Yesterday I awoke with the best of intentions, even though I had a dreadful headache from allergies (no partying for me this year). I had a few trusted diet books in hand and was making my grocery list when my mother called with bad news: My grandfather had been taken to the hospital and a chest X-ray revealed pneumonia and a mass in one of his lungs believed to be malignant.

Granddaddy is almost 91 years old and has been in compromised health due to a stroke for several years. But lung cancer? He was a heavy smoker–five packs of unfiltered Pall Malls a day, if the stories are to be believed–but quit cold turkey nearly 50 years ago after being diagnosed with a heart problem. I was very upset and spent a good deal of the day crying and sleeping (only one person could go to the hospital at a time because he wasn’t in a room yet). But last night, what I found was that I needed comfort food.

Now, I know we all like comfort food, but I’ve never really considered myself an emotional eater. I blew that. It wasn’t that I made an unhealthy dinner–black-eyed peas (with chow chow that tastes close to Granddaddy’s, but never as good), turnip greens and a pork tenderloin. (Well, I made cornbread, too, which wasn’t so healthy.) I needed that food, though. It reminded me of both my grandparents and the happy times we spent around their table.

This morning I was better and was able to start the day with my Ezekial English muffin with reduced-fat cream cheese. I guess that no matter our best intentions, life is always going to throw punches. Wish our family luck as we deal with this. I’m not going to let it stop me from changing my diet, but I’m also not going to beat up on myself if I slip during this time.

Max came through for me and delivered a quart of full sours from the Pickle Guys in New York (which research tells me is as close as you get to a Guss’s in the city). They are everything I expected: Sour, garlicky, firm, dill-less. Now that I know I like them, I suppose I’ll have to place an order.

But my friend Susie also came through and delivered, by her brother and my friend, Michael, a box of Berger’s cookies to me on Christmas day. OK, folks, these are the real deal. My favorite childhood cookies was the Seessel’s turtle cookie–remember it? Shortbread topped with a fudge icing and pecans sticking out? Well, these are just as good and possibly better. No nuts, but there’s so much icing that I don’t care. These come from Baltimore and I am highly recommending them. Mine are in the freezer, where they’ll stay (hidden from Bob) until I hit a weight loss number that makes me feel OK about indulging in one.

So what are some of your favorite things that you can’t get in Memphis?

I usually don’t mind excess–I love it, in fact. But something about the end of this year has just proven to be too much to me. I’ve been running like crazy, meeting deadlines while trying to liquidate vacation (you take it or lose it), eating out too much and not eating right even when I’m doing the cooking. Thursday was a day of tremendous feasting. We started with the beignets, then I made the meat pies (I fried them and well, what can I say? They’re better fried!) and a big pot of jambalaya. We had French bread and cole slaw to go with that. Then my aunt came with a HUGE pan of my uncle’s lasagna, sausage balls (the regular kind, but Lily wanted marinara for dipping anyway), and a few dips. A cousin’s crawfish dip was a particular hit, as were the margaritas. We also had mimosas and the milk punch. Groan. And next door at my mother-in-law’s a traditional turkey meal awaited us for dinner. I couldn’t eat a bite, though.

Anyway–it was excessive and it was stressful. By Saturday, I was done with 2008. I bought champagne and caviar, picked up filets and went home to tell Bob it was New Year’s Eve for us. We celebrated, toasted in the new year, and on Sunday I threw out all the “bad” food and did my grocery shopping. We went to a nice open house and I did have a drink and a few nibbles, but it was very reasonable.

I’m cutting back, but tomorrow I am going to tell you about two of the real treats that came to me on Christmas Day. And yes, one of them was a container of full sour pickles!

Well, it’s Christmas Eve. If you haven’t bought it yet, don’t bother. Relax and enjoy your family and friends instead–and these cranberry margaritas are a good way to start. As I told you earlier on Whining & Dining, credit for these goes to my friend Paula Salky, who moved from Memphis to Colorado a few years back. I found her and this wonderful recipe on Facebook. We’ve tried them twice–once with vodka and once with tequila. Although I don’t generally drink tequila, I have to say I much prefer it in this drink (when I made it with vodka we called them frozen cosmos).

Well, this concludes the run of videos. You’ve seen me and my kitchen at my disheveled worse–crazy hair, pots and pans on the kitchen floor and so on. (Hey–we ran out of counters to put them on! I was tackling all the kitchen work alone and there was no time for cleaning up in between!) But I hope you’ve enjoyed. Thanks for signing on to Whining & Dining, and happy holidays to you and yours.

Paula’s Cranberry Margaritas

1 1/2 cups cranberry juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups fresh frozen cranberries, rinsed
3/4 cups fresh squeezed lime juice
3/4 cup tequila
1/2 cup Grand Marnier (or other orange liqueur)

Put half the ingredients in the blender, top off with ice and blend. Put the other half in when you’re ready for the next batch. (I have a large blender and this makes one batch for me.)

Making meat pies or empanadas has become far easier since I discovered Goya Discos. I found these in the frozen food section at the Super-Lo on Covington Pike. I called one Sunday morning to see if they carried them and fully expected to be wasting my time. But the nice woman who answered the phone actually sent someone to look for them–and they even found them. I decided we could add the Natchitoches meat pies to the line-up if I didn’t have to make dough.

I also love Jamaican meat pies and have adapted (way adapted) a sauce similar to a sweet, tangy and fiery Calypso sauce. It’s between a Calypso and a Jezebel, so it suits our Louisiana pies. Note that Emeril fries his pies. I baked mine at 350 for about 12-15 minutes.

Natchitoches Meat Pies

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon Essence, recipe follows
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup water
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions

In a large skillet heat oil and cook beef and pork, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the onions, bell peppers, celery, salt, Essence, cayenne, and black pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are wilted, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Dissolve the flour in the water and add to the meat mixture. Stir until the mixture thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the green onions. Mix well and let cool.

In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Cut in the lard until mixture resembles coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat the egg with the milk. Gradually add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, working it to make a thick dough. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions and roll each portion of dough into a thin round about 5 inches in diameter. Place about 1/4 cup of meat filling in the center of each round and brush edges lightly with egg wash. Fold edges together and crimp closed with a fork.

Heat shortening in a deep pot or electric deep-fryer to 360 degrees F. Fry the pies, in batches, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

Essence (Emeril’s Creole Seasoning):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Remember when everywhere you went, someone had pinwheels of cream cheese and something else rolled up in a tortilla? I don’t have anything against the tortilla, but I think it’s easy to just wrap goodies up right in the ham. There’s really no recipe for these; just thin cream cheese with a little bit of sour cream (just enough to make it easy to spread), slather it on the ham slice and put what you want in it. I love the pears and onions. There’s always asparagus, of course. Try pickled green beans or pickled okra, maybe.

I first had the dates prepared by Alyce Mantia. If you don’t like blue cheese, use cheddar or do what Alyce often does and pop a small piece of chorizo (the cured Spanish variety, not the raw Maxican kind) in the date. Sometimes she cooks them in a skillet, but I find it easier to put a cookies sheet full of them in an oven at 350 for about 12-15 minutes.

I love to use egg roll wrappers! You can fill them with anything from a traditional Chinese filling to cooked fruit, chocolate or something else sweet for dessert. When I was coming up with a recipe for Cajun egg rolls a couple of months ago, my cousin Max in New York told me that cheeseburger egg rolls are on menus all over the city. They’ll make it to the Christmas table this year. You can fry yours if you want, but I stay away from oil when I can–I’m just not very good at frying.

Cheeseburger Egg Rolls

1 lb. ground beef
Salt and pepper
Worchestershire sauce
4 oz. Cheddar cheese, sliced
1 package egg roll wrappers (in the produce section of most grocery stores)
Diced onion
Sliced pickles
Non-stick cooking spray
Mustard, mayo and ketchup

Season ground beef and form into small logs, using about 1 ounce of beef per log. Bake at 350 for about 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly. Keep oven on.

To assemble, slice log in half. Place in egg roll wrapper as shown on video or as instructed on package. Tuck a few pieces of cheese on top, add a few onions and pickles. Roll up, spray with cooking spray and put in oven for about 10-12 minutes, until rolls are crisp and cheese is melted. Serve with condiments for dipping.

When my niece Lily told me that cheese sticks are her current favorite food, I thought about using Italian sausage and mozzarella in the standard old sausage ball recipe. Of course, her favorites tend to change frequently–she’s 7, after all–but I liked the way the sausage balls turned out, and having the marinara for dipping kicks ‘em up a little. They couldn’t be easier:

Italian Sausage Balls

1 lb. bulk Italian sausage
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (use more if you like)
2 cups baking mix (Pioneer or Bisquick)

Put everything in a bowl and put your hands in there and squeeze it all until well combined. Form into balls about the size of unshelled walnuts. Put on a cookies sheet, pop in a preheated 350 degree oven and cook for about 12 minutes. (Adjust to your oven, if necessary).

This hasn’t been a standard on our menu, but when I ran across the menu I thought I’d give it a try. It’s a great departure from some of the other overnight breakfast casseroles I’ve come across over the years–the ones with sausage and hash browns, mostly–and it fits our theme. So I made it and we liked it. The recipe, which I adapted from one I found online, calls for Canadian bacon, but I used well-soaked country ham. Hope you enjoy!

Overnight Eggs Benedict
6 English muffins, diced
1 lb. ham or Canadian bacon, diced
8 eggs
2 cups milk
Salt and pepper
Hollandaise sauce (recipe follows)

Spray the bottom of a baking dish (the orginal recipe calls for a 9×13, but a smaller ones works fine) and scatter in about half the ham. Top with the English muffins. Whisk together the eggs and milk, season (light on the salt), and pour it over the muffins. Scatter the remaining ham on top. Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours. To cook, remove from fridge and let the dish warm a little. Put it in a 350-degree oven, covered, and cook about 45 minutes. Remove cover and continue cooking about 20 minutes, until eggs are set and ham is crisp. Let stand about 5 minutes before cutting. To serve, cut in squares and top with Hollandaise.

Blender Hollandaise
3 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon cream (see note)
1 cup (1/2 pound) melted sweet butter, heated until bubbling but not brown
1 tablespoon lemon juice or white wine vinegar (see note)

Place egg yolks, salt, pepper and cream in blender, blend for a few seconds at high speed until you have a smooth frothy mixture. Still at high speed, start adding hot butter in a thin, steady stream, not too slowly. As you add butter, the sauce should thicken. When half the butter has been added, add lemon juice or vinegar. Continue blending until all butter is used.
Note: I used whole milk, and the juice from a whole lemon.

Come on back tonight at 7 and join us as we usher out a year of wine tastings. We’ve had a great time and I’m looking forward to next year, when we’ll focus on wines from specific regions each month. I want to hear your ideas tonight, so sign on, those of you who have been with us all year and those who might want to join us next year.

We’re drinking a bottle of St. Hilaire Demi Sec with Bill Huddleston of Southwestern and we’re going to have a great time. See you in a few hours!