Maw Maw Olga's Oyster Dressing

One of my favorite dishes Mom would make for the holidays was her Oyster Dressing.  

Maw Maw Olga’s Oyster Dressing

2 medium onions, minced

½ cup bell pepper (green or red), minced

2 green onions, minced

1 tablespoon parsley, minced

½ cup celery, minced

½ cup butter

2 – 3 dozen oysters, chopped (reserve oyster liquid)

3 to 4 cups of Stove Top Stuffing – Chicken Flavor (or bread crumbs)

½ cup of Stove Top Stuffing crushed (used to top off dressing)

1 egg

Season with Lemon Pepper

 1.       Melt butter in saucepan.

2.       Sauté first five ingredients with seasoning, until onions are transparent.

3.       Add chopped oysters and simmer approximately 15 minutes.

4.       Add Stove Top Stuffing and mix well. Add some oyster liquid if mixture is too thick.

5.       Add egg and mix well.

 Place mixture in a baking dish. Sprinkle the crushed Stove Top Stuffing over dish and add several pieces of butter on top to help dish brown.

 

Bake about 35 to 45 minutes at 350

Stuffed Shrimp Mirlitons (Chayotes)

 

Stuffed Shrimp Mirlitons (Chayotes)



4 mirlitons

1 pound of shrimp, peeled, deveined and cut in pieces

1 cup of bread crumbs (Italian bread crumbs if available

½ stick of butter

1 onion, chopped minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup celery, minced

2 tablespoons of parsley, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup of white wine

½ cup of water

 

1. Cut mirlitons in half and remove the seed.  Boil mirlitons until tender on medium heat for about 35 minutes or until pulp seems to be tender for removal. 
2. Remove mirlitons from pot and let cool.  When cool scoop out pulp and set aside. Save the halved skins to be used to fill with stuffing.
3. Melt butter and sauté onions, garlic and celery until clear.  Add raw shrimp and cook until pink. 
4. Mash pulp of mirlitons and add to pot with shrimp.  Cook for about 5 minutes stirring several times so mixture will not burn on the bottom. 
5. Add bread crumbs, parsley, salt and pepper to taste.  Mix all together and spoon mixture into the half shells. 
6. Add to bottom of pan the white wine and water.  This will prevent the mirlitons from sticking.
7. Place stuffed shells in baking pan and top each shell with bread crumbs. 
8. Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

 TIP:

Shrimp, may be substituted with crawfish, ham or hamburger meat.

Asparagus and Lemon Risotto with Artichoke Hearts

Asparagus and

Lemon Risotto with Artichoke Hearts

 

This Microwave Recipe was taken from the Cooking Light magazine issue May 2013 with a couple of alterations I made for adding more Arborio rice and the artichoke hearts.

This risotto is not covered while microwaving. Be sure you are using at least a 2-quart bowl to allow plenty of room for the liquid to boil

 

 

¾ cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

12 oz bag of uncooked Arborio rice or other medium-grain rice*

3 ¼ cups unsalted chicken stock*

1/3 cup dry white wine

1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into ½-inch pieces

3 or 4 Vigo Artichoke hearts chopped*
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ ounces shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (1/3 cup), divided (I substituted ‘Finely Shredded – Parmesan cheese.

Step:

1.       Combine first 4 ingredients in a 2-quart microwave-safe glass bowl. Microwave at HIGH 3 minutes.
2.       Stir in rice; microwave at HIGH 3 minutes.
3.       Stir in stock and wine; microwave at HIGH stirring the rice for 30 seconds at 4 minute intervals for a total of 16 minutes.
4.       Add asparagus and artichoke hearts; microwave at HIGH 2 minutes
5.       Stir in lemon zest and juice, salt, pepper, and half of cheese. Top with remaining cheese 

Serves 4 

Note: * I altered the recipe

 

 

Tomato Pie

   

     Have you ever eaten a “Tomato Pie”? Well I hadn’t. Until Syd, our closest friend in Florida and a fabulous cook herself, told Katie about this delicious dish.  Boy, I’m glad she did. The other night Katie made this creamy rich tomato pie which brought out the sweetness of the tomatoes with a crispy pie crust and lots of cheese. So, if you love tomatoes you need to try making this for dinner.

Here’s the recipe. Hope you enjoy!

Tomato Pie

1 Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust, thawed

1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
4 large (or 6 small) tomatoes sliced, seeded and pressed dry between paper towels (the better you dry the tomatoes, the better your pie will hold together when sliced)
½ yellow onion, sliced thin
1 Tbsp butter
1 can sweet corn drained
1 cup of shredded cheese that melts well (can be a mix of cheddar & Swiss or Monterrey jack)
1 cup of mayonnaise

Place thawed piecrust in well greased pie plate and bake for 5 minutes at 425 degrees then set aside to cool. Meanwhile sauté sliced onions in 1 Tbsp of butter until soft (I added a sprinkle of sugar during this step).

Spread in layers- tomatoes, basil, onions, corn and half of cheese.

Repeat layers but add the mayo to the last half of cheese before spreading it over the top.
 

Bake 12 – 15 minutes at 425 degrees until top is golden brown.

Remove from oven and let pie rest 10-15 minutes before slicing to serve.

Options – May use refrigerator biscuits (not buttermilk) pressed together instead of pie crust.

                May substitute sour cream for mayonnaise.

Baked Macaroni & Cheese

     If you love baked macaroni and cheese,  Rocky & Carlos’ Restaurant & Bar is the place to go.  This family restaurant, located in Chalmette, Louisiana has been making this dish since the restaurant opened in 1965. Many orders are drenched in flavorful  roast-beef or tomato gravy. It is believed this tradition of pouring gravy over the pasta came from customers.

     This dish inspired Alphonse to create his own Mexican style variation on this bake macaroni and cheese dish.

Alphonse’s Mexican Style Baked Macaroni & Cheese

1 pound elbow macaroni

½ stick unsalted butter

1 - 14.5 oz can – Fire Roasted diced tomatoes, drained

1 - 4.5 oz can – Green Chiles, drained and chopped

1 cup milk, warmed with 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cups shredded Mexican Style Cheddar Pepper Jack Cheese

2 cups finely shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese

2 cups shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1 1/2  cups of Panko Crispy Bread Crumbs Italian Style

2 tsp. salt or sea salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1tsp. olive oil

 

1.      Boil macaroni in covered pot for 10 minutes (water must be at rolling boil before you add macaroni). Season water with salt & olive oil.

2.      In a small bowl mixed all the cups of cheese.

3.      Strain off water from macaroni. Place macaroni back into pot

4.      Stir in butter, milk and pepper. Stir in 4 cups of mixed cheese. This should all melt and produce a creamy sauce. Season to taste.

5.      Add Green Chiles and tomatoes to macaroni, mix well.

6.      Place macaroni mixture in a 9 x 13 baking pan.

7.      Cover generously with remaining 2 cups of cheese.

8.      Top with Panko for browning.

Bake at 300° for 45 minutes, then brown top under broiler until golden brown.

Number of Servings 4 to 6

Roasted Pork and Butternut Squash

Roasted Pork with Butternut Squash

Roasted Pork:

1 pork tenderloin (about 1 ½ pound)

1 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp packed light brown sugar
½ tsp lemon pepper
½ tsp smoked paprika

 1.      Preheat the oven to 400°.

2.      Mix brown sugar, lemon pepper and smoked paprika in a small bowl.
3.      Rub both sides of the pork with this mixture.
4.      Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
5.      Add the pork and sear until browned on all sides, about 2 to 3 minutes (brown sugar tends to burn quickly so watch closely while searing pork).
6.      Place seared pork in a roasting pan.
7.      Transfer to the oven and roast until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 145°, about 18 minutes.
8.      Transfer the pork to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Butternut Squash:

 2 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp parmesan & Romano cheese, grated
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp green onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 14 ½ oz can diced tomatoes with zesty mild green chilies, drained
3 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 cup chicken broth

1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine first 3 ingredients.
2. In a medium skillet heat the oil and add the garlic and green onions and cook until garlic is tender.
3. Add the chicken broth, mixed ingredients and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until squash is tender.

 

Number of Servings 4

Shrimp Mold and Shrimp Dip

Louisiana Brown Shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico

     The next time you buy shrimp, take a closer look at the label and you’ll notice a set of numbers divided by a slash, like this: 21/25.  This number, called the “count”, tells you the size of the shrimp.  The count refers to the number of individual shrimp in 1 pound. For instance, when you but 1 pound of 21/25 count shrimp, that means you can expect to get 21 to 25 shrimp. The smaller the numbers, the bigger the shrimp. Sometimes on big shrimp you’ll see a count that looks like this: U/15 to U/10. This means there are fewer than 15 or fewer than 10 shrimp per pound.

Two of my favorite recipes for parties are my Shrimp Mold and mom’s Shrimp Dip.

Shrimp Mold 

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup

2 envelopes Knox brand unflavored gelatine

½ cup cool water

½ cup green onions chopped fine

1 cup celery chopped fine

1 pound cooked shrimp chopped

2 (10oz) packages of  cream cheese, softened

1 cup of mayonnaise

¼ teaspoon lemon pepper 

1. Heat soup in a small saucepan
2. In a medium bowl stir gelatine into cool water until dissolved. Mix hot soup into the gelatine liquid.  
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and mayonnaise together. 
4. Add soup mixture to the cream cheese and mayonnaise. Mix well.
5. Add green onions, celery, shrimp, and lemon pepper.
6. After mixing, place in greased mold and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or preferably refrigerate overernight.

Shrimp Dip

 3 bricks of cream cheese (softened)

1/3 cup of cream (or milk)

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder

Dash or two of Worcestershire sauce

3/4 cup of cooked shrimp chopped up

1.      In a blender add the cream cheese and gradually add the cream and blend until smooth.

2.      Add all remaining ingredients and mix well.

3.      Chill for about an hour (Best served next day). 

Tip: Substitute crab or lobster meat in place of shrimp.