Betty Crocker's Bisquick Sausage Balls, The Original Recipe

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, January 17, 2011

 

Sausage Balls have been around for more years than I care to remember.  Often overlooked these days, they're not exactly nouevelle cuisine and people are serving trendier appetizers, but this old recipe has stood the test of time and they are definitely worth revisiting.  I've made them a badzillion times over the years, people always love them.  

~ jan


3cups Original Bisquick® mix
1pound bulk pork sausage
4cups shredded Cheddar cheese (16 ounces)
1/2cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2cup milk
1/2teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed
1 1/2teaspoons chopped fresh parsley or 1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
 Barbecue sauce or chili sauce, if desired

  1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease bottom and sides of jelly roll pan, 15 1/2x10 1/2x2x1 inch.
  2. Stir together all ingredients, using hands or spoon. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls. Place in pan.
  3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brown. Immediately remove from pan. Serve warm with sauce for dipping

Source:  You sweet talker, Betty Crocker ;o)

 

Bobby's Goulash, a Paula Deen favorite...

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, January 17, 2011

I've always loved goulash. Mother made the best, hers always had corn in it, home canned tomatoes, onions and green peppers.  But nobody likes goulash like my buddy Ang.  It's her favorite comfort food, she makes it similar to the way mother made it without the corn.  Here's Paula Deen's version, I'm going to add a few tweaks to it, it looks like a winner, too.  ~ jan

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Paula Deen House Seasoning

3 tablespoons soy sauce 
3   bay leaves 
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning 
2   (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes 
2   (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce 
3 cup water 
3   cloves garlic, chopped 
2   large onion, chopped
2 lbs lean ground beef 
1 tablespoon Paula Deen Seasoned Salt
2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
Options:  corn and chopped green peppers 

Directions

 

In a Dutch oven, saute the ground beef over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Break up the meat while sauteing. Spoon off any grease. Add the onions and garlic to the pot and saute until they are tender, about 5 minutes. Add 3 cups water, along with the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, soy sauce, House Seasoning, and seasoned salt. Stir well. Place a lid on the pot and allow this to cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Add the elbow macaroni, stir well, return the lid to the pot, and simmer for about 30 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaves, and allow the mixture to sit about 30 minutes more before serving. Serve with garlic bread and a salad.

An adapted version from Paula Deen

 

Paula Deen's Hoe Cakes

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, January 17, 2011


When I was a little girl, my mother made hoe cakes.  Sometimes we would eat them with dinner, with butter, sometimes we would have them hot for breakfast with syrup or honey.  Hoe cakes are an old favorite that you seldom see anymore.  It's a shame, too, they are wonderful.  ~ jan

Ingredients

  • 1 cup self-rising flour
  • 1 cup self-rising cornmeal, or from a mix (recommended: Aunt Jemima's)
  • eggs
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil or bacon grease
  • Oil, butter, or clarified margarine, for frying
  • Options: If you're making them to serve with syrup, add bananas, pecans, chocolate chips or blueberries,  They're also good for dinner with crumbled bacon and/or green chiles added.  A half a cup of frozen corn kernels is good, too.

  • Directions
Mix well all ingredients, except for the frying oil. Heat the frying oil or butter in a medium or large skillet over medium heat. Drop thebatter, by full tablespoons, into the hot skillet. Use about 2 tablespoons of batter per hoecake. Fry each hoecake until brown and crisp; turn each hoecake with a spatula, and then brown the other side. With a slotted spoon, remove each hoecake to drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Leftover batter will keep in refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Source:  Adapted from a recipe by Paula Deen

Cristina Ferrare's Big Bowl of Love...

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, January 06, 2011

Paula Deen's Butter Bean Soup

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, January 06, 2011

Ingredients 

2 (16 oz.) bag frozen butter beans
1 cup carrots (slices)
1 large onion, chopped
1 stalk celery s sliced
5 cups chicken stock
1 cup milk (warmed)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound smoked ham, diced

Directions

In a large soup pot sauté onion, carrots, celery salt and pepper until tender. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. While stock is boiling add frozen butter beans and bring down to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, covered.  While butter beans are cooking put smoked ham in a sauté pan until just brown on edges and set aside.  After butter beans are cooked thoroughly, puree in blender or immersion blender. Once pureed add warmed milk and blend well. Add smoked ham and serve.
Source:  Paula Deen

Gigi’s Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, January 04, 2011
chocolatesaltedcaramel
When we were in Nashville for Christmas, we stopped by Gigi’s Cupcake Shop.  The family tried different flavors, Wedding Cake, Italian Crème, Kentucky Bourbon, but I decided on this Chocolate Salted Caramel one.  Ladies, I kid you not, this was hands down, the best cupcake I’ve ever put in my mouth.

I’ve searched the net looking for a similar recipe, and  put a few together to come up with my own very similar version.  I simplified it a bit by using a dark chocolate cake mix, after all, it’s not about the cake anyway, it’s all about the toppings, and Betty Crocker happens to be a great cook.  This recipe is labor intensive enough, make it easy on yourself and just use a mix for the cupcakes.

~ jan

Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate Cake mix, made as per directions on box in lined cupcake pans.

Caramel Filling for Cupcakes:

2-1.2 cups sugar
2.3 cup water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2.5 teaspoons sea salt

Directions:

Heat sugar, water and corn syrup in heavy saucepan over medium high heat, stirring occasionally until syrup is clear.  Then clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan.

Now cook without stirring until it comes to a boil, washing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush as needed.  Boil, gently swirling pan occasionally, until mixture is carmelized and reaches 360 degrees.

Remove from heat, slowly pour in cream, stirring with a wooden spoon until smooth.  Stir in sea salt.

Take a knife, cut a cone-shaped piece (about 1/2 inch deep) from the center of each cupcake and discard the cut out piece.  Spoon 1-2 teaspoons of warm Salted Caramel Filling into each hollowed-out cupcake.  The caramel will sink into the cupcake, go back and fill with a bit more.  Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over filling.

Caramel Buttercream Frosting:

1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1  1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Briefly stir together granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat and continue to cook without stirring until mixture turns dark amber, this should take six or seven minutes.

Remove from heat and slowly add in cream and vanilla.  Beat with a wooden spoon until completely smooth and let cool.

Beat the butter on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed and add powdered sugar. Mix until well combined. Turn off the mixer, and slowly add caramel. Beat frosting on low to combine, and then increase to medium-high and beat until airy and thoroughly mixed, about 2 minutes.

These cupcakes look best when piped through a bag.  Use a swirl (1M tip).  If you pipe the cupcakes, it takes a lot more frosting, but that’s what makes them special, so double your recipe and pile them really high with the frosting.

For the finish -

Chocolate Ganache

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon dark rum (optional)

Directions

Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth. Stir in the rum if desired.

Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring over a cake. Start at the center of the cake and work outward. For a fluffy frosting or chocolate filling, allow it to cool until thick, then whip with a whisk until light and fluffy.

Frost the top of the buttercream topped cupcakes with the Ganache, as shown in photograph, and top with a smattering of sea salt. 

And there you have it, absolute, total perfection.  Not hard to make, just time consuming, and always more fun if made with a girlfriend.

Totally different, totally decadent, completely addictive cupcakes, what more could you ask for…

Olde Spaghetti Factory Spaghetti with Browned Butter & Mizithra Cheese

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, January 02, 2011


We were at The Olde Spaghetti Factory in Nashville over the Christmas Holidays. I had this dish and it's just incredible.  It's so simple, but it's one of the best pasta dishes I've ever eaten.  The recipe is readilly available on the internet, so simple to make, and absolutely DIVINE!

~ jan

Spaghetti with Browned Butter and Mizithra Cheese


1 lb. spaghetti or your pasta of choice
1 cup browned butter
1 cup mizithra cheese

Brown butter by bringing butter to a boil in a saucepan, stirring constantly and watching so that it doesn't foam over the edge of the pan.  Once the foam starts to subside, continue boiling until it turns an amber color - 1 or 2 minutes should be long enough.  There will be sediment at the bottom of the pan, don't disturb the sediment, you don't want this in your finished browned butter.  Let the butter cool for a couple of minutes in the pan and strain, leaving sediment residue in the pan.

At this point it can be refrigerated to use later.

To make the dish, boil the pasta, divide into four serving bowls, top each serving with 1/4 cup of the cheese and spoon over 1/4 cup hot browned butter.

You can purchase mizithra cheese at The Olde Spaghetti Factory, or at local cheese shops.  If you don't have either in your town, you can purchase the cheese online.

The Olde Spaghetti Factory is now offering a new version of this dish with bacon, garlic and mushrooms.  But I'm a purist, I love this original recipe.

Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars–a 4 Star Recipe

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, December 20, 2010

cranberryblissbarsIf you’re knee deep in holiday baking and looking for something really special, this recipe for Cranberry Bliss Bars tastes just like Starbucks.

Lindsay’s favorite has now become a family tradition.  If you make them, cut them into squares and then each square into a diamond, makes them soooooo special.

~ jan

Here’s the recipe>>>

Pear and Apple Salad With Cranberry Vinaigrette

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, December 14, 2010
1/2 cup rice vinegar

1/2 cup cranberry juice

1/4 cup minced dried cranberries

1 tablespoon minced shallot

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

2 teaspoons olive oil

Salt

Cracked pepper

1 pear

1 apple

1 lemon, cut in half

1 endive, sliced crosswise

5 cups mixed salad greens

1/4 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped

1. Combine the rice vinegar, cranberry juice, cranberries, shallot, sugar, rosemary, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Let the dressing stand for the flavors to meld.

2. Meanwhile, cut the pear into quarters then core and slice. Place the slices in a shallow dish filled with water and the juice of half a lemon; the liquid should cover the fruit. Cut the apple into quarters, core and slice. Place the slices in a shallow dish with water and the juice of the remaining lemon half to cover.

3. Just before serving, drain the pears and apples. Toss together in a large bowl with the endive and salad greens. Arrange the salad on a platter and sprinkle with the toasted walnuts. Serve the dressing alongside.

Each serving: 250 calories; 1,143 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 7 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 46 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 5.99 grams fiber.



Serves 4


Source:  LA Food Times

Holiday Eggnog Quick Bread

by 👩‍🍳 Cooking With a Southern Vibe in Music City USA 👩‍🍳, December 07, 2010
Lisa, over at Mommy's Kitchen shared her recipe for her holiday favorite,  Eggnog Quick Bread.

Doesn't it look divine?  Here's the link>>>
© Jan CAN Cook · THEME BY WATDESIGNEXPRESS