Category: Recipes

Savory Shrimp or if you’re from the Lowcountry~~ Savory Shrumps

Back in the early 2000’s Jill Conner Browne, aka the Sweet Potato Queen (SPQ), published a couple of books about her life as the aforementioned SPQ. All her books contain a number of recipes that for the most part, IMHO, are OK, but nothing special. Around this same time, her sister Judy Conner decided to write a book about her divorce and it too has recipes…not as many and again, IMHO, mos with the same amount of blahness.

Except for Judy’s version of what she calls Bar-B-Cued Shrimp. I changed the name because personally I don’t see anything BBQ about them. But they are tasty and they are messy. And they must be served with an excellent French baquette and a crisp chardonnay. I think they would be good served over rice, but I was happy just using the bread to sop up all that excellent sauce.

2 sticks good butter I use Kerry Gold
1 cup good olive oil 
2 teas minced garlic
4 whole bay leaves
2 teas crushed dried rosemary
1/2 teas dried basil
1/2 teas dried oregano
1/2 salt
1/2 teas cayenne pepper--or adjust amount to your taste
1 TBL paprika
1 TBL ground black pepper
1 teas fresh lemon juice 
2 lbs raw shrimp remove heads--Judy said not to peel &
they were a bitch to eat. Gonna peel next time. 

Melt butter, add olive oil & mix. Add everything but the shrimp. 
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until sauce boils. 
Reduce heat, simmer for 7 minutes, stirring frequently. 

Remove from heat and let stand for 30 minutes at room temperature. 
Preheat oven to 450. Add shrimp to spice mixture, stir and cook for
another 7 minutes over medium heat until shrimp turn pink. 
 
Place in oven safe pan and bake for 10 minutes. 
Eat with really good crusty French or Italian bread.

 

Mike McCormick’s Peach Cobbler

By now you’re probably wondering what the heck to do with all those leftover peaches, that is if you really did purchase an entire peck to make my previously posted Sour Cream Peach Pie. Never fear! I have yet another outstanding summertime peach recipe for your eating pleasure.

***Disclaimer: Personally I despise going online for a recipe, finding one on someone’s website and then having to wade through a four page dissertation on everything past, present and future concerning their kids, kin and kritters. Just give me the damn recipe and let me get on with my life!

That said, I do have to explain Mike McCormick and his Peach Cobbler recipe. Mike was an outstanding television reporter and anchorman for the local NBC affiliate, WYFF who was tragically killed along with photojournalist Aaron Smeltzer, Memorial Day weekend 2018 when a tree fell on their SUV while on assignment in North Carolina.

Along with his love of broadcasting, Mike was also quite the amateur chef, always taking advantage of the local Upstate offerings…I like to say he was “farm to table before farm to table was cool.” The following was his personal take on a true Southern staple, a piping hot made with fresh peaches peach cobbler topped with the best vanilla ice cream money can buy.

Make and enjoy in good health. I know Mike would be both proud, happy and humble to know that a small part of his legacy as a foodie lives on.

 

1 tin of Sister Schubert Parker House Rolls
6 large fresh peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 TB white sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 TB unsalted butter 

Preheat oven to 350

Thaw the rolls in the fridge about 30 minutes then slice in half 
horizontally. 
(I found it's easier to slice each individual roll rather than 
try to slice the entire package. I never can get it sliced evenly.)
Put the rolls back in the bag and then back in the fridge while 
you mix the other ingredients. 

Combine peaches, ginger, sale, 1/4 cup brown sugar and 2 TB 
white sugar. 
Melt the butter. 
Mix the remaining white sugar with cinnamon. 

Brush bottom of rolls with 2 TB melted butter and sprinkle with 
about half of the cinnamon sugar. 
Dump peaches on top the rolls and put the top rolls back on. 
Brush top rolls with rest of butter then sprinkle remainder of the 
cinnamon sugar. 

Place tin on cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Cover with foil 
and bake for another 10 minutes. 

If not eaten within a day or two the bottom layer of rolls will get
soggy. I've thought about perhaps baking just the bottom layer about
10 minutes before coating with butter and cinnamon sugar to see if that 
keeps them firmer, but haven't done it yet, so try at your own risk. 

Top with real vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and enjoy warm out of 
oven.

Pepperoni Rolls

I recently watched a CBS Sunday Morning piece about pepperoni rolls and had to know more. Turns out they are a very regional delicacy usually found only in West Virginia, Western Pennsylvania, Western Maryland and a tiny portion of Ohio.  Played around with a couple recipes I found online until I came up with my own…and they are pretty tasty if I do say so myself.

I use Rhodes thaw, rise and bake dinner rolls but any brand of roll that has to be thawed and then allowed to rise should work. The beauty of using these rolls is you can make as many or as few as you’d like.

Rise & Bake Yeast Rolls
Sliced Pepperoni (though some people swear by pepperoni sticks)
Mozzarella Cheese 
Non-Stick Spray
Butter 

Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place frozen dough balls
2" apart. Spray one side of a piece of saran wrap with cooking
spray and place that side down on top of the rolls. Takes a 
couple hours for the dough to thaw and begin to rise. Once thawed
remove from baking sheet and flatten each individual roll to make 
a circle. 

Then add anywhere from 4 to "the sky's the limit" pepperoni slices. 
On top of the pepperoni add anywhere from a tablespoon to "the sky's
the limit" shredded mozzarella cheese. For my latest batch I used
Tillamook Farmstyle Thick Cut shredded mozzarella and it was 
outstanding!

Roll the filled dough up, tucking the ends in so they look like 
large egg rolls. Place seam side down in a greased 9x13 baking dish 
and let rise until the rolls are double in size. Depending on how warm
your kitchen is, this generally takes around an hour. If it's winter or
even the middle of summer with the a/c running full blast, I will 
put the pan in the oven and simply turn the oven light on. That usually
generates just enough heat to help the dough do its thing.

Once the rolls have doubled in size, place in a 350 oven and bake 
for 25-30 minutes or until they are golden brown. Remove from oven 
and immediately take a stick of butter and rub the end of the stick 
over the tops of the rolls. 

Pepperoni rolls can be eaten hot or cold. I generally refrigerate
any leftovers but some recipes say they can be left out. 

Also, some recipes suggest jazzing them up by melting the butter 
instead of rubbing it on and then adding garlic powder or Italian 
seasoning and brushing the tops with the seasonings. 

I say why mess with perfection? 




	


	



			
				


			

			
Sour Cream Peach Pie
		
	
	

		


Time is drawing near for in-season peaches. So don’t delay, head to the nearest peach orchard today, pick you up a peck of peaches, stop by the store get some sour cream and a deep dish pie shell…you should already have sugar and eggs on hand, and get to baking. Simple, easy, quick and super delicious!


Frozen deep dish pie shell-unbaked
6-8 peaches, peel, slice and layer in the unbaked pie shell

Mix: 
2 eggs
1 cup sugar 
1 cup sour cream
Put unbaked pie shell on baking sheet. Pour egg, sugar and sour cream 
mixture over peaches. Warning: it will probably run over so stop when 
it gets to that point.


Bake for 10-15 minutes at 450 then leaving the pie in the oven, reduce 
the heat to 350 and bake for another 35-40 minutes. The center will be 
jiggly but should set up slightly as it cools. If it seems too runny, 
just bake a couple more minutes. Also, check during the baking process 
and cover the crust edge if necessary to keep from over-browning. 

Good served hot or cold. Can sit out for about a day but if there is
any left after that I would stick it in fridge.





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