Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
- Chocolate
- Bourbon
- Pecans
- Gravy
- Cornmeal –crusted anything
The recipe I am going to share today contains three of these ingredients and is truly slap your Mamaw—unless you had a Mamaw like mine who would slap back—delicious! The recipe calls for a pre-made frozen pie crust, but feel free to make your own homemade crust if you feel like raising the bar a notch or two. As a life-long underachiever, I am content to use the pre-made crust. Either way, this pie is divine.
½ c. brown sugar
4 eggs, beaten
¼ c. bourbon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. light corn syrup
½ c. butter
¼ tsp. salt
Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 c. pecan halves
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a small saucepan, combine the sugars, corn syrup and butter. Cool over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter melts and the sugars dissolve. Cool slightly.
In a large bowl, combine eggs, bourbon, vanilla and salt. Mix well. Slowly pour the sugar mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Stir in pecans.
Pour chocolate chips onto the pie crust, covering the entire bottom with a single layer of chips. Pour mixture into pie shell. Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until set and golden.
May be served warm or chilled.
Summer Barbecue
- Always consider the venue when choosing shoes. Our barbecue was outside so we strayed away from heels and chose wedges/flats.
- Consider the weather and dress accordingly.
- Choose articles of clothing that fit properly to ensure maximum comfort.
- Have fun! Life was not meant for boring outfits!
Strawberry Yogurt Cake with Lemon Glaze: a Guest Post from Picture Perfect Cooking
When I got the opportunity to guest post at HerKentucky, I really wanted to use local ingredients in the dish. You can’t get much more local than strawberries that grew a couple of miles from your house and eggs fresh from your grandmother’s farm, can you? This cake has a delicious flavor with a moist texture that is highlighted by the sweet tart of lemon glaze. The recipe originated from Tide and Thyme and I found it on Pinterest.
Strawberry Yogurt Cake with Lemon Glaze
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour, divided
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- 8 oz. plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 12 oz. sliced strawberries (thawed frozen berries or fresh will work)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees the grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan. Sift together 2 ¼ cups flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in the lemon zest.
Cream the butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, and then stir in 1 tbsp. lemon juice. Alternate adding the flour and yogurt, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. ;Add the buttermilk and vanilla. Mix until combined.
If you are using frozen strawberries, drain as much of the juice off as possible and toss with the remaining ¼ cup flour. Add them to the batter and gently combine. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.]
Cool for 10 minutes in the pan then turn out on to your cake plate to cool completely. To prepare the glaze, whisk the powdered sugar into the remaining lemon juice. When the cake has cooled, slice and drizzle with the glaze.
Gazpacho
This summer, I've spent a lot of time in the garden.
I've planted, weeded, watered, and tended. And I'm pretty pleased with the results.
This is the first year that I've moved my herbs out of containers and into their own beds. I'm thrilled with the results -- the basil is yielding far faster than I can use it, the rosemary is fragrant and hardy, and the sage is as pretty as any ornamental plant.
Once or twice a summer, I make gazpacho. It's really only worth the effort to make this soup when the vegetables are at the peak of their freshness. The kitchen smells so amazing as the sweetness of the tomatoes combines with the sharp notes of garlic and onions and the peppery scent of basil.
Most recipes I've found call for canned tomato juice. Now, it's never made a ton of sense to me to select the freshest locally-grown garden ingredients and then water them down with the weird chemical taste of store-bought juice. Between the sodium content and the BPA risk, the commercially prepared stuff negates so many of the health benefits of fresh vegetables. So, I juice the tomatoes that I use in the gazpacho. Trust me, it's so worth the time and mess.
- 20 medium to large tomatoes
- 1 red onion
- 2 cucumbers
- 1-2 bell peppers
- 4-5 garlic cloves
- basil
- olive oil
- red wine vinegar
- kosher salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
- Prep the vegetables: peel the onion and garlic. Peel and seed the bell peppers and cucumbers. Cut into large chunks.Place vegetables in food processor and pulse until smooth. Set aside in a bowl.
- Prep the tomatoes: Fill a large cooker about half-full of water. Place on medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Core the tomatoes, slash the skin at the bottom and place, a few at a time, into the boiling water. Leave in 30-45 seconds, then remove and allow to cool. Peel and the tomatoes, setting the pulp and seeds aside. Place the "meat" of the tomato in the food processor and pulse until smooth.
- Make tomato juice: strain pulp and seeds with a sieve until you have about 2-3 cups of juice.
- Make gazpacho: In a large bowl, mix tomato mixture with vegetable mixture. Add juice and stir until completely blended.
- Season: Add about 1/3 cup each olive oil and red wine vinegar. Season to taste with kosher salt and black pepper (about 1/4 cup each). Add chopped basil to taste. Chill for several hours or overnight.
I doubled this recipe (40 tomatoes, 2 onions, etc.) to make six quarts for a family reunion this weekend. The recipe is really flexible -- basically just keep two parts tomatoes to one part vegetables, and adjust the rest to taste.
Fried Green Tomatoes
Late summer in Kentucky means that tomatoes are everywhere.
Now, as Glenda said the other day, the simplest recipes are often the best. The ones that don't even need to be written down. The ones that let the flavor of fresh summer produce shine through. In my family, the go-to recipe is Fried Green Tomatoes. Sometimes I think we have as many variants as we do relatives. My aunt uses a flour coating and a nonstick skillet. My brother soaks his 'maters in buttermilk and hot sauce before battering them and placing them in the deep fryer. I like a flour/cornmeal mix, a bite of heat, and the smooth texture that can only be accomplished with a cast iron skillet.
First, I pick out two or three green tomatoes. It's best if they're at the "almost ripe" stage.
Then, I slice them thin. A mandoline does this best.
There's simply no replacement for cast iron. Preferably the kind that's been seasoned for decades.
Then, I make a dredge of one part all-purpose flour to one part corn meal. I season with salt, fresh cracked pepper, and some cayenne. I temper the cayenne to the tastes of my dining companions.
Then, I add some bacon grease to the cast iron skillet and heat on medium-high heat. Now, I recently received an email from Southern Living which suggested "lightening up" your tomatoes with vegetable oil and a non-stick skillet. I think this is the worst advice I've ever heard. I choose to treat myself to Good Tomatoes once or twice a summer and eat sensibly and exercise to counteract the splurge. But, if you have a dietary or health reason to not use bacon grease, vegetable oil works perfectly well. Whatever your choice, fry small batches until golden brown. Expect plenty to be eaten well before they make it to the table.
Enjoy!
Squash and Corn Casserole
1 can cream corn
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 c. chopped onion
2 c. thin-sliced yellow squash
1/ 2 c. Bisquick
Instructions:
Watermelon with Bourbon Basil Lemon Simple Syrup
Until recently, I have not been a fan of watermelon. I give it the ole college try every
summer and have never known what all the fuss was about, until now. Y’all, I have entered into a love affair with watermelon and I do not care who knows it! I think it is great on its own, but I am always looking to accentuate the ordinary. Why have plain old watermelon when you can have watermelon with a Bourbon Basil Lemon simple syrup?
Watermelon with Bourbon Basil Lemon Simple Syrup
- ¼ cup of sugar
- ¼ cup of your favorite bourbon
- ¼ tablespoon of lemon peel
- Juice of ½ of a lemon
- ¼ tablespoon basil
- Pinch of salt
- ½ of a watermelon; cut or balled
Instructions
1. Combine sugar, bourbon, lemon peel, and lemon juice and simmer until reduced by half. Stir occasionally.
2. Add basil and salt and stir until combined.
3. Once the simple syrup has cooled, pour over watermelon, toss and enjoy
The bourbon basil lemon simple syrup should be watermelon's new best friend. It is sweet, but it does not overpower the natural flavors of the watermelon. The lemon and basil add a brightness to the entire dish and they compliment the freshness of the watermelon nicely. I just love how this simple syrup makes an ordinary dish elegant enough for entertaining!