Southern Traditions: Cornbread

One of my favorite meals growing up included sweet potatoes, green beans, zucchini and squash with onions, okra {find a recipe here}, and cornbread. The leftovers were especially delicious. I remember my mom making the cornbread in a cast iron mold shaped like corn husks, and I always wanted one immediately out of the oven. While cornbread isn't exactly the healthiest side dish, its a wonderful treat when added to a bowl of chili on a cold winter night.

The traditional recipe is fairly straight-forward, and you can find one here or on the back of the cornmeal package.

I'm finally crossing it off my list.

xoxo

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Vidalia Onion Museum

It's no secret here in Georgia that the sweetest onions are vidalias. Vidalia onions are the state vegetable, and you'd be hard pressed to find a store that doesn't sell them. In fact, there's even a town named after them. This weekend marks the 34th annual Vidalia Onion Festival as well as the grand opening of the Vidalia Onion Musueum.

The event begins today as noon, and the museum opens today starting at 3pm and will be open this weekend for tours. Chefs that will be cooking for the event include  Kevin Gillespie of Woodfire Grill, Gerry Klaskala of Aria, Tracey Bloom of Ray’s at Killer Creek,  James Beard Award Winner Jeffrey Buben of Vidalia restaurant and Cookbook Author Gena Knox {a personal favorite}.

So, if you're in the area or just want to see some incredible ways to cook with vidalias, check out the new museum!

Happy Friday.

xoxo

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Southern Traditions: Banana Pudding

Living in the south, summer and banana pudding go hand in hand. It's just not summer without it. With a hectic work schedule, a couple school rotations, and preparing for the fall, I have somehow made it through an entire summer without any homemade banana pudding, so I decided that this southern tradition was absolutely necessary this week.

I used this simple recipe and was certainly not disappointed.

Happy Weekend.
xoxox



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Southern Traditions: Brunswick Stew

One of my favorite Memorial Day traditions is the family cookout we have at my parents' house every year. Delicious food, wonderful conversation, and a flag football game in the backyard make the day absolutely perfect. This year, however, we are having to forgo the festivities due to our schedules, but I did find some time to make some smoky, southern Brunswick stew.


I used pulled pork from Trader Joe's and two boiled, shredded chicken breasts. Add in some chicken broth, frozen corn, frozen lima beans {optional}, and a little extra bar-b-que sauce {I used homemade. It tastes the best!}, and let it cook for about 20 minutes on med-low heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For homemade bar-b-que sauce:
Add together ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, dried mustard powder, onion powder, a splash of lemon juice, apple cider vinegar {optional}, and pepper to taste. Add in little bits of each ingredient until it tastes the way you like. I prefer a sweeter sauce, so I use more brown sugar in mine. You can also find a pretty simple recipe here.


Hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend!
xoxo


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