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
More on Pizza
Yes, I admit it. I stole this directly from the Washington Post as a service to my loyal readers. Ingredients 1 1/4 cups warm water (between 100 and 110 degrees), plus more as needed1 small packet active dry yeast1/2 teaspoon sugar3 1/2 cups flour, plus more as needed...
How Hot Is That Fire?
In The Barbecue! Bible, Steven Raichlen recommends the "Mississippi test" for those who don't have grill thermometers. Hold your hand about 6 inches above the coals or gas fire and count "one Mississippi, two Mississippi," etc., until the heat causes you to pull away....
Mike Kirkpatrick’s Slaw Dressing
Back in the old days, when we were working our way through college, we used to gather at friends' houses each Friday night for pot luck, music, and good old fashioned adult-dose partying. As Grace Slick used to say, . . . Well, on second thought, maybe I better not go...
Mike Kirkpatrick’s Slaw Dressing
Back in the old days, when we were working our way through college, we used to gather at friends' houses each Friday night for pot luck, music, and good old fashioned adult-dose partying. As Grace Slick used to say, . . . Well, on second thought, maybe I better not go...
Boudin Stuffed Bell-Peppers
Okay, I know that we usually see it spelled "Boudin," but for some reason, Zummo's spells it "Boudain." I got this recipe off a package of their smoked "Boudain," and it's a real winner. Well, I modified it a bit by adding onion, chopped pepper parts, and egg. Plus, I...
Southwestern Cornbread Salad
Our friend, Kathy, brought this to our vestry meeting in June. She got the recipe from Southern Living Magazine. It's delicious! Indgreients 1 (6 ounce) package Mexican cornbread mix 1 (0.4 ounce) envelope Ranch-style buttermilk salad dressing mix 1 small head romaine...
Fig Preserves
This fig tree is in our back yard. We cut it all the way down to the ground once, and it came back even bigger than ever. Each summer around late June, we begin racing the birds to get the figs. They get some, and we get some. [Click here for larger view.] Ingredients...
Apple Custard Pie
Mother made this up from a bunch of apples we brought up on our visit to Tennessee. It's delicious. I'm not much on making desserts, but this one is so good, I thought I'd share it. Mother got this recipe from a cookbook published by First United Methodist...
Fish Tacos – with Corn Meal
Okay, I know. Here we are blogging about fish tacos again. Well, it's like anything else that's good; it's worth revisiting. I may have hit on the "Power Taco" tonight. Like before, I cut the fish into little-finger size strips (Thinner than that really. Let's...
Fig Preserves Again
We did another 10 pints of figs last night. I'm getting pretty good at this. I didn't make nearly as big a mess as I did the first night. That makes 17 pints in 2 nights, and we still have a couple of dozen left over from last year. I'm thinking all the priests at...