Pilar Achila is Your New Cook

I adore Pilar. She is always happy and energetic. She brought a group of children through the Newspaper on a tour recently and I was reminded of what a lovely person she is...but can she cook? After reviewing her recipes- I think so. Let's see what you think, but I know the first thing you will want to know is

Who is Pilar Achila?

Q. Write a short 3-sentence biography of yourself?

A. I am married to José Archila; we have 3 sons (Juan Camilo, Santiago and Felipe Andrés), one daughter in law, Sarepta (our first daughter) and one grandson, Camilo David. I LOVE to cook, especially when the family gets together.

Q.What is your favorite recipe? Share it.



A. One of my favorite recipes is: "Arroz con Chorizo o con Pollo" (Sausage or Chicken with Rice") because it's fast and easy to make.

"Arroz con Chorizo o Pollo"
(Sausage or Chicken with Rice)

6 T. corn oil

1 green onion

4 ½ c. water

½ tsp. Salt

3 env. "Sasón Goya with Culantro y Achiote" (you can buy it at the store)

1 ½ c. frozen carrots and peas.

1 c. Sausage or chicken cut in cubes

3 c. Rice, uncooked

In a medium saucepan, put the oil, the sausage or chicken with the onion (med-high heat) until it is cooked. Add all the ingredients but the rice. Bring to boil and add the rice. When the water evaporates, bring the temperature to low. Cover the saucepan for 15 minutes. Do not forget to take the green onion out when it's done. You can serve this rice with a nice salad on the side.



Q. Call a good friend. Who is she and what is her favorite recipe? Share it.

A. My good friend Carolyn Hampton likes the "Pastel de Pollo y Jamón" that I make.

"Pastel de Pollo y Jamón"
(Chicken and Ham Casserole)

6 pieces of chicken thighs

1 T. butter

1 green onion

1 clove of garlic

1/2 tsp. powder pepper

6 ham slices

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 c. evaporate milk

¼ c. white wine

Slices of white bread

¾ c. milk

4 eggs

1 T. vinegar

1 T sugar

1 tsp. Salt

Mozzarella cheese

Parsley

In a pressure cooker, cook the chicken, with the butter, the onion, the garlic and the ¼ tsp. pepper for ¼ hour.
In a medium saucepan mix the chicken shredded, with the ham cut into pieces, the chicken broth (after cooking the chicken), the cream of mushroom soup, the evaporated milk, and the wine. Leave this mixture on low heat.
Apart, grease a square pan; cover the pan with the white bread without the crust.
Mix ¾ c. of milk with 1 egg, 1 T. vinegar, 1 T. sugar, 1 tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. pepper. Place this mixture on top of the bread.
On top of this mixture pour the chicken mixture.
Apart, mix 3 eggs with the bread crust cut in cubes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.
Pre-heat the oven at 350 and bake until the cheese melts and turns into a golden brown.

(O.K. so we know Pilar can cook.
Now for the Fun part! What are her tips?)

Q.What is your biggest time saver in the kitchen?
A. Using the blender and the food processor are the two tools I use to save time. They are my right hand in the kitchen.

Q. What was the first thing you ever cooked?
A. Rice. We always eat rice, lunch and dinner.

Q. What is your family's favorite home-cooked dish?
A. My mom's red beans. She learned from her mother, and it has been in our family for generations.

Q. What ingredient do you love to use the most?
A. Onions! They give a good taste to food (especially the Vidalia onions).

Q. What and where is the best food you have ever eaten?
A. Paella!! At a friends house in Madrid, Spain! His mother made the paella for José and me.

Q. What tricks do you use to ease clean up?
A. I clean as I go, so in the end, there really is not much to clean.

Q. If you cook do you also clean up? If not you, who?
A. After dinner if I cook, José will clean up the dishes, and if he cooks (he is an excellent cook), I clean up the dishes.


Uh-oh. Pilar just gave away a great seceret. Jose` is a great cook ! I think he should take our cooking quiz. Hello Jose. I will be looking for you to take the quiz too. And while I am at it...

I need more Cooks to take my quiz,
so send me an e-mail and I will send you one right out.
Thanks for reading Your Courier Herald Cooks.
cporter@courier-herald.com

To find out who will be next week's Cook
read tomorrow's Courier Herald

A New Tammie (Lawrence) Cooks

We have a new cook for you this week and her name is Tammie also- Tammie Lawrence! The first thing everyone will want to know is -just who is Tammie Lawrence? To answer that question I asked her to:

Q.Write a short 3 sentence biography of yourself?

A. I am married with one son and a step daughter. My husband is a policeman and my son is
18, they can eat me out of house and home. My sister and my grandma taught me the most about cooking. My grandma can make any recipe taste wonderful. She always adds her special touch.

(Tammie sounds like a great person to me, but let's see if she can cook:)


Q. What is your favorite recipe? Share it.

Bacon wrapped chicken fillets

Wrap 6 boneless chicken fillets with bacon,

pour cream of chicken soup over chicken and cream of mushroom soup,
top with cream cheese cut into small chunks,
bake until chicken is done
approx 45 min on 375

(This sounds "soup-er" easy. I plan to try it next time all four of the boys are home. I bet it is great over rice.)

Q. Can you imitate a restaurant dish? If so, share the recipe.
A. I made Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad once. It was NOT worth all the time
it took. LOL.

( I have to admit that is probably my favorite salad of all time. Tammie didn't include her time consuming recipe... so I went to a great stand-by on the Internet- www.recipezaar.com and found this one posted by "Graybert" on Feb. 9, 2002. It sounds delicious, but I can see why Tammie said it took way too much time. See if you have half a day to fit this one in, if not I suggest a trip to Applebee's and tell them Carol sent you:

Almost Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad

SERVES 2

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Ingredients

Oriental Dressing

• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 1/2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon sesame oil

Salad

• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup cornflake crumbs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 skinless chicken breast half
• 2 cups vegetable oil (for frying)
• 3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 1 cup red cabbage
• 1 cup napa cabbage
• 1/2 carrot, julienned or shredded
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon sliced almonds
• 1/3 cup chow mein noodles

Directions

Preheat oil in deep fryer or deep pan over medium heat. You want the temperature of the oil to be around 350 degrees. Blend together all ingredients for dressing in a small bowl with an electric mixer. Put dressing in refrigerator to chill while you prepare the salad. In a small, shallow bowl beat egg, add milk, and mix well. In another bowl, combine flour with corn flake crumbs, salt and pepper. Cut chicken breast into 4 or 5 long strips. Dip each strip of chicken first into egg mixture then into the flour mixture, coating each piece completely. Fry each chicken finger for 5 minutes or until coating has darkened to brown. Prepare salad by tossing the chopped romaine with the chopped red cabbage, Napa cabbage, and carrots. Sprinkle sliced green onion on top of the lettuce. Sprinkle almonds over the salad, then the chow mein noodles.Cut the chicken into small bite-size chunks. Place the chicken onto the salad forming a pile in the middle. Serve with salad dressing drizzled over it or on the side.

(I put the steps in paragraph form so it would not take up so much space if you want to print this one out, which I suggest you do if you want to try it at home . This salad is truly delicious. )

Q. What cook taught you the most about cooking and give an example?
A. My grandma, she was always cooking. When I smell Fried Chicken cooking to
this day it reminds me of my grandma’s on Sundays.

Q. Who is your favorite media food star and why?
A. Paula Deen. She is so southern.

Q.What is your favorite comfort food?
A. Mac and cheese.

Q. What was the first thing you ever cooked?
A. Chocolate no bake cookies with my sister, Lisa.

Q.What is your family's favorite home-cooked dish?
A. My sisters crock pot mac/cheese.

Q. What is your favorite seasonal produce and how do you use it?
A.Peaches. I love anything with fresh peaches.

Q. What ingredient do you love to use the most?
Chicken broth makes everything taste better.

Q. What is your favorite cooking gadget? Why?
A. My timer. I would burn everything without it.

Q. What and where is the best food you have ever eaten?
I love the Oyster Bar in Savannah on Wilmington Island.

Q. What tricks do you use to ease clean up?
A. Trick my husband into cleaning up.


It sounds to me like Tammie knows what she is doing. Mac and Cheese is a true favorite and getting your husband to clean up is a great trick. Actually, I have a policy that whoever cooks-someone else cleans up. It doesn't always get the job done the way I think it should be, but it always gets me at least a little ahead. Not wanting to get ahead too much I will give you a little tease and tell you to be sure and check out Your Courier Herald Cooks in Thursday's newspaper to see who will be next weeks featured Cook...and keep sending in those cooking quizzes. We have a long way to go until A Taste of Home comes back to town!

To take the quiz
or have it sent to
a great Cook that you know-
send me an e-mail -
cporter@courier-herald.com

Tammie Bayto and Me-We're Back

I went out of town and left the computer, so you are late in getting Tammie's Tips (sorry) , but here you go- the best of Tammie Bayto's Tips:

Q. Who is your favorite media food star and why?
A. Paula Dean because she makes me laugh and she is so real. She’s comfortable in her own skin and doesn’t try to be something that she is not.
Q. What is your favorite comfort food?
A. Buttered Pecan Ice Cream (must be pronounced pee-can, not pee-con, or I won’t eat it.)
Q. If you are having a party what do you always cook?
A. Broccoli Salad
Q. What was the first thing you ever cooked?
A. Scrambled eggs for my brother. I put garlic in them, and he wouldn’t eat them.
Q. What store-bought item do you use that is closest to homemade?
A. Mary Hill Dumplings
Q. What is your family's favorite home-cooked dish?
A.Chicken Pan Pie
Q. What is your biggest extravagance at the grocery store?
A. Crab Legs
Q. What ingredient do you love to use the most?
A. Garlic
Q. What and where is the best food you have ever eaten?
A. Carolina Ribs in Port Royal, SC…excellent shrimp and catfish
Q.What tricks do you use to ease clean up?
A. Clean as much as possible as I go so there’s not a big mess when I’m done
Q. If you cook do you also clean up? If not you, who?
A. I normally clean, but if my but if my husband (Johnny) is at home, he helps.

It seems that Tammie is a great cook and I have another great Tammie cook coming. You get a real bonus from my forgetting the computer- I am going to give you an entire Your Herald Cooks in one post...and don't forget to look for our new cook in tomorrow's Courier Herald.

Tammy Bayto Cooks

We have a new guest cook for this week's Your Courier Herald Cooks - Tammy Bayto. So just who is Tammy Bayto?

Q. Write a short 3 sentence biography of yourself?
A. My name is Tammy Bayto. I was born and raised in Laurens County and have enjoyed eating home cooking my entire life. There are many excellent cooks in my family who are much better than me. That’s probably because I try to cook healthy, and healthy isn’t always the best tasting.

Sounds like this is a cook that tells the truth. She is correct, if diet food were tasty we would all be thin!

Q. Which dish do you always get raves over? Share it.

Dirt Cake

Mix and set aside 2 packages of French Vanilla Pudding (using 4 cups of milk)
In a separate bowl, mix together:
8 oz. softened cream cheese
¾ stick of softened butter
1/3 cup of powered sugar
Beat pudding into cream cheese mixture
Fold 12 oz Cool Whip into pudding/cream cheese
Break 1 package of Oreos into bite-size pieces
Layer Oreos and pudding mixture for 3-4 layers with Oreos on both top and bottom layer
Refrigerate 24 hours

If you have ever made a dirt cake and let your kids throw a few gummy worms on top while you "mock horror" - you know what is truly a good time!

Q. What is your favorite recipe? Share it.

Souped-up Cubed Steak

Heat 3-4 tbsp of oil in a Dutch oven on top of the stove
Place two pounds cubed steak, seasoned and floured in the hot oil
Lightly brown both sides of steak
Remove from heat and add 1 packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix and 3-4 cups water
Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour
Serve over rice


Now it doesn't get much easier than this. A can of english peas, some canned rolls and you have a real meal in almost no prep time. Love it. Come back tomorrow for the best part of the quiz, when we get Tammy's Tips!

Vidalia Onion Exec. Wendy Brannen

This week's Cook is Wendy Brannen who is the Executive Director of the Vidalia® Onion Committee. Her contact information is
VidaliaOnion.org or
100 Vidalia Sweet Onion Drive (30474)
P.O. Box 1609 (30475)
Vidalia, GA
in case you need even more onion recipes and info.

She sent us a Press Release on an e-mail
and I sent her one back with the cooking quiz.

Courier Herald Cooks, you are in for a treat. In honor of my being out of town until Monday, instead of breaking her quiz into three parts, I am giving you the whole encha...onion. Follows is what Wendy has to say about her love for cooking:


Q. What is your favorite cookbook & why?
A. Eatin’ with Edna by Mrs. Edna Cason from Statesboro, Ga. I’ve had this signed cookbook since 1991. My mom bought it for me when I left home to attend my freshman year at the University of Georgia, and it’s been my standard for simple, southern cooking. If I don’t remember how to make Macaroni & Cheese or Pecan Pie, I can look up even the basics and be assured the recipes will taste almost exactly like Mom’s or Grandma’s. Mrs. Cason, who has since passed away, was such a sweet person. I remember her at church and about town, and it seems her family all taught me, graduated with me, or went to Sunday school with me. Preparing Mrs. Edna’s recipes always makes me smile—the spirit of this simple, Southern woman is still alive through her simple, southern recipes. I know because hundreds of graduating seniors just like me got her delicious books every year!

Q. What is your favorite recipe?
A. Oh, I’m such a good Georgia girl! Give me some creamed corn, butter beans or the last scoop of almost any type of casserole and I’m good to go—no dessert necessary. Here’s one of my favorites from growing up (and it has my favorite onions in it—Vidalias!)

Vidalia® Onion Sausage Casserole

5 Vidalia onions, sliced
12 Ritz crackers, crushed
1 lb. ground sausage, browned & drained
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. seasoning salt
1 can Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup
½ c. grated Cheddar cheese
1 small jar pimento peppers

Put Vidalia onions in the bottom of casserole dish. Add crackers, then sausage. Add another layer of onions then spread the soup, salt & seasoning. Sprinkle on cheese and pimentos. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for one hour.

Q. What is your favorite seasonal produce and how do you use it?
Since I’m the Executive Director of the Vidalia® Onion Committee and work for a hundred Vidalia growers, you know my answer. In truth, it really is my favorite seasonal treat. Besides the rush of my onion marketing season and the subsequent harvest, I have access each spring and summer to as many of these Georgia beauties as I’d like. I love to just sauté them in a little olive oil (Pam olive oil cooking spray if I’m watching my waist) and add them to about anything. Of course, on TV I like to say my favorite way to eat Vidalias is cut up raw and added to black-eyed peas or on top of a grilled hot dog. These are things I do, but it’s just fun to say on national TV because it sounds so southern!

Q. What is your biggest time-saver in the kitchen/shortcut from the grocery store? A.I’m single and my job keeps me on the run, so I love all the new sliced and diced veggies you can buy. Pre-cut peppers, onions (preferably Vidalia!), mushrooms, etc., are a God-send on the go. Can we say, “Fajitas!”?

Q. Who is your favorite media food star and why?
A. I love Tom Collichio on Bravo’s Top Chef. First of all, I’m still amazed that four seasons in, I still find a cooking show this riveting—you can’t smell or taste the food, but the creativity, skill, and agility of the aspiring top chefs continues to enthrall me. Tom adds to the show as the “Simon Cowell” of the culinary challenge. And, I got to eat at his restaurant, Craftsteak in Las Vegas, recently. Of course, I also like Rocco Dispirito, just because he’s cute!

Q. What is the first thing you ever cooked?
A. Well, I cooked with Mom some, but on my own was probably (guess what) a casserole. Either green been or brown rice (which has no brown rice oddly). Both are still among my favorites.


Q.What tricks do you use to ease clean up?
A. We have a joke in my family that every female on my mother’s side was born with a sponge in her hand. We’re all clean freaks and constantly wiping counters. I guess my biggest trick is what Mom always said, “clean as you go.” Of course, she always cleans in between clearing dinner plates and serving dessert, too. While this does allow for more dinner conversation, it may also lead to impatient guests (my dad!).

Q. What is your biggest extravagance at the grocery store?
A. To me, time is money, so I don’t care if a bagged salad is $5 and a head of lettuce is $.50—I’m going with the bagged salad. I like to dress them up with fresh, colorful peppers and sweet Vidalias when they’re in season, though.

Q. If you are having a party, what do you always cook?
A. I do a dip that is actually called, “Vidalia’s Favorite Onion Dip.” It’s quick, easy, and always a hit. Here it is:

Vidalia’s Favorite Onion Dip

3 cups chopped Vidalia® onions
3 cups shredded Swiss cheese
2 ½ cups mayonnaise
Garlic salt to taste

Mix all ingredients and pour into a greased 1 ½ quart baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes until lightly browned. Serve with corn chips.

You can serve with crackers or tortilla chips, but the best in my opinion is those Fritos made for dipping. Yum!

Q. Write a short biography?
A. Wendy Brannen is the Executive Director of the Vidalia® Onion Committee, the national promotional organization for the Vidalia onion growers and shippers. After living in several different states and working as a television news anchor and reporter, she is happy to be back home in Georgia. Wendy is from Statesboro but now resides in Vidalia, where, besides marketing sweet Vidalias, she enjoys Georgia football, traveling to new places, reading crime novels, and occasionally cooking.

Thank you Wendy!

...and look for this Wendy's quiz in tomorrow's Courier Herald on page 8a.

The Best is Free

Father's Day Chocolate Cupcakes*

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk; beat well. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full.
3. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Frost with your favorite frosting when cool

Cupcakes are something fun to make with kids. Moms- if you set it all up- so all the items, ingredients and utensils are there and then let your kid(s) and their dad make these together and you clean up- that is all the Father's Day you will need to do. A memory is more valuable than any thing you can buy ( for a dad or a kid). Have a Happy Father's Day!

*The recipe is from allrecipes.com

Doris Barnes' Tips

The fun part of every Cook's Quiz is when they answer the Tips. Let's see what Doris has to say:

Q. What is your favorite cookbook?
A. I collect cookbooks and get teased a lot because I can spend all day reading recipes. I really enjoy church cookbooks and Southern Living cookbooks. There are always so many ways of doing the same recipe.

Q. My favorite media food star and why?
A. I loved Justin Wilson.... He had a great sense of humor . Since his death I watch Paula Deen a lot. I love her southern style and her southern cooking.

Q. What and Where is the best food you have ever eaten?
Germany... I loved Jager Schnitzel with mushroom sauce.

Q. What is your Favorite Comfort Food?
A. Anything with a lot of cheese and of course chocolate.

Q. Do you cook all at once or work ahead?
A. For just my family, I cook all at once. When planning for a large crowd I work ahead so I can spend time with my company.

Q. What is your favorite short cut from the grocery store?
Flour Tortillas for making chicken and dumplings.

Q. What is your biggest Time saver in the kitchen:
A. my mini chopper or my stand mixer. They do the work for me .

Be sure and look for Doris Barnes' in Thursday's Courier Herald and also find out who next week's cook will be!

Church Mac and Doris Barnes

Doris gave me a recipe that I use often because you can make it before church and it is ready when you get back home.

Q. What is your favorite recipe?

Crock pot Macaroni and Cheese

8 ounces if elbow macaroni
10 ounces of grated cheddar cheese
2 egg beaten
1- can condense cheddar cheese soup
1- stick of butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1 - sm can of evaporated milk
1- cup whole milk
salt and pepper to taste

Boil the macaroni in water until tender. Drain. Return macaroni to pan & add stick of butter until melted. Stir in grated cheese ,soup, whole milk and salt and pepper. In separate bowl beat eggs and evaporated milk and sour cream together add to macaroni mixture. Stir Well . Set slow cooker on low add macaroni mixture and cook for 3 hours. You can sprinkle grated cheese on top if you like.

And I suggest you do. I always add more cheese and while it is not the kind of Macaroni and Cheese we grew up with it is very good and very easy, especially when you have loads of other dishes going. I also find it is very easy to take to covered dish dinners. Doris gave us a real winner. Next we will check out her answers.

Doris Barnes Our New Cook

I just love it when I open my e-mail and get in a new quiz all filled out with great cooking tips and recipes. Ya'll keep sending the quiz out to all of those fabulous local or locally connected cooks and this blog can last as long as sourdough starter...

From reading Doris' quiz I can see we have another fantastic set of answers ahead but- Q. Just who is Doris Barnes? Tell us Doris.

A. My name is Doris Barnes. I'm a mother of 4 children Allen 25, Angela 21, April 19 and Charlie 15. I have two beautiful grandchildren Aiden 6mos and Joezie 20 mos. I love to cook and enjoy watching people eat... I recently had surgery for cancer & while I was recovering my son Charlie started cooking and loves it just as much as I do. I work on the Canadian Order desk for Mohawk and when I get home from work he has dinner ready... Last night he made he's first pound cake and it was awesome. Below is the recipe for Mountain Dew Poundcake.

Mountain Dew Pound Cake

1 box of Duncan Hines
1 package of lemon pudding ( sugar free works great )
1- 12 oz. mountain Dew ( diet works great )
4 - eggs
3/4 cups of oil

Mix the above ingredients and pour into greased and flour bundt pan. Bake @ 325 for 45 minutes.

I love this recipe. Quick, simple and I know my four boys would love it! It was a bonus recipe- there are two more to go- so stay tuned to find out what Doris has to share.
...keep cooking( and sending me your quiz)!

Amanda Mullis Tips

Q. What cook taught you the most about cooking and give an example?

A. My Mom taught me the most about cooking. She taught me that you don't ALWAYS have to go by the recipe, you can add your own touch!

Q. Who is your favorite media food star and why?

A. Paula Deen is my favorite food star because, she cooks southern classics!

Q. What is your favorite comfort food?

Potato Soup, My mom always makes her Special

Q. If you eat at a restaurant, what do you order?

A.chicken (cooked any way) what Southern Girl doesn't love chicken?Salad, what southern girl doesn't need to watch her figure once in a while.

Q. If you are having a party what do you always cook?

A. Velveeta cheese& hamburger dip, It's quick, easy and someone always wants the recipe!!

Q. What ingredient do you love to use the most?

A. cheese-- cheese makes anything taste better

Q. What and where is the best food you have ever eaten?

A. Bacon& Cheese Biscuit from JoJo's Biscuit's and Burgers

Q. If you cook do you also clean up? If not you, who?
A. I cook and my family helps clean up.

Amanda is our youngest quiz taker so far at age 19. Any of you know any great young cooks? Have them take my quiz and share their love of cooking with the world. If you don't have a copy of the quiz e-mail me at cporter@courier-herald.com and I will send you one. Thanks to all those who have so far and keep spreading the word of the quiz.

Short and Savory

Amanda Mullis has given us another great recipe. It is for one I have used before with great results.

Q.What is your favorite recipe? Share it.
A.Sausage Balls.

Sausage Balls

1lb. hot pork sausage
2c.sharp cheese,grated
3c. Bisquick
Mix good, roll into small balls and bake at 375 until light brown.

This is so easy and it really tastes great. This is something I make for a room full of teenagers also. If they are in the room when you pull them out of the oven there will be none left on the plate when it hits the table. Check in again tomorrow when we get to read the fun part of Amanda's quiz- the tip answers.
And if you are into fashion check, out the newspaper tomorrow
for the best of Your Passion 4 Fashion.

New Cook Shares- Amanda Mullis

We have a new cook this week and she is the youngest one so far. How do I know?

Q.Give a short 3 sentence biography of yourself?

A. I am a 19year old student who LOVES to cook! I like to try new recipes. I just became an Aunt in Aug & Nov.2007!!!


Q. What is your favorite cookbook and why? Share a recipe from it.

A. Taste Of Home. They have down-to-earth recipes.

Ham&Biscuits

1pkg. Brown 'N Serve rolls
1/2 deli sliced thin ham
1/2 lb. Swiss cheese
1/2 stick butter
2tsp. Worcestershire sauce
4tsp Dijon mustard.
Melt butter, sauce and mustard. Cut dinner rolls in half and remove the top. on bottom half, place ham, cheese and spread the mustard mixture on top of the cheese. Put the top back on and lightly cover with the remaining mixture. Cook for 15 minutes or until cheese has melted on 350. Take out and slice in small biscuits and serve warm.

Come back tomorrow for another delicious recipe by Amanda Mullis
and I hope you read Your Courier Herald Cooks in today's Courier Herald!!

Recommendation

A comment was added on Mary Crowson's French Toast recipe. I thought if some of you were unfamiliar with a blog, you may not realize comments can be posted all the time on old posts. Here is the comment which also appears under the French Toast Casserole recipe:

"I just wanted you to know that Mary Crowson's French Toast Casserole is to die for!! It is so good! I made this over the Memorial Day week end and my visiting Step Granddaughter who dislikes eggs eagerly ate away until she spied the eggs. But before her find, she said the cinnamon taste was great and so good! Then she politely put her plate away, still saying how good it was! (I over heard her telling her dad about the eggs) LOL The rest of the family said they rather have this dish than the "real thing". So I will be making this again. I served it with real maple syrup and grits! A winner of a recipe in my book! " -Kathy Dukes

If you ever want to make a comment on a recipe or add one of your own, just hit the comment button at the bottom right of each post (entry) and it will let you post (write) to your heart's content. (or you can just e-mail me at cporter@courier-herald.com)

Make Fudge Pops

Long story short...I am thinking this recipe came from this book, but I couldn't be sure from the way it came to me. So if you choose to buy this book based on this recipe you better flip through the pages and make sure it is in there. I'm 98% sure it is. Anyway, I wish I had had this recipe when the four boys were little for three reasons: they can easily be tweaked to make them healthy,10 minute prep is terrific and cheaper than store bought is always a winner!
See what you think.


By J.M. HIRSCH
AP Food Editor
These chilly summer treats are easy to make and offer a great excuse for picking up a set of inexpensive ice pop molds. For lighter versions, fat-free half-and-half can be substituted in either recipe.
And don’t be afraid to improvise. The cherry jam in the Chocolate Cherry Fudge Pops can be replaced with any jam. Raspberry, apricot and strawberry are nice. And peanut butter is excellent in the Chocolate Marshmallow Pops.
Serving numbers will vary depending on the size of your frozen pop molds.

CHOCOLATE CHERRY FUDGE POPS

Start to finish: 3 hours (10 minutes active)
Servings: About 8 pops
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup cherry jam
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the half-and-half and chocolate chips. Heat, stirring constantly, until the chips are melted. Transfer the mixture to a blender, being sure to scrape the chocolate from the bottom of the pan.
Add the jam, vanilla and salt, then puree for 30 seconds, or until smooth. Divide the mixture between about 8 frozen pop molds (number will vary by size), then insert sticks according to product directions. Freeze for at least several hours.
———

CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW POPS

Start to finish: 3 hours (10 minutes active)
Servings: About 8 pops
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the cream, half-and-half, chocolate chips and marshmallows. Heat, stirring constantly, until the chips and marshmallows are melted.
Transfer the mixture to a blender, being sure to scrape the chocolate from the bottom of the pan.
Add the vanilla and salt, then puree for 30 seconds, or until smooth. Divide the mixture between about 8 frozen pop molds (number will vary by size), then insert sticks according to product directions. Freeze for at least several hours.

Hope these work out for you and stay tuned as I start posting up Amanda Mullis' recipes tomorrow AND tomorrow is when Tanya Shores Cooks will run in Your Courier Herald!

O lny srmat poelpe can raed tihs.

So it is not cooking. It is Memorial Day weekend so I hope someone is cooking for you. Here is something to kick start your weekend and I will be back Monday with more Your Courier Herald Cooks.

O lny srmat poelpe can raed tihs.

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aula clty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rgh it pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it w ou thit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!


So just relax, have a cup of coffee, read a book, have someone else cook for you and enjoy your weekend!

Kathy Dukes in Newspaper

You may have caught Kathy Dukes in today's edition of Your Courier Herald. She and all of her answers were on page 5c, but in case you missed it here are her tips:


Q. What is your biggest time saver in the kitchen?

I keep a "trash" bowl on the counter as I prepare my recipe. This saves many steps to and from the garbage can.

Q. What is your favorite comfort food?

Roast beef with gravy, real mashed potatoes, butter beans, cracklin' corn bread, thin layer chocolate cake, and tea

Q. What was the first thing you ever cooked?

a pan of biscuits from scratch

Q. Do you cook all at once or work ahead? Give an example.

I work ahead. I choose my recipe, read it and reread it. I check my cupboards for any ingredients I may lack, purchase ingredients, wash, dice or chop, etc. ingredients as recipe states. Then I assemble all dry ingredients.

Q. What is your family's favorite home-cooked dish?

A huge pot of vegetable soup with lacey corn bread.

Q. What is your favorite seasonal produce and how do you use it?

Green Beans because they are so versatile and easy to prepare. My family's favorite is Roasted Green Beans..

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Wash and snap ends from beans. Spread beans on a baking sheet or in a pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Coat with 11/2 tsp. of extra-virgin olive oil. Roast, turning once halfway through cooking until tender and beginning to brown. About 10 minutes. *I also like to sprinkle a dash or two of garlic oil over roasted beans*


Q. What recipe do you make low-cal that still tastes good?

Mashed potatoes and also Sloppy Joes.


Q.What tricks do you use to ease clean up?

I wash pots and bowls as I finish with them.


Q. If you cook do you also clean up? If not you, who?

I cook and my husband loads the dishwasher as I put the food away. We share in cleaning the counters, floor, and stove.

Kathy sounds like a great cook and we even got a great bean recipe thrown in extra. Now that is a Courier Herald Cook.

New Kathy Duke"s Recipe

We got a great recipe from Kathy yesterday and here is another one- Seasoned cooks may already know how to make Cornbread Dressing, but if you are like me I always love to see what other cooks are doing. ( so I can use any new ideas they may have.) PLUS- There are hundreds of new cooks that need to learn. Remember how proud you were the first time Thanksgiving was at your house? I have looked over Kathy's recipe and realize I don't use sage in my recipe, I use thyme, so I have learned something new already!

Q. Which dish do you always get raves over? Share it.

A. Thanksgiving Dressing Cornbread

1 pan Aunt Jemima butter milk cornmeal mix cornbread
1 can refrigerated butter milk biscuits
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup butter, melted
5 1/2 cups chicken broth
5 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. rubbed sage
1 tsp. pepper
3/4 tsp. salt

Prepare cornbread mix and biscuits according to package directions; let cool. Crumble cornbread and biscuits in large bowl; set aside.
Cook onions and celery in a skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly until tender. Add vegetables, broth, beaten eggs, and seasonings to bread mixture; stir well. Spoon into a greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish. Bake at 350 degree for 55 minutes or until golden brown.
Yield 8-10 servings *

*I always double this recipe for it is just that good!

Giblet Gravy

2 cups broth
4 boiled eggs, chopped
shredded cooked chicken(gizzards, thighs, etc)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all and simmer. Mix plain flour and water together, and slowly pour and stir into above until desired thickness. *Increase ingredients for the amount needed for dressing*

After reading this I may not wait until Thanksgiving!

Come back tomorrow to see how Kathy answers
the fun part of the answers- the Tips!

(and remember the best of this blog runs every Thursday in Your Courier Herald!)

Kathy Dukes Cooks!

As you know I try to feature one fantastic cook a week and I believe I have found another one in Kathy Dukes. Who is Kathy Dukes? Read her answers and find out:

A. Write a short 3 sentence biography of yourself?

Q. My name is Kathy Dukes and I am married to the same man for 36 years. We have 2 grown daughters and a 11 month old grandson with another on the way. I normally cook for my daughters, their husbands, and my husband at least 4 nights a week. The other nights are pot luck or we eat out.



Q. What is your favorite cookbook and why? Share a recipe from it.

A. Eating Well is my favorite cookbook. I love the recipes for they are healthy, quick, and the food has great flavors!

Pork Chops with Maple-Mustard Sauce

1/2 tsp. plus 1 Tbs. Dijon mustard, divided
1/4 tsp. Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2 boneless pork loin chops, trimmed of fat
1 tsp. canola oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 Tbs. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. rubbed dried sage

1. Combine 11/2 tsp. mustard, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Rub all over pork.
2. Heat Oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until browned on both sides and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board and cover with foil.
3. While pork is resting, heat vinegar in the skillet over medium-high heat. Boil, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon, about 30 seconds. Whisk in the remaining 1 Tbs. mustard and maple syrup. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the sauce is thickened, about 3 minutes. Add any accumulated juices from the pork to the sauce along with sage. Serve the pork topped with the sauce. Serves 2
*when cooking 2 chops, I use my cast-iron frying pan for it browns the chops really good and leaves crusty crust to scrape*
Use larger pan when doubling or tripling recipe.

Check in again and Kathy will give us another great recipe!

and remember to have those great cooks you know get in touch with me! Your Courier Herald Cooks are YOU!

Cooks and Flowers

I know you have enjoyed Tanya Shores' food, but how about her flowers? Cooks are creative. Often the creative cook has a lot of other talents going also. At the DHS soccer banquet last Thursday night, Tanya was also in charge of the decorations. Look at these fantastic flower arrangements-

What a great, glamorous AND fast idea! Fill a vase with an item, match the flowers to it- and wow!
Here is another quick, colorful and beautiful arrangement Tanya made:

Fill two bowls with fruit, add flowers and go! (And you get to eat the fruit when the party is over. Elegant, easy and saves money- sign me up!) Go Tanya!

Tanya Shores Marinated Cheese

We have another fabulous recipe answer for you today.

Q. What recipe do you always get raves over and share it!
A.

Marinated Cheese

by Tanya Shores

This is delicious, but quite potent because of the garlic. If your honey doesn’t like garlic make sure you have a breath mint handy!

1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
3 T chopped fresh parsley
3 T minced green onions
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (2-ounce) jar chopped pimiento, drained
1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese
1 (8-ounce) block sharp cheddar cheese
1 (8-ounce) block Monterrey jack cheese


Combine first 8 ingredients in a jar; cover tightly, and shake vigorously. Set aside.

Cut cream cheese in half lengthwise. Cut crosswise into ~1/4 " slices. Cut and trim cheddar into equal number of 1/4" slices, same size as cream cheese slices. Repeat with Monterrey jack cheese.

Sandwich cream cheese between cheddar and jack cheeses. Stand sandwiches on their edges in shallow dish, and pour marinade over cheese. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in refrigerator at least 8 hours.

Drain marinade; arrange cheese on a platter in rows. Top with pimiento, and serve with assorted crackers – Wheat Thins are just the right size.

Come back tomorrow when we get to
the fun part of Tanya's answers- "The Tips"

Tanya Shores Cooks

Today is a great day for Your Courier Herald Cooks! I just finished laying out the page for the Carol's Cooking Quiz feature (thanks to Jonathon Dye, one of our talented graphic artists, for the help)and it will appear in Thursday's Your Courier Herald. ...And that means it is time to feature another great cook that took my quiz-and her name is Tanya Shores!


C.P. Give me a short biography of yourself.
T.S. My name is Tanya Shores. I am married (almost 22 years) to Dr. David Shores. We have three children – Paul (17), Michael, (16), and Alexandra (11, going on 25!). I am active in church activities at Pine Forest UMC, Erin Garden Club, and as a chauffeur, cheerleader, nurse, and housekeeper for my family! (I have to add she is also an excellent photographer!)


C.P. What passed-down family recipe is your favorite? Share it.

T.S. This recipe is from my mother. I tweaked it slightly by adding the orange. It is the chutney that we used at the Erin Garden Club Derby Day Taster’s Luncheon this year. It is good as a garnish or served over a brick of cream cheese with crackers!

Cranberry Chutney

from Pat Troske
(via Tanya Shores)

2 16-ounce cans whole berry cranberry sauce
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup apple, cored and diced
1 cup rice wine vinegar
1 orange
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
dash or two of ground cloves

Zest orange, peel, and chop pulp. Combine orange zest, pulp, and remaining ingredients in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until apples are tender and sauce has thickened slightly. Makes about 5 cups chutney.

Check in tomorrow for more answers from Tanya.

And look for Your Courier Herald Cooks featuring this week's guest cook Mary Uible Crowson in Thursday's edition of Your Courier Herald on page 4B.

Comments on Meatloaf

O.K. Fellow cooks. You want to know what people are saying ? This post was left under the recipe that Mary Uible Crowson gave us. It makes me want to go home and try it tonight.

"I made Mary's Brown Sugar Meatloaf last night and it was absolutely amazing!
I thought with the generous servings of 8-10 there would be left over but none was left. This recipe is a keeper!"

So do you think you know a great cook? Maybe even are one? Then scroll down until you see the red words
Carol's Cooking Quiz. Then take it and send it in. You just might have someone thinking your dish is a keeper!

Mary Uible Crowson's Cooking Tips

From the two recipes Mary gave us we know she can cook -Now we get to the fun part of the quiz. The short answers from

Carol's Cooking Quiz:

Q. What cook taught you the most about cooking and give an example?
A. Other than the food network, I pretty much taught myself. My mom microwaved---cooking was Greek to her.

Q. Who is your favorite media food star and why?
A. Alton Brown, who can teach any idiot how to do nearly anything in the kitchen. Another reason I love A.B. is that he’s not afraid to experiment and stray from recipes. Inevitably I’ll be in the middle of making something and realize I don’t have 1-2 necessary ingredients. I could throw a rock and just about hit the Kroger parking lot but I love the thrill of straying off the beaten path!

Q. What is your biggest time saver in the kitchen?
A. Food processor

Q. What is your favorite comfort food?
A. Potatoes or bread in nearly any shape or form

Q. If you eat at a restaurant, what do you order?
A. Steak because I never cook it at home

Q. If you are having a party what do you always cook?
A. I would much rather talk a friend into having the party---that way they cook, clean and I get to enjoy the whole thing!


Q. Do you cook all at once or work ahead?
A. All at once; being a working mom (gone all day and often meetings every night), when I do have an opportunity to cook, it’s usually a window of an hour or two right before the meal.


Q. What is your favorite short-cut from the grocery store?
A. Campbell’s Soup or Onion Soup Mix


Q. What store-bought item do you use that is closest to homemade?
A. Frozen Biscuits


Q.What is your family's favorite home-cooked dish?
A. Brown Sugar Meatloaf (see in earlier posts by scrolling down)

Q.What is your favorite cooking gadget?
A. My stand-mixer because you can actually do 2-3 three things at once when it’s working for you

Mary has been fantastic and she even gave us an extra recipe I didn't notice until now.
We get a great Mary bonus ! ...and here it is :

Q. What is your favorite cookbook?
A. THE PHONY GOURMET because it has all kinds of short, easy recipes and as much humor as any cookbook I’ve seen—written by sisters Pam Young and Peggy Jones. My favorite recipe from the book (and I always get raves for) is

Lasagna.

Defrost a family size package of frozen lasagna
Add 1 jar of spaghetti sauce to a 9x13” (or larger) pan
Remove lasagna from original aluminum pan and press into your pan that has been “lined” with jar of sauce. Press into corners so that it has the appearance of homemade.
Pour another jar of spaghetti sauce over the top
Add about a cup of shredded cheese to the top and bake 45-60 minutes at 350*

This last recipe is awesome. I have never thought of cheating a recipe like this -BUT I LOVE IT!

French Toast Casserole YUM!

Here is a great recipe that came in from Mary Uible Crowson. Mary is the one that gave us the Brown Sugar Meatloaf recipe in the last post. Mary answered my Cooking Quiz and has sent us two terrific recipes. Here is the second one:

Q. What is an all time favorite recipe? Share it.

A. A recipe that everyone loves is the French toast casserole below. I make it only for Christmas morning or extra special occasions...it is so rich that it's like listening to your arteries clog!

French Toast Casserole

1 loaf bread
1 8oz. package Cream Cheese softened, cubed small
½ Cup Powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
10 eggs
1 ½ Cups Half and Half
1 Cup Maple Syrup, divided
1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (according to taste)
1 stick butter, melted


Cube or tear bread and layer half in 9x13" baking dish. Soften cream cheese in a microwave bowl until almost melted. Mix with powdered sugar and ½ Cup syrup then over bread; top with remaining bread. Blend eggs, cream and syrup in mixing bowl. Blend cinnamon and butter in separate dish and stir. Combine all liquid ingredients together and pour carefully over bread/cream cheese mixture. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. Put covered, cold baking dish into oven and heat to 350* for 50-60 minutes, then remove foil to allow to brown (approximately 10-15 minutes). Serve with maple syrup or strawberries.


Mary gave us two fantastic recipes. Come back tomorrow and she will answer all the fun questions about her cooking style. ...and remember to look for the Cook of the week when this blog appears in Thursday's The Courier Herald.

Mary Uible Crowson Answers

A big thank you goes out to all of you that have started to answer Carol's Cooking Quiz. The rest of you send me yours or let your favorite cook take a shot at them. I don't want to miss even one great cook in Middle Georgia. My next featured cook is Mary Uible Crowson.

Here is a short biography on Mary.
A transplanted Yankee (SW Ohio), Mary Crowson and her family moved to Dublin over seven years ago when she became the Director of Music at Pine Forest UMC. The youngest of five siblings, mom of two and wife of Rev. Don Crowson, Mary became more health/food conscious after completing Cardiac Rehab at Fairview Park Fitness Center last summer. Along with cooking, she enjoys traveling, reading, and avoiding housework at nearly any cost!

Here are some more of Mary's answers:

Q. Which dish do you always get raves over? Share it.

Brown Sugar Meatloaf

Serves 8-10 prep time 15 minutes cook time 75 minutes
2 lbs. ground beef
1 large onion
1 Cup Oatmeal
8 oz. tomato juice
1 Tablespoon Mrs. Dash
1 egg

Mix above ingredients together and press into a 9x13” glass pan. Lovingly smear sauce (recipe below) onto meat and cook 60-75 minutes at 350*. Carefully drain grease from meatloaf before serving!

Sauce: Combine the following in a small bowl
½ Cup brown sugar
2 large squirts catsup
1 small squirt mustard

Q. What is your favorite cookbook?

A. THE PHONY GOURMET because it has all kinds of short, easy recipes and as much humor as any cookbook I’ve seen—written by sisters Pam Young and Peggy Jones. My favorite recipe from the book (and I always get raves for) is Lasagna.

Defrost a family size package of frozen lasagna
Add 1 jar of spaghetti sauce to a 9x13” (or larger) pan
Remove lasagna from original aluminum pan and press into your pan that has been “lined” with jar of sauce. Press into corners so that it has the appearance of homemade.
Pour another jar of spaghetti sauce over the top
Add about a cup of shredded cheese to the top and bake 45-60 minutes at 350*


To get more of Mary's answers check in again. I am on my way to the DHS state soccer game in Atlanta. If we eat in any terrific restaurants I will keep you posted. In the meantime send me your answers!

Carol's Cooking Quiz in Newspaper

The first Carol's Cooking Quiz will be in Thursday's edition of Your Courier Herald featuring my mother, Louise Dodd .

If you read this blog you will have already read her answers in earlier posts. I will be (hopefully, if you all will take the quiz and e-mail it in) featuring one of our local cooks in every Thursday's edition. Not familiar with my quiz? Just keep reading, and then- you could copy, cut and paste the quiz into a word document on your computer- and when you have finished answering all the questions, just copy, cut, and paste it into an e-mail- and send it to me.

If you do you will be added to a drawing for $100 and your photo (or dish) and recipes could be featured in our next year’s cooking special section just in time for the next cooking school. (If the quiz really takes off, I may put them in a book!) So here it is:

Carol's Cooking Quiz

Answer 2 of the first six questions.

1. What is your favorite recipe? Share it.
2. Which dish do you always get raves over? Share it.
3. What is your favorite cookbook and why? Share a recipe from it.
4. Can you imitate a restaurant dish? If so, share the recipe.
5. Call a good friend. Who is she and what is her favorite recipe? Share it.
6. What passed-down family recipe is your favorite? Share it.


Then answer at 8 of the following (and always answer #20.)

1. What cook taught you the most about cooking and give an example?
2. Who is your favorite media food star and why?
3. What is your biggest time saver in the kitchen?
4. What is your favorite comfort food?
5. If you eat at a restaurant, what do you order?
6. If you are having a party what do you always cook?
7. What was the first thing you ever cooked?
8. Do you cook all at once or work ahead? Give an example.
9. What is your favorite short-cut from the grocery store?
10. What store-bought item do you use that is closest to homemade?
11. What is your family's favorite home-cooked dish?
12. What is your biggest extravagance at the grocery store?
13. What is your favorite seasonal produce and how do you use it?
14. What recipe do you make low-cal that still tastes good?
15. What ingredient do you love to use the most?
16. What is your favorite cooking gadget? Why?
17. What and where is the best food you have ever eaten?
18. What tricks do you use to ease clean up?
19. If you cook do you also clean up? If not you, who?
20. Write a short 3 sentence biography of yourself?

So take the quiz already and send me your answers- to cporter@courier-herald.com or call if you have any problems or questions, 478-272-5522. Thanks again, Carol Porter

Please share this with as many great local (or locally connected) cooks as you know and either scroll down to read Louise Dodd's answers or read them tomorrow, in Your Courier Herald.

Pillsbury to Chicken

If you enjoyed traveling with local cookbook author and newspaper columnist Louise Dodd to the Pillsbury Bake-off you'll love her latest trip to New Orleans for the National Chicken Cooking Contest. Be sure and catch Wednesday's Courier Herald for all the details. I'll leave you guessing about the chicken, but reward you with one of the all time favorite Pillsbury recipes "Sticky Buns." If you have ever had them you know why it is number one-and it's easy. I found it on recipezarr.com posted by an unknown JOY1998.

Sticky Buns

33 min | 15 min prep | SERVES 10

TOPPING
1/4	cup butter or margarine
1/4	cup of packed brown sugar
2	tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4	cup of chopped pecans
BUNS
3	tablespoons butter, melted
1/3	cup sugar
1/2	teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (7 1/2	ounce) can pillsbury refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In ungreased 8-inch round pan, place 1/4 cup of melted butter.
3. Stir into round pan with butter the brown sugar and corn syrup, sprinkle with pecans.
4. In bowl, place 3tbl of melted butter.
5. In another bowl mix sugar and cinnamon.
6. Separate dough into 10 biscuits.
7. Dip biscuits into melted butter to coat all sides, then dip into sugar mixture, coating well. Arrange biscuits sides touching, over topping in pan.
8. Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Cool 2 minutes; turn upside down onto serving plate.
10. Serve warm.

© 2007 Recipezaar. All Rights Reserved. http://www.recipezaar.com

My only comment is have several people in the room when you pull these out of the oven. If it is just you and the buns, the buns will win.

Fashionable Food

Synopsis of the Book Fashionable Food from Barnes and Noble:

Though the Roaring Twenties call to mind images of flappers dancing the Charleston and gangsters dispensing moonshine in back rooms, Sylvia Lovegren here playfully reminds us what these characters ate for dinner: Banana and Popcorn Salad. Like fashions and fads, food—even bad food—has a history, and Lovegren's Fashionable Food is quite literally a cookbook of the American past.

Well researched and delightfully illustrated, this collection of faddish recipes from the 1920s to the 1990s is a decade-by-decade tour of a hungry American century. From the Three P's Salad—that's peas, pickles, and peanuts—of the post-World War I era to the Fruit Cocktail and Spam Buffet Party loaf—all the rage in the ultra-modern 1950s, when cooking from a can epitomized culinary sophistication—Fashionable Food details the origins of these curious delicacies. In two chapters devoted to "exotic foods of the East," for example, Lovegren explores the long American love affair with Chinese food and the social status conferred upon anyone chic enough to eat pu-pu platters from Polynesia.

Oh my goodness, do you remember your first pu-pu platter? We did think we were cool, didn't we? I picked this book to highlight because its name went with the fashion show I just attended (see the fashion blog), but it sounds really great. If any of you have it - let me know what you think.

It continues:

Equal parts American and culinary history, Fashionable Food examines our collective past from the kitchen counter. Even if it's been a while since you last had Tang Pie and your fondue set is collecting dust in the back of the cupboard, Fashionable Food will inspire, entertain, and inform.

Wow! A book that will inspire, entertain and inform. Now if it would only cook...

Louise Dodd Most Raved Dish

Mama's last question answered.

Which dish do you always get raves over? Share it.

Best-Ever Potato Salad
This recipe always elicits raves no matter whether it’s at a picnic or a church dinner. People always want the recipe.
5 pounds red potatoes (boil and then peel and dice)
1 cup finely chopped onions
2 cups chopped bell peppers
1 (10 to 12 ounce) jar olives, sliced
2 cups coarsely grated carrots
1 quart mayonnaise
Mix all ingredients together in a very large bowl. Combine all the following ingredients and toss with potato mixture.
Dressing:
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon celery seed
3 tablespoons vinegar

And who will be next.........

Louise Dodd Answers more...

Mama answered so many of my questions (thank you, mama) that I am am going to post these today and tomorrow I will add her last answer which was -Which dish do you always get raves over? Share it. But you still get a taste of what she had to say today because here are the rest of her answers ( My words in bold):


What store bought item do you think is closest to homemade? There is an inexpensive brand of ice cream, Country Club, that comes close to homemade, especially if you put it in the food processor and churn it well and maybe mix fresh fruit with it.

Do you cook all at once or work ahead? Give an example. I plan menus that can have some of the work done ahead of time, especially if I’m having guests. For instance, I always chop celery, onions, bell peppers, whatever can be done a day ahead.

What was the first thing you ever cooked? It’s been so long ago that I hardly remember but one of the first was rice which I scorched badly but which my daddy bragged on so that I thought it was a success.

If you are having a party what do you always cook? I don’t always cook any special food. I spend hours researching recipes to come up with something different.

What is your biggest time saver in the kitchen? I wouldn’t part with my food processor nor my mandoline but my favorite kitchen appliance is the free-standing ice maker. I would part with the kitchen sink before I would let the ice maker go.

What is your favorite comfort food? A nice t-bone steak is comforting to eat but the price is so unsettling that I don’t get comforted often.

What cook taught you the most about cooking and give an example? Everybody would probably say their mother. I really believe that I learned more about cooking from some outstanding home ec. teachers that I had in high school.

Tomorrow I will post the recipe that she gets the most raves on. Until then Happy Eating!

Mama (Louise Dodd) Sent in Her Answers

The Cooking School was a great success. I got a load of e-mails and have decided to send out "Carol's Cooking Quiz" to everyone that came. If they send them back, we will have more food, more local people and more fun in the blog and the Newspaper. How could that not be good?

I had to send the first one to my mother, Louise Dodd. Here are a few of her answers. I will post more tomorrow. If you see a comment in bold that is me "talking."

Write a short 3 sentence biography of yourself? I am a food columnist for the Courier Herald and also the mother of one son, Bill and the Porters (including four adorable grandsons) who are co-owners of the paper with Griffin Lovett. I am the author of a cookbook, “Eating from the White House to the Jail House” and have eaten a lot more places too. Collecting cookbooks is one of my hobbies along with duplicate bridge.

What and where is the best food you have ever eaten? My favorite meal is fried doves, long-cooked grits and homegrown, sliced tomatoes. Carl Gillis used to be the master of this meal.

What tricks do you use to ease clean up? I clean as I cook and never let things get out of control.

What is your favorite seasonal produce and how do you use it? I’m sitting here tossing a coin to see if it’s homegrown tomatoes or fresh peaches. O.K. tomatoes. I like a tomato sandwich on white bread with mayonnaise on one slice of the bread and Durkees dressing on the other. That’s hard to beat with a big glass of ice cold milk.

What passed-down family recipe is your favorite? Share it.
This old, old recipe is said to have been brought to Georgia by my forebears, the Salzburgers, who settled in Georgia near Savannah the year after Oglethorpe settled in 1733. I really don’t think they had Crisco but maybe they used lard. This is delicious and easy and I make it all the time.
Kogelhopf
1 1/2 packages dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees)
1 tablespoon Crisco
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup water
3/4 cup evaporated milk
4 1/2 cups plain flour plus 2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 cups raisins
Mix together yeast and 1/4 cup warm water. In a large mixing bowl, put Crisco, salt, sugar, 1 3/4 cups water and milk. Add yeast mixture and mix well. Add 4 1/2 cups flour and blend in well. Cover bowl with tea towel and let dough rise in warm place for 2 hours. Add 2 cups flour and raisins. Mix well. Grease 2 loaf pans and divide dough into them. Brush tops with melted butter. Let rise about 45 minutes. Bake at 325º for 25 to 30 minutes.

Mama is a great cook, but I can't believe she shared this recipe. If I didn't love all my blog readers so much I would have never been able to let her share this Raisin Bread recipe on the internet. If you toast it with a little butter, I promise you it will be the best thing you have ever eaten. It is the Salzburger Bread and it is truly our family favorite! Come back tomorrow for more Louise Dodd Answers!

Calling all Cooks

I just noticed that from that last post it appears you would be writing and cooking with Kim Cattrall- sorry it is just me- Carol Porter, but I hope this next post makes it up to you.
What follows is the e-mail I sent out today to the first ten names I drew from the Taste of Home Cooking School spinning bin. Not all had e-mail addresses, but the ten that did got the following e-mail from me. If you are foodie enough to read this blog, I open up the letter to you also. Read it and then cut and paste the questions into an e-mail. Answer the ones you want and send me the answers to cporter@courier-herald.com. Just read it-You'll get it. Bonne ecrit! ( I am sure that is poor French, but good writing!!!)

Dear Food Lovers,
This e-mail is from Carol Dodd Porter. I am the General Manager and one of the owners of Your Courier Herald in Dublin, Georgia. First of all, a big thank you for coming to our cooking school. I hope you all had as much fun as I did!
Today I drew ten e-mail addresses from the pile of yellow slips of paper that were turned in from Your Courier Herald Taste of Home Cooking School. Your name was one of the ten drawn. I think I was supposed to ask you to subscribe, but I had a better idea. Why not do an e-mail Question and Answer Interview on local cooking lifestyles? This way we get to keep having cooking fun all year and we will have more local cooking articles in the newspaper.

And if you complete these answers you will be added to a drawing for $100 and your photo and recipes could be featured in our next year’s cooking special section. If this works, out I will also publish them in the newspaper!

As I get your answers, I will put them on my new cooking blog. The blog is a way for our community to share cooking ideas. To find it ( I just started it today) go to www.courier-herald.com and click on Your Courier Herald Cooks. Of course there will be no interviews up yet as you are the first ten I have drawn. ( I am sending my mother, Louise Dodd, one also.)
I plan for this to work in much the same way as we conduct the Outdoor Interviews with the Sportsmen in our area that we run in Wednesday’s edition of the newspaper.
If you want, please answer the following questions and send them back to me. You can hit the reply button and type your answers in under each question. You don’t have to answer them all if they don’t apply to you, but I do need you to include at least two recipes.
If you have any questions I will be glad to answer them. You can even call me if you need, at 272-5522. Thank you so much again for coming to the cooking school and I hope to be reading your answers soon. I know Laurens County is full of terrific cooks!!!

Sincerely,
Carol Porter




Answer at least two of the first six questions. (Two recipes at least)!

1. What is your favorite recipe? Share it.
2. Which dish do you always get raves over? Share it.
3. What is your favorite cookbook and why? Share a recipe from it.
4. Can you imitate a restaurant dish? If so, share the recipe.
5. Call a good friend. Who is she and what is her favorite recipe? Share it.
6. What passed-down family recipe is your favorite? Share it.

Then answer at least 8 or more of the rest (and always answer #20.)

1. What cook taught you the most about cooking and give an example?
2. Who is your favorite media food star and why?
3. What is your biggest time saver in the kitchen?
4. What is your favorite comfort food?
5. If you eat at a restaurant, what do you order?
6. If you are having a party what do you always cook?
7. What was the first thing you ever cooked?
8. Do you cook all at once or work ahead? Give an example.
9. What is your favorite short-cut from the grocery store?
10. What store-bought item do you use that is closest to homemade?
11. What is your family's favorite home-cooked dish?
12. What is your biggest extravagance at the grocery store?
13. What is your favorite seasonal produce and how do you use it?
14. What recipe do you make low-cal that still tastes good?
15. What ingredient do you love to use the most?
16. What is your favorite cooking gadget? Why?
17. What and where is the best food you have ever eaten?
18. What tricks do you use to ease clean up?
19. If you cook do you also clean up? If not you, who?
20. Write a short 3 sentence biography of yourself?

Thank you for answering and send them on to me at cporter@courier-herald.com or call if you have any problems or questions at 478-272-5522. Thanks again, Carol Porter