Happy Fourth of July weekend (almost)!! I hope you all are having a great week. We’ve got company coming in town tomorrow, and lots of family time planned for the weekend. We’re headed to the Duke’s Grandpa’s house on Saturday for a cookout, and on Sunday we’ll probably watch fireworks on the Duke’s parents’ boat. Fun, fun

I know July 4th is all about America, but I’m sharing a guacamole recipe today. I mean, these days, tacos, fajitas and guacamole are pretty darn Americanized, don’t ya think? Anyhoo, I’ve got a really easy (and not at all traditional) recipe for you that you can take along to your gathering this weekend. Even though it’s not traditionally American, I doubt anyone is going to turn it down.

I could eat avocado in some form or another everyday for the rest of my life and not complain. True story. I’d also have flawless skin and perfect hair.

I call this White Trash Guacamole because it is so incredibly un-gourmet that it makes me laugh. It tastes reaaaaaaaaaal good, though!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!

The Duchess

The original recipe didn’t call for sesame oil, but I added it because I think it is the best tasting stuff on earth. Seriously. I think I could take a bath in sesame oil. Not sure how the Duke would feel about that, though.

This is the perfect salad to keep in the fridge all summer long. It’s cool, crunchy and refreshing!

Please keep my family in your thoughts over the next few days. My mom and I are up in NYC with my aunt (mom’s sister). My aunt experienced some severe complications after a routine back surgery. We’re hoping for a miracle!

The Duchess

I created this bright and cheery salad last summer when I was asked to cook for my friend Heather’s bridal shower. I love grape tomatoes, and knew they would pair really well with sharp feta cheese and lots of fresh parsley. This salad livens any plate up and would also be great atop some crunchy whole wheat pita chips.

Please excuse my crappy photos. I snapped these really quickly at the shower last weekend, and wasn’t exactly trying to get a perfect picture. You get the point, though.

Don’t you just love the colors? The vibrant red, creamy white and crisp green go so well together. This is a salad that you will enjoy all Spring and Summer long.

I like to make this salad on Sundays and keep it in the fridge all week. It’s a great mid-afternoon snack, or alongside a sandwich at lunch time.

Have a great Monday! I’m planning on sharing the pictures from the wedding soon. The cake was gorgeous and the food was delicious. And, of course, the bride was stunning!
The Duchess

When it comes to classic dishes like chicken, tuna and egg salads, I don’t like mine to be soaking in mayo. I’m really not fond of the white fatty sandwich spread, so I like to find alternatives when making chicken salad. I used a tiny bit of mayo and some lite sour cream, and it turned out great!

The toasted almond slivers really complement the bold flavor of the curry powder. I just love the added crunch, too. Since I made this salad for a shower I served it in cute little phyllo cups, but you could serve it over lettuce or as a sandwich on toasted bread.

This salad was a huge hit at the shower! It’s so incredibly easy (and packed with flavor) that you could make it any night of the week, and munch on it all week long. It’s perfect for a day on the boat or a fun Spring picnic.

The Duke and I are off to a Ashley’s wedding tonight. I’m really looking forward to it. It’s supposed to rain on her big day, but isn’t that supposed to be good luck?? Have a great weekend

The Duchess

The shower was at 2 in the afternoon, so we didn’t need a full meal. Instead, I made a bunch of cute finger foods, starting with cucumber sandwiches.

Nothing fancy here, but Ashley (the bride) was adamant about these classic finger sandwiches. I also made pimento cheese sandwiches, using my Granny Flash’s recipe, which calls for crumbled bacon. YUM!

The secret to really good pimento cheese is EXTRA sharp cheddar and lots of cracked black pepper. To brighten up the color palate, I made an awesome and super easy grape tomato and feta salad.

I made this salad for a different shower back in August. It’s light, fresh and quite the crowd pleaser. To keep things fun, I filled some tiny phyllo cups with curried chicken salad (another request of the bride).

These flavorful cups turned out really cute! And since curry is such a strong flavor, this was the perfect amount. Lastly, I made a beautiful fruit salsa, loosely based on this recipe from Our Best Bites.

We all took our plates outside and dined in the garden. The weather was just perfect!

I worked up quite the appetite while prepping for the shower, so I pretty much filled my plate.

I was busy refilling mimosas while everyone ate, so I didn’t even eat the whole plate. On the bright side, check out our precious place settings, which doubled as favors.

I just loved them!

I snapped a quick picture of Ashley (on the left) with her sister, and my dear friend, Elizabeth.

Aren’t they beautiful? They’ve got Greek blood in them, and you know how gorgeous people from the Mediterranean are.

After lunch, we munched on some white chocolate and lemon cookies while Ashley opened gifts.

I also made frozen banana pops from Picky Palate, but failed to take a picture. The ladies loved them, though. I mean, how can you not like bananas, peanut butter and CHOCOLATE???

Ashley was showered with plenty of wonderful kitchen gadgets.

I gave her that picnic basket with a “C” on it. How cute is that??

Cooking for the shower was tons of fun and I can’t wait to do it again. I guess that means the rest of my friends need to find men and get engaged quick! The Duchess

Is there anyone on the planet that doesn’t love pesto? I mean, how can you not? The color is vibrant, the flavor is intense and it seems to go great with just about anything (pasta, bread, cake…ya know). While I certainly love the traditional basil and pine nut pesto, I thought it would be fun to play around with different herb and nut combinations. We had our parents over last Sunday for burgers in the backyard, so I decided to whip up a parsley and pecan pesto to toss into a roasted potato salad. YUM! It exceeded my expectations.

Different herbs and nuts…same awesome color. I didn’t add any cheese, although it would have been great with parmesan. Since we live in the South, we love pecans. They have such a distinct and slightly sweet flavor. The rather mild flavor of the parsley allowed the pecans and garlic to really shine.

Since there wasn’t any cheese in the pesto itself, I tossed the roasted fingerlings with the pesto and some grated parmesan for an awesome twist on potato salad. Holy Yum!!

The Duke flipped for these potatoes! He loved the subtle crunch from roasting the little fingerlings. This recipe is definitely a keeper for our upcoming spring parties and summer cook outs.

Alright…back to the beach for me. Have a wonderful day!The Duchess

We spent the evening at my parents’ house and had a big ole Cajun feast lined up. My mom lived in New Orleans for a little while in her 20s, so she learned a lot about the unique and flavorful cooking of the Crescent City. We started some Zapps Voodoo Gumbo Potato chips.

Zapps are the best potato chips ever! They’re from Louisiana and come in awesome flavors. The Voodoo Gumbo chips are very spicy with lots of vinegar. Plus, the bag is decorated with crazy voodoo dolls. Gotta love it!

As if greasy potato chips weren’t enough, we also nibbled on my Muffaletta Pizza Squares. Have you ever had a muffaletta? It’s a huge deli sandwich that is a staple in New Orleans. The sandwich is made on a 10-inch muffaletta roll, then topped with spicy olive salad and layers upon layers of mortadella, ham, salami, mozzarella and provolone cheese. YUM. You definitely have to be a fan of olives to enjoy this sandwich. Thankfully, I love olives and I’ve always loved a good muffaletta.

I did an easy spin off of the classic sandwich for game time appetizer. I topped a store-bought refrigerated pizza crust with my own version of olive salad, salami, ham, provolone and mozzarella. Here’s the easy pie before going into the oven.

Mmmm…I just love that salami peeking out from behind the mountain of cheese. After a quick 18 minutes in the oven, the result was a bubbling hot tasty treat.

Don’t you just want to dig in?? The olive salad is my favorite part.

My dad played the role of bartender and was serving up a classic New Orleans sazerac for everyone to enjoy. It’s one of the oldest known cocktails and is made of rye whiskey, absinthe and bitters. I’m not the hugest whiskey fan, but I sipped on one all night, in honor of the Saints.

Along with the chips, pizza and booze, my mom grilled up some smoked pork and alligator sausage. Nothing says Cajun Coonass like alligator. It’s delicious! I promise.

To be honest, I wasn’t too full at this point. I really only nibbled on all of the aforementioned delicacies, in anticipation of the main event: Mom’s Crawfish Etouffee. Oh yum. It’s a wonderfully spicy and creamy dish with crawfish, onions and peppers, served over rice with lots of Tobasco and garlic bread.

I garnished my small bowl with a ton of chopped cilantro. I couldn’t even finish my minimal portion. I was getting pretty full, but knew I wanted to save some room for King Cake. I can’t tell you the last time I had it (always trying to watch the weight, ya know), but I figured the Saints don’t come to the Super Bowl everyday, so it was worth indulging!

If you’ve never had king cake, I feel sorry for you. It’s a traditional Mardi Gras pastry that tastes like an over-sized breakfast danish. It is iced and decorated with purple, green and gold sprinkles. My mom put it in a low oven for just a few minutes to really let it get ooey and gooey. Good Lord. I could have died. This stuff is good, folks.

Each King Cake is stuffed with a tiny plastic baby. The story goes that if you get the baby in your piece of cake, you’re supposed to bring the cake next year. Guess who got the baby??

Yours truly!! Guess I’ll be bringing the cake to next year’s festivities. Maybe that means the Saints will be back for a second Super Bowl??? Guess I better not press my luck.

I hope you all had a wonderful Super Bowl with great friends and lots of fantastic foods. I’ll be back this week (after lots of cardio) with some scrumptious Valentine’s goodies. I can’t believe it’s nearly February 14th! And with that, I’ll leave you with a good ole fashioned WHO DAT? WHO DAT? WHO DAT SAY THEY GONNA BEAT THEM SAINTS??? The Duchess

Since our beloved Saints will be playing in this year’s championship, the Duke and I will be heading over to my parents’ house for a Cajun feast like none other. I’m making muffaletta bites (the muffaletta is the signature sandwich of New Orleans) and my mom is making crawfish etouffee. Ever had etouffee?? Oh, it’s so amazing. Crawfish, onions, peppers, Cajun spices and heavy cream. Yeah, I thought you’d like the sounds of that. A party in honor of New Orleans wouldn’t be complete without some Zapp’s potato chips (the Cajun Crawtater variety) and a king cake, so we’ll be having those, too.

For those of you that won’t be eating Cajun food at your Super Bowl party, I thought I’d share some of my favorite munchies and bites that are perfect on any sideline. Whether your group is going to be large or small, young or old, these tasty treats are sure to please every fan.

If you can’t find something for your Super Bowl party from that great line up, then something must be wrong with you! All of these dishes are very easy and packed with tons flavor. Pull the whole family into the kitchen and pre-game around the oven. Have a great weekend, and GEAUX SAINTS!!!

I hope you all have a great weekend! See you Monday with another great recipe.The Duchess

This past weekend the Duke and I had some cute new friends over for football, so of course I went overboard with the game day treats. He requested stuffed jalapenos, so I decided to really go all out. When you start with cream cheese, breakfast sausage and fresh jalapenos, you really can’t go wrong. I added in a few special ingredients and these bad boys were a hit! They’re very rich, but that’s certainly not a bad thing. Please make sure you wear gloves when handling any peppers. They can irritate your skin, and you’d hate to accidentally rub your eyes. Give these a try for your next tailgate!

This is certainly the ultimate man food, so impress your guy with these at his next sports shindig. He’ll be singing your praises for the rest of football season. Enjoy the rest of your week. See you Saturday! The Duchess