Deviled Ham Spread

I am a Southern lady and I have made deviled eggs many times, but this was my first attempt at making deviled ham and I am SO glad that I did.  I had deviled ham, pimento cheese, and deviled eggs as an appetizer at High Hat Restaurant recently.  I was determined to make my own.  This is combination of recipes.  I hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ham, cut into slices or cubes
• 1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
• ½ C. mayonnaise
• ½ C. green onion, finely chopped
• 2 T. honey
• 2 T. sweet relish
• 2 T. Crystal hot sauce
• 1 T. Dijon mustard
• 1 T. Creole mustard
• 1 T. paprika
• ½ T. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 t. salt
• ¼ t. cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped and well incorporated.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, once or twice while processing.
2. Place the deviled ham in a bowl and cover.
3. Refrigerate overnight or at least for 4 hours, before serving with assorted crackers or thinly sliced pieces of a baguette.

Tips and Tricks:

• Leftover ham is great for this recipe, but if not use a ham steak, it works the best.
• The honey is the secret ingredient for this recipe.  You may be tempted to leave it out, but you will be sorry if you do.

Pickled Shrimp

I've been on a Southern foods kick lately.  My Mom used to make pickled crabs when I was younger and this recipe reminds me of that.  These are much easier to eat, than the crabs.  This is a combination of a Paula Deen recipe and a recipe I found in Southern Living.  

Ingredients:

Shrimp:

• 10 C. water
• 1 orange (cut in fourths)
• 1 lemon (cut in half)
• 1 onion (cut in half)
• 1 head of garlic (cut in half)
• 2 T. concentrated liquid Shrimp and Crab boil
• 2 lbs. of Fresh Shrimp
• 2 T. salt

Pickling liquid:

• 2.5 oz. can of black olives, sliced (½ C.)
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• zest of one lemon
• juice of one lemon, 2 T.  
• ¼ C. olive oil
• ½ C. apple cider vinegar
• 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 t. salt
• 2 T. capers with their juice
• ½ t. red pepper flakes
• ¼ t. cayenne pepper

• Bread rounds, for serving
• Mayonnaise, for serving

Directions:

1. In a large pot, put water, lemon, orange, onion, garlic, and crab boil (NO SALT).
2. Bring to a boil, and then add shrimp.
3. Bring to a boil again and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Turn off the heat.
5. Add salt and let the shrimp bathe in the salt water for 5 minutes.
6. Strain, when cool enough to handle, peel the shrimp.  Reserve.
7. Combine all of the pickling liquid ingredients together in a medium size bowl with a cover.
8. Add the shrimp and refrigerate overnight or at least 4 hours.
9. You will need 3 bowls for serving: large, medium and small.  Place the bread rounds in the large bowl, the pickled shrimp in the medium bowl and mayonnaise in the small bowl.  

Tips and Tricks:

• Zest the lemon first, and then squeeze the lemon for the juice.
• My Dad swore that the reason his shrimp would always peel easily is because he put the salt in AFTER the boiling.  It works.
• This makes the perfect canapé.  People can place what they like on the bread rounds.  I put a little pickling juice on the bread and then a little mayo, finally I place a shrimp, some onion slices, a garlic slice, a few capers and black olives.   

Broiled Parmesan Grouper

This is a quick fix meal.  My brother caught a huge grouper, so that's how this recipe is making an appearance on the blog.  I found this on www.allrecipes.com.  I made a few adjustments.  

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. fresh grouper fillets
• 2 T. lemon juice (juice of one lemon)
• ½ T. kosher salt
• 1 t. black pepper
• ¼ C. mayonnaise
• ½ C. Parmesan cheese, grated
• ¼ C. (1/2 stick) butter, softened
• 1 T. Crystal hot sauce
• 2 T. fresh dill, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat broiler to high.
2. Cover a baking dish or cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
3. Place the grouper fillets on the sheet and squeeze the lemon juice over the fillets.  Season with the salt and pepper.
4. Broil for 4 – 8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets (they should begin to flake with the pressure of a fork).
5. Combine the remaining ingredients together and reserve.
6. Remove from the broiler and spread the cheese mixture over the fillets and return to the broiler for 1 minute or until brown and bubbly.
7. Remove and serve hot.

Tips and Tricks:

• A 1 inch fillet is the perfect thickness for this recipe.  If your fillets are thicker (mine were), you may need to allow them to cook longer.
• Any fresh herb will work with this recipe.  Dill gives the fish a nice fresh flavor.

Opa! Dip (7 layer Greek Dip)

I tried making this dip more than once.  The first time I made it the first layer was made with Greek yogurt and roasted red peppers.  The whole dip looked like a pink porridge, NOT appetizing.  I found two other recipes, combined them and came up with this.  I NAILED it.  This dip will be devoured by all Greek food lovers.  Great for those upcoming tailgate parties!

Ingredients:

• 1) 1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
• 1) ½ T. Greek seasoning
• 1) 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1) 1 T. fresh lemon juice, or juice of ½ of a lemon
• 1) ½ t. lemon zest
• 2) 1 ½ C. hummus (I use a 10 oz. container)
• 3) 1 medium cucumber seeded and diced (1 C.)
• 4) (4 oz.) feta cheese, crumbled (1/2 C.)
• 5) ¼ of a medium red onion, finely chopped (1/3 C.)
• 6) (4 oz.) Kalamata olives, chopped (1/2 C.)
• 7) (2 oz.) sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (1/4 C.)

Directions:

1. Combine the 1) ingredients with a large bowl with a mixer until light and fluffy. 
2. Spread in the bottom of a pie plate or a small shallow baking dish.  The cream cheese mixture should cover the bottom of the dish.
3. Layer each of the other ingredients, in order, to create the 7 layers.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours before serving.
5. Serve with pita chips, fresh vegetables, or flat bread.

Tips and Tricks:

• I like to serve this dip with the BIG Wheat Thins.  You need a chip that has a flat edge to scrap the dip up and out of the dish.
• I use 1/3 less fat cream cheese for this recipe.
• If you don’t have Greek seasoning, you can use dill weed instead.
• The cup measurements after each ingredient are approximate.  Don’t stress about it being exact.