Category: here piggy piggy!
Honey Baked Ham Salad …with wilted caraway slaw and rye croutons
| April 1, 2020 | Posted by Wendy Perry under Carolina Country, cook & eat nekkid, garden goodness, here piggy piggy!, Mt. Olive Pickles, nuts, published, salads, slaws and such |
Ready for something traditional with a nontraditional twist? Impress your table of Easter guests with this eye-catching ham salad. Or jazz up your leftover ham and skip the boring ham sandwich!
Country Ham and Pierogi Benedict with Red Eye “Hollandaise”
| January 20, 2020 | Posted by Wendy Perry under breakfast, Carolina Country, cheesy, country ham, gravy, here piggy piggy!, published |
Surprise your friends with a twist on eggs benedict… country ham and egg on top of buttery cheese pierogies drizzled with red eye “hollandaise!”
Sticky Pig Twigs… can bacon get any better?
| December 29, 2019 | Posted by Wendy Perry under appetizers, bacon & belly, Carolina Country, condiments & accompaniments, fun food, here piggy piggy!, honey, party foods, Peggy Rose's Jellies, published, wendy's signature recipes |
Make a pile of these Sticky Pig Twigs, because they will disappear right before your eyes. Enjoy as is, or chopped on salads. Especially good on a juicy summer BLT … add more hot pepper if your crowd can take it!
Breakfast Sausage Harvest Hash
| September 15, 2019 | Posted by Wendy Perry under apples, casseroles, gluten free, here piggy piggy!, Mindless Mutterings from the Teacher's Lounge, published, roasted goodness, skillet cookery, sweet potatoes, turnips |
…this rustic hash features your favorite breakfast sausage and good old North Carolina Sweet Potatoes!
“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…
OK… advertisement over!
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!
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…
…crunch time ~ Let’s ROLL!
| February 18, 2014 | Posted by Wendy Perry under appetizers, cook & eat nekkid, here piggy piggy!, molasses, party foods, rolls & wraps, shrimp, wendy's signature recipes |
Sunshine.Finally. Enough with this winter already. Here’s hoping we are on the back side of this one here in my neck of the woods….
Even my taste buds are in need of something fresh. It has been way too long since I’ve thrown together some of my egg rolls, and I’m longing for something crispy and crunchy. My inspiration for this came from one of the first cookbooks I was ever given decades ago. My uncle and aunt lived up in Michigan (might as well have been a foreign country back in the day when I was a little girl). Every year me, mama and my Ma Hocutt would fly up there to visit. They would take us to this “WEIRD” restaurant to eat food we’d never heard tell of… Chinese! It was years before I realized I like that kind of food, because they would order stuff for us they liked… like wonton soup (ewwwww). And Moo Goo Gai Pan (ewwww…too boring). But over time, as I tried new things, I loved it. So seeing blossoming cook that I was, they gifted me with a Chinese cookbook. I had mama help me find egg roll wrappers and that was all she wrote. I have made no telling how many of these over the years… mostly this recipe, but sometimes I’ve thrown in other fridge leftovers or tweaked a bit one way or the other. I love egg rolls and have made them from barbecue and slaw, to fruit filled ones like these blueberry ones below too. Friends beg me for these, and when having girls’ beach or river weekends, egg rolls are always on the menu… we even eat them cold for breakfast the next morning… IF there are any leftover. They are fun food… and who doesn’t like fun food?
I have thrown together Duck Sauce from scratch and used store bought too. I’ve used peach chutney, peach preserves, made pineapple concoctions and apricot variations. So use whatever you can find or throw together your own. Just make egg rolls. They only appear to be intimidating… but are super easy to make, wrap and fry. Be creative with leftovers… Just open the fridge and see what you can find in there to throw together, wrap and cook!
Let’s ROLL!
Wendy’s Pork & Shrimp Egg Rolls
What to throw together...
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 cold water
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 4+ tablespoons garlic (I use the "squeeze" garlic from produce section)
- 2 pounds ground pork, cooked and crumbled
- 6 cups shredded cabbage
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- 2 bunches scallion, chopped
- 1 pound small salad size shrimp, cooked
- 1 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 package egg roll wrappers
- 1 egg, beaten in small bowl with 2 tablespoons water
- lard or favorite cooking oil
How to throw together...
- Blend soy sauce into the cornstarch. Whisk in water and molasses. Set aside.
- In wok (or large skillet), heat the oil over high heat.
- Stir in garlic and whirl around in the oil for 30 seconds.
- Add pork, cabbage, carrot and scallion. Cook about 3 minutes or until the vegetables are crisp-tender.
- Stir in shrimp.Scatter with sesame seed.
- Give the cornstarch mixture a stir and pour over the hot mixture. Stir just to glaze and thicken the filling.
- Set aside to cool before wrapping.
- To Wrap, place the wrappers with one of the corners pointing towards you. Spoon 2 tablespoons of filling across center of wrapper.
- Fold bottom corner over filling.
- Fold in each side and roll towards back corner.
- Brush edges with the egg wash.
- Place on wax paper or foil with pan spray (to prevent sticking).
- Fry a few at the time in hot oil, making sure not to crowd.
- Keep warm on a cake cooling rack placed on baking pan in oven on low temperature until ready to serve!
Blueberry & Pear Egg Rolls
What to throw together...
- 1 20-count package egg roll wrappers
- 1 tablespoon unflavored oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 cups small dice Bartlett Pears
- 1 pound fresh blueberries (can sub frozen if off season), reserve a few for garnish
- pinch kosher or sea salt
- 3 tablespoons blueberry jam
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup finely diced red onion
- 2 teaspoons apple pie spice
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 cup toasted pecan pieces
- small amount water-cornstarch slurry
- lard for frying
- TOPPING
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 1 ounce cream cheese with chive, softened
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- chopped fresh chive, optional
How to throw together...
- Heat oil and butter in large heavy skillet over medium heat.
- Once the pan is hot and butter is melted, add the pears and blueberries.
- Cook, stirring frequently.
- After about 5 minutes, or when pears are tender but still have a little bite to them, stir in salt, jam, sugar, onion, apple pie spice and thyme.
- Cook about 3 minutes until sugar has melted and ingredients have married.
- Remove from heat and stir in pecans. Chill filling for several hours or overnight to thicken.
- While making the egg rolls, head lard in deep fryer to 375.
- Have an assembly line ready for filling and cooking egg rolls. You'll need wrappers, filling with slotted spoon and water-cornstarch slurry.Unless you are wrapping all in a short period of time, keep the wrappers covered with a damp cloth.
- ASSEMBLE: Lay a wrapper on clean dry surface such as wooden cutting board. With slotted spoon, scoop out and place about 1 heaping tablespoon of filling across bottom corner. Lift and roll the bottom corner over the filling until about halfway across the wrapper. Fold one side, then the other into the center. Keep dipping your fingers into the cornstarch slurry to dampen and seal the wrapper. This helps hold it together for a tight roll to keep your egg roll from getting oily inside. Lay on oil sprayed wax paper or foil.
- COOK: Gently add rolls into heated oil making sure not to crowd in the oil. Fry until browned and crispy, about 2-3 minutes. Remove with tongs onto raised rack lined with paper towels. Make sure oil has returned to 375 in-between batches before adding more egg rolls. If the oil is not hot enough, you will have soggy rolls. Keep warm on pan in oven until ready to serve.
- SAVORY WHIPPED CREAM: Using mixer, whip cream until stiff, adding sugar a tablespoon at the time starting about halfway through whipping. Add the cream cheese a tablespoon at the time and whip into cream. Keep chilled until serving.
- SERVING: Place warm egg roll onto dessert plate. Add a dollop of Savory Whipped Cream... and dig in!
OINKERS Biscuits Recipe… a little south in YOUR mouth Barbecue Sandwich Biscuit Bites with BBQ Gravy Dip (1)
| February 21, 2013 | 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 |
In honor of it being National Biscuits & Gravy Day, we are revisiting this post from a ways back. Now this isn’t your usual biscuits and gravy recipe… but I’m not your usual recipe developer, so keep reading. Back in summer of 2011, this recipe won 1st place in the first ever Midstate Mills Best Southern Biscuit Recipe Contest! Quite an accomplishment for this self-proclaimed NON-baker gal. From what I heard, there were some questionable looks on faces of the judges when they were handed this recipe on paper. (I understand.) However, once they saw and tasted the “Oinkers,” they wanted MORE.
As a Throw Cooker (Throw Cooking Nekkid Food!), this is perfect example of how I often cook and try to encourage others to cook. I just opened my fridge and had these ingredients, threw some together and “OINKERS” were born. You can use pre=made pork barbecue and slaw from your favorite place, or your own. Just yesterday, I threw a Boston Butt in the crock pot (<5 minutes prep) with some Eastern NC BBQ Sauce and let ‘er rip. I chopped up a little cabbage with some water in the blender (about 5 minutes to make) and drained… threw into bowl with a bit of salt, pepper and sugar… whirled in some mayo (only DUKE’s here) and chilled. So this weekend, when I’m tired of Barbecue Sandwiches, I will use these leftovers to make “Oinkers!” I hope you’ll make some and come back to let me know what you think.
“EnjOINK!”
(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…jump here and travel back to that day with me. I love a good festival and what’s not to love about BISCUITS?
What to throw together...
- 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 original)
- 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)
- 1 bottle of your favorite vinegar based BBQ Sauce (I use combination of George's Original and Special Sauces)
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar (if using a BBQ sauce that has no sweetener) OR
- use one of our Western Style NC BBQ Sauces for your dip!
How to throw together...
- 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.
- 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
Notes
These are great for tailgate parties and picnics. You'll find these to be kid-friendly too and are a fun recipe to get them involved in making. Perfect for freezing (after cooked), keep on hand for a quick heat-up when friends drop by... a perfect pairing for cold beer on the patio as well.
©Wendy L. Perry, Inc. (feel free to publish and share with credit please
…”two hot dogs and a drink”
| February 17, 2013 | Posted by Wendy Perry under condiments & accompaniments, here piggy piggy!, Mindless Mutterings from the Teacher's Lounge, sandwiches, soups, stews, chilies chowders and such, vintage |
…”two hot dogs and a drink!”
Cooked any good Groundhog lately?
| February 2, 2012 | Posted by Wendy Perry under casseroles, cook'n with NC goodies, Ground Hog Day, here chickie!, here piggy piggy!, here's the beef!, not yo' mama's meats!, pot pies and layered dishes, sweet potatoes, wendy's signature recipes |
To celebrate the day, the lazy blogger is sharing this annual post originally from 2011! However, that’s about to change and routine blogging is about to commence this week. I’m ready with all sorts of goodies for you and I hope you are too…
So, what exactly IS a groundhog? As I researched to see exactly what they are, I learned that they are also ‘woodchucks’ (huh?) or ground beavers! Oh great, that tells me a lot. I’m not sure, but I don’t think we have this particular specie of hog in my vicinity here in central North Carolina. We have hogs with snouts and hogs with tailpipes, but pretty sure no ‘ground’ hogs. However, I’ve been known to be wrong so somebody correct if that be the case. This is a really good pie. I have made it, just was fresh out of ground hog, so I used ‘regular’ hog instead. I hope you will give it a try… with good old NC Sweet Potatoes and some good local pork from wherever you are.
That whole shadow thing has always confused me… as I already have brain overload and remembering this is not of vital importance so I never saw fit to ‘file’ this up there. If he (or she?) sees a shadow, which is it? More winter or less? And best I remember, predictions of weeks of future weather offered up by a ground beaver is about as accurate as our local weather folks when they say those proverbial words… “we’re on the line and don’t think there will be significant accumulation,” only to wake up to a FOOT of snow!
So since groundhogs aren’t worth much when it comes to weather forecasting, I wondered if they may, perhaps, be edible. Always one to explore new culinary adventures, a-googling I went! Turns out, this hog is dark meat, similar to squirrel or rabbit. Now I haven’t cooked either one of those lately either… so I dig deeper. If you get yourself a hog that’s been hibernating, you are gonna need to remove the layer of fat that has piled up under the skin… and while in there, you’ll need to yank out their ‘stinky’ glands. If your hog is a senior citizen, parboiling is going to be necessary before cook’n. (Apparently inspecting the hog’s teeth will give clues as to age, but unless you’re a wildlife dentist, I’m not sure how to know this!).
So, since PIE is on top of all the 2011 trend Lists as ‘hot stuff’ this year, I salute thee, Pie… Groundhog Pie! If you have a favorite Groundhog recipe, do tell… and share it! And MY prediction… Sunny Skies ahead for all… whether you’re east, west, north or south of me… especially to my friends in the midst of Snowpocolypse this week… better y’all than me!
(still learning all the bells and whistles to the new recipe print feature… a few kinks to get worked out…stay tuned!)
Southwestern Groundhog Shepherd’s Pie with Sweet Tater Topping
TOPPING:
- 3 large sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed (I cook mine in the micro)
- 1 tall can evaporated milk
- 1 chipotle in adobo sauce, coarsely chopped (more if you like it hotter)
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- dash cinnamon
- 1 heaping teaspoon sea salt
FILLING:
- About 2 pounds lean ground groundhog
(if you must, you can sub ground beef, turkey, pork, chicken) - 1 large sweet onion, roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoon garlic oil, divided
- 1-14 ounce can Mexi-Corn, drained*
- 2-15 ounce cans fire roasted tomatoes
- 1-7 ounce can diced roasted chilies
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 2 cups grated Monterey Jack Cheese, divided
- fresh cilantro
Preheat oven to 375°.
TOPPING:
Combine (cooked) mashed potatoes, milk, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, cinnamon and salt. Mix well; set aside.
PIE FILLING:
In oven-safe skillet or small roasting pan, brown ground groundhog and onion in 2 tablespoons garlic oil; drain and set aside. Add remaining tablespoon of garlic oil and corn, stirring several minutes to lightly toast corn. Stir in tomatoes, chiles, chili powder, cumin and oregano. Cook until hot and well-blended and juices reduce. Remove from heat and mix in meat-onion mixture. Add 1 ½ cups cheese into mixture. Top with sweet potato mixture, spreading to edges. Sprinkle top with remaining ½ cup cheese. Bake in 375° oven for 25-30 minutes until hot and bubbly.
What to throw together...
- TOPPING:
- 3 large sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed (I cook mine in the micro)
- 1 tall can evaporated milk
- 1 chipotle in adobo sauce, coarsely chopped (more if you like it hotter)
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- dash cinnamon
- 1 heaping teaspoon sea salt
- FILLING:
- About 2 pounds lean ground groundhog
- _ (if you must, you can sub ground beef, turkey, pork, chicken)_
- 1 large sweet onion, roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoon garlic oil, divided
- 1-14 ounce can Mexi-Corn, drained*
- 2-15 ounce cans fire roasted tomatoes
- 1-7 ounce can diced roasted chilies
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 2 cups grated Monterey Jack Cheese, divided
- fresh cilantro
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- TOPPING:
- Combine (cooked) mashed potatoes, milk, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, cinnamon and salt. Mix well; set aside.
- In oven-safe skillet or small roasting pan, brown ground groundhog and onion in 2 tablespoons garlic oil; drain and set aside. Add remaining tablespoon of garlic oil and corn, stirring several minutes to lightly toast corn. Stir in tomatoes, chiles, chili powder, cumin and oregano. Cook until hot and well-blended and juices reduce. Remove from heat and mix in meat-onion mixture. Add 1 ½ cups cheese into mixture. Top with sweet potato mixture, spreading to edges. Sprinkle top with remaining ½ cup cheese. Bake in 375° oven for 25-30 minutes until hot and bubbly.
- Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro! Serve with side of black beans topped with a dollop of sour cream.
Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro! Serve with side of black beans topped with a dollop of sour cream.
* Put corn juice into your freezer soup pot…more on that to come!
Counting blessings ~ what we take for granted…
bless·ing [bles-ing]
the invoking of God’s favor upon a person
I should rename this “The Molasses Blog” since that’s about the speed I do blog posts! So many things get ‘in the way’… work, new projects and clients, having fun with my incredibly fun-funny-wondermous nephew Wyatt and just life in general…
What a blessing to have Wyatt in my life!
Determined to throw out one more post before flip’n my calendar to 2012 (!), I squint as I write this as my left retina decided to just randomly detach itself from my eyeball days before Christmas… I ended up having emergency eye surgery on Christmas Eve eve, then having more (laser) surgery at my recheck the next morn on Christmas Eve… I was ordered to stay flat on my left side until today, and still must spend as much time as I can stand sideways a few more days for proper healing. (For the record, should you ever find yourself sideways for long periods of time, you can do Control/Alt/Left or Right Arrow and your screen will magically turn that way for horizontal computing!)
I did get a great report at my follow up yesterday and am (knock-on-wood) healing nicely! Before I get back to the topic at hand, I would like to sing the praises of all the docs that took care of me… from Eye Care Associates in Zebulon to Retina Associates in Raleigh and right on over to those at the Kittner Eye Center in Chapel Hill… what a grand bunch of well-trained folks… INCLUDING caring ‘bedside manor.’ I’m so grateful to all these folks and happy my sight is still intact in my eye… all the docs told me that had I waited even a day longer, it was probable I would have lost sight in my left eye… gosh how we take so many things for granted, like being able to SEE what’s around us!!
What a blessing it is to have sight!
And a quick hug to my sis too… for being my chauffeur and ‘patient advocate’ staying right by my side thru all of this and letting me recoup at her house too!
What a blessing to have a SISTER!
Do things in your freezer appear to be from outer space?
As we rush off into the new year, if you are like me, you feel the need to tidy things up a bit… organize and reorganize and have a fresh start. Now, more than ever, so many of us continue to slide the old budget belt a bit tighter and I’d like to help you with that, starting, of course, in your kitchen. When was the last time you took inventory of what’s in your freezer? Have you EVER taken inventory of what’s in your freezer? I take for granted the fact that my freezer (make that freezerS) are full and hunger or the lack of money to feed myself (or children if I had any) isn’t a worry as it is for growing numbers of those around us. I admit I hoard food… another topic for another post… but ,
What a blessing it is to have a pantry, fridge and freezer(s) full of all sorts of foods at arm’s reach!
This weekend is a perfect time to take stock of your food blessings, starting in your freezer. It really doesn’t take very long… here are just a few tips to get you going as you look to SEE what’s in yours! Be sure you have plenty of time to do this right and are not rushed so halfway through you abort the mission and have to go do something else.
The things in BOLD will give you a quick glace to see what you will need to gather and have ready in advance… now GO “git ‘er done” then come back and add your comments about your freezer adventure and let me know this post inspired youBearShareV10!
Put on some fun peppy music that will get you in the mood… stuff you like to sing in the shower or car… or just plug in your iPod and let ‘er rip!- Sit out supplies:
- name brand zippered bags, assorted sizes (based on my experience, store brands SUCK in this category)
- dry erase board with markers
- notepad/pen
- some way to make labels (label maker, freezer tape and perm marker, your own paper labels with tape, etc.
- Clear countertop and/or table so as you take everything out you can organize the ‘stuff’ into categories and like-items into piles for repacking.
- Remove everything from your freezer. If a small freezer, you can work fast enough so foods won’t thaw. I do not recommend doing this on a hot day. If you have a big freezer(s), do this on a cold winter’s day when you can simply sit the foods outside in shaded cold area.
- Give it a quick cleaning by washing out with warm soapy water. “Rinse” with a mixture of water and baking soda. This will remove soap residue, remove odors and give a fresh start. To keep it smelling fresh, I prefer a few lumps of charcoal. I find they absorb odors better than other options. Just put them in a cup somewhere in the freezer and I think you will notice the same.
- As you get ready to restock foods into the nice clean freezer, toss out any with freezer burn (ice crystals…that stuff you can no longer recognize) or is so old you wouldn’t feed it to stray dogs or throw in a pond for fish! And always remember…
Never risk the plight of food poisoning over a little pack of old food… a regret you should never have! 
Using the ziplock bags and other supplies, repackage anything that needs it. Mash things flat for easier stacking or for sliding into small spaces in your freezer. Freeze in a pile, then you can leave that way, or stack like this upright, depending on what works for best use of space for you.- As you repackage/replace your food, write each thing on the dry erase board. As you menu plan for the week and make your grocery shopping list, you can quickly glance at the list and see what you have to use. As you use, simply wipe off the board, and as you buy and add new things or add leftover tidbits, write on this board (while also dating and labeling the package). This system will greatly reduce your freezer waste (but only if you use it).
- I have a couple of outdoor refrigerators with small top freezers and a chest freezer… i keep ‘inventory’ on those by writing on the freezer door with a dry erase marker (just like a dry erase board)… and at a glance I can see what’s in there… wipe off with my finger when something comes out and keep a pen on top of the freezer to add what goes in.
For tips on freezing foods, I’ll point you to a recent online article where I was consulted and provided helpful information on this topic. You can read that at DinnerTool…
“How To Prevent Freezer Burn”
by Amber Greviskes
Now that you have your nice inventory list… here are a few sites where you can visit to plug in ingredient(s) to find recipes to create with them, or… simply “Throw Cook” something yourself. If you need help or suggestions, post for me over on my “Throw Cooking” facebook page and I’ll throw you some ideas.
- a FAV of mine for inspirations… Foodily
- SuperCook
- RecipeMatcher
- My Fridge Food
- RecipeKey
Now… sit back, relax and enjoy ringing in the New Year with your freshly cleaned freezer and ‘whatever’ you pulled out to cook up! And “just in case” our superstitions hold true, I hope you’ll ‘throw’ some Southern Traditions on the table…
Black-Eyed Peas for prosperity and good luck… greens (cabbards for this gal-see recipe) for money and fortune… and of course, cornbread, which represents gold! I’m having thoughts of a Bloody Mary BE Peas and Greens Soup… kept warm in the crock pot for anybody who wants to drop by… throw in your fav bloody mary mix, drain/rinsed canned or frozen, greens (cabbards, collards, cabbage, etc.), some chopped onions and celery if you have… and whatever seasonings strike your fancy! Serve with Cornbread Cookies or your own cornbread recipe… iced tea or a real cold beer! Now wipe that drool away, get ready to clean out your freezer for a fresh start… and have a safe and fun weekend with your friends and family… see y’all NEXT year.
What a blessing it is to be here today, writing this blog post, with ‘saved’ eyesight looking towards a new year!
Happy New Year Y’all… 
Wendy… aka “Dee Dee”
Follow Me!