Frozen Margaritas

Thank you to our friend Jamie for this recipe!

4 oz Tequila
2 oz Triple Sec
4 oz Sprite
1 can (12 oz) Frozen Limeade Concentrate

Pour into blender, fill with ice. Blend. ENJOY!

Leftovers (ha ha) store beautifully in the freezer.

Lorraine's versions:
For Strawberry: Add frozen strawberries to blender to taste.
For the Kids: Add strawberries as above. Substitute 2 oz orange juice for Triple Sec. Omit Tequila.

Sweet-Hot Pecan Sauce.

Southern Living served this with fried fish. They said that it "delivers a rich & nutty flavor and is a delicious alternative to ketchup or tartar sauce." They also indicated that their kitchen staff swooned after tasting it.

Sweet-Hot Pecan Sauce

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup pecan pieces, chopped
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon hot sauce

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Add garlic, and cook 1 minute. Stir in pecans and next 4 ingredients. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 week. Makes 1 cup.

Shrimp & Okra Hushpuppies.

I saw this one in the July issue of Southern Living. I've just GOT to make these soon.......

Shrimp & Okra Hushpuppies

1 cup self-rising yellow cornmeal mix
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1 cup medium-size raw shrimp, chopped
1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
1/2 cup frozen diced onion, red and green bell pepper, and celery, thawed*
1/2 cup frozen cut okra, thawed and chopped
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup beer
Canola oil

1. Stir together cornmeal mix and flour in large bowl until combined.
2. Sprinkle shrimp with Creole seasoning. Add shrimp, onion mixture, and okra to cornmeal mixture. Stir in egg and beer just until moistened. Let stand 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Pour oil to depth of 4 inches into a Dutch oven; heat to 350°. Drop batter by level tablespoonfuls into hot oil, and fry, in batches, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on a wire rack over paper towels; serve immediately.

Note: Keep fried hush puppies warm in a 225° oven for up to 15 minutes. For testing purposes only, we used McKenzie's Seasoning Blend for diced onion, red and green bell pepper, and celery.

Yield
Makes 8 servings (about 2 1/2 dozen)

Spinach & Ham Roll-ups.

Spinach & Ham Roll-ups

This was served at a birthday party recently, and it was very good, and looked really pretty.


2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 (1 ounce) package ranch dressing mix
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup bacon bits
3 tablespoons chopped onions
10 (12 inch) flour tortillas
Deli ham, sliced very thin

In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine spinach, ranch mix, mayonnaise, sour cream, bacon bits and onion. Spread the mixture onto each tortilla, layer on several slices of thin-sliced ham, and roll it up. Refrigerate the rolled tortillas until ready to serve. Slice each roll-up into 1 inch servings no more than 3 hours before serving.

Corn Salad.

Corn Salad


1 16-oz. can shoepeg corn
8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, & diced
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped Vidalia onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper

Dressing:

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. sugar
2 TBSP mayo
1 TBSP sour cream

Combine salad ingredients. In a small bowl, combine vinegar, olive oil, and sugar, whisking until sugar is dissovled. Add mayo & sour cream to mixture and stir until blended. Toss salad with dressing and refrigerate for about an hour.

Comeback Sauce.

I saw this one in the magazine in a Fourth of July BBQ section. It was served with some simple grilled lemon-pepper chicken, but it sounds like it would be good on many things.

Comeback Sauce

1 cup mayo
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
5 drops Tobasco sauce
2 tsp. garlic, minced
1 TBSP horseradish mustard
2 TBSP cold water

Combine all until well mixed.

Balsamic Vinaigrette.

This is from Broad Street Baking Company in Jackson, which is a personal favorite.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 ounces water
3/4 TBSP garlic, minced
1 TBSP Zatarain's Creole mustard
3 ounces sugar
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups olive oil

Place all ingredients except olive oil into a food processor fitted with the S-blade, or into a blender. Turn on and slowly pour in the olive oil until the vinaigrette thickens and is fully emulsified.

Honey Hush Pie.

So, I'm in Starkville at the moment, and perusing the latest issue of Mississippi magazine. One of their sections is a request from readers for recipes from favorite restaurants around the state. This one is from a place called C'Paws in the Brandon/Pearl area.

Honey Hush Pie

1 unbaked pie shell
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter
1 TBSP white vinegar
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup coconut, shredded
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix sugar, eggs, butter, & vinegar with mixer until blended. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Add chocolate chips, coconut, & pecans. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Chocolate Explosion Cheesecake.

Chocolate Explosion Cheesecake

I bought the Paula Deen magazine special on chocolate yesterday. It is filled with extraordinary things, and I highly recommend picking it up if you see it. I found mine at Sam's for a little less than $6!

This is on the to-make-soon list now.

Crust:

2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

Chocolate Layer:

Six 1-oz. squares semisweet chocolate
6 TBSP butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 TBSP all-purpose flour

Cheesecake Layer:

1/2 cup caramel ice-cream topping
One 16.5-oz. package refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
Two 8-oz. pack cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 TBSP all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sour cream

Chocolate Ganache:

Three 1-oz. squares semisweet chocolate
2 TBSP heavy whipping cream

Heat over to 350.

To prepare crust: combine in a medium bowl the cracker crumbs & sugar. Add melted butter, stirring to combine. Press the crust into the bottom & 1 inch up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 6 minutes and let cool.

To prepare the chocolate layer: combine in a medium bowl the chocolate & butter. Microwave on high in 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until melted & smooth (about 90 seconds). Whisk in sugar, eggs, & flour until just combined. Pour into bottom of cooled crust. Bake for 15 minutes and let cool.

To prepare the cheesecake layer: spread caramel topping evenly over chocolate layer. Cut cookie dough into 1-inch slices. Place slices in an even layer over caramel, pressing gently together to seal edges. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese & sugar at medium speed until creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in vanilla & flour until just combined. Stir in sour cream. Pour over cookie dough layer and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven, and gently run a knife around edges to release crust from pan. Let cool completely.

To prepare ganache: combine chocolate & cream in a small bowl. Microwave on high in 30-second intervals until chocolate is melted & smooth (about 60 seconds). Spread over cooled cheesecake. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours before serving.