Living 2 Eat |

Donna E. Godfrey tells me this recipe is terrific when adding a dash of horseradish sauce.

Bacon Mashed Potatoes

1/3 c diced Canadian Bacon
2 T chopped scallions(You can use onions diced fine)
4 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes
1/2 t  salt
1/2 c cream (I use Half & Half)
1/4 c softened butter
1 t  minced garlic
1/2 t  ground nutmeg (I just add a little)

Fry diced Canadian bacon until crispy.  Mix with chopped scallions.  Set aside. 

Cover peeled, quartered potatoes with water and salt. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes or until fork tender.  Drain. 

Whip potatoes with cream, butter, garlic and nutmeg.  Blend in half the bacon mixture.  Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper to taste.  Transfer to serving bowl. 

Top with remaining bacon mixture. 

Serves 6 to 8 people.

My cousin, Bobbi Su Bates Sutton, tells me this is the easiest gravy recipe ever…

When cooking a roast, add a small amount of water to the pan. Once it is done, take the drippings and mix with a can of mushroom soup. It makes the easiest (and best tasting gravy).

Everyone in our family makes gravy this way.

Hi Ben,

Here is the recipe for “Thumb Bit” Sauce which accompanies boneless sirloin or filet sliced on the diagonal. I think this was served at the old Pen and Pencil Steakhouse in New York City. It was one of my Uncle Jim and Aunt Fran’s favorite restaurants and she came up with this version of the sauce:

4 oz. butter

1/3 cup ketchup

2/3 cup water

1T Worchester Sauce

1T Liquid Mustard Sauce **

1 heaping tablespoon of brown sugar

3T of creamy French dressing

Miss in saucepan and simmer slowly for 20 or 30 minutes.

Yum!

Best,

Patricia White Kearney

** We used Nance’s, but I don’t think they make it anymore. See www.brfoods.com for info on Nance’s other products – good stuff!

There is something comforting about this dish.  On a cold day, I think this meal is one of my all time favorites.

Shepards Pie

2 pounds ground beef

vegetable oil

1-1/2 cups chopped onions

1 cup carrots, cut up

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup beef broth

1 cup frozen mixed vegetables

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping:

5 medium-sized potatoes

3 to 4 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Fry ground beef in vegetable oil.

Add onions and carrots. Cover and cook 5 minutes over medium heat. Blend in tomato paste, flour, and beef broth. Cook, stirring, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in frozen vegetables and cook 10 minutes.

Cook and mash potatoes and spread over meat mixture in casserole dish. Dot with butter.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

Blue Corn Chips with Goat Cheese, Corn, and Tomato Salsa

Quick to prepare and lighter than standard nachos, this dish is especially good with corn fresh from the garden or farm stand. What makes these nachos truly stand out is the innovative use of goat cheese. If goat cheese isn’t available at your supermarket, try looking in a health food store.

1/2 cup white corn, frozen or freshly cooked

1 cup tomato salsa (bottled or homemade)

30 blue corn chips

8 ounces creamy fresh goat cheese (such as a fromage blanc)

1 head lettuce, shredded

Mix the corn with the salsa. Spoon into a small serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate until serving time. Place the corn chips on a foil-lined baking sheet. Dot each chip with 1 teaspoon of goat cheese. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

Shortly before serving, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Bake the chips for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Mound the shredded lettuce on a serving platter. Place the bowl of salsa in the center of the platter. Arrange the chips on the lettuce in a circular pattern.

Recipe from The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Restaurant review from dear friend and foodie Robin Spillias…

It was a rare night all around in Tallahassee…my husband Will and I had a date! We went to grab some food before we went to a “film;” yes, not a typical movie theater movie, but an awesome documentary (”Stranded: I Have Come from a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains”) at All Saints, the Tallahassee Film Society’s ultra cool railway station theater. Anyway, we decided to try a new place (at least for us) called Bird’s Aphrodisiac Oyster Shack. And oh my, my … do not let the name keep you away if you do not love oysters … they are a specialty item on a menu that boasts only four singular main food choices. Four! Oysters, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches and grouper sandwiches. It sounds crazy, but like the proprietor told us, “when you only do four things, you better do them all great.” And he did not disappoint.

The menu is set up for you to be able to make hundreds of combinations through their spice, rub and marinade choices and then your toppings. We started with a dozen oysters. Now I am a very picky oyster eater after spending nearly 10 years in Charleston, SC, attending countless oyster roasts and even going out in the intracoastal and chucking fresh oysters into the boat bed … a nice dry heat and they pop delicately and fresh in your mouth.  The Aphrodisiac oysters were delectable and fresh from the Apalachicola Bay. We ordered a half dozen raw with and a half dozen baked with garlic, parmesan and chopped tomatoes. Even an oyster hater would be impressed! We were thinking we should have ordered more, but when the rest of our food came, we were glad we didn’t show our gluttony.

 I ordered the chicken breast sandwich with jerk  spice and the regular lettuce, tomato and mayo toppings. When it came out – with the best seasoned fries I have EVER had – it was spilling over the sides of the soft bun. I had to check to see why they put two breasts on my sandwich – I thought maybe I won a prize .. or maybe the chef peaked his head out and thought I was cute! But the singular breast was the juiciest – without being watery – sinfully aromatic and tasteful chicken sandwich I have ever eaten. A chicken sandwich .. no big deal you are thinking when you order it, but I was almost teary eyed with admiration for its taste and size. I could not finish it (the next day I was remorseful for being a wimp!)

Will, in his quest like Ben to find the very best burger in the world, ordered the $6 hamburger and topped it with ketchup and mayo. Did he come up for air? Barely. It was the thickest and best burger he’s ever had, all for $6.  The meat was grilled medium to perfection, not a dry spot on its delectable outside, and an even flavor through and through. He broke out his phone and started texting the masses about its unmatched taste, all the time wondering whether he was going to take the plunge and try the $9 burger next time we visit!   The onion rings were sweet and fried to perfection, not overly breaded … the tears in his eyes echoed my sentiments of the chicken sandwich.

We washed our food down with a couple of cold drafts in plastic cups as we watched the musician of the night setting up. The ambiance at Bird’s is casual, casual … it feels like a college hangout, but equally caters to middle aged locals like us. For kicks, there is shuffle bowling in the corner, hundreds of photos to look at of friends, family and patrons on the surface of the bar, and friendly owners and staff to talk to before the place gets too crowded.

We hated to leave our new found “place” and vowed to tell everyone about it! Don’t they say “under promise and over deliver?” Bird’s does that and so much more! When you find your way up here in the “Big Bend” of Florida, head downtown and take advantage of the “four best things” to eat in Tallahassee!