RIVER CITY DINER
Greetings!
What a blessing to have been raised in Memphis by a country cook who knew what she was doing. Good cooking was just a way of life in our household and among our extended family. My mother prepared the best fried chicken in Tipton County (We grew up in Memphis, but our reunions were in Tipton County.) according to my aunts, uncles, cousins, and great aunts & uncles; I have no reason to doubt their words of praise. I saw at every family reunion whose chicken was the first to go. And my mother wasn’t the only good cook in our house.
My daddy was a master at the grill and could throw together a variety of tasty snacks inside as well. He specialized in oyster stew & Bleu Cheese Dressing; and sitting down with Daddy as we built snacks of smoked oysters, cheeses, crackers, olives, and anything else he could scrape together was a banquet in itself.
The blog entries below come from recipes we enjoy around our household; from recipes I’ve yet to try; from recipes given me by friends and family, and things I’ve read about on line or in real print. Yes, I do still subscribe to magazines that come in the mail. Also there are posts about cooking equipment, techniques, sources for more information, etc. I hope you find something of interest. By all means, feel free to write
Easter Dinner!
Sam had to work so we didn't make big plans for dinner; but then he called and said he'd "like to drop by for a while," and of course he suggested dinner would be nice. Fortunately the stores were still open (Foodarama had announced they would close at 6pm.) So I...
Seared Ahi Tuna
Our neighbor, Chef Joel St. John, treats us now and then to his wonderful cooking. Almost as good, is he sometimes treats us to some of his ingredients and lets us do the cooking. (Not that he didn't volunteer to cook for us; he did.) This time, it was some beautiful...
Shrimp Po Boy
There are a million recipes for po-boys out there. I borrowed heavily from Emiril for this one. Don't be afraid to try different recipes and modify to suit your tastes. Ingredients 1 lb. fresh shrimp; peeled and deveined 1 tsp. cayenne 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. black...
Stuffed Mushrooms
I make up stuffed mushrooms from time to time and really don't have a set recipe for them. But usually it is something like this. This time, I did these in the Nuwave Oven. No, I'm not selling Nuwave Ovens, but I do find mine to be useful. After 10 minutes in the...
Sausage Meat Balls
I made some Italian sausage meat balls the other day and I felt like I needed to add a binder. I had no bread crumbs on hand, but I did have some oat meal. To my surprise a few raisins had somehow gotten into the box of oatmeal and then found their way into the balls...
Stewed Onions, with Kale and Turnips
I threw this one together in a 12" skillet that has a nice tight fitting lid. It's a joy cooking with that skillet. And it's a joy cooking fresh veggies for Sherry. She loves me to do this. Ingredients 5-6 small onions; peeled and cut in half (quartered if desired;...
Wailted Kale and Spinach with Ham
It's so much fun cooking for Sherry; and it's easy too. She loves fresh vegetables - especially fresh leafy greens. This is a winner, and the whole thing takes only a few minutes once the greens are cleaned. Ingredients 1 bunch fresh spinach; stems removed; rinsed...
Wilted Spinach with Broccoli and Asparagus
The neat thing about this meal is I cooked it with three different appliances; and if you REALLY want to jazz things up, fire up the broiler and toast some ham and cheese on French bread to make it four. If you don't have a Nuwave, just experiment with what you do...
Chinese "Stir Fry" Casserole
I started out with a casserole in mind; but I didn't want to put in any sort of starch binder like rice or pasta. But I DID want some cheese. And PLENTY of mushrooms. What resulted turned out tasting like a Chinese stir-fry with cheese. It was delicious. And it was...
Fish with Clam and Mushroom Sauce
I picked up a nice Red Snapper filet today and figured I'd make some sort of sauce to smother it in. I tried this, and the sauce was as good or better than the snapper. Ingredients 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced 4 cloves of garlic, minced 2 shallots, chopped 1...