Marilyn's Jalapeno Cornbread - a weekend recipe

Cornbread is a staple for every good southern cook. When it comes to making cornbread, few can compete with my own wife, and wonderful southern cook, Marilyn. Here is her cornbread recipe using jalapenos, her daughter Shannon’s favorite.

Ingredients

• 2 ½ c cornmeal

• 1 c flour

• 2 Tbsp. sugar

• 1 Tbsp. salt

• 4 tsp. baking powder

• 3 eggs, lightly beaten

• 1 ½ c milk

• ½ c cooking oil

• 16 oz. can cream corn

• 2 jalapeno chili peppers, chopped and seeded

• 2 c sharp cheddar cheese, grated

• 1 onion, large, grated

Directions

Combine first five ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl, mix milk, eggs and cooking oil, and then combine with cornmeal mixture. Stir in remaining ingredients, and then pour into two well greased baking pans. Bake at 425° for 25 minutes, or until done.

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Big Billy's Texas Pintos withTomatillo Salsa Verde - a weekend recipe

Big Billy loved his beans. Once when he was staying with me and Anne, he cooked up pinto beans, complete with his special tomatillo salsa Verde. He also whipped up a pan of cornbread using ingredients he found in our pantry. To say the meal was wonderful is an understatement. It was sublime!

Ingredients

• 1 lb dry pinto beans

• 29 oz chicken broth

• 1 onion, large, chopped

• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• ½ c tomatillo salsa Verde

• 1 tsp cumin

• ½ tsp black pepper, ground

• 1 c water

Directions

Soak beans overnight in a large pot with ample cold water. Drain and place the pinto beans in a crock pot. Pour in the chicken broth and water. Stir in onion, jalapeno, garlic, tomatillo salsa Verde, cumin, and black pepper. Cook for 8 hours.

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Big Billy’s Tomatillo Salsa Verde - a weekend recipe

Big Billy’s green sauce was to die for, and goes well with many dishes. Here is his special recipe with tomatillos.
Ingredients

• 1 lb tomatillos, husked

• ½ c onion, finely chopped

• 1 tsp garlic, minced

• 2 Poblano peppers, minced

• 2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped

• 1 Tbsp oregano, chopped, fresh

• ½ tsp cumin, ground

• 1 ½ tsp salt, or to taste

• 1 Lime, juiced

Directions

Place all ingredients in a blender. Puree until smooth. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer about 15 minutes.

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Big Billy's Italiano Baked Shrimp

Here is one of Big Billy’s favorite dishes. No, he wasn’t of Italian ancestry, but he sure knew how to cook their signature delicacies. This is one he made his own.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs shrimp, cooked and deveined

• 3 Tbsp olive oil

• 4 green onions, chopped

• 4 stalks celery, chopped

• 1 green pepper, chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, crushed

• 1 Tbsp parsley, fresh, finely minced

• 1 Tbsp cornstarch

• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce

• ½ tsp oregano

• ½ tsp sweet basil

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1 c Mozzarella cheese, grated

• ½ c bread crumbs, seasoned

Directions

In a saucepan, sauté onions, celery, green pepper, garlic and parsley in olive oil until soft. Add cornstarch and stir until well blended. Add tomato sauce, oregano and sweet basil and simmer for fifteen minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Layer the shrimp, and the tomato mixture in a greased casserole dish. Top with Mozzarella and bread crumbs and cook at 350 degrees until bubbly, about thirty minutes.

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Big Billy's Catfish Fajitas - a weekend recipe

It’s no secret that Big Billy, a Dallas restauranteur and Oklahoma oil man, loved to cook, and he loved Southern comfort food. Here is one of his favorite and simplest recipes.

Big Billy's Catfish Fajitas

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. catfish, filets

• 1 cup lime juice

• 3 cups mesquite wood chips

• 1 onion, large, chopped

• 1 red pepper, large, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 Tbsp. butter

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp pepper

• 8 tortillas, flour or corn, warmed

• Sour cream, salsa, avocado and lime slices

Directions

Place fish filets in a large zip-top bag. Pour in lime juice, seal, and marinate in the refrigerator for one hour. Soak wood chips in water for one hour. Drain wood chips. Sprinkle wood chips over pre-heated coals in a covered grill. Brush the grill rack lightly with cooking oil and place catfish filets on the rack. Close the grill and cook for about five minutes on either side or until the fish is flaky.

In a large cast iron skillet, cook onion, red pepper, and garlic in the butter until tender. Stir in salt and pepper. Cut filets into chunks, toss into skillet, and mix well. Fill warmed tortillas with catfish mixture and serve with sour cream, salsa, avocado, and lime slices.

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• Born near Black Bayou in the little Louisiana town of Vivian, Eric Wilder grew up listening to his grandmother’s tales of politics, corruption, and ghosts that haunt the night. He now lives in Oklahoma, where he continues to pen mysteries and short stories with a southern accent. He authored the French Quarter Mystery Series set in New Orleans, the Paranormal Cowboy Series, and the Oyster Bay Mystery Series. Please check it out on his Amazon author page. You might also like checking out his Facebook page.

Marilyn's Chicken-Fried Catfish with Pan Gravy - a weekend recipe

Do you crave southern comfort food? Who doesn’t? Here is a recipe that embodies the spirit of food for the soul. Serve it with mashed potatoes and pan gravy. Heck, I even like pan gravy over my green beans. Enjoy.

Marilyn’s Chicken-Fried Catfish with Pan Gravy

Ingredients

• 4 catfish filets

• 1 cup vegetable shortening

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1 cup all purpose flour

• 1 cup whole milk

Directions

Combine salt, pepper and flour in a large zip-top plastic bag. Mix well. Pour milk into a large bowl. Dip filets in milk and shake off excess. Enclose in bag and shake to coat. Shake off excess. Set a cast-iron skillet over medium flame and add shortening. Lay each filet in hot fat. Repeat until skillet is full, but not crowded. The shortening should be no deeper than ¼ inch. Heat only until it's hot enough to set the breading on the catfish after it's dropped into the skillet. When the bottom crust starts sizzling, turn filets and set the other side.

Pan Gravy

Ingredients

• 3 cups milk

• Catfish drippings

• 3 Tbsp. flour

• 1 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1 tsp. pepper

Directions

In a heavy, 2-quart saucepan, heat 3 cups milk but don't let it boil. Using the skillet in which you cooked the catfish, pour off excess grease, leaving about 4 or 5 tablespoons in the pan. Over medium flame, heat the drippings and add 3 tablespoons flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue stirring to brown flour. When brown, hot and bubbling, add hot milk. Stir constantly until thick and creamy. Add 1 ½ teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.

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Zweibelkuchen ala Choctaw - a weekend recipe

Central Oklahoma has many citizens of German extraction, the language still spoken in Oklahoma households where German cuisine is still proudly served. Choctaw, Oklahoma, and the Old Germany Restaurant have hosted an Oklahoma version of Oktoberfest every September for the last twenty years.

Here is a Germanic recipe with a slight Okie modification. P.S. – this recipe originated in German wine country and, yes, grapes are now grown and wine being produced right here in central Oklahoma. Although great with wine, I can personally attest to the fact that this dish is also great with a cold Beck’s. Yes, southern comfort food sometimes has European origins.

Ingredients

• 16 strips bacon

• 4 large yellow onions, chopped

• 2 jalapeno peppers, roasted, deseeded, finely chopped

• 2 eggs plus 1 yolk

• ¾ cups sour cream

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Caraway seeds

• 2 -8 inch pastry shells half baked at 400 degrees

Directions

Fry bacon until crisp. Drain, crumble and set aside. Fry onions in oil until soft and yellow. Add beaten eggs, and yolk, chopped jalapeno pepper, sour cream, salt and pepper. Add crumbled bacon. Pour mixture into pie shells and sprinkle with caraway seeds. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, or until centers are firm. Enjoy.

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Big Billy's Tipsy Sweet Potatoes - a weekend recipe

Big Billy loved his beer but wasn’t much of a hard liquor drinker. He still liked to use it to liven up certain dishes. “Yams and bourbon was a match made in heaven,” he used to say. With Halloween upon us and Thanksgiving not far behind, here is a perfect holiday recipe. Try it and enjoy a little bit of heaven.

Ingredients

• 8 sweet potatoes, cooked, peeled, and mashed

• ¼ lb butter, softened

• 2 cups brown sugar

• 1 tsp allspice

• 1 tsp nutmeg

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• ½ cup bourbon

• ½ cup flour

• 2 tsps butter

• 1 cup pecans, chopped

Directions

Combine sweet potatoes with softened butter. 1 cup brown sugar, spices and bourbon; mix well. Pour into a buttered 2 quart casserole. Cut the 2 tablespoons butter into flour with a pastry blender until crumbly. Add remaining cup of brown sugar and pecans and blend well. Sprinkle on top of potatoes and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Enjoy.

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Natchitoches Meat Pie - a weekend recipe

Natchitoches is the oldest continuous settlement in Louisiana, and that includes New Orleans. Located on the Cane River, this scenic and interesting town was the location for the movie Steel Magnolias. With a diverse cultural history, that includes French, Spanish, English, African and American Indian heritage, this sleepy community is like no other. Here is the original recipe for the world famous Natchitoches meat pie. Don’t change it or it will no longer be a Natchitoches Meat Pie.


Ingredients: Meat Filling

• ½ lb. ground chuck

• 1 ½ lb. ground pork (not sausage)

• 2 tsp. flour

• 1 tsp. shortening

• 2 onions, large

• 6 scallions, small

• 3 tbsp. parsley (chopped, very fine)

• salt and pepper, to taste

• 1 dash cayenne pepper

Ingredients: Pie Crust

• 4 cups flour

• 2 eggs, large

• ½ cup melted shortening, preferably lard

• 1 tsp. salt

• 2 tbsp. baking soda

• small amount of milk

Directions

Make the meat filling first. Meat should be ground twice and then run through a sieve. The idea is for the meat to be as smooth and uniform as possible. Brown the meat in a heavy iron skillet, pouring off any fat that accumulates.

Make a roux of the flour, shortening, onions, parsley, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Combine meat and roux thoroughly. Set aside for cooling.

Begin the pastry and DO NOT use cooking oil instead of lard. Sift flour. Add baking powder, lard, eggs and enough milk to make a stiff dough. Roll until very thin. Cut circles about the size of a coffee cup saucer from the dough. Fill with meat mixture and fold over. Moisten with water around edges and crimp with a fork. Poke a couple of holes in each pie (so they don’t explode!) and then deep fry until golden brown. You are in for a treat, so enjoy.

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Big Billy's South Padre Meat Loaf - a weekend recipe

Although born in Arkansas, Big Billy lived in Texas most of his life. The State is so big, it can easily be divided into many regions, any one of which is bigger than most other states. The people populating these regions have their own ethnicity, cuisine and culture. Big Billy was an expert on each of these regions and adept at cooking their many dishes.


South Padre Island is an area all to itself, unlike any other part of Texas—or the world for that matter. The inhabitants of South Padre Island come from all over, its culture and cuisine just as varied. Here is a dish Big Billy discovered, and made his own, while on a trip to the island.

Big Billy’s South Padre Meat Loaf

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. beef, chopped
• 1/4 lb. salt pork, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, finely chopped
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• Dash paprika
• Pimento, strips

Directions

Mix all ingredients except pimento strips and then sprinkle with paprika. Grease a bread pan and put in half the mixture. Place strips of pimento over the top. Add the rest of the meat and bake in moderate oven for 45 minutes. Serve with hot boiled rice and tomato sauce.

Big Billy's Oyster Balls - a weekend recipe

Big Billy was a Dallas restauranteur and oil man, but he loved Cajun food and knew how to prepare it. Big Billy liked people and he liked parties. When he hosted one of his famous parties, he often prepared this appetizer. It’s one of my favorites and I think you will like it too.


Big Billy’s Oyster Balls

Ingredients

• 2 pints oysters, chopped

• 2 pints sausage, chopped

• 1 egg

• 2 cups bread crumbs, grated

• Cajun hot sauce, to taste

Preparation

Combine oysters and sausage. Season liberally with Cajun hot sauce. Add egg. Shape into small balls. Coat with bread crumbs. Fry in hot oil until golden brown. Serve hot.

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Lily's Oyster Stew - a weekend recipe

Oyster stew is a Louisiana staple, but is prepared and eaten everywhere the succulent sea creature is found. Like gumbo, there are many variations, some heartier than others. Here is one of Lily’s versions. This recipe is included in Lily's Little Cajun Cookbook, available in ebook format at Smashwords.com.


Lily’s Oyster Stew

Ingredients

1 stick butter

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 medium carrot, finely diced

2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning, plus more to taste

2 pints oysters (with liquor), drained and liquor reserved

1 quart seafood stock

1 10-ounce can of tomatoes, pureed

1 quart half-and-half

¼ cup white wine or brandy

Garlic croutons

Directions

In a large 2-gallon stockpot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onion and carrot and cook, stirring constantly, until onions are translucent. Add 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning and stir to combine. Add oyster liquor, seafood stock and tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Cook 10 minutes. Add half-and-half and bring back to a simmer. Add oysters and cook until their edges begin to curl. Add wine or brandy and adjust seasoning to taste. Serve immediately in hot soup bowls garnished with croutons, green onions, parsley and paprika.

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Lily's Cajun Butter

We all like butter on our corn. My ex-mother-in-law Lily used to whip up a special concoction she called Cajun butter and often served it over carrots, cauliflower and even her mirlitons. It makes fresh vegetables taste even more wonderful and it’s easy to prepare. Whip up a batch and see if you don’t agree.


Lily’s Cajun Butter

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil

• 2 tsp. lemon juice

• 1/8 tsp. parsley

• 1/4 tsp. chili powder

• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder

• 1/4 tsp. ground red pepper

• 2 Tbsp. butter

• 1 tsp. cornstarch

• 1/4 cup chicken broth

Preparation

Mix parsley, chili powder, black pepper, garlic powder and red pepper. Cook in hot butter and olive oil for 1 minute. Stir in cornstarch. Add chicken broth and lemon juice. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Serve warm over corn or vegetables.

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Lily's Cajun Butter - a weekend recipe

We all like butter on our corn. My ex-mother-in-law Lily used to whip up a special concoction she called Cajun butter and often served it over carrots, cauliflower and even her mirlitons. It makes fresh vegetables taste even more wonderful and it’s easy to prepare. Whip up a batch and see if you don’t agree.

Lily’s Cajun Butter

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp. parsley
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/4 cup chicken broth

Preparation

Mix parsley, chili powder, black pepper, garlic powder and red pepper. Cook in hot butter and olive oil for 1 minute. Stir in cornstarch. Add chicken broth and lemon juice. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Serve warm over corn or vegetables.

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Pecan Crusted Buttermilk Chicken Fingers - a weekend recipe

My mom and dad both lived in Vivian, Louisiana all their lives and were members of the Vivian Methodist Church. I found this recipe in a cookbook of recipes by the ladies at the church and this recipe caught my eye. Yum, I think I’ll try it!

Pecan Crusted Buttermilk Chicken Fingers

Ingredients
• 6 skinned and boned chicken breast halves
• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• 1 cup pecans, toasted and ground
• ¼ cup sesame seed
• 1 Tbsp. paprika
• ¾ tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1 large egg, beaten lightly
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• Garnishes: lettuce, lemon slices

Preparation
Cut each chicken breast half into four strips. Combine next six ingredients and set aside. Combine egg and buttermilk. Dip chicken into buttermilk mixture and dredge in flour mixture. Pour butter into a 15” x 10” x 1” jellyroll pan. Add chicken, turning to coat. Bake at 375° for thirty minutes, drain. Garnish with lettuce and lemon slices. Yields 24 appetizer servings.

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Big Billy's Crawfish Fritters with Texas Dipping Sauce - a weekend recipe

My close friend Big Billy was both an oil entrepreneur and a Dallas restauranteur. He was such an interesting character, I could write a book about him. Come to think of it, maybe I will some day.

I once sold him an oil deal in Noble County, Oklahoma. It was a reentry—going into a previously drilled well in hopes of completing in a productive zone the original operator missed. We were unsuccessful in the predicted pay zone but came up roses in a shallow limestone. The well tested nine hundred MCFD (pretty damn good for a six hundred foot well) and Big Billy ultimately drilled ten offsets.

Big Billy, like his name, was a big man—six foot four and three hundred seventy five pounds. He had the mentality of a wildcatter along with the wildly crazy luck that made him successful. He had absolutely no pretense, but could cook some of the tastiest meals imaginable. He also liked Texas music and he, Kathy—his significant other— and I once made a special trip to see Willis Alan Ramsey at the Blue Door in Oklahoma City. But that’s another story.

Yes, Louisiana is the land of Acadia, but there are probably just as many Cajuns living in Texas. Big Billy borrowed a few secrets from his Louisiana neighbors in creating this dish that I guarantee is to die for. Although no longer with us, his legend and recipes will live forever.

Big Billy’s Crawfish Fritters with Texas Dipping Sauce

Ingredients
• 1 cup flour, sifted
• 1 pound crawfish tails, cooked and chopped
• 4 green onions, chopped
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup milk
• 1 ½ tbsp. melted butter

Texas Dipping Sauce
• ¾ cup mayonnaise
• ¼ lemon, sliced
• ½ cup ketchup
• ¼ tsp. horseradish, prepared
• ¼ tsp. Texas hot sauce

Directions
Combine eggs, crawfish meat, onions, butter, salt and Cayenne in a large mixing bowl. Stir in flour until blended.

Heat cooking oil in a large cast iron skillet until very hot. Drop tablespoonfuls of batter— a few at a time—into hot oil. Fry until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels.

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, ketchup, horseradish, squeezed lemon juice and Texas hot sauce. Serve fritters with Texas dipping sauce.

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Blackened Catfish Burritos - a weekend recipe

Here is a San Francisco-style burrito with a Cajun twist. It has my comfort food guarantee.

BLACKENED CATFISH BURRITOS

Ingredients
• 4 catfish filets
• 8 large flour tortillas, steamed
• rice, cooked
• red beans, cooked
• Cajun spice
• 1 cup butter
• Avocado, chopped
• Tomato, chopped
• Lettuce, shredded
• Tabasco Sauce, to taste

Directions

Heat a cast-iron skillet at least ten minutes, the hotter the better. Dip catfish in butter, coating both sides liberally. Sprinkle Cajun spice evenly on both sides of the fish. Cook quickly over high heat until the underside forms a crust, and then flip the filet, letting it cook and form a crust. This doesn’t take long so be careful not to burn the fillets. Slice each filet down the middle, into eight pieces.

Drain your ingredients. You don’t want a soggy burrito. Build your burrito by adding ingredients to a large flour tortilla in this order: rice, beans, lettuce, avocado, and tomato. Add blackened catfish last, along with Tabasco Sauce to taste, and then roll that puppy up. Wrap the burrito in foil to give it structure. Serve on a festive plate along with chips and salsa on the side. Enjoy.

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Born near Black Bayou in the little Louisiana town of Vivian, Eric Wilder grew up listening to his grandmother’s tales of politics, corruption, and ghosts that haunt the night. He now lives in Oklahoma where he continues to pen mysteries and short stories with a southern accent. He is the author of the French Quarter Mystery Series set in New Orleans and the Paranormal Cowboy Series. Please check it out on his Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and iBook author pages. You might also like to check out his website.

French Market Beignets - a weekend recipe

I was eleven when I first visited New Orleans with Aunt Carmol. She was a schoolteacher and off for the summer. Every day, she would awaken Brother Jack and me and take us on a tour of the old city. We rode the streetcars and roamed the French Quarter, Carmol the quintessential tour guide, filling our heads with both history and lore.

One of the places I remember visiting was Café du Monde in the French Quarter. It is there that I first tasted the luscious confections dusted with powdered sugar. It is also there that I first learned about the delicious taste of coffee.

That was long ago. Carmol has since passed away but Café du Monde survives, still selling strong French coffee and beignets, the French version of the American doughnut. Here is a recipe. Though probably not exact, it is close.

French Market Beignets

• ½ pkg. yeast cake
• 3 ½ cups flour, plain
• 1 cup milk
• ¾ Tbsp salt
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp cooking oil
powdered sugar, generous sprinkle


Soften yeast cake in 1/3 cup lukewarm water to form a paste. Warm the milk and add sugar, oil and yeast mixture. Gradually stir in 2 cups flour and the salt. Stir until it forms a batter. Stir in egg until it is mixed well, and then add rest of flour. Mix well. Cover and set in warm place about 1 ½ hours to rise. Take dough out and roll until about ¼ inch thick. Cut in 2 inch pieces. Place on cookie sheet or pan and let rise another half hour. Fry dough until it is brown and then remove and let drain. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy.

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