In medium saucepan, cook bacon (finely chopped)over medium heat. Stir occasionally until bacon is browned. With slotted spoon, transfer bacon to small bowl. Remove pan from heat and add water.
Bring to a boil over high heat and whisk in grits. Whisk until mixture begins to thicken, then reduce heat to low and gently simmer. Stir occasionally and cook for 25 minutes or until creamy.
Season with pepper and salt. Whisk in 1 cup cheese and 3/4 bacon mixture. Pour into a 2-quart serving dish and top with 1/2 cup cheese and the remaining bacon.
In large bowl, mix mashed potatoes, egg and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper and mix well to combine.
In large nonstick skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat. In batches, drop heaping tablespoonfuls of potato mixture into skillet, pressing with spatula to flatten slightly.
Cook until golden brown on bottom, about 3 minutes. Repeat with remaining potato mixture. Serve warm with sour cream as condiment, if desired, and a side dish of chunky apple sauce.
Combine water and chicken in large pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is tender (about 1 hour). Using tongs, transfer chicken to strainer and cool. Save cooking liquid. Remove meat from bones in pieces.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy skillet over medium heat. Add okra and cook until no longer sticky, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes. Set aside.
Stir flour and remaining 1/2 cup oil in heavy large Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat until deep golden brown. Stir frequently for about 6 minutes. Add 4 cups reserved chicken cooking broth, okra, andouille sausage, tomatoes, bell pepper, celery, garlic, bay leaf, salt, thyme, basil, cayenne, and pepper. Cover partially and simmer until thickened (about 90 minutes).
Spoon off any fat from surface of gumbo. Add chicken and file powder to gumbo and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Mound rice in shallow bowls and ladle gumbo over rice, then serve.
Combine water and chicken in large pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is tender (about 1 hour). Using tongs, transfer chicken to strainer and cool. Save cooking liquid. Remove meat from bones in pieces.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy skillet over medium heat. Add okra and cook until no longer sticky, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes. Set aside.
Stir flour and remaining 1/2 cup oil in heavy large Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat until deep golden brown. Stir frequently for about 6 minutes. Add 4 cups reserved chicken cooking broth, okra, andouille sausage, tomatoes, bell pepper, celery, garlic, bay leaf, salt, thyme, basil, cayenne, and pepper. Cover partially and simmer until thickened (about 90 minutes).
Spoon off any fat from surface of gumbo. Add chicken and file powder to gumbo and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Mound rice in shallow bowls and ladle gumbo over rice, then serve.
Coat large Dutch oven with non-stick spray. Preheat over medium heat for one minute. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes until tender. Stir occasionally.
Add corn and cook 5 minutes more. Stir occasionally. Add half chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover, let simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
Transfer half corn mixture to blender. Cover and blend until smooth. Return pureed corn mixture to Dutch oven. Add remaining broth, the sweet pepper, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Heat through. Top with chives, if desired, and serve.
One of my fondest childhood memories is getting “snowed in” so I didn’t have to go to school. Back in grade school, that kind of weather event felt heaven-sent. No school, no homework, and none of the daily school grind.
I remember having so much fun not having to be anywhere but home. I’d build a snow fort with my younger brothers or throw snowballs until one of us got hit in the head. That usually ended the sport if one of us went inside complaining to Mom.
One of my mom’s best lunch recipes was her potato soup. It wasn’t fancy – just baking potatoes, a small bit of onion and water. Her special ingredient was adding a bit of milk to make the soup creamy. The simplicity is was made this recipe so good and delicious.
Bring broth to boil in large stock pot over medium-high heat. In dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots, and garlic. Cover and cook 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir occasionally.
Add hot broth and potatoes. Return to boil. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir in pepper and salt. Serve chunky or puree with immersion blender.
Preheat oven to 4o0F degrees. Spray 15×10 baking pan with non-stick spray. In large bowl, stir cornbread mix, buttermilk, butter and eggs just until moistened. Spread batter in pan. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes.
Cut warm cornbread into 1/2-inch cubes. Leave in pan. Stir cubes. Bake for 10 minutes more. Stir cubes again; bake 15 minutes longer or until golden brown on top. Dump cubes into large bowl. Reduce oven to 350F degrees.
Meanwhile in large skillet, cook sausage, onion and celery over medium-high heat for 7 to 10 minutes. Stir frequently until sausage is no longer pink. Stir in corn, chiles, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper.
Stir sausage mixture into cornbread cubes. Gradually stir in just enough broth to moisten stuffing without being mushy. Spoon mixture into un-greased 3-quart glass baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more.
Preheat oven to 375F degrees. In measuring cup, mix olive oil, thyme, rosemary, nutmeg and garlic. Cut potatoes in half. Spread on non-stick 15×10 baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil mixture; toss to coat.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until potatoes are golden and slightly crispy. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Toss to coat. Bake 5 minutes more. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
In large pot, melt butter in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add onion, cover and cook over low heat. Stir occasionally until onion is soft. Add broth and water along with carrots and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer over low heat until carrot are tender (about 30 minutes).
Meanwhile in small saucepan, heat remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add scallions and poppy seeds and cook over moderately high heat. Stir until scallions are soft (about 1 minute). Working in batches, puree carrot soup in blender until smooth. Transfer to clean saucepan. Stir in cream and buttermilk. Simmer over moderate heat and season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and garnish with scallions and poppy seeds.
1 large Honeycrisp apple, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup water
Line 8×4-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap and spray with non-stick cooking spray. In medium saucepan, combine cranberries with apple, sugar and water. Bring to a boil and cook over moderately high heat. Stir frequently until the cranberries are completely broken down and sauce is very thick (about 15 minutes).
Scrape cranberry sauce into prepared pan and refrigerate until chilled (about 3 hours). Invert the jelly onto serving plate and remove plastic wrap. Garnish with fresh cranberries. Slice with serrated knife before serving.
Cranberry sauce can be covered in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
4 pounds medium-sized sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Brush 13×9-inch glass baking dish with melted butter. Add to the remaining butter in a medium bowl the cinnamon, salt, lemon peel and honey. Stir and set aside.
Place the sweet potatoes in the baking dish. Drizzle with half of the honey mixture. Stir to evenly coat potatoes. Insert garlic cloves among the potato chunks.
Cover tightly with foil, then bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and spoon remaining honey mixture on top. Cover again with foil and bake for 20 to 30 minutes longer (or until potatoes are tender).
In large saucepan, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings. In drippings, saute onion until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually stir in broth. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until it becomes thickening.
Reduce heat to medium. Stir in squash, corn, cream, parsley, salt, pepper and bacon. Cook and stir until heated through.