Mississippi Cornbread Salad

Today is Foodie Friday! It is hosted by Designs by Gollum. Be sure to go by and see all of the participants of this most Tasty day of the week!
Today's recipe came to me by way of my friend, Mississippi girl, Janet. She made this one time at a neighborhood block party. This dish IS a party in a pan! Enjoy!

Missisippi Cornbread Salad

1 (8 1/2-ounce) package cornbread muffin mix
1 (1-ounce) envelope Ranch-style salad dressing mix
1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
3 large tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 (16-ounce) cans pinto beans, drained
2 cups (8-ounce) shredded Cheddar cheese
10 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
2 (15 1/4-ounce) cans whole kernel corn, drained

Prepare cornbread muffin mix according to package directions; cool. Stir together salad dressing mix, sour cream and mayonnaise until blended; set aside.
Combine tomatoes and next 3 ingredients, gently toss.
Crumble half the cornbread into a 3-quart trifle bowl or large salad bowl. Top with half each of beans, tomato mixture, cheese, bacon, corn and dressing mixture; repeat layers. Cover and chill 3 hours. Yields; 8 to 10 servings. Your recipe for one (8-inch) square pan of cornbread may be substituted.

The Best Fish Recipe

In honor of Beach week:

One of the best things in life is fishing. I remember as a teenager, I used to skip high school and go and buy chicken livers at the grocery store and fish with them with a bunch of guys and my friend Jenny. I come by it honest, both my mom and dad like to fish too. I long for the day that I move to the beach and fish for my husband’s supper. I was born with salt in my veins!









Often when I go to our family beach condo we will go fishing with the most gracious Captain Hunter Amor. He always sees we have a great time and most importantly that we catch our supper. On one of our last fishing expeditions, we caught sheepshead, red fish and flounder. It made a wonderful meal. Captain Armor gave us the greatest recipe for any salt water fish, that has a tender filet. It is a big hit with my family.









*To book a fishing expedition with Captain Hunter Armor, email me and I will give you his contact information. His fishing expeditions are from out from his home dock, which is just before the Perdido Key Bridge in Perdido Key, Florida (about a 15-20 minute drive from Orange Beach. Alabama).









The Best Fish Recipe

6-8 filets of salt water tender filets fish salt & pepper
Lemon wedges
½ cup mayonnaise
Olive oil
½ cup fresh Parmesan
Fresh diced tomatoes
Greek seasoning

Preheat oven to bake at 425 degrees. Clean filets and cut away any redness. Lay fish on an butter greased cookie sheet. Drizzle fish with olive oil, salt pepper, Greek seasoning. Squeeze lemons on fish. Bake fish for about 12 minutes. Remove from oven and mix together mayo and cheese in a small bowl. Spread that mixture generously on the fish filets. Top with diced tomatoes. Bake for an additional 7 -10 minutes. Do not let it over cook!!!

Lulu's Lower Alabama Caviar

One early fall day, after a day at the beach, my cousin Gina, my daughter Elaina and I drove to Week's Bay to Lulu’s Restaurant. Lulu’s was this dive that had so much atmosphere and character. The place was inhabited mainly by locals and fishermen, it was a hole in the wall in every sense of the word. The pastel paint on the exterior and interior was chipped, the seats worn, and the rotating bands lent so much to the experience. Upon your arrival, you were given a cardboard container of LA caviar (Lower Alabama that is) on the house. You could just sit and eat while watching the shrimp boats lazily creep up the bayou . It was a perfect place.

In case you didn't know, Lulu is Lucy Buffett. Lulu happens to be the sister of one of my very favorite singer/song writers; Jimmy Buffett. She is a great entrepreneur in her own right. She has had several businesses. After a 10 year career in film production, She came home and opened Lulu's restaurant in 1999. Although she's always loved to cook and the recipes on the menu are hers, she learned in a hurry to leave the cooking at LuLu's to the professionals. You'll probably see her on the weekends, floating from table to table, posing for pictures with her customers.

Lulu’s is no longer at the former location at Weeks Bay, after losing it's lease. The building was torn down, and nothing remains visibly of the old Lulu's location. Lulu has a new location now in Gulf Shores, just before the bridge leading into Gulf Shores. The new location is quite larger, now offering a gift shop that sells everything from t-shirts to condiments. I am a HUGE fan of the condiments. The wow sauce is to die for. The food is still terrific, but the prices have notably risen at the current location. It does feature a huge sand pit for children to play while waiting for their meals to be served. The location is nice ( it is my children’s favorite place to go while when we visit my parent’s beach condo), but it just doesn’t have that same character as the past location-and now you have to PAY for the caviar. But now, you can mix up your own batch of this great concoction at home.

The following recipe is Lulu’s original recipe for the LA Caviar, from Lulu herself..
Lulu's Lower Alabama Caviar Recipe
10 servings

3 (15 ounce) cans black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup chopped red onions
3 tablespoons chopped green bell peppers
3 tablespoons chopped red bell peppers
3 tablespoons chopped yellow bell peppers
1/2 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
salt and pepper

Combine black-eyed peas, onion, peppers, tomatoes, parsley, vinegar, oil and sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Marinate for 12 to 24 hours before serving. Serve with crackers or tortilla chips.

http://www.lulusathomeport.com/main/index.php

http://www.margaritaville.com/