Help with a menu - Southern US


 
L

Louis

TVWBB Fan
Hello Guys,

Now more than ever i need your help ! I have to plan the menu for a friend 30 years old birthday where nearly 80 persons will attend. I know she would appreciate a typical southern US menu.

Can you please give me some suggestions and if you have a real good recipe to go with it, please also give me a link.

At the moment i was thinking about ribs (of course) and maybe some jerk chicken ... but i need more meat idea and of course sides ... it's gonna be in june so forget about corn over here !

Thank you all for your help, it is much appreciated !
 
Pulled pork is good for a large crowd, chicken and dumplings, roasted sweet potatoes, some kind of greens (collard, mustard, turnip, kale), corn bread, black eyed peas, blackberry or peach cobbler, bread pudding and of course, the favorite southern beverages "cocola" (Coca Cola) and sweet tea. Try to Google Paula Dean for some pretty authentic recipe ideas. Good luck finding some of the ingredients in Quebec!
 
I would definitely go with pulled pork and any of the veggie choices above. I would add grilled squash to the list. Cut it lengthwise and place on a grate or grill pan. I posted a simple peach cobbler recipe in another forum. Let us know if you need recipes and how it turns out.
 
Another vote for some pulled pork. Sausage is also easy if you can find something decently cheap--it's usually cooked already, just toss it in the smoker or on the grill to heat it up and get a little BBQ flavor.

I can't believe nobody has mentioned cole slaw yet.
 
Ribs and pulled pork. Turnip or Collard greens cooked with a smoked ham hock served with hot pepper sauce. Blackeye peas (hopin johns recipe maybe) or baked beans (dutch's recipe maybe) cooked with smoked rib trimmings. Corn bread or loaf of bread. Potato salad. Deviled eggs. Pickles.
 
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I live in Louisiana and I like dirty rice with BBQ. Zatarains makes a very good product to which I add some 'trinity' and a pound of country breakfast sausage, or ground beef or pork.
If you're going to fry anything, get some frozen corn cobbettes and let them thaw out. Do the dry, wet, dry dredge with fish or shrimp fry mix and buttermilk. Let fry until golden brown.
 
Being a southern boy from birth to now, I think of the following, fried okra, grits, corn bread, fried chicken, in fact anything fried, field peas, watermelon, any kind of BBQ but chicken is way up there, boiled peanuts, and don't forget sweet tea. I never cared for collards & turnips. But for a typical bbq, then (cole slaw, the mayo kind), baked beans, corn bread and whatever meat you got. Desert, pecan pie, homemade ice cream, peach cobbler with ice cream. And don't forget the beer..........................d
 
Mr leopard,

Could u please expand/repeat on that frozen corn deal again? Sounds interesting .... Thaw out frozen corn, do not pay dry then..... Maybe dip on buttermilk then dredge in fish or shrimp deal?
 
Kurt said:
Mr leopard,

Could u please expand/repeat on that frozen corn deal again? Sounds interesting .... Thaw out frozen corn, do not pay dry then..... Maybe dip on buttermilk then dredge in fish or shrimp deal?
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dredge the dry mixture first, then the buttermilk, and then back in the dredge and to the fryer. Of course, season the dredge to your taste. Fish and shrimp fry is simply corn flour with seasoning that's available down here.
 
wow you guys are awesome ! thank you very much for all the amazing ideas

Now, about some recipe :)

any of you can point me to the perfect recipe for :

Cornbread ?
bakes beans ?
any vegetables ?! fried or not ..

Thanx !
 
Louis said:
wow you guys are awesome ! thank you very much for all the amazing ideas

Now, about some recipe :)

any of you can point me to the perfect recipe for :

Cornbread ?
bakes beans ?
any vegetables ?! fried or not ..

Thanx !
Click to expand...

Sent you a pm back.. As for vegetables, it will always depend on what part of the south one is from, and just how southern one is......growing up, because of my Mom's cooking, I was very southern. Squash is great, simply cut it up, boil it with onions until soft, drain, maybe mash it up a bit, and mix butter, salt and pepper. Fresh is best, frozen is....well, ok. Quite easy to make, but not a grill thing......................d
 
I have lived in Georgia and South Carolina my whole life and learned to cook the way my grandmother did. Go collard greens cooked in chicken broth and plenty of pork (hock, or a piece of butt, or bacon) and cooked for several hours, do some coleslaw, baked beans, pulled pork, ribs, fried chicken.
 
Baked Mac and Cheese. My favorite BBQ side dish.

A sweet mayo-based coleslaw is a winner side dish too.
 
RCBaughn said:
Baked Mac and Cheese. My favorite BBQ side dish.

A sweet mayo-based coleslaw is a winner side dish too.
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...and with pulled pork shoulder and either slow-cooked green beans or baked beans, you can do a BBQ sundae with all of it..just put a pickle wedge on the top.

The BBQ sundae recipe (pork recipe forum) that I posted the other day had hash browns and cheddar instead of mac and cheese, and actually, mashed potatoes is more common if you look up "BBQ sundae" or "BBQ parfait" online. However, mac and cheese would work great for the potato part, and I noticed it on the Loveless Cafe catering menu for their BBQ sundae under "action stations". (At the event I played at a couple of weeks ago, maybe they subbed the hash browns since there was a pasta bar.) Anyhow, I can't stress too much how great these simple southern sides go with pulled pork. If putting in a sundae, I think you probably want a good red sauce that's not too thick or thin, not too sweet or too vinegary.
 
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Louis said:
wow you guys are awesome ! thank you very much for all the amazing ideas

Now, about some recipe :)

any of you can point me to the perfect recipe for :

Cornbread ?
bakes beans ?
any vegetables ?! fried or not ..

Thanx !
Click to expand...

You'll find as many different recipes for cornbread as there are southern bakers that make it! Below is a simple recipe for skillet cornbread along with a few alternatives. Enjoy!

Southern Cornbread

¼ C. oil, shortening, butter, melted brown butter or bacon fat
1 ½ C. white or yellow cornmeal
3 Tbl. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 C. buttermilk
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Add the fat to a well-seasoned 10-inch cast iron skillet and place the skillet into the oven to melt the fat and heat the skillet. In a bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Using mitts, carefully remove the skillet from the oven and swirl the hot fat around to coat the entire skillet.

Pour the fat from the skillet into the cornmeal mixture; stir. Stir in half of the buttermilk and add the egg; add more buttermilk as needed to make a thick but pourable batter. Depending on the grind of your cornmeal and the type of buttermilk you use, you may not need it all. Fold ingredients and don't beat the batter. Pour the cornmeal mixture into the hot skillet. Carefully place directly into the oven and bake at 450 degrees F for about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the skillet from the oven, let rest for 5 minutes, then very carefully turn the cornbread out onto a plate or platter to preserve that nice crispy crust!

If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, grease an 8 inch square baking dish. Do not heat the dish ahead of time. Melt the fat and include it with the other ingredients. Mix together, pour into dish and bake per instructions.

You can also add in 1/3 C. finely chopped pork cracklings or crisp bacon, or ½ C. corn kernels (if using frozen, thaw and drain).
 
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