A toast to fancy treats and 2014!

Seemingly miraculously, we have survived the awful Christmas stomach bug. All of our family has had it and we're some of the first to see an end within reach. For the past week, we've been eating mostly applesauce, bland potatoes and the occasional frozen White Castle slider.

Traditionally, in my Southern family, we eat a big meal of collard greens, black eyed peas and hog jowls on New Years Day to bring in the new year with food symbols of health, wealth and happiness. But that is not happening tomorrow in this family. Obviously, we're still playing it safe with food - limiting grease, spice and for the most part, flavor.

To safely celebrate New Years Eve, we're having a wild feast of Idahoan instant golden potatoes and mini chicken sliders, but since it's NYE we're having a few treats.

We have a few chocolate-covered strawberries made at a local chocolatier, a champagne cocktail and I made a new festive dish - champagne custard and chantilly cream parfaits.

I am a lover of custards - both making and eating them. Often, custards - especially dishes like creme brulee - get a bad rap for being tricky and temperamental; but that is not the case. The recipes for custard dishes are strict and do include specific measurements and steps but these are generally easy-to-follow and make for a good texture (without scrambled eggs).

This custard recipe does not undergo a baking process and is completed on the stove top and cooled in the fridge (you could also eat it warm). Cooling aside, it takes only 10 minutes. It is a fairly standard recipe that makes a thick, smooth and silky custard. If you like this recipe, and the feel and texture of this custard, consider making your own custards for dishes like banana pudding. The difference from boxed or pre-made pudding and homemade custard is unbelievable and totally worth the few extra steps and minutes.

This little dessert is so decadent. The custard is thick and the champagne flavor is not at all lost and the chantilly is the the most heavenly whipped cream you'll ever eat. The two paired together make for the perfect elegant treat; and be sure to scoop (or lick) a little sugar off of the side to add a crunch and spike of pure sweetness mimicking the champagne's former sparkling bubbles.

You can also take the dish - and it's presentation - in several directions. I topped ours with pomegranate arils, but shaved dark chocolate would also be delicious and extravagant. The custard would suffice as a pastry cream and piping it into a puffed pastry shell or choux pastry would make an even more elegant eclair or classier cream puff. And if you're a lover of the brulee cracking sound, like Jordan and Amelie, you could pour this into ramekins, top with sugar and place under the broiler or use a blowtorch to make the perfect glassy topping.

It's probably too late for you to make this dish before the clock strikes 12 tonight, but if you have any left-over champagne (it'll last for about three days refrigerated with a cork) or have a fancy party, I suggest you make this dish. It will certainly wow your guests without breaking your neck or the bank to prepare.

We have had a wonderful year and are looking forward to so many wonderful, new experiences in 2014. 

Thank you for being with us through 2013 and we are excited to share more meals, recipes, ideas and stories with you in the following year!

Happy New Year!

Champagne Custard and Chantilly Cream Parfaits

To rim glasses:

Ingredients:

-large gold or colored crystal sugar or other large crystal sugar (I used demerara sugar)

-corn syrup or piping gel

- 4-6 glass shooters or champagne flutes

Method:

Pour a little corn syrup or piping gel into a saucer. Pour large crystal sugar into another saucer. 

Lightly dip the rips of the glasses into the corn syrup then into the sugar. Don't dip them too deeply into the syrup or sugar or they will be too heavy and drip. Keep the glasses at room temperature while you continue the rest. 

Ingredients:

For custard:

- 1/2 c heavy whipping cream, divided

- 1/2 c champagne (I used Andre 

- 2 T cornstarch

- 5 T granulated sugar

- 1 whole egg

- 2 egg yolks

- 2 T unsalted butter

- 1 t vanilla

For cream:

- 1/2 c heavy whipping cream

- 2 T granulated sugar

- 1/2 t vanilla

Method:

In a medium bowl, whisk cornstarch in 1/4 c of heavy cream. Set aside. 

Combine the rest of the cream, sugar, and 1/2 c champagne in a sauce pan; heat until the mixture just starts to bubble or will lose the champagne flavor. Remove from heat. 

Beat the whole egg or egg yolks into the cornstarch/heavy cream mixture. Pour 1/3 of hot champagne into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. If you don't whisk, the eggs will scramble! Return champagne in pot to a boil. Pour in the egg mixture in a narrow stream, whisking constantly until the mixture visibly thickens (it will start to look and feel like real pudding). Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla. 

Divide evenly among glasses. Refrigerate until firm; at least a few hours. 

In a medium bowl, beat heavy cream with electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and beat until stiff peaks form, add vanilla and beat again.

Transfer to a piping bag with decorator tip or a zip-top bag and cut a small corner out. Pipe whipped cream into each glass.

After tasting the chantilly, we filled these to the brim with cream and more arils. 

Holidays: Part Ewww

Sorry guys, we're down-and-out with a stomach bug - possibly this violent, highly contagious Australian norovirus. And right now thinking, eating and even blogging about food is far from our minds.

Our words of wisdom:

• Stay hydrated, but don't overdo it with drinks like Pedialyte or Gatorade, they can intensify your symptoms. 
• Try my Mom's secret weapon - Italian ice. It's a cool treat without dairy and it takes ages to eat, so your stomach doesn't panic at food
• Stick to the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce and toast) for very bland foods. Avoid spice, grease and dairy. 
• Of course, wash your hands!! They say hand sanitizer and Lysol just aren't cutting it with this bug. It takes diligent handwashing with soap and warm water and bleach to clean hard surfaces. 
• And finally, and I think I'm learning this the hard way - don't be too confident in your wellness. You can easily overdo it and make yourself ill; thanks tuna melt!

Be careful and enjoy a meal for us!

Merry Christmas and Cider!

Two of our goodies from this years' LEGO Friends and Star Wars advent calendars 

We just finished our second family Christmas celebration - cookie swap on Sunday and dinner tonight - with at least two more to go - country breakfast and afternoon snack binge tomorrow. This is a super busy time of year what with the shopping and the parties and other obligations, but we're blessed to have so many people to visit and things to do.

We want to wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season for whatever you celebrate and with whomever you make memories with. We hope that you take the time today, tomorrow and every day - holiday or not - to slow down and take the time to be with, talk to or think of the ones you love. And  of course, to cook, share or eat something delicious.

In the spirit of the season and general deliciousness, I'll share the recipe for the hot spice apple cider (also called wassail) we took to tonight's event. This beverage is a great seasonal drink - it just tastes like the holidays - with cloves, cinnamon and citrus. Like most of my recipes, it's very customizeable to your palate - use more or less spice as you'd like. It's a good make-and-take beverage too; we made ours hours in advance and reheated and kept it piping hot in our Crock Pot.

Merry Christmas from our family and table to yours!

Hot Spiced Apple Cider

Ingredients:

1 gallon apple cider

1 c citrus-y juice (orange or pineapple; this time we used 50/50)

3 T brown sugar (+/- to taste)

8-10 whole cloves  (+/- to taste)
1 orange sliced in circles
1 T cinnamon (+/- to taste)
1/2 t ground nutmeg  (+/- to taste)

Method:
Pour all ingredients into a large pot and bring to a rolling boil. Continue boiling for at least 15 minutes (we boiled ours for about 20); the longer you boil it, the stronger the flavors will be. Strain and serve.

Note: I kept my orange slices intact and then put them back into the Crock Pot when we arrived; it made for a very pretty presentation.

Cookie Swap Part 2: Four-ingredient gluten-free peanut butter cookies

Getting ready for tomorrow's cookie swap at my Grandma's I've been making last week's linzer cookies and my mom's standby peanut butter cookies and fudge sandwiches.

If you're in a pinch for time and don't want to spend a lot of money on dried fruits, chips and oats try this four-ingredient recipe. It's quick, easy, and gluten-free. I have two family members with celiac disease (gluten intolerance) and this recipe is great for them without sacrificing any flavor.

Like most peanut butter cookies, these are dry not gooey and with the optional fudge filling make for a great sandwich. And of course, who doesn't love the classic combo of peanut butter and chocolate? From my unprofessional research into the vast universe of pre-made icings, most canned frostings are also gluten-free.

I hope you enjoy this recipe for your own cookie swaps or other special occasions - I actually made these in lieu of a cake for Jordan's birthday two years ago, and yes, I do think they played a special part in our love story. Take that, engagement chicken.

Peanut Butter (Fudge Sandwich) Cookies

Ingredients:

1 c peanut butter 

1 c granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 container chocolate icing of your choice (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350. Mix peanut butter, sugar, egg and vanilla with a hand mixer. Scoop dough into tiny balls and place on a cookie sheet. Use a fork dipped into sugar to press an x into each cookie. Bake for 8 minutes. The cookies will seem underdone, but as long as the edges are lightly golden brown, they're done. They'll seem very soft, but will cool to the perfect texture. 

After they've cooled spread approximately 1 T icing between two cookies. If you're really trying to impress - swap the icing for only the best spreadable condiment ever, Nutella!

Note: These are great served at room temperature, but even better eaten from the fridge or after a few hours in the freezer. 

How to wow at this year's cookie swap: Linzer tart cookies

I think cookie swaps are one of the most adorable and accessible holiday party options. At the holidays, everyone is over-tasked, tired and broke; and the prospect of cooking a big meal for the entire family or bouquet of friends is daunting and exhausting. And too often, menu traditions can become old and we grow tired of cooking and eating the same things year after year. Cookie swaps allow for quick, inexpensive prep and countless recipe options.

I have a few trusty cookie recipes that I love and can always fall back on - mom's (unintentionally) gluten-free peanut butter cookies (which can be made into delicious fudge sandwiches), red velvet gooey butter cookies, and a classic chocolate chip cookie. However, ever since my parents bought a hard-backed 100+ page cookie cookbook when I was a child, I've loved experimenting with new recipes. And today, as a holiday gift for my boss and a test-run for my grandmother's cookie swap this weekend, I made raspberry linzer tart cookies.

My boss is a Brooklyn native through-and-through who has opened my eyes to many Yankee foods and culinary words (red sauce = gravy? what?), and linzer tarts are one of his favorite obsessions. I've looked for a year for a bakery making linzer tarts, but they they have no idea or contain either almond flour, almond extract or toasted almonds - and he has a serious nut allergy that I tirelessly protect him from. But today I found a delicious and incredibly easy nut-free recipe for the linzer cookies.

They do require several "resting" periods, but those respites actually allowed me time to clean up and rearrange between steps. Chilling times, excluded, these cookies are no more time consuming than any other recipe; because really, making uniform "dump cookies" where everything's mixed in one bowl and dropped onto sheets is pain in the ass.

The dough for this recipe makes a flaky, drier-than-most, subtly sweet shortbread-like cookie. If you enjoy shortbread, this is a great recipe - just nix the filling and cut it into any shapes you like. Also, this would be a wonderful base for those who love the Girl Scouts' Samoas/Caramel deLites. All you'd need to do is a top with a caramel/coconut mix (as easy as mixing shredded coconut with caramel ice cream topping) and drizzle with chocolate.

The filling is traditionally raspberry or strawberry preserves (with or without seeds, it's up to you) but this could be done to suit your palate. Apricot, currant or fig preserves would be great between the two cookies; just make sure it is a very thick, not watery jam, jelly or preserve. And imagine how impressed your friends would be if you'd made the preserves yourself too (that's next year's goal).

With linzer tarts, you cut the dough into circles and then cut a shape of your choice (traditionally a heart or spade) into half of the circles (I didn't have small shape cutter, so I used a tiny shot glass), so that when you sandwich the jam in between two cookies you have a pretty window to view the preserves. This stacking gives you a perfectly balanced cookie - the dough is very plain and the jelly can really pop and hit sweet and/or tart notes without being overpowering.

And we eat first with our eyes, so let me just say that these are BEAUTIFUL cookies. Just look at them! They look old fashioned without being heavy-handed and they give this air of sophistication, as though they're from some high end bakery or someone's grandma spent hours slaving away over them. They look wonderful as large cookies, but I also made mini sandwiches out of the tiny cutouts and they were gorgeous too! (And perfectly portioned for little kid tea parties).

If you're looking to impress and be the talk of the cookie swap this year, I highly recommend this recipe.

Nut-free Linzer Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 lb (3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 c granulated sugar
1 large egg at room temperature
3 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/4 t kosher salt
1 t vanilla extract
3/4 c thick preserves (I used raspberry)
powdered sugar for dusting

Method

Preheat oven to 350 and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

With an electric mixer, blend sugar and butter together until light and creamy. Add the vanilla and egg, beat until blended.

In a separate bowl, mix the salt and flour, then add them slowly to the butter and sugar mixture, mixing on low until the dough starts to come together.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and shape into a flat disk. Split dough into two pieces, wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough into 1/4" thick and cut 2 3/4" rounds with a plain or fluted cutter. Try to make sure your dough is even, so that you don't have cookies which are thicker in different parts. The thinner cookies will be easier to eat, too.

With half of the rounds, cut a hole in the middle of each round. Place all cookies (even the cutouts) onto sheets and chill for 15 minutes. These cookies don't rise much, so you can really cram them onto the pan, just make sure they lay flat or they will be curled or angular.

Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, until the edges just begin to brown. You won't think they're done, but once the edges start to hint at golden color, pull them.

Allow to cool to room temp. Spread preserves on the flat side of each solid cookie - around 1 T per cookie - and sandwich with a cookie with a cutout. Press gently to make sure they stick.

Dust the top of the cut-out cookies with powdered sugar.

Remember the warmer the cookies get, the more likely your preserves are to drip. I keep mine in the fridge until I'm ready to serve them or keep them in a cool place while left out.

Taste-Test Success: Magda's Cakes!

We are winding down to the last month of wedding planning for our upcoming nuptials on January 19th and today we took care of one of the most exciting parts - the cake, or cupcakes, rather!

Nothing can top my excitement over getting to marry my best friend, and I'll admit that picking out my wedding dress was one of those princess moments that girls look forward to, but making arrangements for our wedding cake was a close third.

We spent hours scouring the web for the perfect topper, which is so much harder than it looked thanks to gems like these all over Etsy. Thankfully, picking out our wedding cake and guests' cupcakes was so much easier - and delicious!

From the get-go we've wanted to do a locally-sourced wedding with catering from a wonderful restaurant in Bryson City, we've bought our table decorations from the Friends of the Library and hometown bookstore, City Lights and we've decided to order our sweets from Cherokee baker, Magda's Cakes.

Today we tried four varieties of cupcakes from Magda's and will be using three of them on our big day!

First, for my Reese's fiend - a chocolate cake with a peanut crunch topping. IWe'll be adding a ganache layer and using this for our personal wedding cake, in addition to cupcakes.

Next, we tried a Southern classic, hummingbird cake, with a hybrid cream cheese mascarpone icing. The mascarpone doubled the creaminess of the traditional cream cheese frosting and was perfectly decadent against the spice and sweetness of the cake. These beauties will be at our wedding.

Then a strawberry cake with another unique frosting that's a signature meringue/buttercream. This has a unique texture that's fluffy and subtly sweet and wonderfully creamy without the grit that can sometimes occur with powdered sugar. We love this cake and the freshness from the strawberry puree but are opting for a simple white/almond cake option for our "vanilla" guests.

And finally, what I think was the most surprisingly delicious cake with lemon curd, traditional buttercream and blueberries. The cake had the intense flavor of a lemon poppy seed muffin, without the fake, over-the-top taste (and aftertaste) that some lemon desserts can have. And the sweet, thick frosting countered the bitterness of the berries. I instantly loved this cake and was shocked I did - I hate those brash lemon sweets and conversely normally only like those blueberry lumps found in muffin mix. I think these will be a great choice for our more adventurous guests.

Having chosen this wonderful, scrumptious spread for our wedding I am feeling such a great sense of relief and a wonderful urge to eat our four remaining samples! 

National Food Insecurity

As you already know, food is a major fascination of mine. But an even more important part of my life is my dedication to service. I've spent a majority of my adult life involved in various volunteer leadership positions, service groups and projects dealing with issues such as HIV/AIDS, childhood education, cancer prevention and research, and poverty. And in recent years the intersection of these two passions - service and food - has become a working to end local food insecurity.

Oftentimes when we think of hunger and starving, undernourished children we think of foreign developing countries, not our own backyards. However, in Western North Carolina poverty, and especially hunger, are major issues. It is estimated that one in four children suffer from hunger and Asheville was recently named the 9th Hungriest City in the US.

There are many organizations working to alleviate these issues but they are under increasing stress from limited budgets and exponential need; and oftentimes they depend upon community donations to stay open. And this is why I am so excited about the work of my colleagues and the students at our institution.

This is the 2nd year we have hosted a food drive for MANNA Foodbank's MANNAPacks program. The MANNAPacks program packages bags of food for local K-12 students who receive free or reduced lunch and are at risk to go hungry over the weekends. They're given the bags on Friday afternoons which contain enough goodies and meal options - like instant oatmeal, rice, canned meat, powdered milk and peanut butter - to last them until Monday morning.

This year we were able to raise over 1,400 items for MANNA!

And at this year's employee holiday dinner we also collected hundreds of items for food assistance agencies in service area.

It's unfortunate, but true - food insecurity is everywhere in our country and we have to address it. But thankfully, there are food assistance organizations almost everywhere too - but they desperately need our support. Government funding is down, community giving is based upon the economic strength of the people and with more people in need of food that donation pool is smaller too.

Please seek out your local food pantries and soup kitchens to find a way to get involved - you can give of your pantry, your pocket or your time. Also, there are national organizations working to end hunger, especially in children. Share Our Strength is one of the front runners in alleviating childhood hunger nationally. Please consider making a donation or hosting your own fundraisers to feed families!

Expanding "following options" for Endlessly Delicious Life

We're happy to announce that we've expanded your options for following Endlessly Delicious Life!

You're welcome to religiously check for updates on our website, but you can also follow us by e-mail by entering your e-mail address into the box to the right of this post. You will receive notifications of any updates and new posts.

Also, we're available on the social media trifecta. You can follow EDL in the following places:

• On Facebook as Endlessly Delicious Life Blog  - Here we'll be able to do up-to-date posts and will be able to post and organize more photos (and add videos). Also, we'll easily be able to link up with other businesses, organizations and services for projects, reviews, interesting articles and giveaways. Join the community to share in the wealth of media! And invite your friends to "like" us, too.  

 

• On Twitter as @DliciousLife - Similarly to Facebook, we'll be giving you live posts about our food adventures; this will come in particularly handy with Taste Tests and Restaurant Reviews. Please follow, tweet and re-tweet us.  We're excited to offer condensed 140-character stories for you.

 

• On Pinterest as an Endlessly Delicious Life food and drink pin board. Pinterest has a wonderful ability to allow you to organize your favorite ideas, plans or inspirations. Here we're sharing our recipes and have intentions to share reviews for products and lists of hot tips. You will be able to pin these to your own boards and share them with your friends and fellow pinners - in a sense, this allows you to customize our blog to suit your needs and uses.

 

Please follow us and share our platforms with your friends! We will continue to offer steady coverage of the food world and the food on our table, but we hope that this will allow us to share more information with you from us and other sources, as well. Our goal is for us to be able to interact with you more - we want to hear from you - so please comment on our posts; re-tweet us; shoot things to #EndlesslyDeliciousLife on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter; like our links and share your own and more! 

"Family ate beans, I made Ramen" - My Cultural Connection to Cornbread

I read several blogs and visit online news sites regularly, but for my foodie fix I go to NPR's The Salt. This food portion of NPR's website collects all the food-related content from regular on-air shows like Morning Edition  and All Things Considered and also features like my favorite weekly post "Sandwich Monday."

Yesterday, at work, I made a Salt-heavy playlist including the "Found Recipes" series and random stories about the "dairy cliff," prohibition, high school lunches and this gem, which is a food-themed edition of The Race Card Project (listen here).

The Race Card Project asks participants to write six words that explain or are integral to their racial identity. They've showcased a variety of people whose experiences cover a vast spectrum of emotions and experiences. All of their short sentences are charged with emotion and give listeners (and readers) a visceral experience (such as "Black babies cost less to adopt." Whoa.)

This episode features a card by Melanie Vanderlipe Remil with the words "I ate pasta, family ate rice." Remil explained that as a child, she shunned her Filipino roots and refused to eat rice with every meal like her family. She recalled her mother rushing home from work to prepare dinner, but always making her a box of Pasta Roni. Her parents are immigrants and they wanted their children to fit in with American culture as much as the kids themselves did - so her mom went along with making multiple sides. But when she went to college, Remil took a Filipino American Contemporary Issues course and realized how valuable her culture was and how much she appreciated her family, it's traditions and food.

So, to preserve her history, she asked her grandmother to teach her how to cook traditional Filipino food. She's taking on the role of family food historian by teaching younger generations how to make traditional holiday dishes, and reminding them that our closest ties to our cultures are our foods (research shows that these are the cultural links that we are most likely to maintain).

My racial identity isn't tied to a menu, nor do I have any knowledge of what it's like to be a first generation American, but I certainly relate to Remil. My family has deep Southern roots and that food is a huge part of my identity.

Our area's regional cuisine consists of very simple and inexpensive food that will keep you full and can be made in such portions to feed a huge family or feed a few for several meals for next-to-nothing. The menu harkens back to when these mountains were much more impenetrable and you had to make do with that you had before traveling to town for only staples like flour, sugar and lard; the rest of your ingredients came from your own backyard.

As a child, I loathed many such foods. My parents loved to have soup beans (pinto beans cooked down with pork) and cornbread and a glass of milk with cornbread crumbled up inside. I had no desire to eat chicken livers or liver mush sandwiches (exactly what it sounds like) and wild game was out of the question. My mother has always been true to roots so, unlike Remil's mother, there were rarely alternatives made ahead - so this is how I learned to make Ramen.

But I too had an awakenening in college. I moved to the Triad area of NC where the barbeque was completely different, you're more likely to get corn pone than cakes of corn bread, and our college's cafeteria menu was designed by Sysco Foods - which has little to do with local ingredients or flavors. Although this wasn't a drastic change, I realized I missed home cooking and the food that only comes from my family.

I was going to school with hipsters and new-age hippies who thought pressure canning and gardening were new, trendy hobbies from the green movement. They'd never raised pigs and canned their own pork tenderloin, or grown their own green beans, or seen how molasses is made. But those are things I have done or know - they're part of my identity as a Southern woman. And so, like Remil, I'm trying to maintain my culture and my family's traditions to food. I've shared many of our family recipes and food traditions with Jordan already and they're dishes I know we'll continue to enjoy as a family.

There are traditional dishes I've always loved - like fried chicken, cube steak and gravy and biscuits - but have never made, and there are foods that I've come to appreciate and want to learn how to make "just like momma (and daddy and grandma and mamaw) used to make" - like cornbread. And learning these recipes is a major goal of mine.

Recently, I conquered my first cake of corn bread and from it made my very own cornbread salad (a staple of Southern potlucks). My grandma always says that cornbread sticking to the pan "is enough to make a preacher cuss"- and she'd know, she married one - and that alone made me fearful that this would not be easy. Furthermore, both of my parents make cornbread without a recipe and without actually measuring anything. They randomly pour unknown quantities of ingredients in a bowl, give it a quick stir and throw it in an ancient cast iron pan to bake for an indeterminate amount of time. My brain doesn't work like that and I actually called both of them and they "made up" a recipe for me to use to make my first cakes - and they turned out to be beautiful and delicious!

Here are a few quick cornbread tips I'd like to share with you:

• Traditional Southern cornbread is not sweet. This is a Northern invention (read: bastardization). Sweet cornbread (a la Jiffy mix or Boston Market) can be delicious, but I don't find it to be nearly as versatile as corn meal-, not sugar-flavored cornbread.
• Make sure you use a well-seasoned cast iron pan. These are like gold in the South and every girl has one in her hope chest. Also, do not scrub or use dish soap on cast iron - gently wipe it out with a wet cloth - they don't call it seasoning for nothing!
• My dad is of the school that you don't need to pre-heat your pan or melt lard into it. The cool pan with vegetable oil worked just fine.
• And when you flip it out and it doesn't stick, take a second to run your hand across that smooth underside - it's such a satisfying feeling of achievement!

Finally, here are the recipes for both the cornbread base and salad.

Traditional Cornbread

Ingredients:

2 c cornmeal (I used white)
3/4 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp (plus a smidge) white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 c milk (water will work in a pinch, too)


Method:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a bowl, mix together ingredients. Pour 2-3 Tbs. vegetable oil into cast iron skillet (this recipe will make one "standard" sized cake, I made one medium and one small); swirl to coat bottom. Pour mixture into pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool for a few minutes and run a knife around the edge before flipping out onto plate.



Cornbread Salad

Ingredients:

1 cake cornbread, cooled
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 tomato, de-seeded and diced
1 small bottle Italian salad dressing
1 can corn, drained
2 c. shredded cheddar (or any flavor) cheese

Method:

Crumble the cornbread into a large bowl. Crumble it as thoroughly as you'd like; I enjoy mine fairly finely crumbled with a few "chunks."  Pour 1/3 of the cornbread into another bowl. Drizzle 1/3 of the dressing over the cornbread (start out with less, to get desired texture - I like mine to just be damp throughout). Layer vegetables and cheese on top. Repeat.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least three hours. The longer you let it set, the deeper the flavors will become. This is a great make-ahead dish and can be served for days on end. Also, it is very customizable - you could use ranch dressing; add cucumbers, pimentos or black-eyed peas; or make it with Mexican cornbread etc.



                  

Bringing New Life to Leftovers

I love leftovers, especially holiday leftovers that are wrapped and stuffed in a number of packages and cram-packed into the fridge.

When I was younger, on Thanksgiving Day my parents and I ate lunch at my mamaw's house with some twenty-odd cousins, aunts, uncles and adopted family members. And I always looked forward to dinnertime that night, when we'd drag ourselves into the kitchen, exhausted  and would eat cold turkey, mayo and mustard sandwiches on white bread and I'd eat Jell-O fluff by the spoonful. That was the best part of the whole day!

As I got older, and our celebration became a little more disjointed and we started having our primary meal at my parents house and I'd cart my own menagerie of Tupperware back to mine, I loved re-creating the meal over and over.

I am a creature of habit - almost disturbingly so when it comes to meals. Left to my own devices, I'll master a dish or flavor profile that I fall back to repeatedly. For example, almost every weekend that Jordan's working, I make nachos or quesadillas for lunch. Do I have the ingredients for practically any dish? Sure. Do I have the capability to follow a recipe and create a successful noon-day meal? No doubt. But time and time again, I haphazardly dump Latin ingredients (salsa, guacamole etc.) and chopped up protein leftovers (chicken tenders, pot roast...) onto Santilla corn tortilla chips and nuke it for 90 seconds. Como se dice "deja vu" in espanol?

With that being said, I get a sick pleasure out of reheating duplicate Thanksgiving plates on Friday, Saturday and if I brought big enough Tupperware, Sunday. I recreate the plate dish for dish, I want the turkey, the dressing, the cranberry sauce over and over.

However, I do like to reinvent my leftovers too and today, I think I made a good dish. Jordan was at work today and doesn't like dark meat turkey, so I knew I'd be nibbling on that to leave him his favorite parts for dinner. As mentioned before, my fail-safe is Mexican cuisine so I made the most delicious quesadilla with leftover smoked turkey, shredded sharp cheddar and brie! I may try this again and do just brie and a spread of cranberry sauce, but today I took it in a decisively Mexican profile (go figure).

Despite my sub-par sour cream (I'm a snob) and a lack of guac, this quesadilla is one of my better improvisational lunches. The brie elevated the whole dish - there's melted cheese and then there's melted brie - this gave it a much smoother texture with more gooeyness than stringy meltedness. I think the cheddar contributed more flavor, but the brie added a contrasting texture to the crispness of the tortilla. The turkey, which my dad had smoked, added a much more robust flavor than my usual frozen Tyson grilled chicken strips. It also had some fat (read:flavor!) that a grilled chicken strip lacks.

My dad is a master at this kind of improv with any groceries (he and Jordan did a Chopped challenge where they could only spend $15 to feed four of us 3-courses at a discount store), much less leftovers. He is notorious for getting every last drop of flavor and value out of an item; one of his best examples is a chicken noodle soup made out of KFC chicken and gravy leftovers! I hope to someday have this flair and ability to improvise, but I certainly think this is a step in the right direction. Hopefully, with our remaining gallon-sized Ziploc bag of turkey, we'll be able to think outside of the box (and Mexican flavors) for some new dishes this weekend.

Happy eating and reheating!

Saturday update: I just used diced pieces of turkey leg meat to make a wonderful panang curry! Panang curry is often served in Thai restaurants; it's a coconut milk red curry with lots of vegetables and very little heat. It has traditional light and warm Thai flavors without the spice you sometimes find in curries - but I served it with a sprinkle of Thai spice and sriracha for a little oomph. I improvised this recipe- turkey, not tofu; used red curry paste instead of panang curry paste (panang is a red curry with peanuts added - you could probably recreate that, but it isn't carried pre-made in our local stores) and I didn't use Thai basil, either (another shortcoming of our grocery store). The recipe is super easy and other than the coconut milk, we normally have these ingredients on hand, so it was fairly inexpensive (we spent 16 cents on ginger and another 16 cents on snap peas!) and could be a quick dinner in a pinch. If you're looking for a sneaky, not-super-turkey-flavored way to use your leftovers (or any meat/veggie/soy leftovers), this is it! 

The Spread

Our Thanksgiving trifecta went off without a hitch yesterday - we were able to see our families and ate very well, two things which we are very grateful for every day.

I shared some of the Thanksgiving recipes we'd be preparing and I promised to include results! So here they are. All of our dishes turned out to be delicious and affordable. And we all know that even our most natural, signature dishes can be come nightmarish when paired with the stress of the holidays, but we had our schedule mapped out so well that prep was a breeze and we weren't frantic and aggravated - which is a blessing within itself. Take a look at our beautiful dishes and you can refer back to the recipes here.

My dad signed on to make the dressing, smoked turkey and desserts. He'd asked us what we wanted for dessert and we just let him choose. He made two delicious pies - one a total surprise for me!  One was a salted chocolate bourbon pecan pie. The filling was incredibly rich with sweetness and only the slightest hint of bourbon or saltiness. It was delicious but far too sweet for me and mom, dad and Jordan are going to "take care" of this pie; I'll just pick off the pecans. But then he surprised me by using the remainder of his pie crust recipe to make me an all-meringue pie! I love meringue, especially when it's "this high" on top of a good custard, but I usually peel the meringue off to eat the custard and save the fluffy goodness for last. This pie was heavenly! Sweet and airy with a very simple crust that highlighted the meringue's flavor that much more. I will not be sharing this pie. Try me.

Jordan's Mock Apple Pie - No one believed that it was made out of Ritz crackers!

 All of the veggies we made for dinner with my parents
- clockwise from left: roasted cauliflower, glazed carrots and twice-baked sweet potatoes

Smoky roasted cauliflower with paprika, garlic and parsley

Twice-baked red and white sweet potatoes stuffed with pecans and apples

Beautiful, rustic and insanely rich pie courtesy of my dad.

Mine!  

Thankful for Bountiful Thanksgiving Meals

I am only child; Jordan is the eldest of six from two blended families.

My families usually had two to three Thanksgiving gatherings spread out over a two week period. Once I started jonesing for turkey and dressing (Southerners DO NOT eat or make "stuffing") there was another family meal right around the corner - dad's family, mom's family and then just us three.

With the uniting of our families, I now have three meals in one single nothing-but-stretchy-pants day. Last year we tried spreading it out as much as we could, but in 2013 we're going back-to-back with Jordan's families and mine. And it's going to be delicious!

We are cooking for two of the three meals; for lunch at Mamaw J's, Jordan is bringing his new favorite sneaky dessert, mock apple pie (recipe below - seriously tastes like magnificent apple pie but is made of Ritz crackers!) and at our late evening meal at home with my parents, I'm making twice baked sweet potatoes (recipe below) and roasted cauliflower (recipe below) and Jordan's making his glazed carrots. (I'll post an update tomorrow with pictures, too!)

I anticipate traditional food at Jordan's Mamaw's and Paw's celebrations, but we're going to be deconstructing our traditional sweet potatoes, turkey and gravy meal with my parents and experimenting a little. My dad is going to smoke some parts of the turkey - either just a breast or the whole damned thing, I'm trying a new sweet potato dish instead of casserole with streusel and opting for the cauliflower instead of green beans (not in a casserole, bleh!).

I'm really excited for this meal that is a departure from our normal Thanksgiving fare, but there are some foods that just scream Thanksgiving and I certainly hope we get tomorrow.

Jordan and I are both in the pro-cranberry sauce camp. I love it - fresh, out of the can with or without whole berries - I could eat it by itself. I actually have a serious weakness for turkey and cranberry combinations; twice in the last year we've tried a new restaurant and I picked out what I wanted, saw that they offered a hot turkey/cran sandwich and  jumped ship on my earlier choice.

We are also lovers of pumpkin pie. Pumpkin pie has apparently become the most sought after flavor starting September 1, and I actually foundered Jordan on pumpkin-filled things (including ravioli, alfredo sauce, muffins and cakes) this fall; but we both can't get enough of the pie! And another sign of our true love, Jordan gives me the crust from his pie slices - so romantic!

And I need dressing. Again, not stuffing - who wants to eat bread out of a bird orifice? Our recipe has been tinkered with for so long, I hardly remember it's original version that my Aunt Debra made at least ten years ago. Like so many of our family recipes, nothing is measured and you can add more or less ingredients depending on what's in your pantry. It's basis is cornbread and stale French bread, browned sausage, sage, thyme, chicken broth, diced apples and pecans. Some years we add pears or craisins, but it turns out wonderful every time. I'd probably be happy with a plate of dressing and cranberry sauce.

I've finished my grocery shopping, cleaned the house, laundered the place mats and napkins and will be starting my prep shortly. I always look forward to Thanksgiving - it's a legitimate foodie holiday - and the wonderful self-awareness and gratefulness it brings with it. I am grateful that I have a wonderful family and future husband to spend my holidays (and every day) with; that we are comfortably employed and can afford to take the time to be together, to buy ingredients and cook meals; and that we are in good health to visit with each other. I am grateful for you, readers, and hope that you have a wonderful holiday and a delicious meal with those you love.

And here are the wonderful recipes you were waiting for:

Mock Apple Pie: This recipe originated in the Great Depression when apples were too expensive and in short supply; it tastes eerily like apple pie and is a wonderful, warm seasonal dish that epitomizes Fall. My dad used to make this when I was a kid; I told Jordan about it and he didn't believe that such a thing could exist - now he's hooked on them!

Ingredients: (10 slices)

2 unbaked pie crusts (you're welcome to make your own, too)
36 original Ritz crackers (don't go generic, and don't make the mistake of picking up the flavored ones), coarsely broken (about 1-3/4 cups crumbs)
1-3/4 c water
2 c sugar
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 T lemon juice (2T is in the recipe but this makes it too lemony for us)
zest of 1 lemon
2 T margarine or butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Method:

Preheat oven to 425.

Roll out pastry into a 9-inch pie plate. Place cracker crumbs in prepared crust, set aside.

Heat water, sugar and cream of tartar to a boil in saucepan over high heat. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add lemon juice and zest; cool. Pour syrup over cracker crumbs. Dot with marg/butter, sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll out second pastry; place over pie - trim, seal and flute edges. Slit top crust for steam.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until crust is crisp and golden. Cool completely -This step is critical. Without proper cooling, the filling will not set up properly and will be very runny. It is delicious served slightly reheated with vanilla ice cream melting on top.

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Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes-  To me, this is a great alternative to sweet potato casserole and gives each person their own dressed-up sweet potato. This is also a good make-ahead dish where you do the initial baking, make the filling and either leave them separate and assemble and reheat later or pre-assemble and warm later.

Ingredients (for 6):

6 medium sweet potatoes (8 oz. each)
1/2 c butter, cubed (this can easily be lessened, it's about the flavor and texture you want- start with 1/4 and go from there)
1/4 c packed brown sugar
1 medium apple chopped (I used a peeled honeycrisp - which are undoubtedly the best apples ever - but it's up to you)
1/4 c chopped pecans

Method:

Preheat oven to 400. Scrub and pierce potatoes with a fork. Place on a foil lined baking pan. Bake 45-60 minutes or until tender - check at 45 min.

When cool, cut a thin slice from the top of each potato, discard. Scoot out pulp, leaving 1/4" shell, transfer pulp to medium bowl. Mash with butter and sugar, stir in apples and pecans.

Spoon into potato shells. Return to baking pan. Bake 15-20 min. or until heated through.

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Roasted Cauliflower: This dish is incredibly simple and is a wonderful side. It has quickly become a last-minute side and I can mix the ingredients in my sleep and with only two real steps, it's just as easy to finish.

Ingredients: (for 4 large servings)

1 large head of cauliflower, broken into florets
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. smoked paprika
3/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley (or 1 Tbsp. dried)

Method:

Preheat oven to 450.

Place cauliflower in large bowl. Mix oil and spices in small bowl. Drizzle over cauliflower; toss to coat. Transfer to large baking pan.

Bake uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, stir. Return to oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until cauliflower is tender and lightly browned, stirring occasionally.


CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE FINAL PRODUCTS!

Tis the Season for Quick, Make-and-Take, Potluck-Friendly Foods

Yes, dear readers. It's that time of year where it seems all of our spare time is filled with holiday parties, family gatherings and seasonal socials. We get the chance to see friends and family and eat delicious food; but we also have to cook said food, and that can be tiresome, expensive and downright inconvenient and ruin the fun with our guests. So I want to share two recipes I just tried that were delicious crowd pleasers that were easy on my time, money, dishes and skills.

Tonight, we had Jordan's parents over for dinner. And afterwards,we shared dessert and they met my parents. Since the idea of introducing our families (less than two months before our wedding) is stressful enough amid holiday hurriedness, I chose two new recipes that would feed a crowd and not cause a panic attack in front of my future in-laws.

For dinner, we had tossed salad and store-bought (but home-heated!) garlic knots and I made a ravioli lasagna. This dinner took less than ten minutes of prep/set-up and the oven did all the cooking for me. It looked tasty, and tasted just as good. This would be a great make-and-take meal, especially if you have an insulated carrier (otherwise, just toss it in the oven for a few minutes to reheat); it tastes as delicious as lasagna with about a third of the effort! If you had the resources of time and/or money, you could also easily jazz it up - you could add Italian sausage, fresh herbs, sauteed mushrooms or wildly flavorful raviolis or sauces.

Ingredients: Note: I had to double the recipe to make sure we'd be able to feed six, but here's the original formula.

1 bag frozen ravioli (any flavor - I used Great Value brand five cheese)
1 jar pasta sauce (I used 1 jar Newman's Own marinara, 1 jar organic portabello mushroom, see note)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9x13x2" pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour 3/4C sauce in the bottom and spread evenly. Layer half of the ravioli on top of the sauce. Sprinkle with half of the cheese. Repeat.

Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for another 10 minutes to get cheese melty and bubbly (I added more cheese here, too). Remove from the oven and let set for 10 minutes.

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For dessert, I tried a strawberry cheesecake with a pretzel crust from Iron Chef Michael Symon on The Chew. Michael shared this family recipe that was his 96-year-old grandfather's signature holiday dish and I figured if a whole family has enjoyed it for a generation, it had to be good. This recipe was also quite easy but tasted like I'd slaved over a stove for hours. The filling is creamy and smooth with the signature tangyness of cream cheese and sour cream but is well-balanced with sugar and the saltiness of the pretzel crust. This recipe is easy for travel - no reheating required - and is perfect for making ahead (I made mine a day early). And, like the lasagna, this recipe would allow for great customization. You could use any topping instead of strawberry or could leave it plain.

Ingredients:

For crust:
1 1/2 c pretzels (ground)
1/2 c graham crackers (ground)
1/4 c sugar
8 Tbs unsalted butter (melted)
pinch salt

For filing:
24 oz. cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 c sour cream
1 c sugar
5 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
10 oz. strawberry preserves

Method:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the pretzels, graham crackers, 1/4 sugar and butter.Add a pinch of salt and press it into the bottom and slightly up the sides of a 9x13x2" glass baking dish. Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream the cream cheese on medium, scraping the sides often. Next, add the sour and mix until combined. Next, add the sugar and mix until combined. With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time, thoroughly mixing after each addition. Add the vanilla. Pour the filling over the crust and bake for one hour or until the center is no longer jiggly.

Remove from the oven and let sit for a few minutes while prepping the jam. In a small sauce pot melt the strawberry (or any flavor) jam over low heat. When melted, you can strain it if you don't want seeds or blend it if you want it smoother. Pour onto the cheesecake and smooth into an even later. Let the cheesecake cool for 30 minutes to an hour then slice while still warm. Refrigerate to chill completely.

The good news is, cooking this meal was completely stress-free, and best yet, our families got along great!

Middle Earth Munchies at Denny's

"Hobbits eat at least seven meals known as breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner and supper." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

In addition to being foodies, we are nerds. We love cult classics and pop culture references, we read constantly and have innumerable books in our house, play board games weekly and get fan-boy excited about upcoming blockbusters, including this year's installment of The Hobbit, The Desolation of Smaug. 

To incorporate our geek enthusiasm and hunger, we decided to venture to Denny's to try out their Hobbit-inspired menu for our "supper." (They also did a menu for the first of the three Hobbit films, which debuted last year; we didn't sample that one).

I thought they'd only have a few items, but was happily surprised to see a wide variety of options to suit any Middle Earth mealtime.

The menu features several "luncheon", "dinner" or "supper" options including a hellaciouly spicy burger inspiring by the dragon Smaug and a dwarves feast of turkey, dressing and gravy. They have a wide menu for the sweet-toothed hobbit (especially one seeking a tasty treat to share at "afternoon tea," like woodland elf pies, Radagast's red velvet pancake puppies (like a fritter), and two pumpkin-themed drinks for Bard the Bowman. 

I think if a restaurant has a specialty that they're known for, that's your best bet for quality and value; so being at Denny's, we went for breakfast foods. Jordan "built his own Hobbit slam" with eggs, hashbrowns and Hobbit-special menu items sweet potato pancakes and breakfast sausage. 

I ordered the "Hobbit Hole." Go ahead, laugh, I think it's a horrible name too; but bear in mind that Hobbit holes are the doors to their hillside homes in the Shire and it's fashioned after a toad-in-a-hole (often called an eggie-in-a-basket) with two eggs inside cheddar buns, hasbrowns and I opted for make the 50 cent upgrade to breakfast sausage, too. 

Like many grand slam combinations, Jordan's order was HUGE. I think eggs and hashbrowns are standard fare, so they were your normal diner sides. However, the pancakes and sausage were terrific. It's rare that I diss any pancakes because despite our culinary skills, we cannot make good pancakes in this house; it's impossible. But these pancakes were better than average, and surpassed good. Most diners' pecan pancakes have a few chopped up pieces in them, but these had large chunks of candied cinnamon pecans. This was an incredibly sweet adjustment to already saccharine pancakes, but was wonderful. There was a cinnamon drizzle included in the presentation (with syrup on the side) and I don't know that it added much to the fluffy, flavorful and autumnal-tasting pancakes. 

The sausage was also delicious. This was a large sausage (like traditional English bangers) and was very flavorful. It tasted like a blend between a hot bulk sausage and an Italian sausage. The casing had a wonderful crispness and held inside it a juicy sausage that tasted of pepper, sage and onion. I'm a bacon purist the end, but I know we made the right choice for our meal's meat component. 

I was only slightly less pleased with my meal. My favorite breakfast my mom used to make me was her toad-in-a-hole. She'd butter the bread, cut it out with a cute cookie cutter and cook my eggs in that just right way that you can never explain to a waiter. My waiter didn't ask how I'd like my eggs cooked so, silly me, I just assumed they'd be cooked how momma makes hers - I suppose you'd call it over easy. However, I think they sliced a hard boiled egg into it's bun-case. The idea was wonderful but the application was kinda sloppy. Had the egg had a runniness to it that would've been sopped up in the fluffy, cheesy bun, it would have been perfect; this version fell just short. But you can't fail with hashbrowns and that wonderful "hearty breakfast sausage." The biggest joy for me was that my fear of having heartburn that surpassed the desolation of Smaug was never realized!

We both ended up being so satisfied and utterly full that we had to skip Hobbit "dinner!" 

If you've got a Denny's franchise nearby, this is certainly worth a stop, if for nothing more than being a fun novelty to bring Middle Earth to your dining table. It would certainly be a good precursor or follow up to a screening of The Hobbit,  out December 13 (in US theaters). 

And according to this sci fi bloke, eating like a Hobbit is a great way to diet. No really, he kinda make sense. 

Happy Birthday, Food Network!

Food Network's Original Logo from 1993

I would easily consider myself, Jordan, my dad and sometimes my mom as foodies. We enjoy eating new food, we enjoy cooking with obscure ingredients and experimenting with flavors. But it wasn't always this way and I realized that one of the biggest influences on my life - not just what I ate, but how, when and what I learned to cook - was Food Network, who is celebrating their 20th birthday this month.

My parents have always kept me in the kitchen with them; there are pictures of me standing on a stool cooking and I won a blue ribbon at Mountain Heritage day as a five year-old with green beans I helped can. But I only owned one cookbook of my own, a children's version of the classic red-and-white-checkered Better Homes and Gardens classic cookbook. I enjoyed making dishes from it and memorized my first "signature dish," cornflake chicken, from within its very retro pages and realizing that I enjoyed cooking.

I was only five years-old when Food Network first started airing their food-laden programming, mostly talking about cooking and some segments with locally known chefs like Emeril Lagasse, and at that time we certainly did not have satellite or cable. I remember us starting to watch FN when I was in my tween years and I began to understand that there were so many flavors and techniques I'd never tried and that cooking (and eating) could be fun and exciting.

On a special birthday show aired this weekend, FN revealed that their most downloaded recipe is Alton Brown's baked mac n' cheese from his Good Eats show. I remember the first recipe I downloaded and made at home was from a Bobby Flay show where he visited a high school home ec class and taught the students how to make a braised pot roast. I copied his recipe and made some of my own changes to make a spicy, robust roast that my parents loved (ironically, my first FN dish was too hot for me to enjoy).

We'd always eaten traditional Southern food, inexpensive frozen foods and our ventures into the exotic and fancy were limited to occasional trips to Olive Garden and making copy-cat recipes with jars of alfredo sauce, frozen broccoli and canned chicken breast. Good Eats made the unfamiliar comfortable and brought new techniques and flavors into our home. Unwrapped brought us information about the production and development of our favorite foods. Jacques Torres transformed chocolate into art. How to Boil Water introduced us to Tyler Florence and taught us cooking basics. And Emeril brought "Bam!" into our vernacular.

Everyone changes as they grow up and of course our life has changed in obvious ways - my parents are more financially stable, the Internet puts everything at our finger tips, the racial make up of our area has changed and brought with it a change in grocery and restaurant offerings, and we've travelled more and met new people - but thinking back on it, I can't deny that FN was a major force in our culinary change. We've grown with FN from simple shows like Water that taught us how to pick good recipies and ingredients, to 30 Minute Meals that pushed us to be more organized and skilled, to creating our own recipies and thinking we could win Chopped.

A recent story of NPR's Weekend Edition discussed FN's growth and 20-year evolution and postulated that they may be tired and blase. But I couldn't disagree more. Between FN, FN magazine and Cooking Channel (owned by FN but with a hip, young, edgy vibe) there are programs for novice cooks, half-assed cooks (Sandra Lee, anyone?), big eaters, connoisseurs of food porn, reality tv junkies and lovers of good stories (check out CC's My Grandmother's Ravioli). I assert that as long as there are people - and especially families - who love to cook, shop, eat, drink and talk, there will be an audience for the Food Network.

Here's to 20 more years. Cheers!

Hidden Local Gem: Mindy's Cuban Restaurant

Jackson County, NC doesn't strike me, a native, as a culinary wonder and I do struggle to think of "great finds" to share with friends who visit. However, a recent addition - or expansion, really - is quite the gem.

Around a year ago, a bakery opened in one of the most poorly designed shopping centers known to man (this strip of shops is tucked behind the Zaxby's drive-thru with limited parking and visibility from the main road). Mindy's Bakery was owned by a Cuban family who made wonderful desserts from scratch. They offered giant slices of a variety of cheesecakes, puff pastries like eclairs and cream horns, custom cakes and a variety of sweets. I'd been there a few times but it was so out-of-the-way I often forgot about it, and then, like too many shops that have been sucked into the strip, it disappeared. 

But, this weekend, we found them again! They have moved and expanded to be not just a bakery, but a Cuban restaurant serving six+ entrees, a variety of Latin sides and their wonderful desserts. And this is exciting for several reasons: 

1. The desserts at Mindy's Bakery were great - who doesn't love scratch-made flan?
2. Jordan works at a deli whose signature sandwich is a Cuban (traditionally includes roasted pork, ham, mustard, pickles, crusty bread - all hot pressed) and we love to try other versions, especially authentic ones
3. The owners are a husband and wife team whose children run the front-of-house and one of the youngest (of their12 children), Andres, was recently a contestant on "The Next Food Network Star" which we watched religiously. We've spotted Andres around before, but never had a chance to talk to him, much less try his/his family's food.

For the locals, Mindy's is now located in East Sylva Shopping Center (why there are directional districts in a town of less than 30,000 I'll never know) beside Jack the Dipper and Robbie's Charburger. It's a discreet location but they have brought Caribbean brightness to the area. The door is painted a vibrant turquoise and there's vintage patio furniture and colorful benches outside. The interior of the restaurant features just as much Cuban flair with bright colors, vintage furnishing and fun retro styling with sheet metal. 

They focus on simplicity and authenticity at Mindy's. As I said before, their menu is small with three "meat entrees" and three sandwiches, along with sides like tostones, sweet plantains and beans and rice. We both ordered traditional Cubans with beans and rice that were made to order by the husband and wife. While we waited, we had a great talk with whichever chef wasn't manning the cook top at the time. Jordan and the owners discussed the finer points of Cuban sandwiches and I told them how I was already planning to come back to order tostones. 

Our $7.50 sandwiches arrived and were delicious and huge. In the traditional three compartment clamshell, they filled the large section to the brim with fresh black beans and rice, while the gigantic sandwich covered the other two compartments. And after hearing about my love of tostones (which are plantains that are fried, smushed flat and then fried again) they gave us a free order of the biggest, most flavorful tostones I've ever had. So my first suggestion for your trip to Mindy's: bring your appetite or a friend to share your meal with. 

They explained to us that they make their Cuban pork each day and marinate it in a homemade sauce, which they gave us a side of for taste-testing and tostone-dipping (ask for it!). The sauce is a tangy, garlic and citrusy blend that we think gets its body from tomatillos (since they were already talking shop with us, we didn't get too nosy about secret family recipes). While the flavoring is different, their pork reminded me so much of pork my family would can at home. It fell apart with the slightest touch and tasted like it had been cooked slowly with care.

Their bakery case is still impeccable; I can't wait to try the "flan-cake" that looks like a tres leches/flan hybrid! And they still do custom cakes and will be making some great dishes for Thanksgiving and Christmas (one will be a pecan caramel cheesecake pie!). And they're fine tuning their offerings and menu and will hopefully be adding some other traditional treats like Cuban coffee. 

Mindy's is only open Wednesday- Saturday (11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.) because the owners are full-time students, so get your Cuban fix while you can. We arrived right after opening on Saturday and mostly had the dining room to ourselves which gave us a lot of time to talk to the owners about their restaurant, their family and their food. And my second tip, straight from the owner: don't let their serious expressions fool you, they love to talk and are super friendly. As we were finishing up, more people started filtering in and placing huge orders and they had a sincere talk with everyone. 

I'm a full supporter of small businesses and want to see this family and their love-filled restaurant succeed. If you're a local or live or are traveling through Western North Carolina in general (I doubt there are five Cuban shops in all of WNC) pop into Mindy's. They are cooking their culture with their children and sharing inexpensive, huge, flavorful meals with their community. 

Emerging Cullowhee Restaurant Scene

This summer and fall has seen a rejuvenation of the Cullowhee restaurant scene with at least four new eating establishments opening in recent months.

This new life has been injected into the area largely due to the passage of liquor-by-the-drink legislation which allows for beer and wine to be sold  and for alcoholic drinks (including mixed liquor drinks) to be sold in restaurants and bars in a formerly dry part of the county. Being a college town, this is a boon for local business owners who can now expand their offerings to include alcohol and for restaurants to rake in the cash of college students (and probably their harried professors) with drink menus.

I had intended to make this post a positive triple review of three new local eateries: Sazon, Tuck's Tap & Grille and Cullowings. However, after trying all three (two of which I tried on multiple occasions), only one stands out as being a great deal, a beautiful restaurant, a unique find and offering numerous delicious dishes - Sazon.

Cullowings, as you can infer, is a sports bar-style wing joint. They offer burgers and sandwiches, but their premature claim to fame is their wide selection of beers and wing varieties. I've tried four of the wing flavors and they were all decent. Of the four I tried, I'd highly recommend their Polynesian flavor which offers a subtle pineapple-y sweetness with the smokiness of teriyaki sauce. However, this restaurant isn't particularly cheap (I go for wing nights that boast a less-than-50-cent wing) or fast (after 15 minutes of waiting, several of my wings were still pink) and I have no desire to ogle a foot-long beer menu or spend time with raucous frat boys watching a series of sporting events. But in a pinch, it's pretty good take out so I can drink my own cheap beer at home with only one boy and one tv.

Tuck's Tap & Grille has the same bar-feel as C-wings but with what I'm sure they consider to be more "elevated" dinner options. Like many casual dining restaurants, I would argue that Tuck's needs to find it's niche. A menu boasting salads, cold and hot sandwiches, pizzas, calzones, Stromboli and comfort food specials like meatloaf and lasagna desperately needs pared down - there are few Renaissance restaurants, more often they're Jacks of all trades and masters of none. Since our spectacular splurge at Ruth's Chris, I've been wanting chunks of bleu cheese all the time. I debated over Tuck's variety of sandwiches but couldn't resist their bacon and bleu burger that's "made from black angus beef." I will say the brioche bun was great with it's signature buttery sweetness, but apparently I ordered gray angus (that can't be what they mean by aged...can it?).  The group I went with said they were satisfied with their food, but I won't be the one suggesting we ever return.

Sazon is located in "old Cullowhee" which is highly contested as in dire need of renovation, improvement and new life. Many businesses have moved out, buildings have fallen into disrepair  and there are other easier and faster ways into campus. The space Sazon occupies has been a Mexican restaurant since...well, forever. In the '80s El Gato's was my pregnant mother's restaurant of choice. Throughout the past 25+ years, it's undergone many changes in name and ownership but has remained triumphantly a source of Mexican cuisine. I can't remember going to any of these restaurants and always thought that strip (with The HairPort, Red Skull Tattoos and now a package store) looked like a dive. However, I was pleasantly surprised the first time I entered Sazon.

It is brightly painted with beautiful Khalo-esque paintings with a Mexican folk art flair (including the most beautiful traditional calaverta and the picture below). The chairs are beautifully upholstered and the spacious tables leave lots of room for the ample portions of traditional Mexican fare. Being the mooch that I am and the people I dine with who allow me to eat off of their plates, I've been able to try a variety of dishes including vegetarian burritos, chile rellenos, salsa verde taquitos and more. All of the food is undeniably fresh - from the salsa with a pinch verdant chopped cilantro (normally my least favorite herb) to the creamy pinto beans - everything has the taste effort, precision and flair. And they pass my true test of quality Mexican restaurants - they have perfectly balanced, refreshing horchata. Horchata is a traditional drink in Latin America (and Spain) made of rice milk, vanilla and cinnamon; its one of the many aguas frescas you may see at Latin markets or restaurants in large glass vats. There are horrible powdered mixes and pre-packaged attempts at horchata but it's best made fresh (think fresh-squeezed orange juice vs. Sunny Delight). The horchata at Sazon is what I remember from trips to tiendas with my best friend in college. I have considered ordering horchata to-go from here for the nights we make Latin food on our own.

I highly recommend visiting this restaurant that offers refined plates of the semi-familiar but is much less Westernized than some other local restaurants or national chains. For $10 you can get a filling and flavorful meal that is presented beautifully in an equally elegant space.

But even beyond these three options, if you're in the area, explore our local restaurant scene - food service within campus buildings notwithstanding, there is only one chain restaurant in Cullowhee, everything else is locally owned and operated. So take a trip up to campus to visit the library or Mountain Heritage Museum or hit up the Cullowhee farmer's market on Wednesday evenings (5 p.m. behind The Mad Batter) to work up an appetite before trying the best eats around.