Snow Cream - Simple, Sinful, and Soulful or try Southern Lemon Cream if you like!

Open a can of Eagle Brand condensed milk and pour it into a bowl. Gradually stir in clean, fresh snow until the mixture reaches the consistency you like. Then add vanilla to taste. This is so simple, yet fun for children of all ages and it's sinfully delicious!

Southern Lemon Cream

1 can Eagle Brand condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice

zest of one lemon

Plenty of fresh clean snow!

Now how fine does that sound?
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
My friend, Terry Ford, the epicurean extrordinaire made this marvelous suggestion.

Tonight I met a group of friends for dinner at a favorite Jackson Tennessee restaurant, Baudo’s. Monday is typically a slow night and with the rainy weather and winter skies, the average group might have opted to stay curled up at home. But not this group! Oh we sipped pinot noir, sea breezes, iced tea, and such. We laughed and talked and shared stories about life. We enjoyed wonderful Italian food and had the best server who knew us all by name and took wonderful care of us!

One friend stopped by on her way to ballroom dance class and she’s in training to climb Mt. LeConte this fall; another told the story of how her family had founded a Jackson landmark, Kelly Food’s which was famous for chili and Brunswick Stew. We learned about an upcoming event where one of Jackson’s most talented divas will be performing (of course she’s been on stage all across the country since she was three.) Another friend is busy selling houses – even in this market. Another dear friend I’ve known since elementary school entertained us all with her new phone – a complicated gadget that could connect all of us to any place on the face of the Earth while sipping wine at Baudo’s. Now that’s scary! There was a former Miss Tennessee and another friend who loves to garden but says she can’t dance. Then the ring leader who is the social chairman of the group – she’s taking a few college classes for yet another degree.  

We decided we liked: Kelly’s, Pier One, the Star Center, being on stage with Gary Morris, and a new phone from Verizon.

And get this – if you weren’t there, and especially if you weren’t invited, your name might have come up in conversation. Oh well all’s fair on a rainy, gloomy Monday night in Jackson. We’re going to make this a monthly dinner among friends. Who knows where we might show up next or what we might discuss. Cheers! It was nothing less than a hoot of a good time!

French Onion Soup

Secrets to good soup are slow carmelization of onions which brings out their natural sweetness and a good beef broth – homemade of course!

3 large sweet yellow onions, peeled and thinly vertically sliced

3 large red onions, peeled and thinly vertically sliced

Olive oil

1/4 teaspoon of sugar

2 cloves garlic, minced fine

8 cups of beef stock

1/2 cup of dry vermouth or dry white wine

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon of dry thyme

Salt and pepper

8 slices of toasted French bread

1-1/2 cups of grated Swiss Gruyere with a little grated Parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan, sauté the onions in the olive oil on medium high heat until well browned, but not burned, about 30-40 minutes (or longer). Add the sugar about 10 minutes into the process to help with the carmelization.

Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the stock, vermouth or wine, bay leaf, and thyme. Cover partially and simmer until the flavors are well blended, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaf.

To serve you can either use individual oven-proof soup bowls or one large casserole dish. Ladle the soup into the bowls or casserole dish. Cover with the toast and sprinkle with cheese. Put into the broiler for 10 minutes at 350 degrees or until the cheese bubbles and is slightly browned. Serve immediately.

When the weather is nippy, Bacon Topped Meatloaf warms the soul - the ultimate comfort food y'all

Bacon Topped Meatloaf

This is the ultimate comfort food on a cold, snowy weekend. Serve it with mac/cheese and cabbage - how easy is that? Oh and who doesn't love a meatloaf sandwich the next day? That bacon just puts it over the charts on the yum yum scale. Y'all enjoy!
2 pounds ground brisket or beef
1 pound ground pork
18 saltine crackers
½ green pepper, diced
½ yellow onion, diced
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
3 slices hickory bacon, partially cooked – not crisp
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed divided
3/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon vinegar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first eight ingredients and ¼ cup brown sugar in medium bowl just until blended. Chill mixture for about 10 minutes. Form into a 10x5 loaf. Top with bacon slices which have been cut in half. Place meatloaf on rack lined with foil. Punch holes in foil to allow drippings. Place rack on baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour. Turn broiler on for a few minutes so bacon will crisp. Watch and don’t burn. Stir together ketchup with remaining brown sugar and vinegar; pour over meatloaf. Bake 15 more minutes at 350. Remove from oven; let stand 20 minutes before slicing.