Grilled Cheese Sandwiches – Yum!

By Chef Diane

My grandfather went to Mississippi State University, as did my father, my brother, and my son.  I was the black sheep of the family I suppose, but they didn’t have a nursing program.  What they do have is studies in Agriculture, and that includes raising cows for dairy, and making cheese.  In fact it was originally known as The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science.  The sell the cheese they make only once a year by mail order, and being the strong supportive alumni my father is, he orders several boxes each year for Christmas gifts.  I am usually given a round ball of Edam Cheese, a nice mild flavored cheese, my son gets a hot, spicy cheese, and my parents get some Cheddar cheese.  They are all made in molds, and dipped in wax.  They are all delicious, but a little difficult to slice.   This year I decided to take my cheese to the local grocery store and asked them to slice it for me.  I had no longer brought it home from the store, when my father asked me to bring some over to my mother.  Apparently my father had given away all the Edam cheese, and she didn’t even get a taste.  I took her half the ball of sliced cheese, and in return, my father gave me a block of cheddar.  I took it to get sliced, and brought it home and made a grilled cheese sandwich.  Words cannot describe the deliciousness.  How I make them is to melt the butter on a frying pan, then put a piece of white bread to coat with the butter, pull it out and lay another piece in, making sure it is coated too.  Then I laid a slice of the cheddar on top of the piece of bread in the pan, and covered it with the previously coated bread.  I cook it on medium heat, just to melt the cheese and keep the bread from burning.  After a few minutes I flip it to brown the other side until both sides are golden brown.

I was in heaven!  It was so good, that when anyone came over, I offered to fix one for them!  Since the block is really large, I took half of it back to my daddy so he could share in the wonderfulness too.  Normally, a block of cheddar would last him a while, however since this was sliced for him, he went through it rather quickly, and luckily had another last block of cheddar, which he offered to split with me if I took it to get sliced.  The second time the slices were thicker, which worried me, but it actually made them even better!

According to punchbowl.com, the classic American grilled cheese sandwich emerged in the 1920s when inexpensive cheese and affordable sliced bread became available. It is now a staple in cafés, diners, and school cafeterias across the country.  Chefs today try to improve on the grilled cheese sandwich.  Click here for some different takes on their recopies:  http://www.womansday.com/food-recipes/10-greatest-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-71411

For me it’s just a simple white bread and cheddar or American slice of cheese, and maybe a side of tomato soup.

This month is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich month, so you have plenty of time to enjoy this great sandwich any time of the day for a whole month!

(All images from Google) 

Banana Nut Bread Day - Yum!!

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By Chef Diane

I love banana bread; it’s more like a cake than bread.  It’s easy to make, and easy to mail to all my relatives for special occasions.  My husband's aunt has a birthday coming up, and I will be fixing her a loaf to help celebrate.  Once I make it...I freeze it so when it gets there, it’s thawed and fresh, and delicious.

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Banana bread is full of potassium and protein (if you use nuts).  My grandmother would make it for me often, and she gave me her recipe before she died.  Here is a copy of it.

Today is Banana Nut Bread Day.  If you don't have a favorite recipe, try this one, and celebrate this fun day!

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Banana Bread

Ingredients

1/2 cup corn oil

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 ripe bananas

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I normally use a loaf pan, but you can also use a Bundt pan too. Spray with cooking oil.

Cream oil and sugar; add eggs, 1 at a time.

Sift dry ingredients mix with creamed butter.

Add mashed bananas and nuts.

Bake for 1 hour or until done.

Homemade Bread Day

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By Chef Diane

One of my father's favorite sayings is, "It's the best thing since sliced bread!"  Before bread was sold sliced, it was purchased in solid loaves.  So...I decided during my younger homemaker period, that I would make fresh bread in loaves.  In the 90's a big fad was the "friendship" bread, or sourdough bread, or potato bread.  It starts with a liquid "starter" it has to ferment, and then you add to it, and put it in a jar and share it with others.  Hence the name - Friendship bread.  Well, this recipe takes 3 days to bake and it makes 3 loaves, but it is absolutely delicious.  Since you had to "feed" the starter every week, I would bake the bread every week.  The first loaf that came out of the oven was consumed immediately.  If you have ever had the opportunity to smell bread baking, then you will understand why the first loaf disappeared immediately.  The other two loaves were either shared or frozen for meals during the rest of the week. I continued baking the bread every week for a few months, until our clothes stopped fitting, then I stopped baking.  Apparently this bread made such an impression on my son, that when he was away at college, he asked for the recipe, and made it at school for his dorm friends.

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These days they have a bread machine, I have never tried one, but seems like that is cheating in a way.  But there are all kinds of different breads to bake, that don't require all the kneading and rising.  One bread that I bake alot is banana nut bread.  To me that is more like a cake, but many slice it, toast it, and eat it for breakfast as well as a dessert.  Another bread is cornbread, and it is readily found in many restaurants here in the south.  My father is a member of an organization called the Rotary Club.  They hold meetings each week where they have lunch before it starts.  The chef of the restaurant where the meeting is held is from the north, and is not familiar with the southern rules of cornbread with greens, so, frequently my father comes home and complains that there was no cornbread on the buffet.

A friend of mine recently went to a home party where they sold food spices, mixes and dips.  One of the popular items was a beer bread mix.    I had never heard about this, but it made sense to me, since beer is made with yeast, that it would be good for using in a bread recipe too.  i figured if there was a mix for this bread, that maybe I could find a recipe as well, so I Googled it, and found this simple recipe on recipe.com:

BEER BREAD

Ingredients:

3 cups flour (sifted)

3 teaspoons baking powder (omit if using Self-Rising Flour)

1 teaspoon salt (omit if using Self-Rising Flour)

1/4 cup sugar

1 (12 ounce) can beer

1/2 cup melted butter (1/4 cup will do just fine)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix dry ingredients and beer.

Pour into a greased loaf pan.

Pour melted butter over mixture.

Bake 1 hour, remove from pan and cool for at least 15 minutes.

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Today is Homemade Bread Day.  It's your chance to get into the kitchen and bake something delicious and nutritious for you and your family or friends.  Below is a simple recipe for you to try since it is Fall, and there are plenty of sweet potatoes available.  This recipe comes from a friend of mine who bakes many loaves during this time of year to share with friends and neighbors.  So give this recipe a try, or bake up one of your favorite breads, and celebrate homemade bread day.

SWEET POTATO BREAD

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups sugar
• 3 cups self rising flour
• 2 cups cooked mashed sweet potatoes
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup oil
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp coconut extract
• 1 cup shredded coconut (optional)

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients and bake in loaf pans at 350 for one hour.

National Zucchini Day

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By Chef Diane

My dad's neighbor grew a garden this summer, he had squash, cucumbers, tomatoes and zucchini and peppers, even a few cantaloupe, that the deer out there really enjoyed. Just about the time his produce began to get ready for picking, he and his wife went on vacation.  He told my parents to pick what they wanted, so my dad picked a few squash and zucchini. My mother sliced them up along with some onions and a little all-purpose seasoning, then poured a couple of tablespoons of oil in the pan, put everything in and let it cook on medium heat, while covered, until it cooked down. After it was finished, she sprinkled some fresh shredded parmesan cheese on top, and I think it was probably one of the best things I had ever eaten.  I had to convince them that there wasn't enough left over for the both of them, so I would be happy to take it off their hands.  I love doing special favors like that for them.

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Today is National Zucchini Day.  Zucchini is a type of squash, it’s long and green, like a cucumber. Actually they are all in the same family.  Zucchinis are from Italy, and the name means small squash.  When I was in high school, I was treated to a small graduation dinner at a small restaurant.  for the appetizer we were served fried zucchini.  The zucchini was sliced long ways into spears, then battered and fried and served with a creamy horseradish sauce. They were fantastic that way too!  The restaurant closed, and I have never found any fried zucchini again.

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Another favorite for zucchini is zucchini bread.  It is sweet bread, like banana nut bread, and you can put nuts in it as well.  Zucchini is also good on the grill, or on shish k bobs.

There are several ways to cook it, and it’s delicious and good for you too.  So today on National Zucchini Day, you have no excuse not to eat some your favorite way.  Here is the recipe for Zucchini bread from allrecipes.com for you to try.  You will be glad you did.

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Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

1. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Sweet Potato Month

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By Chef Diane,

Did your parents ever tell you about the tough time they had growing up?  My mother's story was she had to walk 10 miles, uphill, in the snow and carry hot sweet potatoes in her pockets to keep her hands warm, and then eat them for lunch.  She loves sweet potatoes, but only cookies them for the holidays.  She just likes them plain, with butter and topped with marshmallows.

When my dad started frying turkeys at Thanksgiving, he sliced sweet potatoes and fried them too, made chips.  Now you can even go to restaurants and order sweet potato fries too.  Seems to have been a big explosion in the awareness of sweet potatoes with good reason too.

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Did you know that the sweet potato ranks number one in nutrition?  Sweet potatoes are high in the following: beta-carotene, vitamin A, vitamin B6 and vitamin C; fiber, thiamine, niacin, potassium and copper. They are also a good source of protein, calcium, vitamin E.  Sweet potatoes rank highest in Vitamin A and beta carotene.  Vitamin A promotes good vision, especially in low light. It may also be needed for reproduction and breast-feeding. Vitamin A helps form and maintains healthy skin, teeth, skeletal and soft tissue, mucus membranes, and skin. It is also known as retinol because it produces the pigments in the retina of the eye.

Beta-carotene is an antioxidant. Antioxidants protect cells from damage caused by substances called free radicals. Free radicals are believed to contribute to certain chronic diseases and play a role in the aging processes.

My great state of Mississippi produces 19% of the country's total sweet potato crop.  Mississippi has about 150 farmers growing sweet potatoes on about 8,200 acres (33 km2), contributing $19 million dollars to the state's economy. Mississippi's top five sweet potato producing counties are Calhoun, Chickasaw, Pontotoc, Yalobusha, and Panola. The National Sweet Potato Festival is held annually the entire first week in November in Vardaman (Calhoun County), which proclaims itself as "The Sweet Potato Capital", they also elect a Sweet Potato queen who goes on to participate in the Miss Mississippi Pageant.

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Since sweet potatoes are being recognized all month, you have plenty of time to try them, try some new recipes, or eat sweet potato fries instead of regular fries.  Who knows you may like them better, they are better for you too.

Another way to eat them is in bread.  A friend of mine gave me her sweet potato bread recipe, so I’m sharing it with you.  Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Bread

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Ingredients:

• 3 Cups sugar
• 3 cups self rising flour
• 2 cups cooked mashed sweet potatoes (cook in microwave until done, scoop it out of the skin)
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup oil
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 1 cup shredded coconut (optional)

Directions

Mix all ingredients well, pour in greased loaf pan, bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for an hour, or until done.

Sweet Potato Nutrition Facts (for one medium size sweet potato)

• Calories 130
• Fat 0.39 g
• Protein 2.15 g
• Net Carbs 31.56 g
• Dietary Fiber 3.9 g
• Calcium 28.6 mg
• Sodium 16.9 mg
• Potassium 265.2 mg
• Foliate 18.2 mcg
• Vitamin C 29.51 mg
• Vitamin A 26081.9 IU

National Banana Bread Day

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Chef Diane,

My husband has 6 aunts all in their 80's and all in great condition, none of them have any medical problems.   Even though we had been married for 15 years, I had never had the opportunity to meet them all.  The summer before my husband passed away we were able to visit 4 of them. I took each of them a loaf of my banana bread as an introduction gift.  They all loved the bread, and to my surprise, my husband offered to send them some throughout the year.  I thought that was very generous of him, since I was the one who would be baking and mailing it.  And you can't send just one some, they talk.  So I had to make it for all of them.

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When my husband passed away expectantly a few months later, I continued to send the bread.  Not only was it therapeutic for me to bake it, but it also helped me stay connected to his family, and they loved it too.  The recipe I use is one my grandmother used and gave to me many years ago.  She made it often too because her brother-in-law worked for Dole, on the ship, and would always bring her a case of bananas.  She had to find some way to get rid of them all.

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Today is National Banana Bread Day.  My father always says that bananas are the perfect food.  I don’t know about perfect, but they are full of potassium and other vitamins and minerals.  So today, bake some banana bread and share with your coworkers or neighbors over some coffee. I’m also providing Granny's recipe, it always turns out perfectly.

Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup corn oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 ripe bananas
• 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  I normally use a loaf pan, but you can also use a Bundt pan too. Spray with cooking oil.  Cream oil and sugar; add eggs, 1 at a time.  Sift dry ingredients mix with creamed butter.  Add mashed bananas and nuts.  Bake for 1 hour or until done.

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Homemade Bread Day

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By Diane Forrest,

15 years ago a friend gave me a jar with some liquid in it.  She told me it was a starter for Friendship Bread.  After trying the bread, I was hooked.  So, I decided to give baking it a try.  I bought some loaf pans, and set about mixing the dough.  I mixed it and set it on top of my VCR because it had to sit in a warm place.  After it rose overnight...I kneaded it, placed it in the loaf pans and let it rise again.  The next day it was ready for baking, and the smell of the house was incredible.  The recipe made 3 loaves, and the first loaf was gobbled up immediately.  The remaining loves were frozen for later use.  Many loaves were given to friends and family since the recipe had to be made every week.  Once the pounds started to add on, I stopped making the bread and went on a diet.

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I didn’t think much about it afterwards until my son went to college.  One day out of the blue he called and asked for the recipe.   He lived in a dorm, and there was a small kitchen on each floor.  I don't know how many batches he made, but I'm positive the aroma from the baking bread had his whole floor drooling for a taste.

These days baking homemade bread is a simple procedure with the use of a bread machine and a box of mix, however if you want to get your hands in the dough this is a great recipe to try.  It takes 2 days to prepare, and about a week to start your "starter” so if you want to make this for supper tonight, you are out of luck.  However, this will make a great Christmas gift for friends, neighbors, teachers, co-worker and family.   You can also roll out the dough, add some cinnamon and nuts before baking, and then top with icing for a wonderful Cinnamon bread.

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Today is Homemade Bread Day, so why not start baking a loaf for your family.  Oh...and if you are looking for a quick bread for supper, you can try the cornbread recipe below.

Potato Bread

Ingredients:

Starter (first time):

1 cup warm water

1/2 cup sugar

1 package (2-1/4 teaspoons) dry yeast

3 level Tablespoons instant potato flakes

Starter Feeder (subsequent times):

1 cup warm water

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons potato flakes

To Make Bread:

6 cups bread flour

1 Tablespoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil

1-1/4 cups warm water

1 cup starter (See notes below)

Preparation:

First Time Starter Directions:

Mix water, sugar, yeast, and potato flakes.

Let ferment on counter for two days. Then feed with starter feeder (below).

If you get starter from someone else, you can omit this step.

Starter Feeder:

Combine water, sugar, and potato flakes. Add to starter. Let stand on countertop eight hours. Refrigerate 3 to 5 days, then make bread.

After using 1 cup of the starter for dough, pour one cup back into container and refrigerate. Discard any other starter. Store starter in refrigerator.

When you are ready to make more bread or every 3 to 5 days add starter feeder mix again. Stir well and leave on the counter overnight or all day (about 12 hours).

To Make Bread:

Add flour, salt, sugar, oil, and water to starter. Mix well.

Knead on a floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes.

Put dough into a greased bowl.

Cover with a wet dish towel and let it rise in a warm place overnight or all day (about 12 hours).

Punch down. Knead on a floured surface to get any air bubbles out.

Spray 3 loaf pans with cooking spray and divide dough approximately equal into the 3 pans (shaping into loaf form). Let rise 6 to 8 hours, covered loosely.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 25 to 30 minutes.

Cornbread Recipe

1 cup corn meal with Hot Rize

1 cup milk

1 egg

Cooking oil

Preheat oven to 425, places 8 in cast iron skillet with cooking oil covering the bottom in the oven while preheating. 

Mix meal, milk and egg. 

When oven has heated, remove pan, pour the hot oil in the mix and stir. 

Pour in skillet and bake for 25 minutes. 

Flips right out on a plate, cut, spread with butter and enjoy!