its honor and dignity is worth defending.

Southern kitchens are not immune to the” fast past, always running behind, trying to be in three places at once” lifestyle. Rulers of the Kitchen Kingdom must sometimes rely on quick-fix meals and convenience items to lessen the time from stove to table. The use of convenience items may be the difference between gathering a family around the kitchen table and everyone going in a separate direction and not sharing a meal. Some of those items have made their way to my kitchen. They have a place in our world.

Because the South was an agrarian society, authentic Southern cuisine focused on lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Meals would consist of large bowls of steaming seasonal vegetables seasoned with butter, bits of smoked meats or meat drippings, breads such as biscuit or cornbread and fruit that was preserved or cooked into pies, cobblers or cakes. There’s no denying the Southern sweet tooth and the dessert was considered part of the meal. If fruit wasn’t available, a pound cake would serve as the sweet portion of the meal.

Despite its status as a Southern icon, Fried Chicken wasn’t an everyday occurrence. Chickens were prized for their eggs. Once a hen had become too old to produce eggs, you could expect she would be stewed in a large pot with either rice or dumplings added to stretch out the meal. Fried Chicken was reserved for a very special occasion because the chickens small and tender enough to fry were still in their egg laying prime.

Beef wasn’t a mainstay of the Southern diet. Cows were kept for milk which could be turned into butter, cheese and buttermilk as well as supplying sweet milk for drinking and cooking.

Pigs were a more practical food source. They required much less room than cows, took less time to mature and very little was wasted once butchered. ”Everything but the squeal” would be used. The meat was for breakfast food and seasoning. Fat was rendered for cooking. Prior to refrigeration, very little of the pork would be eaten fresh. Aside from the hams, most of it was ground up for sausage meat. Hams and sausages would be cured and smoked to increase their shelf life.

Occasionally, wild game might provide a protein source. Small animals, such as rabbit and squirrel, were cut in pieces and cooked in gravy to stretch the meal.

Rivers and lakes would offer up fish to lucky fishermen. Residents of coastal areas might enjoy shrimp and oysters.

Rustic Southern cuisine was unpretentious, seasonal, flavorful and dependent on the bounty gathered by the hunters and farmers. Much of the South was poverty-stricken and the citizens raked and scraped together food the best way they could to feed their families and themselves. They relied on their survival skills and practical approach to living in order to get by. Cooking lessons, recipes and tips were passed down generation to generation. What food they had was shared with family, neighbors and strangers. Even during lean times when food was scarce, they gave thanks for every bite they put in their mouth.

The simple nature of rustic Southern food mirrored the simple life led by the people of the region. Rich sauces and complicated dishes with romantic names were simply not consistent with the lifestyle. By some, this simplicity has been interpreted as being undignified. Brothers and sisters, if dealing with your circumstances to the best of your ability using the only resources available to you while maintaining a grateful heart is undignified, then dignity is highly over rated.

Y’all come see us.

Simple Fruit Salad

In the eyes of my mother, a celebration at our house wouldn’t be complete without a good fruit salad. You don’t need sugar or heavy cream if you use the best seasonal fruit and the best honey you can find. The ingredients will necessarily change according to availability. The dignity of this fine dish is in its simplicity.

3 oranges, divided (I have oranges growing in my yard and I’ll use what ever is ready to be picked. The oranges I’ve used today are Hamlins)

1 tablespoon honey(more or less depending on the sweetness of the fruit, I prefer Tupelo honey)

1 quart strawberries

1 large bunch red seedless grapes

2 Gala apples (or substitute your favorite eating apple)

2 bananas

optional: grated coconut and chopped pecans

Juice one orange and mix with honey. Set aside.

juice of one orange and one tablespoon honey make the marinade

Peel and chop the remaining two oranges. Add to large bowl.

two peeled and chopped Hamlin oranges

Wash, hull and chop strawberries. Add to oranges.

Florida strawberries

Wash and halve grapes. Add to bowl. Be sure to use seedless grapes.

red seedless grapes, halved

Wash apples. I peel one and leave the peeling on the other for added texture, color and flavor. Chop and add to bowl.

Two Gala apples

Peel and slice bananas. Add to bowl. Slicing is better than chopping. The more surface that’s exposed, the quicker they will turn brown.

sliced bananas

Pour orange juice and honey over fruit. My favorite honey is Tupelo. Shown below are two outstanding brands.

King's and Savannah Bee Company Tupelo honey

The acid in the orange juice will help keep the bananas and apples from turning brown. Gently stir to make sure all the fruit is coated. Adding coconut and chopped nuts (I prefer puh-kahns) is a nice addition. I left both of those out because I made this dish to take to a gathering and so many people have tree nut allergies.

toss gently.....

Chill well before serving. Isn’t it simply beautiful?

Simple Fruit Salad. Fruit and honey, occasionally nuts. Nothing more. Nothing less.

A Special Cake for the Season (Recipe: King Cake)

Jackie Garvin — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:24:41 +0000

In western Christian tradition, Epiphany is celebrated January 6 which is the climax of the Twelve Days of Christmas and commemorates the coming of the Wise Men bringing gifts to the baby Jesus. According to Christian teaching, the Wise Men were the first to acknowledge the baby as The King. Following this pronouncement, a wonderful tradition of the King Cake has been born.

The season of Epiphany runs from January 6 through Ash Wednesday. This joyous season coincides with Mardi Gras and is celebrated in several Southern United States cities and is the day prior to Ash Wednesday which begins the season of Lent. Early Christians were forbidden to eat eggs, butter, cream and meat during Lent. Rich pastries and baked goods became common practice during Epiphany as a way of using up eggs, butter and cream prior to Lent. Mardi Gras Day, also called Fat Tuesday, is so named because it’s the last day to eat, drink and be merry before the solemn season of Lent begins.

The colors of King Cakes and Mardi Gras have significance. Purple is for justice, green is for faith and gold is for power. A small baby is placed inside the King Cake representing the baby Jesus. Tradition holds that the one finding the baby will have good luck throughout the year. It also might suggest that the one finding the baby is responsible for bringing the King Cake to the next gathering.

The cakes are formed into a ring symbolizing the unity of faiths. Sometimes they’re flavored with cinnamon and sugar, much like cinnamon rolls. They can also have a cream cheese filling.

Using frozen bread dough makes this process easier and quicker without compromising any of the home-baked flavor. My preference is for a lemon cream cheese filling. If you’d rather opt for the sugar and cinnamon type, spread soften butter on the bread once it’s rolled out, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and then proceed to roll in the same fashion I describe in the recipe.

May you find the baby Jesus and enjoy many blessings in the year to come.

Y’all come see us!

King Cake

This cake is the marriage of pastry and cake. With that kind of a beginning, the ending must be wonderful.

1 (1 pound) loaf frozen white bread dough (I used Bridgford)

For filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

juice and zest of one lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For icing:

2 cups powdered sugar

4 to 5 tablespoons buttermilk (you may substitute regular milk)

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (or substitute vanilla extract)

gel coloring and sprinkles

Place frozen dough in an oiled bowl and let it thaw and rise according to package directions. Once it has completely risen, you can either start making the cake or place the bread dough in the refrigerator covered for up to three days.

When ready to roll, punch down the dough and turn out on a floured surface. Knead three or four times. Sprinkle with flour if dough is sticky. Roll out to approximately 10 inches x 18 inches making sure the dough isn’t sticking to the surface. Don’t worry yourself sick by trying to make it exact. My rolling pin is 10 inches long so I use that as a guideline.

Make the filling by placing cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and lemon juice and zest in a medium bowl. Mix until smooth and creamy.

Filling

Spread filling over dough covering well. The shape of my dough resembles a handgun. You don’t need to read anything into that. It also looks like a reverse image of Florida with the bottom part chopped off. I live in the missing part. There’s no hidden meaning here, either.

Spread filling over dough.

Roll dough in jelly roll fashion. Start with the long side closest to you and roll it up to make a log. Pinch the seams once it’s rolled. Form the log into a roundish, ovalish shape. Don’t stress over that part either. Just make the ends touch and then pinch those seams together. Brush the top with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for one hour in warm, draftless place. My oven was on so I set it on top of my stove.

Shape into a ring or oval.

And after one hour, you get……

......risen bread

Bake on a baking mat or greased baking sheet at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely before icing.

Ooopps! We had a cave in.

This cake’s not perfect but it’s homemade. That’s all that matters. Don’t worry about imperfections. They’re made with love.

To make the icing, place powdered sugar, almond extract and buttermilk in a bowl. Start with 4 tablespoons of buttermilk. Mix until smooth adding additional buttermilk if needed. It’s needs to be thick but pourable. Divide equally among three bowls. Make purple, green and gold icing using food coloring.

Purple, green and gold icing

Sneak baby Jesus into the cake from the inside part of the ring. I prefer to sneak him in after the cake’s baked instead of baking him into the dough.

Baby Jesus resting before diving into the cake.

Drizzle icing over the cake. Add sprinkles. You may leave the icing white and then decorate with colored sprinkles. I prefer to color the icing because I like more color.

Decorated with colored icing and sprinkles

I like for the icing to run on the plate. It seems more festive to me but that’s just how my mind works. I also like for the icing to pool in the center of the cake. It reminds me of a kaleidoscope.

Puddle of purple, green and gold

Now, you’ve probable forgotten about the cave in. See….it doesn’t matter!

Home Cooking (Recipe: Braised Beef Shanks)

Jackie Garvin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:50:03 +0000

It seems there is a renewed appreciation for cuts of meat that are tougher, thus requiring longer cooking times. The idea snuggles nicely into the trend of more home cooked meals. More and more of us are opting for home cooked meals. Sometimes the meals are quick-fix and sometimes long cooking. Either way, we’re cooking and eating more at home. Our bodies are benefiting from better nutrition and our hearts are benefiting from quality home time and a sense of accomplishment. Win-win!

Beef shanks are quite commonly used for soup and soup stock. You can make a world-class beef vegetable soup by starting out with some good beef shanks. Their usefulness doesn’t stop there. You’re denying yourself a wonderful experience if you’ve never braised them. Once you’ve seasoned and seered the meat, it cooks on auto-pilot until the meat is butter tender and so flavorful you’ll get tongue-tied trying to describe it. Additionally, you benefit emotionally from the wonderful cooking aroma that wafts about your nose, kitchen and house for several hours. The aroma is a thing of beauty all unto itself. Keep a tissue handy. You’ll need to dab tears and saliva while it’s cooking .

Y’all come see us!

Braised Beef Shanks

I started with beef shanks that were about 3/4 to one inch thick. You can probably have your butcher cut them to your specifications. At that thickness, I cooked them approximately 4 hours to get tender. I used my Homemade Taco Seasoning and Rub for seasoning the flour prior to seering. You can use your favorite seasoning mix or just use salt or pepper.

4 to 5 pounds beef shanks

1/2 cup plain flour

1 tablespoon Homemade Taco Seasoning and Rub

olive oil, for seering meat and sautéing vegetables

2 medium sweet onions, sliced

5 to 6 cloves of garlic, ,minced

4 carrots, washed and left whole

3 celery stalks and leaves, washed and left whole

3 cups Homemade Beef Stock or good quality commercially prepared

2 cups red wine (not cooking wine)

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoon dried thyme (or 4 teaspoons fresh)

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Mix flour and seasoning. Lightly dredge beef shanks in mixture. Seer on high heat in olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Remove from pan.

Beef shanks dredged in seasoned flour and seered

Add onions to pot and additional olive oil if needed. Saute until soft. Add garlic the last couple minutes of cooking.

Onions and garlic reporting for duty.

When onions are garlic are soft, add beef stock and wine and scrape all the goodie from the bottom of the pot. Some of you may know this as deglazing. What ever you call it, don’t forget to do it. You’ll be missing out on a lot of flavor. Return beef shanks to the pot and add carrots, celery, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper. Make sure the meat is covered with the liquid.

Everybody's in the Dutch oven.

Cover tightly, place in a 300 degree oven and cook for approximately 4 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. After the meat’s done, remove it and strain out all the vegetables. Reduce the liquid down by about half. Remove bones and return meat to braising liquid. Serve over rice, potatoes, grits or grits’ well-known cousin polenta. Cooking in a cast iron pot plus red wine makes the liquid very dark. And delicious. And tender.

Braised Beef Shanks and Rice

Groundnut Candy (Recipe: Old Fashioned Peanut Brittle)

Jackie Garvin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:00:20 +0000

When a craving for peanut brittle hits you, there are plenty of places you can go to that sell the commercially prepared product. It’s packaged as peanut brittle and has all the ingredients of traditional peanut brittle. You can find it at any big box retailer, grocery store, convenient store and probably some hardware stores. Sometimes hardware stores in the South serve as general merchandise stores. While commercially prepared peanut brittle is easy to find, the taste can’t compare to homemade. I realize that’s not much of a revelation. The same comparison could be made of most any commercially prepared food product. Homemade will always be better. For peanut brittle, the difference between homemade and commercial isn’t just in the taste, it’s the texture as well. Peanut brittle hardens and toughens as it ages. When you buy a box of peanut brittle at a retail store, you have no idea in which decade the stuff was made. Besides, what does the expiration date on a box of peanut brittle mean? Is that the date the product will start growing mold? Is it the date the aluminum foil package turns to tissue paper? Is it the date the peanuts start sprouting? I’m not questioning the safety of consuming the product up to the expiration date. I have no doubt it will be safe for human consumption. But, I can guarantee the quality is effected long before the expiration date.

Sarah Rutledge published the first known recipe for peanut brittle in 1847 in the Carolina Housewife. She titled the recipe “An Excellent Recipe for Groundnut Candy”. I find Groundnut Candy to be a delightful name. Occasionally, you can still find folks who refer to peanuts as groundnuts.

Peanut brittle has simple and common ingredients. The cooking method is similar to any candy that uses a syrup base. You cook sugar, corn syrup and water to a certain temperature, add peanuts, continue cooking, add vanilla and baking soda. Pour. There’s a great deal of stirring that goes on but not quite as much as you have to do for Pecan Pralines. Make sure you have a reliable candy thermometer. Cooking to an exact temperature is critical. If you can successfully get by with using the cold water method of testing stages for candy, I humbly bow before your presence. I recognize the different stages and can identify them when the hot sugar syrup drops into cold water. The issue I don’t know how to resolve is the frequency of testing. Once syrup starts heating up, it can stay on the same temperature for a good amount of time and then suddenly…BOOM….the temperature starts rising quickly. Unless you are constantly dipping out the syrup into the water, you could miss the mark and overcook your syrup. But that’s just my shortcoming. I’m glad I confessed it.

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Old Fashioned Peanut Brittle

Have all the ingredients gathered and properly measured before you start cooking peanut brittle. The syrup requires attention and doesn’t allow for time rummaging through pantries while it’s cooking. Also, make sure you use a pot that will give you lots of room for volume. Once you add the baking soda, the stuff’s going to erupt like a volcano. You don’t want that hot liquid getting on you. It will burn the fool out of you.

Yield: about 3 pounds of peanut brittle

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup white corn syrup (I use Karo)

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups raw peanuts

3/4 teaspoon salt (I used kosher)

1 scant tablespoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Prepare one or two standard size cookie sheets by spraying with a non-stick spray, coating with butter or using a Silpat baking mat. I like peanut brittle about 1/2 inch thick. I just used one pan cover with a Silpat baking mat which is 11 1/2 inches by 16 1/2 inches. If you want thinner brittle, use two prepared cookie sheets.

Mix salt and baking soda and set aside. Measure out peanuts and vanilla.

baking soda and salt, raw peanuts, vanilla extract

Mix sugar, corn syrup and water in a pot. You want the mixture less than half the volume the pot will hold. The pot I used was about 1/4 filled with the mixture. Remember that considerable lava action will take place when you add the baking soda. You need lots of room in yo’ pot. I estimate my pot to be a 3 quart size and the mixture came right up to the very top after the baking soda was added. A 4 quart size would have been better. The trick with finding the right size pot is that the sides need to be low enough that you can use a candy thermometer.

sugar, corn syrup, water

Bring the mixture to a boil and continue to cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until it reaches 260 degrees. Add butter and raw peanuts. Continue cooking and stirring CONSTANTLY until the mixture reaches 310 degrees which took about 20 minutes.

Remove the pot from the stove. Now get ready! You’ll need to start stirring quickly. Add baking soda/salt mixture and vanilla extract. Stir! Stir! Stir! Pour into pan/pans and spread evenly with a wooden spoon. If you are going to be using two pans, you need a helper. Have them spread them mixture in one pan while you do the other one.

All the peanut brittle landed safely in the pan

Let cool completely. Break into pieces. Eat as much as you can. Store the rest in an airtight container.

Old Fashioned Peanut Brittle

Cotton and Peanuts (Recipe: Parched Peanuts)

Jackie Garvin — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:50:40 +0000

In the early 1900s, Alabama was a major cotton producer. Cotton mills, spread throughout small towns, converted cotton bolls to fabric and they were the epicenter of the town’s economy. Alabama was centrally located in the Cotton Belt and was called the Cotton State. Then in 1910, an event occurred that shaped the landscape of Alabama and changed the lives of many. Mr. Boll Weevil made an appearance….all the way from Mexico. The 1910 to 1915 Alabama cotton crops were destroyed by the pesky boll weevil. Families and towns were devastated.

As if a prayer had been answered, Dr. George Washington Carver published in 1916 “How to Grow the Peanut and 105 Ways of Preparing it for Human Consumption.” Not only did the publication teach farmers different ways of using the crop as food both for humans and livestock, it explained the benefit of crop rotation and how the peanut replenished the soil. Dr. Carver and his wisdom concerning peanuts, saved the economy of the South.

Peanuts are still plentiful throughout the South. As soon as the season is right for me to get my hands on some green peanuts, I’ll teach you how to boil them properly. For now, we can still find dry peanuts at roadside produce stands. Dry peanuts are good for eating raw and parching. ”Parching?”, you ask in a quizzical and somewhat skeptical tone. Yep. Parching. We parch peanuts. You may know them by another name: roasted.

Roasting became a verb in my world only in fairly recent history. Growing up, roast was a noun. We ate roasts but we didn’t roast things in the oven. We baked, broiled or just plain ol’ cooked them. We didn’t even roast roasts. Some vintage Southern cook books give instructions on roasting. However, for some unknown reason, my family never got the memo that roast is a verb and not just a noun. Cooking peanuts in the oven was called parching .

Parched peanuts in the shell were a favorite throughout the South. People could conveniently carry them in their pockets for snacks throughout the day. School children carried them in their lunches. They were an absolute necessity to get through watching a good SEC football game.

Don’t expect parched peanuts to taste the same as commercially roasted peanuts. The difference is about as stark as fresh salmon versus canned salmon. While commercially roasted peanuts have a richer flavor than raw, parching them takes them to a whole new dimension of deep peanut taste.

Raw peanuts on the left, parched peanuts on the right. The color of the meat turns a caramel color when parched. The skins become brittle and separates easily from the meat.

Parched Peanuts

There’s no science to parching peanuts. Too many variables affect the cooking time. Different ovens will produce different cooking times. The moisture content of the peanuts is a big variable. Of course, individual taste preferences must be taken into account, also. The cooking time can be anywhere from 20 minutes to 50 minutes in a 350 degree oven. I wouldn’t recommend cooking the peanuts on a higher temperature because once they start heating up good, they can cook very fast and scorch easily. There’s not many kitchen disasters worse than a scorched peanut. Not only does the smell seem to last for days, you can’t hardly get the taste out of your mouth. Sometimes we just can’t listen to our nose when it’s trying to tell us the peanuts are scorched. We have to taste them in spite of ourselves.

Place unshelled dried peanuts in a single layer on a shallow baking pan in a 350 degree oven. Test the peanuts periodically for doneness which means you shell one and eat the meat. That’s the only way to test it. The amount of cooking time may vary batch to batch. There’s just no way to get around testing the peanuts. After you shell the tester peanut, if the meat isn’t hot enough to burn your little fingers, it’s not done. You’ll need to keep testing until one tastes right to you. This batch took me 50 minutes. It usually doesn’t take that long which means these peanuts had a good bit of moisture in them.

Parched peanuts

They will continue to cook a little from residual heat after you’ve taken them out of the oven. They need to cool before you get really serious about eating a bunch of them. Those little suckers hold heat and will burn the stew out of your mouth.

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Traditional Southern New Year’s Day Menu

Jackie Garvin — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:21:43 +0000

Of all the events we celebrate in the South, the menu for New Year’s Day probably carries the most tradition. Each component has a special meaning. We wouldn’t think of letting New Year’s Day get passed us without enjoying this traditional meal. The foods represent progress, luck, money and gold. Why take a chance? Below the link to the recipe, I’ve included an explanation of the significance of the dish as part of the Southern traditional New Year’s Day menu.

Broiled Pork Chops

A pig roots forward. A chicken scratches backwards. A cow stands still. Pork symbolizes forward progress. If I’m feeding lots of folks, I’ll cook a pork roast. Since we only had three today, I opted for pork chops. Just to make sure I’ve covered the bases, I always use pork seasoning, either ham hocks or ham, in the collards and blackeye peas. You just can’t be too careful.

Collard Greens and Ham Hocks

Greens symbolize money. You can use any kind of greens, it doesn’t have to be collards. Even cabbage is acceptable. At least that’s what I think. If I’ve been wrong all this time, I don’t even want to know. Collards can either be the best thing you’ve ever put in your mouth or the worst. You have to pay attention to the seasoning in collards to make them good. Making a good stock from ham hocks or ham is something I highly recommend. Add salt as needed and either sugar or honey to balance the bitterness. Also, strip them off the big vein in the center of the leaf. That thing is no good. It’s tough and bitter.

Blackeye Peas

Eat blackeye peas for luck. Some believe that you need to eat 365 peas to solidify your luck. I don’t count my peas. I just make sure to eat plenty. We like our peas served over Basmati rice which isn’t part of the tradition. We simply like the way it tastes.

Lacey Cornbread

Cornbread cooked in little medallion shaped pieces represent gold. As high as gold is, I think I’ll cook lacey cornbread for the next 364 days.

From our Southern home to yours, Happy New Years, y’all! We wish you good luck, prosperity, progress and lots of good tomatoes in 2012.

New Year’s Day Gratitude List (recipe: Blackeye Peas)

Jackie Garvin — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 21:55:05 +0000

There’s something about making New Year’s resolutions that just doesn’t work out for me. I know about setting goals. My training in Corporate America and experience as a business owner taught all about that. I can set short-term and long-term goals, measure and quantify them. But, when it comes to keeping New Year’s resolutions, I fall short. Maybe the term “New Year’s resolution” isn’t recognized by my brain. So, I’m taking a different approach for 2012. I’m not thinking about resolutions. At all. Ever. My brain doesn’t know what to do with them anyway. Oh, I certainly have goals for the year, but we’re not using the “r” word.

My first goal for the New Year is to develop a list of things for which I’m grateful because I firmly believe that happiness starts with a grateful heart. Expressing gratitude lifts your spirits and improves your mood. It’s relatively easy to express gratitude when you’re feeling good, happy and upbeat. Try doing it when you’re miserable and sad. In fact, I urge you to do it when you’re miserable and sad. You’ll be amazed how quickly your mood changes.

My list is in no particular order. When it popped in my head, I typed it. All my thoughts are random. Don’t read too much into that. Some of them will be obvious, some you may not understand. If you have questions about them, I’ll be happy to elaborate. I stopped at 100.

a good night’s sleep
citrus trees in my backyard yard
my husband
my children
my son-in-law
my grandchildren
lavender-scented Epsom salts
a big ice-cold glass of water
quilts
cast iron skillets
my home
heritage recipes
books
sunshine
home-grown tomatoes
long walk/runs (see #17)
a good pair of athletic shoes (see #16)
my dog
gospel choirs
the first cup of coffee in the morning
cooling rains in the summer
bees
Geneva, AL
answering the phone and hearing one of my children on the other end
answering the phone and hearing one of my grandchildren on the other end
being called “Nana”
old friends
new friends
pedicures
music
grace
everyday blessings
Syrup and Biscuits friends
comments left by Syrup and Biscuits friends
guests in our home
red barns
basset hounds (see #18)
reliable transportation
clean sheets
toothpaste/toothbrushes
good skin care products
worn shoes
roasted chicken
okra
vegetables/herbs/flowers in my kitchen garden
Spanish moss draped on oak trees
morning
sunsets
cool breezes
hot showers
fragrant blooms
butterflies
hummingbirds
family celebrations
front porches
candles
pretty new dishes
pretty vintage dishes
aprons
the window over my kitchen sink
the Great Smoky Mountains
the smell of bacon frying
Colonial Williamsburg
wood fires (controlled, of course)
fireplaces
my birth certificate (proud to be an American)
my voter registration card (made possible by #66)
ripe peaches
active duty and retired military personnel and their families (refer to #66 and #67)
blackberries
Southern peas
my gift of cooking
my gift of writing
teachers
good health
chap stick
extended family
bowls of hot soup
words of encouragement from my mother (“You can do anything you set your mind to do.”)
lessons of humility from my grandmother (“It ain’t all about you, Shug.”)
good manners
hugs
farmers
Tupelo honey
azaleas
camellias
hydrangeas
ice-cold milk
ibuprofen (see #16)
conversations with my husband when I have his undivided attention
Christmas
Thanksgiving
pecans
homemade vanilla ice cream
my hammock under the oak trees
soft green grass
historical sites
Mobile, AL
a nap
vanilla extract

As you can see, I’m thankful for lots and lots of things. I’m blessed.

I wish you the best that 2012 has to offer. May we all have plenty of good tomatoes. Happy New Year!

Y’all come see us.

Blackeye Peas

If you’re around a Southerner on New Year’s Day, chances are you’ll find a pot of blackeye peas nearby. The folklore surrounding blackeye peas is believed to date back to the Civil War. As General Sherman’s troups marched through the South and destroyed much of it, they would burn or steal a lot of the food but ignored blackeye peas which were originally planted as a food source for livestock. The Southerners were left with a delicious, nutritious and plentiful food source. They felt plum lucky about that. Since that time, eating blackeye peas on the first day of the New Year is considered good luck. Some accounts of the folklore state that you should eat 365 peas to solidify your luck. I don’t count my blackeye peas. I just make sure I eat plenty.

1 pound dried blackeye peas

2 smoked ham hocks

1 medium sweet onion, diced

salt and black pepper to taste

Soak dried peas in water overnight. You’ll need at least 3 times as much water as peas. The next morning, drain peas and discard water.

Place ham hocks in a large pot and cover with water. Cook for at least 30 minutes or until they’re tender. Add drained peas and diced onion to the pot.

Make sure peas are covered with water. Cover and cook for one hour or until tender. Taste for seasoning before the peas are completely done and make adjustments as needed. Depending on the saltiness of the ham hocks, you may only need a little salt if any at all. Add black pepper to your taste.

Serve over rice. We prefer Basmati rice.

A Christmas Tradition (recipe: Christmas Morn Casserole)

Jackie Garvin — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 20:20:53 +0000

Traditions play an important role in my life. Whether the traditions relate to family, religion or culture, they are the thread that ties together generations. One generation teaches the next the importance and meaning of the tradition. By carrying on traditions, you keep deceased loved ones alive in your heart and in your memories. The generational connections made possible by traditions not only add a sentimental element, but they help define you and give you a sense of the values and customs of generations before you. Ancestors who you may not have had the good fortune to meet are a part of who you are today. Following their traditions brings them into your life in a way that’s permanent and meaningful.

I started a Christmas breakfast tradition many years ago. Y’all can be pretty sure that any tradition I start is going to involve food. I figure a food tradition is pretty safe and something that is likely to be handed down. After all, we all have to eat. A tradition of sky-diving on Christmas morning may not have the same lasting power generation to generation as a Christmas breakfast traditional dish. For starters, I have no interest in jumping out of plane unless it’s on fire and no more than three feet above the ground. I do have a big interest in having a good, easy and stress-free Christmas breakfast. Plus, sharing a meal together is always high on my list of important things to do. Not so much with sky-diving.

A recipe I came across years ago in a Gooseberry Patch book seemed to be the perfect dish for a Christmas morning traditional breakfast. You make it up the night before and store it in your refrigerator. Make ahead dishes are a sure-fire key to stress reduction. The casserole bakes for an hour which you gives you ample time to celebrate and enjoy all the wonderful gifts and goodies left by Santa and all the other nice people in the life of you and your children. Place the casserole in the oven as soon as you stumble out of your bed and it’s ready at the perfect time to be enjoyed by the whole family. My family loves this dish. To make it even more special, I only make one time a year. That gives them 364 days to look forward to the next time they’ll get to eat it.

My daughter, Amy, who has our only grandchildren, two-year old Jackson and Ella, lives near us. Last Christmas, Amy decided that she wanted them to have Christmas breakfast at their home so their could start their own Christmas morning tradition. I will admit to being heartbroken initially when I got the news. But I quickly realized I was being selfish. Her tradition was going to include the Christmas breakfast casserole, too. She wanted her children to become accustomed to the wonderful aroma of the casserole baking in her oven as they enjoyed Christmas morning in their own home and then sitting down to breakfast while the living room is covered in boxes and wrapping paper. She’s teaching them the importance of traditions and this Christmas morning tradition in particular. While I miss not having my whole family together Christmas morning, I have the peace and joy of knowing that this tradition, so important to my daughter, will forever bind me to my grandchildren and hopefully many subsequent generations. The tradition that I started a few years ago has already touched three generations. That’s powerful.

We continue to enjoy this casserole on Christmas morning at our home even though we no longer have the Christmas morning hustle and bustle that you do when small children are around. Our oldest daughter, Marcia and our son Tyler along with his girlfriend Chelsea, joined us for breakfast. It’s still a good time to enjoy a meal with people who you love. It’s not just the little children that anticipate certain things at Christmas. The big people do, too.

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Christmas Morn Casserole

Adapted from Gooseberry Patch Old-Fashioned Country Christmas . I modified the recipe by using Dijon mustard instead of mustard powder and adding more cheese. I prefer sharp cheddar in this dish. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

6 eggs, beaten

2 cups milk

1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 cup biscuit baking mix (I use Bisquick)

8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 pound bulk pork sausage, browned, drained and cooled (I prefer Jimmy Dean Original)

To beaten eggs, add milk, mustard and oregano. Whisk until blended.

Add in baking mix, cheese and sausage. Mix well with a heavy wooden spoon.

Pour into a greased 9×13 casserole dish. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 60 minutes or until browned. Serve warm.

You might also enjoy:

Sausage Gravy and Buttermilk Biscuits