Cookies and Coffee Oh My

It’s coming up on one of my favorite flavor seasons…Pumpkin Spice Everything!!
A Pumpkin Spiced Latté with a chocolate chip cookie is heavenly.
In my first cookbook, LuLu’s Kitchen, one of my favorite recipes is “LuLu’s Big Chocolate Chunky Cookie”. It’s a perfect day to make a batch to prepare for the coming of October and all things Fall!
I have included the recipe below. Let me know if you venture in the kitchen with this. Or tell me in the comments below what your favorite cookie or sweet thing is!
It’s definitely a day for afternoon coffee and a cookie!
Happy Sunday!!

LuLu’s Big Chocolate Chunky Cookie
2 ½ cups old-fashioned (not quick-cooking) oats
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, loosely packed
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 ½ cups large pecan pieces One cup semi sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup white chocolate morsels
1 ½ cups milk chocolate chopped in large chunks
A small bit of milk or heavy cream as needed, approximately 1 tablespoon

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place oatmeal in a food processor and blend it to a very fine texture.
3. Combine fine oatmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Run hands through the dry mixture or stir with a wooden spoon to mix evenly.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter with granulated sugar brown sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes.
5. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. Gradually add dry ingredients, about 1 cup at a time, beating on a low speed. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl a couple of times to get all dry ingredients thoroughly combined with butter mixture.
7. Fold in the pecans and mix well. (I actually mix the dough with my hands at this point.) If dough is too thick and hard to handle, add a little milk or heavy cream to make it easier to work with.
8. Gently fold in all of the chocolate pieces.
9. Roll into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
10. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes. The longer the cookie bakes the crisper they will be.
11. Immediately transfer cookies to a cooling rack for a few minutes before serving. Store in an airtight container and they will last for a week – if they even last that long!

LuLu clue: This dough freezes beautifully.

Peace Love and Pimento Cheese

“Southern hospitality is a magical thing, and of course food plays an essential role in its power. Entertaining is in our DNA, but sometimes when the doorbell rings and you’re not quite ready to receive company, even a Southern social butterfly can get that sinking oh-no feeling. And when you are expecting someone to stop by to say hello, the anticipation can occasionally be an anxious rather than excited feeling. Yet with a little pimento cheese and a glass of iced tea (or something stronger, when necessary), it’s amazing how quickly any negative feelings fade into the background. There’s simply something sweet and human about fixing a drink for someone or spreading a little cheese on a cracker and passing it to another person. It creates an instant connection, a heart token,  a peace offering, and a sense of welcome. It’s not a fix all of the world’s problems, but for me it’s a starting point of love.”  ~from Gumbo Love, Chapter 2, ‘Starters and Snacks’

This one is also perfect to make ahead of time as easy snacks for lazy weekends and football game days!

 

Let me know if you use the recipe and how it goes. Did you modify with some family secrets or traditions? Tell me in the comments!
Peace, love, and Pimento Cheese! Love, LuLu

 


MAKES 2 CUPS
1/4 cup honey ale or dark beer
1 (4-ounce jar pimentos, drained and chopped)
1 pound extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons grated sweet onion
½  teaspoon sea salt
½  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½  cup mayonnaise
3 or 4 dashes of hot sauce

 

1. In a small sauce pan, bring the beer to a simmer for about a minute. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. (I’m not sure why, but heating the beer for this recipe makes it taste better.)
2. In a large bowl, combine the pimentos, cheese, garlic, onion, salt, and pepper.
3. Fold the beer and mayonnaise into the cheese mixture. Add the hot sauce and stir well. The mixture should be a little runny.
4. Refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight so the flavors can marry and the mixture can thicken. Make sure the pimento cheese sits out for at least half an hour before serving so that it can soften and become easy to spread.

 

Southern Fried Creamed Corn

Labor Day marks the official end of Summer. It’s hot down South for a little while longer and the veggies are still exquisite. Lucky for us, local corn  is  still abundantly available.  If your plans next Monday involve a picnic or potluck, here’s a perfect side dish to take along. Cheers to  the end of a wonderful season and sharing great food with friends and family! What are your Labor Day plans? Are you cooking or picnicking? Please share in the comments below.

 

Southern Fried Creamed Corn
Serves 8

8 thick-cut bacon slices
½  cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
10 cups fresh corn kernels cut off the cob
4 teaspoons of sea salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup heavy cream

1.  In a large heavy skillet (10 to 12 inches), cook the bacon until crisp. Remove it from the skillet and set it aside on a plate covered with paper towels, leaving the bacon grease in the skillet. When the bacon is cool, chop it into bite-size pieces.
2. Add the butter to the skillet with the bacon grease and melt over medium heat. Add the corn and sauté for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring frequently to keep the corn from sticking.
3. Season with salt and pepper, return the bacon to the skillet and sauté for two minutes.
4. Add the cream and stir. Bring it to a simmer, then remove from the heat and serve.

 

Easy Boiled Shrimp

A few weeks ago on the blog I posted an easy peasy recipe for fresh homegrown tomatoes. I received so much positive feedback asking for more very simple recipes. So, here is a classic for Easy Bolied Shrimp.

Do you have any tricks or secrets to boiling seafood or favorite ways to prepare shrimp? Please do share in the comments below.

Wishing you all a Happy and Easy Sunday.
Gumbo Love always,
LuLu
Easy Boiled Shrimp
Makes 2 Pounds Shrimp
3 tablespoons sea salt
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon liquid crab boil, or 2 tablespoons LuLu’s Crazy Creola seasoning or other Creole seasoning
1 lemon, sliced
8 cups water
2 pounds large wild-caught Gulf shrimp in the shell

 

1. Combine the salt, bay leaves, crab boil, lemon slices, and water in a medium stockpot and bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Add the shrimp and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain. Cover the shrimp with ice. When the shrimp are cool to the touch, drain; discard the ice, lemon, and bay leaves. Place the shrimp in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.

A Love Letter To My Sistas

“Wolves and women are relational by nature, inquiring, possessed of great endurance and strength. They are deeply intuitive, intensely concerned with their young, their mate, and their pack. They are experienced in adapting to constantly changing circumstances; they are fiercely stalwart and very brave.”
― Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype

I am blessed to have a sister by birth, my LaLa. She has been a rock, a constant source of support and friendship for my entire life. I am also fortunate to have a vast tribe of “Sistas” who live far and wide across the US and beyond.
You are goddesses and wolves, beauties and brains, mama bears and sweet souls. You all constantly inspire me and I feel your spirits with me all the time.
On this National Sister’s Day, I give a resounding cry to the Tribe Of Crazy Sistas… thank you for being Wonderful Wise Women! I love you all!

Crazy Sista, “You either have one, know one, or are one!”

Who are your Crazy Sistas? Tag them in the comments below and let’s celebrate all the Sistas everywhere today!

Love, LuLu

Simple For Sunday: Sliced Homegrowns

Rest days call for simple pleasures and easy recipes.

Here’s a classic one from LuLu’s Kitchen. What’s your easy-peasy go-to on a Summer Sunday afternoon? Tell me in the comments below!

Sliced Homegrown Tomatoes

Makes 8 servings
4 large tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/4  cup fresh basil, chiffonaide  (cut into ribbons)
½ Vidalia onion, sliced into paper thin rings
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

1. On a beautiful serving platter, arrange tomato slices.
2. Sprinkle basil over platter.
3. Arrange a thin layer of onion rings over tomatoes.
4. Crumbled bleu cheese across platter.
5. Drizzle vinegar and oil over all.
6. Finish with a liberal sprinkling of salt and pepper.
7. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

Energized and Ready For You!

Well it’s sure been a festive time! When July 4th falls mid-week it just makes the holiday longer with both weekends feeling like fireworks!

We are winding down from days and days  of awesome family time, fun in the sun, and celebrating life in general. This is what Summer is all about. It’s a time to take a break from the rigors of life and work to be fully recharged when we get back to it.

I hope you’ve all had some time this past week to take a break and enjoy the good things in life. And I hope to see you all real soon at LuLu’s!

What are your plans for the rest of the season? Tell me in the comments below (especially if they include

I’m joyfully headed back to work now … see you there!

Love, LuLu

Red White and Blue …Snacks

The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays because it’s quintessentially Summer.
When planning picnic or barbecue menus I think it’s fun to do a red, white, and blue theme with the snacks! This year I have thrown together an easy one.

Chips and salsa are in the ranks for my all time favorite snack. To make it more ‘4th Festive’, I’ve simply used blue and white corn chips with my Watermelon Salsa from Gumbo Love. It turned out really cute and super tasty.
I’ve included the recipe below.
Do you have a fun red, white, and blue dish? I’d love to hear about it in the comments. And, if you make the salsa, let me know how it goes!
Wishing you all a happy, safe, and hopefully sunny Independence Day week!
Happy Summer friends!
Love, LuLu

Watermelon Salsa
Makes 4 cups
2 cups chopped watermelon
2 cups chopped fresh homegrown, heirloom, or pretty, ripe tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped sweet onion
Juice of one lime (about 2 tablespoons)
One small jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
½ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
Sea salt
Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl or air tight container. Cover and refrigerate for two hours or overnight before serving.

Live Love Local / Summer Veggie Heaven

“We are truly blessed along the Gulf with a bounty of produce and Southern traditions handed down for years with so many ways to enjoy it.”

This is a line from the opening of the ‘Vegetables and Sides’ chapter in Gumbo Love.  We are in the height of the glorious Summer bounty here in Lower Alabama!

It’s been a long, hot, lazy Sunday.  We enjoyed these local farm fresh favorites in what I call the ‘Baldwin County Veggie Plate”.
Today’s fare included:
Butter beans with thyme
Bacon braised okra
Stewed Squash with onions and tomato
Creamed sweet corn
Sliced homegrown tomatoes  with avocado

Thumbing through that chapter in Gumbo Love, I came across one of my old favorites, the Best Summer Squash Casserole – just reading it, my mouth was watering! With the beautiful squash in the markets, I want to make it this week! The recipe is below.

If you make the casserole or any of the other dishes in the cookbook, I’d love to hear how it goes. And if you have a favorite summer vegetable and way to prepare it, tell me in the comments below.

It’s wonderful to connect with you here on the blog, and Facebook, and Instagram. It’s also really wonderful seeing and meeting you all at LuLu’s.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Summer full of happy times and Gumbo Love!
Love, LuLu

BEST SUMMER SQUASH CASSEROLE

Serves 6 to 8
Organic olive oil cooking spray
One sleeve of Ritz crackers
1 ½  cups shredded cheddar cheese
½  cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons sea salt
4 large yellow squash, halved  lengthwise and cut into half-moons (about 6 cups)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large yellow onion, chopped
½  cup chopped red bell pepper
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a  9 x 13-inch baking dish with olive oil spray.
2. Crush the crackers in to find two medium pieces and place them in a small bowl. Add the cheddar and mix well. Set aside.
3.  In a small bowl, mix together the cream and eggs and set aside.
4. In a medium sauce pan, combine 8 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of the salt and bring to a boil over high heat.
5. Add the squash, reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook the squash for 10 minutes, or until just barely tender. Drain well and place the squash in a large bowl.
6. While the squash is cooking, in a large heavy skillet ( 10 to 12 inches), melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and sauté until the onion is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the bell pepper and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes.
7. Add the onion mixture to the squash and stir well. Add 3/4 of the cheese mixture to the squash mixture and stir well
8. Fold in the cream mixture, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper to taste. Gently stir until well combined. Pour into the baking dish. Top with the remaining cheese mixture.
9. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the mixture is bubbling and the top is brown.

West Indies Salad, One Of My Mama’s Favorites!

Today I am thinking about my mother, Mary Loraine Peets Buffett and some of her most favorite things.  If there’s any one dish that I most associate with Peets, it is West Indies Salad. As jumbo lump blue crabmeat is the main ingredient, it’s one of the easiest delicacies that I know of.  It’s also a quirky recipe because the ice cubes which seem to be inconsequential actually make the salad taste the way it’s supposed to.  West Indies is a sure-thing crowd pleaser. Folks who are eating light or otherwise find it most satisfying. If you’re from Mobile, Alabama it is also a one of the great prides of the city – for having originated there in the 1940’s. My mother, a long-time Mobilian, made West Indies whenever my brother and sister would come home from their adventurous far-flung lives. It soon became Peets’ most requested dish for which she became famous for as she made it for Jimmy’s whole touring crew whenever they came for a hometown show. West Indies was the first course served at the infamous “Mama’s 80th Birthday” dinner party at the original LuLu’s nearly 16 years ago (the whole menu with recipes is in my first cookbook). That was an unforgettable night!

My mother kept a philosophy of keeping things simple while truly enjoying the good things in life. She was metaphorically like this quintessentially southern delight – easy, cool – equal parts elegant and casual.

I miss you so much Mama! ❤️❤️❤️
What dish do you associate with your mother?
Tell me her name and dish in the comments below!
Wishing all mothers and all who have mothers 😉 a wonderful day today! I’m off to make some West Indies Salad!
WEST INDIES SALAD
1 pound fresh jumbo lump blue crab meat
Salt to taste (about ½ teaspoon)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste (about 1/4  teaspoon)
Half medium Vidalia (or sweet) onion, sliced paper thin, in half moon shape
⅓ cup vegetable oil
⅓ cup white vinegar
⅓ cup ice water (4-5 cubes)
1. Place half the crabmeat gently on the bottom of a glass bowl or plastic container, gently picking out any shelves. Sprinkle with just a smidgen of salt and pepper.
2. Cover crab with a layer of onion.
3. Repeat steps with remaining crab, salt, pepper, and onion.
4. Pour oil and vinegar over layers.
5. Place ice cubes in a liquid measuring cup. Fill with water until volume reaches a third a cup and pour over crab.
6. Cover and marinate for at least two hours before serving.
7. When ready to serve, shake bowl gently, or if using a leak proof plastic container, turned up side down and back up right to gently mix salad.
8. Serve in a shallow bowl with juice.