From Burma Davis Posey…  this is a 40 year family favorite that is always delicious!  Guests always ask for the recipe!  If you feel a little guilty because of the rich ingredients, remember life is short and you deserve it!!!

Cake:
1 stick butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup shortening or vegetable oil
2 cups sugar (Dixie is the best!)
2 cups all purpose flour
5 egg yolks
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk (You will not believe what this does for the flavor of a cake!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (3-1/2 ounce) can coconut
1 cup Georgia pecans, checked and chopped
5 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream shortening and butter.  Add sugar and beat until mixture is smooth.  Add egg yolks and beat well.  Combine flour and soda and add to creamed mixture, alternating with buttermilk.  Stir in vanilla.  Add coconut and nuts.  Carefully fold in egg whites.  Pour into 3 well-buttered 8″  or 9″” round cake pans.  Bake for 20 - 25 minutes.  Allow to cool.  

Frosting:
1 package (8 ounce) Philadelphia cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 stick butter, softened to room temperature
1 box sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Georgia pecans, checked and chopped

Beat cheese and butter together until smooth.  Add sugar and vanilla.  Beat until smooth.  Place a bit of icing on your favorite cake plate to hold your cake in place.  Place your first layer on the cake plate.  Spread the icing on the top. Repeat with the remaining two layers.  Carefully frost the sides.  Top with the Georgia pecans and be humble when the compliments pour in!!! 

My colleague, Eric Sturdy, and I met in Minneapolis to trek to Famous Dave’s home in Edina, Minnesota.    He has the home of my dreams because it includes a commercial kitchen, as well as a residential kitchen with a big counter where folks can sit, chat, sample and sample more.

Dave realized that Eric and I had never eaten at a Famous Dave’s BBQ and quickly insisted that we go to lunch.   When the doors of a nearby Famous Dave’s opened and the management saw us enter, the greeting was worthy of a royal visit.    I think everyone working at the restaurant must have greeted him.   Needless to say, we felt like celebrities. 

Famous Dave ordered an incredible platter of food served on an aluminum lid of a garbage can.   It is a speciality order and includes a little (or rather a lot) of everything.   Eric and I must have eaten a ton that day and there was still food left over.  

Dave is a foodie who created his own recipes.   Should you ever meet him, be sure and ask how he came to develop a fondness for bbq.   He has a very interesting story.   In addition to his entrepreneurial interests, Dave is a fine Christian man who has dedicated his life to helping young people, and especially Native Americans.   

www.davidwanderson.com

1 medium onion, chopped fine

4 oz Wesson oil

3 oz cider vinegar

4 oz ice water

Salt, pepper and sugar

Spread half of onion over bottom of large bowl.   Cover with separated crab lumps and then remaining onion.   Salt and pepper.   Sprinkle sugar over.   Pour oil, vinegar, ice water over all.   Cover and marinate for 2 - 12 hours.  Toss lightly before serving.

Serve on saltines, or your favorite snack cracker.

 ** Recipe is from Juanita Stowe (mother of Uncle Jimmy).

The Commander’s Palace famous…

BREAD PUDDING SOUFFLE WITH WHISKEY SAUCE
Yields 6

BREAD PUDDING

3/4 cups Sugar
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
Pinch of Nutmeg
3 Medium Eggs
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 tsp. Vanilla
5 cups New Orleans French Bread, 1″ cubed (see note)
1/3 cup Raisins
(18: in length or approximately 1 1/3 G/ sliced thin)

WHISKEY SAUCE

1 cup Heavy Cream
1/2 Tbsp. Corn Starch
1 Tbsp. Water
3 Tbsp. Sugar
1/4 cup Bourbon

MERINGUE

9 Medium Egg Whites
3/4 cups Sugar
1/4 tsp. Cream of Tartar

To make the bread pudding, first preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8″ square baking pan. Combine sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs until smooth, then work in the heavy cream. Add the vanilla, then the bread cubes. Allow bread to soak up custard.

Place the raisins in a greased pan. Top with the egg mixture, which prevents the raisins from burning. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until the pudding has a golden brown color and is firm to the touch. If a toothpick inserted in the pudding comes out clean, it is done. The mixture of pudding should be nice and moist, not runny or dry. Cool to room temperature.

To make the whiskey sauce, place the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat, and bring to a boil. Whisk corn starch and water together, and add to cream while whisking. Bring to a boil. Whisk and let simmer for a few seconds, taking care not to burn the mixture on the bottom. Remove from heat.

Stir in the sugar and the bourbon. Taste to make sure the sauce has a thick consistency, a sufficiently sweet taste, and a good bourbon flavor. Cool to room temperature.

To make the meringue, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter six 6 ounce ramekins. First, be certain that the bowl and whisk are clean. The egg whites should be completely free of yolk, and they will whip better if the chill is off them. This dish needs a good, stiff meringue. In a large bowl or mixer, whip egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Add the sugar gradually, and continue whipping until shiny and thick. Test with a clean spoon. If the whites stand up stiff, like shaving cream, when you pull out the spoon, the meringue is ready. Do not overwhip, or the whites will break down and the soufflé will not work.

In a large bowl, break half the bread pudding into pieces using your hands or a spoon. Gently fold in one-quarter of the meringue, being careful not to lose the air in the whites. Add a portion of this base to each of the ramekins.

Place the remaining bread pudding in the bowl, break into pieces, and carefully fold in the rest of the meringue. Top off the soufflés with this lighter mixture, to about 1 1/2 inches. Smooth and shape tops with spoon into a dome over the ramekin rim. Bake immediately for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately. Using a spoon, poke a hole in the top of each soufflé, at the table, and pour the room temperature whiskey sauce inside the soufflé.

Note: New Orleans French bread is very light and tender. If substitute bread is used that is too dense, it will soak up all the custard and the recipe will not work.

Apple Crisp

4 cups - sliced apples
1 cup - sugar
1 cup - water
2 tbsp - flour

Topping:
1/2 cup - margarine
1 cup - brown sugar
1 cup - flour
1 cup - oatmeal

Put apples in the bottom of an 8″ x 12″ pan.  Mix sugar, water, and flour together; bring to a boil.  Pour over the apples.  Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle over the top.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

From the southern kitchen of Burma Davis Posey

Serves 8 as a Side Dish

Prep Time: 30 minutes if your rice is uncooked

Cook Time: One hour

Difficulty level: Easy!!!

1-1/2 cups cooked rice

7-1/2 Vidalia onions, chopped

1 stick butter (1/4 pound)

2 cups Swiss Cheese, grated

2/3 cup cream

Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Sauté onion in butter until transparent but NOT browned.  Allow to cool.  Mix with remaining ingredients in a large bowl.  Pour into a 2-quart buttered casserole.  Bake uncovered for one hour.  Serve and enjoy.

This is one of my all time favorite and easiest recipes!  It is delicious, never fails, and it a delight for your family and guests. 

People are always curious about the ingredients and their LAST guess is onions! 

This was served to us when Jim and I judged Miss Idaho several years ago and was definitely everyone’s favorite dish at that meal.  Our hostess was very pleased that no one could guess the ingredients!  But let’s think about it… have we EVER tasted anything made with those fabulous Vidalia, Georgia onions that was not yummy?!? 

I think all of us in Georgia took them for granted while growing up and now the entire world has discovered them!  Did you know it is not the onion, but the soil they are gown in?  The farmers in Toombs County started with only 600 unique low sulfur acres.  They now have 15,000 acres and people outside Vidalia can’t duplicate the sweet taste!  They are still harvested by hand between late-April and mid-June.  Make sure you use only sweet Vidalia onions!

Lemon Tart

 Shortbread Crust:

1 cup flour
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ cup butter
Place dry ingredients into food processor. Add the butter and pulse until mixture comes together in clumps with butter. Press evenly into tart pan with fingers. Prick bottom. Cover and place in freezer for 15 minutes. Bake at 350 sitting inside another pan until shortbread is golden brown.

Lemon Filling:

5oz. cream cheese
½ cup sugar
½ cup fresh-squeezed real lemon juice
2 large eggs
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon zest

In the food processor, process cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and blend until incorporated. Add eggs one at a time- thoroughly process, scrapping the sides of food processor. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth and well blended. Pour in cooled shortbread and bake 25-30 minutes at 350 until filling is set. Chill at least an hour and garnish with sugared lemon curls.

 Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

 Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

 Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!