Welcome to the River City Diner
What a blessing to have been raised in Memphis by a country cook who knew what she was doing. Good cooking was just a way of life in our household and among our extended family. My mother prepared the best fried chicken in Tipton County (We grew up in Memphis, but our reunions were in Tipton County.) according to my aunts, uncles, cousins, and great aunts & uncles; I have no reason to doubt their words of praise. I saw at every family reunion whose chicken was the first to go.
And my mother wAnd my mother wasn’t the only good cook in our house. My daddy was a master at the grill and could throw together a variety of tasty snacks inside as well. He specialized in oyster chowder & Bleu Cheese Dressing; and sitting down with Daddy as we built snacks of smoked oysters, cheeses, crackers, olives, and anything else he could scrape together was a banquet in itself.asn’t the only good cook in our house. My daddy was a master at the grill and could throw together a variety of tasty snacks inside as well. He specialized in oyster chowder & Bleu Cheese Dressing; and sitting down with Daddy as we built snacks of smoked oysters, cheeses, crackers, olives, and anything else he could scrape together was a banquet in itself.
Apple Custard Pie
Mother made this up from a bunch of apples we brought up on our visit to Tennessee. It's delicious. I'm not much on making desserts, but this one is so good, I thought I'd share it. Mother got this recipe from a cookbook published by First United Methodist Church of...
Fish Tacos – with Corn Meal
Okay, I know. Here we are blogging about fish tacos again. Well, it's like anything else that's good; it's worth revisiting. I may have hit on the "Power Taco" tonight. Like before, I cut the fish into little-finger size strips (Thinner than that really. Let's say a...
Fig Preserves Again
We did another 10 pints of figs last night. I'm getting pretty good at this. I didn't make nearly as big a mess as I did the first night. That makes 17 pints in 2 nights, and we still have a couple of dozen left over from last year. I'm thinking all the priests at...
Fish Tacos
Long ago in a small-town mission church in Arkansas a priest (who is now a bishop) told me about the CASE method: Copy And Steal Everything. The following is from the San Francisco Chronicle. SOUTH TO NORTHSouth to North: Baja meets bayou in a fish taco Jacqueline...
Fig Preserves
We have a fig tree in our back yard. It begins "coming in" around late June each year. A few years ago, while I was home visiting Mother, Sherry took a notion to make fig preserves. Between the Joy of Cooking and several phone calls back to west Tennessee for tips...
Fish Tacos in Beer Batter
Our neighbor brings us fresh caught sea trout now and then. They almost melt in your mouth when cooked this way. Other times I've used catfish or ocean perch. Ingredients 1 lb catfish fillets or nuggets (or other fish if desired; ocean perch works nicely.)1 cup flour...
Memphis Style Pulled Pork
When I moved away from Memphis, finding real BBQ became a challenge. I stopped in a little roadside BBQ and ordered a chopped smoked pork shoulder sandwich, and they didn't have a clue what I was talking about. "You ain't from 'round here, are ya'?" said an old Gabby...
Vietnamese Southern-style Catfish in a Clay Pot
I haven't tried this one yet, but I grew up on wild Tennessee River Blue Channel Catfish. We used to harvest them ourselves daily off the face of the Pickwick Dam near Savannah, TN. And I'm not so sure about this clay pot business. I'm thinking cast iron. From Mai...
Nikki’s Ravioli & Tortellini Salad
My good friend, Nikki Merritt, served this at one of our vestry meetings. It was a hit! Thank you, Nikki. Ingredients 1 (19 oz) pkg frozen cheese tortellini 1 (19 oz) pkg frozen cheese ravioli 1 ½ cups canola or olive oil ½ - ¾ cup red wine or balsamic vinegar 1 TBS...
Pizza Tales
Well, finally I got around to it — after four days of saying I was going to make a pizza, on the fifth day, I did it. Next time, I’m going to make a smaller but thicker crust. I will NOT try to stretch a quarter of the recipe over one dinner plate. That results in a...
Pork Roast (Continued)
The roast turned out great. I put it on at 6:45 am, and didn't look at it again until around 12:30 pm. In the meantime I decided to pick up two chickens for beer-can-chicken since I had a fire going. So about 2:00pm, I checked the roast again. It wasn't yet done to...
Memorial Day Pork Roast
Just started a fire --- 6:13 am. For a 4 pound shoulder, bone-in butt roast. I banked the fire on the opposite side away from the top vent. For more on slow-smoking on a Weber Kettle, go here. [To see how this turned out, go here.]
Beer Can Chicken
I did a beer-can chicken yesterday. Didn't have a beer can, so I used an empty mushroom can. I added water, and half of a lime. It turned out fantastic!
Chicken Salad
Ingredients 1 Chicken 2 carrots, grated 2 stalks of celery, minced 1/2 - 1 cup sweet pickle relish 1/2 - 1 cup mayonnaise Directions Debone a Beer-can Chicken or an Easy Boiled Chicken and chop meat very fine. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Start with only a...
Garlic Idaho Potatoes
INGREDIENTS 3 medium (6 - 8 ounces each) Idaho Potatoes, well scrubbed cooking spray pepper to taste 1/2 stick butter 1 medium onion, chopped (about 3/4 cup) 1 tablespoon garlic salt DIRECTIONS 1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Spray a loaf pan or small casserole dish with...
Pizza Crust
It's hard to go wrong with pizza. I haven't bought one of those prepared doughs in years. There's just something about handling the real thing. Sometimes I use this other dough recipe or a sort of combination of the two. And here's yet another recipe from Emeril...
Sweet and Sour Cabbage
We enjoyed living around the corner from a public library when we lived in Memphis. I found an interesting Chinese cookbook there. Each recipe was given in English on one page, and in Chinese on the facing page. When I cook this one, the family leaves the house until...
Spinach Tart
Kate Hampton is a member of the cooking guild at our church. She brought this to the kitchen to serve to guild members who were cooking dinner for 120. She made hers with a combination of turnip greens and spinach. Ingredients 2 tablespoon olive oil 1 yellow onion ;...
Peppers and Onions
Ingredients 3 yellow onion ; thinly sliced3 tablespoon olive oil2 garlic ; minced4 sweet red and yellow peppers; thinly sliced2 tablespoon ketchupsalt and pepper3 tablespoon red wine1 teaspoon oregano1 dash Tabasco pepper sauce1 cup Parmesan cheese; grated Directions...
Eggplant Parmesan + Mario Batali’s Version
Ingredients1 eggplant ; pared3 egg 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs 3/4 cup olive oil 1 cup Parmesan cheese 2 teaspoon oregano 1/2 pound mozzarella cheese 3 ounces canned tomato sauce InstructionsHeat oven to 350. Cut egglplant into 1/4 inch slices. Slice pared eggplant about...
Dilled Carrots
4 carrots 1 tablespoon butter 1 cup beer 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon dried dill weed Julienne the carrots. Saute in butter until lightly browned. Stir in the beer and dill weed. Cover and cook slowly until tender (about 15 minutes). Season with salt...
Shrimp Enchildas Rancheros
Your friends will love you for preparing this. (See the after-notes at the bottom of the page.) If you prefer a chicken version of this, go here to see that recipe. Ingredients 2 pounds wild shrimp with heads (You probably won't need this much.)cayenne peppergarlic...
Ocean Perch with Creamed Corn
Ingredients 1 pound ocean perch 14 ounces corn 1 cup sour cream 3/4 cup Swiss cheese ; gratedbutter salt and pepper InstructionsPreheat oven to 375. Butter a baking dish. Lay the perch filets in the buttered baking pan. To a sauce pan, add the corn, sour cream and...
Kung Pao Shrimp
Ingredients4 tablespoon peanut oil1 1/2 pounds shrimp; peeled and deveined8 dried red chiles; seeds removed1/2 cup peanuts1 teaspoon ginger; minced1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch 1 1/2 tablespoon water 1 tablespoon soy sauce1 red bell pepper; cleaned and cut into 1"...
Ken Brown’s Grilled Salmon
Ingredients 1/4 cup olive oil 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce juice of 1 lemon 5 garlic ; minced salt and pepper ; to taste 2 pounds Salmon fillets Instructions Combine marinade ingredients and place in a zip lock bag. This can be done with only one pound if desired. Squeeze...
Catfish Courtbouillon
Our neighbors, Joel and Gretchen from New Orleans, corrected my pronunciation. They say it's "Koo-bee-yon." Ingredients 1 pound catfish1 teaspoon Onion powder1 teaspoon Garlic powder1/2 teaspoon Red pepper1 cup Flour ; or corn meal1 tablespoon corn oil ; for frying2...
Baked Stuffed Flounder
This also works well with Tilapia and boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts although you do have to pound them out to flatten. Ingredients 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 medium onion; chopped 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 clove garlic; minced 1 10 oz. Frozen spinach ;...
Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya
Back in Memphis, we had a cooking team called "Boogie-T-Roux & the Mempho Crew." We cooked gumbo along side teams from Louisiana, Mississippi, and even some self-proclaimed Gar enthusiasts from Arkansas. The best we ever managed was a third place finish, but...
Amy’s BBQ Chicken Salad
Ingredients 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 1 head red leaf lettuce ; rinsed and torn 1 head green leaf lettuce ; rinsed and torn 1 fresh tomato ; chopped 1 bunch cilantro ; chopped 1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn ; drained 1 (15 ounce) can black...
Chicken Crepes
I used to make this from scratch. That is I made crepes the traditional French way. Now, I just use a good flour tortilla. Not as delicate, but very delicious. Ingredients 1/2 pound Mushrooms ; sliced 2 cups Chicken breast ; cooked, and diced 1 cup frozen green peas ;...
Chicken Tetrazinni
Ingredients 4 pounds chicken leg quarters ; cooked and deboned 8 ounces Spaghetti (I like linguini.) 1 cup Parmesan cheese ; grated 1 pound Mushrooms ; sliced 1/2 pound Bacon 1 Onion ; chopped 4 Garlic ; minced 1 cup Chicken broth 3 tablespoon Butter 3 tablespoon...
Chipotle BBQ Chicken
Ingredients Reynolds ; Wrap® Release® Non-Stick Foil1/2 cup barbecue sauce2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar2 tablespoons lime juice1 tablespoon chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce6 chicken pieces InstructionsHEAT grill to medium (350° to 400°F). Make drainage...
Col. Benjamin’s Curry Chicken
Ingredients 1 1/2 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon coriander1 teaspoon cumin1 teaspoon chili powder1 teaspoon ginger1/4 teaspoon turmeric1 teaspoon vegetable oil4 cups onion ; chopped2 cloves garlic ; minced3 1/2 cups tomato ; chopped2 tablespoon lemon juice3 pounds chicken...
Enchiladas Rancheros
Ingredients3 pounds chicken leg quarters ; skinned1 pound Poblano Chile1 pound tomatillo1 onion ; diced1 teaspoon salt1 bay leaf3 cups chicken broth3 cloves garlic ; minced1 or 2 cups cheddar cheese ; grated1 or 2 cups of Swiss cheese; grated1 cup black olive ;...