Peach and Raspberry Crisp

I just made this dessert with some fresh Ruston Peaches. Yummy!  It's another Barefoot Contessa recipe. I think I could become this lady's sous chef.

Ingredients:

• 10 ripe peaches
• ½ pint of raspberries
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 ¼ C. granulated sugar
• 1 C. light brown sugar
• 1 ½ C. all-purpose flour plus 2 T.
• 1 C. quick-cooking oatmeal
• ¼ t. salt
• 2 sticks of butter, cold, cut into cubes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Butter a 13 x 9 x 2 Pyrex baking dish
3. Boil water in a large pot, place a few peaches at a time in the boiling water for 30 seconds
4. Remove the peaches and place them in a bowl with ice water
5. NOW, the peaches will peel easy
6. Peel the peaches and cut into thick chunks, and place in a large bowl
7. Add the lemon zest, ¼ C. granulated sugar, ½ C. brown sugar, and 2 T. flour
8. Toss well, then gently mix the raspberries in
9. Let the fruit sit while making the crumb topping
10. Combine the flour, oatmeal, 1 C. granulated sugar, ½ C. brown sugar, salt, and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment
11. Mix on low speed until the butter is pea-sized and the mixture is crumbly
12. Pour the fruit into the  baking dish
13. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the fruit
14. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the top is brown and the juices are bubbly
15. Let the dessert rest for 15 minutes before serving

Tips and Tricks:

• This is excellent with vanilla ice cream.
• I don’t have Kitchen-aid mixer, that’s what this recipe is calling for to make this crumb topping.  I used my traditional hand mixer and it worked OK.
• You can make this the day before, put it in the refrigerator overnight and just bake it again for about 20 minutes when you are ready to serve it.

Corn Macque Choux

This is my Mom and Dad's recipe for Macque Choux.  My Dad liked corn.  He made Macque Choux different ways, but this was a favorite because it is a one pot meal.  It serves like a soup.

Ingredients:

• 2 C. of finely chopped onions
• 1 C. of finely chopped bell pepper
• 1 C. of finely chopped celery
• 6 cloves of mined garlic
• ¾ C. vegetable oil
• 6 ears of fresh corn, cut off the cob and scraped
• ½ lb. of pickle meat or ham seasoning
• 3 lbs. of shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 lb. of smoked sausage cut into semi circles
• 2 cans of Rotel
• 2 cans of Cajun stewed tomatoes
• 2 cans of yellow corn
• 2 cans of white corn
• 2 cans of cream corn
• 10 C. shrimp stock or chicken stock
• 2 T. of salt
• 1 T. of black pepper
• ½ t. of cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. In a gumbo pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat and sauté the onions, bell peppers, and celery and cook until limp
2. Add garlic for 1 minute
3. Run the Rotel and stewed tomatoes through a food processer
4. Add both to the pot and cook for 10 minutes
5. Add the fresh corn, including the cobs, to the pot
6. Add the chicken or shrimp stock, sausage, ham, salt, pepper, and cayenne
7. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes
8. Add the can corn and cook for an additional 15 minutes
9. Stir then add the shrimp and cook for an additional 15 minutes

Tips and Tricks:

·        My Dad insists that the KEY to Macque Choux is scraping the corn cob to get the “milk” from the corn.  After you cut the kernels off the cob, you need to scrape the knife down the side of the cob and add the “milk to the bowl of corn. 

·        I use Bryan Cajun Smoke Sausage. 

·        I use Green Giant corn.

·        You can make shrimp or chicken stock.  It is easy! Follow my link to find out how I make mine. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are SOOOO good.  They are rich and gooey, if you bake them the correct amount of time.  This is the traditional Nestle Tollhouse recipe.  I LOVED getting a chocolate chip cookie sandwich on Main Street in Disney World.  These make excellent CCC sandwiches, but they are good out of the oven with a glass of milk, too.

Ingredients:

• 2 ¼ C. all-purpose flour
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 t. salt
• 1 C. (2 sticks) butter, softened
• ¾ C. granulated sugar
• ¾ C. packed brown sugar
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 C. (12 oz. pkg) Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• 1 C. chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. In a small bowl, combine the sifted flour, baking soda, and salt
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla with a hand mixer
4. Add the eggs, one at a time and continue to beat
5. Add the flour mixture about ½ C. at a time
6. Stir in the morsels and nuts
7. Scoop the cookie dough on a cookie sheet
8. Bake for 9 minutes
9. Remove the cookies from the cookie sheet and allow to cool on a baking rack for 2 minutes before serving

Tips and Tricks:

• I use a 1 ½ inch scoop to make a 3 inch cookie.
• I use parchment paper on my cookie sheets.
• If you want your cookies gooey, you need to remove them before they start to brown.  If you like them more on the crispy side, let them brown before removing them.

Artichoke Dip

This is easy to make and everyone likes it.  The garlic and lemon juice make this dip great.  It is a recipe that I got off of the back of the can of artichoke hearts.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of artichoke hearts
• 2/3 C. mayonnaise
• 2/3 C. grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 T. lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Drain artichoke hearts well and chop fine
3. Combine all ingredients and mix well
4. Pour into a baking dish
5. Bake for 45 minutes

Tips and Tricks:

• I serve this dip with Wheat Thins.
• When preparing the artichoke hearts, it is important to pick out any leaves that are hard.  They are usually on the outside of the artichoke heart and are darker in color.
• Don’t use light or fat-free mayonnaise for this recipe.  They both have too much water in them and it makes the dip watery.

Dirty Rice

This is Donald's aunt's recipe.  Aunt Jeannette is from Cottonport, LA (not far from where my dad is from) and she makes Dirty Rice when we have family gatherings.  It is easy to make and it is delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1 stick of butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• ½ bell pepper, chopped
• 3 ribs of celery, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 lb. ground pork
• 2 lbs. of Savoie or Richard’s Dressing Mix
• 1 can of French onion soup
• 2 cans of chicken broth
• 2 T. Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
• 4 T. Crystal hot sauce
• ½ C. chopped fresh parsley
• 6 C. cooked rice

Directions:

1. In a Dutch oven, heat the butter over medium-high heat and sauté onions, bell peppers, and celery until limp
2. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute
3. Brown the ground pork, then add the dressing mix and cook for 10 minutes
4. Add chicken broth, French onion soup, Tony’s and hot sauce cook for 1 hour
5. Add parsley and rice and simmer for 20 – 30 minutes
6. Serve hot!

Tips and Tricks:

• Cooking the rice the day before helps.  It dries out a bit and that’s how you want it.  If you do cook it the day you make the dirty rice be sure it is cooled before you use it.
• When you add the rice to the liquid mixture, it looks like it will never dry out enough to eat, but just be patient.  It usually takes 20 minutes, but sometimes you need to let it simmer longer.
• Sometimes I use the Creole Seasoning in the produce section at the grocery.  It has onions, bell peppers, celery, parsley, and garlic all in one container.  I use a large container, or about 3 C.
• You can freeze any leftovers for use at a later date. 

Brussels sprouts with bacon

I love Brussels sprouts.  This is a Emeril's recipe.  It's easy to make and it serves about 4 people.  It is also easy to double.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of Brussels sprouts
• 6 oz. of bacon, cut crosswise into thin strips
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 1 t. kosher salt
• ½ t. black pepper

Directions:

1. Boil the Brussels spouts for 8 minutes and drain
2. Cut in half and place on the side
3. Cook the bacon in a Dutch oven until crispy
4. Remove the bacon and cook the onions in the drippings until limp
5. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes
6. Add the Brussels sprouts and the salt and pepper
7. Cook until sprouts start to brown

Tips and Tricks:

• The recipe calls for fresh Brussels sprouts, but I haven’t had much luck with the fresh.  I buy the frozen in the bag.  It is not quite a pound, but that’s what I use.
• If you boil your veggies with salt as I do, you will need to reduce the 1 t. of salt to about ½ t. of salt.  The recipe does not call for salt while boiling.

Cheese Straws

This recipe comes from a friend at a LSU tailgating party.  They were served and I asked for the recipe. They are light and crispy.

Ingredients:

• 2 C. flour, sifted
• 2 C. Rice Krispies
• 2 C. Sharp Cheddar cheese, finely shredded
• 2 sticks of butter, softened
• ¼ t. cayenne pepper
• 1 t. salt
• 1 t. garlic powder
• 1 t. Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. In a large bowl, mix the softened butter with the cayenne, salt, garlic powder, and Tony’s
3. Add the flour, then the Rice Krispies and the cheese
4. Kneed the mixture together
5. Roll into balls about an inch in diameter
6. Place on cookie sheets and bake for 10 minutes
7. Remove from the oven and press each ball with a fork
8. Return to the oven for 5 minutes
9. Remove from oven and move each to a cooling rack

 Tips and Tricks:

• These are a great light appetizer when serving cocktails.
• These store well for several days in a plastic container.

Banana Pudding

This is another recipe from my mother-in-law Dotty.  She is the BEST.  This is a totally homemade from scratch dessert.  It's a "Make it for someone you love" kind of dessert.

Ingredients:

Custard:

• 3 egg yolks
• 2 C. milk
• ½ C. sugar
• 1/3 C. flour
• ½ t. vanilla

Meringue:

• 3 egg whites
• ¼ t. salt
• ¼ C. sugar
• ½  t. corn starch

• 4 – 5 ripe bananas, sliced
• 48 Nilla wafers

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Separate room temperature eggs and put the whites in a stainless steel or glass bowl
3. Place the whites on the side for later
4. Boil water in a double boiler, then add flour and sugar
5. Beat the egg yolks with the milk and add to the double boiler
6. Stir constantly for 12 minutes
7. Remove from heat and add vanilla
8. In a 2 quart Pyrex dish, put about ½ C. of custard then a layer of about 24 Nilla wafers and a layer of bananas
9. Next layer about 1 C. of custard, then another layer of 24 Nilla wafers and bananas
10. Last layer of 1 C. of custard
11. Let the pudding set and make the meringue
12. Combine the salt, sugar and corn starch in a separate bowl
13. Using a mixer, beat the egg whites
14. Add the mixture gradually to the egg whites and beat until peaks are formed
15. Spread the meringue over the pudding making sure to seal the edges
16. Bake for 15 minutes
17. Pudding can be served warm or chilled

Tips and Tricks:

• Beating egg whites are tricky.  You need a really clean bowl.  Stainless steel is great, but glass works well also.  NO PLASTIC.  Don’t try to make a meringue on a rainy day.  If there is too much humidity, it doesn’t work.
• I don’t have a double boiler.  I use a pot and put a stainless steel bowl over the pot.  This works fine.

Smothered String Beans

A one pot meal, what cook doesn't like that?  This has all the food groups: the veggies, the starch, the meats, and very little fat.  My Mom and I love these, Donald not so much.  Hope you do!

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. of fresh string beans, snapped into bite-size pieces
• 2 lbs. of new potatoes, peeled and cut in half
• ½ lb. of ham, cubed
• ½ lb. of smoked sausage, cut into semi-circles
• ¼ C. of vegetable oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 can of Rotel tomatoes
• 1 C. chicken broth
• ½ T. kosher salt
• ½ T. Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning

Directions:

1. In a Dutch oven, add onions with oil and cook until limp over a medium-low heat, about 10 minutes  
2. Add garlic for an additional minute
3. Add sausage and ham and fry for about 10 minutes
4. Add tomatoes, salt, Tony’s, beans and chicken broth
5. Cook over medium heat, covered for 15 minutes
6. Add potatoes and cook for an additional 20 minutes, covered
7. Serve steaming hot

Tips and Tricks:

• I use Bryan Cajun Smoked Sausage.
• The times are tricky.  It really depends on the firmness of the string beans.  It usually takes about 15 minutes for them to start to wilt.  If they aren’t wilted at 15 minutes wait until they are to add the potatoes.
• We usually make these when we have ham leftover from a holiday or gathering.  If not you can just buy a ham steak and cut it into chunks.