company's comin'

Casserole- "cass-a-roll" in the south it is typically a baked mixture of meat, chopped vegetables, and a starch, mixed with mayonnaise, sour cream, or both and a cream-of-something soup, and topped with crackers, bread crumbs, corn flakes, nuts and/or potato chips in a dish

My mother has been making this casserole for as long as I can remember. She got the recipe from a neighbor, who probably got the recipe from a Campbell's soup can or one of those pamphlets you get at the grocery store during the holidays. Like the name says she makes it when we are having company and for holiday dinners. Its also a great dish to take to potlucks and get-togethers.

Company's Coming
1 can French Style Green Beans, drained
1 can white shoe peg corn, drained
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 oz chopped pimento
1 can cream of celery soup
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

1 cup Ritz cracker crumbs

1/2 stick melted butter

1/2 cup slivered almonds

Combine all of the ingredients from the green beans to the black pepper. 

Usually I would pour everything into a 9x13 casserole dish, but since its just me and future hubby I split it into 2 dishes and freeze one.

Combine the butter and crackers and cover the top of the casserole with the mixture, and then sprinkle with the almonds.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

cookies 'n creme

I've told you before that I'm not a huge dessert fan, but I absolutely love ice cream. So when my gymnastics coaches gave me Williams and Sonoma gift cards for a graduation present I knew exactly what I wanted- yep, an electric ice cream maker. No more hand cranking and salt everywhere, and homemade ice cream whenever I want.

This ice cream maker is sooo easy to use. The hardest part is freezing the bowl overnight.

One of my favorite ice cream treats is an Oreo milkshake. So when I ran across a post for cookies and creme ice cream on Tastespotting I knew I wanted to experiment. What I came up with is awesome. Here's how I do it:

Cookies and Creme Ice Cream

1 cup whole milk
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream, make sure its really cold
5 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
18 Oreo cookies, roughly chopped

Set up an ice bath by placing ice water and a teaspoon of salt in a large bowl.

Start by making the crème anglaise. Crème anglaise is just a fancy french word for custard that can be used as an ice cream base. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Do not let the mixture boil.

In a small bowl whisk together the egg yolks.

Pour some of the heated milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking the entire time. Pour the warmed egg yolks  back into the saucepan with the remaining milk. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to thicken, about 10-15 minutes.

Place the hot pan in the ice bath you made earlier to cool the mixture quickly. Stir in the really cold heavy cream. Allow to cool completely. Add the vanilla.

Cover and chill overnight in the fridge. The next day, set up your ice cream maker according to the instructions. With the ice cream maker on, slowly pour the custard into the freezer bowl. Allow to churn for about 13 minutes.

Meanwhile chop the oreos.

When the ice cream looks mostly frozen and has increased in volume add the cookie pieces. Allow to churn for about another 5 minutes.

I like to transfer the ice cream from the freezer bowl to a tupperware so that I can refreeze the bowl to make more ice cream.

At this point the ice cream will have the texture of soft serve. Put it in the freezer for a couple of hours before serving to get a texture more like hand dipped ice cream.

I really wish that I had a picture of the end product to show you, but we dove into it so fast that I didn't have the chance to take any. Yum.

a taste of the south: collards

Growing up, every Sunday my family went to the Picadilly Cafeteria with my grandparents. In the south cafeteria's aren't just in hospitals and schools. Every Sunday we would go so my grandmother could get fried chicken. She swears she has eaten fried chicken every Sunday since the day she was born, and I don't doubt it. Cafeteria's serve your usual southern fare: fried chicken, fried catfish, turkey and dressing, fried okra,  macaroni and cheese, and of course- greens.

I love collards. Collards are a tried and true southern tradition. Every Sunday thousands of southern grandmas have a pot of greens(either collards, mustard or turnip greens) on the stove. My version of collards are a little different than most, but the flavors are the same. Here's how I do it:

Pin It

Collards
Serves a bunch

2 bunches of collards
4-5 slices salt pork
1/2 cup white or cider vinegar
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 tomato, chopped

The first thing you have to do is stem and clean the greens. Collards are grown in sandy soil and they WILL be dirty when you buy them.

Then I chiffonade the collards. Chiffonade is a fancy work for cutting into long strips. Some people chop theirs. I like long ribbons. And then I wash them AGAIN. It never fails that you don't get all of the sand off in the first wash, and I don't like to take any chances. Sandy food is not yummy.

 

Next I boil the salt pork in water. You'll need just enough water to cover the greens. I use about 2 inches in the bottom of a big pot. By boiling the pork in the water you are basically making your own pork stock. A lot of recipes call for smoked ham hocks instead of the salt pork. This is up to your personal preference. I don't like smoky greens so I use the salted pork.

Remove the salt pork and let cool. Add the collards and vinegar to the pot of seasoned water.

This is where I kind of deviate from tradition. After boiling the salt pork in the water I chop it up with half an onion and fry it in a small skillet. I think by frying the salt pork it adds a different layer of pork flavor, and it adds a different texture to the dish.

I then add the cooked pork and onion to the pot of boiling greens. Continue to cook the greens. Overall they are going to take between 2 and 3 hours, depending on how soft you like them.

At the very end of cooking I add one chopped tomato. This is not something you will see in traditional greens, but I love it. I think after stewing the collards for 2 hours they need something fresh to kind of waken them up a little.

all things pumpkin

I'm a little obsessed with pumpkin right now. Mainly because its the beginning of fall, but also because you can't find a lot of pumpkin goodies around here in Kansas. Back in Pennsylvania this time of year everything is pumpkin flavored. Pumpkin rolls, muffins, cheesecake, cupcakes, coffee, cakes and a ton more. I didn't find my love for pumpkin until I moved up north. Down south about the only place you will find pumpkin is pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving dinner and coffee shops. Southerners do more sweet potato desserts in the fall. I love both, but pumpkin has stolen the show for now.

I was flipping through some of my old food magazines the other day and came across a recipe for a pumpkin chiffon cake(basically pumpkin angel food cake) in Rachael Ray's magazine, and I had to make it. Here's how it goes:

Pumpkin Chiffon Cake
Serves 12

1 cup flour
1 1/4 cup sugar, divided
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs separated, PLUS 5 egg whites, all at room temp
1 cup canned pumpkin puree

Preheat the oven to 325. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, 3/4 cup of the sugar, the pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and salt.

In a medium bowl, combine the egg yolks and pumpkin puree. Stir the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture until smooth.

Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the 9 egg whites at medium speed until foamy, about 2 minutes.

With the machine on, gradually whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar; increase the speed to high and beat until stiff but still moist, about 2 minutes.

Add one quarter of the egg white mixture to the pumpkin batter, folding with a rubber spatula just until no white streaks are left. Repeat 3 more times with the remaining egg white mixture.

Pour the batter into a 10 inch tube pan with a removable bottom. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes.

 

Let cool for 5 minutes, then turn the pan upside down. Let cool upside down until completely cool, about 1 and 1/2 hours. Place the cake right side up and remove the bottom from the pan.

Pin It This cake turned out soooo good! It has the texture of an angel food cake, but tastes like pumpkin pie filling. Yum. I would rate this recipe as moderately difficult. Working with egg whites is tricky. If you whip them too long they will start to break down and water will leach out of them. You should stop beating the egg whites when you can hold the whisk upside down (like the picture above somewhere) and that little tip doesn't slump over, but they still look spongy and airy and not glossy. This recipe is definitely going in my favorite recipe folder.