 I LOVE Cookbooks!!! I now have so many that I have to limit myself to only vintage cookbooks & recipe boxes. I even love to collect hand written recipes. My pride and joy is the Better Home and Garden cookbooks. I have been known to take a cookbook to bed and read. I take what I read and add my own twist to any recipe I make. Another of my favorite collection is the Southern Living Annual cookbooks. The contain all the recipes for that perspective year.
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 Ok folks I am giving out the secret to my Chili, Gumbo and a whole lot of other things. This Worcestershire has cajun spices added to it. So you this in place of regular worcestershire sauce use this in its place. When I go home to Louisiana I buy it by the case. Cuz I use it on everything. From sauces to salads to meats to fish. I promise you will never use any other worcestershire.
 This is my Momma's recipe. She would make this a couple times each winter. It is the best I have ever eaten. This past Christmas I made a large batch and canned this. I must say it canned very well.
You will need: 8 slices bacon 1 cup celery 1 cup onion 4 cups diced potatoes 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 can cream of mushroom soup 2 cups water 1 1/2 -1 3/4 cup milk (to thin soup) 8 oz sour cream 2 Tbs parsley salt pepper grated cheese oyster crackers In a large pot, fry bacon until crispy and remove bacon leaving some grease in the pot. Crumble bacon and set aside. Add celery and onions to the pot and saute' until tender. Add potatoes and water and simmer until potatoes are tender, Add soups and rinse out cans with mild and add to pot. Dimmer until heated through. Just before serving add sour cream and parsley. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with cheese and crackers  Being from the south New Years Day is a day of special foods. Pork Roast, Black Eyed Peas and of course cabbage. This happens to be one of my husbands' favorite dinners. He has even said once that this is the meal he would chose for his final meal. So I guess it is pretty good.  I at some point in my life when my kids were young I sold Pampered Chef. One of my favorite items I received when I was selling it was this Deep Dish baker dish and lid. It makes the best roast.
4-6 lb roast Salt 1 lg sliced onion Pepper Garlic Onion Powder 2 packs of onion soup mix Garlic Powder Tonys Creole Seasonings Water Take a large cast iron skillet and place on the stove to let it start heating up. I then take the roast and make 6-8 cuts into the roast. Now stuff the holes with onion slices & a little garlic. When you have stuffed all the holes take the roast and sear the the roasts on all sides. After searing place the roast in the Deep dish bowl. Then Sprinkle spices over roast. Add the onion soup and water. Place the remaining onion in the bowl as well. At this point depending on if you want it to cook over night or or in a few hours. If over night place in a 225 degree over over night. If in a few hours set over to 350 degrees for 3-3.5 hrs. I will take the drippings and make a slurry with cornstarch to thicken and serve over rice.  This is my all time favorite cake. It is my version of the Berry Chantilly Cake at Whole Foods in Baton Rouge Louisiana. I have bought this cake more times then I can count. I have bought just a slice for me or whole cakes for birthdays and Baby showers. I loved it so much I had to try to figure it out so I could make it on my own. It is the one I made for my daughters wedding. Everyone who has eaten this cake loves it too. If you don't have time for this cake you can make the Jello Cake by clicking on the link but using apricot jello and it will taste good too.
Step 1 Cake: Cooking Spray with Flour 1 1/2 cups cake flour 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup butter, room temp 15 ozs whole milk ricotta cheese 1/2 cups sugar, plus 1 tbl 4 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 orange, zested 1 Lemon, zested 2 tablespoons Amaretto Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray three 8’ pans with Cooking Spray with Flour. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine. With an electric mixer, cream butter, ricotta, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the machine running, add the eggs 1 at a time. Add the vanilla, orange zest, and Amaretto until blended. Add the dry ingredients, a small amount at a time, until just incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. While cake is baking start apricot glaze. Step 2: Apricot Glaze: 1 cup water 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup apricot jam or preserves 1-3 tablespoon Grand Marnier In a small saucepan heat water and add sugar until syrup has thicken slightly. Add apricot jam or preserves into saucepan over medium heat until melted. Remove from heat. At this point you can strain the sauce through a fine strainer to remove any fruit lumps or if desired you can leave glaze as is. I prefer to divide a small amount out without fruit to glaze top of fruit. Let cool slightly (if using, add the liqueur at this point) until it is only slightly warm. Glaze the top each cake with unstrained sauce, using a pastry brush. Set cakes aside. Step 3: FRUIT LAYER & Top: Strawberries Blueberries Raspberries Blackberries Step 4: RASPBERRY PUREE: 2 pints raspberries 1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1.Combine raspberries and sugar in a saucepan. Cook until raspberries are broken down, about 10 minutes. 2.Remove from the heat and strain through a strainer to eliminate seeds. Step5: CHANTILLY FROSTING: 16 ozs cream cheese, room temperature 1 1/2 teaspoon pure Almond extract 2 ½ cups confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted 16 ozs Mascarpone cheese, room temperature 3 cups heavy whipping cream In your food processor, or with a hand mixer, process the cream cheese and mascarpone cheese until smooth. Add the extract and confectioners sugar and process until smooth. Transfer this mixture to another bowl. Then in a large bowl whip the cream until stiff peaks form. With a large spatula, gently but quickly fold a little of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture to lighten it. Then fold in the remaining whipped cream, in two stages. If the frosting is not thick enough to spread, cover and place in the refrigerator for an hour, or until it is firm enough to spread Step 6: ASSEMBLY Place one completely cool layer of glazed cake on a cake dish and add frosting to top. Frosting should be slightly higher near edges than in the center. Add raspberry puree to layer then add a layer of sliced fruit. Continue with remaining layers. (Piping frosting at the edge will help to keep the raspberry puree from running down the sides.) Frost the entire cake with Mascarpone frosting. At this point you can add piping to the top rim of the cake as well as the sides if you like. At this point top the remaining whole fruit. While the apricot glaze is still warm brush the fruit with a thin layer. Place the cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve. This cake is best served cold. This was my Mom's go to dessert. It was made many times for dinner on the ground at church. It is one of the most moist cakes ever. You can put a glaze on it but most of the time we would eat it straight out of the oven. You can use this with a package of apricot jello and use it in the Slice of Heaven Cake recipe if you are running short on time or ingredients. I will post it in a day or two. I promise you will love this cake. It is one of the few cakes my husband likes because he is not much of a cake eater. Try it and let me know what you think.
1 cake mix 1 pkg. (3 oz.) Jello, Any flavor 2/3 c. water 2/3 c oil 4 eggs Beat cake mix, Jello, oil, water and eggs for 5 minutes with mixer or until cake mix changes color. Pour the mixture into the a bundt pan that has been sprayed with Bakers Joy or has been grease and floured. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 35-45 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. You can drizzle a glaze over the top Glaze 1 cup confectioner's sugar 3 tablespoons lemon juice or water 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel In a small bowl combine ingredients; drizzle over warm cake.  I started baby sitting when I was 13, Loved it!! My parents would drive me to the parents home until I could drive at 15. When I could drive I would go to theirs houses in the summer and keep the kids while they were out of school. I would have to be there early to fix breakfast. One day I get there and there is the smell of peanut butter in the air. Their Mom had gotten up early and fixed Peanut Butter Marshmallow toast. I had never heard of it before that time. Our Mom never really bought peanut butter. (I think she didnt buy it because she had to eat it a lot when she was a kid because they were poor. "No kid of mine" type of feeling she had towards it.) So the kids set up at the bar and show me how to fix them. And here is the VERY hard recipe.
2 slices bread couple tablespoons peanut butter marshmallows Spread peanut butter onto slices. If you you use mini marshmallow just scatter them whole over the bread. If regular ones use scissors to cut into 3 pieces. Place these on top of the peanut butter and place on a cookie sheet and place in toaster over on broil. Watch closely as they can burn easily and cook until tops are golden. Serve warm. Made these yesterday for my girlfriend Sherry & I. We had cafe' au lait and these light & fluffy beignets. Despite what people may think making beignets are not hard to make. The hardest thing to do is wait. So give this recipe a try.  1 Envelope Active Dry Yeast
3/4 Cup Water (110 degrees F) 1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar 1/2 tsp Salt 1 Beaten Egg 1/2 Cup Evaporated Milk 3 1/2 – 3 3/4 Cups A.P. Flour 1/8 Cup Shortening Vegetable Oil for Frying Powdered Sugar in a shaker or sifter Combine the Yeast, Water, and Sugar in a small dish. While yeast mixture is setting for 10 minutes and starts to foam, place beaten egg, salt and evaporated milk in large bowl or stand mixer. Beat these ingredients until combined. Place dough hook on mixer. You can do this all by hand if you don't have a stand mixer. When yeast has become frothy, about 5 -10 minutes, add to the egg mixture. Mix on low speed, add half of the flour until it starts to come together at this point add the shortening. When the shortening is blended in add the remaining flour, a little at a time until dough is just slightly sticky. Place dough on a floured surface. Knead the dough adding just enough flour as necessary to make a non-sticky, smooth dough. Place the dough into a large bowl, loosely cover and let rise in a warm area. After the dough has doubled in size, place it onto a floured surface and roll out into a rectangle that is about 1/2″ thick. With a sharp knife cut into squares or "fingers" Let those rise for 40 minutes in a warm place, Can be placed in a barely warm oven. I usually can't wait and fry them them BUT if you can wait they will be more airy. When the Beignets have risen, I use a Fry Daddy to cook mine but you can heat 2-3 inches of vegetable oil in a large saucepan to 350-360 degrees. Place 2-3 Beignets into the hot oil at a time, being careful not to crowed them or deflate them. I turn them after just a few seconds so that the will stay if you wait too long they tend to want to stay on one side. When they are golden brown on one side turn them over until golden brown on the other side. They cook fairly quickly so don't walk away. Remove and place on paper towel lined plates to drain. While hot sprinkled with plenty of powdered sugar. You have to serve them with with Cafe au Lait. (Will share in another post) Today I'm going to give you pic's and instruction on how to make a roux used in many southern recipes one of them being Gumbo. First you need a cast iron skillet for best results or a very heavy skillet. 5 tablespoons of bacon fat or oil. I prefer bacon grease. 8 tablespoons flour. I also prefer a gas stove. I is easier to regulate your flame. I start out with a high heat until the flour mixture starts to bubble, then turn my flame down to 4 (2 & lo being the lowest below 4) You will need to stir the mixture every minute or so at this point when you start to get a change in the color to a light tan you can now turn the flame down to 2. At this point do not step away from the skillet. you will need to stir the skillet every 30 seconds or so. It will take you nearly 25 minutes to make a roux so I recommend making multiple batches. When the roux becomes dark and about the color of a pecan or Nutella spread you have reached perfection.  Step 1 Combine 1 part grease and 2 parts flour.  Step 2 Cook on med heat until bubbles appear then turn heat down to medium/low.  Step 3 Turn temp down to 2/lo at the point roux begin to turn brown. DON'T leave from this point on.  Step 4 Stir constantly.  Step 5 When it reaches the color of a pecan or chocolate you are done. It will get darker as it cools. Store in a jar in the frig and you can scoop out what you need.
 1 ½ cup All purpose flour ½ cup Cake flour 2 Tbsp. sugar 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice 6 Tbsp. butter 4 oz. cream cheese 1 Tbsp. lemon juice & enough evaporated milk to make 1/3 cup ½ cup pumpkin puree ¼ Cup maple syrup 1 tsp. vanilla Chocolate Drizzle 4 oz chocolate chips ¼ cup of heavy whipping cream 1 Tbsp. of butter  Fall is my favorite time of year! I love the leaves changing, the site of pumpkins in the field getting ripe & smell of things baking in the oven. So here is a recipe that rolls everything into one.  1) Cut the butter into small pieces and chill in freezer. 2) Cut the cream cheese into small cubes and chill in freezer with the butter. You want the cheese to be slightly frozen.  3) Mix together the pumpkin, milk, syrup and vanilla until well blended and then also chill in freezer.    3) Mix together the pumpkin, milk, syrup and vanilla until well blended and then also chill in freezer.  5) Preheat oven to 375° 6) Retrieve the butter and blend it into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or 2 knives done in a scissor action. This mixture should look like coarse crumbs. 7) Now do the same with the cream cheese, only less vigorously. You want to see the cream cheese chunks left in the flour. Do not pulverize them. (I did put the flour mixture back in the freezer for a few minutes so the butter could get hard again.) 3) Mix together the pumpkin, milk, syrup and vanilla until well blended and then also chill in freezer. 8) Add the pumpkin milk mixture to the flour and mix just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix.  9) Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, knead a few times. Dough will be very sticky.  10) Place dough on a cookie sheet and form into a flat circle about 1.5″ thick and 7″- 8″ round.  11) Now cut this circle into 8 pie slices . I like soft edges and so I leave the dough together. If you like crunchy edges place wedges on a cookie sheet with wedges about 1″ apart. 12) Bake at 375° for approx 15 minutes or until golden brown. 13) Remove from oven and let cool.   Chocolate Drizzle
While the scones are cooling pour 4 oz chocolate chips into a glass cup. Heat cream to a boil. Pour cream over the chocolate and slowly stir until blended. Add one T of butter and stir till smooth. Drizzle over scones. |
