Living 2 Eat |

 It has probably been about 15 years since I last ate Susan’s Pretzel Salad, but I can tell you that it is beyond wonderful.   In fact, I am going to make it this weekend and eat the entire thing myself!

Susan is a dear friend to my family and the Godmother to my oldest nephew, Mason.    We originally met Susan, Jimmie and Josh about 20 years ago when my sister (Brundi) entered the Miss Florida T.E.E.N. Pageant.   At that particular time, Susan and family lived in the West Palm Beach area and would invite us over for a home cooked dinner during our college days.   Southern hospitality at its finest.

Today, Susan is as pretty as ever, still has a great big Southern smile, and loves her grandchildren.  Although the Starling family does not see Susan very often, we know she is only a phone call away if needed.  

Susan… we love you and miss you!  And Living2Eat.com thanks you for sharing your award winning recipe!

                             Susan’s Pretzel Salad

 2 c. crushed pretzels         

1 c. sugar

3 tsp. sugar                                                     

1 lrg. pkg strawberry Jell-O

¾ c. melted butter                                          

2-10oz pkg partly thawed frozen strawberries

1-8oz pkg cream cheese (room temp)            

2 c. boiling water

1-12oz pkg Cool Whip

Crush pretzels in processor (or pound in Ziploc bag with mallet).  Mix pretzels, 3 tsp sugar and butter.  Press into 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake @ 400° oven for 8 minutes.  Cool.

Beat softened cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar.  Fold Cool Whip into mixture. Spread over cooled crust.  Cover and refrigerate.  Mix Jell-O with boiling water; stir until dissolved.  Stir in strawberries and let set until partially jelled.

Pour on top of Cool Whip mixture and chill until set completely.    

Denise S. Plunkett, thanks for sharing the perfect ‘bouquet’… where do we find these?

  Growing up in Immokalee (FL), a biscuit was never complete without a tablespoon (or two) of homemade guava jelly.   Our area restaurants featured it as a staple, as did most households in our town.   I am not sure if many of you have ever tried guava jelly, but it is somewhat of an acquired taste.  

One of the best guava jelly makers is Brenda “Binky” Williams.   She is the aunt of my brother in law and a next door neighbor growing up.   Miss Binky seemed to perfect the recipe with some type of special touch, perhaps it is love.  Here is her short and simple recipe.  

Miss Binky’s Guava Jelly

5 cups guava juice

1 box Sure-jel

7 cups sugar

Bring guava juice to boil, and add Sure-jel.   Boil to dissolve Sure-jel, add sugar bringing to rolling boil and cook 1 1/2 minutes.

Makes 5 pints.

NOTE:   You must know how to make jelly in order to complete this recipe!  However, if homemade jelly is a bit too advanced, I might suggest that you contact me and I can put you in touch with a small local vendor that delivers a quality product.

Guava jelly is great on Ritz crackers with cream cheese, spooned over chocolate covered graham crackers, laden on hot buttermilk biscuits or eaten by the spoonful right out of the jar!  This is NOT for the diabetics in the family.

…from the kitchen of Mrs. Donna Engle Godfrey

SWEET AND SOUR PORK

1.5 lbs pork shoulder cubed in inch cubes                                              
2 cups pineapple chunks
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup vinegar (I use rice vinegar now)
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup green pepper slices( I just use one green pepper)
1 onion thinly sliced
 
Brown pork slowly in hot oil. Add 1/4 cup hot water and cover and simmer 1 hour.

Drain pineapple, reserving the juice. Combine the brown sugar and cornstarch, and add the reserved pineapple jucie, vinegar, soy sauce and salt. (I always cook with sea salt).  Cook and stir over low heat until thick.

Pour over hot cooked pork and let stand 10 minutes. Add pineapple, green pepper and onion. If you do not want the vegetables to be crunchy, brown them in a bit of oil before adding.  I add thinly slaced carrots( about 1/4-1/2 cup) sometimes for more color.
 

Serve over white rice.

NOTE:   Mrs. Godfrey has prepared this dish for groups of people 100+.   Growing up, she would prepare this recipe for our church dinner on Wednesday evenings. This recipe was given to Mrs. Godfrey by Mrs. Fay Chandler.  

For the past six year or so, I have earned Delta Airlines’ highest annual status, Platinum Medallion.   This means that I travel way too much and find myself trekking thru Delta’s east coast hub at least several times per week.

Despite the glamorous perception of having a job that requires extensive air travel, I nearly starved on many trips as I longed for real food… not room service, not a burger on the go, and not another rubber chicken dinner at some hotel banquet hall… I wanted something good that would stick to my ribs.   Quickly, I discovered the Atlanta airport (ATL) had great Southern food… Paschals.

Paschals is located in several places throughout ATL.   I have dined at each of them and all offer winning cuisine that makes this Southern boy smile!   Being a weary road warrior, a nice fried chicken meal complimented with collards and black-eyes hits the spot.   Also, the beef-a-roni type of entree is awesome too. The proverbial icing on the cake is always the sweet tea.   I never cared for their desserts as their cobblers are a bit too laden with spice and cinnamon.   The tea was dessert enough for me.

I know very little about Paschals and their background, but I do know they serve a great ‘fast food’ meal to the weary traveler.

Football Season Taco Dip

Shredded cheddar cheese (mild or sharp)

Refried beans

Ground beef

Thick n’ chunky salsa

Sour cream

Taco seasoning

Hot sauce

Brown ground beef and heavily season with a taco/chili powder.  Drain thoroughly.  Spread refried beans (usually 1 large can) evenly across the bottom of a casserole dish.  Layer with ground beef.  Dash hot sauce if you wish.

Mix sour cream with a packet or two of taco/chili powder and heap atop the layer of ground beef (should be at least an inch thick).   This sour cream mixture should be somewhat spicy.  Generously pour a thick n’ chunky salsa atop the sour cream layer, then cover with cheddar cheese (mild or sharp).

Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes… or until it bubbles over the pan and makes a mess.   DO NOT serve this immediately — let it set for about 5 minutes.   If you dip into it too early, it will have a loose consistency.   Best served very warm, and it is great reheated.

Serve with nachos and get ready for a thick, hearty appetizer.   I have never had any complaints on this dish. 

NOTE:  This is a dish I made somewhat by accident.  You will note that no quantities are listed because it is something that can be thrown together and contoured without measurement according to your needs.

“I’ll take one in every color” said Burma Davis Posey.

Photographed on her dining room table are the KitchenAid mixers she purchased as part of an exciting new project that she was to launch.  Although a bit delayed with the plan, you will hear about Burma’s project one of these days. 

 Earlier today, I dined with some folks at The Flagler Steakhouse.  Our table included a stunning view of The Breakers’ beautifully manicured golf course.Located in the heart of beautiful Palm Beach, Florida, this establishment is part of The Breakers — an internationally known five-star resort.

In my quest to sample every hamburger in the USA, I ordered “The Flagler Burger” which is probably the juiciest burger that I have ever eaten.   My order arrived a perfect ‘medium’ and was quickly topped with nothing but ketchup and yellow mustard.   The meat was flavorful, extremely juicy and succulent.  By far, one of the best gourmet burgers that I have ever eaten.

My guests ordered French onion soup to start and both raved about it.  I have tried this before and found it to be wonderful.  The flavor of the soup is always rich and robust with a hint of sugar.  

One of my guests concluded his meal with THE BEST dessert in Palm Beach… “Cookies and Milk”.  This childhood favorite includes four nice thick freshly baked chocolate chip cookies surrounding a glass of ice cold milk.  The aroma of this dish is enough to conjure up childhood memories.  

Our server, Tim, was terrific and made sure our glasses were never empty.   Prompt, courteous and always attentive.   He made our visit perfect and I so appreciated it because one of my guests was a first time visitor.

Simply put, The Breakers hits a home run on this meal!  

… from the kitchen of Danielle Nastri

Blue Cheese Mac n’ Cheese

1 lb penne pasta (or whatever pasta you prefer)

2 tbsp butter

¼ cup flour

¼ cup minced fresh sweet onion (optional but I love this addition)

2 cups whole milk

1 cup whipping cream

3 cups cheddar cheese, grated

1 ½ cups blue cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13×9 baking pan.

Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, and leave in strainer.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour to make a roux and stir constantly to let the flour cook, but not burn. Light brown is good.

Whisk in milk and cream. Simmer until mixture thickens, whisking constantly, DO NOT LET BOTTOM BURN. Reduce heat to low and add grated cheddar cheese (reserving 1/2 cup for sprinkling on top before baking) and crumbled blue cheese and onion. Whisk until cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add cooked pasta to sauce; stir until all pasta is coated. Transfer mixture to buttered baking pan and sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.

A NOTE FROM DANIELLE

This is one of those “not if you are watching your weight or cholesterol” recipes : )

… from the kitchen of Donna Engle Godfrey

 CRYSTAL’S CHOCOLATE GRAVY FOR BISCUITS
 
1/2 cup butter
3 squares baking chocolate (semi-sweet)
1 box powered sugar
1 can evaporated milk
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp pure vanilla
 
Melt chocolate and butter on the top of a double boiler. Add the powered sugar (a few tablespoons at a time) and gradually add milk.  Then, add salt and vanilla.  If you let this set a few minutes it will thicken.
 
To me you need to serve it on Cathead Biscuits:
 
2 cups self rising flour
1 cup buttermilk
a lump of solid shortening the size of a walnut (butter or solid Crisco)
 
 Put flour in large mixing bowl, form a depression in the center. Place the shortening and a little of the milk in the center and start stirring. When the shortening is blended, add the rest of the milk, mixing just until the dough forms a ball. (This dough tends to be a bit moist so don’t add flour)
 
Place wax paper on your counter and sprinkle with flour . Roll the dough out on the wax paper until it is about 1-1/2 inch thick. Then, cut out the biscuits. I use a cleaned tuna can that I have cut the top and bottom out of since this is bigger than my regular biscuit cutter. Cut out your biscuits and place in a greased pan.   Bake at 400 degrees until biscuits are a light brown.  

A tip:  Bertie Lawson from Immokalee gave me this… have the biscuits touching because you want them to rise up and not spread out.

NOTE:  Mrs. Godfrey’s daughter is Crystal.   We were neighbors and classmates in Immokalee many 20+ years ago.