My Southern feast (6 delish recipes)

We celebrated my mum’s 70th birthday last weekend and I decided to create a Southern feast inspired by my recent trip to Charleston, South Carolina.

Eight hours later … it was ready.

Homemade lemonade? Check. Buffalo wings? Check. Blue cheese dressing? Check. Cornbread? Check. Meatloaf? Check. Mac n’ cheese? Check. Mashed potatoes? Check. Salad? Check. Red velvet cake with cream cheese icing? Check. OCD? Check.

It all tasted pretty fab, but was it worth the effort? Well, it WAS my mum’s 70th. And I DID accidentally organise a cruise last year for her 69th instead of her 70th … So I thought I should take a bit of trouble. (But you do feel a little WTF when it’s all gone 20 minutes later after all those hours of prep.)

I also gave her a necklace I bought at a market in Charleston, made from a chandelier from one of the old mansions. She loved it. Very keen on a talking point, is my mum.

Anyway, on with the recipes …

Recipe: Homemade lemonade

4 lemons, quartered

1.5 litres boiling water

4 tablespoons caster sugar

METHOD: Place lemons in a large heat-proof bowl. Sprinkle with sugar. Pour over boiling water. Allow to cool for 90 minutes. Remove lemons. Refrigerate water until chilled. Serve with lots of ice cubes.

Recipe: Buffalo wings with blue-cheese dressing

12 whole chicken wings, separated at the joint, tips removed (Woolies does chicken niblets in trays that take all the hard work out of this bit)
20g butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup Nando’s mild peri-peri sauce (or the hot type if your kids can hack it)

Blue cheese dressing

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup low-fat Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

100gm blue cheese, crumble

METHOD: Bring a few cups of water to the boil in large saucepan with a steamer. Place the wings into the steamer, cover and steam for 10 minutes. Remove wings and pat dry. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 200C. Line an oven tray with baking paper. Roast wings for 20 minutes. Turn over and cook for another 20 minutes, until golden brown.

While the chicken is roasting, make blue cheese dressing by mixing together buttermilk, yoghurt, lemon juice and blue cheese. Then melt the butter, garlic and peri peri sauce in microwave. Stir. Remove wings from the oven and toss with the sauce. Serve warm with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.

Recipe: Sweet cornbread

1 cup polenta

1/2 cup self-raising flour

1/2 cup cornflour

1/2 cup caster sugar

50g butter

1 cup milk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

pinch of salt

METHOD: Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a 30cm x 20cm pan. Mix polenta and flours together. Stir in sugar. Warm milk and butter together in microwave – do not boil. Remove and beat in eggs. Add to the flour mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon. Pour into pan and bake until golden. About 20-25 minutes. Cut into squares and serve with butter.

Recipe: Cheat’s meatloaf

This one was actually a bit of an accident. I was going to make cheeseburgers but changed my mind at the last minute. So I mushed the burgers together, added a few ingredients and VOILA! Meatloaf.

8 homestyle beef burgers (I used Woolies)

1/2 cup tomato sauce

2 tsps dry mustard

Sauce

1 tsp Tabasco sauce

3 tblsps ketchup

2 1/2 tsps dry mustard

2 tblsps brown sugar

METHOD: Preheat oven to 180C. Mix the beef burgers, tomato sauce and mustard together with your hands and form into a loaf shape. Mix the sauce ingredients together and drizzle over the top. Place on a wire rack over a baking pan. Cook for 40 minutes. Rest for 10 minutes. Serve in slices. Great with mashed potatoes.

Recipe: Mac n’ cheese

500g macaroni

125g butter

1 onion, minced

2 tablespoons cornflour

250ml can evaporated milk

250ml single cream

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 & 1/2 cups of grated tasty cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

METHOD: Cook macaroni according to directions until just al dente. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a large casserole dish. In a heavy based pan melt butter and saute minced onion until soft. Add the evaporated milk and cream. Bring to simmer. Mix cornflour with a little water and add to the pan. Stir until returns to simmer. Stir in mayonnaise. Remove from heat and stir through tasty cheese. Toss with drained pasta. Add to casserole dish. Sprinkle with parmesan. Bake for 20-30 minutes until top is golden.

Recipe: Red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting

I might never make this one again. All that sugar! All that red food colouring! But it was a hit.

3 1/2 cups self-raising flour (not self-rising)

170 grams unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

6 tablespoons red food coloring

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 1/2 tsps cider vinegar

Cream cheese frosting

250g block of cream cheese, room temp

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 cup icing sugar

Method: Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and lightly flour a large round cake pan, then line the bottom with baking paper. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla. Add to the batter and beat well. Add the buttermilk in three parts, alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat. Add cider vinegar to the batter and mix well. Scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.

Bake for 40-60 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 1 hour. Remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

If you can be arsed, freeze it so you can cut it in half and put frosting in the middle. I couldn’t be arsed.

Frosting: Beat ingredients together until light and fluffy, about five minutes. Ice cake.