Category: nekkid-throw cooking ~ what is THAT?
collards + cabbage + frost = “cabbards” time…. with Crispy Cornbread Cookies, Molasses Bacon Butter & Pot Likker
The time has just about come for the annual “cooking of the cabbards” to fill the freezer! Like a squirrel stowing away acorns for the winter, I too, “get my cook’n on” once our local collards have had a good kissing o’ the frost. Some think that’s just an old tale, but not this gal, lovingly called THE “Collard Queen” by those lucky enough to have had some bestowed uponst them by said ‘queen’ or have rubbed their full bellies after a sit’n at her table… served up with a side of Crispy Cornbread Cookies, some Molasses Butter, a warm cup of Pot Likker or cold buttermilk. And don’t forget the farmers’ market treasures… including a menagerie of homemade chow chows destined to crown a heap’n helping of fall’s green ‘gold!’
So I’m in my kitchen a few days ago cooking cornbread cookies for this here post… setting up my photo shot, and about to savor the very last tidbit of my 2010 stash of cabbards I lucked up and found tucked into a back corner of the freezer when…”ding dong”… my doorbell rings. My kitchen sidekick and 7YO nephew hollers…“Dee Dee, who is THAT?” (seeing as how it is mid-afternoon and we’re still in our loungy clothes watching movies, blogging and eat’n). I looked at him and said… “I have NO idea!” But I surely am hoping it’s somebody that won’t mind my receiving them in my ‘old lady house dress,’ (probably something akin to what my grandmas were wearing when they cooked collards) and Wyatt, running around in his ‘underdraws.’ I swing the door open, and there stands my cousin Mark… 
who I see fairly rarely, but usually when he drops by (less often than the proverbial blue moon), he has some sort of vegetable(s) gleaned from a nearby garden. He leads me out to the back of his pick up truck (the preferred method of transportation for most of us country folk)… and what do I see…. THESE! *C.O.L.L.A.R.D.S*
I’m not believing this… as mere seconds ago I’m in my kitchen, cooking up, photographing and in the middle of writing this very blog post about collards… when a big ole’ mess of them land on my front porch… the weirdness of this timing is CRAYzee! And as delighted as I am about all this, I’m trying to factor in my head… when in the world can I squeeze cabbard cook’n into this particular week’s schedule... with a TV show taping (see show video at My Carolina Today!) and a ginormous exciting photo shoot for Our State Magazine (where I’m so blessed to be food stylist and recipe developer…so subscribe if you don’t already, and buy holiday gift certificates too). But never one to let a little thing like ‘limited hours in the day’ get in my way… a cabbard cook’n will commence! I decided to just throw ’em in my big chest freezer till that can happen…something I have had to do before, and equates to that sweet kiss of frost… a BIG deep freeze kiss!
So without further ado, here is my much requested method for cooking collards (or in my case, “cabbards”). These are sooo good, and worth every minute of effort it takes to get from the back end of a truck to your supper (and sometimes breakfast) plate.
Wendy’s Locally Famous Cabbards (Cabbage + Collards)
Wendy’s Cabbards
As THE “throw cooker” that I am (come see my Throw Cooking web page and recipes), I’m going to tell YOU how to throw these together… exactness is not important here! These are the necessary ingredients and process. I have, on occasion, cooked these in MASS to fill my freezer for the winter, but you can do any amounts that work for you. A couple of years ago, I cooked 40 lbs. bacon and forget how many birds to have broth and bacon grease for 100 lbs. cabbage and 50 lbs. collards! It took me quite some time to figure all this out, but because the collards ‘evaporate’ and disappear in the pot, I decided to see what happened if I added in some cabbage… and it makes the collards even better… sweeter… AND, the cabbage doesn’t disappear as much as the collards… so you end up with a whole lot more “cabbards” to store away and nobody but you knows this little secret, till NOW!
- Chicken(s) or Hen(s)
- Bacon (lots!)… more that you think… you need a goodly amount of rendered bacon grease
- Collards… about 1/2 as much collards as cabbage (washed real good)
- Cabbage… about twice as much cabbage as collards (washed real good)
EQUIPMENT:
- BIG pot
- Cast Iron Skillet
- Tongs
- Time
Put some water in a big old pot and throw your chicken(s) or hen(s) in there. Bring to rolling boil, then reduce heat and keep cook’n till you have some tender bird and a big ole’ pot of chicken stock. Take that bird out and make yourself a mess ‘o chicken salad or freeze for cooking in other stuff, like Chicken Pot Pies or Brunswick Stew.
Get that big old cast iron skillet out and fry up a LOT of bacon. Sometimes on cabbard cooking day I’m outside doing all that AND cooking up a ginormous amount of my “Almost Famous Brunswick Stew”-will post that soon if you ask!… so I invite folks to drop by and eat bacon sandwiches. Put this bacon grease into a big can (coffee can works great).
Rough slice the cabbage. Throw some in the pot of broth, alternating with handfuls of torn collard leaves. As it wilts, keep adding more to the pot. Let this cabbard mix boil and boil… the more ‘tenderer’ the better.
On a burner beside this pot, put your big iron skillet on med-hi and add (generously) some bacon grease. With tongs, grab some of the cabbards and plop into the hot skillet, including some of the wondermous Pot Likker they produced. Start chopping with long-handled veggie chopper… as they cook down and shrink as you chop, continue grabbing more cabbards with your tongs and continue this process, stirring around to incorporate the bacon grease. Once these are really tender and chopped real good, dump into big bowl to cool before putting into containers and continue doing this until you’ve cooked all your cabbards.
Cool’n Cabbards
When packing into containers, I try to leave good head space and top off with some of the broth so when heating, that is there to give a little moisture while warming.
Serve with Cornbread Cookies with Molasses Butter and mug of Pot Likker or Cold Buttermilk.
Cornbread Cookies with Molasses Bacon Butter
Wendy’s Crispy Cornbread Cookies
It’s really easy to throw together these crispy crunchy Cornbread Cookies and they are the perfect sidekick for your Cabbards.
- your favorite hushpuppy mix
- finely diced onions (any kind…sweet, green, scallion, chive, etc.)
- sugar
- freshly ground black pepper
- lard
Mix hushpuppy mix according to package directions. Add in onions and sugar to taste (you want these to be lightly sweetened and the sugar helps make them crispy too). Grind in some pepper. If your mix is really thick, add a little more water or milk/buttermilk, whatever you are using until thinner and pourable/spoonable. I like to let my mixture sit about 10 minutes before cooking to adjust this consistency as it will thicken as it sits (but also, the flavors will marry a bit).
Heat thin amount of lard in cast iron skillet on med-high heat. With a tablespoon, spoon into hot skillet and spread thin with back of spoon. Fry until golden brown and flip; repeat on the other side. Drain well on brown paper bag or paper towels.
Serve with Molasses Butter alongside Cabbards with mug of Pot Likker or Buttermillk.
MOLASSES BUTTER
- Softened Butter
- Molasses
- Bacon Grease, optional
- Cinnamon or Apple Pie Spice, optional
Drizzle some molasses over butter and swirl to blend.
VARIATIONS: To make Molasses Bacon Butter, stir in a bit of bacon grease. A bit of cinnamon or apple pie spice is also tasty in Molasses Butter, depending on what you will be serving it with (especially great with pancakes, waffles or French Toast too)!
Enjoy y’all… and please throw me your comments below AND ‘share’ with all your friends!
“Traditional Southern Thanksgiving Favs…with a Twist”
- Twisted Southern Thanksgiving Table
Being the “throw cooker” that I am, those of you that know me know I’m gonna throw a twist into a meal or recipe, any chance I get. Well there’s no reason Thanksgiving should be exempt from my voodoo. My friends
Valonda and Sharon invited me back again to their show, NBC17’s My Carolina Today Show, here in the Raleigh Triangle market… those two are so cute and fun I can never say no to their invites… although being a big girl as I am, I feel like Goliath Chef beside them. I’m sure they must wear something like Size -4 or something like that… and so bubbly I just wanna pinch their cheeks… bless their hearts! I usually take my clogs off during taping to help a little, but forgot when taping this week… the show will air tomorrow (Thursday, November 16th)… so as I post, I don’t have a link to the video yet they always throw up online… I’ll come back with that!
When Sharon asked me at my last visit to come up with ‘something’ for Thanksgiving, I didn’t have any ideas right off the bat like usual… but a couple of weeks ago, as usual, I had a vision… of one thing, and that’s all it takes to get me going. They asked me yesterday if I just magically ‘come up with this stuff,’ and I told them, “well, actually, yes.” My inspiration this time was collards. (And when I come up for air in-between this week’s BIG projects…. I’m going to post my “Almost Famous Collards” for you, and how I throw ’em together.) Once I had the collard vision, everything else just flowed right out of me… and so now, I introduce to you…
- My Southern Thanksgiving Table… with a twist!
As you look through these realllllly easy recipes, you’ll see all our usual stuff found on Turkey Day Tables, at least mine anyway… turkey, cranberry sauce, collards, stuffing (AKA dressing), turnips, butternut squash, sweet potatoes and pecan pie ~ just twisted out a bit. I hope y’all enjoy these and reallllly hope you will give me some feedback down there in the ‘comments’ box, and also, PLEASE SHARE on your Facebook pages and with your friends… I really need to get more folks here and need your help! I give you entertainment and wondermous recipes, and all I ask is that you invite a few folks to subscribe…
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Gotta run… as Food Stylist and Recipe Developer for Our State Magazine, gotta be up realllllllllll early in the morning and in Greensboro BY 7:30…. to shoot some wayyyy outside the box special recipes I developed for February issue… been working on them for a few months! Can’t tell ya any more than that… Top Secret, but you just run yourself on over and subscribe right now so it will come right to your mailbox in mid-January! (It’s a perfect gift that gives all year long too… for yourself or others.) You are just not gonna believe your eyes. Lordie Mercie, they are bringing in video folk too, to film the ‘behind the scenes’ of the assembly of these recipes and what goes on at a special photo shoot like this, so this gal needs all the ‘beauty rest’ she can get… but to tell you the truth, I’m SOOOO excited about this and feel like it’s my Christmas Eve and don’t anticipate much sleep, ‘tween that and the tornado watches going on thru the night. I’m about to bust wide open to tell folks about this… by my lips are sealed… for a few more weeks anyway.
So… hope you enjoy these recipes… and Share Away!
FOR 1 page PRINTABLE RECIPES, click HERE! Or, click the recipe name.
Grilled Barbecued Turkey
Grilled Barbecued Twisted ‘n Kicked Turkey
We’re twist’n & kick’n up Thanksgiving this year with some new ways to cook and serve traditional oldies. Everybody loves grilled goodies and this turkey is no exception. This recipe features some culinary goodies made here in North Carolina but you can sub your own favorites as well.
Recipe By: Wendy Perry
Serving Size: however much you cook!
Sliced Turkey breast (you can used cooked)
Turkey Legs (raw)
Tiny Town Turkey Rub (from Savory Spice Shop Raleigh-visit one in your area or order online!)
1 cup NC’s Fireside Black Jack BBQ Sauce Visit their Web Site
½ cup NC’s Crooked Condiments Gaelic Ale Mustard Visit their Web Site
1 teaspoon jalapeno powder (more or less to taste) (also from Savory Spice Shop)
TURKEY: To save time, you can buy cooked turkey breast.
Shake (generously) some Tiny Town Turkey Rub onto turkey.
SAUCE: Mix BBQ sauce, mustard and jalapeno power in small bowl.
Slice (cooked turkey) and place on grill. Baste with sauce and grill on each side until well-heated and sauce has caramelized a bit.
Cook raw turkey legs, turning frequently, until at 165° by thermometer. Once done and before removing from grill, baste generously with sauce and turn a few
times to allow sauce to glaze and caramelize.
Use this to also to baste Bacon Wrapped Collard Rolls with Stuffing.
Recipe Copyright© Wendy L. Perry, Inc.
May be shared with credit cited and link back to this blog
Cranberry BBQ SauSal
Throw your guests a twist at Thanksgiving or any time you serve turkey or chicken with this SauSal… (a little Sauce with a hint of Salsa)
You can throw this together in about 10 minutes with a bag of cranberries and some goodies you probably have on hand!
Recipe By: Wendy Perry
Serving Size: 8+
1 bag fresh cranberries
¼ cup favorite BBQ sauce
1 cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
¾ cup your favorite salsachopped cilantro
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
Throw everything but cilantro and jalapeno into heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for about 8-10 minutes, until berries have popped and sauce has thickened.
Pour into serving bowl and chill. At serving time, sprinkle with cilantro and jalapeno. Serve with BBQ Turkey and Bacon Wrapped Cabbage Rolls and Stuffing.
This is also good on leftover turkey (and ham) sandwiches and wraps.
Recipe Copyright© Wendy L. Perry, Inc. May be shared with credit cited and link back to this blog
Bacon Wrapped Collard Rolls with Stuffing
Bacon Wrapped Collard Rolls with Stuffing
Collards….
the quintessential southern green, and no traditional Thanksgiving table in these parts would be complete without ‘em. But this year, throw together some of these and throw on the grill along with your turkey for a real surprising twist… and your dressing, or stuffing, whichever you call it, is tucked inside! Like most of this meal, these can be made ahead and just throw on the grill when you cook your turkey.
Recipe By: Wendy Perry
Serving Size: 8
8 collard leaves, torn into large pieces
8 slices bacon
4 cups your favorite stuffing
toothpicks
BBQ Turkey Sauce (see that recipe up above)
In deep skillet or pot, heat water 2 inches deep. Once boiling, throw collard leaves into water (stacked on top of each other). Blanche several minutes until tender. Remove and drain in colander being careful not to tear leaves.
Cook bacon in layers of paper towels in microwave (or skillet) several minutes until almost done, but still soft and pliable.
Lay collard leaf onto flat surface. Spoon ½ cup of stuffing horizontally and roll up. Wrap a slice of bacon around the roll and secure with toothpick. Continue until all rolls are completed.
Throw on hot grill and baste with the Turkey BBQ Sauce, turning to glaze while sauce lightly caramelizes and bacon finishes cooking. Serve with grilled turkey.
Recipe Copyright© Wendy L. Perry, Inc.
May be shared with credit cited and link back to this blog
Rosemary Skewered Fall Veggie Kabobs
Rosemary Skewered Fall Veggie Kabobs
These are really easy to throw together for a new twist on traditional Thanksgiving vegetables. You can also make these ahead of time to throw on the grill with the rest of your Grilled Turkey Day meal.
Recipe By: Wendy Perry
Serving Size: 8
8 stems of fresh rosemary
8 (or more) fresh Brussels Sprouts
16 1” chunks fresh turnips
16 1” chunks fresh butternut squash
1 large red onion, cut into 1” square slices
1 stick butter, melted
Few sprigs fresh sage
salt and freshly ground pepper
Strip leaves from rosemary stems, leaving about 2” of leaves on tip end. Set aside.
Steam Brussels Sprouts in microwave until tender but not mushy, about 3-4 minutes. (Time will vary depending on wattage of your microwave.)
Steam turnip and squash chunks in microwave until crisp tender being careful not to overcook; if too done, they will break apart when sliding onto skewers.
Thread onto skewers… squash, turnip, onion, sprout, squash, turnip, onion (or whatever pattern you choose)… I use 1 Brussels Sprout in center but you can add more if you like.
Throw onto grill making sure tips with leaves are over unheated area so they won’t burn off. Use sage stem with leaves to baste with melted butter while cooking. Grill, turning gently with tongs, until slightly charred on all sides. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper or seasoning of choice.
Recipe Copyright© Wendy L. Perry, Inc.
May be shared with credit cited with link back to this blog
BUTTERscoth PECAN Skillet Pie
Yummmm….
cooking and serving pie from a skillet just seems to make ‘em taste better! This pie just says ‘fall’… with the toasty pecans and richness of the butterscotch. Top with Sweet ‘Tater & Molasses Ice Cream and get ready for accolades all around for your DEElicious DEEssert.
Recipe By: Wendy Perry
Serving Size: 8
1 1/2 cups pecan pieces
2 tablespoons flour
3 large eggs – beaten with whisk till slightly frothy
1 11 ounce bag butterscotch morsels
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter — melted, cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 unbaked pie shell, (I use Pillsbury from dairy section, not frozen)
Sweet ‘Tater & Molasses Ice Cream
Sea Salt
Preheat oven to 350.
Spray 10″-12’ cast iron skillet; place crust into prepared pan. It will naturally ‘ruffle’ as shown in picture.
In medium bowl, mix pecan pieces with flour. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into pie shell and bake 350* for about 40-45 minutes.
Let pie cool before slicing as it is easier to cut at room temperature.
Serve with dollop of Sweet ‘Tater & Molasses Ice Cream and pinch of sea salt.
Recipe Copyright© Wendy L. Perry, Inc.
May be shared with credit cited with link back to this blog
NC Sweet ‘Tater * Molasses Ice Cream
North Carolina Sweet ‘Tater & Molasses Ice Cream
Lordie Mercie.
You just don’t get much easier than this when it comes to Throw Cooking. This is a fun and easy recipe for little ones to throw together with you in the kitchen. Eat as is, or plop some on top of a slice of BUTTERscoth PECAN Skillet Pie.
Recipe By: Wendy Perry
Serving Size: 8
1 ½ gallon vanilla ice cream, softened
2 large sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
1 tablespoons apple pie spice
½ cup molasses
sea salt
Put softened ice cream into mixing bowl. Throw in sweet potatoes and spice. Drizzle with molasses and swirl into ice cream mixture. Refreeze.
Serve as is or over pie with a pinch of sea salt on top!
Sweet potatoes can be cooked in microwave on high power, about 10 minutes. Cook until soft when squeezed with a towel. Be sure they are well cooled before adding into ice cream.
Recipe Copyright© Wendy L. Perry, Inc.
May be shared with credit cited with link back to this blog
That’s all for now folks!
“throw cook” what ‘cha got ~ It’s Fall Y’all Clam Chowder
I’m a “throw cooker.” What does that mean? Well, that means I throw stuff together to create good food and teach others how to do that too. It’s pretty simple and just not that hard to do. Folks often ask me to share a ‘recipe,’ which is challenging, because I don’t use them per se. I do try now to ‘throw’ something on paper as a guide because I do love seeing others take my creations and make them… which is what you’ll find below today. So much of what you’ll see from me are concepts… ideas I have in this crazy head of mine I just go in the kitchen to make and see what happens!
Some of my best dishes are those where I simply open the fridge and see what bits and pieces of stuff I need to use and get out of the way in there. I usually share these creations because there’s just no way I can eat all the stuff (and why I’ve turned into my grandma and ‘hoard’ and recycle food jars!)… sometimes folks want “some more of THAT,” but these unique creations can never ever be exactly replicated again…
This gal can’t stand waste so you’re likely to occasionally see me throw something out here with ideas or ingredients that make you go… “do WHAT?” I keep a soup pot in fridge or freezer for soup days, and nothing is thrown out or composted without first pondering whether or not it’s fodder for ‘the pot.’ A perfect example in this recipe is slaw! Lordie, never throw out leftover slaw…. it’s just cabbage, and maybe a little mayo and/or mustard… so what if there’s a little pickle relish in there? That’s just cucumber, a vegetable. Cabbage always adds another layer of flavor (and that’s what we want to do when cooking… add layers of flavor till it tastes good). Folks g.a.s.p. at the sight of seeing me throw slaw into the soup pot… but just about every time there’s some slaw in a soup I’ve made, those are the concoctions that get the biggest rave reviews… so let slaw be one of your secret ingredients too!
Like most ‘throw together’ dishes, this chowder doesn’t need meaurements. That’s what THROW COOKING is all about… Cook’n what ‘cha got! And my mission in life is to get those of you who ‘think’ you need recipes outside of your comfort zone and turn YOU into throw cookers! I dream of creating a posse of TC’s across the nation… fearless folks who “cook what ‘cha got” with nary a written recipe in sight! What’s the worst thing that can happen? You mess up one pot o’ food? And that is so RARE, since something can always be done/added/tweaked to make something edible. The exception to this is burnt food… and nothing you do will make that fit’n to eat.
As for this Clam Chowder, you can delete any of these things or add stuff (such as carrots or other veggies, other fish/seafood, etc.) to make a wondermous “pot o’ something!” Open your fridge, take a look around at the bits of this and that you would like to get outta the way, and do the same in the pantry. Throw that stuff into your crock pot while cleaning up supper and throw in the fridge. In the morning while your coffee is perk’n, plug in your crock pot, turn it on low and come home to a home perfumed with something mighty good. Add a salad (or not), some cheese toast, cornbread, crackers or even Nabs…. crawl into your lounge-y clothes and make your family’s tummies happy… supper’s done in the 15 minutes it took you to throw all this stuff in a pot the night before…. now doesn’t THAT sound delicious!!
“It’s Fall Y’all Clam Chowder”
Recipe by: Wendy L. Perry, Inc. ©
Feel free to share with credit please.
*Be sure to think/shop/buy/support LOCAL folks and your local economy whenever possible! There’s probably a farm near you where many of these ingredients, from the veggies to the bacon, can be had. It’s a ‘good habit’ to get into… thinking ahead a bit and just takes a little “re-programming” a new shopping normal in the beginning, but once you’re there, you’ll remember just how wondermous fresh food from minutes away tastes instead of oceans and continents away!
INGREDIENTS: (in this particular batch)
- large sweet potato — diced
- few slices bacon, diced
- couple stalks celery with tops, diced
- part of a red pepper, diced
- few cloves garlic, chopped
- a couple of small turnips, peeled and diced
- sweet onion, peeled and diced
- leftover slaw (or diced cabbage)
- salsa (and/or crushed tomatoes)
…i had some tidbits of salsa in the fridge i wanted to get outta my way, one of them was a salsa with habanero, so today’s chowder has a little WOWza to it
- tall can creamed corn
- canned clams, or fresh if possible (a can or two per your preference, undrained)
- clam juice, clamato juice, tomato or V8, broth (chicken or vegetable)…your choice of what’s on hand
…i didn’t have any clam juice on hand today (but put on shopping list), so i threw in some chicken broth i had stashed in the freezer - seasonings
…today, i used some Tomato Powder and Homestead Seasoning from a favorite place to shop in Raleigh, Savory Spice Shop (link below). Other seasonings that work well in chowder are thyme, oregano, Old Bay or just whatever your family likes! - barbecue sauce
…i have a lot of tidbits of this, that and the other sauces in my fridge, because i’m a sauce junkie… putting some of this in the chowder just adds another layer of flavor
Throw all ingredients into a crock pot. Turn on low and let this slowly simmer all day till you come home from work. My crock pot decided to DIE on me today when I put this in, so I dumped into a stock pot, brought to boil, then cut back to slow simmer for about 30 minutes for some REAL ‘fast food!’
Total time from start to eat if done on stove-top… less than an hour! Good old simple food… food the way God meant it to be enjoyed… Nekkid!
This is the chowder go’n in…
…and the seasonings I used from Savory Spice Shop in Raleigh... drop by and tell Cindy I sent you! 
See if there’s a Savory Spice Shop near you here!
I hope this inspires you to peek into your fridge and see what YOU can ‘throw’ together! And when you do, please come back and share with us all…
HAPPY FALL Y’ALL!!! now git in the kitchen and”Throw” somethin’ in a pot…
Print “recipe” here!
OINKERS Biscuits Recipe… a little south in YOUR mouth Barbecue Sandwich Biscuit Bites with BBQ Gravy Dip
| January 21, 2019 | Posted by Wendy Perry under appetizers, contest creations, cook & eat nekkid, cook'n with NC goodies, feastivals & festivals, here piggy piggy!, nekkid-throw cooking ~ what is THAT?, wendy's signature recipes |
Oinkers!! …“South In Your Mouth” skillet Barbecue Drop Biscuits
with BBQ Gravy Dip ©Wendy L. Perry, Inc.
(feel free to publish and share with credit please)
OINKERS… Best Southern Biscuit Winning Recipe
Recipe By: Wendy Perry
Yield: About 4 dozen snack-size biscuits.
For the whole Biscuit Day story… scroll on down below this post!
It’s tailgate time, and all across America, particularly around the south, that means it’s time to EAT…BARBECUE! Stadium parking lots are bustling with football fanatics who need tasty, yet quick and easy treats for themselves and guests. BBQ restaurants thrive and the long lines of “tailgate traffic” waiting for drive-through BBQ has already begun. BUT, if you swing by your local BBQ establishment the day or two before game day, you can toss these biscuits up faster than you can sit in that line on your way to the game… and grin as you zip on past those folks on your way to your pigskin party! Oinkers! are the perfect nibbler to pair with your favorite cold beverage and much easier to juggle than a sandwich, not to mention way more fun to eat. These are great warm or at room temp too… (just be sure to throw in your cooler during game time for safe post-game bites, IF you have any left.) Instead of messy BBQ sandwiches, surprise your tailgaters with these tasty alternatives… with bread, bbq, slaw and sauce IN the biscuit bite…with some BBQ Dip’n Gravy on the side! Great for skillet camping too! Happy Fall Y’all… and GO (insert fav Team here)!
OINKERS
Biscuit Ingredients
2 cups NC’s Midstate Mills Southern Biscuit® Formula L Biscuit Mix
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vinegar based BBQ Sauce (eastern NC Style-I use George’s)
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (or to taste)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 pinch salt
few dashes black pepper
few shakes hot sauce (NC’s Texas Pete preferred)
1 1/4 cups firmly packed eastern NC barbecue, snipped with scissors if in big pieces
2/3 cups chopped slaw (yours or purchased)
BBQ Gravy Ingredients
1 bottle of your favorite vinegar based BBQ Sauce-I use 1/2 George’s original and 1/2 George’s Special sauces
1 Tablespoon brown sugar (if using a BBQ sauce that has no sweetener)
OR…use one of our many great “Western NC Style BBQ” sauces for a thicker dip!
To make BISCUITS:
Preheat oven to 425. Place cast iron skillet into oven to preheat.
In mixing bowl, combine all biscuit ingredients. Gently fold mixture until blended. Drop by heaping teaspoon size mounds onto hot greased cast-iron skillet. Mounds should be near, but not touching each other. Quickly place skillet back into oven. Bake about 9 minutes until tops are lightly browned.
To make GRAVY:
Pour 1 bottle of your favorite vinegar based BBQ sauce into heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce to rolling simmer and continue cooking until reduced into thick sauce. Or, use your own recipe and reduce as well. If you use a sauce with little to no sweetener in the ingredients, add about 1 tablespoon per bottle (or per 1-2 cups of sauce) of any one of the following:
- Honey
- Brown sugar
- Molasses
Serve biscuits, warm or at room temp, with BBQ Gravy in bowl for dip’n!
©Wendy L. Perry, Inc. (feel free to publish and share with credit please
For printable recipe, click here!
THE non-baker ‘cued up 1st Place in “Best Southern Biscuit®” Contest
1st Place Biscuits – Midstate Mills “Best Southern Biscuit” Recipe Contest *OINKERS!* Barbecue Biscuit Bites with BBQ Gravy Dip
The world’s slowest blogger and quintessential non-baker took home 1st Place last week in the 1st Annual “Best Southern Biscuit®” Contest at the 2nd Annual Midstate Mills Biscuit Day over in Newton, NC! Come along and experience the day, the WHOLE day… in this Culinary Adventurist’s “Southern Biscuit Day” journey. This is a story about biscuits, yet so much more… living a delicious life with obsessed old foodie friends… sharing food, fellowship and culinary history with new ones… making new culinary memories with all those folks… and being blessed enough to live another day to tell about it to folks like you here reading this tale. Fix yourself a jar of sweet tea and come on along…
Wendy & Jody tour the mill…
My friend Jody Currin of Mrs. Picky’s Biskits and Marmalades (and 3rd place winner of this year’s International Biscuit Festival) and I never miss a beat when we set out on our next adventure… and we weren’t about to disturb that trend on this trek…we meet the most interesting folk along our way at the backroads junktique and antique stores we swerve into! And we see some of the dangdest things… I just have to share this quick sighting here before moving on to biscuits… because in all my galavanting, NEVER have I seen a drive-up window at a hoochie coochie lingerie establishment, until now… and even though it was dark-thirty when we left our hotel and headed to Biscuit Day (just 9 miles away because we were both so giddy and ‘cited to go there and because Jody beds down at 8pm and is up by 4am!), I insisted Jody stop the truck so as to photograph this unusual phenomenon! Turns out the fellow at the hotel desk was intrigued as well to see the installation of a drive up window when they all knew there at the hotel what kind of store was soon to open… so in Hickory, NC, one can peruse the online store of this here place, order… and just drive up…never needing to grace the inside of said store!
Now don’t that just beat all??? And here’s proof…
Hoochie Coochie Drive Thru Window!
So…on to BISCUITS!
Downtown Newton, NC 
was all aflutter as folks from Midstate Mills were busy sharing their biscuits with town folk and others like us who made the pilgrimage… to b.i.s.c.u.i.t.s. 
~ Lotsa Midstate Mills biscuits… these filled with Neese’s Country Sausage! About 1600 biscuits were devoured and on hand to fill them were folks from Neese’s… and that cute and bubbly Andrea Neese you see in their TV commercials… and also a sister Home Economist!
Andrea and her folks were cook’n up sausage, liver mush (that went first!) and bacon as the perfect fill’n for all those biscuits! 
Sooooo…
as Midstate Mills Baking Expert Belinda Ellis started talking about all the entries and announced 3rd, then 2nd place winners, she started hinting around at the winning recipe… said that at first glance of the recipe and ingredients, she thought them to be rather odd… and quite frankly, didn’t look very appealing. BUT, having made them and other recipe entries for her panel of chefs and foodies to try, my “OINKERS” quickly disappeared and they asked her to make MORE! When she started saying that this recipe included chopped barbecue, slaw and Eastern NC vinegar-based BBQ sauce in their Southern Biscuit Formula L mix,
Wendy with Belinda Ellis, Midstate Mills Baking Expert and big old PRIZE!
I turned to Jody (professional biscuit maker!) and said something to the effect of… “OMG, that’s MY recipe!” Having a reputation for being THE non-baker amongst my cheffy friends, not only did this increase my giddyness level, I just HAD to snicker a little… what better poster child for the product and how easy it is to create with it than with little old ME throw’n together creative (and winning) biscuit concoctions??
In addition to being totally surprised by this accolade, I met the greatest folks in Newton… Midstate Mills is now welcoming its 4th generation into this family business… and from the founder’s granddaughter Cindy Gabriel
to her siblings 
to other folks like John Craig, who produces the International Biscuit Festival in Nashville, TN, the people were just the “butter on the biscuit!” I also had a fun chat with Tim and Jan
about their Southern Fresh Show on the RFD-TV Network… a culinary and gardening show filmed entirely here in North Carolina! Their show airs on Mondays at 4:30EST, so tune in…
Biscuit makers are a friendly lot and hearing the stories shared at MM’s 2nd Annual Biscuit Day by well-seasoned ladies and gents there was very humbling and I felt like I should relinquish the win to those more experienced than me-self… their Biscuit Tales need to be preserved as does the art of biscuit making!
As the festival concluded we enjoyed lunch across the street at Callahan’s Cafe where I satisfied my cheeseburger craving and Jody (and I) enjoyed the house special “Chicken Pie.” 
We then strolled a block away where a few of us were treated to a tour of the lab, testing kitchen and mill by yet another sibling… where I was outfitted with my “Tour de Couture” loverly paper shoes (since this flip-flop wear’n gal didn’t have any “closed toe touring shoes” in her bag)! 
As our day ended and we headed back eastward and home, our journey couldn’t simply end there… and somewhere ‘tween Greensboro and Liberty, sumthin’ happened to Jody’s truck… smoke was fly’n out the tail end like an oven full of burnt biscuits…so as we’re so good at doing, swerved OFF the highway onto a side road, jumped out of the truck and scurried up the hill (till we heard a fierce barking dog). Possible Exploding Truck Fire?… or dog bite in the rumpus… tough decision! We thought for sure the truck was on fire… and at this writing I’m not sure what it ’twas… but we met the kindest locals on the side of that road in the THREE HOURS we spent there… SO typical of fellow North Carolinians… and this story just wouldn’t be complete without thanking these strangers…
First, Highway Patrol Officer Pike, whose family owns the farm up the road where the annual Liberty Antique Sales are held… 
and who hung with us (and our diesel splattering there to the left) until he had to tear off and chase a drunk driver somebody was tailing down that road… and who also managed to move the truck out of the middle of the road (since after we jumped out and made our get-away, it wouldn’t crank again)…. then, this fellow in the bright green shirt who works for the Town of Liberty, (name unknown) whose daughter came by right after our “incident” happened and sent him to help us… 
and some time (a lotta time) later… Mr. Tow Truck Driver there with me… a most welcomed sight, second only to Jody’s hubby Mike arriving from an hour and a half away in Erwin to take us Biscuit Queens homeward bound! 
And never one far away from cookbooks… Jody managed to snap a shot of me…during our ‘detour’ home… “ditchside,” reviewing cookbooks for the “Carolina Cooking” features section for the beautimous Our State Magazine 
where I do food styling and recipe development… with hundreds of books to review to make just the right selections this gal NEVER leaves home with out a sack o’ cookbooks! ‘Cause I was a Girl Scout…always prepared!!
Reflections… Winning this contest is such an honor I will forever cherish and is a ‘culinary feather in my cap’ I feel so blessed to have… but with such a wondermous product as Midstate Mill’s Biscuit Mix (just one of their many great goodies), anybody, and I mean ANYbody can make biscuits… 
fast as you can open a can and bang it on the counter before your oven is pre-heated! Go get yourself some today and see what fun biscuits you can stir up… and while you’re at it, find a kiddo and let them help!
This product is PERFECT for getting little ones involved in the kitchen… and it’s high time we all do that…
teach a child to cook and show them what REAL food is all about!
Now, go make some biscuits y’all Printable recipe right here…
Italian Rotisserie Chicken Salad Stuffed Tomatoes
Throw together this no-cook chicken salad in no time for a tasty meal on a hot summer’s day.
Well here we are, in the dog days of summer! In my neck of the woods, it’s been the monsoon days of summer. Rain! RaiN! RAIN! But hopefully, we have a little break in sight for that and can now “look forward” to good old hot.humid.days.of.August! And who wants to turn on anything that will add to that heat? Ummmm, nobody. This recipe for Italian Rotisserie Chicken Salad Stuffed Tomatoes was first published last summer in Carolina Country Magazine and a frequent go-to for me. We all love to grab a cooked rotisserie chicken now and then… we can do so many things with one… not to mention throwing the skin and bones into the crock pot overnight after pick’n for the BEST flavorful chicken broth. You DO do that don’t you? Oh there’s so much flavor in those bones and skin (if you don’t eat it) and all you have to do is cover with a quart or two of water, turn on low, and head to bed. By morning time, you’ll be waking up to the aroma of tasty broth to use for soups, cooking veggies like greens and butterbeans or just to sip. You can throw in some herbs on the front end, or simply cool and freeze and season on the back end depending on how you’ll be using it. I freeze in pint-size containers and it’s great to be able to grab and cook a little pot of butterbeans or collards with this deliciousness!
So here’s to the versitile Rotisserie Chicken!! Pick one up today and make this chicken salad twist… ooooh la LA, you’ll be glad you did.
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classy with a bit of sass!!
Who wants to cook on hot summer days? No need with this flavorful Italian chicken salad.... just pick up a rotisserie chicken, throw in a few ingredients and toss with the simple Dijon dressing, and that's it! Except for a juicy ripe summer tomato you're going to stuff with this good stuff.
- 1 rotisserie chicken, skinned, boned & shredded (about 5 cups)
- 1/2 cup sliced roasted peppers, drained
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus 2 tablespoons for garniish
- 1 4 ounce carton feta cheese with basil and tomato, reserve 2 tablespoons
- 2 tablespoons capers drained
- 8 large tomatoes, cored and drained upside down
- 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- crushed black pepper
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Whisk all dressing ingredients together. Stir dressing into chicken to coat. Add all remaining ingredients (except the tomatoes) and mix well.
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Chill several hours or overnight. Stuff tomatoes and garnish with reserved feta cheese crumbles and parsley. Serve immediately
- Don’t cut out too much of the delicious tomato — just enough to mound the chicken salad!
- If you have fresh herbs... oregano, rosemary, basil, etc., use them instead of dried for more robust flavor!
#BlackboardBlurbs… a little teachable moment!
So what are capers?
Tomato-Pimento Cheese Shortcakes With Black-Peppered Whipped Cream
Sometimes, those of us who create recipes for both pleasure and profit throw together something that becomes a personal favorite. It seems that mine tend to be those using freshly harvested tomatoes! I got most of the tomato gene in my family, because my sister has never liked them, (with the exception of them being turned into something else like sauce that involves some sort of pasta). Myself, well I live for the first early spring hothouse tomatoes grown by “down the road” friends… be it at my Zebulon home in Franklin County and a quick zip over to The Vollmer Farm, or just up the road a piece at one of my new favorite places near my “other” home in Cedar Point, NC… Winberry Farm Produce Market! It just so happened I was in Cedar Point when doing my happy dance creating this vision for the first time I’ve had parked in my head for a few years, but just never got around to making it come to life!
This recipe was created for Carolina Country Magazine... where I am blessed to contribute a couple of recipes each month, and occasionally get to write for the magazine too! We create and shoot for magazines a few months in advance, so both Vollmer and Winberry’s hothouse tomatoes were none too soon for me to start playing with this… what I consider one of my personal “masterpieces!” What’s not to love? …fresh local tomatoes? …pimento cheese? …whipped cream? Goodness Gracious for sure! Nekkid food… just like God gave it to us.
My guinea pigs all gave this a thumbs up too, confirming what I thought… this one is a keeper. So without babbling on, here is my recipe for Tomato-Pimento Cheese Shortcakes with Black-Peppered Whipped Cream. It’s just right for a light summer breakfast or brunch (to be sure with a side of bacon, sausage or country ham)… or my favorite way to eat, alongside a big hunk’o grilled bone-in ribeye! Suit your fancy…
And just a helpful hint… the shortcakes can be made ahead and frozen. Just take out and “freshen” in your toaster oven. The microwave will do too.
I hope you and yours enjoy these as much as I have this summer. Now run along and make yourself some. Stay tuned… still to come, more tomato faves, including my Dilly Swiss Tomato Pie.
Serve these savory summer shortcakes for breakfast, brunch... and they make a perfect side for grilled steaks, chops and chicken. The shortcakes can be frozen to quickly revive in your toaster oven or microwave.
- 3 1/4 cups biscuit mix
- 1 cup thick pimento cheese
- 1/4 cup Duke's mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup club soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- about 14 large tomatoes
- 3/4 cup minced sweet onion
- 4 tablespoons oil, your preferred salad oil
- 4 tablespoons vinegar, your favorite
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 cup each fresh chopped basil and oregano
- salt and pepper to suit your taste
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 1 8 ounce cream cheese with chives
- freshly ground black pepper
- fresh herbs to garnish, chives preferred
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine shortcake ingredients and drop by heaping tablespoon onto prepared baking pan. Spread flat with back of spoon.Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Cool.
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Stir all filling ingredients together least one hour before serving. Spoon filling over 12 shortcakes, covering each with second cake.
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For topping, whip cream and cream cheese until thickened. Blend in pepper.
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Top shortcakes with dollop of whipped cream and garnish with fresh herbs.
Southern Colcannon… get’n my Irish on for a day! (1)
Southern Colcannon featuring North Carolina Sweet Potatoes and Wendy’s Cabbards (collards and cabbage) @ WendysHomeEconomics.com
UPDATE…. my Southern Colcannon and “Cabbards” recipes were published in Our State Magazine in March 2015! This is such a tasty recipe to serve anytime, but just right for adding a southern twist to your St. Patrick’s Day supper table. I am republishing this old fave per requests… I hope you’ll enjoy!
With all the blogs and newsletters filling my inbox with St. Patty’s Day recipes, I got to pondering what I could do to put the “Wendy Twist” on things while throwing some Irish South In Your Mouth. So far as I know, there’s nary a drop of Irish in me, but green IS my favorite color. Those are (that is) my credential(s) for this recipe.
All my life, I’ve seen “colcannon” but never really paid attention to what that is, so being the Culinary Adventurist that I am, it was time for me to dig deeper… turns out, “DIGging” around was appropriate since this dish involved taters that have been dug up… somewhere… sometime.
I first turned to a few dictionaries to find out just what such an oddly named dish is made of… and find that to be potatoes, greens (traditionally kale, but cabbage and other greens have come to be used), butter and seasoning. Bestill me heart, you little Leprechan! Some of my FAVs… this is a no-brainer for me. Since I love to sub this for that, and that for the other, I got to it.
Let’s start with the potato part. Seeing as how I am lucky to live in the heart of sweet potato country here in North Carolina, it only makes sense to me to throw aside plain old potatoes and grab Sweet Taters as I mostly prefer using anytime a potato is called for… This past week, at my local Piggly Wiggly, I got THE best white sweet potatoes… about the best of ANY colored sweet potato ever to pass my lips… so good in fact I got a whole case of them. All you have to do is throw some in the oven and bake until nice and soft when squished with a hot pot pad. (Note: I Dig the Pig, cause they are local folks who buy local NC goodies for their store.)
Next.. cabbage. I do luv me some cabbage, but even mo’ better are my cabbards. We’ve cooked those here before… and just so happens I still have plenty of my winter stash in the freezer, so just had to thaw and heat those.
Ahhh… Butter! A staple in my kitchen. Not much that makes butter better… except browning! I’ve been throwing browned butter into all sorts of stuff lately, so why not atop my Southern Colcannon too? And according to the song I found, see below (after creating my recipe), it seems there is supposed to be a butter hole on top! So there’s your pot ‘o gold. Toasty, nutty browned butter. I’m quite certain the fountains in heaven doth flow with luscious browned butter.
As I read more about Colcannon, it seems that it is mostly served with ham. Yet another staple in my kitchen, it only makes sense to this “Irish for a day gal” that a helping ‘o country ham (from here in North Carolina of course) snuggles up next to my concoction of Southern Colcannon!
Now that, my friends, is my contribution to the day of Irish celebration. Colcannon is so groovy, it has its own song.
So here you go… tap along.
The song “Colcannon”, also called “The Skillet Pot”, is a traditional Irish song that has been recorded by many artists.
“Did you ever eat Colcannon, made from lovely pickled cream?
With the greens and scallions mingled like a picture in a dream.
Did you ever make a hole on top to hold the melting flake
Of the creamy, flavoured butter that your mother used to make?”
The chorus:
“Yes you did, so you did, so did he and so did I.
And the more I think about it sure the nearer I’m to cry.
Oh, wasn’t it the happy days when troubles we had not,
And our mothers made Colcannon in the little skillet pot.”
The story of its name and the colcannon traditionalists versus “the other group” is rather interesting. I’ll let you decide if you need to know more… over here!
And on a personal “toot my horn” note, St. Patty’s Day is special for me… because it was on that day in 2005 I QUIT SMOKING!
If you have a Colcannon story or memory to share, please do in the comment box. Share your recipe too… for Colcannon or how you quit smoking.
What to throw together...
- baked sweet potatoes, any kind but white used in photo
- cooked and seasoned cabbards, cabbage or collards
- roughly chopped scallion, white and green parts (optional)
- salt and pepper
- browned butter
How to throw together...
- Use about equal parts baked sweet potatoes and greens. Exactness is not important.
- Throw baked potatoes into mixing bowl and mash. Fold in greens and mix well. If using, add scallion into mixture and stir to combine. Or, simply add into greens when cooking or heating. Season with salt and pepper.
- Make well in serving of colcannon and fill with browned butter.
- ENJOY!
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