Food Network Star finalist Rebekah Faulk Lingenfelser is a food enthusiast and writer. Her blog, Some Kinda Good, features Southern, coastal recipes, locally sourced and in-season. Like Some Kinda Good on Facebook, follow @SKGFoodBlog on Twitter and Instagram or visit RebekahLingenfelser.com.
Some Kinda Good Pepperoni Ciabatta Bread is made on a sheet pan with just a few ingredients and can also be prepared in a toaster oven or on the grill.
Summertime is in full swing now, and I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July. My family and I traveled down to Amelia Island on the Florida coast and enjoyed the long weekend on Fernandina Beach. We had the best time eating delicious food, often overlooking the ocean, and shopping in the downtown area, albeit a little bit of rain. We watched the fireworks from the beach, and at night time where the dark sky meets the sea, the explosions of color were truly spectacular.
As I write this, Tropical Storm Elsa has just passed through our area. We lost power for a few hours and had a large downed tree limb in the backyard, but are otherwise OK.
Salsa Verde, or green sauce, can be used as a dip, tossed with pasta, or as a sauce to accompany a variety of dishes.
Being a food writer definitely has its advantages. Through my partnership with Southern Soil magazine, I was recently introduced to Local Farm Bag Savannah, a food delivery service that essentially brings the farmers’ market to your front door step. I received the most amazing bag of local food grown by Georgia farmers featuring what’s in season now, and it was like Christmas in June. If you follow me on social media, you probably saw my unbagging video – we opened the delivery together and found a fresh loaf of ciabatta, mangos, melons, romaine lettuce, Corno di Toro red peppers, corn on the cob, peaches, and my favorite: a bag full of little green tomatillos.
Baked Bay Scallops with Breadcrumbs is Some Kinda Good served over hot cooked grits.
Living on the Georgia coast, I’ve eaten my fair share of seafood. In fact, in my house, we eat mostly seafood and a good bit of chicken for its affordability and access. Weeknight dinners are often made with shrimp and pasta, or pan-seared white fish with sautéed vegetables, such as squash and zucchini. Not only is seafood delicious, but it’s so quick to cook and good for you. Not too heavy and just right for springtime.
This recipe is easy as it comes together in one 9 x 13 dish, butter, lemon juice, breadcrumbs and all.
I’ve recently started buying and cooking more with scallops too, and the other evening I made one dish that keeps calling my name: Baked Bay Scallops with Breadcrumbs. The dish is so easy because it all comes together in a 9 x 13 casserole dish. There’s no standing over the stove and waiting – you pop it in the oven and set the timer, and you’re free to get other things done while dinner cooks.
When it comes to scallops, there are sea scallops and bay scallops. Size is the most obvious difference when distinguishing the two; sea scallops are much larger than bay scallops – nearly three times the size. Bay scallops are sweeter, more tender, and typically used in seafood stews and casseroles. They’re only found on the east coast in bays and harbors.
When you can’t find fresh scallops, look for good quality frozen brands. The key is to make sure you pat them dry once thawed, to ensure they get a nice golden brown sear and so they are not watery when baked. Scallops are a rich and hearty meal that you don’t have to enhance too much to enjoy. They feel luxurious and make an impressive presentation on the plate.
In my recipe, the scallops cook in a nice lemon butter sauce, and are finished with fresh parsley from the garden. The “breadcrumbs” are made from one of my favorite snack crackers – Italian Herb crisps and mixed with melted butter. I serve the scallops over hot cooked grits, alongside some in-season asparagus and cherry tomatoes for a pop of color. The asparagus roasts right alongside the scallops in the oven and the supper sides are ready at the same time. This meal is the very definition of Some Kinda Good. I hope you enjoy! For more recipes like this one, pick up a copy of my best-selling memoir with recipes, available wherever books are sold.
Baked Bay Scallops with Breadcrumbs
● Bay Scallops, patted dry, 1 pound ● Juice of half a lemon ● 1 stick unsalted butter, divided ● Salt and Pepper to taste ● 1 Cup Italian Herb Crackers, such as Townhouse Flatbread Crisps ● 1-2 tablespoons Olive oil ● Fresh parsley, chopped
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 casserole dish with butter cooking spray. Pat the scallops dry with paper towels. Place the scallops in the casserole dish and season well on each side with salt and pepper. Squeeze half of the lemon juice over the top of the scallops evenly to coat.
In a food processor or blender, pulse the crackers with ¼ cup of melted butter, until they are a fine breadcrumb consistency. Pour the breadcrumbs evenly over the scallops. Dice four tablespoons of butter and dot the scallops with the butter.
Drizzle the scallops and breadcrumbs with olive oil before placing in the oven. Cook for 20 minutes until breadcrumbs begin to brown. Let cool slightly and top with fresh parsley. To serve with grits, cook grits separately (according to package directions), using beef broth in place of water. Plate by spooning the grits onto a plate, and top with four scallops. Squeeze a splash of fresh lemon juice over the top just before serving.
New to Some Kinda Good?
Georgia native Rebekah Faulk Lingenfelser is a ServSafe certified professionally trained private chef, culinary TV personality, author and food enthusiast. Featured on Forbes, Food Network Star, ABC’s The Taste and The VeryVera Show, she is the longtime Statesboro Herald food columnist and blogger at SomeKindaGood.com, your one stop shop for Southern coastal cuisine, locally sourced and in-season. Pull up a chair for cooking and entertaining tips, and easy-to-execute, flavorful recipes to share around the family table. To learn more, connect with Some Kinda Good on social media, or visit RebekahLingenfelser.com.
My first King Cake was a success, thanks to Taste Of Home!
Mardi Gras means “Fat Tuesday” in French, and is the celebratory carnival that leads up to the beginning of Lent. The name “Fat Tuesday” refers to the practice of consuming all of the food forbidden while fasting during Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday. This past week, I had fun celebrating this Louisiana holiday by baking my first King Cake at home.
I love the ease of baking and mixing the ingredients in the same pan!
Last year this time in Savannah, I searched the city over for the festive cake, and I couldn’t find one at a single bakery. So, I made it my mission to bake my own this year, especially when I came across this easy recipe in Taste of Home, one of my favorite food magazines. It was really delicious and reminiscent of a cinnamon coffee cake.
This brown sugar and butter mixture is what makes the cake reminiscent of a cinnamon coffee cake.
What’s fun and unique about king cakes is that after baking, a plastic baby is tucked into the cake, and tradition dictates that finding the baby in your slice symbolizes luck and prosperity, and the finder becomes the ‘king’ or ‘queen’ of the day. The traditional colors of Mardi Gras — purple, green and gold were introduced in 1872 and later assigned a meaning: gold for power, green for faith and purple for justice.
The brown sugar mixture is swirled into the cake for great flavor!
With this being my first time baking the famous cake, I hadn’t considered just where I would find a small plastic baby. Funny story – we searched the toy aisle of Wal-Mart after coming up empty-handed in the baby shower section. We shared the cake with my church small group, and everyone joked that we had the biggest King Cake baby they’d ever seen. It made for some good laughs.
Our King Cake baby came from the toy aisle at Wal-Mart, lol! We couldn’t find the tiny plastic ones, so this baby was XL and ready to party!What’s unique about the confectioners sugar frosting is it contains butter! I couldn’t stop eating it.
Today I’m sharing the recipe with you, so you can have some fun in your own kitchen. Laissez les bon temps rouler (pronounced Lay-say le bon tom roo-lay), meaning let the good times roll!
Best food magazine ever.
Easy One-Dish King Cake Recipe Courtesy of Taste of Home magazineand Joy the Baker
Ingredients
For the Cake Batter:
unsalted butter to grease the pan
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 teaspoons RapidRise or Instant Yeast
2/3 cup very warm milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
Grease an 8-inch round cake pan with butter. Add the dry ingredients including the yeast to the cake pan and whisk to combine. Add the milk, melted butter, oil, and beaten egg. Whisk to combine and use a spatula to coax any flour from the corners of the pan. Allow to batter to rest in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes. While the cake rests, make the cinnamon topping. In a small bowl stir together brown sugar, cinnamon, melted butter, and salt until the mixture is moistened and sandy. Top batter evenly with cinnamon mixture. Use a butter knife to swirl the cinnamon sugar into the batter. Allow to rest for 5 more minutes.
To bake the cake, place pan in a COLD oven; set temperature to 350°F; bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until lightly browned and firm in center. Allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes. Combine icing ingredients in the same bowl used to make the cinnamon mixture and drizzle over the just warm cake.
Sprinkle generously with Mardi Gras colors and tuck a little baby inside. Enjoy!
New to Some Kinda Good?
Georgia native Rebekah Faulk Lingenfelser is a ServSafe certified professionally trained private chef, culinary TV personality, author and food enthusiast. Featured on Forbes, Food Network Star, ABC’s The Taste and The VeryVera Show, she is the longtime Statesboro Herald food columnist and blogger at SomeKindaGood.com, your one stop shop for Southern coastal cuisine, locally sourced and in-season. Pull up a chair for cooking and entertaining tips, and easy-to-execute, flavorful recipes to share around the family table. To learn more, connect with Some Kinda Good on social media, or visit RebekahLingenfelser.com.
Paula Deen’s Southern Baking Cookbook includes this delicious lemon bar recipe.
Happy Cookbook Feature Friday! Today’s post is all about the tart, cold and sugar-dusted lemon bar. Featuring one of Paula Deen’s latest cookbooks, Southern Baking, these bars are super easy to make and serve as the perfect treat when you want a little something sweet.
One of the coolest moments of my life was getting to gift Paula Deen my own book, while attending her book signing
I was outside in my front yard the other day, when my neighbor approached carrying a tray of several bottles of freshly squeezed lemon juice. She has a big Meyer lemon tree, and just before the fruit expired, she had to come up with a way to use up all the lemons that hadn’t been picked. She gifted several neighbors with the juice, and I put it to good use right away! What a sweet gesture.
Freshly squeezed lemon juice can be used in cocktails, desserts and even as a glaze.
Loved:
Using fresh meyer lemon juice from my neighbor’s lemon tree to make these!
The tart and sweet balance of this dessert
You can eat them cold or warm and they’re Some Kinda Good either way
The recipe requires only 7 ingredients.
Didn’t Love:
Baking with parchment paper. If you’re impatient like me, the paper is a pain to peel off the baked goods. I’d rather use baking spray and forgo the parchment paper.
These take a while too cool.
“Whenever you’re craving a refreshing treat, these luscious goodies will always hit the spot.”
-Paula Deen
Yum!
Lemon Bars From the Southern Baking Cookbook by Paula Deen
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 cup cold butter, cubed
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1/2 cup lemon juice
Garnish: confectioners’ sugar
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with baking spray. Line the pan with parchment paper, letting the excess extend over the sides. In the workbowl of a food processor, pulse together 2 cups flour and confectioners’ sugar until combined. Add cold butter; pulse until mixture is crumbly and just holds together when pressed with fingers. Firmly press mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Bake until edges are golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl. whisk together eggs, granulated sugar, lemon zest and juice and remaining 1/4 cup of flour until smooth. Pour onto hot crust (crust must be hot).
Bake until filling is set, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Using excess parchment as handles, remove from pan before cutting into bars. Garnish with confectioners’ sugar if desired.
New to Some Kinda Good?
Georgia native Rebekah Faulk Lingenfelser is a ServSafe certified professionally trained private chef, culinary TV personality, author and food enthusiast. Featured on Forbes, Food Network Star, ABC’s The Taste and The VeryVera Show, she is the longtime Statesboro Herald food columnist and blogger at SomeKindaGood.com, your one stop shop for Southern coastal cuisine, locally sourced and in-season. Pull up a chair for cooking and entertaining tips, and easy-to-execute, flavorful recipes to share around the family table. To learn more, connect with Some Kinda Good on social media, or visit RebekahLingenfelser.com.
Happy Friday! This week, we cooked with a new ingredient: CRAWFISH! I haven’t ever worked much with crawfish, but I really love it. This little creature, also known as a “creek lobster,” tastes like a cross between crab legs and shrimp. It’s slightly sweet and easy to break down.
I’m excited to share a new endeavor in 2021: Cookbook Feature Friday!
I have a vast collection of cookbooks stacked around my house. These are a few of my favorite things! Vintage cookbooks and new releases fill my kitchen countertops and baker’s rack, adorn my coffee table and decorate my bookshelves. I love lazy weekends while sipping on coffee and flipping through their pages. With the energy of a new year, one of my goals for 2021 is to cook one recipe per week from my collection with my husband, Kurt. Continue reading “New in 2021: Cookbook Feature Friday”→
Pumpkin Walnut Pancakes are Some Kinda Good served with maple sausage and warm syrup.
Pumpkin walnut pancakes remind me of trips to the Tennessee mountains as a child. Every fall my family would take a trip to see the changing leaves and we’d always stop at one of the many log cabin restaurants with signs flashing “Hot Flapjacks!” Make this fluffy stack of buttery, pumpkin spice flavored pancakes to welcome the changing of the seasons. Be sure to use a cast iron skillet for the most crispy edges. You’ll be glad you did! Continue reading “Pumpkin Walnut Pancakes”→
Labor Day is about taking a rest from the routine, and while that means something totally different in 2020, these easy desserts are still relevant. This Labor Day, you can catch me on TV baking one of these, which will complement any cookout. Tune in to WTOC Morning Break at 9 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 7 to see what I’m cooking up!Continue reading “Easy Labor Day Dessert Round-Up”→
Some Kinda Good Cinnamon Apple Crumb Pie is made with Granny Smith Apples and a crunchy pecan crumble topping.
A follower recently reached out to ask me if I had any easy pie recipes for her daughter, who was set to have a baby soon. The first one that came to mind is this Cinnamon Apple Crumb Pie, along with Lime Cheesecake Pie. I bake this often when I have a bowl of apples on display that need to be used, or in the fall when apples are abundant. It’s crunchy topping is nutty and satisfying, and the sweet filling with the flaky crust are the perfect bite. This pie is also great when you don’t have two pie crusts handy. Continue reading “Cinnamon Apple Crumb Pie”→
