Never turn down a BBQ invitation!
So you’ve received a BBQ invitation in the mail. You like outdoor BBQ cooking. Now what? I think the proper protocol depends largely on where you live. In the South, being invited to a barbecue can be a big deal. Usually, these are casual affairs, but not always. I’ve attended some pretty swanky barbecues, and in fact, Bill Clinton and Al Gore were at one barbecue hubby and I attended.
When you get your BBQ invitation, check your calendar to see if you have any conflicts. If you decide you’re going to the event, give the host or hostess a call and let them know you’ll be attending. This will give him or her a good idea of how many guests to expect, and it will provide you with a chance to ask a few questions. You might want to know the dress code and whether or not kids will be attending. You might also want to find out if alcohol is permitted, and if so, is the party BYOB.
If the BBQ is a casual event and not catered, ask what you can bring. For many Southern barbecues, the hosts provide the meat and guests are often expected to bring the side dishes and desserts. Unless you’re close friends with the hostess, she’ll probably tell you that you don’t have to bring anything. Make the offer, anyway. Tell her you make great baked beans or potato salad or pound cake, for example. If you say you’re going to be there, be there! This is especially important if she’s counting on you to bring a dish. If something comes up that makes it impossible for you to attend the barbecue, call the hostess and let her know you can’t come.
In the South, getting a BBQ invitation is the mark of acceptance, especially when you’re not a native southerner. It’s like being told, “You’re one of us now!” Don’t brush off the BQ invitation lightly. Rubbing shoulders with the locals at a barbecue is a great way to make new friends and business contacts, and to network. Besides, real southern barbecue is awesome, and you’ll have a great time!
Filed under BBQ Cooking by on Jun 30th, 2011. Comment. 
crispy fried eggplant photo by MMChicago
Fried eggplant is a yummy southern food, but if you don’t cook it right, it will turn out limp and soggy. From my experience with cooking lots of eggplant fruits from my garden, the key to getting crispy fried eggplant is to slice it thinly and fry it at a relatively high temperature. It needs to be eaten quickly, too. Next time you’re craving some crispy fried eggplant, try my recipe!
Holle’s Crispy Fried Eggplant recipe
What you’ll need:
- Fresh eggplant – small or medium fruits are best
- 2 beaten eggs
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- Flour
- Cooking oil
Directions: Peel eggplant or leave the peel on, and slice very thin – no more than ¼ inch. Cut the disks in half to make half-moons.
Whisk together eggs and buttermilk and add salt and pepper.
Dip eggplant slices in egg wash and shake in flour.
Fry in oil that has been heated to 265 degrees. When eggplant slices are golden brown, drain on wire racks. Sprinkle with additional seasonings, if desired.
Filed under American Recipes, Southern food by on Jun 30th, 2011. Comment.
The right BBQ wood makes all the difference!
Most folks would agree that the best part of BBQ cooking flavor is the smoke. Foods cooked long and slow over BBQ wood absorb some of the wonderful smoke, providing a tantalizing treat to your nose and your taste buds. What’s the best BBQ wood? That mostly depends on your individual preference!
There are several types of woods that make excellent BBQ wood. Some of the most popular include hickory, alder, beech, oak, cherry, apple, mesquite, and maple. In the South, many cooks and grill masters like to use pecan or peach wood. Most of the woods mentioned are available in chips, chunks, pellets, and bisquettes.
If you haven’t done a lot of BBQ cooking with different woods, you might think they’re all the same, but you’d be surprised at how much difference there is in the flavor of meats based on which BBQ wood you use. For example, with apple wood, you’ll get a subtle apple flavor, and with peach wood, you’ll get a slight peach flavor. The same rule of thumb holds true for other types of BBQ wood, too.
While the choice of wood is totally up to the individual, some smoke flavors go better with certain meats. Well, at least in my opinion they do. I like fruit woods with pork, and hickory, oak, or mesquite with beef. Because chicken has such a mild flavor, it can be smoked with any type of BBQ wood. Pecan wood is a wonderful all-around BBQ wood that works well with any type of meat or poultry. In fact, we use pecan wood more often than any other type of wood on our smoker. Maybe that’s because we’re southerners.
To get the most flavor from your BBQ wood, chunks, chips, and twigs should be soaked in water for a couple of hours before cooking. The wood can also be smoked in other liquids for even more flavor. For example, we sometimes smoke our pecan twigs in apple juice before placing the wood on the smoker, but you might also want to try soaking the wood in another fruit juice, or in hot sauce, bourbon, wine, whiskey, or beer.
Remember, the more wood you use, the more smoke you’ll get. We like a lot of smoky flavor in our meats, but it is possible to overdo it. If you’re new to BBQ cooking and smoking, I suggest starting off with a small amount of wood. if you don’t get enough smoky flavor, you can always use more BBQ wood the next time!
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Filed under BBQ Cooking by on Jun 30th, 2011. Comment.
Barbecue grills can get pretty dirty, especially if you do a lot of BBQ cooking. Keeping your grill clean isn’t just a good idea for hygiene, it also improves the taste of anything you cook on your barbecue. BBQ cleaning will also decrease smoking. If you let food bits and grease build up on your grill, removing them will be a real chore. If you clean it after each use, however, it will be much easier, and the grill will be ready to go next time you’re ready to cook.
BBQ cleaning can also extend the life of your grill. Grease, food particles, and acids from marinades and sauces can eventually cause corrosion. By keeping your grill clean, you’ll be protecting your investment.
BBQ Cleaning Tips:
- Fill your sink or a bucket with hot water and liquid dish detergent.
- Place grates in the water and allow to soak until water cools.
- Begin cleaning with the least abrasive method possible. Scrub grates with a plastic pot scrubber first. If particles can’t be removed, only then use a wire brush.
- Be sure to rinse the grates thoroughly. Soap residue will impart an unpleasant taste to foods. If the cooking grates are cast iron, coat them with cooking oil once they’re completely dry.
- Use a small whisk broom to remove ashes from grill.
- Clean the inside of the grill with hot soapy water. Use a wire brush to remove stubborn spots. Be sure to rinse well.
Filed under BBQ Cooking by on Jun 28th, 2011. Comment.
bbq skewers
If you enjoy BBQ cooking, sooner or later you’ll probably be making kebobs. Lots of meats, veggies, and fruits can be threaded onto BBQ skewers. But which type of BBQ skewers are best? The two main types of BBQ skewers are wooden skewers and metal skewers, and each kind has its pros and cons.
Wooden BBQ skewers
Wooden bbq skewers are inexpensive and can be found just about anywhere. If you’re in the supermarket and decide to make kebobs after getting ideas from all the food you see, you can grab a pack of wooden skewers while you’re there. Since wooden skewers are inexpensive and disposable, you don’t have to clean them. After you’re done eating the kebobs, just toss them out.
One problem with wooden skewers is that they can burn on the grill. Usually, however, if you soak the skewers in water for an hour or so, the charred wood will be eliminated. Another problem with wooden skewers is that they sometimes splinter easily.
If you want to make really long kebobs, wooden skewers aren’t a good choice because they’re short. They’re not nearly as strong as their metal cousins, either, so they sometimes break when you’re trying to insert them through particularly tough meat.
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Metal BBQ skewers
Metal bbq skewers are stronger than wooden skewers, and you don’t have to worry about splintering. They’re tough enough to go through any meat, vegetable, or fruit. Because of the inherent strength of metal, you can load these bad boys down with as much as they’ll hold. Another advantage is that metal skewers don’t have to be pre-soaked.
On the down side, metal skewers are more expensive than wooden skewers. After each use, they’ll have to be cleaned.
You'll have more choices with metal skewers. You can choose the tradition single straight skewers, the straight double skewers, and the new flexible skewers that can curve around foods on the grill.
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Filed under BBQ Cooking by on Jun 27th, 2011. Comment.
The easy way to peel boiled eggs!
I used to keep laying hens, so we always had a lot of eggs. I sold some, gave some away, and cooked some. Of course, we often ate eggs for breakfast, and I used them a lot in baking and other recipes, but I also made pickled eggs. Hubby and his friends loved my pickled eggs, so I had to peel a lot of eggs. As they say, practice makes perfect. I can now peel eggs in a snap!
The first thing you need to understand about eggs is that the shell is not a “solid wall.” It’s actually slightly porous, so moisture can escape. The freshest eggs contain the most moisture, making them fuller, so they’re harder to peel. Keep this in mind when you’re planning on boiling a large number of eggs. Let them sit in the fridge for a week or so before you boil them, and the shells will come off much easier.
Once you’ve boiled the eggs, take them off the stove and immediately place them in the sink, pot and all. Run cold water over the eggs until they’re cool enough for you to handle. Reach in the pot and slightly crack each egg. I do this by banging the eggs against each other. Pour off that water and replace it with more cold water. Add ice if your tap water isn’t very cold. Let the cracked eggs sit for about 15 minutes. Start peeling from the large end of the egg. The shells will usually slip right off, in one or two sections!
Filed under Cooking techniques and cooking tips by on Jun 26th, 2011. Comment.
Make your own BBQ dry rub!
Do you use rubs with your BBQ cooking? Rubs can add an incredible flavor to barbecue, and they can be used with pork, beef, chicken, turkey, venison, and other meats, poultry, and game. The rub ingredients are combined and rubbed on the flesh before cooking begins. In fact, many cooks prefer wrapping the rubbed meat in plastic cling wrap and leaving it the refrigerator for several hours or overnight for the seasonings to penetrate the meat.
A BBQ dry rub is dry, obviously. No wet ingredients are used. You can purchase a ready-to-use BBQ dry rub, but making your own is easy. Just decide what flavors you want your meat to have and which seasonings are your favorites. By adjusting the amounts of the different ingredients, you can have a base that’s sweet, hot, or savory. Actually, I prefer a combination of all three!
Some ingredients you might consider for your BBQ dry rub:
- Sugar
- Brown sugar
- Salt
- Black pepper
- White pepper
- Cayenne
- Mustard powder
- Cumin
- Paprika
- Chili powder
- Chipotle powder
- Dried oregano
- Dried thyme
- Dried basil
- Cinnamon
- Lemon pepper
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- Garlic salt
- Celery salt
Filed under BBQ Cooking by on Jun 26th, 2011. Comment.
I usually make Mom's chicken pie recipe into 9-inch pies.
My mom was an awesome cook who specialized in southern food. She was practically famous for her homemade chicken pie. When she was younger, she made the crust from scratch, but as she got older, she began using frozen pie crusts. Later, she started using frozen puff pastry for the top crust and regular pie crusts to line the bottom and sides of the dish.
This makes a large chicken pie, so if you have a small family, you can make this recipe into smaller pies using two 9-inch pie crusts. That’s usually what I do. This recipe will make two or three standard-sized pies, so we’ll eat one and freeze the others. Also, when I make the 9-inch pies, I don’t make a lattice crust.
For those of you who've asked for this recipe, here it is!
Mom’s chicken Pie recipe
What you’ll need:
- 5 pie crusts OR 3 pie crusts and frozen puff pastry
- 8 – 10 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 can Campbell’s cream of chicken soup
- 1 can Campbell’s cream of chicken soup with herbs
- ½ - 1 cup chicken broth (depending on how thick you want the sauce)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions: Use three pie crusts to line a 13 x 9-inch casserole dish or metal baking pan. The bottom and sides should be covered, and the crusts should slightly overlap the top edge of the dish or pan.
Boil chicken breasts in salted water until done. Cut chicken into cubes or tear into pieces. Distribute cooked chicken evenly over the pie crust.
In a bowl, combine both cans of soup, chicken broth, and salt and pepper. Spoon evenly over chicken.
Cut remaining two pie crusts OR pastry sheets into strips and make a lattice design over chicken, sealing the edges to the initial crust.
Bake at 350 degrees until crust is golden brown. Allow to cool at room temperature a few minutes before serving.
Filed under American Recipes, Southern food by on Jun 24th, 2011. 2 Comments.
southern desserts
Eggs are used in many southern desserts, and perhaps the most obvious is egg custard pie. I grew up eating lots of southern food, including these rich desserts. My paternal grandmother used to make four egg pies and stack them on top of each other. She’d then slice them like you’d slice a cake.
Holle’s Old-Fashioned Egg Custard Pie recipe
What you’ll need:
- 1 pie crust
- 1 teaspoon flour
- 1 teaspoon powdered sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Ground nutmeg
Directions: If using a frozen pie shell, make sure it’s completely thawed. Mix together flour and powdered sugar and sprinkle evenly over the bottom on the crust.
In a large bowl, combine eggs and granulated sugar. Don’t beat the eggs any more than you have to. Slowly add milk, then the butter, vanilla, and salt. Pour the custard into the pie shell and sprinkle nutmeg on top.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until center is set. Cover and store in the refrigerator.
The egg custard can also be made into small tart shells.
Filed under Dessert Recipes, Southern food by on Jun 23rd, 2011. Comment.
old-fashioned raisin pie
My father loved old-fashioned raisin pie. In fact, it was one of his favorite Thanksgiving dessert recipes, so Mom always had to make two raisin pies at Thanksgiving – one for Dad and one for the rest of the gang. Mom’s raisin pie recipe is a tad spicier than most other raisin pie recipes because she added a little ground cloves to hers. If you don’t like the taste of cloves, just omit it.
Billie’s Raisin Pie recipe
What you’ll need:
- 2 cups seedless raisins
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 4 teaspoons butter
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 pie crusts
Directions: Place raisins and water in a medium-sized pot and bring to a boil. Continue boiling for five minutes. Add brown sugar and cornstarch and reduce heat to simmer. Cook until liquid is clear, stirring frequently.
Remove pot from heat and allow to cool for five minutes. Add butter, lemon juice, salt, cinnamon, and ground cloves.
Pour filling into pie crust. Add top crust and seal edges. Cut vents in top crust. If you prefer, use a fancy pie crust for the top.
Bake for about thirty minutes at 425 degrees.
* You might also like to try this great recipe for raisin, apple, and rum pie from the Food Network!
Filed under American Recipes, Dessert Recipes, Southern food, Thanksgiving Recipes by on Jun 21st, 2011. Comment.
