Read Home Cooking With Trisha Yearwood: Stories and Recipes to Share With Family and Friends Online
Authors: Trisha Yearwood
Tags: #food.cookbooks
Home Cooking With Trisha Yearwood: Stories and Recipes to Share With Family and Friends (5 page)
SERVES 12
2 11-ounce cans Mexican corn, drained
2 4½-ounce cans chopped green chiles, drained
2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese (about 8 ounces)
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
Corn chips, for dipping
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 × 13 × 2-inch casserole dish.
In a medium bowl, mix the corn, chiles, cheeses, and mayonnaise until fully combined. Spread the mixture in the prepared casserole dish and bake, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, or until bubbly around the edges. Serve the dip warm from the oven with corn chips.
dip
When I was a young girl, we had a big garden every year. I didn’t know how good I had it until I moved to the big city of Nashville and ate my first canned vegetable! Aside from our personal garden, my daddy planted a big field each year with soybeans, which he sold at harvest. I never really understood why we grew something we didn’t eat. I ended up loving soybeans. If I had known about this tasty dip back then, I doubt my daddy would have had many soybeans to sell!
SERVES 12
4 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
16 ounces shelled edamame beans (about 2 cups)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
4 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup fresh lime juice
¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
Pita chips, for dipping
In a medium skillet over medium heat, roast the garlic, turning frequently, until softened, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, cool, and then slip off the skins. Set aside.
Bring about 8 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan and drop in the beans. Bring back to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Reserve ¾ cup of the cooking water before draining. Drain the beans and cool.
Transfer the garlic into a blender and chop coarsely. Add the beans, salt, cayenne pepper, and cumin. Process in the blender, adding the reserved water a little at a time until smooth. (You may not need to add all of the water.) Add the olive oil, lime juice, and cilantro. Pulse to combine. Use pita chips for dipping.
boat
This appetizer was shared with us by a South Georgia pastor’s wife,
Vicki Martin. She got it from a church hostess in Hawkinsville, Georgia, years before. The bread “boat” is a cute way to serve this warm cheesy appetizer.
SERVES 10
1 loaf French or Italian bread
10 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (about 2½ cups)
3 2-ounce packages corned beef, such as Carl Buddig, finely chopped
½ bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
½ teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco
½ teaspoon chili powder
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 medium tomato, finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
Large corn chips
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Cut an oval in the top of the loaf of bread, scooping out the bread in the center and making a “bread boat.” Place the bread on a cookie sheet.
In a large bowl, mix the cheese, beef, bell pepper, hot sauce, chili powder, cream cheese, tomato, and green onions until fully combined. Spoon the mixture into the hollow center of the bread loaf. Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbling, and serve warm with corn chips.
bites
My mom loves spicy dishes, and this recipe for a jalapeño pepper snack is one of her favorites. I’ve had deep-fried Cheddar jalapeño poppers at restaurants, but these cheesy bites use cream cheese and Parmesan for a different flavor. I really can’t be left alone with these!
MAKES 36 BITES
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
8 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
4 tablespoons seeded and chopped jalapeño peppers
1 large egg, beaten
3 cups dry plain bread crumbs
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Mix the cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, jalapeños, and egg to form a paste. Shape into balls using about ½ tablespoon of paste for each. Roll the balls in the bread crumbs. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm.
Handle hot chiles like jalapeño, habanero, or cayenne with care. Always wash your hands after handling. They may cause chemical burns to sensitive skin. If you’ve ever handled a hot chile and then scratched your eyes, you know what I’m talking about!
Warren's Chicken Bites
Warren brought these bites, made with dove breast, to the Paulk family reunion.
chicken bites
My cousin Warren brought these little tidbits to a family reunion. He’s a hunter and used dove breasts in his recipe. I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t care for dove or quail. I’m even more embarrassed to tell you that after a big bird hunt, Mama would fry up everything Daddy brought home and I would eat Vienna sausages! I use chicken here, but I’m thinking … Warren’s Vienna bites! Hmmm …
MAKES 8 BITE-SIZE SERVINGS
4 chicken tenders, flattened and cut in half
1 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons seeded and finely chopped jalapeño pepper
8 bacon slices
Top each piece of chicken with ½ teaspoon cream cheese and ¼ teaspoon jalapeño. Roll up each filling-covered chicken piece and wrap with 1 slice of bacon, securing with a toothpick. Grill for 8 to 10 minutes on an indoor grill. Or, if you are using an outdoor grill, turn the pieces once during grilling.
FROM GWEN:
Substitute dove breast, dark meat chicken, or turkey for the chicken tenders, if you like.
pâté
We love hummus, but couldn’t think of a way for our recipe to be in a southern cookbook. Then we decided to replace the standard garbanzo beans with boiled peanuts, one of our favorite snacks, and voila!—redneck hummus.
MAKES 2 CUPS
1 15-ounce can or 2 cups fresh shelled boiled peanuts (
see Note
)
5 tablespoons tahini (
see second Note
)
2 teaspoons lemon zest
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons minced garlic
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 tablespoons water
Using a food processor, blend the peanuts, tahini, lemon zest and juice, parsley, garlic, and cayenne pepper until coarsely chopped. With the processor running, pour the olive oil through the top opening in a slow, steady stream, processing until the mixture is smooth. Remove the mixture to a mixing bowl and stir in the water for desired spreading consistency. Serve with your choice of chips, crackers, or vegetables.
NOTE: Boil your own fresh green peanuts in a 3-quart stockpot, covering them with water and adding
⅔ cup salt for each gallon of water used. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for 1½ hours, or until the nuts are tender. Drain and cool.
NOTE: Tahini isn’t always easy to find. Make your own by blending ¼ cup vegetable oil with 1 cup toasted sesame seeds. Store the extra in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
FROM GWEN:
This is delicious on strips of sweet red bell pepper.
pickles
Louise Aiken, a ninety-four-year-old family friend, has her own garden and grows her own cucumbers. She gave Mama three jars of these pickles at Christmas, one for each of us. They went fast! Louise was given the recipe by a Monticello, Georgia, friend,
Nona Wilson. The time spent on these pickles is mostly just waiting.
MAKES 6 PINTS
6 pounds cucumbers (about 16 medium), 1½ inches in diameter
2 quarts white vinegar
4 pounds sugar
4 scant drops cinnamon oil
4 scant drops clove oil
Wash the cucumbers thoroughly. Pack the whole cucumbers in a 1-gallon widemouthed glass jar. Do not trim the ends of the cucumbers. Fill the jar with enough vinegar to cover the cucumbers. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 6 weeks.
After 6 weeks, drain the cucumbers in a colander. Do not rinse the cucumbers. Trim the cucumber ends and slice into ⅛- to ¼-inch slices.
Put a layer of cucumber slices back into the glass jar and layer with the sugar. Repeat the layering process until you’ve used all of the cucumber slices and sugar. Add the cinnamon and clove oil. The jar will be about three-fourths full. Shake the jar at least four times during the day or stir with a wooden spoon to distribute the sugar and oils. The vinegar on the cucumbers will dissolve the sugar. Set aside for 2 or 3 days to allow the sugar to dissolve and the oil flavors to develop. Transfer the pickles to pint jars for storage.
Most pickle recipes include endless soaking in lime and rinsing. This one is super-easy.
FROM GWEN:
Louise buys cinnamon oil and clove oil at the local drugstore. Since the recipe calls for only a few drops, the tiny bottles last forever and she just shares hers with me.
tea
This was the first thing I remember making at home as a child. Sweet tea is the staple of every good southern meal. I like it warm, right after it’s made, but most people love it cold and over ice. I had been making this tea for many years before I realized I was making it wrong. My sister was watching me make it one day and said, “Whoa! You’re putting way too much sugar in that!” I guess the original Yearwood recipe calls for ¾ cup sugar. Too late to turn back now! This really should be called Sweet Sweet Tea.
MAKES 1 GALLON
4 large, family-size tea bags
16 cups water
1½ cups sugar
Fill a teakettle or saucepan with enough water to completely cover the tea bags, about 2 cups. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat. Let the tea stand for 10 minutes. Put the sugar into a gallon pitcher and add 1 cup of cold water. Stir to mix slightly. Pour the hot tea into the sugar mixture and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the remaining 13 cups of cold water to fill the pitcher.