Guacamole Day, Everyday! Avocado Recipes

Guacamole Day, Everyday! Avocado Recipes

Want to learn how to make the best guacamole ever?

September 16 is National Guacamole Day, and what better way to celebrate than by making some delicious avocado dishes? I will show you how to grill avocados and perfect your guacamole for avocado toast, as well as other tasty avocado recipes!

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The Art of The Fresh Market

Grab the book that contains my favorite travel adventures, with inspired original artwork by artist Susan Fazio.
New Year, Old Friends and the Birth of This Book

Southern Supper Book Club: “Big Lies in a Small Town”

Southern Supper Book Club: “Big Lies in a Small Town”

It’s National Book Lover’s Day and my book club party planner is here! Host a Southern-style book club supper with “Big Lies In A Small Town” by Diane Chamberlain and these recipes from my cookbooks.

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I must admit, I was captivated by this book from the first sentence. After all the main character’s first name is Morgan.

Her surname is Christopher (name of my middle son) and her boyfriend’s name is Trey (name of oldest son). There’s a Jon in there somewhere, I’m sure!

The extra pull is that the novel is set in my adopted state of North Carolina jumping back and forth from the early forties and to the present. But it is the writing that really captures the reader. You feel like the characters are your peers. You find yourself dancing in a time warp while you are cheering for the heroine(s).

This is my next pick for our Super Supper Book Club. Gather your readers, give them the title and dole out the recipes for what will be a roller coaster discussion and meal.

Morgan Christopher’s life has been derailed. Taking the fall for a crime she did not commit; she finds herself serving a three-year stint in the North Carolina Women’s Correctional Center. Her dream of a career in art is put on hold―until a mysterious visitor makes her an offer that will see her released immediately. Her assignment: restore an old post office mural in a sleepy southern town. Morgan knows nothing about art restoration, but desperate to leave prison, she accepts. What she finds under the layers of grime is a painting that tells the story of madness, violence, and a conspiracy of small town secrets.

I already cooked up some questions for your Super Supper Book Club gathering…

  • After a year, you get your hands on a cell phone for the first time. Who do you call? 
  • Was it brave or crazy for Jesse’s family to aid Anna?
  • Does Morgan ever come to accept that alcohol is a problem for her, or does she simply comply with her parole requirements?

My Southern inspiration for this Super Supper Book Club menu is Jesse’s family’s Sunday dinner. I take the liberty of substituting Anna’s least favorite vegetable (collard greens) with my delicious recipe for Swiss chard. I exchange corn on with cob for creamed corn. In place of stewed tomatoes liberated from the family’s root cellar, I substitute slow roasted cherry tomatoes.

The author didn’t mention a dessert, but I bet the farm, there was strawberry shortcake somewhere, sometime on Sundays. My swaps are allowed, because all these recipes are rooted in my love of the South. Lest there be controversary during the discussion, keep those paintbrushes close to allow everyone to express themselves.

This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a commission. 

Super Supper Book Club Menu: “Big Lies in a Small Town” by Diane Chamberlain

Fried Chicken Basket

Sunday Best Dishes, page 71

Creamy Smashed Parmesan Potatoes

Sunday Best Dishes, page 280

Braised Rainbow Chard

Canvas and Cuisine, page 124

Old-Fashioned Cream Corn

Fresh Traditions, page 208

Slow Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Fresh Traditions, page 205

Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@helloimnik?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Hello I'm Nik</a> on Unsplash

Southern-Style Strawberry Shortcake

Canvas and Cuisine, page 331

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Watermelon Recipes: Pickled Beet & Watermelon Carpaccio!

Watermelon Recipes: Pickled Beet & Watermelon Carpaccio!

National Watermelon Day can create unexpected opportunities! Learn how to craft a darn delicious fancy appetizer that you’ll soon crave! From my book, “Canvas & Cuisine: Art of the Fresh Market”.

The fusion of different flavors is what tasting different cuisines is really about.

Ingredients that don’t appear together in our culture are often traditionally paired in others.

If you take that concept into your home kitchen, you give yourself permission to become creative in your cooking.

Just like Sue’s creativity on canvas, your cuisine will have a taste all its own!

For this dish, peppery, crisp radishes are elevated by pickling them in a quick brine.

I put these together with an Asian-flavored pesto on some crunchy crostini and you have a first-course appy that makes you say, “Whaaaaaaat!”

Pickled Beet & Watermelon Carpaccio from
“Canvas & Cuisine: The Art of the Fresh Market”

Servings

A Crowd

Ready In:

30 minutes plus 1 hour or so for roasting

Good For:

Appetizer
Salad

For pickled beets: 
4 medium red beets, tops removed, scrubbed 
4 medium golden beets, tops removed, scrubbed 
½ red onion, peeled and thinly sliced 
4 cups apple cider vinegar 
1 cup granulated sugar 
1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon coarse ground pepper
 
For vinaigrette: 
¼ cup white balsamic vinegar 
Juice from 1 large orange, about ¼ cup 
1 medium shallot, peeled, about 1 tablespoon 
1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard 
½ cup olive oil
For carpaccio: 
6 thin slices prosciutto 
¼ medium watermelon 
½ fennel bulb, tough outer parts remove, (save a few of the top leaves for garnish) 

Tried it? Tag it!

I would love to see what you did with this recipe.  Share your creation by tagging #inthekitchenwithjorj and with Scrumptious Possibilities With Jorj, my free private home cooking group.

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Wrap the beets in aluminum foil and place them into a baking dish. Bake until the beets just begin to soften, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. Remove the baking dish from the oven and cool the beets to room temperature. Remove the skin from the beets by rubbing with paper towels. Use a mandoline slicer to slice the beets as thin as possible. Place the beets into a bowl with red onion slices.

Whisk together the apple cider vinegar and granulated sugar in a separate bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in the salt and pepper. Pour this liquid over the beets and onions and gently toss so that all the slices are coated in the brine. Set the bowl aside for at least 30 minutes. (You can cover and refrigerate the beets at this point for several days.)

Pour the balsamic vinegar and orange juice into a blender. Add the shallot and mustard. Pulse to emulsify. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Season with additional salt and pepper. Place your serving platter into the freezer to chill. Increase the oven temperature to 400°.

Place the prosciutto slices onto a parchment line baking sheet. Bake until the prosciutto is crisp, about 5 to 8 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and cool the crisp prosciutto to room temperature. Cut the watermelon into ¼-inch slices. Use a 3-inch round biscuit cutter to cut medallions from the watermelon slices.

Use the mandolin slicer to thinly shave the fennel bulb. Remove your serving platter from the freezer and brush it with olive oil. Remove the beet slices from the brine. Lay the beets and watermelon onto the plater, slightly overlapping each round.

Break the prosciutto into pieces and scatter over the top. Scatter thin slices of fennel over all. Drizzle just a spoonful or two of vinaigrette over the carpaccio. Garnish with the fresh green leaves cut from the fennel.

 

Spaghetti Squash! In The Kitchen With Jorj

Spaghetti Squash! In The Kitchen With Jorj

Join Jorj In The Kitchen!

Make spaghetti squash my way with two versatile recipes!

Join me in the kitchen as I make macaroni magic with a spaghetti squash twist!

You’ll love my approach to making versatile dinner ideas with summer squash that is fully flavorful and family approved!

Roasted Spaghetti Squash

Cajun Spaghetti Squash Boat With Shrimp

The Art of The Fresh Market

Grab the book that contains my favorite travel adventures, with inspired original artwork by artist Susan Fazio.
New Year, Old Friends and the Birth of This Book

Strawberry Field Recipes: Easy Whipped Cream Cake

Strawberry Field Recipes: Easy Whipped Cream Cake

Strawberry Recipes for Desserts

You can just never have too many strawberries! Pick too many and turn excess into opulence with this luscious strawberry whipped cream cake.

I hope there are strawberry fields forever because the strawberries that you harvest from their growing green vines are the reddest, ripest, juiciest, sweetest, most flavorful berries you are ever going to eat.

Add the wonder of youngsters plucking for the first time, and you have a moment to remember…forever.

When you get to the farmer and he weighs your overfilling baskets and you find out you have collected eighteen pounds of strawberries, the wonderment retreats just a bit.

Until the lightbulb goes off and you’re able to prolong the day by making EVERYTHING strawberry. 

Strawberry Whipped Cream Cake

The cake is simple. I start with a box of white cake.

The recipe calls for 3 egg whites. If you have the time, you can beat these and fold them into the batter for a fluffier cake. Pour into 2 round (or square cake pans).

Chop about 4 cups of strawberries and sprinkle them with just a bit of granulated sugar. Let these sit while you bake the cake. When the cakes are cooled, use your electric mixer to whisk together a block (8 ounces) of cream cheese with 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar.

When blended, add 1 tablespoon of vanilla and 1 ½ heavy whipping cream. Continue mixing on high speed until the frosting comes together to form stiff peaks. Assemble the cake by placing one cake onto a platter. Spread a layer of frosting on the cake.

Use a slotted spoon to sprinkle chopped strawberries on the frosting. Cover the strawberries with another layer of frosting. Place the second cake on top and slather the remaining frosting all over the top and sides.

Spoon the remaining strawberries over the top. Chill the cake in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

Here’s the recipe for some really FUN ice cream!

 

Strawberry Ice Cream

Strawberry Recipes for Desserts

Serves:

4 to 6

Ready In:

30 minutes ‘til it’s ready to go into the ice cream machine

Ingredients

1 ½ cups half and half

1 cup granulated sugar

⅛ teaspoon salt

4 large egg yolks

1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups chopped strawberries

Directions

Stir together the half and half, sugar, and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Whisk the eggs in a bowl until pale and frothy. Continue whisking while you slowly pour about ½ cup of the hot half and half mixture into the eggs. This “tempering” of the eggs will prevent them from scrambling. Pour the egg liquid from the bowl back into the pan and place it on the heat. Continue stirring until the liquid thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 to 7 minutes more. 

Place a bowl into a larger bowl that is filled with ice cubes. Pour the thickened custard from the pan through a fine-mesh strainer (or colander) and into the bowl. This will catch any solid pieces. Whisk in the heavy whipping cream and continue whisking until the mixture is cool. 

Pour the custard into an ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions, adding the chopped strawberries at the end of the cycle. Serve soft, right from the machine, or transfer to an air-tight container and place into the freezer.

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Southern Super Supper Book Club Menu

Southern Super Supper Book Club Menu

It’s “Read An eBook Week” and my recipes and read are available for immediate download! Host a Southern-style book club supper with “Almost Sisters” by Joshilyn Jackson and my “Sunday Best Dishes” menu.

This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a commission. 

Last year I discovered author Joshilyn Jackson and devoured every book she’s written in record time.

For me, her characters, strong Southern women, strike a chord with so many attributes I aspire to. Her heroines face challenges that we can identify with, although hopefully in not such a dramatic manner!

For this book club, I’ve chosen the book “The Almost Sisters”.

This is not her most recent book, but I find it to be very current given our present political climate. And although this book is in no way political, it does deal with issues in the headlines.

Here is a summary from Amazon:

“With empathy, grace, humor, and piercing insight, the author of gods in Alabama pens a powerful, emotionally resonant novel of the South that confronts the truth about privilege, family, and the distinctions between perception and reality—the stories we tell ourselves about our origins and who we really are.

 

Superheroes have always been Leia Birch Briggs’ weakness. One tequila-soaked night at a comics convention, the usually level-headed graphic novelist is swept off her barstool by a handsome and anonymous Batman.

 

It turns out the caped crusader has left her with more than just a nice, fuzzy memory. She’s having a baby boy—an unexpected but not unhappy development in the thirty-eight-year-old’s life. But before Leia can break the news of her impending single-motherhood (including the fact that her baby is biracial) to her conventional, Southern family, her step-sister Rachel’s marriage implodes.

 

Worse, she learns her beloved ninety-year-old grandmother, Birchie, is losing her mind, and she’s been hiding her dementia with the help of Wattie, her best friend since girlhood.

 

Leia returns to Alabama to put her grandmother’s affairs in order, clean out the big Victorian that has been in the Birch family for generations, and tell her family that she’s pregnant. Yet just when Leia thinks she’s got it all under control, she learns that illness is not the only thing Birchie’s been hiding.

 

Tucked in the attic is a dangerous secret with roots that reach all the way back to the Civil War. Its exposure threatens the family’s freedom and future, and it will change everything about how Leia sees herself and her sister, her son and his missing father, and the world she thinks she knows.”

There’s a pivotal scene in the book that serves as the catalyst for bringing Leia home to Alabama and her grandmother. Birchie and her caretaker, Wattie attend a potluck supper after Sunday church. It’s Birchie’s out-of-character outburst in front of the parishioners that sends a distress call to Leia.

Sunday after church potluck suppers are a tradition in the South. I must have been on the same wavelength with Ms. Jackson when I wrote an entire chapter of the potluck recipes in my book, “Sunday Best Dishes.”

This book is the perfect one for recipes for your book club menus. Buy one and share it with all of your book club members!

This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a commission. 

Here’s a menu that will work perfectly for your book discussion of “The Almost Sisters”:

Pretty Potluck Beans

Sunday Best Dishes, page 73

Southern-Style Chicken Pot with Okra and Collards

Sunday Best Dishes, page 79

Scalloped Potatoes with Ham and Green Onions

Sunday Best Dishes, page 83

Trio of Picnic Salads

Sunday Best Dishes, page 123

#RecipesAndReads

 

Here are a couple of book club discussion questions to get you started:

  • There are multiple relationships in the novel that fit the title The Almost Sisters description. How did the title take on new meaning to you as the story developed?
  • Despite her worsening dementia, Birchie is still a strong character throughout the book. How would you describe her lifelong friendship with Wattie? Did your impressions change throughout the novel? Why do you think Birchie chose to keep their true relationship a secret even as times changed?
  • Leia makes the decision to hide her pregnancy early on and keeps her secret throughout much of the story. Do you think Leia made the right decision? Were you surprised by the characters’ reactions when her pregnancy was revealed?

Explore Jorj's Cookbooks

7 Cookbooks and Counting!
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