Sunday Supper {Gumbo Love by Lucy Buffett}

When I was offered a copy of Gumbo Love by Lucy Buffet, I jumped.  I mean, I love cooking, reading, Sunday suppers, the South, her brother’s music, and so on and so forth.  I have a few Southern cookbooks on my shelf, but none are dedicated to the flavors and traditions of the Gulf Coast.

I love cookbooks that double as books – chocked full of good pictures, good recipes and good stories.  I have enjoyed reading stories of Lucy’s childhood, adventures and thoughts on savoring the good life.

We started our Sunday Supper with the Mango, Avocado and Arugula Salad with Sour Orange Vinaigrette.  It was absolutely divine and the epitome of a summer salad.  I served the dressing on the side and ended up with about half left.  I used it on our lunch salads all week and loved having it around!

The main course was just grilled chicken with Whole Roasted Okra on the side.  This couldn’t have been easier and will be a new staple side dish because I almost always have everything but the okra on hand.  It is also the first time my boys ate any okra other than the pickled kind :-)

Dessert was the Classic Southern Pound Cake.  I mean, you just can’t go wrong with a good pound cake recipe, you know?!  I used almond extract in lieu of vanilla and it was delish.  My favorite guilty pleasure when I have any type of pound cake around is to have a slice for breakfast with my coffee.  And this is exactly why I don’t just keep pound cake around… :-)

I am really excited that the publisher gave me permission to share ALL of these great recipes with y’all…


MANGO, AVOCADO AND ARUGULA SALAD WITH SOUR ORANGE VINAIGRETTE
serves 4-6

1/2 red onion, sliced
sea salt
1T fresh lime juice  (from 1/2 lime)
3 cups arugula
3 cups red romaine lettuce
Sour Orange Vinaigrette
1 avocado, pitted, peeled and sliced lengthwise
1 mango, pitted, peeled and sliced lengthwise

1. Soak the onion slices in a small bowl of warm water with a dash of salt and the lime juice for about 10 minutes
2. Rinse and drain the onion, discarding the liquid
3. In a large bowl, toss the arugula and romaine leaves with half the vinaigrette
4. Add the avocado, mango and onion to the greens. Drizzle the remaining vinaigrette on top.
5. Serve immediately

SOUR ORANGE VINAIGRETTE
makes about 2 cups

1 tsp orange zest
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 T champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 c extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp sugar
2 T finely chopped fresh cilantro
sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Combine all ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously to mix together. Store in the jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.


WHOLE ROASTED OKRA WITH PARMESAN CRUNCH
serves 4

2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 1/4 lbs fresh whole okra, washed and patted dry
1/2 c shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. In a medium bowl, combine the oil, salt and pepper and mix well. Add okra and toss well to coat each piece.
3. Place the okra on a baking sheet, keeping pieces close together but in a single layer. Top with Parmesan and bake 20 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown.


CLASSIC SOUTHERN POUND CAKE WITH STRAWBERRIES
serves 12-16

GROWING UP SOUTHERN, pound cake was part of my sweet-tasting experience, as there was always some kind of pound cake sitting on my grandmother’s counter. The traditional story about pound cake is that the ingredients consist of “a pounda” butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. This is my rendition of the classic dessert, and there are really no words to describe the sweet vanilla aroma and rich buttery taste of love infused in every bite.

1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup whole milk
2½ teaspoons vanilla extract (or use almond or any other flavored extract)
Fresh whipped cream (recipe follows), for garnish

  1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan (a tube pan is preferred, but if you use a Bundt pan instead, you’ll need to make sure to leave 1 inch of space at the top of the pan, so you may end up with a small amount of leftover batter).
  2. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the sugar over the sliced strawberries. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve the cake.
  3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
  4. In a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the remaining 3 cups sugar, ½ cup at a time, and beat until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  5. Reduce the mixer speed to low and alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk, starting and finishing with the flour mixture. Add the vanilla and mix to incorporate.
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then turn the cake out onto the rack to cool completely. Serve each piece with a spoonful of the chilled strawberries and a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

FRESH WHIPPED CREAM

1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or
flavored liqueur
3 tablespoons sugar

  1. Place a medium metal bowl in the freezer to chill.
  2. When ready to prepare the whipped cream, place the cream and vanilla in the chilled bowl. With an electric mixer, whip the cream on medium speed, gradually adding the sugar. The cream will begin to thicken.
  3. Whip the cream until it begins to form stiff peaks. Be careful not to overwhip or the cream will separate.

Everything was absolutely delicious and we will definitely make all of it again!  We are trying to get back into some semblance of a routine and it feels so good to be putting Sunday Suppers on the table again.

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Recipes excerpted from the book GUMBO LOVE by Lucy Buffett. Copyright © 2017 by Lucy Buffett. Reprinted with permission of Grand Central Life & Style. All rights reserved. http://lucybuffett.com/

DIXIE DELIGHTS DELIVERED

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3 thoughts on “Sunday Supper {Gumbo Love by Lucy Buffett}

  1. That roasted okra sounds absolutely delicious! We love okra in all forms, so I know it would be a hit here. Thanks for sharing! xo

  2. When we go camping in Gulf Shores, we always go eat at her restaurant– and I always get a salad that is similar to that one!!

    ANd pound cake is 100% better with almond extract in it. ALWAYS.
    Same with white cake. :)

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