Foodie Friday -- Memorial Day Edition, May 22 -26

 Welcome to the Memorial Day edition of Foodie Friday!

The week sped by, filled with gardening, cooking, and catching up with old friends.

We enjoyed old fashioned tea biscuits with a special egg salad.

I found the recipe in the 2012 edition of Phyllis Hoffman's gorgeous Celebrate magazine. I like to keep things stress-free and simple, if possible, so I loved the notion of using frozen mini-biscuits. 

 

 

These itty bitty appetizers are so good, they will disappear in a flash. I began with twenty-four, and when I turned around, four biscuits were missing.

The recipe is incredibly easy. It's perfect for the busy hostess. I put my own spin on it with the holy trio: bacon, Tabasco, and Hungarian paprika.

Click for Printable Recipe

 

 

The chopped and mashed avocados add texture and help the salad mixture hold its shape.

In the garden with Mister, better known as The Governor. 

I bought the pet stroller for Zap, but he prefers to be right by my side. Mister, however, leaped into the stroller and claimed it. Here, he's making goo-goo eyes at Bandwidth, who was jumping up and down, trying to get Mister to pose for the camera. 

Are you familiar with the MYSTERY INGREDIENT CLUB?

Here's how it works: A secret ingredient is assigned to members, and they incorporate it into a recipe (sweet or savory). 

The next club meeting will be held Monday, June 2, 2014. 

** Participating members can host the party. This means that you don't have to follow any rules or do any "hosty" things. You'll be mailed the Inlinkz thumbnail code prior to the event, which you can add to your post. This is totally optional. 

**The MIC is very "niche," and will stay small and cozy, so I thought it would be super great if the MIC posts/thumbnails appeared on 10 blogs as opposed to the one host blog.  This will be great exposure for your recipe.

**As a host, you don't have to do any host duties. You don't have to do mandatory comments/visits. If a link messes up or a visitor/reader has a problem, I will take care of it from my end. I don't want this to be a headache for y'all!!! Just fun. The collection can also be "closed" to accept only the posts from members.

**If you have a Wordpress blog and are worried about the javascript, here is what Inlinkz says about WP and sharing blog hop link ups:

If you want other bloggers to display your collection (what is known as a “blog-hop”), now there is an easy way to let them grab the suitable code for their site and needs. Click on the link to get your code as usual Click on the tab to go to the “Get script” page On the page where you get the script, you will notice a last options that provide a small HTML snippet to add a link to the script page You can also find other methods with which you can share your code. Copy this HTML snippet and put it on your blog for others to click on it and grab the code. What the users will see is this: get the InLinkz code Clicking on it, they will be transfered to the get script page (minus the code-sharing textbox) from where they can grab the code that suits their needs Your readers will see this code page to select their blog code The link contains a unique key without which, no one can access this page. You can even email the link containing the key to other bloggers so they can access this page - See more at: http://blog.inlinkz.com/2011/01/sharing-blog-hop-code-the-easy-way/#sthash.CB2EjTxr.dpuf

** Other than using the secret ingredient in a recipe, there are no rules. 


** If you'd like to play with us, just leave a comment below (or email me at designsbygollum@gmail.com and type MYSTERY CLUB in the subject header. 


** The secret ingredient will be mailed to you. If you haven't received your email, let me know.


** If you'd like to host the party on your blog, you'll be mailed the Inlinkz thumbnail code prior to the event.

**This isn't a weekly meme. The MIC meetings happen mysteriously!

Come on and join us. We'll have a great time!

Are you contributing a recipe to this week's Foodie Friday?
 If so, locate the blue Inlinkz icon in the lower, left-hand portion of this post. Click on the icon and follow the directions. After you complete the process, you will see a red "x" beside your name. This allows you to delete your link if you made an error; the red "x" is visible to you only.

You can read a complete guide to this linky party HERE.


It's pretty simple: there are NO RULES.


You don't need to "like" our Facebook page or be a follower of this blog to participate. Nor do you need to include a backlink or Foodie Friday button in your post. Add as many recipes as you wish, old or new.

If you'd like to share your food photos--or photos of other FF participants on Pinterest, join the Pinterest foodie board, Consuming Passions. Leave a message on the most recent "pin" if you'd like your name added to the list.

Every Friday, we are joined at this big, virtual table--thank you for stopping by today. I'm grateful to all of you who spend your days cooking. I'm grateful to old and new friends who contribute recipes every week. I'm grateful to friends who leave a comment. I'm grateful for the silent folks, because you are brought here by your love of all things culinary.

We are food people. And that's a marvelous thing.

Foodie Friday Link-up


Have a happy, safe Memorial Weekend!

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Southern Crab Cakes with Corn-Avocado-Black-eyed Pea Salsa -- Foodie Friday -- April 5th

I spent my early childhood in New Orleans, and in later years, I shuffled between Tennessee and Orange Beach, Alabama. So it's no wonder that "crab meat" is synonymous with "comfort food."

This week, I'm bringing two recipes to Foodie Friday: crab cakes and avocado-bean salsa.

 

My eldest son, Chef Trey, lives on the Carolina coast, and he gave me both recipes. If you love cornbread and barbecue, be sure to check out his fantastic dish, BBQ Cornbread Casserole.
(I was dealing with a picky eater and added cheese
to one half of the dish.)



 

Crab Cakes

2 cans white crabmeat (I bought Reese all-white crab meat; add 1 more egg if you use fresh lump crabmeat)

1 c plain bread crumbs

1 egg, beaten

1 c. chopped onions/green peppers/celery mix, sauteed in oil-and-butter

Land O' Lakes unsalted butter (or bacon drippings)

Canola oil

1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

1 T mayonnaise

1 T sherry (or cooking sherry)

salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)

Tabasco (to taste)

In a large frying pan, add 2 T. butter and 2 T. canola oil. Add raw vegetables and sautee until onions are clear and veggies are tender. Set aside

to cool. Drain crabmeat in colander, then pour sauteed veggies over meat. After draining, place meat and veggies in a deep mixing bowl. Add 1 beaten egg and mix. Add mayonnaise, sherry, salt, pepper, and Tabasco. Blend. Add breadcrumbs and mix. Shape mixture into patties and roll each pattie in Panko bread crumbs (I spread the crumbs onto waxed paper).

Into a large skillet, add 2 T butter and 2 T oil. Heat on medium flame. Add crab cakes. Cook 3 minutes or so on each side. You may have to flip the patties more than once. Remove the patties.

Avocado-Corn-Bean Salsa

Note: For a more blended taste,  prepare the salsa early in the day and refrigerate.

1 c. canned yellow corn niblets (if you use fresh corn, shuck and silk 3 ears, then boil them in lightly salted water and cut the kernels from the cob. You can also roast the corn.)

 

1/2 can black eyed peas (drained)

1/2 chick peas (drained)

1/2 cup green pepper, chopped

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

2 avocados, chopped

1/2 cup chopped red onion

juice of 1/4 lemon

1 teaspoon white granulated sugar

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

cilantro or flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Drain niblet corn (or prepare fresh corn) and place in deep mixing bowl. Add drained peas, chopped tomatoes and avocados. Squeeze lemon juice over mixture. In a small bowl, whisk olive oil, vinegar, and sugar. Salt and pepper to taste. You might need to adjust the sugar and salt. Pour vinaigrette over the corn-bean-avocado mixture and stir. Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Spoon over crab cakes.

Click for Printable Recipes.



 



For a memorable meal, serve crab cakes with cole slaw and hush puppies. 

 



** If you make this recipe (or any Rattlebridge recipe), send me a photo, and I will feature it on the blog, Facebook, or Pinterest.

 

Foodie Friday Linky Party Guidelines

If you'd like to participate in this week's Foodie Friday, click HERE to read the guidelines and FAQs. If you have trouble linking, visit http://support.inlinkz.com and
Inlinkz will be happy to walk you through the process.

** "Pinners" please go to the source blog to pin and credit the bloggers/photographers for their work.

** If you are participating in the linky party, please visit at least two other Foodie Friday participants and leave comments.

 

** By adding your link to Foodie Friday, you are agreeing that your recipe and photography are original. Additionally, you are granting this blog permission to include a photo of your FF recipe without monetary compensation in a "Spotlight" feature. There will *always* be a link to your blog post.

Check back during the week, when Rattlebridge will post a Foodie Friday "Spotlight" feature.

**On Thursday evening and Friday, several FF recipes will get shoutouts on Rattlebridge Farm's Facebook page, Twitter, and Pinterest. 

** Foodie Friday is celebrating its 4th anniversary next week, April 11-12th (a bit belated this year). Hope to see you!

**Look for a great giveaway.

 

**Plus, I will introduce Foodie Friday's

new co-host.

 

Be sure to click HERE for last week's Foodie Friday Spotlight Recipes.

Happy Recipe Hunting!



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BBQ Cornbread Casserole