Let's talk about how to style a crudité platter. I serve some form of veggie appetizer at almost every party I host (like this Caesar Dip I made last week) and I'm always looking for new and interesting ways to arrange them. It doesn't take much to go above and beyond the typical store bought spread, I swear—just a cupboard raid and a quick stroll through the produce department...
Read moreRecipe (and Cookbook Review): Vidalia Spread
I am terribly embarrassed to admit that my Amazon cookbook wishlist contains 149 items. No small feat, considering the number I already own. Yet I continue to buy them, and still, I never seem to have enough. My mother calls it an addiction; Walt sees them as a pesky nuisance slowly taking over our house. Personally, I see the collection as an opportunity to learn and read, cook and grow. (And last time I checked, nobody judged doctors or lawyers for having too many medical journals or case studies lying around.)
For lovers of the written (food) word, December brings hundreds of new offerings just in time for the receiving giving season. Sadly, nobody seems to want to buy me a cookbook out of fear that I may already own it. I guess I can see where they're coming from, but it means my Amazon Prime account stays pretty active.
In the spirit of Christmas, I thought I'd tell you about a few new cookbooks worthy of giving. Ones that, in fact, I have already gifted myself. The first up, Around the Southern Table, is the latest from Athens, Georgia-based cookbook author Rebecca Lang. Lang paired up with the experts at Southern Living to produce what I think is her best book yet.
Lang's approach to Southern cooking is modern yet approachable; her recipes are precise and impeccably written. To be honest, I don't think I could have written a better cookbook myself. Around the Southern Table is packed with classic, seasonal dishes using fresh ingredients and no funky additives or cans of crap. It's the type of Southern cooking that I like to rally behind. It's what Southern cooking was meant to be.
If the other recipes are as good as this Vidalia Spread (and I'm sure they will be!), my copy will be dogeared and splattered for years to come. Go ahead and save yourself some trouble—buy two copies of Around the Southern Table. One for your favorite cook, and the other for yourself. You know you deserve it...
VIDALIA SPREAD
I tried this recipe for this year's SEC championship game, to sit alongside some of my entertaining heavy hitters. It was the first cleaned plate, and I'm not lying when I tell you, it went fast.I have sampled a lot of onion dips before, and this was definitely the best I've ever had. The welcome additions of goat cheese and fresh rosemary really took the flavors to the next level. This dip is definitely a welcome addition to my list of greatest hits.
Source: Southern Living's Around the Southern Table by Rebecca Lang
Serves: 6-8
4 bacon slices
2 Vidalia onions, diced (about 4 cups)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1⁄3 cup mayonnaise
4 ounces goat cheese
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary, plus more for garnish
1/8 teaspoon salt Crackers and crudités
Preheat oven to 350°. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat 5 minutes or until crisp; remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon.
Sauté onion in hot drippings over medium heat for 6 minutes or until translucent. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in cream cheese and next 5 ingredients. Spread into an ungreased 8-inch square baking dish.
Bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, and top with crumbled bacon. Let stand 5 minutes. Garnish, if desired. Serve warm with crackers and crudités.
Recipe courtesy of Southern Living's Around the Southern Table by Rebecca Lang. Reprinted with permission from Oxmoor House 2012.
I tried this recipe for this year's SEC championship game, to sit alongside some of my entertaining heavy hitters. It was the first cleaned plate, and I'm not lying when I tell you, it went fast.I have sampled a lot of onion dips before, and this was definitely the best I've ever had. The welcome additions of goat cheese and fresh rosemary really took the flavors to the next level. This dip is definitely a welcome addition to my list of greatest hits.
Source: Southern Living's Around the Southern Table by Rebecca Lang
Serves: 6-8
4 bacon slices
2 Vidalia onions, diced (about 4 cups)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1⁄3 cup mayonnaise
4 ounces goat cheese
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary, plus more for garnish
1/8 teaspoon salt Crackers and crudités
Preheat oven to 350°. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat 5 minutes or until crisp; remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon.
Sauté onion in hot drippings over medium heat for 6 minutes or until translucent. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in cream cheese and next 5 ingredients. Spread into an ungreased 8-inch square baking dish.
Bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, and top with crumbled bacon. Let stand 5 minutes. Garnish, if desired. Serve warm with crackers and crudités.
Recipe courtesy of Southern Living's Around the Southern Table by Rebecca Lang. Reprinted with permission from Oxmoor House 2012.
Recipe: Cowboy Corn Dip
Hey y'all, I've got a story up today at The Southern Coterie, all about the fabulous Emerald Coast along the Gulf of Mexico! I'm headed to Rosemary Beach for my bachelorette party next week, so it seemed like the perfect time to reflect. Give it a read, and check out my recipe for Cowboy corn dip (a family beach favorite) below:
Cowboy Corn Dip
Yields: 2 cups
For some reason, my family tends to lower our food standards when at the beach; it's the one time of year when the grocery cart becomes filled with all sorts of "junk"—cheap white bread, American cheese, gummy snacks, s'mores supplies, and sodas all become fair game!
Every day at lunchtime we drag ourselves away from the water just long enough to devour a ham sandwich and wash it down with an ice cold glass of Coke (or Corona). There’s always an appetizer on hand for snacking, too. Chips & salsa are no-brainers, but this corn dip is a Dozier family favorite. It’s quick, delicious, and just trashy enough to belong on the Redneck Riviera.
2 (7 ounce) cans Mexicorn, drained
4 ounces pepper jack cheese, grated
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 (4 ounce) can green chiles, drained
1 - 2 jalapenos, seeded and minced (or jalapeno relish, to taste)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Salt and cayenne pepper, to taste
Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until combined. (I use my stand mixer fitted with the beater blade.) Refrigerate for a minimum of four hours but preferably overnight to let flavors blend. Taste before serving and adjust seasonings if desired. Serve with Fritos corn or tortilla chips.
Kitchen note: This recipe is open to plenty of variation. Use fresh corn and red bell peppers if you prefer. I always have a jar of Wickles Sub Relish on hand and find it works perfectly for spicing up any dip, not to mention it’s much easier than dicing a jalapeno. Also, this recipe tastes best when you grate the cheese yourself—the waxy packaged shredded cheese just can’t compare.
Yields: 2 cups
For some reason, my family tends to lower our food standards when at the beach; it's the one time of year when the grocery cart becomes filled with all sorts of "junk"—cheap white bread, American cheese, gummy snacks, s'mores supplies, and sodas all become fair game!
Every day at lunchtime we drag ourselves away from the water just long enough to devour a ham sandwich and wash it down with an ice cold glass of Coke (or Corona). There’s always an appetizer on hand for snacking, too. Chips & salsa are no-brainers, but this corn dip is a Dozier family favorite. It’s quick, delicious, and just trashy enough to belong on the Redneck Riviera.
2 (7 ounce) cans Mexicorn, drained
4 ounces pepper jack cheese, grated
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 (4 ounce) can green chiles, drained
1 - 2 jalapenos, seeded and minced (or jalapeno relish, to taste)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Salt and cayenne pepper, to taste
Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until combined. (I use my stand mixer fitted with the beater blade.) Refrigerate for a minimum of four hours but preferably overnight to let flavors blend. Taste before serving and adjust seasonings if desired. Serve with Fritos corn or tortilla chips.
Kitchen note: This recipe is open to plenty of variation. Use fresh corn and red bell peppers if you prefer. I always have a jar of Wickles Sub Relish on hand and find it works perfectly for spicing up any dip, not to mention it’s much easier than dicing a jalapeno. Also, this recipe tastes best when you grate the cheese yourself—the waxy packaged shredded cheese just can’t compare.
Recipe: Pimento Cheese
Pimento Cheese-3
(My pimento cheese photos circa 2009 needed a little update. The excerpt below is taken from the recipe archives.)
I do not have fond memories of pimento cheese. When I was a child, we always had a carton of the unnaturally bright grocery store brand in the fridge, which my dad used to scoop onto anything he could get his hands on. Sometimes he would wave a day-glow orange sandwich under my nose, and I would run away screaming my little head off.
It wasn’t until college that I found an appreciation for this Southern staple. Every time my roommate Ben went home to Raleigh to visit his grandmother, he would return with a vat of from-scratch pimento cheese—you know, the real thing. I didn’t even know it could be homemade! I had always assumed it could only be processed in a mysterious factory off the New Jersey Turnpike, along with Twinkies and Moon Pies and other synthetic foods.
My roommates and I would stand blissfully around the kitchen counter slathering slices of Wonder Bread with the chunky spread, barely swallowing before attacking the next bite. That pimento cheese got us through quite a few Boone ice storms and continues to show up in vats in my refrigerator today. All I can say is, thank God for grandmas!
Pimento Cheese-1
PIMENTO CHEESE
Yields: 2 cups
I've been tweaking this pimento cheese recipe over the years and finally have it just the way I like it. Mine may have some ingredients that certain purists may snark at, but they're the ones missing out. Serve with crostini, saltines, or in a (white bread) sandwich.
1 (8 ounce) block sharp yellow cheddar cheese, grated
1 (8 ounce) block white cheddar cheese, grated
1 (4 ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 (4 ounce) jar diced pimientos, drained
1/2 cup mayonnaise (Duke's or Hellmann's only)
1 tablespoon pickle juice
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
A few big splashes of Worcestershire sauce
Kosher salt and white pepper, to taste
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or with a handheld mixer), beat the shredded cheeses, cream cheese, pimientos, mayonnaise, pickle juice, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce until completely combined. Season with kosher salt and pepper to taste.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours to allow flavors to marry, but bring to room temperature before serving.
Yields: 2 cups
I've been tweaking this pimento cheese recipe over the years and finally have it just the way I like it. Mine may have some ingredients that certain purists may snark at, but they're the ones missing out. Serve with crostini, saltines, or in a (white bread) sandwich.
1 (8 ounce) block sharp yellow cheddar cheese, grated
1 (8 ounce) block white cheddar cheese, grated
1 (4 ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 (4 ounce) jar diced pimientos, drained
1/2 cup mayonnaise (Duke's or Hellmann's only)
1 tablespoon pickle juice
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
A few big splashes of Worcestershire sauce
Kosher salt and white pepper, to taste
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or with a handheld mixer), beat the shredded cheeses, cream cheese, pimientos, mayonnaise, pickle juice, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce until completely combined. Season with kosher salt and pepper to taste.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours to allow flavors to marry, but bring to room temperature before serving.
Recipe: Dixie Caviar
Dixie Caviar Recipe_new I-2
One of my first posts here at Dixie Caviar was obviously the recipe for its namesake. The blog (and the recipe) has come a long way since those humble beginnings, so it seemed time to give the original post a fresh new look. Here it is again, folks, Dixie Caviar in all its Southern glory. Four years later and it continues to please...
Dixie Caviar Recipe-2
(The excerpt below is taken from the '09 recipe archives.)
"So what the heck is Dixie Caviar?"
Yes, I get that one a lot. And no, Dixie Caviar is not some fluffy-sounding name that conceals an otherwise nasty animal product—trust me, it is no rocky mountain oysters. Dixie Caviar is actually a crazy-easy, crazy-addictive appetizer made famous here in the South. (Southerners have an amazing ability to "fancify" anything we get our hands on, canned black-eyed peas included.) You may have heard it called Texas, or Cowboy, Caviar; either way, it's delicious no matter the name.
Dixie Caviar was introduced to me by my boyfriend fiance's sweet mother Tina the very first time we met. I was hooked after just one bite; it may be simple but damn it sure does pack a flavor punch. (It's no wonder that it's her signature appetizer.) Tina sent me back to Los Angeles with the recipe in tow, and it has definitely earned its fair share of sky miles. No future barbecue or birthday party shall ever be without it again!
Little did I know that it would one day inspire the very title of this blog. Talk about an Aha! moment—Dixie Caviar was the first name to come to mind, and it was the last. (Why keep looking when you've already found perfection?) Of course I love the appetizer, but more importantly the name perfectly represents my style in the kitchen: little bit country, a little bit 'Cal. It's a double whammy, for sure.
Dixie Caviar Recipe_new I-3
DIXIE CAVIAR
Yields: 3 cups
Dixie Caviar is the perfect dip for outdoor parties and tailgates because it keeps forever and you don't have to worry about it going bad. The best part? There's never any left! Use this recipe as a "kitchen sink"—I don't think I've ever made the same batch twice. I've used black beans, canned pimentos, scallions, shallots, and more. Throw in whatever you have on hand!I've tried to gussy it up before with homemade Italian dressing, but it's just not as good. Suck it up and buy a bottle.
1 can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 cup fresh or frozen yellow corn (thawed if frozen)
1 small red onion or 2 large shallots
1 small red bell pepper, diced small
1 small green bell pepper, diced small
3/4 cup Italian salad dressing (I use Kraft Zesty Italian)
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Chill for an hour before serving to let the flavors combine. Serve with Lay's Classic potato chips or tortilla chips.
Yields: 3 cups
Dixie Caviar is the perfect dip for outdoor parties and tailgates because it keeps forever and you don't have to worry about it going bad. The best part? There's never any left! Use this recipe as a "kitchen sink"—I don't think I've ever made the same batch twice. I've used black beans, canned pimentos, scallions, shallots, and more. Throw in whatever you have on hand!I've tried to gussy it up before with homemade Italian dressing, but it's just not as good. Suck it up and buy a bottle.
1 can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 cup fresh or frozen yellow corn (thawed if frozen)
1 small red onion or 2 large shallots
1 small red bell pepper, diced small
1 small green bell pepper, diced small
3/4 cup Italian salad dressing (I use Kraft Zesty Italian)
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Chill for an hour before serving to let the flavors combine. Serve with Lay's Classic potato chips or tortilla chips.
Dixie Caviar Recipe_new I-4