I love carbs. They are wonderful things that do awful things. But delicious, YES!

While I lived in the Delta, I came across a love for pasta salad that I had never really explored before. Most of the pasta salad recipes I had before college were of the rotini variety and doused in Italian dressing. In Cleveland, Mississippi, each lunch spot had its own recipe for pasta salad that made it hard for me to pick a destination for lunches outside of the campus cafeteria. Whether the lighter version from Crave, the walnut-studded tortellinis from A La Carte, or the tastiest thing I’ve ever eaten from The Warehouse, I left satisfied and wishing for a to-go container for my mini fridge.

This pasta can be found in the refrigerated section of the deli.

While still living in Cleveland, I decided to break down that pasta salad recipe from The Warehouse and create my own version to make at home for the roommates. Once we figured out how simple it was, I put my own twist on it and made it almost weekly. It made for a quick and easy lunch between class and my graduate assistantship on campus. Now, I whip out this recipe every now and then for a trip down memory lane for my tummy.

Tortellini Pasta Salad 

2 packages Buitoni tortellini pasta

1/2 bag baby spinach, chiffonaded

1/2 bottle Ken’s caesar dressing

Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Bring pasta to a boil, brain, and cool. Chiffonade the spinach, add to large bowl with the pasta. Toss together with dressing, cheese, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate overnight and toss again with more dressing before serving.

We recently celebrated our inaugural edition of “Press Day Potluck” at the Country Roads office, and I decided to get industrious. I went for it with a recipe for baked Lemon-Blueberry Doughnuts. They were a hit. I haven’t tried again because, frankly, I think it will be a bad move for my waistline; but they are semi-easy and scrumptious. They came from a cute little blogger called “The Recipe Rebel.” She goes into detail about donut vs. doughnut, which I appreciated, and even included a video.

Baked Lemon-Blueberry Doughnuts

For dough:

1/4 cup unsalted butter melted

1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 – 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest, depending on your tastes

1 cup buttermilk or substitute regular milk

2 2/3 all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup fresh blueberries

For glaze:

2 cups powdered icing sugar

1 – 2 teaspoons lemon zest

7 – 8 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees, and grease your doughnut pans with butter or non-stick spray. In a large bowl, combine butter, oil and sugar and whisk until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in eggs, vanilla, lemon zest and buttermilk and whisk until smooth. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and whisk just until combined. Stir in blueberries. Batter will be thick. Spoon batter into a large disposable piping bag or freezer bag. Pipe batter once around each doughnut hole – the batter shouldn’t quite fill the hole as they’ll expand and rise. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from the doughnut pan to cool completely.

For the glaze, in a medium bowl (not too deep as you’ll want to be able to dip your doughnuts), combine sugar, zest, and 6 tablespoons of juice or milk. Add an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons of liquid if needed. You want your glaze to be thin enough to evenly coat your doughnuts, but thick enough that it will set and become dry to the touch. When doughnuts are completely cool, dip tops of doughnuts into the glaze and overturn so the glaze runs down the sides. Set aside for the glaze to set.

FINALLY! We are finished up another Lenten Season; and I have to tell you — I made it a whole 3 weeks before giving up on my Lenten promise. You try going to New Orleans and have a fresh, hot loaf of bread placed in front of you and say no to it. That’s what I thought. However, we did get inventive with the fish Fridays. Here is another way we used some of the Red Stick Spice ingredients I’ve been collecting.

Grilled White Perch

10 – 12 white perch fillets

Ya-Ya’s Seasoning Blend

Blood Orange Avocado Oil

Non-stick spray

Salt to taste

Warm your griddle over medium heat. Spray with non-stick spray and lightly drizzle with avocado oil. Season and salt each fillet on one side, and place that side down onto the griddle. Sear for 2 to 3 minutes or until each fillet looks halfway cooked through. While cooking, season and salt the other side of the fillet. Gently flip the fillets and good through. Serve warm over rice.

This is the dip recipe to end all dip recipes. It’s yummy. It has veggies. It has cheese, mayo, and sour cream. It has ranch seasoning. It’s served warm. It’s perfect for any gathering at any time of the year. We had it originally at a baby shower and quickly decided to find a recipe and try it as soon as possible. Thanks, Pinterest.

Black-eyed Pea Dip

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons butter (or olive oil)

2 16-ounce cans black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup sour cream (or Greek yogurt)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 envelope buttermilk ranch mix

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Chop the onion and sauté it in butter until translucent. Mix the sour cream, mayo, and ranch mix in a large bowl. Then, add everything else to the bowl and mix in your sautéed onions. Pour into a baking dish, and bake at 350 degrees for twenty minutes. Serve with tortilla or pita chips while warm.

I love a strawberry; and by that, I mean that I just like strawberries. I usually don’t care for strawberry cake. I have a hate for strawberry ice cream. I don’t even really care for strawberry flavored candy. Just give me the actual berry.

That all changed this week when my mom made this strawberry cake she found on Southern Living’s Facebook page. It’s light but decadent. It’s sweet, but you can taste the fresh lemon juice throughout it. It’s perfect in every way possible. It needs to be on your Easter menu (or your weekend menu) now.

Strawberries and Cream Sheet Cake

For cake:

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups cake flour

2 tablespoons strawberry-flavored gelatin

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon table salt

1 cup buttermilk

2/3 cup chopped fresh strawberries

Shortening

For frosting:

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

2/3 cup sugar, divided

2/3 cup chopped fresh strawberries

1 drop pink food coloring gel (optional)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

I feel like we have tried every way imaginable to cook fish. Lucky me when I was proofing the March edition of Country Roads that I found a new recipe that seemed simple and all of the ingredients were a quick trick to Red Stick Spice away.

This recipe for Cast-iron Catfish worked perfectly with the fresh Alaskan Halibut we had in the freezer from our great-white North friends. The recipe called for some interesting ingredients that I’m excited to try in other recipes, too. The blood orange avocado oil will soon be used when roasting Brussels sprouts. The Chackbay seasoning blend will go great in the flour mix for other fried fish dishes to come.

Be sure to season each side.

Sizzle the skin side first to make a crispy delish bite.

Serve over wild rice or grits.

Follow the link above in “Cast-iron Catfish” to see this easy recipe and head over to Red Stick Spice’s site to order some yummy treats!

I tell you what. I love breakfast food. Any kind and any excuse, I’m going to go for it on a menu versus an actual lunch or dinner option. I’m known to order brunch when everyone else is ordering burgers. I’ll ask for a side of pancakes instead of bacon or sausage. I love my waffle iron and think that you can never have enough syrup on top.

Here is a hash brown casserole that is a go to for brunch menus we put together and special dinners that need a really gooey starch.

Delmonico Potatoes

2 pounds Ore-Ida frozen Hash Browns (1 bag)
1 can cream of chicken soup (10 3/4 ounces)
1/2 stick butter, cut into small cubes
1 bag shredded cheddar cheese (8 ounces)
1/3 cup scallions, chopped
1 container sour cream (16 ounces)

In a large bowl, mix defrosted potatoes, sour cream, soup, scallions, and cheddar cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer ingredients into a casserole dish, and place small cubes of butter over the mixture. Bake at 325 degrees for an hour and a half or until golden brown.

It’s Lent again, and I can safely say that I will be eating quite a bit of white perch over the next 40 days. First of all, each Friday will be serving a fresh catch; but us Guidos are also giving up a bunch of good stuff for the season. I’m giving up bread of all sorts, which will only lead to an overload of carbs on Easter Sunday. Mom and Dad are also giving up bread but adding in sweets and fried foods, too. That should be really interesting. However, here is a recipe we tried a few weeks ago for Dad’s birthday dinner that I can’t wait to try again over rice instead of pasta.

Baked Perch in Lemon Cream Sauce

4 fresh filets, skinless and boneless

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 tablespoon shallots or scallions, finely chopped

Fresh parsley and lemon slices, to serve

Preheat the oven to 390 degrees. Place fish in baking dish. Ensure the fish isn’t crammed in too snugly. Sprinkle both sides of the filets with salt and pepper. Place butter, cream, garlic, mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a sauce pan. Whisk together until thickened. Sprinkle fish with shallots, then pour the sauce over the top. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked. Remove from the oven and transfer fish to serving plates. Spoon over sauce, and garnish with parsley and lemon if using.

Guess what. Next week, right after Mardi Gras, we celebrate Valentine’s Day. I’m not a fan; I’m sure that’s a surprise to all you happy people. I like to enjoy that particular day drowning in chocolate, sour candy, and red wine to top it all off. So, for all of those out there not celebrating Valentine’s Day with someone special, spend it with this recipe. They are basically glorified brownies, but I’m in full support of whatever they are. Mom recently made a batch that I took down to the Baton Rouge office for everyone to kick their Monday off with. I think they were a hit. When I left at noon, only a couple were left. Here’s a yummy hint; zap a couple in the microwave before gobbling them down.

Fudge Cake 

1 cup unsalted butter

4 1-ounce squares semisweet baking chocolate, finely chopped

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted

Dash of kosher salt

1 cup toasted pecans, chopped

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Place butter and chocolate in a large bowl and microwave on high until completely melted, about 1 minute and stirring every 20 seconds. Add granulated sugar, and stir until combined. Cool 10 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, and stir until blended after each addition. Fold in the flour and salt. Stir in chopped pecans and vanilla extract. Coat a 9-inch square pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom and sides with parchment paper, allowing 4 to 5 inches to extended over the sides. Coat parchment paper with cooking spray. Pour cake mixture into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven until a wooden pick comes cleanly out of the center, about 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Lift cake from pan using the parchment paper sides as handles, and cool completely. Cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar before serving.

(Featured in Southern Living from Elizabeth Heiskell’s What Can I Bring?)