WELCOME TO DPJC
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
Pork, Cabbage and Hominy Stew
This was going to be a version of green chile and cabbage dish Sherry loves so much. But I didn't bother to look up the recipe, and just winged it. This is what happened. I don't have a slow cooker big enough to hold it all, but I bet it would be a natural for those...
Wilted Kale
Sherry picked up a bunch of Kale, and I had no idea what to do with it. Let's just say it wasn't something we saw much of in the Byrd household when I was a child. Turnip greens, mustard greens, collards? You bet. But Kale? I don't know. Sounds so "arugula" to me. *S*...
Shrimp with Sweet Potatoes
Sherry said she wanted a snack, so I threw this together in a hurry. I already had the creamed sweet potatoes in the fridge. So I just quickly pan fried some shrimp in butter; warmed the sweet potatoes in the microwave; then topped the potatoes with the shrimp, a few...
Carnitas
Found this interesting approach to Carnitas. Tried it on Jan. 24th with country style ribs rather than a roast. I put most in a 2 liter corningware, and the rest in a small cast iron skillet. I covered both with foil. After 3 hours in a 250 F oven, the ribs in the...
Pollock and Shrimp Pan Fry
We had some pollock fillets down from the freezer that had thawed a couple of days ago. Along with other good stuff we had on hand, this turned out to be a pretty darned good breakfast. Not traditional by any stretch of the imagination, but the sort of thing I love...
Seafood Combo
Ingredients 1 lb. frozen Seafood Combo 1 lb good smoked sausage or Andouille cut into bite sized pieces 4 yellow onions (peeled) 15 ounce can of tomatoes in their juice 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 green pepper, cleaned and chopped 1 can chopped clams with juice 3 cups...
Christmas Dinner
When we first planned for Christmas Dinner, it was going to be Sherry, Sam, me, and possibly Sam's housemate Jeff. I had pretty big plans for a variety of non-traditional menu items. The question of whether to expect Jeff wasn't really an issue; we had plenty either...
Crock Pot "BBQ"
A work mate of Sherry's gave her this recipe, and I thought it looked promising. Haven't tried this yet, and I probably will not put beef in mine. Thanks to Hanh Nguyen for this. Ingredients 1 1/2 lbs beef cubed stew meat (beef roast) 1 1/2 lbs lean cubed pork...
A Walk in the Park
We are lucky to have a city park and a public elementary school right down the street from our end of the culdesac. The dog loves to take a walk around the park and school grounds, and today, for the first time we toured the on-campus Urban Harvest Garden. The...
Southern Style Biscuits
My grandmother used to make about 2 dozen of these every morning. She made enough so there would be leftovers for the dogs. I'd stand on the back porch and throw biscuits to Toby and Bullet; they'd catch them in midair and practically swallow them whole. Ingredients ...
Links
These are links to sites having to do with food and cooking. I've set up another page for links to things having nothing to do with cooking. aluminum foil faq Thanks to Reynolds amazing ribs asparagus recipes - California Asparagus Commission beer can...
Girls at Work
These are some of our students at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church. They are SO much fun. Note the mural in the background. We have some fabulous artists at Palmer. Here are links to two of them who did the mural. Jackie Campbell and Katee Esser. (Kelley Bourgeois is...
Seafood and Guacamole Enchiladas
I make up a seafood salad from mock crab meat. It's great for sandwiches or in a tortilla wrap. I served Sherry a wrap, and she suggested I heat it up next time. So I decided to try this combination. Ingredients 2 cups seafood salad2 cups guacamolecolby-jack cheese,...
Seafood Salad
In always liked the seafood sandwiches served by Subway, so I tried to emulate their recipe. Ingredients 1 lb. mock seafood, flake style4 ounces cream cheese, softened3 green onions, minced1 tomato, finely chopped1/2 cup mayonnaise14 ounce can black olives, drained...
Trinidadian Style Chicken Stew
Saw this interesting looking dish on Roger Mooking's "Everyday Exotic" program on the Cooking Channel. It's made my To-Do list. He also also featured Plantain Gratin and a Pickled Topping recipes that look worth checking out.
BBQ Sauce ala Emeril
Looking for a recipe for BBQ pizza, I ran across one used by Emeril Lagasse. This isn't exactly the way Emeril did it, but it's close. We did this up tonight with some slow smoked pulled pork I did on the grill on the Fourth, and it was excellent. The sauce turned out...
Onion Sauce for Pasta
Had some extra onions on hand so I decided to see if I could find a recipe for an onion sauce to go over pasta. It's on the stove right now. Note: Not finished yet, but the long slow cooking really reduces the volume of onions. I started with 6 cups and it looks like...
Crab Quesadilla
Sherry asked me to whip her up something, so I found a can of crab meat in our pantry and decided to go from there. One can of crab meat is enough for two well stuffed quesadillas. I make up one for Sherry, and while she's enjoying, I make up a second one for me....
Red Beans in the Crock Pot
We have a routine we fell into around here for making chicken stock over the weekend; we time this not because it's a weekend, but because our solid waste visits on Tuesday mornings. (Yes, we make cooking decisions based partly on what to do with the waste. In...
Seafood Pasta
Ingredients 1/4 cup chopped onion2 garlic cloves, crushed1 teaspoon butter1 teaspoon olive oil1/2 lb shrimp1/2 lb scallops1 (6 1/2 ounce) can clams, not drained1 1/2 cups chicken broth1 teaspoon basil2 tablespoons parsley1/2 teaspoon paprika1/4 teaspoon salt1/4...
Shrimp and Bread Stuffing
We try to keep stock in our freezer at all times. When I'm out of shrimp stock, I purchase wild head-on shrimp; use the shrimp for whatever I feel like doing; and make a stock out of the heads. Just boil the heads with a chopped onion, a couple of chopped carrots and...
Before There Was TV
Acrylics on 11" x 14" canvas --
Banana Bread, Sherry’s
We like to make up this banana bread with a few raisins added.
Rachel’s Stuffed Celery
This dish has been a favorite at Sherry's mother's house for as long as I can remember. It's loved by all in the family, and everyone who tastes her stuffed celery wants the recipe. We happened to have Rachel's hand-written recipe. Ingredients 1 pkg cream cheese,...
Shrimp Fajitas
I've been threatening to do fajitas ever since Sherry and I did a drive to Round Rock and had some grilled beef at a little Mexican Restaurant in Giddings, TX. I threw this together and did it indoors with a bit of Liquid Smoke to give it that "grilled" flavor. Sherry...
Sherry’s Fruit Cobbler
Ingredients 1/2 cup butter (8 T)1 cup plain flour1 cup sugar1 T baking powder1/2 cup milk2 cups fruit or pie filling Directions Melt butter in a 10 inch baking dish and set aside. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder. Add milk to dry ingredients and gently stir...
It’s Going Well,
Sherry's just about recovered from the many injuries she sustained back on October 21. Her eye, face, cheek, etc., seem to be healing perfectly. Her arm, shoulder, and elbow are healed too, but in need of lots of therapy.She continues to see her therapist for the time...
Easy Turkey Meatloaf
Ingredients 2 lbs ground turkey (dark) 2 eggs 1 small onion (chopped) 2 cloves of garlic (minced) small can of tomato paste (use only 3 tsps; reserve the rest.) cayenne (a few dashes) 1/2 cup bread crumbs salt Sauce Reserved tomato paste Onion (chopped) 1 clove...
Stuffed Mushrooms #2
I often times experiment with different ways of preparing mushrooms. I whipped this up this afternoon just as a light snack. Sherry loved them, and suggested I save the recipe. Don't be afraid to experiment Ingredients 1/2 pound white mushrooms; wiped cleanbread...
More Visits to Our Doctors
Two doctor visits today. First --- Dr. Taylor says Sherry's doing great --- bite works -- jaw works --- looks good. I LIKE this guy! And I like his wife too. (More on that later.)Dr. Gabel, though, has concerns. She has way too much scarring and swelling still going...
