Pinterest Test #1: Pumpkin Spice Cake!

Ahh, Fall in Mississippi. The 80 degree days. The 50 degree days. It is rare that we ever actually have a true fall. Usually, the temperature fluctuates to either end of the scale until winter hits in full force some time in January. Many times, I've found myself kind of creating my own fall with pumpkin picking, fall festivals, and of course, pumpkin spice anything!

Now that November has hit, we are in the holiday hustle as I call it. We will be going non-stop until next year with parties, activities, shopping, cooking--oh, the cooking! Last year, I cooked so much that my poor pregnant self had to call in to work the next day! Well, I'm not letting that happen this year. I am going to simplify everything. I'm planning to finish everything ahead of schedule this year-- we are taking Christmas pictures this weekend, and I vow to be done shopping by Cyber Monday!

In the spirit of simplifying, I have tested out a Pinterest recipe that I'm sure if you have spent any time on the site, you've noticed floating around: the "two ingredient pumpkin spice cake!" It was actually three ingredients, and delicious! What really makes it, though, is the delectable buttercream icing--to which I added cinnamon and nutmeg. This cake was so simple and quick, I had to keep checking myself to ensure that I didn't miss a step!

All you need for the cake is three eggs, one can of pumpkin puree, and one box of spice cake mix. For the frosting: 4 ounces of cream cheese, teaspoon each of vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, two cups of powdered sugar, 1/3 cup of cold butter, and a tablespoon of milk. That's seriously how simple this is. I was terrified to try this frosting, because the last time I tried to make buttercream, it literally melted. But this time, I figured out where I went wrong: I used room temperature butter and cream cheese. So, make sure your ingredients are COLD, but not hard. Just barely softened. For the cake, be sure not to over-cook it or it will become dry quickly, and grease your pan very well with either butter and flower, or cooking spray. I originally wanted to make this a two-tier cake, but I'm glad I didn't because the cake and frosting would not have held up. So be sure to do this in a sheet cake pan or 9x13 dish.

I totally cheated on my diet for this. Worth it.

For the cake: 

3 eggs

1 can pumpkin puree

1 box spice cake mix

For the frosting: 

4 oz cream cheese

1/3 cup butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tblsp milk

Pre-heat oven to 350. Grease pan with butter and dust flower on top. Mix together eggs, pumpkin, and cake mix. Pour into baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely before frosting it.

For the frosting: 

Cream together butter and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and blend together. Mix in milk. Refrigerate until ready to use. 

Comfort Food: Quicky Red Beans and Rice

    Until I became pregnant with Anniston, I never really had a go-to comfort food. Don't get me wrong, I loved food--always have, always will--but I hated it when I was asked what my favorite food was. When I met my husband, one of the first things he clued me in to about himself was his love affair with homemade, Velveeta mac and cheese. So, now I know what to make for him when he's sick, or having a rough week. But it occurred to me-- what about me? What do I like? What's my go-to? What is the one food that, without fail, will put a smile on my face and a warmth in my belly? 

         It took getting pregnant, but I finally found my comfort food. And it's not just one dish-- it's two. I discovered two wonderful recipes when I was pregnant, and fell in love: quick red beans and rice, and crock pot beouf bourguignon. There's something about that gravy in beouf bourguignon--that deep burgundy juice flowing over steaming mashed potatoes. Juicy little jewels of baby bella mushrooms and gems of carrots nestled in between tender pieces of meat. Yeah, I'm going to have to share my secret recipe with ya'll at some point. But, I digress. To the recipe at hand: quick red beans and rice.

Mouthwatering, I tell ya.

       When I found this recipe, I was around six months pregnant, and having one of those off the wall cravings for red beans and rice. I was never, ever a red beans and rice eater until this point. All the recipes I found for authentic red beans and rice involved soaking dried beans over night and stewing the pot for hours on end. Well, as any woman who has ever been hungry and pregnant can tell you, "Ain't nobody got time fo dat." Finally, I stumbled across DeepSouthDish, and my world as I knew it changed forever. You can find the original version here. This recipe is super quick, super easy, and so, so delicious. I'm telling you, there is absolutely nothing better to warm a cold body on a chilly day than a big bowl of this stuff. Ah, just typing about it makes my mouth water! I literally stood over the pot with my spoon and had second helpings as I attempted to pack my husband's lunch. This stuff is my weakness, hands down. Okay, that's been enough gushing. But seriously, you just have to try this out.
So, I've changed only a couple things from the original recipe--I omitted the bacon this time for my budget's sake, used a teaspoon of minced garlic, and used a cup of frozen mirepoix blend instead of fresh. I usually prefer to chop my own fresh veggies, but with Anni going through a "hold me" phase, I just don't have enough hands to do all that. Also, if you can't find cream style red beans, just mash a can of red beans until it looks like refried beans.
You might be wondering what a mirepoix blend is. This is what the coon heads down in Louisiana call the "Holy Trinity": celery, onion, and bell pepper. Sometimes, it is celery, onion, and carrot. It just depends on the recipe. Mirepoix is the building block for most Cajun recipes, and is usually the base for stocks and sauces. Now, on with the recipe.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound Andouille sausage, or other spicy sausage

1 cup frozen mirepoix blend, or: 1/3 cup each of chopped onion, celery, bell pepper

1 teaspoon minced garlic, or two cloves of fresh garlic, chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning, or to taste. Go easy on it-- it's salty. (I used Slap Ya Mama, but Tony's might be easier to find.)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 bay leaves

2-3 cans of light or dark red kidney beans, undrained

1 can Blue Runner brand Creole cream style red beans

1 cup of low sodium chicken broth

Cut up sausage on the bias. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large pot (I used a dutch oven), and saute sausage until slightly golden. Add mirepoix and cook until soft. Add seasonings. Stir in all the beans and chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook uncovered for about 20 minutes, until slightly reduced and thickened. Serve over white rice on a cold, fall day! 

That's it for this week. I've started a diet, and I'm allowing myself to have one indulgence a week, so it looks like this is it! Next week, I'm thinking about trying something from my Duck Dynasty cook book--it was a gift, don't judge! Alrighty, see ya'll next week!

Love and Cornbread, 

Amber

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Breakfast Casserole and Wedding Bells

The morning after any wedding is usually pretty tough. Back before Anni came along, it usually consisted of a lingering taste of cheap wine and sore dancing feet. This morning, however, it is a lingering case of heartburn (I know, I know), and sore shoulders from carrying around a 20 pound child all night. My brother's wedding was beautiful, and they were surrounded by friends and family who love them deeply. We had fun being with family, eating good food, and I even got to see my parents dance--a first for me! The bride rode in on her beautiful horse, and my brother walked in to the theme from Game of Thrones. We all got a kick out of that. 

The menu was southern food at it's finest (or most cliche, perhaps): pulled pork sandwiches, mac and cheese, coleslaw, sweet tea. The mac and cheese was smoked in a smoker, much liked baked mac. It tasted great, but no different than regular baked mac and cheese. I'll have to look up a recipe for it and see what I can do about that, maybe. The cakes were wonderful. My mom found a lady who bakes cakes for certain people, and she ordered a Milky Way cake and a red velvet. They were delicious!  

The Newlyweds

My parents

   A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into the set up of the whole thing, that's for sure. My parents really worked hard to make sure the property was perfect for the wedding. Anni and I stayed the night before to help my mom with errands and set up, and I volunteered to make a breakfast casserole for the morning of the wedding. I come from a big family, all with an even bigger appetite, so what I do know about cooking for my family is that a dish needs to be a few things: quick, easy, hearty, meaty, and abundant. This casserole is all that, and then some. Bear in mind that I made this to serve my big family and a few very hungry boys, so this recipe may be halved. So, without further adue, let us begin. 

The main star, topped with strawberry fig preserves.

1 lb mild sausage

1 can crescent rolls

2 c shredded cheddar

2 c hash browns, thawed

12 medium eggs

1 to 2 teaspoons dill

salt and pepper to taste

First, brown the sausage and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain (I did this step the night before.) Spray a 9x13 dish with non-stick cooking spray. Roll out the crescents into the bottom of the pan, and press the seams together. Pour the sausage on top of the crescents. Beat together eggs, salt, pepper, dill. Fold in cheese and thawed hashbrowns. Pour the mixture over the sausage. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to one hour-- just until it is golden and bubbly. Top with jam or preserves of your choice! 

That's it for this week! I have no clue what I'm doing next week, so if you have any suggestions, leave a comment! Ya'll have a great week!

Love and Cornbread, 

Amber

Getting Fresh (Salsa)

Happy Saturday! Today marks a special occasion, the end of an era: my little brother, Taylor, is getting married! I can't believe we're already here! It seems like just yesterday I was pouring mud down his pants and yelling at him to get out of my room.

Both of my brothers--Taylor is on the left.

I wish him and his fiance Maddie lots of happiness, hugs, and love. I know they are both excited to begin this new journey together! Their nuptials will be held on my parents' land, down in the "holler" as we call it, the same place we held mine. It's so beautiful down there! It seriously looks like a fairy glen! 

From my wedding--was I lying? Gorgeous. (Thanks Mom and Dad)

 I plan to have a bonus post tomorrow, consisting of the breakfast casserole I will be fixing for all of us who are helping with the wedding.  For today, I have decided to share a fresh salsa recipe with ya'll. Anni and I went to the fruit stand early the other morning when it was still cool and only senior citizens were out and about. It was lovely. 

So many pretty tomatoes.

 It makes a whole lot, so I was able to take some down to my Mom's and share it with that whole bunch. Of course, I would have liked to do a canned version, but honestly, canning makes me nervous and I've never done it before, so I'd probably be afraid to eat it. This is one of the few times I've actually used my blender since receiving it at Christmas! I'm super excited! Last time, I used it for hummus. I'll have to share that recipe here one day. This also marks the end of my tomato series, and the end of summer recipes. Betcha didn't know I was doing a "tomato series," did you? 

Loading the blender. It was so pretty! 

A couple notes on this recipe: I omit the jalapenos, but use extra anaheim peppers. Also, make sure to use a food processor to CHOP your veggies. I used my blender and ended up with spicy tomato pulp. But, it's still tasty. To core tomatoes, use a small paring knife and just cut in a circle around the core of the tomato until it just sort of pops out. 

Cored tomato

We'll just call this restuarant style...

 Okay, enough talk. Here's the juice: 

4 lbs tomatoes, cored

1/2 bunch cilantro, or per taste

1 lrg onion

3 garlic cloves

1 lime 

2 anaheim peppers

up to 3 jalapenos, or to taste

1 tblspn season salt

1 tblspn salt

1 tspn chili powder

1 tspn black pepper

Coarsely chop all veggies, removing seeds from peppers. Add garlic and cilantro to food processor and chop finely. Next, add onion, peppers, and chop coarsely. Add tomatoes, juice from one lime, salt, season salt, chili powder, and pepper. Chop to desired chunkiness. Refrigerate until ready to use! Great with tortilla chips, on tacos, atop eggs, crowning steak, you name it! 

See ya'll Sunday! 

Love and cornbread, 

Amber 

Tomato Pie, or, Things are Better When They Fall Apart

Happy Saturday, ya'll! Wow, another week has flown by already, and here we are, almost at the end of October. This marks Anniston's seventh month. Seven months of lightening-fast learning, seven months of diapers, seven months of kisses, seven months of cuddles. My how time flies! 

So, this week I've made a southern, classic: tomato pie. I've never had one before, but I decided I would attempt it. I adapted this recipe from a couple different ones, the main one being a Mississippi cook book. Those, and church cook books are always the best ones. They're filled with the old family heirloom recipes. This particular pie had great flavor, but something went wrong and it fell apart on me. It was quite disappointing, actually. I guess that is why I started this blog, so that I could learn how to cook! After all, Mamma always said things just taste better when they fall apart. hmm.

It turned out a bit sloppier than I wanted, but I'm quite proud of myself for assembling an entire pie with a 20 pound baby in my arm! (not in one of those fancy slings, either. although, mine is on the way. it's back ordered, darnit.) In order to keep it together, I probably should have cooked it a little bit longer. I became impatient and took it out early. I'm guilty of that on more than one occasion.  Also, I forgot to salt my tomatos while they were resting on the paper towels. That would have drawn some excess moisture out. So, don't do what I do. Also, don't burn your bacon like I did. I mean, who burns bacon? 

You can use green onions instead of vidalia onions, and you could add some to the mayo mixture as well. Use as much or as little bacon and cheese as you like. I found that I needed a bit more bacon than the recipe called for. Pre-cook your pie crust, but only a tiny little while. I over cooked mine at first and I think that's what set it up to burn in the second stage of cooking. And here's the most important tip I can give: use Blue Plate mayo. None of that other crap. In the beginning, God created Blue Plate, and He saw that it was good. 

Pre-cooked pie crust. Notice the burn spots? 

Lay out the tomatoes.

First, slice your tomatoes. You'll need 3 medium size, or 4 small. I used 4 small and had a few slices left over. Lay out your slices on a paper towel lined cookie sheet, sprinkle with salt, and cover with another paper towel.

While you're doing that, go ahead and start pre-cooking your pie crust, bacon, and onions. Cook the onions in the bacon drippings. If you're using green onions, skip this step. When the pie crust is done, pre-heat the oven to 350. 

Ok, here's the meat of the recipe: 

9 inch pie crust

3 medium or 4 small tomatoes

2 cups grated cheddar

Small vidalia onion or chopped green onions

4-5 slices of bacon. 

1 cup Blue Plate Mayo

Garlic powder

Salt

Pepper

Basil

Start with a layer of grated cheese into pre-cooked pie crust. On top of that, add a layer of tomatoes. Sprinkle with pepper, basil, garlic powder to taste. Add to that a layer of bacon and onions. Top with a sprinkle of cheese. Repeat layering process. 

In a separate bowl, combine mayo, basil, pepper, 1 cup shredded cheese, and green onions if you're using them. Spread mayo mixture on top of pie. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. Let the pie rest for 15 minutes--it's going to be hard to resist that bubbling pie, but trust me, that puppy needs its rest. Serve as a main course with a side salad, or as a side dish. It would also make a wonderful brunch entree, as it reminded me of an eggless quiche. 

Layering. I love that deep red!

The sloppy, delicious monster. 

Well, that's it, folks. After my pie fell apart along with my pride, I'm treating myself to a bloomin' onion at the steak house tonight. See ya'll next week! 

Love and Cornbread, 

Amber

Fried Green Tomatoes: The food, not the movie

Well, Anni and I finally made the treck down to my mom's house to soak up some of these Indian Summer rays of sunshine. While we were there, we just had to take advantage of mom's late crop of tomatoes and blueberries. Mom showed me her tricks to the most juicy, crunchy fried green tomatoes, and I tested out a recipe for blueberry cake. 

I mean, look at this beauty.

Of course, I had hoped that my first recipe post would be my grandma's cornbread, but I feel like we are in a race to savor this late crop of tomatoes. Hopefully next week I'll be able to share a tomato pie recipe that I found in an old Mississippi cook book. I'm so excited about that one! 

Here we go: 

First, you want to slice your tomatoes thinly, but not too thin. Just enough to be fleshy and juicy, and not so thick that they make the batter soggy. 

Gorgeous!

You want to be heating your oil in a cast iron skillet on medium high heat. Use just enough oil as to not overlap the tomatoes. You'll know it's ready when a bit of batter dropped into the oil begins to sizzle. Like this: 

For the batter, whisk together one egg, about 1/3 c. of milk, salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste. It's not an exact science, trust me. Set that bowl aside. In a separate bowl, mix together self rising flour (we used Martha White), salt, pepper, creole seasoning (I prefer Tony's), and garlic powder all to taste. We prefer lots of pepper. Dip the tomato slices into the egg mixture first, then dredge them through the flour mixture, and repeat to give it a double layer of crunch. Drop into the hot oil, being sure to drop in a motion away from your body so as not to splatter the oil. 

Mom tip: don't over crowd the pan with tomatoes--which means, don't allow them to touch. Like so: 

Bubbly, greasy goodness.

Fry tomatoes for a couple minutes on each side. We're not trying to cook it through, just crisping up that golden, delicious batter. When the tomatoes are done, transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. For your consecutive batches, keep an eye on the temperature of the oil. This is where I usually run into my issues. After the first batch, the oil will get hotter and hotter, so just keep tweaking the dial to keep that oil under control. Allow the tomatoes to rest for a couple minutes--you don't want a mouth full of hot green tomato juice--and we're all done! The perfect appetizer or side dish for your Indian Summer lunch: 

Mississippi Gold

And for that blueberry cake, you can find the recipe I used here. The only thing I would suggest that the recipe leaves out is to drizzle a glaze over the top when it's fresh out of the oven. The cake itself wasn't all that sweet--but maybe that's just my Mississippi sweet tooth talkin'. It was a great use for all those blueberries we can't seem to get rid of, and it makes for a wonderful breakfast cake. 

For the glaze: 

1 cup of confectioners sugar

1 & 1/2 tblsp water or milk

1/4 tspn vanilla extract

Whisk all together and drizzle over cake with a spoon. 

Coat the berries in a tblsp of flour--how pretty!
 

I only had time to dust with powdered sugar. Later on, I added the glaze.

So that's it for this week! Me and Anni had so much fun at Mom's house. She, along with most of my family, live about an hour south of us, out in the country. It's nice to get away from city--especially in the heat of summer when all the asphalt seems to intensify the humidity and temperature. 

Next week, I'll try my hand at that tomato pie. Honestly, I've never had one but I'm so excited to try! I always do a mad dash for produce around this time of year, before the prices go up and the quality goes down. 

Thanks for reading! See ya'll next week! 

Love and Cornbread, 

Amber

Mom holding Anniston while I fed her raspberries.  

       Cornbread. A simple dish one would assume would turn out quite nicely as long as you followed the recipe. Boy, was I wrong! According to my grandma, the skillet makes all the difference. Not just any old cast iron skillet will do, either. It must be a perfectly seasoned, perfectly worn, perfectly loved cast iron skillet. This skillet of legend must be passed down from generation to generation, continually building layers of love, grease, and goodness. That, my friends, is the secret to the best cornbread this side of the Mississippi. And it is the secret to the best biscuits, too.

My Grandma, Lois

       Welcome to My Grandma's Skillet. This is my maiden post, my first ever blog post, so forgive me if it doesn't seem just right. First, some introductions. My name is Amber. I'm a first time mom to a seven month old little girl, Anniston (aka Anni). Wife to David, a hotel manager, and belly scratcher to our pound puppy, Cassie. We live in central Mississippi, where I was born and raised. My husband is a transplant from Orlando. Talk about culture shock! 

David and Me

Anniston

Cassie

       I am starting this blog as a means to chronicle my journey of learning how to cook in the south. Yes, that's right, I did not come from the womb knowing how to make the perfect pecan pie or fried chicken. In fact, my mama never really taught me how to cook. Sure, she showed me a few basics, like how to frost a cake and how to make scrambled eggs. But she herself was never taught to cook. She had to find her way as well, and has never considered herself a chef by any means.

My Mama

       So, here I am, in a Julie and Julia type of scenario, desperately wanting to learn. A few first things on my list are cornbread, skillet biscuits, chess squares, chicken and dumplings, chocolate pie, and consommé rice. Yes, these all sound very simple, but trust me, no recipe on Pinterest can replace just how Grandma used to make it. I am setting out to learn just the right way to make that magic happen.

       Along with learning my grandma's recipes, I will also be testing out Pinterest recipes that I find interesting. Want to know if that viral pumpkin spice muffin is any good before you go out and buy the ingredients? I'll be testing it out to see. This could very easily turn into a "Pinterest Fails" blog.

       I'm also considering adding a "Restaurant Review" day. Although, unless you live in Mississippi, I suppose that wouldn't be very helpful. But I promise to post lots of food porn from said restaurant! So there's that. And who knows, maybe I'll attempt to recreate the recipe, or get a back stage pass to the kitchen a la Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. Hey, that's not a bad idea. I hope to make a post every Saturday. As I begin to add more "days" like, Pinterest day, Restaurant Review Day, I will dedicate a specific day of the week for that as well.    

       I am so thrilled to be sharing this journey with you! I promise to always keep my recipe posts short and sweet and to the point. I promise to never ever air my dirty laundry. I promise to pay close attention to the comments and to send bullies packing. I promise to adhere to my posting schedule, unless something crazy happens. I promise to never sound pretentious. I promise to always give credit where credit is due. I promise to entertain, enlighten, encourage, and whatever other "en" words.

       Thank you for joining me on this voyage. I look forward to many happy, learning-filled days ahead.

Love and Cornbread,

Amber

Grandma doing what she loves, eating fried catfish.