Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls with Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce

This is the time of year I start into a panic.

This is the time of year to start breaking out your ULTIMATE appetizers, aka "finger foods."

Although, let's be honest--in the South, most of the time it ends up being "fanger foods." Don't believe me? Ask the residents of Finger, Tennessee; they'll set you straight on the pronunciation of their hometown.

Love you, Finger residents!

ANYWAY, for whatever reason during the holidays, my brain goes totally blank and I stare off into the distance while I plead with my brain to think of a recipe I'll deem acceptable.

I am a weird bird. I'm keep a strict "two-week-no-outfit-repeat" policy, and the same hold true for my recipes; I don't make things for social events that I've cooked in recent memory. What usually happens when I rack my brain for recipes is that I realize that I made sausage balls for the tailgate a couple of weeks ago, and I made pimento cheese spread for the Christmas party last week. I don't want to bring a fruit or veggie tray because I'm stubborn. And if an idea for an appetizer pops into my head, I get excited!

...

But then I realize that the person who inspired that dish will probably be there, and they will probably bring their version of that dish.And showing up with the same dish is like showing up to a party with the same dress on. People start comparing. And things can get ugly, and I shun confrontation.

Things like that don't end well for me.

And since my comfort food is filled with flavors of the southwest, I impose that upon other people. And if they don't like it, I just figure there's more food...for me!

What can I say? I'm a giver!

And so, without further ado, I give you...Southwestern "egg rolls."

They're warm, crispy, smoky, and delicious. 

And they're filling...yes, indeed. 

I bet if you even repeat this recipe as early as the Super Bowl, nobody would hate you.

You could even stick some spinach in these, and some people might kiss you.

You could pick up some "real" egg roll wrappers and fry these puppies...and give your cardiologist some Christmas cheer.

I'm just here to give you options!

These are scrumptious--and the sauce is the perfect, cool complement.

Just sayin'.

Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls (makes approx. 10 rolls)

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• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ½ medium yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 cup chicken, cooked and shredded (about 2 breasts or 3 thighs)
• ¾ cup corn kernels
• ¾ cup black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• ⅓ cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup Monterrey jack cheese, shredded
• 10 fajita-sized flour tortillas (about 6 inches in diameter)

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

In a saucepan on medium heat, allow the oil to heat and saute the onions for about five minutes, or until translucent. Add the chicken, corn, black beans, jalapeno, salt, cumin, chili powder, and cayenne (if using); stir until heated and fragrant, about five minutes. Add cilantro, then take the mixture off the heat. Add the cheese; stir until melted.

Place the tortillas on a plate, cover with a damp paper towel, and microwave them on high for approximately one minute, or until soft and pliable. Place one tortilla on a flat surface, and pour two tablespoons of the mixture into the center of the tortilla. Carefully fold the right and left edges of the tortilla until the folds touch the mixture, and roll the tortilla, tucking the edges under. Place each “eggroll” into a greased pan. With a basting brush, spread a thin layer of canola oil on each tortilla, adding chili powder to the top to add a splash of color.

Pop the rolls into the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the tortillas are golden and crispy. Serve warm with cool cilantro dipping sauce.

Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce (makes about 2 cups)

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• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 cup tomatillo salsa
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon lime juice (about ½ of a lime)
• ⅓ cup fresh cilantro

Combine all ingredients into a blender or food processor. Blend ingredients until smooth, and serve cold. Can be used to dip southwestern egg rolls, chips, vegetables, or to top off your favorite spicy dishes, like tacos or enchiladas.

Cilantro is life.

Share these, kids. Or keep them to yourself. I don't really care; just make them soon!


Adapted from All Recipes.

The Show-Stealer: Honeybun Cake

My Granny is one of the coolest people I know.

It's true! She's 74 going on 30. Seriously.

Her texting skillz are out of this world--she even knows textspeak! We text recipe ideas back and forth to each other. It's probably one of my favorite things about life.

She's a dorm mother in a college boys' dorm; she stays up til midnight every night, usually watching NBA.

She also has a workout circuit where she'll walk uphill. For three miles a day. She puts me to shame.

On top of all this, she is a fabulous cook. Her culinary knowledge is astonishing, and she still experiments in the kitchen. And not only does she cook for our family, but she uses her baking for the forces of good. Whenever one of her college boys has a birthday, she'll bake them whatever cake they want--even if they have to bring the recipe to her. If she doesn't like the recipe they give her, she'll make up a better version of it, and the boys will go home amazed.

She also bakes once or twice a month for the ladies at her favorite gas station. That's just the kind of person she is.

I want to be just like her when I grow up.

The recipe I am about to share with you is a Granny original. Growing up, my favorite part of this cake was making the swirl--how many other recipes do you get to do that?! It was beautiful, it was delicious...and it was perfect.

 Consider yourself warned: if you take this cake to any social function, you will not leave with any of it.

Uh huh. It's that good.

If you want to be Miss Congeniality at your holiday party, I suggest you make this cake. The sour cream makes the cake extra moist, and the cinnamon and sugar complement each other perfectly. I like it best when its warm and the glaze seeps into the middle layers. You could serve this at breakfast and pass it off as a coffee cake; you could serve it for supper and pass it off as...whatever you want! Either way, if you make any recipe of mine, you should make this one.

Seriously...it's a keeper!

Honeybun Cake (Serves 12-15)


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For the cake:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil

For the swirl:

• 1 cup light brown sugar 
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon (or, to taste--depends on how much cinnamon you like!)

For the glaze:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 6 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

By hand, blend the cake mix, eggs, sour cream, and oil until well-incorporated. The mixture will be pale yellow--it's ok if it has some lumps! Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon until well-blended, and set aside.

Pour half of the cake batter into a greased 13x9 pan, spreading the batter out into a thin layer. Add half of the swirl mixture to the cake, making sure to sprinkle it on the entire layer. Don't be alarmed if it looks like you're over-saturating the cake--it'll taste great! Pour the rest of the batter on top, and spread the batter until the cake is even. Top the cake off with the rest of the swirl mixture. With a knife, swirl the batter until you create a beautiful masterpiece (I always pretend I'm a barista pouring cream into a cappuccino because I'm really nerdy like that). 

Place the cake into the oven, and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, make the glaze. In a bowl, mix the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until glaze is desired consistency. When the cake comes out of the oven, immediately pour glaze onto hot cake. You might have to pick up the cake and tilt it to spread the glaze evenly. Let the cake sit for a few minutes so the glaze can do this:

This is what it'll do to the top of the cake. Yum.

But perhaps even better, this is what it will do to the inside of the cake. Swoon!

So, to recap:  I love my Granny. And I love Honeybun Cake. 

The end.

The Crowd Favorite: Pecan Pie

I consider myself a hybrid of sorts.

My father was raised on a farm in Kentucky. Growing up, his mother cooked him all of the Southern classics: fried chicken, okra, black eyed peas, grits, and country sausage. Yum.

But my daddy didn't cook much for me much; that job belonged to my mama--a Yankee!

As I've lived my whole life in the South, Yankees are still kinda exotic to me. And I'm half Yankee, which makes me half exotic. I'll take it.

My mother was born in Ridge Farm, Illinois, and her form of cuisine reflects it. My mother makes things unheard of in the South: her cornbread is sweet; her "dumplins" are actually thin, German noodles; she grew up eating "honeybuns," not cinnamon rolls.

But you know what? I enjoy both cuisines straddling the Mason-Dixon line; my stomach and I are severely thankful that I have a leg in each territory so I can have a wider breadth of food to enjoy!

No matter the regional differences, I have found that both sides of my family can agree on the sanctity of one particular dish: pecan pie.

No matter how you say it (puh-CON, or PEE-can--I say the former!), it's one delectable dish. While growing up, my parents would attempt to make a homemade pecan pie for the holidays, and every year I would hear weeping and gnashing of teeth when they would cut into it. Observe:

Dad: "You mean it didn't set AGAIN?!? AHH!!"

Mom: "It's not MY fault; you didn't know how to make it properly either!!!"

I'll spare you the details, but soon the bickering would spiral into a fuming silence, and my father would feel coerced into purchasing a stale, commercial pie that just didn't quite have the essence of home. And being the people-pleaser that I am, the fifteen-year-old me decided to solve the Kerr family holiday problems by trying my hand at this pie. I picked up the first recipe book I could find, followed the directions, and made it. And it was perfect. And I'm pretty sure it was Providence.

In any case, my beginner's luck absolutely SHOCKED my parents, and they still scratch their heads when I pull this pie out of the oven. But they don't question a good thing, and neither do I--I'm pretty thankful my streak of good pecan pie is still alive!

Pecan pie is the glue that holds my family together. I shall not be in want.

Old-Fashioned Pecan Pie (Serves 8-10)


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• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark--I've had great results with both!)
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup light corn syrup
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup pecans (whole or crushed--it doesn't matter! The only thing affected is the appearance.)
• 1 unbaked pie crust (half of my Granny's homemade recipe)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Cream the butter and the sugar till well incorporated. Mix in flour and salt. Add the corn syrup, eggs, and vanilla; mix ingredients til well-blended. Stir in pecans, and pour into an unbaked pie crust.

Bake uncovered for 45-50 minutes, or until there is a slight jiggle when pie is shaken. Allow pie to rest for at least one hour, then it's ready to serve!

***Handy tip: to prevent your crust from scorching, you can fashion "pie shields" out of aluminum foil. Simply wrap strips of foil around the edges when you place your pie into the oven for an even, golden color!

My Favorite Food in the World: Salsa!

I was born in Harlingen, Texas, five miles from the border to Mexico. And I'm positive that my subconscious has retained this detail of my existence because I can never, ever get enough Mexican food.

My parents met and married in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, where they had my older brother, older sister, and me. Although we only remained in Texas until I was three, the culture of my homeland still remained in our household--mainly through the food. When they moved to Tennessee, my parents searched desperately for the authentic Mexican cuisine they fell in love with during their stay in Texas. Ergo, the Kerr family frequented the restaurants around town serving enchiladas, frijoles, and fiery salsas.

I remember being about five years old and eating at our favorite Mexican joint. I had been eating salsa ever since my little brain could remember, and I would end up eating so much of it that my parents didn't even have to purchase a meal for me--I would get full from the complimentary chips and salsa! Most people cite their comfort food as something warm, creamy, and gooey. Not me--I revel in the fiery zip of the cool tomato mixture contrasted with the warm, salty, crispy character of a tortilla chip.

Yum. Yum. Yum.

As I grew older, I discovered my culinary independence--that my mom would let me go into the kitchen and let me cook whatever I wanted. Thus, I began requesting ingredients to make my beloved salsa. I started off making a version of my aunt's, but...it just didn't quite taste right to me. There wasn't enough brightness like the flavor I loved so much. So for years, I would experiment. I would make quart after quart, greedily and anxiously diving in after I had combined my desired ingredients. Still, it just wasn't what I wanted.

And then came the summer of 2010.


I remember standing in the kitchen, elbows propped up on the countertop as I wondered for seemingly the thousandth time what my salsa was missing. Not surprisingly, I digest miscellaneous culinary information like it's no tomorrow, and I remember something about adding an additional acid to the mixture. "It can't hurt," I thought, so I headed off to the store to buy a couple of limes. I cut one in half, and squeezed it into my quart mixture.

And the church said, "Amen!"

Oh, the joy! The ecstasy! I wasn't prepared for what I tasted. I was so giddy that I was jumping up and down, calling my mom to the kitchen like I had just won the Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes. But I had something better than those goons at PCH--I had the best salsa recipe ever--suited exactly to my own tastes. Elation doesn't even begin to describe!

To say that I don't care if you don't like my salsa is a lie. I do care--I want you to be as happy about your salsa as I am about my salsa. Seriously, this is my favorite salsa recipe, and I don't care who knows it!

Best Salsa Ever (makes about 1 quart)

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• 1 28 oz. can whole or diced tomatoes-- or about 5 ripe tomatoes, skins peeled off
• 1 jalapeno
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1-2 medium cloves of garlic
• Juice of 1/2 lime, or about 1 tablespoon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin 
• a handful of cilantro, about 1/3 cup

There are two different schools of salsa: the smooth, and the chunky. The smooth is the easier method of the two if you have a blender handy. In that case, add all the ingredients into the blender and pulse til desired consistency.

However, I have always enjoyed chunky salsa. It requires slightly more time than smooth, as I chop all of my ingredients by hand. But I think the result is more desirable!

To make chunky salsa: with a knife (or with your hands!), chop tomatoes until they are in bite-sized pieces. Finely dice the onion and jalapeno, making sure to THOROUGHLY wash your hands after handling the jalapeno. Mince the garlic, and use your knife to flatten the garlic, making it into a sort of paste, and add it to the mixture. Add the salt and the cumin. Chop the cilantro finely, and add to the mixture. Lastly, squeeze in the lime juice, and stir it well!

I'm weird--I kinda prefer this salsa when it's warm (probably because the beautiful aroma makes me ravenous). However, most normal people chill it overnight to let the flavors marry together. But you don't have to if you want to!

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. It will be in my life til my dying day--and I mean it.

The Best Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. Bar none.

So here is the recipe to which I refer in one of my previous posts: my mom's oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Seriously...they are the best cookies I've ever had. I take them to functions of all kinds, and they are ALWAYS gone when I go to retrieve my tupperware.

You will be so happy you made them-- and so will your friends!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (makes about 3 dozen)


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• 1 Cup (2 sticks) Butter or butter flavored Crisco, softened
• 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 large bag (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment. Cream butter and sugar til fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat or stir in flour, oats, baking soda, and salt; mix well! Stir in chocolate chips with a wooden spoon. Drop 1 tablespoon of dough on cookie sheet, keeping a 1-inch space between cookies.

Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool on cookie sheet for five minutes, then transfer to cooling rack or parchment paper. If placed in an airtight container, they'll stay fresh for about a week.

Enjoy thoroughly with a glass of milk!