Category Archives: snacks

May 13, 2013

Corn dip

Corn Dip

There are certain rules about funeral food, some of which I prepared this weekend for the family of my friend and P.E.O. sister, Julie Peacock, may she rest in peace.

If you are preparing food for a reception, then naturally you will want to use your silver platters. You do have silver platters, don’t you? Really, there is no substitute. However, if you somehow missed receiving silver platters as wedding gifts (and if you didn’t I would rethink the guest list) you may substitute glass platters. Clear glass platters. No tinted glass, please.

If, however, you are taking food to the family, the opposite applies. Plastic and/or aluminum foil is preferable. You do not want the family to have to think for even a second about whose platter belongs to who and about having to wash it before returning it. As you can see from the photo, I delivered my corn dip to the family in an aluminum foil pot pie dish. That would be extremely tacky at a funeral reception, but appreciated in a home setting.

The progression of funeral food is also important. If the family has been in mourning for several days and has already had more cheese straws and chicken salad sandwiches than they can stomach, think a little outside the box. But think comforting. So, in this case, I thought corn dip.

Corn dip is a Southern thing. If corn is in season, use it fresh off the cob. If it’s not, canned shoe peg corn is acceptable. Basically, as in all Southern recipes, we take something healthy and turn it into something that is decidedly not. That is our way. Serve this with Frito’s Scoops so you get a precious plenty of dip to every chip.

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Corn dip
Author: 
Recipe type: Appetizer
Cuisine: Southern
Prep time: 
Total time: 

Serves: –
 

Corn dip will make you happy.
Ingredients
  • One 15-ounce can white shoe peg corn
  • 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced and including some of the green part
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
  • ½ cup shredded Cheddar cheesed

Instructions
  1. Drain the corn and combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl. If the dip looks too dry, add a little more mayonnaise.

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April 8, 2013

Snack time (and ham dip)

Reunion April 2013 Tammy bakes

The best part of the Mayhew/Harbin/Mayhew family reunion is snack time. It is always Saturday afternoon and it is always presented by my precious daughter-in-law, Tammy.

When we first starting having the reunion, I think Tammy was slightly petrified. Bunny and I are enthusiastic cooks. Tammy is not. So we asked Tammy to provide snacks. Honestly, I was thinking of a little bean dip and a couple of bags of Doritos. That, however, is not the way of Tammy. Tammy is Type AAA and she tackled snack time with the energy of a diplomat about to present a new initiative at the United Nations. We just love that about Tammy.

Reunion April 2013 Tammy snacksBear in mind that snack time lasts from about 1 p.m. until such time that we cannot lift ourselves off the couch to make our way to the snack table. This year, here was the buffet: pigs in a blanket (my favorite!), beef mini-tacos, Bagel Bites (two kinds), chicken taquitos, loaded potato skins, mini quiches (two kinds), cheese in a can (three kinds and if you cannot appreciate cheese in a can you need not consider joining us at the reunion), Ritz crackers (two kinds) and refrigerated cookie dough (two kinds). Naturally, sour cream and salsa (two kinds) were offered for the tacos and taquitos.

Yes, it is delightfully over the top. Which is why everyone loves it.

I will say the one thing that even trumps Tammy’s enthusiastically excessive display of snack food is Bunny’s ham dip. Also exceedingly bad for you (and, therefore, highly desirable), ham dip has but two ingredients: two large cans of Underwood deviled ham and 8 ounces of sour cream. Ham dip must be served with Frito’s Scoops. No exceptions.

Tammy, Bunny and I are already hard at work planning our next reunion. It matters not what I decide to cook for Thursday night supper or what Bunny is thinking about for Friday night. We are all focused on what Tammy has in store for snack time. Thrillingly caloric. Epically unhealthy. We can hardly wait.

Ham Dip

Ham Dip

2 large cans Underwood deviled ham

8 ounces sour cream (if you use low fat I will have to come after you)

Frito’s Scoops

Mix first two ingredients together. Eat with Scoops. I think you can handle that.

 

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Tagged as cheese, fritos, ham dip, hot dogs, pigs in a blanket, potatoes, quiche, snacks, tacos

March 9, 2013

David versus Goliath

Orange 1

I know. You are looking at the photo of the thing on the left and you’re wondering, “What in the hell is that?”

It’s called a Sumo orange and I was tremendously excited to find them at Whole Foods. Here’s the lowdown on the Sumo oranges. They’re called that because of the topknot that looks like a Sumo wrestler’s hair and because they’re one of the largest mandarin oranges grown. The species took 30 years to develop in Japan and is highly prized. A single Sumo can sell for as much as $8. Last year, for the first time, Sumo oranges were grown in California following the extremely precise Japanese rules for growing, pruning and thinning the trees, which is different from all other citrus. Sumo’s peel easily like a mandarin orange and have no seeds. In New York, they sell for as much as $5 a pound.

So now you see why I was excited, yes? Wow, 30 years to develop this orange. It must taste like pure gold! So I set up a taste test for myself and King Daddy between the Sumo oranges and the Cuties we’ve been gobbling like candy all winter. Cuties are clementine oranges, also a variety of mandarins, that are exceptionally juicy and are also easy to peel.

Orange 2So Cutie on the left and Sumo on the right. We tasted the Sumo. We paused and looked at each other, neither wanting to say, “Meh…” But the Sumo was definitely Meh. Nothing special. Definitely not as good as a Cutie. We did not even finish it. Meh.

So this is the only thing I can think of – either Sumo’s aren’t really that good or we just got a bad one. Maybe one that had been shipped cross country and sat in the back of the store a little too long. By the way, I must digress here. I had gone into Whole Foods looking for ginger and butternut squash. There was not so much as a knob of ginger or an isolated squash of any kind in the produce department.  When the check-out clerk asked me if I’d found everything I was looking for, I said no. “Oh, we don’t always have everything, ” he smiled. Really? You can sell mushrooms for $28 a pound (true that) but you don’t have one stinkin’ squash? My estimation of Whole Foods has gone down more than a few notches.

So, to summarize this Sumo thing. Eating them is kind of like visiting the dentist. You’re glad you went but it wasn’t a transforming experience.

 

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February 8, 2013

Church ladies (and the recipe for spiced bacon twists)

Marida Stearns enjoying a spiced bacon twist with her appletini during cocktail hour

“If you brought wine for the wine tasting, it needs to go in the sacristy next to the chapel.”

Well now,  that just says it all. The announcements just after cocktail hour and before the post-dinner continuation of cocktail hour at the 2013 Women of St. Paul’s retreat in Monteagle.

We are church ladies. We maintain the altar, bring food to shut-ins, teach Sunday school and host receptions for the bishop. But we are also Episcopalians. One weekend a year, we are all about the appletinis, Chardonnay and firmly holding to the belief that what happens in Monteagle, stays in Monteagle. I’m pretty sure the Presbyterians are jealous right now. Tomorrow, we will have classes in flower arranging, candle making and belly dancing. If we are energetic, we will go on a hike. If not, we will take a nap. There may be a lingering hangover or two. Thank goodness, there’s Tylenol and Alka Seltzer in the goody bags.

Fun with toilet paper

We will not conjecture as to why Wanda was wearing a toilet paper bandana or why she was getting ready to wrap another one around Betsy’s head. By the way, no one even questioned this. The toilet paper game was extremely interesting, by the way. You pass a roll of toilet paper around and tear off as many sheets as you like. You then find out that for each sheet you have to reveal an interesting fact about yourself. I was especially taken with the woman who was almost run over by Magic Johnson and another woman who was unfairly displaced as a Future Farmers’ of America homecoming queen. No names. As I said, what happens in Monteagle stays in Monteagle. I will however reveal that my answer to the single sheet of toilet paper I took was seeing Charlton Heston in his underwear. Boxers or briefs? I believe I will just let that one be.

But I will say this. In response to Marida’s maddeningly delicious onion dip, I made spiced bacon twists for cocktail hour. I think the duel was a draw, even though I entirely fabricated this entire competition.

Before I get to the recipe, let me say this. You hear the term “church family” thrown around a lot. If you are not religious, you don’t get this at all. It just sounds quaint or trite. But if you have a church family you know that it’s not. These women are part of my family. They are as precious to me as blood. They lift me up. They pick me up. I am not complete without them.

Spiced Bacon Twists (from the Tuck U Inn in Atchison, Kansas)

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons dry mustard powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 pound sliced bacon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set a wire rack over the foil. Use a baking sheet that has sides to catch the grease.

In a small bowl stir together the brown sugar, mustard powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne pepper. Press each slice of bacon into the mixture until coated. Twist each strip a few times and place on the baking rack.

Bake until bacon is browned and crisp enough to hold its shape, about 30-40 minutes.

 

 

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December 22, 2012

Holiday snack: Bacon-crusted goat cheese bites

Of course you need these. You need these because your nerves are absolutely shot after sitting in holiday mall traffic for an hour. You need these because if you have to swat the cat out of the Christmas tree one more time you will start considering making an ornament out of it. You need these because you’ve just discovered that the string of lights on the huge wreath outside your home have gone out in the middle of a strand and there are no more tiny lights in all of Williamson County. I apologize to our neighbors on that last one. We are definitely the house decorated by Charlie Brown.

But a bacon-crusted goat cheese bite cures all holiday frustrations. Really.

Bacon-crusted goat cheese bites

10 strips bacon

4 ounces herbed goat cheese

2 ounces cream cheese

Small green olives

Bake the bacon in the oven on a foil-lined, rimmed cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until bacon is crisp. Drain on paper towels and chop into fine pieces.

Beat goat cheese and cream cheese together until creamy. Refrigerate about 30 minutes to let it harden a bit.

Pat the olives dry and cover in the goat cheese mixture. Roll in bacon. Call 911.

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December 21, 2012

Holiday snack: Alabama fire crackers

My friend, Julie Reinhardt, excels at many things. She is a prominent physician, a fabulous cook, a dedicated wife and mother, and a real whiz at leading Children’s Chapel at St. Paul’s. But her real achievement is that she brought Alabama Fire Crackers into my life. They are salty and spicy and crunchy. Dip them in sour cream mixed with taco seasoning and you will not want another Christmas cookie ever in your life. This will be it.

Julie brought these into the kitchen during the English Tea last year. I have never seen so many women put down the leftover cucumber sandwiches to get to those crackers.

Alabama Fire Crackers

1 cup vegetable oil

1 envelope ranch dressing mix

1 envelope Italian dressing mix

3 tablespoons red pepper flakes (crushed)

1 pound Ritz crackers

Whisk the vegetable oil, dressing mixes and red pepper flakes in a bowl to combine thoroughly. Put the mixture in a 2-gallon plastic zipper bag. Place the crackers in the bag, seal, and turn the bag over to cover the crackers with the spice mix. Let the bag sit for about 1 hour, then turn again. Repeat several more times until the crackers are well-coated with spice mix, and allow the bag to sit refrigerated overnight. Remove crackers and serve.

Zesty Dipping Sauce

16 ounces sour cream

1 package taco seasoning mix

Combine thoroughly and chill for at least an hour.

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October 10, 2012

Cheddar and chive scones

There are issues that weigh heavily upon me. Global warming. The economy. How to make a really good scone.

This scone issue is serious because the Women of St. Paul’s have lost their professional baker of scones for the English Tea. I thought I had scored a triumph when I obtained her recipe. Then I read it. It’s from England. All the measurements are in grams. I don’t do grams.

I started getting agitated. If the scones suck, everyone will blame me. Oh, they won’t say anything. They’ll just give me the look. The pitiful look that will convey, “The tea would have been a complete success but for the scones. Oh, well.”

But then I started thinking about it. A scone is nothing but a biscuit with fluted edges. And what makes biscuits light and flaky? Buttermilk. So I found a recipe from Nigella Lawson, decided to make savory scones so Mark would help me eat them, and gave it a whirl. By George, I think I got it. The scones turned out light and moist and were really quite spectacular with a few well-placed pieces of crispy bacon sandwiched in the middle.

Cheddar Cheese and Chive Scones (with liberal thanks to Nigella Lawson)

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

½ teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter

2 tablespoons very cold Crisco

¾ cup shredded Cheddar cheese

3 tablespoons snipped chives

1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Put the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt in the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times to combine.

Cut the butter and Crisco into small cubes and add to the work bowl. Pulse until the cubes have become the size of peas (you may have a stray large chunk, but we’ll fix that in a minute).

Transfer the flour mixture to a mixing bowl. Gently sift through the mixture and if you encounter a large chunk of butter or Crisco just rub it with your fingers to break it up. Add the Cheddar cheese and chives, mixing gently but thoroughly.

Add 1 ¼ cups of buttermilk and mix gently until a dough forms. If the mixture seems too dry add the rest of the buttermilk.

Lightly flour a cutting board and pat the dough until it is about 1 ¾ inches thick, Cut out scones with a biscuit cutter, preferably fluted, and place fairly close together on a baking sheet with either a silicone mat or parchment paper.

Bake for 12 minutes and cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 12 scones.

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Tagged as butttermilk, cheddar cheese, chives, food network, Nigella Lawson, scones, southern cooking

September 17, 2012

Pimento cheese deviled eggs

What makes deviled eggs such a Southern staple? I have no idea, but I do know that if there aren’t a plate of deviled eggs at every reception, funeral or potluck supper we just all seem a little lost. I famously almost had a heart attack the year that my deviled egg plate found its way into the annual St. Paul’s Episcopal Church bazaar. It snuck in with a lot of stuff I meant to give away and I had to secretly rescue it before someone bought it for $1.25. Every Southern cook has a deviled egg plate. I own very few single-use items, but that is one that is essential. Just makes you look like you know what you’re doing.

Now, many Southern cooks will scoff at using store-bought pimento cheese for anything. I know, I know. I usually make my own. But you just need to try Mrs. Grissom’s Pimento Cheese before you get all snooty on me. Let’s see. Get out the food processor, grate the cheese, buy a jar of pimentos, clean up…or just spend $4.19 for a tub of some pretty decent store-bought stuff. I think you know the answer to that.

To all my friends who live outside the South and may have never heard of pimento cheese, more’s the pity. Here’s the recipe I use when I’m making my own, the winner of a pimento cheese contest conducted by the Southern Foodways Alliance. The recipe calls for making your own mayonnaise, which I do NOT do. We have Duke’s. We don’t need any stinkin’ homemade mayonnaise.

Pimento cheese deviled eggs

8 eggs

½ cup pimento cheese (Mrs. Grissom’s preferred)

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Dash red pepper

Salt to taste

4 strips cooked bacon, crumbled

To boil the eggs, add them to a heavy pot and fill with cold water until the eggs are submerged. Bring water to the boil and then take it off the heat and cover. Let sit for 18 minutes. Drain the eggs (the water will still be quite hot) and immediately fill the pot with cold water. Drain again and refill with cold water. This helps loosen the shells from the eggs.

Crack the top and bottom of the egg and then gently roll the egg on a cutting board until tiny cracks form. The shell should easily come off.

Slice the cooked eggs in half and remove the yolks to a bowl. Add the pimento cheese, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce and blend with a fork until smooth. Taste and add salt as needed.

Fill the egg whites with the pimento cheese mixture and top with crumbled bacon.

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Tagged as bacon, cheese, deviled eggs, duke's mayonnaise, eggs, pimento cheese, southern foodways alliance

September 12, 2012

Peanut butter, bacon and apple sandwiches

So wrong and yet so right. That’s how we roll at the Community Resource Center.

Every Wednesday is Bacon Wednesday at CRC. It’s just a fun way to mark Hump Day and find increasingly creative ways to incorporate bacon into our diets. Hey, we do a lot of warehouse work. We’re allowed.

Today. Oh, today. I will admit that when my colleague, Betsy, suggested peanut butter, bacon and apple sandwiches I was, ahem, bored. So pedestrian. So unimaginative. So….unbelievably delicious!

Here was our thinking as to why these are actually healthy. First off, we used organic peanut butter. Apparently, Dr. Oz or some other person like that who I don’t really know about says organic peanut butter is good for you. Next, apples. Of course. Healthy. Next bacon. We used Trader Joe’s organic uncured bacon. Organic = healthy. Yes? No? Oh, c’mon, It was only three strips per sandwich. Pepperidge Farm Sourdough. Healthy? At least neutral. And butter. Dairy. Straight from the cow, or almost. Nature = good.

My son, Noah, uses a phrase when he’s eaten something exceptional: “My stomach is dancing.” Oh, there was dancing going on at 218 Omohundro Place. A jig? Hip hop? Salsa? Some kind of dancing. The Happy Dance.

Peanut butter, bacon and apple sandwiches

For each sandwich:

Two slices hearty white bread

Butter

Peanut butter (if you use organic you’ll feel better about yourself)

3 strips crisp bacon (bake it in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minute and you’ll get perfectly flat slices)

Enough thin slices of Granny Smith apples to cover the sandwich

Assembly:

Remove the crusts from the bread. You don’t have to do this, but it makes for a prettier presentation. Butter the bottom slice and place butter side down on a cutting board. Top with a thin layer of peanut butter, the 3 strips of bacon, and the slices of Granny Smith apple. Spread another thin layer of peanut butter on the remaining slice of bread and place the bread peanut butter side down on top of the apples. Butter the top and grill the sandwich over medium heat until both sides are golden brown.

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August 30, 2012

Smoky mountain burgers

I am pretty darn excited this morning. Tomorrow we leave for our Mayhew/Harbin/Mayhew reunion with the Mayhews of North Carolina (Josh, Tammy and my precious Sydney), the Harbin of Tennessee (Granbunny, who will try to outdo me once again in the “dazzle Sydney department”) and the Tennessee Mayhews (Mark, Catherine and the charming Uncle Noah).

I love these weekends because there are no rules. We have no schedule. We have no planned events, except for a pedicure. We can sit like lumps, which many times we happily do. Or we can create our own impromptu adventures. And, of course, we eat. I will be reporting back on the eating.

In the meantime, I created a pretty darn delicious Smoky Mountain Burger for Char-Broil’s Labor Day burger extravaganza. Hop on over to the Char-Broil site to get the recipe. When I was testing the recipe, I turned them into sliders on yeast rolls. If you eat three sliders, does that count as a whole hamburger? I think not. Especially if you eat them standing up.

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Tagged as barbecue sauce, cole slaw, hamburgers, onion rings, sliders, southern cooking, yeast rolls