Peach Brûlée with Lavender Shortbread Cookies & Almond Flavored Peaches with French Vanilla Ice Cream!

I do love good peaches. My favorite peaches are the fragrant white peaches that I buy at a little "curb" market in town. In the early summer, there are big baskets of them out front. I recognize them right away from the light skinned appearance and the almond like perfume around them. I've used both early and late summer peaches in the recipes below. Hope you enjoy.

In the Peach Brûlée I just made, I used late summer peaches, but you can make this anytime of the year if you can find ripe peaches, even the supermarket peaches. Local is better because they are usually fresh picked.

Peach Brûlée Lavender Flowers & Lavender Cookies

Use an oven proof dish that will handle broiling, or even a skillet will work just fine. I put this Brûlée dish inside a skillet (as you will see in photos below, so that it would be easier to handle and remove from the oven.

Put a layer of thinly sliced peaches into the dish.

 

 

Add sour cream to cover the peaches.

 



 

Sprinkle the top of the sour cream with a layer of brown sugar.

Place under the broiler, and broil until the sugar is melted and bubbly.

Remove from the oven. Let rest for a few minutes. The sugar should crack when hit with the back of a spoon.

When ready to serve, place the Brûlée on a plate and sprinkle the top with lavender flowers and serve with lavender shortbread.

 

Devour!

Lavender Shortbread Cookies

 

I found this recipe online from a bakery in Georgia, but then I found it again in an old cookbook. It's been around for a while.

 

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon salt

1-1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons dried lavender flowers*

1/4 cup sanding sugar (optional)

 

Line 2 cookies sheets with parchment paper. Before baking, preheat oven to 350 degrees, and place a rack in the lower third of the oven.

 

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, vanilla, and salt at medium speed until creamy. Add the confectioners' sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the flour in thirds, beating until incorporated. Add lavender flowers and mix until combined, making sure the lavender is evenly distributed. Move the dough to a clean bowl. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or more.

 

Use a one-tablespoon ice cream scoop and place the dough on the parchment, flatten the cookie with a cookie press or the back of a glass dipped in confectioners' sugar. Space cookies one inch apart. Sprinkle with sanding sugar if desired. Bake cookies until the edges are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. After 30 seconds, remove from the parchment onto a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.

 

*I buy my lavender flowers through the Charleston Spice Company.

  

 

 

Almond Flavored Peaches with French Vanilla Ice Cream

 

 

 

I put one peeled, sliced white peach, per serving into a bowl. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon sugar over the top and add a tiny bit or drop of almond extract, and stir. Now, add a large scoop of French vanilla ice cream over the peaches. OH MY GRACIOUS! You won't believe what a difference it makes when the ice cream melts and blends into the peaches with the almond and crunch of the sugar. No, you won't mess it up. Give it a try. You will love it.

 

Summer is almost over. Enjoy all the flavors of this wonderful growing season while you can.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Mother's Chile Relleno Casserole, So Easy & So Delicious

Take a bite, you'll love it!

 

I've said many times before that my mother was a wonderful cook. So, I really didn't have to do anything to her recipe to make it taste good, but I spiced it up a little bit by adding home-made salsa to the mix, and I made it easier by flattening the peppers.

 

This "revamp" happened while I was making the casserole to photograph for a television website that I happened to be writing for at the time. I know the recipe looks long, but I've added steps to make it easier to follow. There aren't that many ingredients.

 

Remember, different size baking dishes might mean different cooking times, so cook it until it puffs, and then after you take it out of the oven, it will start to sink. I made the original in a 7-10 baking dish, and you can use any dish that is about the same in volume, including a quiche pan.

 

Check out the Chile Relleno Casserole with chorizo at the end of this recipe.

 

Enjoy!

 

Chile Relleno Casserole

(4-6 servings)

Ingredients:

6 Anaheim or poblano peppers (also called chilies), roasted, peeled, and seeded

8 ounces (2 cups) shredded Mexican style “Authentic” cheese, or “Four Cheese”, divided

6 eggs

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons flour

¾ teaspoon baking powder

Salt

Dash pepper

1 cup salsa, (recipe below) or use jarred salsa

Sour cream

Fresh cilantro for garnish

Preparation:

Anaheim or poblano peppers:

Before roasting, insert a sharp knife into the flesh of each pepper and let it go through to the center. This allows steam to escape while the peppers are roasting or broiling. Place the peppers on a baking sheet and place them under the broiler, turning as needed. The skin will bubble and turn black. 

Remove the peppers from the oven, place in a bowl and cover. Peel the peppers when cool enough to handle. Cut the stem from each pepper, and cut a slit down the pepper the long way.  Use a large spoon to gently scrape out any seeds. Set peppers aside until ready to use. Follow directions for assembly. 

Fresh salsa:

1 cup finely chopped, peeled, seeded tomatoes (usually one large tomato)

1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeño, seeds and veins removed

1 ½ tablespoons thinly sliced green onion, including tops

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro

¼  teaspoon salt, or to taste

 

1/8 teaspoon lime zest

Dash of pepper 

Cut an “x” in the smooth end of the tomato. Place the tomato in boiling water for 30 seconds.  Remove from water and peel and core the tomato. Cut the tomato into quarters and squeeze gently to remove any seeds.  Chop fine. Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.  Taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place the salsa into a small strainer (this will take out the moisture from the tomatoes) until ready to use. If using jarred salsa it is usually a little thicker so you can use as is.  Follow assembly directions. 

Eggs and flour mixture:

In a large bowl beat the eggs with a wire whisk until light and fluffy.   In a small bowl add the flour, baking powder, milk, ½ teaspoon salt and dash of pepper and mix with a wire whisk until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, whisking to mix well.  Follow assembly directions.  

Assembly:

Flatten the peppers out into a single layer in the bottom of an 7 x 10-inch, shallow oven-proof baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Add 1-½ cups of the cheese evenly over the peppers. Add the salsa evenly over the cheese. Pour the egg mixture over the salsa. Top with the remaining cheese. Bake in a pre-heated 350º oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until center is set and casserole has slightly puffed. Serve with a spoon of sour cream and sprig of cilantro over each serving.  Note: Oven temps vary with the oven and the baking dish material and size. If you see the casserole puff slightly it will most likely be done. It will sink again after taking it from the oven. 

Chile Relleno

 (Spicy variation with chorizo)

Follow the directions above but use a jack cheese, or spicy cheese of your choice. On the layer after the salsa, add one cup of crumbled pre-cooked spicy chorizo (casings removed). Instead of beaten eggs, add 6 whole eggs broken right on top of the sausage. Bake until the eggs are set to your liking. Salt and pepper the eggs, sprinkle them with the remaining cheese,

and cook until eggs are set. Serve as above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

Salmon Croquettes, Rice with Lemon Zest, Butter Beans, Corn Creamed with Tomatoes.

I grew up in Southwest Alabama. Every day "dinnah" (noon) at our house
was wonderful. One of those wonderful meals included salmon croquettes.
Love them as much today as I did back in the 1940's when I had them for the first time.

Of course, we had no fresh salmon, and the closest we came to it was the canned salmon at the country store or the canned salmon at the Piggly Wiggly store in the county seat, Linden, where my mother bought her groceries.

I still use canned salmon to this very day to make my salmon croquettes. My mother and Sarah, put crackers in a lot of the food that was cooked. They were not trying to get volume, but the crackers offer flavor and texture. So, you will find it in the croquettes, which makes them very good.

Instead of the corn relish that I usually make with this recipe, I decided to make a creamed corn with tomatoes, and when the cream cooked into the tomato mixture it made such a good flavor. I think you'll really like it. The recipe for the corn is below the salmon recipe.

Salmon Croquettes

 

1 (14.5 ounce) can good quality red or pink salmon

1 cup crushed Club Crackers

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/4 cup finely chopped green, red or orange pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion

1/4 cup finely chopped bread and butter pickles

freshly ground cracked pepper to taste

 

Remove any skin and bones from the salmon and discard. Drain half the liquid into a bowl, add the salmon and the remaining 6 ingredients. Mix well. Refrigerate until the mixture has chilled, at least an hour.

Use a cast iron skillet if available. Preheat the skillet and add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the skillet.

Using a regular size ice cream scoop or 1/3 cup measuring cup, make 6 patties. Add the patties to the sizzling oil. Reduce the heat to medium. Brown the patties on both sides and keep warm in the oven until ready to serve. Serve your favorite sauce on the side, or mix mayonnaise with lemon juice and fresh dill.

 

 

Creamed Corn Medley in Tomato Shell

 

olive oil

3 large, ripe tomatoes

3 cups fresh corn cut off the cob, or frozen corn kernels

1/4 cup finely chopped orange or red bell pepper

2 green onions, finely chopped

3 (3-inch) sprigs of fresh thyme

1 teaspoon sugar

tomatoes from the shells (see in recipe below)

1/3 cup heavy cream

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Preheat the oven to 350. Prepare tomatoes by cutting each tomato in half. Clean the tomato by removing the pulp including seeds. Chop the pulp, place in a bowl and set aside.

Place the tomato halves in an oven proof baking dish and bake for 15 minutes. This helps bring out the flavor. Set aside until ready to use.

Add 2 tablespoon olive oil to a heavy skillet set over medium high heat. Add the corn, bell pepper, and onion. Sauté the corn until very tender. If it gets too dry during cooking, add water, a little at a time and just continue to cook until the corn is done. Just before you are ready to remove the corn, add the sugar and the tomato pulp. Sauté for a 2 minutes more. Add the heavy cream and cook until cream is bubbling, and corn mixture is thick. Remove from heat and add to the tomato shells. Serve hot. Garnish with the finely cut stems of green onion.

 

I served the salmon patty on a bed of rice. This was cooked jasmine rice and I added lemon zest and butter. When ready to serve, spray a cup with non-stick cooking spray. Add the amount of rice you'd like to serve and pack it down with a spoon. Turn out onto the plate. Add your salmon to the top. Garnish with fresh lemon twist or zest.

 

 

 

Home-made Chorizo, Potatoes, Onion & Cilantro. Dinner in a Cast Iron Skillet!

 

Home-made Chorizo, potatoes, onion, cooked in a cast iron skillet.

 

If you like lots of flavor in your food, this home-made chorizo is a dish that will fill that desire. Something a little spicy, something really good and tasty.

 

Make the chorizo, freeze the patties and you can have something good to eat all the time. You can use it as I've shown here with Yukon gold potatoes and sweet onions, or with peppers and onions on a sandwich bun, in pasta sauce instead of meat balls, in tacos instead of ground beef and even in chile relleno. The ideas are endless.

 

See below for the finished recipe with the potatoes.

 

 

Chorizo

(original recipe for the chorizo from the late Ronald Johnson, The American Table)

 

1 pound ground lean pork

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons chili powder

A pinch each of ground cloves,

ground cinnamon, dried oregano,

dried thyme, ground cumin, freshly ground

pepper, ground ginger, nutmeg and coriander seeds

1 bay leaf

4 cloves garlic, minced to a paste

2 tablespoons vinegar

 

Place the pork in a bowl. Put all spices from the salt to the bay leaf into a blender, and whirl till the coriander seeds and bay leaf are powdered. Add to the pork along with the garlic and vinegar, mix well, and refrigerate for a day or more. (This can be made, divided, in 1/4 to 1/2 cup batches and frozen for future uses.)

 

When ready to cook, make patties. Heat a heavy or cast iron skillet to medium high heat. Add a small amount of fat to the skillet. Add the chorizo patties and cook until done. Drain the chorizo on paper towels. Remove any extra fat from the skillet, or if you want to add to the flavor, leave it in there. Don't wash the skillet but set it aside to reheat when the potatoes are ready. 

Cut the amount of potatoes and onions that you would like to use into large chunks, and place them in a bowl. Coat them with olive oil, good squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper and a dash of sweet paprika.(This is the time to add your favorite herb, like thyme, oregano or rosemary. If adding basil or cilantro, do it after the dish is finished). Then put the potatoes and onions on a baking pan, in a preheated 400 degree oven, and roast until tender. 

 

When the potatoes are cooked through, place the cooked potatoes, and onions into the heated iron skillet where the chorizo was cooked. Crumble as many patties as you would like into the potatoes, letting some of the drippings from the pan mix in with the vegetables. When ready, remove from the heat and add fresh cilantro leaves to the mixture. Serve with a  fresh salad and your favorite bread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pineapple Torte, Favorite Cake Recipe

Pineapple Torte with White Caramel Icing

 

I make this cake in layers, but you can also make it in a 13 X 9-inch glass baking dish and it’s easier and tastes the same. Just not as elegant or as pretty.

 

Cake:

2 cups sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple with juice

1 teaspoon baking soda

 

In a medium bowl combine all of the ingredients, and mix well. Divide the batter into three greased and floured 9-inch cake pans. Bake in a 350°preheated oven for approximately 22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean from the center of the cake. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then turn out onto parchment paper or racks. When the layers have cooled slightly, spread about ½ cup icing between layers and place the remaining icing on top. If you really want to make it a hit, put 7 minute icing all over the cake.

 

White Caramel Icing:

1 cup sugar

½ cup butter, softened

2/3 cup evaporated milk (1 small can)

Pinch of salt

½ cup pecans, chopped, toasted

½ cup grated coconut

 

In a saucepan combine the sugar, butter, milk and salt. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat. Cook and stir for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the pecans and coconut. Use 1/2 cup icing for each layer, and put the remaining icing on top of the cake. Servings vary.

 



 

Cherries Brûlée. Dessert tonight. Oh! If I could only put this into words.

 

Cherries Brûlée. Dessert tonight. Oh! If I could only put this into words. Deep, dark, sweet, sweet cherries with sour cream and melted sugar that cracks at the touch. So sweet, so good.

Pit the cherries, and place them in the microwave covered, to cook until soft. Place the cherries in a baking dish. Add a layer of sour cream and a layer of brown sugar on top of that. Broil until the sugar is bubbling. Enjoy.

Brown Turkey Figs, Sweetened Mascarpone, Walnuts, Honey

 

 

Beautiful Sweet Figs

 

 I grew up with fig trees all around me. When I was a child, my grandfather and I would walk out to the back yard, and I would eat figs right off the tree.

Love them any way, but especially like this. Elegant.

 

Recipe

 

As many figs as you would like to serve

mascarpone or cream cheese, sweetened to taste with confectioners sugar or honey

sweet basil, sliced into chiffonade

toasted walnuts or pecans

your favorite honey

 

Slit the figs across the top and down to make an opening large enough to hold the cheese. Mix the cheese and sugar or honey. Pipe the cheese into the slit of the figs.

Add basil, and walnuts to the top of the cheese, drizzle with honey.

 

 

 

I don't think you could find a recipe more Southern than Okra Spoon Patties from 1955.

 

Okra Spoon Patties

(Mrs. N.R. Shockley, Pell City, Al)

 

Many years ago, back in the deep South, my uncle was the editor of a newspaper. He would send cooking supplements home to my grandmother, who lived in the country, and she would use those recipes in place of a cookbook. After she died, I found the supplements in a drawer in the dining room sideboard. I took them out, put them in a grocery bag and brought them home to South Carolina. The supplements are crumbling and falling apart now, so I am photographing the recipes and trying to cook a few of them along the way. The one above is a true treasure.

 

The recipe for the okra patties is a bit unconventional because most of the time we see that recipes for okra patties call for cornmeal and maybe a little flour. This recipe uses cracker crumbs. After looking at the recipe, I thought uh-oh, but believe me when I tell you that I can't wait to eat these again. This would be the perfect appetizer or side dish for company who is trying Southern food for the first time. Oh, what a delicious introduction that would be.

 

Okay, I'll be quiet because I know you want to eat. So here is the newspaper clipping photo from the Birmingham News, 1955. And, below that are the details of my experience making the okra patties. Enjoy.

 

 

You can see the recipe above, but I made changes to suit my cooking style today. The full NEW recipe is below.

 

I cooked enough (I used sliced okra) okra in boiling salted water to make one cup when mashed. After the okra cooked until tender, I put it in a strainer and strained the liquid out, and placed the okra in a bowl and mashed. Now, measure out one cup of okra and set aside.

 

In another bowl, beat a large egg until well mixed. I added 4 Club crackers (crushed) and it was pretty loose. I remembered that crackers came in sheets back then, so I added 4 more Club crackers (use 8 Club crackers, crushed, total). Perfect. Now, add the mashed okra, salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, to the egg, cracker mixture.

 

Place about a 1/4 inch oil in a black cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Drop one tablespoon of the mixture at a time into the hot oil. When the patties have browned on one side, turn. When brown on both sides, remove to paper towels to drain. Serve with Mayonnaise-Dijon Mustard Sauce.

 

Mayonnaise-Dijon Sauce

 

2 tablespoons Duke's

1 teaspoon Country Dijon mustard

 

Mix well, serve with okra patties.

 

 

Bread & Butter Squash Pickles, Old Alabama Recipe

 

Bread & Butter Squash Pickles

You may never make cucumber pickles again when you find out how easy and delicious these pickles are.

Oh, Squash, your growth is more than I can handle. I am going to put you in a pickle. See how you like that. Yep, squash bread and butter pickles. Try these with your butterbeans on the Sunday dinner table, or that hamburger from the Saturday night grill, even better, the pickles make the best hot dog better, believe me. You’ll be adding different flavors and a beautiful color to your food.

A few hints if you have not made squash pickles before. If you’re not crazy about bell pepper, cut the amount back. Such is the case with my husband. So, I used one pepper. Also, remember that when some of these old recipe were written, the garden peppers were not the size they are now. A large grocery store or market pepper these days is about the size of 2 sweet bell peppers from a garden. Personally, I prefer to use just squash and onions and you can substitute more onions for the peppers if you prefer. This recipe made 2 pint jars using one pepper.

8 cups thinly sliced yellow summer squash

2 cups thinly sliced Vidalia or white onion

2 T. salt (kosher is good but not iodized)

2 ½ cups cider vinegar

3 cups sugar

2 teaspoons celery seed

2 teaspoons mustard seed

4 sweet bell peppers, thinly sliced

Combine squash and onions. Sprinkle with salt. Set aside for one hour. Drain off liquid. Combine vinegar, sugar, celery seed, mustard seed and peppers. Bring to a hard boil. Add squash mixture. Bring to a boil. Pack into pint standard canning jars which have been boiled 15 minutes. Adjust jar lids and bands. Process in a boiling water bath canner (212 degrees) for 5 minutes. Always follow manufacturers canning directions for safe canning and food storage.

 

For more Southern food, go to Southernsundaydinner.com and Southernsundaymornings.wordpress.com.