my fall favorites

I suppose it is “fall” now, being that we have had weather consistently in the high 80′s for the past week.

And fall makes me think of comforting foods, prepared lovingly by my family. I was looking through some old pictures and was reminded of these foods.

So here are my 3 favorite fall foods… plus bagels because I just love them so much.

First up: My Aunt Nell’s Classic Apple Pie

Next, we have Hot Virginia Dip. Oh how I long for it…

Now for my Mama’s (Famous) Mac n Cheese (and my most popular recipe ever!)…

And now for the bagels… Oh the bagels!

Feed some friends this weekend! Happy cooking!

bacon at the end of the world

So apparently Saturday was supposed to be the apocalypse. Well, I’m still here so either Heaven is exactly like earth, complete with rainstorms and cupcakes, or the world didn’t end.

But Saturday night, just in case, I made preparations for the end of the world the best way I know how: wrapping something in bacon.

Previously, I’ve had dates stuffed with goat cheese. And recently, Emilie had dates wrapped in bacon. Saturday, I was inspired to combine them all into one delicious appetizer. Because really, anything stuffed with goat cheese AND wrapped in bacon has to be good. And signify the end of days. Or any diet.

My friend Emilie and her new beau came over to hang out with me and Rahul and make these yummy appetizers. And then, in the event that the world didn’t end (which, clearly, it didn’t), we had plans to eat dinner at Buenos Aires Café Este (which was fabulous!). The night turned out to be great, despite the continuance of human existence.

Bacon-Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese (serves 4-6)
16-20 medjool dates, pitted and sliced to open
2-3 ounces soft goat cheese
4-5 slices of bacon, cut into quarter strips
If the dates are not pre-pitted, slice them open to remove the pit. If they come without pits, make a small slice into one side of the date to create a pocket. Using a spoon, scoop a small amount of the soft goat cheese and put it in the pocket created in the date (should be about a teaspoon worth of cheese). Repeat until all of the dates are filled. Next, slice bacon strips into 4 pieces. (Tip: Put the bacon in the freezer for 20 minutes before slicing so it is a bit easier & less slippery!). Wrap each date with a piece of the bacon and place on a cooking sheet. Once all dates are wrapped, bake at 400* for 10 minutes then set to broil for another 4-5 minutes until the tops are crispy but not over-done. Remove dates from the sheet and place on paper towels to absorb some of the grease. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes, then serve!

can Ramen noodles be fancy?

Yes, America. Those $0.15 noodles can indeed be turned into something fancy with the help of just a few other ingredients.

I’ve been eating this salad for years now and I love it. It is crispy, tangy, colorful, and quite delicious. It takes a few seconds to throw together and can be eaten immediately or kept in the fridge and nibbled at over a few days. And you don’t even have to boil the noodles!

I love to pack this in lunches or take to potlucks. I bet it would be divine as a side dish to some Asian-glazed salmon or spare ribs….

Oh Lord, now I’m drooling. And going to the grocery store.

Oriental Noodle Salad (serves 6-8)
1 (12 oz) bag rainbow slaw (mix of cabbage, carrot, and broccoli slaw)
1 package Ramen noodles, pork flavored (or vegetarian!)
2/3 cup roasted unsalted pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Remove the flavor packet from the Ramen noodle package and set aside. Crunch dry noodles up into small pieces. In a large mixing bowl, combine the crushed, dried Ramen noodles with the slaw and pumpkin seeds. In a measuring cup, combine olive oil, vinegar, and the flavor packet from the Ramen noodles. Stir well. Pour about half of the oil and vinegar mixture over the slaw mixture and stir. Add the rest of the dressing to taste (you don’t want it too soggy — I used about 3/4 of the dressing). Toss well and serve.

2 ingredients, 1 kickin’ appetizer

This recipe is one of the easiest, quickest appetizer recipes that you can make almost last minute and they’re a huge crowd pleaser. I don’t know if it was my grandma or my Aunt Linda (hey y’all!) who came up with this first, but everyone loves them.

Book club? Take these. Pot luck? You’ll be popular. For your (in)significant other? He/She’ll put a ring on it.

Okay that last one was probably exaggerating. But if anyone does get engaged after making these, I need to know immediately so I can pass them out to all male suitors in a 5 mile radius.

But seriously. 2 ingredients.

And the leftovers taste really good cold for breakfast. Just sayin’.

Sausage Pinwheels (makes 30-35 pieces)
2 9” pie crusts (store bought or homemade)
1 tube pork sausage (I like sage-flavored, but maple would be great at brunch)
Roll the pie crust to as much of a rectangular shape as you possibly can. Spread half the tube of sausage onto one pie crust and roll up into a log. Cut into slices gently using a serrated knife. Reshape the pinwheels if necessary. Repeat with the second pie crust and the remaining sausage. Bake at 375* for 25 minutes or until the sausage is cooked and the crust is light brown.

Yeah, it really is that simple.

a pile o’ potato chips

Friends, is there anything better in life than butter melting in a cast iron skillet? Anything?

No. No, there is not.

But once you’ve melted the butter, you can use it to create addictive, delicious Crispy Curried Sweet Potato Chips.

It also gave me a chance to try my darndest not to slice my finger tips off while using my authentic Japanese mandolin slicer. Aren’t they pretty?

Be sure to sprinkle salt on these babies when they’re hot. And try not to eat all of them at once.

Crispy Curried Sweet Potato Chips (makes 3-4 servings)
2-3 medium sweet potatoes, skins washed
3 T butter
1 tsp curry powder
salt & pepper
Using a mandolin slicer or a sharp knife, slice the sweet potatoes as thinly as possible and place in a mixing bowl. Melt butter, curry powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper. When that mixture is melted, pour it onto the sweet potato slices and mix well. Place potato slices evenly on several non-stick baking sheets and place in an oven heated to 425*. Bake the chips for 12-15 minutes, longer if your slices are thicker. Stir the chips as they bake, at least once, to ensure even baking. Take out of the oven, sprinkle with salt, and transfer to a plate to cool. Go crazy.

Thanksgiving recipe roundup!

Well it seems that my recipes from my Virginia-themed Thanksgiving are pretty tantalizing so I’ve rounded them all up in one post for your reference! These would be great any day of the week, holiday or not!

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Y’all are going to die when you taste this dip. Once you come back to life, you’re going to want to thank me.

Hot Virginia Dip (serves many)
2 T butter
16 oz cream cheese, softened
4 T whole milk
5 oz dried (chipped) beef, minced
1 tsp garlic salt
1 cup sour cream
4 tsp minced onion (dried)
Sauté pecans in butter until very fragrant. Set the pecans aside to cool. Mix all of the other ingredients together in a mixing bowl and spread into a small baking dish or pie plate (mixture will be very thick). Top with pecans and bake at 350* for 20 minutes. If you aren’t serving this immediately, it can be chilled (pecans separately) and baked at a later time. Serve hot with Ritz crackers or breadsticks. Drool. Drool a lot.

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Oysters are a Virginia specialty and while I like them best in an oyster roast and dipped in hot butter (who doesn’t?), they are excellent in this creamy soup. Perfect on a cold day! Be sure to use the freshest oysters you can find.

Creamy Chesapeake Oyster Stew (serves 8 )
1 1/2 pint fresh oysters (the best come from the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia!)
1 stick butter
1 1/2 medium yellow onions, sliced in large strips
2 cans cream of celery soup
4 cups whole milk
cayenne pepper
salt & pepper
In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and add in the onions. Stir occasionally and allow the onions to cook until translucent. Add in both cans of cream of celery soup and the milk, stirring well to incorporate. Allow to simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent the milk from scalding. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. Remembering to stir frequently, let this simmer for 10-15 minutes. When steaming and heated through, get the oysters ready to add. Raw oysters are packed in their “goo” (technical term) so use a slotted spoon to retrieve them from their container, allowing the goo to drip off, and drop them into the simmering liquid. Work quickly, no one likes a rubbery, over-cooked oyster! You’ll know they’re done when the edges of the oysters curl up — this happens in a matter of minutes. Remove the soup from heat immediately and serve with hot sauce on the side!

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These biscuits, Alabama Biscuits, have been in my family’s kitchen repertoire for as long as I can remember. I have absolutely no idea why they’re called Alabama Biscuits. As far as I know, my family has no connection to Alabama. But I don’t ask questions when biscuits are involved.

Alabama Biscuits (makes 12-18 biscuits)
5 cups all purpose flour
1 package yeast
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup cold shortening
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups buttermilk
6 T butter, melted
Dissolve yeast in warm water (110-115*). Mix remaining dry ingredients well in a large mixing bowl. Add the shortening to the dry ingredients, cutting it in with a pastry blender. When it has a lumpy texture, add in the buttermilk and the yeast/water mixture which should be foamy and bubbly (5-10 minutes in the water does the trick). Mix with your hands and knead on a floured board. Roll the dough out to approximately 1/4 inch thick. Using a biscuit cutter or an overturned drinking glass, cut the biscuits out. To create the stacked biscuit, lay one disc of dough out on a buttered baking sheet and spread melted butter on top with a pastry brush. Stack a 2nd dough disc on top and brush that with butter. Continue until you have 12-18 double stacked biscuits. Set baking sheet aside in a warm place to rise for 2 hours. Bake at 400* for 15-20 minutes.

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Finally, a different way to enjoy Brussels sprouts that isn’t just roasting them! This recipe comes to me by way of my friend Sarah and we subbed in bacon for the traditional pancetta used in this recipe. The result? Delicious! Just be sure to do this and serve immediately. It will get bitter if it sits too long (as it started to do for us!)

Brussels Sprouts with Radicchio and Bacon (serves 8 )
1 1/2 lbs Brussels sprouts
6 oz bacon, diced
3 T olive oil
1 head radicchio
1 1/2 T finely chopped fresh marjoram1/4 cup chicken broth, plus extra
salt & pepper
Pull off any dry outer leaves from the Brussels sprouts. Using a food processor or cutting by hand, chop the brussels sprouts into several pieces and set them aside. On the stovetop, heat an tall roasting pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook the bacon until crispy and golden, about 7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the crispy bacon from the pan and pour off bacon grease and either discard or save for another recipe. Wipe out the pan with paper towels and place it back on the stove top on medium heat. Heat the olive oil until it glistens and then add the chopped Brussels sprouts to the oil, stirring to coat. Cook until wilted, about 2-3 minutes. Chop up the radicchio head into chunks and add it to the sprouts along with the marjoram. Stir well and let cook for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle in salt and pepper and add in 1/4 cup chicken broth. Continue to stir occasionally and add in more chicken broth as needed if the mixture is too dry. Just before serving, toss in the reserved crispy bacon pieces and stir. Serve immediately!

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In order to remember my father I wanted to cook something he loved. Unfortunately most of the foods I could think of were main courses and wouldn’t fit with the rest of the menu. But then I remembered how much he loved my mom’s twice baked potatoes and I set out to recreate them in my Cheddar Bacon Twice Baked Potatoes.

Cheddar Bacon Twice Baked Potatoes (serves 8-16)
8 large baking potatoes, scrubbed clean and dried
olive oil
salt & pepper
1 cup sour cream
1 stick butter, room temperature1 cup heavy cream, divided
1 1/2 cups finely shredded cheddar cheese
10 slices bacon, cooked to crisp and chopped into small pieces
After cleaning and drying the potatoes, place them in a roasting pan or baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Using your hands, coat the skins of the potatoes evenly with the oil, salt, and pepper and bake in the oven at 375* for 1 hour. Remove and let cool at least 30 minutes — they will retain heat and be too hot for your hands! Once cool enough to handle, cut the potatoes in half length-wise and gently use a spoon to scoop out the potato flesh, trying to keep the skins intact and forming little potato “cups”. Place the potato skins on baking pans. In a large mixing bowl with the potato flesh, combine the butter, sour cream, 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, and 1/2 cup of the heavy cream. With a potato masher, smash all the ingredients together. If it is too thick and dry, drizzle in more heavy cream and mash until it has a creamy, mashed potato consistency. Spoon the creamy potato mixture back into the potato skins. Sprinkle with crispy bacon pieces and the remaining 3/4 cup cheddar cheese. Bake at 350* for 15 minutes and serve hot and gooey.

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Why eat a nice, healthful salad of fresh vegetables when you can pour hot bacon grease all over it? This traditional Virginia salad dressing does just that.

Hot Bacon Dressing (dressing for 1 large salad)
10 slices bacon
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
12 scallions, chopped
reserved bacon grease
salt & pepper
Fry bacon until crisp and remove from pan with slotted spoon. Set the bacon aside and reserve the hot grease. In a small mixing bowl, combine sugar, vinegar, scallions, and salt & pepper. Just before you serve your salad, whisk the hot bacon grease into the vinegar mixture and then toss quickly with salad greens. Serve your salad immediately or it will wilt! Use the reserved bacon as an optional salad garnish.

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My brother’s birthday is always on or around Thanksgiving. This year, it actually was Thanksgiving. Unfortunately this year he is serving our country as a soldier and is in South Korea. But that won’t stop me from making our traditional birthday cake/Thanksgiving pie for him!

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust (makes 1 – 9” cheesecake)
Crust:
1 3/4 cups gingersnap crumbs
3 T brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 stick butter, melted
Filling:
3 – 8 oz. blocks of cream cheese at room temperature
1 – 15 oz. can pureed pumpkin
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 T flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
For crust: In a bowl, combine crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon. Add melted butter and stir well. Press down flat into a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside. For filling: Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar, and the pumpkin pie spice. When mixed, add flour and vanilla. Beat well until combined and pour onto the crust in the springform pan. Place in the oven for 1 hour on 350*. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

FoodBuzz 24×24: A Very Virginia Thanksgiving

Virginia is a pretty great place. And as much as I love Texas, I also love my home state and I am full of pride that I come from the state that made such significant contributions to the world as several presidents, me, Pocahontas, and bacon.

So naturally I’m feeling a bit homesick for the Commonwealth during the holidays. Thanksgiving has been rough the past 2 years because of my father’s death. To make it even harder, I’ve just moved 1300 miles away from my mom! Today also happens to be my big brother Hunter’s 24th birthday, but he’s in a far away place, serving our country as a soldier and stationed just below the North Korean border. (Yes, the country that is currently threatening war and has missiles in range of my brother’s barracks. I’m getting an ulcer.)

So this Thanksgiving had to be special. It just had to be. And thanks to huge amounts of butter, bacon, and FoodBuzz’s 24×24 feature, it was.

Cast of Characters:

• Mary: dear friend who moved to Austin at the same time as me; we’re practically neighbors & she’s frequently mentioned on here.
• Sarah: Mary’s older sister and another old friend; she flew out from Georgia to be with us! She loves goat cheese & long walks with dogs.
• Alex: Cousin of Sarah and Mary; delivery-boy of Mary’s long-awaited furniture; bringer of 96 bottles of East Coast beer and Chesapeake Bay oysters.
• Emily: Alex’s girlfriend and master potato smasher; lover of heavy cream.
• Todd: Brother of Alex and supporter of A&M (booo!); famous for cracking open a PBR at 8:34am the day after Thanksgiving.
• Becky: Sister of Alex & Todd; dog walking extraordinaire and enjoys motorboats;
• Zack: Husband of Becky and instigator of several “That’s what she said” jokes.

Appetizers:

• Hot Virginia Dip
• Creamy Oyster Stew
• Virginia peanuts

Main course:

• Virginia cured honey ham
• Country Biscuits
• Brussels Sprouts with Radicchio and Bacon
• Cheddar Bacon Twice Baked Potatoes
• roasted acorn squash

Liquid Libations:

• Too much beer
• Too much wine
• My uncle’s champagne, Hennequin Père et Fils

Salad course:

• Mixed greens, shredded carrot, onion, Virginia peanuts, and tomato
• Hot Bacon Dressing

Dessert (aka, breakfast on Friday):

• Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust with a candle for my brother’s birthday!

It may not have been a typical Thanksgiving — we didn’t even have turkey! But it was amazing anyways. We ate on mismatched plates, most of the time we sat on the floor, I caught the oven on fire on Wednesday from an incident involving butter, there’s a cup of rendered bacon fat sitting in my fridge, we fell asleep on my living room floor before we got to the cheesecake, and we drank far too much.

But for me it was picture perfect. We had the food I grew up on and it reminded me of Virginia. We had my dad’s favorite side-dish: Bacon Cheddar Twice Baked Potatoes. We had my Uncle Bruno’s champagne, Hennequin Père et Fils, which makes me go weak at the knees and start telling dirty jokes every time. We had my brother’s birthday cake for breakfast Friday morning, Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust. We had laughs so hard my stomach hurt, great moments of family and friends, only a few moments of utter panic, and a wonderful day together. My tongue is a little burnt from the Creamy Oyster Stew, my head hurts from the wine, and my kitchen is a wreck. But I wouldn’t trade yesterday for any traditional Thanksgiving. Thank you for everyone who shared this day and this experience with me — who knew I’d be able to cook a 4 course Thanksgiving for 8 and not panic the whole time?

(If you’d like any of the recipes seen above, leave a comment below and I’ll feature them in the upcoming weeks!)

last minute dip

Over the weekend, I got a last minute invite to attend a potluck dinner with some older classmates — it turns out the email had been sent to the wrong Meredith so I didn’t find about about it until just a few hours before!

The hostess told me that I didn’t need to bring anything since I only learned of it at the last minute, but my mama raised me right and I knew I couldn’t show up to a potluck empty handed. The theme was Italian and since I had no tomato, basil, or fresh mozzarella on hand, I had to think outside the box. Immediately my mind went to hummus, which is clearly not from Italy. But I went ahead and threw some chickpeas and garlic cloves in the oven and hoped an idea would hit me.

By the time they were done and I wanted to dive into a vat of roasted garlic cloves and eat my way out (anyone else??), inspiration had struck and chickpea crack dip was invented.

After a quick prep in the food processor and the world’s fastest mascara application, I went to pick up Jake (after I gave him the pie) and we headed over with my crack dip and some baguette for toasting. I toasted the bread and set out the dip a little apprehensively. However, all fear disappeared as the dip disappeared in a matter of seconds and all my classmates voiced their approval. I knew that this recipe was a keeper.

Roasted Garlic and Chickpea Dip (makes about 2 cups)
2 cups chickpeas, drained
5 cloves garlic, whole and peeled
2-3 T olive oil
1 1/2 T balsamic vinegar
1 T parsley flakes
1 tsp red pepper flakes
salt & pepper to taste
Roast the chickpeas and whole garlic cloves for 25 minutes on 350*. Immediately transfer to a food processor, along with the balsamic vinegar, parsley, and red pepper flakes. Pulse the food pro a few times until the mixture becomes a bit more lumpy and then slowly drizzle in the olive oil until it reaches a smooth, paste-like texture. Serve warm or room temperature with toasted baguette slices!