Your Southern Peach: southern culture

Showing posts with label southern culture. Show all posts

Masters Week Preparation

For golf fans and Georgians alike, the first of April brings lots of excitement and anticipation. Every year during the first full week of April, the Masters golf tournament is played at Augusta National in the little town of Augusta, Georgia. The official tournament starts next week but for those of us who can't get enough of this springtime tradition, here's some more links you'll definitely want to check out before tee time.

Insiders Guide to Masters Week

Miss Janice's Masters celebration

My Pimento Cheese Recipe

Classic Arnold Palmer Drink

Tour Augusta National Clubhouse

Be sure to check in next week as I share some more Tee-Time recipes!

Weekend Cheers: Tailgating Edition

Today, I'm head over heels for these collegiate treats from Southern Living. Can you believe the SEC football season begins next week? College football is a HUGE part of life in the south and these tasty creations are a shining example of why we southerners are world famous for our hospitality! Can you imagine showing up to a tailgate with these in tow? Try premixing the cocktails in sealed mason jars and adding ice upon arrival.

You can find the recipes for these cocktails and cupcakes, at Southern Living's website and for more tailgating fun, check out Southern Living's Official SEC Tailgating Cookbook (It's on sale and ships free via Amazon!)

Happy Weekend!

Dolly Parton Concert

It's Monday and I'm finally getting around to recapping the Dolly Parton concert I attended last Wednesday. Those of you who know me, know that I had been waiting on this for so long! My love for Dolly Parton came about several years ago when she was one of the few "voices" that would calm the colic of my first born and then later reading her fascinating life story.

This woman is so talented and put on an amazing show that included many of her hits like "Jolene," "Coat of Many Colors," "9 to 5," "Here You Come Again," "Islands in the Stream," "Little Sparrow" and "I Will Always Love You", which of course she wrote and sang as the finale. She also sang songs from her newer albums "Backwoods Barbie" and "Better Day" which were all so uplifting and fun!

She did a handful of cool covers like "Shine" by Collective Soul, "Stairway To Heaven" by Led Zeppelin and songs by Tina Turner and Miley Cyrus. (She happens to be Miley's godmother, surprise!) She talked about her love of songwriting and how much she loved when others sang her songs and how much she enjoyed singing other people's songs too. How sweet is that?

The other surprising part of the show was how many instruments Dolly can play! She showed her skills on the acoustic guitar, banjo, autoharp, piano and mandolin as well as a bit of harmonica and saxophone. She may be little but she packs a lot of talent! She also poked fun at herself making jokes about her wigs, plastic surgery and such. Other than the music, my favorite part of the show was the story telling she did between songs. Is there anything better than a good rags to riches story?

And for those of you wondering how many times she changed outfits....the number was two. I was hoping for a little more but I'm certainly not disappointed. I have no idea how she managed to keep her cool on one of the hottest days of the year!

And yes, Mom certainly enjoyed her first concert experience! Cute huh?

Also can I give a shout out to my little Canon G9 for capturing these images! What an amazing little point and shoot camera.

I hope ya'll had a wonderful weekend and thanks for letting me gush a little bit here.

Bucket List

etsy

I'm checking something off my bucket list today! I'm going to see Dolly Parton live in concert tonight which is something I've been dreaming of for a few years now.

I wonder how many outfits she'll go through? Any guesses out there?

Memphis-Style Pulled Pork

Nothing welcomes warm weather like a delicious barbecue. Unfortunately, I've yet to master our grill so this is my standby slow-cooker recipe for a very delicious Memphis Style Pulled Pork.

I originally clipped this recipe out of a newspaper and have adjusted it to my liking. It is so easy and produces a very sweet and moist barbecue.

Serves 6

1 medium onion

6 fresh garlic cloves

2 (14 oz.) can low sodium beef or chicken stock

4 cups (32 oz) Sticky Fingers Memphis Style Barbecue Sauce, divided

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/2 tsp pepper

1 boneless Boston Butt Pork Roast

1. Remove ends from onion and peel. Slice thickly and place in slow cooker with peeled garlic cloves. Stir in broth, 3 cups barbecue sauce, sugar, vinegar and pepper. Add pork roast gently. Cover and cook for 6-8 hours. About halfway through cooking, I like to flip the roast to make sure both sides remain moist. (Be sure to cook this roast a minimum of 6 hours to assure deliciously moist barbecue!)

2. Remove pork from slow cooker and let it sit a few minutes. Shred with a fork and remove fatty parts of the roast. Serve on top of a toasted bun and accompany with remaining barbecue sauce.

This barbecue also pairs perfectly with one of my favorites, broccoli slaw!

Corn Pudding

This is a dish that has become a staple at our holiday meals. My husband's aunt began making corn pudding for us several years ago and we've been hooked ever since.

I went to make corn pudding a few weeks ago and didn't have her recipe on hand so I found this one from The Red Apple Inn that uses fresh corn and what a difference it makes! I also added a bit of thyme for more depth of flavor and cooked it to perfection in my cast iron skillet.

Do you have any side dishes that always make appearances at the holidays?

tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups whole milk
4 cups fresh corn kernels (from 8 medium ears of corn)
3 large eggs
1 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped

Preheat the oven to 375°. In a medium saucepan, melt 5 tablespoons of the butter. Add the flour, sugar and salt and cook over moderately high heat for 1 minute, whisking constantly. Gradually whisk in the milk and cook over moderately high heat, whisking, until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.
In a large nonstick skillet, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the corn and cook over moderately high heat until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Gradually whisk in the hot white sauce. Add the corn and fresh thyme.
Lightly grease a 9-inch cast-iron skillet and heat on the stovetop. Pour in the corn mixture and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the pudding is cooked through and golden. Let cool slightly.

MAKE AHEAD The corn pudding can be baked earlier in the day and reheated in a 325° oven.

Masters Party

Hi fellow peaches! How was your weekend? Mine flew right by without even stopping to say hello! I spent much of Saturday running errands, doing laundry and working in the yard. I've been dividing and moving some day lilies around and I swear those things are multiplying while I sleep!

We also celebrated Jett's birthday (again) with friends and family yesterday while we watched the Masters. I must admit this birthday kinda snuck up on me but we managed to have a fun little get together and some yummy green cupcakes.

For the past several years, much of our family has just so happened to gather at our house to watch the final round of the Masters so this year my sister and I decided to make it more of a tradition rather than a coincidence. Below, you can see a sample of our menu and I must say my first attempt at homemade pimento cheese was a success. I will be sharing the recipe later this week. I'm sorry I didn't get more photos of our spread but as soon as we got home from church and got the food prepared, we had a hungry crowd ready to enjoy it all!

I also couldn't resist sharing a few "cleaner" shots of the birthday boy before he headed off to bed. Isn't he the cutest?

Can't believe he's one!

Thanks for visiting today.

The Deviled Egg: A Southern Delicacy

I have never been to a party where a plate of deviled eggs doesn't get finished off. In fact, they're usually the first thing to disappear.

You see them at just about any gathering here in the South from luncheons, to pot lucks to weddings. This past weekend I went to a birthday party and decided to whip up some deviled eggs to take with me. I had to use what I had on hand so this is a "fly by the seat of my pants recipe." Just a fair warning.

The most important step in making deviled eggs is not to overcook the egg because the yolks will become too dry and turn funky colors. You can find a good guide here. Yes, believe it or not, I have Googled "how to hard boil an egg." It's not as easy as you might think!

Here's my recipe:

6 eggs, hard boiled, chilled and peeled.

4 tbs. light mayo

1 tbs. finely diced dill pickle spear (about 1/4 of the pickle)

1/2 tsp.salt

1/4 tsp. white pepper

diced red pepper to garnish

paprika to garnish

Cut the eggs in half lengthwise and remove the yolks. To the yolks add the next 4 ingredients and blend well until you reach a creamy consistency. (You can always add more mayo to get your desired consistency. Sometimes people use a little mustard too.)

Fill the hollowed egg whites with yolk mixture and garnish with red pepper and a dash of paprika. I like to pipe the yolk mixture into the egg whites using a pastry bag because I think it looks prettier but you can certainly just spoon the filling in too. Serve and watch them disappear!

A Southern Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has come and gone and I must say this years dinner was one of the best I've ever had! My in-laws can cook some food and entertain some folks no doubt. They had about fifteen people at dinner and the menu included two turkeys (one smoked on the Green Egg and one oven roasted), a ham, mashed potatoes, corn pudding, green bean casserole, two types of sweet potato casserole, cornbread dressing, three cranberry salads, homemade gravy and rolls from here. And let me just say that these rolls are absolutely the most heavenly rolls you will ever eat! The dessert table included apple, pumpkin and pecan pies...a southern delight!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. Let's continue to realize our blessings throughout this holiday season and carry our gratitude into 2011. A grateful heart is a happy heart!

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."

- Marcel Proust

Southern Cornbread Dressing

I had pretty much let myself off the hook for cooking this Thanksgiving but I just couldn't let the day take place without a homemade dressing. It's one of the highlights of my meal! So I scurried about today making some dressing with a little help from my son who has a new obsession with cracking eggs.

Anyway, my mom always stuffed her turkeys, therefore we always referred to it as stuffing when we were little. However, down South, most folks call it dressing, which I prefer just for the sound of it. Who really wants to consume something called stuffing in large quantities anyways? So let's just stick to dressing okay?

A few years back I tried some "fancy" dressing recipe with cut biscuits and it turned out a big sloppy mess. So this year, I opted for a simple and classic Southern Cornbread Dressing and I must say it turned out quite tasty. I know this already because I had to do quality control of course. All I can hope is that they prefer it over the Stovetop that will be served. A travesty, I know...I know...I know. That's why I HAD to make it.

What are your "must have" side dishes for Thanksgiving?

Southern Porches

A few months ago, I posted about the art of "Front Porch Sittin''" Yesterday, my husband willingly pressure washed our humble little porch so it's looking all fresh and clean just in time for some cooler weather. I'm still working on sprucing up my space and have added an all weather wicker table, a wind chime and some pottery. This week I'm gonna paint the address plaque and replace the numbers. I'll post a picture when it's all done but in the meantime, here's some more inspiration for you to enjoy. Happy Front Porch Sittin'!