Skillet Okra Gumbo

I'm really starting to think I was born in the wrong part of the country. I'm just in love with my copy of The Savannah Cookbook.  Southern food, in general, just seems to make me happy.

When my husband and I went to Georgia during spring break, I ate okra for the first time.  It happened to be fried and had this really tangy mustard sauce to dip it in, but I enjoyed it, much to my own surprise.  Okra isn't particularly prevalent in my corner of the U.S., but this summer, one of the vendors at our local farmer's market had some for sale.

It was adorable and delightful, and I made this delicious skillet okra gumbo with it.

Now, you can buy okra at the grocery store, but it's not always a given and probably isn't nearly as good as what you'd buy at the farmer's market (or anywhere in the South, for that matter).  But I would imagine that, if you're like me, you're willing to do with what you have available.

Served over steamed rice, this recipe is enough to serve as a main course for up to six people.  It can also be used as a side dish without the rice, or if you need to stretch it over more than six plates.

Almond-Hazelnut Cupcakes (Cupcake of the Month Series #11)

It figures that November, one of my busiest months as a teacher, would also happen to be the month of the most time consuming, labor intensive cupcake of the year.

These almond-hazelnut cupcakes weren't actually that difficult to make.  There were just a lot of steps, so the whole process took me a good three hours start to finish.

Now, the recipe card said I should get 24 cupcakes from this recipe, but the online recipe says only 16. I actually got 18 cupcakes total.  So who knows.

Alas, poor Twinkie, I knew thee well...

The big news today is that Hostess, makers of the ubiquitous Twinkie, are liquidating their company and selling off their brands.

Including everyone's favorite cream-filled oblong cake.

Now, it's probably been at least five years since I last partook in Twinkie and Hostess Cupcake goodness.  Maybe longer. But the thought that I may soon not have access to these little bundles of yumminess (and whatever it is that keeps them fresh for, like, decades) makes me really want a Twinkie.

My guess is that some company out there will buy up the Twinkie brand, and probably a few other Hostess goodies as well.  Recall the case of Zingers - little chocolate cakes filled with cream, with a layer of fudge spread across the top.  I don't know what company originally owned Zingers, but Hostess bought them a while back.  I maintain that the original Zingers were better - probably because they were bigger.  But I therefore expect to see Twinkies remain on the shelves at stores, or at least return after a certain time period, made by another company.  

Will they be the same?  Maybe, maybe not.  

Will people buy them?

You bet your buttons!  Come on, have you met America?

Anyway, on the off chance that Twinkies do end up going the way of dinosaurs and Bonkers candy (remember Bonkers?), I think I may have to experiment with a homemade Twinkie recipe.  There's probably more than a few out there on the internet. But wouldn't that be a fun food experiment?

Chicken Wing Dip

There are two really good reasons why you should try making this chicken wing dip, if you never have before.

Reason #1 - Football
Reason #2 - Holiday Parties

Somewhere between those two occurrences, you will discover how awesome this chicken wing dip is, will be asked to make it in copious amounts for every gathering, and even those copious amounts will prove inadequate to handle its life span of 2.76 seconds.

I wish I could take credit for creating this recipe, but I can't.  It's the good ol' Frank's RedHot Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip recipe.  Probably the only thing I sometimes do differently is use an alternate hot sauce, based on availability at the store, and I generally have to double or triple the amount because - as I mentioned - I'm often asked to make "vats" of this stuff.

I'm not kidding on the "vats" thing.

There are two ways to make this chicken wing dip. You can bake it, or you can use a slow cooker.  I'll give you directions for both.

Orange Almond Cupcakes (Cupcake of the Month #10)

My mom's birthday was last week, so I whipped up the October cupcake for her!

It's an orange almond cupcake, topped with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream and orange marmalade.

Pampered Chef Pecan-Crusted Chicken with Sweet Mustard Dressing

Are you stuck for a mid-week dinner idea? I know it's hard to come home from work and prepare something healthy and delicious for your family.  Here's a tasty dish that you can whip up in about a half hour.

It's the pecan-crusted chicken with sweet mustard dressing, from Pampered Chef's 29 Minutes to Dinner cookbook.  It's crunchy, sweet, salty, and easy.

Cream-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes (Cupcake of the Month #9)

There's nothing quite as delightful as a chocolate cupcake.  Except maybe a chocolate cupcake filled with marshmallow-y cream.

The September cupcakes are a delightful cream-filled chocolate cupcake, reminiscent of Hostess cupcakes (but without the chocolate frosting).

After a couple months' worth of rather labor intensive cupcakes, these were - pardon the pun - a piece of cake.