Peach Wedding Punch - Davis Wedding

We had a very wonderful and successful evening. It was our first official catering event here in Myrtle Beach and it went off without a flaw. We made all the food for the buffet, we also provided the dividing wall and extra touches. Our menu included a Chocolate Fountain with dip-able goodies like, strawberries, cherries, marshmallows, pineapple, bananas and oreos. We also served chickens salad filled cream puffs, veggie tray, peel & eat shrimp, baked cheese & southern style pimento cheese ball with crackers, and our new...

 

 

Peach Wedding Punch

1 container of Tropicana Peach Orchard Punch
1 (2 liter ) bottle Sprite
1 cup V-8 Splash Tropical Blend

Chill all at least three hours before serving, this makes one full punch bowl and for 200 people you will need at least 4 punch bowls full. Also if you would like to add the fruited ice ring that you see pictured, it is very easy to do, but remember it needed to be put into freeze the night before.

To make the ice ring, we use a bunt pan with a center cone. Place all of the following in the bottom of the pan, cover with water (about 4 cups) and freeze until solid.
1 large can of Mandarin Oranges drained
9 maraschino cherries
9 mint leaves
5 slices of limes
5 slices of lemons

Zucchini Relish

10 cups ground unpeeled zucchini 2 cups ground unpeeled yellow summer squash 1/2 ground carrots 4 cups ground onion 6 tablespoons canning salt 1/2 red bell pepper, ground 1/2 green bell pepper, ground 6 cups white sugar  Place the zucchini, squash, carrots and onion in a large, non-metallic bowl, and sprinkle the salt over the top. Use your hands to evenly mix the salt throughout the veggies. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.  The next day, drain the zucchini mixture in a colander, and rinse well under cold water. Squeeze out excess water and set aside. Place the red and green bell pepper, sugar, vinegar, and cornstarch into a large pot. Add the nutmeg, turmeric, celery seed and pepper. Stir to combine, then add the drained zucchini. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, sterilize 7 one-pint jars and lids to hold relish. Pack relish into sterilized jars, making sure there are no spaces or air pockets. Fill jars all the way to top. Screw on lids.  Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with boiling water. Carefully lower jars into pot using a holder. Leave a 2 inch space between jars. Pour in more boiling water if necessary, until tops of jars are covered by 2 inches of water. Bring water to a full boil, then cover and process for 30 minutes.  Remove jars from pot and place on cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool. Once cool, press top of each lid with finger, ensuring that seal is tight (lid does not move up or down at all).

2 1/2 cups white vinegar 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard 3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric 1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Zucchini Bread

About a week ago a friend of mine gave me this gigantically huge zucchini and I haven't really had any time to do anything with it. So today, we are making zucchini bread out of half of it and the other half will be zucchini relish tomorrow.

My favorite Zucchini bread recipe came from my Aunt... This is delicious zucchini bread made with ground zucchini, ground up with one of the old hand grinders. I love my grinder, it beats any modern day food processor.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups shredded raw zucchini
• 4 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preparation:

I like to make this recipe using my hands...
Rest ground zucchini in vegetable strainer for about 10 minutes, squeeze gently to remove extra liquid. In a large mixing bowl beat eggs, sugar, and oil together. Stir in the flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, salt, vanilla, and nuts, mixing just until all ingredients are combined and moist. Add drained zucchini. Mix well. Pour into 2 greased and floured 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pans. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes at 350°, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes clean. 

Blackberry Pie

Yesterday morning on Facebook, Pillsbury® had posted this very yummy looking Blackberry pie picture and recipe that caught my eye. In reading through the recipe, it sounded very easy and had a little different twist on a traditional pie. So I picked up some fresh blackberries, I thought about it all morning and I drooled over it all afternoon. After much patience and waiting, it was finally dessert time and I was very sadly disappointed. It was overly sweet and very pasty tasting. I would have much rather just had a big piece of traditional Blackberry pie. 



1 Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on box

1

 cup cold water

3

 tablespoons cornstarch

1 

cup sugar

3 

tablespoons corn syrup

1 

box (1.4 oz) blackberry-flavored gelatin OR 1/2 box (3-oz size) (3 1/2 tablespoons) black cherry-flavored gelatin

8

 drops blue food color

4

 cups fresh blackberries

1 

container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Extra blackberries for garnish, if desired

1. Heat oven to 450°F. Bake pie crust as directed on box for One-Crust Baked Shell, using 9-inch glass pie plate. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, mix water and cornstarch; add sugar and corn syrup. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and slightly thickens. Remove from heat; stir in gelatin and food color. Cool completely in refrigerator, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Mix in blackberries. Spread in baked shell. Refrigerate until set, about 3 hours. Serve pie with topping and extra blackberries. Cover and refrigerate any remaining pie.

Makes 8 servings

"Tuesday's with Dorie"... Popovers

I am so excited to get back into the swing of things with the "Tuesday's with Dorie" Group. I have been out of the loop since the group changed books and website formats. I seem to have got lost in the shuffle, but I am so glad to be back... I have missed cooking and chatting with everyone.  So to Celebrate, I think that it was only fitting that I "POPOVER" to the new way of doing things.... :)

My family loves popovers and I remember watching my mother make them a few times. I remember getting a new stove when I was younger and this new stove had a light in the oven, I remember sitting very patiently waiting and watching for the Pops to popover. We had to set quiet, gentle and very still.... lol, hard to do for small ones, but it was always a big hit when they started to flip.

 Many say that popovers are just the Americanized version of  "Yorkshire pudding", but for us at the Pantry, we love ours served with butter and warm maple syrup or filled with fresh blueberries and cream...

Tribute to Julia...

Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon

Ingredients

One 6-ounce piece of chunk bacon

3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes

1 carrot, sliced

1 onion, sliced

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons flour

3 cups red wine, young and full-bodied (like Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy)

2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups brown beef stock

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cloves mashed garlic

1/2 teaspoon thyme

A crumbled bay leaf

18 to 24 white onions, small

3 1/2 tablespoons butter

Herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, one-half bay leaf, one-quarter teaspoon thyme, tied in cheesecloth)

1 pound mushrooms, fresh and quartered

Cooking Directions

Remove bacon rind and cut into lardons (sticks 1/4-inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and lardons for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts water. Drain and dry.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Sauté lardons in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a flameproof casserole over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.
Dry beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Heat fat in casserole until almost smoking. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and sauté until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the lardons.
In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the excess fat.
Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes.
Toss the meat again and return to oven for 4 minutes (this browns the flour and coves the meat with a light crust).
Remove casserole and turn oven down to 325 degrees.
Stir in wine and 2 to 3 cups stock, just enough so that the meat is barely covered.
Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs and bacon rind. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove.
Cover casserole and set in lower third of oven. Regulate heat so that liquid simmers very slowly for 3 to 4 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.
While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms.
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with one and one-half tablespoons of the oil until bubbling in a skillet.
Add onions and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling them so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect them to brown uniformly.
Add 1/2 cup of the stock, salt and pepper to taste and the herb bouquet.
Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but hold their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet and set onions aside.
Wipe out skillet and heat remaining oil and butter over high heat. As soon as you see butter has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add mushrooms.
Toss and shake pan for 4 to 5 minutes. As soon as they have begun to brown lightly, remove from heat.
When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan.
Wash out the casserole and return the beef and lardons to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms on top.
Skim fat off sauce in saucepan. Simmer sauce for a minute or 2, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.
If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons stock. Taste carefully for seasoning.
Pour sauce over meat and vegetables. Cover and simmer 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times.
Serve in casserole, or arrange stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles or rice, and decorated with parsley.

Cream Puffs & Chicken Salad

	Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter 1 cup water pinch of salt 1 cup all-purpose flour 6 eggs In a large sauce pan, bring butter, salt and water to a rolling boil. Stir in flour until the mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat and using a wooden spoon, beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing really well after each. Drop with a teaspoon onto an ungreased baking sheet. ( I use parchment baking sheets)
	Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven,  until golden brown. Centers should be dry.
	When the shells are cool, either split and fill them with chicken salad, ham salad or your favorite pudding. Traditionally they are just filled with whipped cream. You can also use a pastry bag to pipe the pudding or cream into the shells.

 I was sweetly surprised, the chicken salad filling below was to die for... I wish all of you could have been here to try them.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon sour cream
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cups finely chopped, cooked chicken meat
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1/8 cup finely grated carrots
• 1 green onion minced
• 1 very small garlic clove minced
• (optional additions depending on your likes and dislikes... diced cucumbers, pimentos, tomatoes, almonds, grapes, apples, and or green peppers )

Directions

In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients together and let set for at least a half hour before serving. This chicken salad is the salad that I fill my cream puffs with and that is what I will be doing tomorrow.  

Also thinking about going back to school, These make a great snack and fun for kids lunch, Send some salad along with a baggie full of empty cream puffs and let them fill their own while they visit with their friends. They will surely be the hit at the lunch room... :)