Southern Simmering – Page 4 – A Southern Chef’s simmerings on dining, diy design, and more!

Baby, It’s Gold (I mean, Cold) Outside

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Hallie Hylander / 2 Comments

During the past few weeks, the weather hasn’t seemed to make up its mind. Here in Memphis it has either been 70 degrees F or 40 and below! Finally, it feels like Jack Frost is here to stay. When the weather starts to turn bitter cold and Winter has finally come, I start to yearn for something warm , gooey, and golden.

No, it’s not tea with honey! Although I literally could not function without my daily cuppa! I recently asked many of you to guess what this post would be about on Facebook. Answers ranged from Blondies to Pralines and Peanut Brittle. All might seem to fit the bill, but the one thing I have on my mind is Oooey Gooey Butter Bars or as my family in Texas calls them, “Texas Gold.”

With 2 sticks of butter melted, vanilla paste with real bits of vanilla swirling in the batter, smooth, thick cream cheese, and sweet, snow white confectioners sugar, these bars are delicious! It only has 6 ingredients making them easy to make in a pinch or just because, like me, you want something warm, oooey gooey and golden.

Also, don’t be afraid to get your child involved in the making of these delicious bars. Bluebird really enjoyed pushing the dough around and patting it to fit the bottom of the pan. Hello, Tactile Learning!! She also helped spread the cream cheese mixture on top which helped with motor skills. The kitchen is a great place to learn and the results are always yummy!

Oooey Gooey Butter Bars

Serves 12 bars

Ingredients:

1 box of Duncan Hines Butter Yellow Cake Mix
1 egg
2 sticks butter, melted, divided
1 package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste
1 1/4 box confectioner’s sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, combine cake mix, 1 egg and 1 stick of butter. Mix thoroughly. When the mixture looks like a thick, dough for the crust of your bars, scrape dough into a greased 13×9 inch baking dish. Spread and pat dough down until it covers the entire bottom of the dish.

In a new or clean mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until it is smooth and whipped. Add 2 eggs, vanilla paste, and 1 stick of butter melted. Beat until mixture is thoroughly combined. Add 1 box confectioner’s sugar and mix gradually increasing to medium speed. (This will keep the sugar in the bowl and off of you!) Spread mixture over bar crust and bake for 50 minutes.

Remember the center will be oooey gooey, so don’t worry that it may not be done. It is done. It’s supposed to be that way. In fact, it may sink alittle, but that’s my favorite part! I love watching the sugary hard top crackle as it cools. Top with remaining confectioners sugar and enjoy! Serve warm or at room temperature.

DIY/Snacks

Teddy Bear Picnic Party

Posted on December 6, 2016 by Hallie Hylander / 0 Comment

Its been awhile since my last post, but my little family and I have been through a lot this past year or two. We’ve battled cancer, started school, moved once or twice, and finally settled into our new life at home with more family, friends and support than we ever imagined. God IS Good!!

This year my daughter, who we fondly nicknamed Bluebird, is turning the BIG THREE!! She’s had to travel a lot in her young age and likes to be close to home with friends and family. To be able to share her birthday with her class– that is a super special opportunity! Chris and I brainstormed a lot of different ideas. What character is popular or trendy with Preschoolers? This led to a wealth of various characters. No luck there! Then, we thought about what would reinforce her classroom teacher’s curriculum. They are studying Eric Carle’s “Brown Bear, Brown Bear.” Bluebird is on a heavy bear kick due to this. Hmmm….

The answer? A Teddy Bear Picnic, of course! We felt it was the perfect theme….classic, timeless, fun and educational. We began to plan a snack, craft, story, and favor.

I immediately ordered the Sing-A-Long book, Teddy Bears’ Picnic, from Amazon.com. This would be the story Chris reads during storytime. I was a little nervous about Chris going –being a Dad and not having much interaction with a GROUP of preschoolers; but it was actually the best thing we could’ve done! It turns out two other mothers read for their children’s birthday earlier that week and Chris was a refreshing masculine change. The little boys in Bluebird’s class were thrilled and Bluebird was so proud of her Daddy!

We also brought an old fashioned wooden picnic basket, so the children could see what one looked like. It was great for storing favors, etc. The kids wouldn’t stop talking about it. “What is it? What’s inside it?” and more questions were heard during circle time. When I brought the idea up to Chris, he said, “You don’t think they know what a picnic basket is?” I said, “No, most kids nowadays don’t know what a landline, corded telephone is, so why would they know what a picnic basket is? Their parents probably have a wine cooler or Yeti!” Chris admitted I had a point and it definitely peaked the children’s interest. This particular basket dates back to the early sixties from my Mom’s childhood days.

Next, I wanted to secure the favors. Since we decided Miniature Teddy Bears were ideal for children to take home and use to pretend in having their own Teddy Bear Picnic, we ordered 2 dozen Fun Express Primary Plush Bears from Amazon for $11.39 a dozen. Bluebird’s party was in early November, so we capitalized on the Halloween candy clearance and bought several bags of miniature Haribo Gummy Bears. Later, I went to Micheal’s and purchased Wilton Treat Bags and red ribbon to give the bear favors a clean, festive look. I used labels I had laying around the house and wrote “Thank you for making my day beary special!” on them.

I found this printable bear mask on Woo! Jr for the children to wear and play in. We used various shades of brown cardstock and black ribbon from Micheal’s to make the masks. They were more fun and imaginative than plain party hats.

The snack was the last concern. Bluebird’s school is somewhat health conscious and her teacher encourages sweet and salty snacks. So I fixed a Teddy Bear Snack Mix. The recipe is as follows:

Teddy Bear Picnic Snack Mix

Serves 20

Ingredients:

2 boxes of Honey Teddy Grahams
1 large bag of Kraft Miniature Marshmallows
1 large bag of Snyder Pretzel Sticks
2 boxes of Sun Maid raisins

Directions:

Mix ingredients together in a large bowl and serve in snack size Ziploc bags.

The children enjoyed the snack mix. I also admit that I learned not to be alarmed when the preschoolers decided to stab the marshmallows with their pretzel sticks. (More fun time and learning tactile skills and opposites of soft versus hard! And they did it all by themselves!) It was a bit unexpected, but I suppose we had a snack and a craft! Ha! Everyone had a great time and Bluebird really enjoyed sharing her special day with the class. It meant a lot to us, as parents, to provide for her special day and to have the opportunity to interact with her class. I hope this inspires you to get creative and have fun! With many birthdays being at fun off-site centers, the “old-fashioned” on-site party with storytime, crafts, snacks, and play charmed the two-three year olds!

Signing off, Hallie

Main Dishes

Smoked Pork Sirloin

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Hallie Hylander / 0 Comment

If anything reminds me of my hometown of Memphis, TN, it’s slow cooked, smoked pork and Corky’s Barbeque sauce. I can certainly wield a spat on a grill any day of the week, but my husband was dubbed the “Grillmaster” of our family when we were engaged.

The night he proposed to me I had a catering event with the Culinary Arts Club at my university. As Vice President, I had to be there all day for prep work, cooking, and service. My husband drove in from Oxford after a long day of drill practice and wanted to surprise me. I had an inkling of what was going to happen, but didn’t expect him to arrive so soon. He walked into Shattuck Hall and I stood there, surprised alright, and covered in flour from making hundreds of banana beignets. Dr. Fitzgerald, the dean of our department, asked “Who are you?” I told him it was my boyfriend, Chris. He said, “Good!” and handed him an MUW Culinary Arts ballcap and his Chef’s coat. “Can you grill?,” he asked. Chris answered, “Yes, sir.” My poor soon to be fiancé (now husband) ended up grilling hundreds of chicken filets and filet mignons. By the time the event was over, we were able to go to a late movie and afterward he proposed to me under the Catherine Bryan Gazebo on campus. It was lovely, but I never expected he’d see me covered in flour and I doubt he expected to grill half the night! Thus, why he will always be my “Grillmaster.” He said he drove all the way back to Oxford with the windows down so his car would not smell like smoke….because he did! lol!

This post is based off of his Smoked Pork Sirloin recipe and how he prefers to set up the smoker. His technique makes the meat especially tender and full of flavor.

Setting up the Smoker

You will need:

Aluminum Foil

Kingsford Charcoal

Newspaper

Charcoal Starter

Mesquite Wood Chunks, presoaked in water

In a charcoal starter, light charcoal by placing newspaper in the bottom and lighting. Let charcoal heat up for about 10 minutes and place in coal tray (the bottom tray). Leave wood chunks in water and place them in water pan (the middle pan). Finally, cover the cooking rack (the rack you will be cooking your meat product on) with aluminum foil and place meat on top. Now you’re smoking!!! Keep your temperature between 200 – 250 degrees F and add water to water pan as needed. This keeps the wood from drying out and allows the smokey flavor of mesquite to permeate the meat.

Smoked Pork Sirloin

Ingredients:

2lb Pork Sirloin

Stubb’s Herbal-Mustard Spice Rub

Corky’s Barbecue Sauce

Directions:

Refer to “Setting Up Your Smoker” for how to get ready for this recipe! Before placing your Pork Sirloin on the smoker, rub Stubb’s Herbal-Mustard Spice Rub all over it. Place it on the foil covered cooking rack and smoke for a minimum of an hour per pound or until it reaches 160 degrees F. We cooked ours at 200 degrees F for 4 hours. The longer you smoke it, the smokier the flavor will be! Baste with Corky’s Barbecue sauce half an hour before you take it off the grill! Let the meat rest for 15-30 minutes and serve! Enjoy!