Sherry – Page 13 – Rosemary and the Goat

Vivian Howard’s Party Cheese Ball

Who doesn’t like cheese balls?

I’ve been thinking about cheese balls lately and how they have evolved from the 60’s when we use to make them. Seems like most recipes had grated cheddar cheese, green cheese and maybe some garlic. Remember that commercial for Ritz Crackers “everything sits better on a Ritz”. Well certain spreads, for me, still sit better on a Ritz.

Almost all cheese balls then and now were/are rolled in some chopped nuts or herbs and most recipes probably had some Worcestershire sauce in the recipe some could have even had (hold your breath) Cheese Whiz.

August 6, 2019 By Sherry

Cake/ Dessert

Pink Lemonade Cake

What’s so special about pink lemonade?

What so special about pink lemonade? Well, it most certain isn’t made from pink lemons. I’ve never seen one. Have you? But you have to admit that an ice filled glass of the pink liquid seems a little more special than the yellow variety.

If you were making homemade pink lemonade you might crush (and strain) some raspberries, cranberries or strawberries and add just enough of the juice to give you the light pink color you want in a glass of pink lemonade.

Pink is a relaxing color. Studies have shown that people associate the color pink with sweetness. Maybe that’s why when I had a daughter (after two sons) I dressed her in a lot of pink; just because she was so sweet I’m sure.

July 30, 2019 By Sherry

Appetizers/ Entree/ HotApp/ Pizza

Mushroom Fontina Kale Flatbread

Great little flatbread from not so good restaurant.

Normally I don’t complain about food I get in a restaurant. Well, maybe I do if it isn’t good; but I haven’t emailed this hotel yet and probably won’t because even though the service was kind of good and chef couldn’t really manage to get more than one order out at a time out, I came away this this idea for a flatbread pizza.

The night before we left for our Turks and Caicos vacation we decided to spend the night down in Houston since our flight was at 6:30 am. If we didn’t go down early that would have meant getting up like at 3:00 a.m. to get down there for our flight. We stayed at a hotel that didn’t have a restaurant and since we had Ubered down there we didn’t have a car and we ended up walking down the street to the Hilton Garden Inn for dinner. GA’s tuna bowl was well done instead of medium rare and arrived about 10 minutes before my Asian salad that tasted nothing like an Asian salad BUT we ordered a flatbread to share for an appetizer and it was the best thing I have tasted in a long time.

July 22, 2019 By Sherry

Salads

Seaside Slaw

From the sea to your mouth, yum.

Cafeterias? Buffets? I guess the difference is a buffet you can eat as much as you want and a cafeteria you pay for each little morsel of food you put on your tray. As a kid I remember my grandparents taking us to Piccadilly Cafeteria in Memphis. They always use to say “your eyes are bigger than your stomach” because my sister and I tended to put so much on our trays we couldn’t possibly eat everything. And then along came the buffets.

Normally I don’t like buffets for several reasons. First of all I tend to eat too much; my “eyes are always bigger than my stomach” and I really do hate wasting food. Secondly, I feel like the food is sitting around a little too long and then I’m always thinking that it isn’t quite as good as something ordered off a menu.

On our trip to Beaches at Turks and Caicos this summer I did manage to eat at 20 out of the 21 restaurants on the property. Marios restaurant is probably one of the biggest there but I wasn’t really feeling “Italian” on a hot summer day or night. But, one day we were at the Italian pool on our way to the French pool (8 pools on the property so we had to hustle to get to them all) and decided to stop in Mario’s and see what they had for their lunch buffet; the biggest antipasto bar I’ve ever seen and tiny little desserts awaited us and I couldn’t wait to dig in. I saw this slaw (and I do love all kinds of slaw/coleslaws) and couldn’t actual tell what was in it until I started picking it apart. Ok, so I’m one of those people that is going to sit and dissect a dish so I can make it once I get home.

July 15, 2019 By Sherry

Dessert/ Desserts

Cookie Coated Mango Squares

Refreshing dessert for the hot summer ahead of us.

Don’t you just love mangos? If you haven’t tried this fruit you should because it is the perfect cool refreshing dessert for the summer.

I was looking at the mango.org blog for information on mangos and thought I would share some of it with you. There are several ways to cut a mango. If nice and firm I use a mango cutter it it takes the pit right out of the middle. It’s a funny shaped pit, nothing like that of other fruits with pits/stones. You can also slice off the sides and then either cut in cross sections and scoop or in long pieces and scoop. My daughter uses the edge of a glass, after cutting off the sides of the mango, to remove the peel. You will want to look at the mango.org blog for all kinds of tips on storing (do not refrigerate until ripen) and recipes etc.

July 9, 2019 By Sherry

Cookies/ Dessert

Lemon Meltaway Cookies

I love anything lemon, and this tea cookie is the best!

Years ago I made a cookie called High Tea Lemon Cookie. They were good but could have been a little more lemony and a little less crumbly or at least not fall apart before getting in your mouth. That recipe was made with 1 1/2 cups of cornstarch and to me not quite sweet enough.

My sister and I first put the High Tea Lemon Cookie in one of our cookbooks we did together (self-published so no longer around) 30 years ago. I’ve made that recipe numerous times and finally decided to try and rework the ingredients for a sweeter little firmer cookie.

July 2, 2019 By Sherry

Side dish

Funky Corn with Pickled Fresnos and Aioli

Funky corn will take your funk away!

If you love corn and can’t get enough of it in the summer and you’re always looking for a new recipe and something EASY to make for dinner, then this one’s for you.

When we lived in Ft. Madison, Iowa back in the late 70’s we use to go to festivals in the summer; the strawberry and corn festivals were my favorite. I remember the corn especially because you could eat all the hot buttered corn you wanted for free and the kids could run around and play and you wouldn’t think of worrying about their safety.

My son, Scott, who lives in Chicago is always sending me websites to restaurants he and his wife, Missy, go to. This particular restaurant, Funkenhausen was just named one of the 16 best restaurants in Chicago and their chef comes from Charleston, SC and has German roots. I’m sure this corn recipe was probably his take on grilled corn and similar to a Mexican street corn.

June 26, 2019 By Sherry

Dessert/ Morning Foods/ Muffins

Chocolate Banana Muffins

What to do with those black bananas?

In less than 24 hours we will be at Beaches Resort in Turks and Caicos celebrating our 50th anniversary with kids and 6 grandsons. There’ll be 14 of us and I’ve been accumulating so much stuff that I probably won’t need. One suitcase is full of 4 floating chairs, gummy bears, sand molds, sand buckets and shovels, large bags of M&M’s (at least 6), mosquito bracelets, bottles and bottles of sun screen.

So, what could happen? Six little boys under 10 are bound to be up to something this summer and sure enough I get a text a couple of weeks ago and grandson Charlie (7) fell off the monkey bars and broke his wrist. Poor little guy was pretty unhappy that night but by the next day sporting a neon green cast he looked like he was ready to jump in a pool. Well, maybe by the time they get there. Hoping to see a waterproof cast by then, if not, then he’ll have something to put over the cast so he can join his cousins doing everything (maybe almost everything) at the beach and at one of the 8 pools.

June 16, 2019 By Sherry

Side dish

Grits with Corn and Goat Cheese

Here’s another “kiss my grits” grit recipe.

Well, not sure if grits need to be kissed but these were so delicious I want to kiss someone to thank them for the idea. Guess that would be Bobby Flay. I saw one of his shows where he made these and he pureed the corn but I decided to put the whole kernels in my version. My recipe also has a couple of eggs in them and they set up nicely for a casserole.

I love serving grits with bar-b-q of course but any grilled meat or chicken would go nicely with these grits. Add something green and your done.

So, when it comes to the grits, first of all don’t use instant grits as they are precooked and dehydrated and do not have nearly the flavor as other types. Quick grits and regular grits are about the same with the only difference being the size of the grind. If you are lucky enough to find stone-ground grits then buy those. They are made from whole dried corn kernels and coarsely ground between two stones of a grist mill. The entire kernel is ground so the stone ground grit will have a more speckled appearance and a rich corn flavor. (I store mine in the freezer.) I still buy my South Carolina grits and now find them on Amazon – here. The first time I bought Charleston grits was at a farmer’s market in Charleston and they were mixed – yellow and white. On Amazon they sell either white or yellow so I buy one of each and mix them and then freeze what I am not using. They last a long time in the freezer. (I just found Palmetto Mixed Grits on Amazon so no need to buy a bag of each.)

June 6, 2019 By Sherry

Appetizers/ ColdApp

Crawfish Spread

Another use for those leftover crawfish tails.

Back in January I joined a book club which was good for me because I usually choose watching a movie over picking up a book.

I gave up on the book Goldfinch after three years. I just could not make myself finish it. Then when I tried to read the DiVinci Code after seeing the movie first, the book was almost word for word from the movie (or the movie from the brook), so I gave up on that book. So since January I have read four books but, the fifth one started – Oil and Marble I quit. My record is improving though.

Our May bookclub was at my house and the book was “Where The Crawdads Sing” which was a very good book from the first page right up until the very end. For a snack for the ladies I couldn’t resist making something with crawfish to go along with the theme of the book. I’m wondering what I would have made for the Oil and Marble book if that meeting had been at my house; maybe marinated olives.

May 25, 2019 By Sherry

Appetizers/ HotApp

Jalapeno Cocktail Pie Squares

How could I have forgotten this favorite recipe?

I use to make this recipe all the time for parties I catered because it could be made in advance and frozen and then taken out and rewarmed in the oven before serving.

If you like spicy and you like cheese and you want to get your veggie in for the day, give these a try. It’s also a great little appetizer you could freeze in small portions to go with your summer cocktails.

Recently we had a bar-b-q for our Israel travel group from last year. It was so nice getting together with the ones close enough to come and sharing a meal together that wasn’t Mediterranean food. I have to say that was the only part of the trip I didn’t care for — the food.

May 16, 2019 By Sherry

Dessert/ Desserts

Banana Split Dessert

Second time around for an old 60’s favorite.

Ya know, I see recipes popping up on Pioneer Woman and use to on Paula Deen’s show that my mother was making back in the 50’s and 60’s. And, on Pinterest I’m always seeing “new” recipes that I remember my mother making. I guess the younger viewers are seeing/testing/tasting these recipes but some of us who have been around a few decades longer have been enjoying these old family favorites for quite a while.

Take this Banana Split Dessert; use to be one of my mother’s dessert recipes she enjoyed making for family and friends. When it comes to banana splits all I remember about that ice cream favorite was that when my sister and I would go to a Dairy Queen or ice cream shop we would ask for a banana split but we only wanted the banana, only vanilla ice cream and no pineapple or strawberry toppings. For us it was chocolate all the way; I guess that really wasn’t a banana split.

May 6, 2019 By Sherry

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