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Love Your Neighbor Cookbook & Almanac
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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 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 stew & 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.
The blog entries below come from recipes we enjoy around our household; from recipes I’ve yet to try; from recipes given me by friends and family, and things I’ve read about on line or in real print. Yes, I do still subscribe to magazines that come in the mail. Also there are posts about cooking equipment, techniques, sources for more information, etc. I hope you find something of interest.
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DPJC BLOG
Wailted Kale and Spinach with Ham
It's so much fun cooking for Sherry; and it's easy too. She loves fresh vegetables - especially fresh leafy greens. This is a winner, and the whole thing takes only a few minutes once the greens are cleaned. Ingredients 1 bunch fresh spinach; stems removed; rinsed...
Wilted Spinach with Broccoli and Asparagus
The neat thing about this meal is I cooked it with three different appliances; and if you REALLY want to jazz things up, fire up the broiler and toast some ham and cheese on French bread to make it four. If you don't have a Nuwave, just experiment with what you do...
Chinese "Stir Fry" Casserole
I started out with a casserole in mind; but I didn't want to put in any sort of starch binder like rice or pasta. But I DID want some cheese. And PLENTY of mushrooms. What resulted turned out tasting like a Chinese stir-fry with cheese. It was delicious. And it was...
Fish with Clam and Mushroom Sauce
I picked up a nice Red Snapper filet today and figured I'd make some sort of sauce to smother it in. I tried this, and the sauce was as good or better than the snapper. Ingredients 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced 4 cloves of garlic, minced 2 shallots, chopped 1...
Green Pea Soup
Sherry loves green pea soup; and it's easy to make. Try it; you'll like it! This is GOOD stuff! Ingredients 1 pound dried split peas 1-2 pounds smoked pork neck bones 3 T butter 1 onion, chopped 2 sticks celery, chopped 2 carrots, chopped 5 cloves garlic, minced 1...
Cajun Seasoning
I don't know where I got this recipe; it might have been from a chef friend back in Memphis, Buddy Bland. But I just don't remember. Ingredients 3 tsp salt6 tsp Paprika4 T onion powder3 tsp garlic powder3 tsp filé powder3 tsp thyme1.5 tsp...
Rachel’s French Dressing
We have this recipe hand written by Rachel taped to the inside of one of our cabinet doors. I don't know when Rachel wrote this. Ingredients 1 cup salad oil 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup white vinegar 1/3 cup ketchup 1 clove of garlic, minced 1 T Worchestshire 1/2 onion,...
Smothered Cornish Hens
Ingredients 10 cloves garlic, finely minced 2 Cornish hens olive oil salt and pepper Directions Stuff garlic under skins of hens. Truss the hens and place in baking pan breast side up. Pre-heat oven to 375. Allow hens to come to room temperature. bell pepper, chopped...
Mushroom and Shallot Bake
I threw this together because I had mushrooms; I had shallots; and I was hungry. Ingredients 1/2 pound white mushrooms (or your favorite) sliced 2-3-4 Shallots, chopped 1 or 2 T raspberry or other jam or preserves 1 T hot sauce salt pepper butter for the pan...
Fried Green Tomatoes
Our grocery had green tomatoes on special, so I picked up a few. I always loved fried green tomatoes when I was growing up; but until now I've not had any luck getting them right. I think the secret is slicing them very thin. Ingredients 2 green tomatoes; sliced 1/8"...
Chorizo, Green Chile, and Mushrooms – On a Shingle
When I was growing up my Aunt Marie introduced me to something she loving called "SOS." I think it was an old Navy acronymn for something served on a "shingle." Tonight, I had a couple of heals left over from a loaf of wheat bread, so I decided, "Why not?" Of course,...
Smoked Sausage and Green Chile Frittata
Sherry wanted a quick snack. This wasn't so quick, but it was worth the time it took to put it together. Ingredients 6-8 eggs (I used 8 since they were on the small side.) 2 shallots, minced 1/2 pound smoked sausage, finely chopped (I used Holmes Smoked Garlic.) 2...
Shrimp and Guacamole Panini
I've been having fun with this Nuwave Oven we recently put in to service. I've found it's quick and easy to cook up some shrimp for a snack or sandwich.Ingredients8 small to medium shrimp; peeled and deveined1 small to medium avocado1/2 Roma tomato (or a small part of...
Rosemary’s Smoked Cheese Pizza
Ingredients 1 pound mushrooms; cleaned and sliced 1 teaspoon dried dill weed 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 cup grated smoked cheese 1 cup grated mild cheese (Mozzarella, etc.) 1/2 cup scallions, chopped. oil for the cooking pan salt and pepper Pizza Dough ...
Pan Seared Steak
We used to grill steaks just about every Friday back when we lived around the corner from Southern Meat Market in Memphis. They'd cut us rib-eyes to order, and we'd grill them on a hibachi out on our front porch. Ahhhh....those were fun times. I got this recipe from...
Ensenada Slaw with Fish Tacos
I heard this story on NPR today, and thought it was worth saving the recipe. Use any flaky white fish. The rub is inspired by a recipe that appeared in Gourmet Magazine from June 2007. Slaw 1/2 head cabbage, cored and shredded (about 4-6 cups) 2 cups peeled and...
Smoky Black Bean and Neck Bone Soup
This one turned out very nicely; but then it took me two days to do it. You can do it in one day if you like. The reason it took me two days is I smoked the onions and peppers (rather than grilling over direct heat). I just got a call from Chef St. John reporting that...
Shrimp Smokenator
I tried something I've never tried before. I put some medium to large shrimp on the grill with the Smokenator fired up. It was running about 200-225, and I cooked them 10 minutes on the side farthest from the Smokenator. I didn't marinate them or put oil or any...
Microwaved Potato Skins
I got this recipe off a bag of small potatoes (Mountain King Petites). Ingredients 8 petite potatoes, unpeeled 1/2 cup sour cream 1/4 cup picante sauce 3 Tsp bacon bits 6 chopped green onions 1/4 cup shredded cheese Directions Wash potatoes and prick with fork. ...
Peppers, Pasta, Onion and Clam
Sherry asked me to get in the kitchen and whip up something, so I came up with this. I wish I could think of names for these dishes. Ingredients 1 red bell pepper 1 yellow bell pepper 1 poblano chile 1 Texas Sweet or Vidalia onion (Red or regular yellow will do.) 1...
BBQ is Not a Verb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ubTQfr_tyY&feature=youtu.be Really fun video about southern BBQ.
Shrimp Fajitas – Stovetop
Sometimes I just don't feel like firing up the grill. This is a fair approximation of a grilled fajitas dinner. Sherry gave it a thumbs up. Ingredients 1/2 - 3/4 pounds medium shrimp; peeled and deveined. 1 red bell pepper; whole 1 green bell pepper; whole 1 large...
Cucumber Salsa
Thanks to Sherry for sending this along. I have no idea where she found it. Ingredients 2 cups finely chopped seeded peeled cucumber 1/2 cup finely chopped seeded tomato 1/4 cup chopped red onion 2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley 1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and chopped 4-1/2...
Instructed Eucharist by The Reverend Sam Todd
Several years ago, The Rev. Sam Todd conducted an "instructed Eucharist" at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas. Fr. Sam graciously shared his notes with me and granted me permission to use them in teaching Youth Confirmation/Sunday school, and to...
Dry Milk
To make one cup of milk, mix 1/3 cup dry milk with 7/8 cup of water.
Shrimp with Mushrooms and Collard Greens
I love throwing together a quick meal for Sherry on demand. That is she says, "I'm hungry," and I say, let me see what I can fix." I had these collard greens already prepared and in the fridge, and I had these fresh shrimp and some mushrooms. It seemed like a natural....
Tommy Moore Sightings
Thanks to my brother, Dwayne, for tipping me off to these two sightings of the Tommy Moore picture. One on the local Fox News affiliate in Memphis, and the other on CNN. The Fox News segment apparently lifts verbiage straight from this blog post. For over forty years...
Shrimp BBQ’d in Skillet
First you get some shrmps. Then you heat up some butter nearly to the burning point. Then you throw in the shrimps. Then you add the good stuff. And I added a bit of Kraft BBQ Sauce too. Then, you cook until done. And put out the dog, because he's...
Kale and Asparugus with Shrimp
Yes, we are on a kale kick around here. It's inexpensive; it's healthy; it's easy to prepare; and it's delicious! It's hard to go wrong with this stuff. For this meal, I happened to have on hand some fresh Gulf shrimp. Ingredients 1.5 pounds smoked pork neck bones (Or...
Kale with Chaurice and Pasta
We have this most delicious Chaurice sausage by a company called "Frenchy's" here in Houston. I happened to have a bunch of Kale on hand, and decided to look around for possibilities. Thanks to the people at Epicurious.com. I'm sure their recipe is a good one too....
