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I’m on a fall kick with recipes, and this one is the quintessential Guido concoction. Growing up, when this smell filled the house, you knew that summer was over and fall had arrived. Now, when I walk up to the back door and can smell this aroma seeping through, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It’s just a simple trail mix; but my God, it’s absolute perfection.

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Do-Dads

1 box each rice, wheat, and corn Chex cereal

½ bag pretzels

1 box Cheez-Its

1 bag oyster crackers

1 jar unsalted peanuts

1 jar cashews

4 cups pecan halves

4 cups almonds, unseasoned

1 ½ sticks butter

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 cup Worcestershire sauce

Tabasco to taste

¼ cup lemon juice

Put all dry ingredients in a large container, and mix well. In a saucepan, melt the butter, add the seasonings, tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice. Using a one gallon plastic bag, fill the bag half full with the dry mix. Drizzle ¼ cup of the butter mixture into the bag, seal the bag, and toss to coat the cereal mix. Spread onto a greased cookie sheet, and bake at 300 degrees for thirty minutes (or until the mixture appears dry). Spread in a larger pan to cool before storing in air-tight container or large plastic bags.

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Every year brings back those same feelings from 2001 of anger, fear, and patriotism. In 2013, I had the honor to visit Ground Zero during a quick trip to the Big Apple. It may have been pouring rain but I wasn’t going to miss the chance to visit such a sacred American monument.

 

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With fall quickly approaching (And let’s be honest, it’s September. It’s here.), I can’t wait to fill my home with the scent of fresh coffee, dreamy comfort foods, and pumpkin-spiced everything. Full disclosure, I upgraded to a full-time adult this week by ordering an actual coffee pot and getting rid of my one-cup Keurig. I actually set it to pop on 30 minutes before my alarm went off so my house smelled of freshly brewed coffee when I woke up. I felt like I was a grown up when I woke up this morning.

Here is a recipe that makes my senses happy when it’s roasting in the crock pot, PLUS it’s easy!

Mississippi Roast

4 pound chuck roast

1 envelope ranch dressing mix

1 envelope au jus mix

½ cup butter

4 – 5 sweet peppers, sliced

Seasoned salt and pepper to taste

Spray your slow cooker with nonstick spray. Place the roast in the bottom and sprinkle with black pepper and seasoned salt to taste. Sprinkle ranch mix over the top; then the au jus mix on top of that. Place the peppers on top of the mixes and top with the butter. Set the slow cooker to 8 hours and let it go!

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The Prentiss Club courtesy of the Historic Natchez Foundation
As featured in Southern Living, Buzz Harper shows off his glamorous home and dining room.
Our Queen Mum in the Prentiss Club’s ballroom
Aimee and I with our Queen Mum

Over the weekend, we witnessed the burning of one of Natchez’s finest landmarks, The Prentiss Club. Some remember it for the Cellar in its basement years ago and others remember it after Buzz Harper came to town and revitalized the building with grandeur and a golden touch. What I remember the Prentiss Club for was a cocktail luncheon given in my grandmother, Doris Guido’s, honor in the spring of 2007 when my sister was the reigning Natchez Garden Club Queen. Our Queen Mum enjoyed a beautiful afternoon in the grand ballroom and lavish dining room surrounded by friends, family, and guests of all ages. We wined from crystal, dined from fine China, and finished the event with a silver spoon filled with a strawberry trifle.

Now that my Nannie has passed away, the Prentiss Club has been the holder of the memories from that afternoon several moons ago. I hope that the future for the building and almost art gallery is bright. In Natchez, we restore our history for generations to come. The Prentiss Club still has many years to go.

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With the kickoff of football season this weekend for the SEC world and a side of dove hunting this Labor Day weekend, here is an idea recipe to try on your friends and family. From Absolutely A la Carte, this recipe is rich, creamy, and perfect for a crowd!

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Fireside Dip

2 pounds hot bulk sausage

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 teaspoons chili powder

½ teaspoon ground cumin

3 15-ounce cans chili without beans

1 pound processed cheese spread loaf, cut into cubes

8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, cut into cubes

2 – 3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

2 10-ounce cans diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained

Cook the first 3 ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until sausage crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain well. Add chili powder and next 6 ingredients to mixture, stirring well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until cheese is melted. Serve dip hot in a chafing dish with tortilla chips. (This recipes makes for 25 to 30; so you can adjust as needed for your crowd.)

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So, I’m into cults. Not in a way that suggests I want to or would join one, but I like to know why these people are able to be brainwashed in joining groups that take all of their money, their time, and families. Well, if I think about it, maybe online shopping is a type of cult. It takes all of my money. Anyway, here are a couple of cult-themed resources I’ve come across lately.

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Cults of Our Lives

This podcast covers a new cult each week in 30-minute spurts. I personally have learned so much, but sometimes, the girls get off track and the sound quality isn’t top notch for both hosts. However, listening to this each week during my trek around the states of Louisiana and Mississippi led me to my next obsession — Patty Hearst and the SLA.

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The Radical Story of Patty Hearst

Ok. Did she or didn’t she? Was she or wasn’t she? Personally? I think she was full blown in that cult from the beginning.

Long story short. An heiress to media millions gets “kidnapped” by a smaller (but violent)     cult, the Symbionese Liberation Army, held “hostage” for months while releasing tapes to  her family through the media about ransoms and needs of the group, only to show up on security footage of a bank robbery holding a machine gun of sorts. If you watch all the way through the docuseries, you’ll see just how into it this rich bitch gets. Crazy people.

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Yesterday, I woke up with a scratchy throat, sinus pressure, and the chills. I figured since I hadn’t been sickly since last fall I was probably due for a round of the crud. I called my favorite “nurse,” Mom, and ordered up a pot of soup. And did she deliver! It had all of my favorites: wild rice, English peas, mushrooms, and cans of that delicious “cream of” concoction that goes so well in all things yummy.

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Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

4 – 5 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded

1 package Uncle Ben’s wild rice

1 bag frozen English peas

1 can sliced mushrooms

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Salt and pepper to taste

After boiling the chicken, reserve the broth. Shred the chicken and set aside. Prepare the wild rice as noted on the package. In the pot of broth, add in the peas and mushrooms and allow them to cook. Add both cans of soup, the chicken, and rice; and bring to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste and turn off the heat. If the soup needs thickening, prepare a package of white gravy; and add to the soup as needed to thicken and add flavor.

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GMRBR Artwork 2018
Artwork by Country Roads’ Jennie Guido and Kourtney Zimmerman

What started out as a design for this year’s advertising campaign in Country Roads quickly turned into the artwork to commemorate this year’s festival. Growing up in Natchez, you see these posters and t-shirts everywhere. Restaurants, offices, and homes cover their walls in the colorful designs year after year. It’s the ideal Natchez collection.

And this year, I get to be a part of the collection. When I was told the focus of the music this year at the festival would be on New Orleans Jazz since that River City was taking its turn at 300, this image popped into my mind. With the amazing help of our Creative Director and mind reader at Country Roads, Kourtney Zimmerman made my idea come to life.

I can’t wait for this year’s Balloon Races to get here! It’s going to be a good year.

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This week, the City of Vidalia and Natchez, Inc celebrated and welcomed Vidalia Demin Mills with a fantastic reception and delicious treats from all over Concordia Parish. One such dish was the spinach and artichoke dip from the Duck’s Nest. Oh. My. I had dreams about it that night. It was creamy with a touch of spice. Slap. Your. Mama.

It made me think of another spinach and artichoke dip that I have dreams about occasionally from A la Carte in Cleveland, Mississippi. Thankfully, I am the proud owner of one of Charlotte Skelton’s last copies of her cookbook, Absolutely A la Carte (thanks, Aimee). Here is her version.

Nancy Kuehnle and Mom were at it again with the flower arranging skills.
Eat. It. Up.

A la Carte Spinach-Artichoke Dip

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese

1 ½ cups sour cream

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 – 2 tablespoons onion powder

Salt to taste

Ground white pepper to taste

1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained

Combine mozzarella and sour cream in a large bowl; stir in garlic and next 3 ingredients. Add spinach and artichoke hearts to mixture, stirring well. Transfer to a greased baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Keep warm in a chafing dish.

Now, Charlotte says to serve these with home-fried tortilla chips, which (let me tell you) make this dip exceptional. So, in case you want to go the extra mile (which is completely worth it), here is that recipe.

Home-Fried Tortilla Chips

24 corn tortillas

2 quarts sunflower or safflower oil

Salt to taste

Stack tortillas into piles or 6; with a sharp knife, cut each stack into 6 to 8 equal wedges onto paper towels. When the temperature registers between 375 to 400 degrees on a deep-fat thermometer, add a handful of tortilla wedges into an electric deep fryer. Fry for 1 minute, stirring once or twice. Do not crowd the fryer, and fry the chips only until they’re crisp but not too dark. Transfer chips with a slotted spoon to paper towels, and season with salt. Continue frying other wedges.

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Yes. We’ve added another. It’s something that we don’t necessarily have an excuse for, and we’re not sorry about it for the naysayers that think we’re crazy. We just love dogs. They are more than “part” of the family — they are family. Each one has a unique personality that fits into the Guido family mold; and when we have to say goodbye to one, we are all lost.

I had been planning on writing a post about our 2 “black kids,” the Black Labrador twins — Mae and TJ. However, over the past week, another “black kid” has come to live with us (at my parents’ house for all you people that think she’s living with me and the Beagles).

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Mae & TJ – The Twins

Last Tuesday, Mom and Dad were on their way home from early morning laundry openings and a side visit to McDonald’s when they spotted this black lab looking puppy on the highway near Grace Methodist Church. Dad, being the softy he is, instantly thought of our sweet Mae at home, wheeled the Ram Charger around, and jumped out to grab her from our Natchez rush minute. Luckily, Mom still had her warm McDonald’s biscuit, pulled it from the wrapper, and waved it wildly for the dog to see. Quickly making her way from the traffic, that puppy belly crawled into our lives, and “Grace” became a Guido.

Grace
Morning snacks with Dad.

I have to say, she’s definitely someone’s pet. We looked for her owner, shared her on  Facebook, checked for a microchip — and nothing. She is very mild-mannered, loves a good cuddle, and sleeps in the kennel all night. She sits. She stays. She stops when you say “no”. For a “puppy” of about 6 months or so, she’s pretty perfect. Now, we don’t think she is full Labrador. There is something else lurking in those bat-like ears. (We did a Google search and worried she may have some Great Dane in her. Search Labradane. We were scared.) But, she’s fitting in nicely with all of the Guido pups. The Beagles quickly took to her, and Mama Jo is teaching her who is boss. The Twins think she’s their long lost sister and roll her around the yard like a rag doll.

So, yes. We’ve added another. We saved Grace.