Evelyn's Kentucky Colonel Bourbon Balls!

 

 

Every year at Christmas, a dear friend of our family would make all of us her special bourbon balls.  Sadly, she passed away this fall.  Evelyn and my mother had been very close friends for years, but she was special to all of us.  She was just like part of our family.  You have never met a sweeter lady. When I started doing this blog and the holidays approached, I told my mother one day that I wish I had gotten Evelyn's bourbon ball recipe and Mama said that for some reason she did ask her to write it down right before she got sick.  To most people that ever had bourbon balls, Evelyn's bourbon balls are much better for some reason.  They were her thing she made that none of the rest of us tried to improve on, because you couldn't and you just knew it.  She must have made dozens of these things, because she always gave all of us a nice size tin.

 

Now, let me warn you, Evelyn's bourbon balls pack a wallop.  They are not for the faint of heart or taste buds...lol.  She always said her 'secret' was that she soaked the nuts in bourbon overnight to begin with.  That is what made the difference.  I serve these at my annual Christmas party for the family and our oldest nephew says there should be a two bourbon ball limit and if he has more than that, his wife has to drive home...lol. 

 

 I have decided that I will take over as the official 'bourbon ball' maker in Evelyn's honor, but I am not sure I can ever live up to her standards.  RIP Evelyn and thank you for your kindness and your friendship through the years.  You were a special lady.

 

Here is what you need for these bourbon balls:

 

1 cup pecans, chopped

1/4 cup good KY bourbon plus 2 Tbs.

1 lb. box of powdered sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla

1  12 oz. pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup paraffin

 

Soak the nuts in 1/4 cup good bourbon overnight.  I always get asked what I mean by 'good bourbon'.  I mean good quality, not the cheap stuff...something like Maker's Mark is good for this.  

Mix together butter and sugar with an electric mixer, add vanilla until creamy.  Add the pecans with bourbon and add 2 Tbs. additional bourbon.  Place in the refrigerator to chill for several hours.  Roll into teaspoon size balls.  Place on wax paper and cover loosely.  Place the rolled bourbon balls in the freezer to freeze.  Some recipe don't tell you to freeze them, but they are really hard to dip without falling apart if you don't.

 

Melt chocolate with paraffin in a double boiler and blend until smooth.  Dip the balls while still frozen in the warm chocolate and place on wax paper or nonstick aluminum foil works really well.  I like to go back after dipping them all and drizzle a little chocolate right on top for a pretty look.    When you start dipping these in the chocolate, you have to work fast before they start to thaw or they become hard to work with. Also keeping the chocolate over the warm water to keep it melted is important because the frozen bourbon balls will chill it quickly.  If you don't have a double boiler just place a sauce pan in a larger pan with water in it. Place in the refrigerator and chill for several hours.

 

Evelyn's Kentucky Colonel Bourbon Balls!

 





Read More

Traditional Southern Deviled Eggs!

 

 

You are just about always going to find a plate of deviled eggs at any southern holiday meal or picnic or special occasion gathering.  It's just what we do. Strangely enough, they are always gone at the end of the gathering also...no matter how many you make it seems.

 

Each person has their own 'recipe' for deviled or dressed eggs.  It isn't rocket science so it's very much up for interpretation folks, but I do have younger people and less experienced cooks ask me about the best recipe for making them.   Here is how I make them:

 

 

12 eggs, hard boiled

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. mustard, yellow or Dijon

dash of salt and black pepper

dash of celery salt

dash of Tabasco sauce (optional)

paprika or Cajun seasoning for garnish

 

Place eggs in enough water to cover them.  Add a tsp. of vinegar and a dash of salt and they will peel much easier.  Also, if you can, don't use really fresh eggs that you just bought.  They are much harder to peel than eggs you have had in the fridge for a few days.  Bring to a boil and boil for just a minute with cover on pan.  Turn heat off and let sit for about 12 to 15 minutes in the hot water.  Run under a couple changes of cold water and peel.  They will peel much easier.

 

With a sharp knife cut down the center lengthwise.  Remove the yolks and place in a bowl.  Mash with a fork.  Add the other ingredients and stir together until smooth.  You can fill them with a spoon or put the filling in a piping bag and pipe it in for a very pretty presentation.  Sprinkle with just a little paprika or I like to sprinkle with just a bit of Cajun seasoning which gives them a little more spiciness.

 

Another optional seasoning that I sometimes use for variety is to add 2 tsp. of dry ranch dressing mix.  It gives the eggs a really good flavor.

 

 

Traditional Southern Deviled Eggs!







Read More

Layered Pea Salad...a Southern Favorite!

This is a salad that has been around a long time.  I am not sure when people began making it, but it was probably in the 1970's or earlier?   Some call it 7 layer salad, some layered pea salad and some just call it pea salad, which is what we have always called it.  It's an interesting mixture of ingredients that you layer in a pretty bowl or trifle dish and then 'ice' with mayonnaise and sugar.  Yeah, I know, only in the south.  But if you are not from the south or haven't ever had this pea salad, don't be so quick to judge.   It's delicious, it can be made ahead and it will feed a crowd. My mother wouldn't think of not having a pea salad in the fridge when my sister and her family are coming to visit.  It's one of their favorites. There must be something that folks like about it, because it's still around and people are still asking about how to make it. You will always find it at a church potluck or many times at holiday meals.   Here is what you will need to make it:

4 cups of chopped salad greens (usually iceberg lettuce)
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
4 hardboiled eggs, sliced or grated
1 bag frozen peas, thawed or 1  15 oz. can baby peas, drained (like LeSeur)
2 cups mayonnaise mixed with 2 tsp. sugar
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
7-8 slices crisp cooked bacon or 1 pkg. real bacon bits (the bacon bits hold up better if you are making it the night before or to travel)

Place chopped salad greens in a pretty salad bowl or trifle dish. Next layer chopped onion and sliced celery over that.  Next layer the peas over that.

 

Layer the egg over the peas.  Some just sliced the eggs, I usually grate them.

 

Mix the mayonnaise and sugar and spread over all, sealing to the edges. Sprinkle with cheese and bacon or bacon bits.  Refrigerate until time to serve.  This can be made the night before.  Sometimes to change it up a bit I add 2 tsp. Ranch dressing and 3 Tbs. Parmesan cheese to the mayonnaise mixture and add a layer of water chestnuts after the egg layer.  You can add or leave out whatever your family likes.

 

 

 

 

 



Read More

Peanut Butter Pinwheels!

 

 

 

 

These peanut butter pinwheels are very similar to what some people call "potato candy", but these are made with cream cheese instead of potatoes.  I like both, but I think these have a richer flavor.  It's cream cheese, so how could it be bad, right?   This is actually easy to make.  The key is to get the white 'dough' stiff enough.  Here is what you will need:

 

 

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

1/2 stick or 4 Tbs. of butter, softened

2 lbs. powdered sugar (that is one large bag or two boxes)

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups creamy peanut butter

 

Cream together the cream cheese and butter.  Add vanilla.  Slowly start mixing in the powdered sugar a little at a time until it's a stiff 'dough'.    Sprinkle a little powdered sugar onto a large sheet of wax paper and roll the mixture out into a rectangle.   It should be thin enough to roll but not so thin that it won't hold together when you roll it.   Spread the peanut butter in a thin layer over all.   Roll up in a tight roll with the wax paper and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.   Refrigerate for several hours, overnight is best, and then slice in thin slices and place on a tray. 

 

 

Peanut Butter Pinwheels!









Read More

2 Ingredient Fudge...No Joke!

 

 

This fudge is so easy, I almost didn't make a post of it, but it's so good I had to share.  The same reader that sent me the 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies also sent me this 2 Ingredient Fudge recipe.  For those of you who thought that they could not make fudge, you now can.  Once again, I was skeptical that this was really good, but once again.....it was.  I need to quit second guessing things...lol.  

This is all there is to this: 

1  16oz. container vanilla frosting
1 18 oz. jar of good creamy peanut butter (like Jiff)

Place the vanilla frosting in the microwave and microwave on high for 60 seconds.  Be sure to remove the foil on the top.   When it has completely melted, remove and stir into the peanut butter.  Blend together well and pour into a 9"x9" pan that has been lined with buttered wax paper or nonstick foil.  Refrigerate until firm, then remove from pan and peel off foil or paper.  Cut in 1 inch squares. This is really creamy and rich fudge and no on will know it was this easy. You can pretend you stood over the boiling pan with the candy  thermometer half of the afternoon.    I did sprinkle 1 cup of chopped peanuts on top of mine for a better looking presentation.

2 Ingredient Fudge!

 



Read More

Slow Cooker "Cowboy Steak and Bean Stew"!

 

This is a hearty stew that you can just throw in the slow cooker and cook all night or all day and you have a wonderful warm meal waiting for you when get home from a long day of work or Christmas shopping.   This is also economical and healthy.  You can double the recipe and feed a fairly good size crowd also if you are having visitors for several days during the holidays.  This would be perfect for one of the more casual days and is a good change from all of the holiday dinners. You can place this in an oven proof dutch oven and cook it in the oven also or on the stove top.  Here is what you will need for this stew:

 

1 - 1 1/2 lbs. beef steak, cubed (I used top round)

2 Tbs. oil

1/2 lb. dried white beans (navy or great northern)

7 cups of water

1  1lb. can of crushed or stewed tomatoes, undrained

1 cup onion, chopped

1 cup celery, sliced

1 cup potatoes, diced

1 cup turnips, diced (optional, if you don't care for turnips add more potatoes)

3 beef bouillon cubes or 1 can beef broth

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. chili powder

2 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

dash of Tabasco according to your taste

 

Brown the steak in the oil in a skillet.  Wash the dried beans.   Place the steak, beans, water and all of the other ingredients in the slow cooker and stir together.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours.  Taste for seasoning, it might need a tad more salt.

 

If you are going to bake it in the oven, mix it all together in an ovenproof Dutch oven on the stove top and bring to a boil.  Cover and place in the oven at 325 degrees for 4 hours.

 

"Cowboy Steak and Bean Stew"!



 

 

 

 

 



Read More

Ruby's Opera Creams!

  

 

This recipe for "Opera Creams" is my late mother in law's recipe and undoubtedly, my favorite homemade Christmas candy.  I have not had this candy in over twenty years.   My sweet mother in law passed away very unexpectedly over 20 years ago and she was the only person I knew who made this candy.  No one in my family and friends had even ever heard of it and to this day, I don't know where she originally got it.  I never thought to get  her recipe for it and after she passed, I looked high and low for a recipe that might come close to it.  My mother thought she had a recipe so she made it and bless her heart, it wasn't even close, but I didn't want to tell her that.   So, I eventually just gave up. 

 

When I started writing this food blog, I started asking all of my family and friends for recipes for the things they make that are really good, so I got with my sister in law about a lot of her recipes, because she is a fantastic cook.   I mentioned how I wish I had gotten the Opera Creams recipe and she told me she had all of her mother's recipe files and books with her handwritten recipes in them and that she did, indeed, have the Opera Creams recipe. 

 

 I don't know why I had never thought to ask her before. She did warn me that she had tried to make them and they never did taste as good as they had when her mother made them.  So I got the recipe and gave it a whirl.  My husband says they turned out just like his mothers, although for me, none will taste just like hers did,  but they brought back good memories of her for both of us.  I even found the little candy dish she always kept them in after she made them.  Food is so important in our lives and brings back such memories of those who made it for us.  If we keep the food and the recipes alive, we keep part of those folks alive for us to remember always. 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

2 Tbs. light corn syrup

1/8 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup chopped walnuts

 

 Place sugar, cream, milk, corn syrup and salt in a heavy saucepan.  Cook over low heat until it comes to boil, stirring frequently.  Cook until it reaches the soft ball stage on a candy thermometer or around 240 degrees, stirring constantly.  This takes some time to reach so be patient.  When it reaches the soft ball stage, remove from heat and stir in vanilla and the 2 cups of chopped nuts.  Pour into a buttered 8"x8" dish.   Allow to cool completely and set up before cutting into 1 inch squares.   This candy actually improves with age.

 

 





Read More