Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope your Christmas Season is truly wonderful with the company of family, friends and Food! Thank you to everyone that has visited my site this year! I have been blessed with wonderful foodie friends and hope to make many new friends in the New Year! Sharing a little Christmas Breakfast cheer...

Christmas Breakfast... Eggs, Ham and Mama's Biscuits! (My biscuits came out pretty good this time. Thank goodness!)


Mama's Biscuits

2 cups self-rising flour
2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put 2 cups self-rising flour in a medium sized bowl. Take 2/3 cup vegetable shortening, and cut in with fingertips until dough looks like small peas.

Make a well in the center and add 2/3 cup milk slowly, mixing with floured fingertips until it gets sticky. Keeping hands floured, shape biscuits with hands and place them on an ungreased pan. Mama always placed the biscuit down and pressed three fingers into each one leaving ridges… Bake 10-12 minutes.

This is a very sticky dough. Don’t be tempted to keep adding flour. The more you mix, the tougher the biscuit. Just keep flouring your hands and it will coat the biscuit so that you can handle them.

Baked BBQ Hot Wings

Baked BBQ Hot Wings

Wings
salt, pepper and garlic powder, to taste

Sauce:
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp oil
1 cup ketsup
1/4 cup brown sugar, light or dark
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup Texas Pete hot sauce***
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season wings with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place wings in a baking dish or sheet and bake for 45 minutes or until done. Saute onion and garlic in oil in a large pan. Drain any excess oil. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer about 10 minutes. 

Remove wings from oven and drain the pan. Coat the wings well with bar-b-que sauce and return to the oven for 10 minutes, making sure not to let the sauce burn.

*** This recipe makes a mild/medium wing. If you want hotter wings, add more hot sauce or your own hot peppers to the sauce while cooking.

Vegetable Confetti Salad

I'm always looking for new side dishes and this one does not disappoint! It is beautiful as well as tasty! I made this for my Wednesday Night crowd at church and it was a hit!

1 cup diced radishes
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup cucumber
1/2 cup diced red and green bell pepper
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 oz Feta cheese
1/2 cup (your favorite) Italian salad dressing
1 1/2 cups cooked and cooled pasta (optional)
      (I used a Red Wine Vinaigrette and broken spaghetti noodles)

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients, and toss. Refrigerate until ready to serve. If the pasta is dry, add a little more dressing and serve.

Beef Stew

This is a wonderful dish for this time of year. Tonight it's chilly and rainy. This is a perfect comfort food recipe for tonight. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes!

I used two very cheap cuts of shoulder steak. You can use pretty much anything you want. I don't buy the stew meat any more, because you are just paying and enormous amount of money for someone to cut your meat for you! LOL

Cut whatever meat you want to use into 1 inch cubes. Toss them in seasoned flour. (I used garlic, salt and pepper.)

Place 2 Tablespoons Oil in a large skillet. Heat to medium-high heat and add the cubed meat. Brown the meat on all sides. If there is excess oil, add a little flour and stir. Add 2-3 cups of beef broth. Add cubed vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, onions and a teaspoon of minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

If the stew is too thick, just add more broth until it is the consistency you like.

Grocery List:

2 Sirloin, Chuck or Flank steaks
2 potatoes
2 carrots
2 onions
1 clove garlic
Beef broth
Flour
Oil

A Christmas Family Story... and Judy's Red Velvet Cake!

A Christmas Tree in Every Room!

When I was growing up, each year we had at least two Bar-B-Ques, one at Thanksgiving and one at Christmas. The Bar-B-Que at Thanksgiving was on Saturday and was for all the employees and business associates of Mama and Daddy. The one at Christmas was on Christmas Eve and was for family and friends. We had about a hundred people at each. We would spend all week getting the house ready and two days getting all the food ready. Mama would take some of the guys from the shop (Central) and put them to work at the house. One year, Al Miller (a young black guy that worked at Central) told Mama, “ You've owned slaves before, Haven’t you?” It was always a busy and exciting time.

At one of the Christmas Bar-B-Ques, someone came out of the bathroom and I heard, “Oh my goodness, she even has a Christmas tree in the bathroom!” Mama had a Christmas tree in every room. The kitchen... living room... bathrooms... bedrooms... everywhere... We kids even had our own trees in our rooms. The trees ranged in size from 2 feet to 6 feet. Mama had a tree with seashell ornaments. One had dove ornaments. One had all homemade ornaments. One had all Victorian ornaments. One had all red and white ornaments. One had all Santa ornaments. She had a tree made of holly decorated with ornaments. She even decorated some of the houseplants!

Mama loved it. Holidays were another reason for parties, gifts and food with family and friends! Christmas was especially magical. Mama went all out. I remember one year Mama came home with Christmas sweatshirts. Mine read, ‘I Believe in Santa Claus.' Mama’s read, ‘I Want It All.' Charlie’s read, ‘Bah Humbug!’ Mama’s one requirement for Christmas morning presents was that you believe in Santa. Mama and I even had our picture taken with Santa.

One year when Charlie was about 6 years old, he came in and told Mama that there was no Santa Claus. She questioned him and then called everyone in the room. She said, “Listen up! Charlie has come in with the idea that there is no Santa Claus! That is not true! There is a Santa and anyone who does not believe in him...well, Santa won’t bring them presents. Is that clear? And I mean it! Clear?” Well, later Mama pulled us (except Charlie) aside and said that it didn't matter who Santa Claus was or where the presents came from. It was the love and giving of the Christ-mas season. But the presents did come and as long as we said we believed we’d get presents. It didn't matter if we were married or 50 years old, Santa would always come for us. What a concept! And she meant it. Jim and I got married (now my ex-husband) and she told him the same thing. That first Christmas, Santa brought Jim a recliner! The next year Jim told Mama at Christmas time, “I believe!”

Judy's Red Velvet Cake

There is no getting away from making this cake that Mama made famous in these parts. This is the most flavorful, moist and delicious cake I've ever made. I will say that to make this like Mama, you HAVE to follow the directions word for word... FOLD do not beat with a mixer at the end. It makes the cake dense and hard.

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons cocoa
3 tablespoons red food coloring
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon soda
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs. Mix well. Mix cocoa and food coloring in a cup. Add to eggs and sugar. Add vanilla. Sift flour and salt. Add, alternating with buttermilk. Add soda and vinegar. Let foam and FOLD into mixture. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Icing:

1/2 cup butter, room temp
8-ounces cream cheese, softened
1 box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Whip together until creamy. Spread on cake. Garnish with chopped pecans if desired.

If you like Red Velvet, try this Red Velvet Cheesecake! Click on the hyperlink below this picture for the recipe. A perfect blend of two wonderful desserts!

Red Velvet Cheesecake

Pumpkin Cheesecake Tartlets

I made these yummy tartlets to take to the Carolina football game last weekend. I even passed some out to the tailgaters next to us. I actually had them come over and ask for the recipe. It's so easy. You can use this recipe and make a full sized pie, but this was perfect for tailgating... one or two bite size.

1- 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. allspice

Refrigerated Pie Crust (not frozen ones in the pan)
1 box contains 2 roll-out pie crusts


Combine cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl. Mix until smooth with an electric mixer. Add pumpkin and spices, beat till smooth and creamy.

Unroll pie crusts and cut with a round cookie cutter. Gather scraps and roll into a ball. Roll out with a rolling pin and continue to cut. Yields 42 mini tart shells. Tuck dough into mini tart pans and bake at 425 degrees until golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Cool and pour filling into shells. Refrigerate until set.

You can bake these like in the picture, by adding an egg to the filling mixture. Bake in uncooked shells at 400 degrees for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Pork Moscato

Yesterday, I set out to make several special dishes and a few new dishes to try out before company arrives for the holidays. I made my list for the hubby to pick up while he was out. He planned to do the manly thing a make a run to Lowes, so I tacked on a trip to The Pig (Piggly Wiggly grocery store). It was rainy and cold so he tells me late in the afternoon that he has talked himself out of going because its cold and raining. I'm left in mid-cook mode with unfinished dishes. Time to switch gears and go into improvise and save mode... after ditching the kill hubby mode! Sooooo... I came up with the Pork Moscato and made a simple dressing and gravy. Oh my goodness, after tasting the pork, the hubby says that I should thank him for making me do the pork this way! Yeah! That's gonna happen!!!

4 lbs Pork Roast

1 cup Moscato Wine

Carrots, cut into sticks

Onions, quartered

Cherry Tomatoes

Banana Pepper Rings

4 cloves garlic

Kosher Salt

Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mince garlic and combine with salt and pepper to make a paste. Rub on the fat side of the pork. Pour wine into the roasting pan. Place pork, skin side up in the wine. (so the garlic rub doesn't wash off) Place the rest of the ingredients in the pan and cover. Cook for 1 1/2 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Uncover and either broil or cook until the fat is browned and a crust forms. 

 Ready for the oven!

After 1 1/2 hours in the oven and browning time for the crust... 

Prettiest view :-) 

Remove the pork and slice. Spoon the juices over the meat.

Add the veggies to the plate and serve!

My plate with a side of dressing and gravy! It was yummy!

Southern Fried Chicken Tenders

To me, "fried chicken" is a very Southern thing! I can remember watching my Grandmama Bradham go in to the yard and catching a chicken for Sunday Dinner. She would grab the chicken without even looking at it, and with a simple flick of the wrist, it was done. Now, before I receive hate mail, my Grandparents were simple country folk. They raised chickens for food and eggs. We had goose, goat, chicken, pig, squirrel, doves, fish, frog legs and probably a turtle or two. If you can catch it, hunt it, shoot it or gig it, Mama and Grandmama could cook it... and make it delicious!!! I can remember my Granddaddy BBQ-ing a goat and telling me how to clean and skin them before cooking. He said, "You know how an old billy-goat smells? Well, if you let the hair of that goat touch the meat, that's how it will taste!" I think I was about 5 years old at the time. In their house, nothing was wasted. You fried chicken necks and backs with the rest of the bird. That's why, when I buy a chicken cut up, I get the country-style cut so I get the whole bird! No waste...

6-8 chicken Tenders 
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 Tablespoon Hot Sauce
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
Oil for frying

Make an egg wash by beating the eggs, buttermilk and hot sauce together in a shallow dish. Mix flour and spices in another shallow dish. Dip chicken breast pieces in egg wash then dredge in the flour mixture. For a thicker crust on the chicken, repeat that step again... egg then flour. In a heavy skillet, heat about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch of oil to 365 degrees. (Or heat a deep fryer to 365 degrees) Place chicken in hot oil. (If the oil is not up to temp, the coating will not stick. Do not crowd the chicken in the pan or it will boil in the oil and not fry crispy.) Fry for about 5 minutes per side or until golden brown and no longer pink inside.

Eggs Benedict Pizza

with Prosciutto, Eggs and a side of Hollandaise Sauce for dipping...

Thin Pizza Crust Recipe

.25 oz. pkt. active dry yeast

1/4 tsp. granulated sugar
3/4 cup 110 degree water
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Dissolve yeast and sugar in water; allow to rest for 8 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt.

Pour yeast mixture over flour mixture and mix well with a heavy spoon.

Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for 2 minutes.

Place dough on a lightly greased pizza pan and stretch dough to edges.

For the Hollandaise Sauce:

1 cup butter

3 egg yolks 

1 tablespoon heavy cream 

1 dash ground cayenne pepper 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 tablespoon lemon juice 

Melt the butter until bubbly in a small pan. Remove from heat before butter browns.

In a blender or large food processor, blend the egg yolks, heavy cream, cayenne pepper, and salt until smooth. Add half of the hot butter in a thin steady stream, slow enough so that it blends in at least as fast as you are pouring it in. Blend in the lemon juice using the same method, then the remaining butter.

To assemble the pizza:

Spread a little of the Hollandaise sauce over crust and top with bacon*, eggs, salt and pepper. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 8-12 minutes, or until edges are golden and the eggs or done to your liking.

*Pan fry the bacon until done but limp... this way your pizza is not swimming in grease and the bacon takes on a little crunch!

Eggs Benedict Pizza (more instructional recipe if you need it)

4-6 slices Prosciutto or bacon

4 eggs 

1 cup butter 

3 egg yolks 

1 tablespoon heavy cream 

1 dash ground cayenne pepper 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 tablespoon lemon juice 

1 pizza dough

In a skillet over medium-high heat, fry the Prosciutto or bacon on each side until done but not completely browned. Set aside.

Meanwhile, melt the butter until bubbly in a small pan. Remove from heat before butter browns. In a blender or large food processor, blend the egg yolks, heavy cream, cayenne pepper, and salt until smooth. Add half of the hot butter in a thin steady stream, slow enough so that it blends in at least as fast as you are pouring it in. Blend in the lemon juice using the same method, then the remaining butter.

Place pizza dough on a pizza pan. Cook for 8 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove from oven and drizzle with a little of the cream sauce. Top with prosciutto and carefully break eggs on top. Bake for another 6 minutes or until eggs reach desired doneness.

Not as runny as I like... but good!

Simple Breakfast Food

Yesterday, I posted a picture of an egg and a piece of toast on my Facebook page, and I received 88 comments so far. For the most part, the comments were nice and positive, but some were rude and negative. I received 384 'like's and 30 people shared this simple picture of a soft fried egg and a piece of pan fried toast.

I was told that this is toad in a hole, eggs in a nest, poached egg on toast and one eyed jacks. Actually, I made French Toast for my son and had a tiny bit of egg mixture left in the bowl. It only partially covered one side, so it's basically pan fried toast. I fried the egg because I don't care for syrup with French Toast. The picture above is of what I called:

 "A farm egg and buttered white bread toast... salt and pepper.It doesn't get any fresher, simpler or better... and I love runny eggs :-)"

I received several comments of 'yuck', 'ewwww' and one 'gross'. I had to laugh. I know that the runny or 'dippy' eggs are going to cause a knee jerk response, add some people even commented on a gag reflex problem. Again, I had to laugh, until a guy questioned the southern-ness of my dish. He labeled himself 'my Yankee self' and said... 

"Not particularly southern though. My Yankee self ate this long before moving here."

What did I say about the knee jerk reactions of earlier comments? LOL If you know me... I like to laugh! I like to be funny! But, I am a Southern Belle and us Southern Belles are a loyal and passionate lot. However, I'm not about to get into a debate on who invented the egg! I simply posted this picture with this heading:

"Someone said something earlier about me and my food not being "Southern". This is my daughter-in-law, and she didn't like that!!!"

Hee Hee Hee!!!

Here's a picture for the guy that told me that I forgot the bacon. I was out of bacon, but here's some bacon and some sausage too!

I never thought a picture of a simple fried egg and a piece of toast would cause such controversy! LOL 

If you'd like to check out more breakfast recipes here at Southern With A Twist, you can use the search at the upper right of this page or check out the links attached to these pictures...

Breakfast Pie

French Toast Casserole

Easy Peasy Cinnamon Rolls

Enjoy and have a great morning!

Lynn

Spicy Cheese Dip

I decided to make Mitchell's favorite dip today. Mitchell is my 22 year old step-son who still responds, "Ooo! Ooo! Ooo! I could eat that whole pot by myself!", every time I make this. It is so easy and you can make it as spicy as you like. This is a medium grade heat for this dip. Rotel makes a mild and hot also. You can add your own peppers or hot sauce, if you like.

Start with one 10 ounce can of Rotel with it's juice

and 16 ounces of Velveeta Cheese.

This all you need for the meatless dip.

The hamburger I used was still frozen. So I put it in this dish

and put it in the oven at 350 degrees. (Or use sausage)

When the juices started to run out,

I removed it from the oven and 

broke it apart with a wooden spoon.

I put it back in the oven until all the meat was browned.

I cubed the cheese and added it to the meat.

Add the Rotel and place the dish back in the oven

until the dip is melted.

Serve with your favorite chips!

Cheeseburger Deluxe Soup

Here on Southern With A Twist, you know that I don't always follow recipes to the letter. I don't even make the same recipe the same way each time. I like to experiment and see if I can make a good recipe better. Well, last night, I got a thumbs up on the recipe I came up with last year... Cheeseburger Soup! I not only got a thumbs up, but I got "I like this one better!" So I decided to give you the updated version...

2 T butter

1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups beef stock
1 cup milk
16 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed
1 lb hamburger
2-3 T flour
lettuce & tomato, largely chopped

Saute the onions in butter until translucent. Add 2 cups beef stock and 1 cup milk. Add cubed Velveeta and stir until melted. Cook hamburger. Add about 2 - 3 tablespoons of flour to the hamburger. (This will make a slurry when the flour combines with the fat off of the hamburger.) Add the hamburger mixture to the soup. Bring soup up to a high simmer. If the soup is too thick, add a little more stock. When ready to serve, throw a handful of lettuce and tomato in a bowl and top with several spoonfuls of soup. Cheeseburger in a bowl!

A Bum's Rum (Chocolate) Cake

For a while now, I have been telling you about these wonderful cakes from A Bum's Rum Cake. They are the best rum cakes, hands down, that I have ever eaten! They had a contest on their Facebook page and ...

"I Won! I Won! I Won!!!"

My Chocolate Rum Cake has arrived!!!

This is such a professional job by A Bum's Rum Cake!

Simply gorgeous packaging!!!

... and my son gets ticked off for my prolonging the process.

He says, "You better start clicking pics fast,

because I'm tearing into this sucker!!!"

Beautiful... Notice he's moving so fast that he's a blur! LOL 

Such a beautiful cake, and so moist that it shines!

The flavor is a perfect combination of chocolate and rum.

It simply melts in your mouth !! 

He sliced a piece, stabbed at it with his fork,

and it kept falling apart.

Rookie mistake... "Son, read the label."
He reads, "So moist you'll need a spoon!... Oh!"
So he goes for the fingers!

So, good that he licks his fingers! :-)

A Bum's Rum Cake, a big ole cup of milk

and Mama's picture in the background! :-)

The cake came in Tuesday afternoon

and only 1/4 of the cake was eaten that night.

I got home Wednesday night, and this was all that was left!

I went in my son's room, and before I could say anything...

 he laughed and then went and ate the rest!

What better testimonial than a teenager???

For more information visit A Bum's Rum Cake. Order a vanilla, chocolate or coconut rum cake! Better yet, order the Halloween Trio Special for a wonderful deal! Click here for the Halloween Trio Special Deal !!!

Cooking Pork Chops Like a Steak

I don't have a grill right now, so I have to cook all my 'grill' recipes in the oven. Well last night, the choice for supper was fish or pork. My son says, "Steak Mama!" *Sigh* OK... that wasn't on the menu! Well he tells me to 'just cook it like a steak'! Well... I'll try it once and see what we get.

I sprinkled them with salt, garlic powder, onion powder and a little lemon pepper. I dotted about a teaspoon of A-1 Steak Sauce on each chop with a brush. I put them in a casserole dish and cooked them in a 400 degree oven. I let them bake just until they were 160 degrees internally. (A good meat thermometer is a must until you get used to the touch of doneness.)

They smell heavenly and taste to yummy. They were moist, tender and cut with a butter knife! I forgot to take a picture of mine before I started eating... luckily my son hadn't come in to eat yet and I got a picture of his for the cover shot on this post! LOL

Mama's Thanksgiving Stuffed Turkey

My Mama was a wonderful cook! Every meal that she prepared was a culinary delight. My Mama also had a wicked sense of humor. In with her collection of cookbooks, there is one called, "You've had worse things in your Mouth" Click here to take a peak :-) This cookbook has a MAJOR disclaimer in the revenge section! One of the recipes is called "Hoy Vey". It is a pate that includes three types of liver, onions, boiled eggs and 1 1/2 bottles of castor oil! HOY VEY!!!

In this picture, she is holding a cookbook called "White Trash Cooking" from  her collection. Mama jokingly swore that the woman on the cover is her Aunt Annie!

I found this recipe for Thanksgiving Turkey in her box of hand written recipes. She got it from an elderly lady at church no less!!!

BAKED STUFFED TURKEY***

1 giant size turkey
1 cup melted butter
1 cup pre-made stuffing mix
1 cup uncooked popcorn
Salt/pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brush turkey well with melted butter, salt, and pepper. Fill cavity with stuffing and popcorn (mixed together). Place in baking pan with the neck end toward the back of the oven.

When the turkey’s ass blows off, it is done!

***Do not try this at home! Southern With A Twist is not responsible for oven damage, kitchen damage or bodily harm if this recipe is attempted!***