As the South transforms and the flowers begin to awaken and
bloom we are glad we have yet again weathered the colder months for the glorious
spring. The breezes of fresh air are
heavy with the smell of all the beautiful flowers blooming and we are ready to
celebrate one of the South’s most exciting festivals. The North Carolina Azalea Festival begins
next Wednesday and we are ready! Things
have been bustling around the office; ticket sales have been incredible and
people are genuinely excited for all the events surrounding the Festival. Phone calls have poured in from all over the
South as visitors plan their activities during their stay in Wilmington next
weekend. A gentleman from Florida called
yesterday and requested souvenir books from this year’s Festival; his wife is a
graduate of New Hanover High School and they lived here for quite some time and
always enjoyed the Festival. Since he
and his wife cannot make the Festival for its 65th anniversary he
still wanted to have a little piece of the Festival. This year has been especially exciting for me
as the Festival’s first intern; a lot of work goes into making this such a
wonderful event!
It has been so beautiful outside lately I thought I would
share a few delicious recipes from the Junior League of Wilmington, North
Carolina cookbook entitled “Seaboard to Sideboard Entertains.” After looking through all of the recipes I
have decided I must try them all, but the book has a Garden Party menu that
sounds delightful! Below is the Garden
Party menu and few of the recipes.
Garden
Party Menu
Azalea
Punch
Honeydew
and Lemon Grass Soda Water
Seaside
Gougères
Vodka-Infused
Tomatoes
Carolina
Crab Dip
Spinach
Tomato Dip
Cream
Cheese with Apricot Preserves
Cucumber-Watercress
Tea Sandwiches
Pimento
Cheese Sandwiches
Rosemary
Pimento Cheese Sandwiches
White
Cheddar Pimento Cheese Sandwiches
Devonshire
Grapes
Chess
Squares
Chocolate
Chip Cake
Seaside Gougères
1 C. water
½ C. (1 stick) butter
1 C. all-purpose flour
4 eggs
3 scallions, chopped
1 Tsp. dry mustard
1 Tsp. white wine and Worcestershire sauce
¾ C. (3 ounces) shredded gruyère cheese
8 oz. fresh lump crab meat, flaked
1 can (6 ounces) crab meat, drained and flaked
Bring Water and butter to boil in a saucepan. Remove immediately from heat. Add the flour. Beat with a wooden spoon for 1 minute or
until pastry is smooth and forms a ball.
Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir
in the scallions, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce and cheese. Fold in the crab meat. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto a
parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in a
pre-heated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer or until
puffed and golden brown. Cool slightly
before removing from the baking sheet.
Serve warm as an appetizer or as an accompaniment to soup or salad.
White Cheddar Pimento Cheese Sandwiches
8 C. (2 pounds) shredded white cheddar cheese
1 (4 ounce) jar pimentos, drained and chopped
1 ½ Tbl. sweet relish
2 C. mayonnaise
12 to 16 slices sourdough bread
Combine the cheese, pimentos, relish and mayonnaise in a
bowl and mix well. Spread on one-half of
the bread slices. Top with remaining
bread slices.
Makes 6 to 8 sandwiches.
Devonshire Grapes
2 pounds seedless green grapes
2 pounds seedless red grapes
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 C. sour cream
½ C. granulated sugar
1 Tsp. vanilla extract
4 ounces pecans, lightly toasted and chopped
2 Tbl. light brown sugar
Rinse the grapes and remove from the stems. Dry the grapes thoroughly. Beat the cream cheese, sour cream, granulated
sugar and vanilla in a bowl until smooth.
Fold in grapes by hand. Chill,
covered, for 3 to 24 hours before serving.
Sprinkle with the pecans and brown sugar mix until evenly distributed.
Chocolate Chip Cake
1 (2 layer) package yellow cake mix
1 (3 ounce) package vanilla instant pudding mix
2 C. (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
12 ounces pecans, coarsely chopped
4 eggs
1 C. sour cream
2/3 C. vegetable oil
Combine the cake mix, chocolate chips and pecans in a
bowl. Stir in the eggs, sour cream and
oil. Spoon into a bundt pan sprayed
generously with non-stick baking spray.
Bake in pre-heated 325 degree oven for 1 hour. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Invert onto a wire rack to cool
completely.
Serves 16
The food in the book sounds and looks scrumptious and I
highly recommend heading over to Junior League of Wilmington, Inc.to purchase one.
Everyone is so excited about the North Carolina Azalea
Festival and we cannot wait for y’all to join us as we celebrate everything
wonderful in the South. Go to our
website, the link is above and see all of the wonderful events that are
starting less than a week away!
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