Last night I felt inspired enough to make an entire meal with drinks, a main course, a couple of sides and a dessert. It even had a Southern theme! Unfortunately, my camera died before I could take a photo of everything plated, but rest assured, it was a sight to behold. Truely.
The first undertaking was drinks and since it was a southern meal, I decided to make some lemon iced tea. I don’t like to add a lot of sugar, so please adjust to your own taste buds.
lemon ice tea
- I set my kettle to boil
- put 2 orange pekoe tea bags in my pitcher
- added the juice of 2 lemons and the hollowed out lemon carcasses (for extra lemony flavour, dontcha know)
- dumped in a 1/4 c of white sugar and poured the boiling water over the whole lot. I topped up the pitcher with cold water and stirred everything around. When the tea bags had finished their steep, I removed them from the pitcher and just let the mixture cool on the counter before refrigerating
Print This RecipeWith my drinks taken care of, I was onto part two of this southern feast:
I didn’t really know what I was doing since I came up with this one on the fly, but it turned out nicely. Cornelius commented that this tasted like real barbeque, so I think I did good.
pulled pork sandwiches
I took a pork loin and marinated it with a lot of crushed garlic, some chipotle powder, cumin, mexican chili powder, dried thyme and a bit of salt. After a couple hours of fridge-sitting, I popped the entire thing into a small covered roasting pan and into the oven for about an hour at 450 degrees. I then mixed together some ketchup, yellow mustard, honey, brown sugar, worchestershire sauce, cider vinegar and some xxx hot sauce and poured it over the pork. I dropped the oven temperature to 350 degrees and cooked it for half an hour before taking it out of the oven and shredding it all together into one big shredded porky mess of tasty goodness. Back in the oven for another half hour before we served this on whole wheat hot dogs buns (seriously, it was all we had & the meal didn’t suffer from it one bit).
I figured a potato salad was in order and I wanted something nice and light tasting. I had bought a whole wack of lemons (14 for $2) earlier in the day, so I figured I’d make up a lemon vinegrette and see what would come of that. The results? So fresh and tasty that the world “incredible” came up more than once.
incredible lemony potato salad
6 small yukon gold potatoes in their skins
2 stalks of celery with leaves, diced and leaves roughly chopped
1 large lemon, juiced and zested
1/4 c olive oil
1 t honey (or white sugar, if vegan)
1 t dijon mustard
1 small bunch of basil, torn
1 T capers
pepper and rock salt1. Boil potatoes whole in their skins until done. Cool slightly and cut into large cubes. Place in bowl. Add chopped celery.
2. Mix together lemon juice, olive oil, honey and dijon into a dressing and pour over potatoes.
3. Tear basil leaves over top of salad. Add capers, lemon zest, freshly ground pepper and rock salt. Mix. Cool in fridge until ready to serve.
I’ve posted this recipe before, but it’s so good that I have to post it again. An Everybody Likes Sandwiches first. It’s that good. Actually, this time I used less lemons (last time I used 2), but even with just 1 fat lemon it was all good. It’s the perfect snack or side dish for hot weather because these beans are eaten icy cold so it’s the perfect foil for the heat of summertime.
lemony-garlicy green beans
1 lb of fresh green beans, trimmed
2 cloves of garlic, minced (1 clove if you aren’t among friends)
1 fat lemon, juiced
2-3 T of olive oil
rock salt1. Steam the green beans until bright green and crisp. You don’t want to over cook these. Crisp = delicous! Drain and rinse in cold-cold water. At this point, I put the beans in the freezer just to get extra cold while I mixed the dressing.
2. For the dressing, mix the garlic, lemon juice and olive oil together. Transfer beans into a nice serving dish and pour dressing over top. Return to the fridge for extra coldness. Sprinkle generously with rock salt and serve. It’s better than chips. Seriously.
Okay, I lied about making dessert. I was fully planning on making a rhubarb and strawberry cobbler but after such a feast, Cornelius and I decided that adding dessert would be way too much. So we played board games and sipped homemade ice tea instead. I think we made the smart choice. The rhubarb can wait another day.
That sounds like a fabulous feast! Let us know what you do with the rhubarb…I am a big fan of it in pie form. 🙂
Now that is truly a Southern throw-down, yee-ha, girl!
As for the rhubarb, how about a rhubarb-strawberry crumble?
Now that is truly a Southern throw-down, yee-ha, girl!
As for the rhubarb, how about a rhubarb-strawberry crumble?
Now that is truly a Southern throw-down, yee-ha, girl!
As for the rhubarb, how about a rhubarb-strawberry crumble?
Now that is truly a Southern throw-down, yee-ha, girl!
As for the rhubarb, how about a rhubarb-strawberry crumble?
Now that is truly a Southern throw-down, yee-ha, girl!
As for the rhubarb, how about a rhubarb-strawberry crumble?
Now that is truly a Southern throw-down, yee-ha, girl!
As for the rhubarb, how about a rhubarb-strawberry crumble?
Now that is truly a Southern throw-down, yee-ha, girl!
As for the rhubarb, how about a rhubarb-strawberry crumble?
Now that is truly a Southern throw-down, yee-ha, girl!
As for the rhubarb, how about a rhubarb-strawberry crumble?
Now that is truly a Southern throw-down, yee-ha, girl!
As for the rhubarb, how about a rhubarb-strawberry crumble?
Now that is truly a Southern throw-down, yee-ha, girl!
As for the rhubarb, how about a rhubarb-strawberry crumble?
Now that is truly a Southern throw-down, yee-ha, girl!
As for the rhubarb, how about a rhubarb-strawberry crumble?
Now that is truly a Southern throw-down, yee-ha, girl!
As for the rhubarb, how about a rhubarb-strawberry crumble?
Thanks for these great recipes! The potato salad sounds great.
I was totally uninspired today and about ready to get take out when I saw your potato salad recipe. I had all the ingredients on hand so I decided to make it and serve with some chicken in phyllo leftovers. The meal was perfect. Thanks for the truly “incredible” recipe 🙂
hi from White Rock! I made your whole menu last night and it was a hit. who knew pulled pork was sooooooo good?
jana, i still have the rhubarb in the fridge and i’m still thinking of making a cobbler. don’t worry, i’ll definitely post the results on this blog!
s’kat, thanks! i have no real basis for what real southern cooking can be, but i tried my best! as for a crumble, i think that sounds just lovely.
no problem, crystal! the potato salad was the best one i’ve had ever. and i’m not exagerating in the least.
thanks so much stefanie! that potato recipe is amazing and i’m glad you didn’t succumb to the take-out bug.
wow, lindsay, i’m so impressed! and i’m so glad it turned out so lovely for you! i always get a bit excited when other people try my recipes and they work. i know that it isn’t just a fluke on my part 😉
Am just catching up, but sorry to hear about your trip mishap. Glad it wasn’t any worse … The potato salad looks lovely. I’m printing that one up for sure.
rorie, the potato salad really was the perfect salad!
thanks amy, i’m glad too that the accident was only minor!
Oh, yum – your whole menu sounds fab! I am especially impressed with the lemony potato salad – what a great idea – must try!
Hey, I just found your blog. I read this post on a very hot and humid day, so I just had to make those green beans. They were delicious and seriously better than chips (and I love me some chips). I added the zest of the lemon too, just to make it extra lemony. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes, especially the potato salad and that lemony feta spread for sandwiches from another post.
Thanks Raging Red, I agree about those green beans. They’ve got all the awesomeness of chips, but without all the grease. Mmmmmm, lemony salty goodness!
The Lemony-Garlicy Green Beans are bloody amazing! I made them tonight and I could eat them everyday. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes. 😉