Category Archives: Appetizers

Where I really want to work

29 Saturday Sep 2012

Posted by in Appetizers

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

I love my job but if I could have any job at a place where I could just show up and eat what my co-workers made to snack on…well it might be CHRISTUS Jasper Memorial Hospital in Jasper, Texas.

My aunt Gayle Riley works there, and she forwards me the most amazing recipes from her co-workers. She also tells me how amazing the food is which leaves me hungry reading a recipe and wondering how I can break away to the store for the ingredients. All I can say is if you ever have the misfortune to end up as a patient there, I suggest you forgo the hospital food and find a way to sneak in the employee break room. THAT IS WHERE THE GREAT FOOD IS FOUND.

So I am going to share two dip recipes from them. The first is Boudin Dip and it is courtesy of Cheryl Huff. I don’t know Cheryl but after trying this recipe I want her to be my new best friend. The second recipe of my Aunt’s Black Bean Dip. My aunt tells me my cousin Stephany will fight anyone for it, so I’ll just give y’all the recipe and save everyone a black eye. Thanks to the ladies of Christus Jasper Memorial Hospital. Keep those recipes coming. Now to just figure out how to get a fake employee name tag for myself…

Cheryl Huff’s Boudin Dip

 Step 1:

3 large links of Zummo’s regular boudin crumbled

1 package of green onions chopped

Morton Sea Salt/Roasted Garlic seasoning in grinder – Wal-Mart sells this.

Sauté in pan with a little olive oil to keep from sticking.  While sautéing add ground spice. (I just grind covering over the top of the boudin.)

Step 2:

In a microwaveable container add:

1 large container of Velveeta Cheese (I have used the 2% and it is good but the real thing is better…)

1 large block of cream cheese (same thing, the real thing is better)

2 cans of Mushroom soup. (The Campbell’s 98% fat-free is actually better cuz it is creamier)

1 can of Rotel tomatoes.

3 Tablespoons of Paul Prudhomme’s salt free Magic Seasoning   This is the secret to the flavor. You will be disappointed if you don’t use this seasoning! It is the blue one and sold separately.

Microwave all the ingredients on high until melted, stirring occasionally and using a whisk at the end for smoothness. This takes about 10 minutes depending on your microwave.

Step 3:

Blend sautéed boudin mixture into the micro waved mixture.

Step 4:

*New variation that I just started to do and makes it creamier:  This is the last step! I now add chicken broth to the mixture. Use as much or as little as you like for personal preference. I used ¾ of a can of Swanson Chicken Broth. It seems every time you make this the thickness varies a bit. Don’t be afraid of the Chicken Broth. I think the next time I may put the whole can in.  I have tried milk before to achieve the consistency I wanted, but the broth really improved the end result in taste and creaminess.

Gayle Riley’s Black Bean Dip

– 2 8 oz pkgs cream cheese softened

– 3/4 cup fat-free mayonnaise

– 3 tbsp southwestern seasoning mix

– 2 green onions with tops thinly sliced and diced

– 1 diced red bell pepper

– 1 can pitted ripe olives, drained and chopped

– 3/4 cup salsa

– 1 clove garlic, pressed

– 1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

– 1 8.75 oz can whole kernel corn, drained

1.  For dip, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise and seasoning mix in small bowl.  Whisk until smooth.

 2. Set 1 cup of cream cheese mixture aside. Spread remaining cream cheese mixture over bottom and halfway up sides of tortilla bowl or serving bowl.

3. Slice green onions. Set aside 2 tablespoons for garnish. Dice bell pepper & chop olives.

4.  In bowl, combine green onions, bell pepper, olives, salsa, garlic, black beans and corn; mix well. Spoon half of the salsa mixture over cream cheese layer.

5. Spread half of the reserved cream cheese mixture over salsa layer.

6.  Top with remaining salsa mixture.

7. spread remaining cream cheese mixture on top. Sprinkle with
reserved green onions.

8. Serve with tortilla chips.

Redneck eggrolls.

28 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by in Appetizers

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

This post started as an argument. I have 2 friends from college who are involved. One who invented this recipe. And one who thinks they invented the recipe. Lots of beer, studying, and college nonsense may have clouded the memory of the second party. Or this could be just a ploy to get the recipe out of me. Anyway what follows is how this recipe really came about…how the second person believes this recipe was invented…and finally the original recipe followed by an updated version. Let’s go.

Carla Guthrie was my first roommate in college. We did everything together. People always recognized as a duo because I was tall with dark hair and she is not so tall with long blonde curly hair.  When Carla finally moved into an apartment, she would invite her friends over for dinner. No college student turns down a homemade meal. The favorite thing she would make were these egg rolls with a twist. Today she calls them redneck egg rolls, and that they are. They bear no resemblance to any egg roll you might find in a Chinese restaurant, and that is why they are amazing. She would make them for us often…to get through finals, to celebrate, after a night out drinking…I mean studying. I am absolutely certain we all learned to make these egg rolls from Carla.

These days Carla is this super mom with a beautiful little girl. She was this extremely smart science brain in college, and now is one of those modern women who can do it all. Which, by the way, comes as no surprise to any of her college friends. When I told her recently that I was gonna use her recipe for the blog she said “oh the redneck egg rolls?” Because no one who eats the redneck egg rolls ever wants a real egg roll again.

Which brings me to my “delusional” friend Jesse Ward, who also knew myself and Carla in college. Jesse believes he invented the redneck egg roll. Jesse is now an orthopedic surgeon but I refuse to let that give his claim any credibility. I believe Jesse’s confusion may stem from the fact that the first time he had the redneck egg roll, he had been at George’s for hours.

George’s, to fill you in, is a drinking establishment in Waco, Texas. Their beers are served in ice-cold goblets called Big O’s. They also serve a mean chicken fried steak, and have George Jones on the jukebox. Or at least they did when the confusion takes place. George’s is also a place where stories and legends are born. My favorite George’s story has to do with the waitresses that ran the place. They were the crusty barfly variety who would tell you in no uncertain terms how hell froze over. One time we had a booth full of friends. One of the guys in the booth ordered a Bud Light. Without skipping a beat the waitress turned to him and said “HONEY now that is a p***y beer. Why don’t you order like a man should?”

SO you can see where the confusion might start on the origin of the redneck egg rolls. Too many stories, too much George Jones, and too many Big O’s and one might easily think they created the redneck egg roll. Anyway, here’s the recipe. The redneck egg roll is great for parties, watching football, and just for getting over that ‘ I NEED SOMETHING DEEP FRIED NOW’ feeling. They are completely unhealthy, and yet so good that it is understandable why Jesse Ward might want to claim he invented them. But he didn’t. He did sucker me out of the recipe though.

(NOTE: after the original recipe is the recipe updated to use green chiles. A sort of Homage to my adopted state of New Mexico. Enjoy.)

Redneck Egg Rolls Original Recipe

Ingredients:

– 1 lb lean ground beef

– 1 pkg egg roll wrappers

– 1 pkg soba noodles

– can water chestnuts

– 1/4 cup shredded carrots and cabbage

– soy sauce

– 1 tbsp flour

– vegetable oil for frying

– sweet and sour dipping sauce

Directions:

1. Cook ground beef in skillet. After cooked, drain oil.

2. Add carrots, cabbage, water chestnuts and soba noodles to skillet and cook on low adding soy sauce to your taste

3. Mix tbsp of flour with water to create a watery paste. This will be used to seal the egg rolls.

4. Take 1 egg roll wrapper and place a rounded tablespoon of meat/noodle/vegetable mixture in the middle of the wrapper.

5. Fold two opposite corners of the wrapper to the middle of mixture as pictured below:

6. Now bring one of the remaining corners to the middle as shown below:

7. Now starting at the bottom folded edge, roll the egg roll upward toward the top pointed edge. Once it is rolled, seal the last pointed corner with the flour/water paste mixture.

8. Heat oil on medium low and fry egg rolls until golden brown.

9. Enjoy with sweet and sour dipping sauce.

Redneck Egg Rolls Redux Southwestern Style with Ranch Avocado Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

– 2 c. shredded chicken

– 2 cups frozen corn, thawed

– 1-15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

– 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

– 4 oz can diced green chiles, drained

–  2 green onions, finely chopped

– 1 tsp ground cumin

–  1/2 tsp chili powder

– 1/2 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

-1 package of egg roll wrappers

Directions:

– Put all ingredients in large skillet and heat on med low until onions are cooked. Stir frequently.

– Put rounded tablespoon of above mixture in the middle of egg roll wrapper and roll as above.

– Fry rolls in heated vegetable oil.

– Enjoy with the below dipping sauce.

Ranch Avocado Dipping Sauce

-1/2 cup ranch salad dressing

-1/2 medium ripe avocado, peeled and mashed

-1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro

-1 teaspoon grated lime peel

Mix all of the above together.

Grandma’s cheese

01 Saturday Sep 2012

Posted by in Appetizers

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, ,

Secret family recipe. That’s really all you need to know. But here’s the nitty gritty. When I moved to Portland, Oregon, I met Amy McKenna. She shared a house with two other great friends Jen and Christina.

Whenever they had a party, Amy would make this dish called Grandma’s cheese. Grandma’s cheese was like pimento cheese but a thousand times better. Served in a bowl as a dip, it was always the first thing to go. And EVERYONE would ask Amy for the recipe. Her reply was always: “sorry it’s Grandma’s cheese and it’s a secret recipe.” Now me being of the obstinate Irish persuasion, I constantly asked, pleaded and even tried to bribe Amy for Grandma’s cheese recipe. It never worked.

Until now. I can only explain getting the recipe now by the fact that despite our lives diverging, Amy and I have similar connections and recent similar life experiences.  In Portland, Amy went with her Dad to Ireland. When she came back and told me how amazing it was, I told her that my mom had always wanted to go. I remember she told me: “well then you have to take her. When you go you will so understand your family history. There’s nothing like being in the country your family came from.” So I took my mother the next year, and it was the trip of a lifetime.

Amy lost her father last year. I lost my mother. There’s a bond in understanding what it means to be a member of that club. I started this blog as a result. Amy gave me Grandma’s cheese. To say that I am honored to have and share this recipe is an understatement. This recipe is a food celebration of family, friends, memories, good times and even the tough stuff all rolled into one. Thank you Amy for sharing…

Amy McKenna Insera on her grandmother and the cheese

When asking Grandma if I could share the family’s Grandma’s Cheese recipe, she replied, ” With a fellow southern woman?  Of course.”  Grandma (Virginia Ella McKenna) was born in Littleton, CO in 1919, moving to El Paso when she was 7.

 Her mother made the wonderous cheese throughout her life, and Grandma McKenna brought it into our family traditions.  Now, the process of making, serving and eating Grandma’s Cheese immediately transports me back to my childhood, warm feelings of family parties and lots of love.

My dad passed away in October, and heading into the holiday season brought me no warm feelings, and no Grandma’s Cheese.  I am now looking forward to busting out my grater and celebrating with family and friends that I love.  It’s been a crazy year emotionally and looking forward to Grandma’s Cheese seems like turning a corner for me. Sorry it’s taken a while to get it to you, now I’m ready.

Grandma’s Cheese Recipe

Ingredients:

shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I used 1 lb to make my batch)

diced pimentos ( I used one jar per one pound of cheese)

Best Foods mayo (Hellman’s) ( I used 2/3 cup per one pound of cheese)

lemon juice

Lawry’s seasoning

salt

pepper

Tobasco

This is not an exact science.  Experimentation is encouraged. Make the day before, chill.  Stir and re-season if needed.  Serve on crackers, with veggies, between two pieces of white bread, or my favorite, broiled on slices of baguette until browned.

* some yummy substitutions over the years

aged white cheddar

roast your own red peppers

NEVER USE MIRACLE WHIP!!!!!!

Sweet and Savoury Apples with a side of football

04 Saturday Aug 2012

Posted by in Appetizers

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , ,

I know Karen Foster from Mick’s Bar and Terilli’s Restaurant in Dallas. From the minute I met her, we got along. We have the same sense of humor, love music and sports, and somehow we seem to both have the knack for CRAZY things happening to us without either of us trying.

Last Mardi Gras, Karen cooked up this apple dish for a mid-morning snack and it was amazing. I have been bugging her for the recipe ever since. Karen is this amazing artist and the loyalest of friends. So I ask the questions. She does the talking. Then we all get this great recipe.

You can get a feel for her films/videos by watching her homage to Mardi Gras in New Orleans:

Karen also paints these amazing pet portraits. You can contact her for pet portrait commissions at :
punkrockpaperscissors@gmail.com

 

Pet portrait

Pet portrait

Karen Foster on Sweet and Savoury and Football

Aine: Ok finally I get the recipe for your sweet and savoury apples. Where did you get the recipe from?

Karen: I got the recipe from Mark Bittman of the New York Times. He’s the author of the cookbook “How to Cook Everything.”  I first made these apples for last year’s Super Bowl party. The theme was to bring food that represented one of the teams playing. Bittman’s recipe did not include the sausage. That was my addition.

Aine: Where did you learn to cook? I know your family heritage is Japanese and Hawaiian. Does that have any influence?

Karen: I’m still learning to cook. From friends, television, and the internet. Sadly, no familial or cultural ties. I am an island. Ha.

Aine:  So who do you like to cook for and what music do you play when you are cooking?

Karen: I like to cook for friends. I like to listen to jazz when cooking. Straight ahead bebop, Miles, Monk, Chet, etc.

Aine: So we have this crazy story tie that binds us. Tell me a crazy story I don’t know. One you would tell me if I was sitting in your kitchen while you cooked.

Karen: So I will tell a football story since the recipe was inspired by a football party. My friends and I love football. The drawback for me is that I’m a Buffalo Bills fan but I live in Dallas. You may know of my team’s infamous 4 straight years in the Super Bowl with ZERO wins which include the two devastating crushing blows dealt by the Dallas Cowboys.

My friends would torture me on occasion with little digs like “Hey let me light your cigarette with my DALLAS COWBOY lighter” and drawing blue stars on everything. This spawned the Preseason Prank Wars. The rules: from the first day of regular season, anything goes. (keep in mind this was before the internet could bring virtually everything to your doorstep) Because we all lived in Dallas, it was easy for my friends to prank me with the above stated lighters, stickers, calendars, etc… I had to use my imagination a little more, I would draw the Bills logo and send it in the mail, use vending machine helmets, and just try to keep up with the onslaught of Cowboy memorabilia that would come my way. Year after year, they got the best of me.

One year, when Little Craig had moved to Austin, I mistakenly thought he couldn’t get me. On the first day of the preseason, I was greeted with email alerts from the Cowboys. The same year, Big Craig and I were hanging out at his house, it got too late for me to go home, so I decided to sleep on the couch. Craig graciously offered me a pillow and a Dallas Cowboy blanket. Of course, I took the pillow and turned down the blanket. He laid it down next to me, saying it would be right there if I changed my mind. He then said goodnight, and on his way back to the bedroom and unbeknownst to me, he cranked the a/c way down. In the middle of the night, I was freezing and had to cover up with it. I then woke up to Craig laughing his head off, and asking if his championship Dallas Cowboy blanket kept me nice and warm, and told me about the a/c! Now it was ON!

I knew Craig was working and went to Terilli’s to borrow his car, (the one with the HUGE blue star on the windshield). I used his car to buy all my stuff and with his keys, I let myself into his house to enact my plan. In his bedroom, I wrapped everything in red and blue crepe paper. I also knew that his landlord was getting ready to redo the tile in his bathroom; so with a homemade stencil, I painted about a dozen 6″ Bills buffaloes, and a huge buffalo breaking the blue star right in front of the toilet. Craig also had a Cowboys shower curtain, I left it alone, but I painted a gigantic Bills logo on a curtain liner and hung it inside the shower. I made a red/blue boutonnière to hang from his rear view. I even took a picture of his dog wearing my Bills cap. I then returned to the bar and gave his keys back. Because of my inability to keep a straight face, he knew something was up. My next drink was served with a molten mass of plastic on top, he had found the boutonnière. Of course, after work, it was a hilarious reveal and the bonus, he didn’t find the shower curtain liner until the next morning!!

A few years later, the Buffalo Bills had a contest on their website, 50 fans from 50 states. The entry requirements were to take a picture in your Bills gear at a location that shows where you are from and a short essay (I think like 500 words) that explains why you are the top fan in your state. I decided to tell about the prank wars for the essay and the pic location? No place better to show my love for the Bills except the big blue star at midfield Texas Stadium. I wrangled up a bunch of Cowboy loving friends and we headed out to take the Texas Stadium tour. I not only had a blast razzing the Cowboys fans, (we were in a group of 20 or so), I got my pic on the star and a bonus pic outside the stadium with the Tom Landry statue.
Then this happened.

http://buf276.americaneagle.com/fans/BillsFansAcrossAmericaTexas.jsp

Baked Apples with Balsamic Vinegar, Rosemary and Sausage

Ingredients:

4 apples

1/2 lb sausage

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

Preparation:

1. Halve and core apples.

2. Put apples cut side down in a greased 9 x 13 inch pan.

3. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

4. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

5. Brown sausage. Cook about 2/3 done.

6. Turn the apples, baste and fill the cavity with sausage.

7. Sprinkle apples with fresh rosemary.

8. Bake for another 20 minutes.

Guacamole with a Twist

16 Saturday Jun 2012

Posted by in Appetizers

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Sometimes a simple twist on a standard can turn the expected into amazing. This recipe does just that. Berna Serrano works with me, and one day we were discussing recipes learned from fathers. This is her father’s story and her father’s recipe just in time for Father’s Day. Enjoy!

Berna Serrano on her father Joseph Valdez

My dad grew up in Del Norte, Colorado. He has lived in Rupert, Idaho for over 20 years. He moved there because his father worked the harvest and that is where the work was.

He’s a truck driver. He used to do long-haul but lately because of his health he hasn’t been doing such long trips. About 10 years ago he just decided to start riding motorcycles. He had never been on a motorcycle before. Now he and his Harley…well he loves that bike. He goes to bike runs and all over.

I remember once when I was about 11 or 12. I was sure I knew how to drive. We had this little red car, and my dad was washing the car out back. I kept pestering him to let me drive it. I kept saying “come on I know what I am doing. Please let me drive. I know how.” Finally my Dad agreed to let me move the car. So I got in and started the car up. I started to move the car and my Dad said I was going too fast and needed to slow down. He told me “you need to hit the clutch and the brake at the same time and slow down.” Well I didn’t know to do that so I hit the clutch and the gas at the same time. The car was jerking back and forth and I hit this shed my Dad had built. I didn’t do much damage but my Dad was so mad. We can laugh about it now but at the time it was not funny to him.

My dad learned to cook from his mother. My dad loves to fish and hunt. He fishes mostly on the Snake River. Oh when we get together, he does the best fish fry. The last time we were together, he taught me something different with guacamole. He added tiny shrimp! It was so good. I would have never thought of doing it or thought it would be good but it is. He’s good at doing that.

 

JOSEPH VALDEZ’S GUACAMOLE WITH SHRIMP

ingredients

  • 2 medium avocados (peeled and pitted)
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped jalapeno
  • 1/4 cup diced tomatoes
  • 4 teaspoons chopped onion
  • 4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 2 teaspoons chopped cilantro
  • tiny shrimp, cooked

directions

Dice avocados and mash. Add garlic salt and chopped jalapeno and mix together with a fork. Add chopped tomatoes, chopped onion to taste. Mix together. Sprinkle with freshly squeezed lime juice, than add chopped cilantro and shrimp.  Stir. Serve with tortilla chips.

notes

Experiment with amount of garlic, cilantro or lime juice depending on your taste.

So you want to throw a party?

01 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by in Appetizers

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

When it comes to throwing a party or just having friends over, you can’t afford to mess around with food or drinks. So let’s not waste any time. What follows are recipes by two people who are experts at entertaining. If you are invited to either of their houses, you can be assured you will have a good time and be served some great grub. I should get the disclaimer out of the way right now: I am related to both of them. But neither of them paid me to say this. They just shared their recipes.

Gayle Riley Throws a Party

I always rave about my Aunt Gayle’s bread. But as long as I have been having people to my house for a party, there is one go-to recipe up my sleeve: my Aunt Gayle’s hot shrimp dip recipe.  As far back as I can remember, this recipe was always there for a holiday party. The recipe card I have is stained with hot sauce, so you know it’s a good one. So after 20+ years of me making this, I find out it’s not really my aunt’s recipe. It’s really my second grade teacher’s, Mrs. Eleby, recipe. Mrs Eleby must have been a great cook as my mom has 5 or 6 recipe cards with her name on them as well. You never know what you find out when you go digging around. Well Mrs. Shirley Eleby has been making all of our parties great with her recipe for 30 something years.

Now make this for your next party, and it will be a hit. And if you are ever in East Texas on a weekend of Livingston Trade Days or Nacogdoches Trade Days, let me know and I’ll tell you how to find my Aunt Gayle. You can buy her bread, and sit and chat for a while. I’m pretty sure she has a few more party recipes up her sleeve.

Hot Shrimp Dip

Ingredients:

1 stick margarine

1 8 oz package cream cheese

4-6 oz cooked tiny shrimp (if you are in a hurry you can use canned shrimp but fresh is best)

3 green onions chopped

garlic salt

Worcestershire sauce

hot sauce of your choice

1. In a crock pot, melt the stick of margarine and cream cheese. Stir often.

2. Add the shrimp and green onions.

3. Add garlic salt, worcestershire sauce and hot sauce to taste.

4. Stir well.

5. Serve with chips. Ruffles potato chips are the chips of choice at this party.

Teal Masson Throws a Party

Teal is my sister. If you have ever stayed at my house and had breakfast pizza, you can thank her. She always pulls together these crazy but simple recipes. And she always has a story about where she got the recipe. She will also tell you exactly how you should serve it. Here are two of her recipes that are party tested and approved.

Hot Chicken Dip

(Teal’s note: If you serve this at a party, it’s heavy enough to be like a meal and you won’t need much else)

Ingredients:

20 oz cooked chicken–shredded from a rotisserie chicken

10 1/2 oz cream of chicken soup

4 oz hot pepper jack cheese

8 oz sour cream

small can diced green chiles

3/4 cup Velveeta cheese cubed

8 oz cream cheese cubed

1 small onion diced

14 oz can diced jalapenos

1. Put all ingredients into a crock pot on low heat.

2. Stir occasionally until all ingredients blended and cheese melted.

3. Serve with chips.

Teal’s Sangria

Ingredients:

2 tsp lime peel shredded

1 cup lime juice

3/4 cup sugar

ice

1 bottle pinot noir

1 nectarine. Teal recommends a large peach, pitted and sliced

1. In a quart jar, combine lime peel, lime juice and sugar.

2. Add 4 cups of water and stir to dissolve sugar.

3. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

4. Pour in wine with ice and peach slices.

5. Let this sit 30 min.

6. Serve.

Jimmy Ford’s “CLASSY” Appetizer

28 Saturday Apr 2012

Posted by in Appetizers

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

, , ,

The first time Jimmy Ford made this appetizer for me was at my house in Santa Fe. When he said “caviar”, I paused. I then asked “what are you trying to do? Class this joint up?” His reply “I do what I can.” So I have named this Jimmy Ford concoction the “Classy Appetizer.” As he cooked in my house, his wife Sue explained that on their first date he had made the same thing for her. She said to herself after eating this: “any man who can cook like this I had better keep my eye on.”

The Fords live in New Orleans and run “The Ford Clinic.” Once a year (more for those of us who need a bigger dose of the city), they graciously allow us to slide into their world. And what a world it is. Food, drinks, music, friends, stories…all the things that make you feel like sometimes friends are like the family you would choose to have if you could. When I called Jimmy to ask for this recipe, he said “I’ll try to get it right but if I don’t blame 44 years of marching with the Lyons Club.” (The Lyons Club is Uptown marching club which begins in the Irish Channel and marches between the parades of Zulu and Rex on Mardi Gras day.)

As far as the recipe goes, Jimmy says he made it up off the top of his head. “I don’t use recipes unless I am doing something like cornbread. I just see it in my head and then I make it.”

Now about the stories. Well Jimmy Ford has more than a few. When I asked him for some, his reply: “if I think of any fit to print I will call ya back.” So let me as an avid listener of Jimmy Ford stories clue you, the reader, in.

Jimmy Ford can spin a story. He can tell you about how he inspired the character Sluggo in his friend’s Walter’s Mr. Bill series on SNL. He can tell you about the days with Richard Hell or the Gun Club. He can tell you about going with the Meters to NYC to play SNL, and how Randy Newman ended up being the musical guest. He can tell you about how at this last SXSW, he somehow ended up cooking for Lil Wayne and Cash $ Productions ( he was in Austin to play music, not cook). Jimmy Ford can tell you about every inch of the city of New Orleans.  He can tell you about bars and Bourre’. He can tell you where to eat and drink. And most of all he can tell you about fishing. But since none of these stories are fit to print, (I am still waiting on that call Jimmy!) let me tell you how to get a story out of Jimmy Ford.

The next time you go to New Orleans, let me know and I’ll give Jimmy a call. He can meet you at a bar, Ms Mae’s for example. Then if you buy him a round or two or three of “Jimmy Fords” (yes the man has a drink named after him), then I am sure he’ll tell you all those stories that aren’t fit to print. In the meantime, make these appetizers and you’ll instantly feel classier.

(oh and if you would like to check out their new band DiNOLA ,with Sue Ford, Eric Laws, Eddie Payne and Jimmy Ford, here is their link on FB. Recorded at the Rancho de La Luna recording studio which has hosted artists such as Queens of the Stone Age, Victoria Williams, P.J. Harvey, Masters of Reality, Dessert Sessions, and earthlings?, their debut album is in the finishing stages but you can hear some selected tracks at the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/DiNOLA/305193072869494?sk=app_120183798044738

Jimmy Ford’s Classy Caviar & Shrimp Appetizer

Ingredients:

shrimp-fresh, small or large, peeled, deveined and butterflied (Number of shrimp determined by the number of appetizers you are making)

soy sauce

Cajun Magic or similar seasoning

Olive oil

garlic

Sour cream

Carr’s water crackers (the ones in the black box)

caviar

Rooster sauce

Black pepper

Optional ingredients: bell peppers, cilantro, scallions

1. Peel, devein and butterfly the shrimp

2. Marinate shrimp in a mixture of soy sauce and Cajun magic seasoning for about 30 minutes

3. Cook shrimp in olive oil and garlic

4. CHILL SHRIMP

5. On a cracker put a scoop of sour cream

6. Add a shrimp (or half a shrimp depending on size of shrimp you are using)

7. Add small scoop of caviar on top of shrimp (NOTE:Jimmy notes that the caviar you can use can match the season. For example at Christmas he uses red caviar and green bell peppers or for Halloween he uses the black caviar and the orange bell peppers.)

8. Add 1 drop of rooster sauce on top of caviar

9. Add optional cilantro, scallions and black pepper

10. Chill for 5 minutes and then serve