The Coop ~ Winter Park, Florida

I finally got the chance to eat at The Coop, another restaurant owned by the creator of 4 Rivers Smokehouse, which, though I’ve never (yet) blogged about it, is another must try that I eat at every time I’m in Orlando with 8 locations across the state of Florida now.  Oh and get this … none of his restaurants are ever open on Sundays!!!  All are owned and operated by good Christian people!

The Coop specializes in Southern comfort foods and oh my it is a must try!

It’s decor is casual, funky farmhouse style … if that makes sense.  And the concept is pretty similar to the 4 Rivers Smokehouse restaurants ... you go through the line, cafeteria style, pick up your tray of food and find a place to sit.  The tables here are all different, home style tables, with mis-matched home dining chairs … some seat 4, others seat a dozen … its a sit where you can sort of atmosphere.  And like, the 4 Rivers Smokehouse restaurants, drinks are “fix your own” with free refills and of course, “To Go” boxes, containers and bags are readily available for you to pack your own leftovers To Go!

Mix and Match seating

I had their Meatloaf Southern Plate which comes with either 2 (Plenty) or 3 (Generous) sides.  I opted for the Generous Plate since I was good and hungry and dangit, I just couldn’t narrow it down to choosing just 2 sides LOL   You can check out their entire menu here: The Coop Menu

So along with my huge slab of Meatloaf I had their Smashed Potatoes with Gravy … mmmm mmmmm mmmm, Southern Collard Greens (seasoned to perfection), Fried Okra (which is lightly breaded) and Bread Pudding … and it wasn’t just your regular delicious Bread Pudding … oh no … this was their own version, Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding, so I saved that for dessert (well, honestly, I took it home for dessert later lol).  And the Cornbread ... like a piece of corn cake ... divine!

Now, doesn't that just look heavenly?

Had to add a close up of that delicious Meatloaf with Smashed Potatoes and Gravy ... mmmm, mmm

My son had the Giant Fried Chicken Tenders (upper right) and being a self proclaimed
Fried Chicken connoisseur, he LOVED them! 

Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding ... oh my ... makes my mouth water bloggin about it!

This place does Southern comfort food justice and is definitely a new place to eat for me when I’m down in Orlando … calories don’t count when you’re away from home, right? 

I love love love this place!  John Rivers knows what he’s doing!  You’ve just got to give it a try!!!

Oven Roasted Okra

Ain't nothing quite as Southern as Okra but growing up as a Southern girl eating plenty of good ol' Southern cookin' and even spending many summers on my Granddaddy's farm ... I refused to try Okra ... no matter how it was cooked: Fried, Stewed with Tomatoes, Tossed into a Gumbo or Brunswick Stew and most definitely NEVER boiled ... eeeew that slimy looking mess ... no way it was going near my mouth.  AND then after once trying to help pick fresh Okra outta the field and having to wear gloves to do it cause the plants have these sticky things that sting and cut your fingers ... I swore I would never eat this stuff ... "if you have to wear gloves to pick it, it's not supposed to be eaten" I said.  LOL

But flash forward to my 30's ... yep it wasn't until I was in my 30's that I let Okra near my mouth.  How that came about was at the time I was working for THE BEST BOSS EVER and he would bring me a plate at lunch (he had a cook that prepared lunch for him) and when it would have Fried Okra on it, I'd turn my nose up at it, wouldn't touch it.  A Co-Worker said "Girl I'll eat it if you won't" and then proceeded to convince me to at least give it a try "it tastes sorta like popcorn, only better".  Well me loving popcorn ... that was the magic word ... I tried it and my love affair with Fried Okra began.  Thanks Kel!!  From then on I loved Okra anyway I had it except boiled LOL  AND to this day, anytime I'm in a restaurant that serves Fried Okra, I have got to try theirs ... course not everybody knows how to cook it, I've learned.  

Okay now about this recipe ...ya'll it is the BEST way I have ever had Okra believeyoume ...definitely a way better tasting (and healthwise) way to eat it instead of fried.  Ya'll have got to give this recipe a try!  AND best yet ... its easy easy easy!!!

Oven Roasted Okra

(2-3 Servings)

1 lb Fresh Okra (you could probably use frozen too)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil*

Sea Salt

Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Wash the Okra and dry good with a paper towel.  Now, I sliced some of mine and left some of the baby sized ones intact so it doesn't really matter if you slice it or leave it whole.

Place Okra in a bowl and toss with enough EVOO to cover it good (just til it glistens) ... don't over do it cause you don't want it to turn out mushy ... and Sea Salt and Black Pepper, to taste.  I actually did taste mine raw to make sure I had enough Sea Salt on it ... and dang if it wasn't good raw too!

*The recipe I sorta followed called for a Tablespoon, I do not think I used that much but I really wasn't measuring ... just do not over do it ... you do not want it sitting in oil!!!

Spread Okra onto a baking sheet (even a baking stone would work ...probably make it turn out crispier) in a single layer and cook for 15 minutes BUT every 5 mins take it out shake the Okra around and put it back in.  Now your oven make take a bit longer ... you know how ovens can vary!

Ya'll this is so good I could eat it for a snack!  And a healthy snack it would make too!!!!

I'll say it again ... better than fried ...  ya'll will thank me for sharing this recipe, I promise you that!!!

Southern Braised Cabbage

Braised Cabbage is probably my most favorite way of cooking cabbage and I swear by cooking it in an iron skillet.

Southern Braised Cabbage

Cabbage, small head

2-3 Tblsps Butter

2 Tblsps Extra Virgin Olive Oil

½ tsp Sugar

Sea Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper to taste

Wash and cut up Cabbage, cutting out the core, of course.  Heat Butter and EVOO in a cast iron skillet on medium heat.  Add inside leaves first because they take longer to cook.  Add Sugar, Salt and Pepper.  Add greener (outside) leaves after the first leaves have cooked about 5 minutes.  Continue to cook at medium heat, tossing leaves to make sure the uncooked ones are always at bottom of skillet.  Cook for about 10 minutes or to desired tenderness ~ I like mine a tad crunchy.

Adjust Butter, EVOO, Sugar, Salt and Pepper accordingly for a larger head of Cabbage.  That’s it!  So gooooood!

Banana Puddin'

Yep there’s lots of Banana Puddin’ recipes out there but here’s one more that is definitely worth a try … plus it’s an easy one and I wouldn’t be adding it to my blog if it wasn’t delicious.  I shared some once with a neighbor and her children and they loved it … it is pretty darn good if I must say so myself.  It’s not my recipe though … I got this one from one of my nieces though her recipe calls for Pepperidge Farm Chessman cookies which are good but I prefer Nilla Wafers. 

Banana Puddin’

6-8 Bananas, sliced

1 box Instant Vanilla Pudding

Milk (to make pudding as directed on box)

8 oz Cream Cheese, softened

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 sm Cool Whip*

1 box Nilla Wafers

Layer bottom of pan with Nilla Wafers and cover wafers with lots of banana slices.  Prepare pudding as directed on box.  Blend pudding, cream cheese and condensed milk.  Fold in Cool Whip.

Begin layering pudding mixture with bananas … when you reach the last layer add more Nilla Wafers on top.

*Note to self: Cool Whip contains hydrogenated oil … next time take the time to make your own whipped cream … its easy and even more tasty.

Corn Casserole

Here's a great recipe I found on Pinterest.  It's a Paula Deen recipe so you know its good and Southern.  I made it for Thanksgiving and it was a hit ... no leftovers!  I should have made doubles!  LOL

Corn Casserole

1 can Whole Kernel Corn, drained

1 can Cream-Style Corn

1 pkg Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix

1 cup Sour Cream

½ cup Butter, melted

1-1/2 cups Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease a 9 X 9 baking pan.

Mix together Corn, Jiffy Mix, Sour Cream and Butter in a large bowl.  Stir in the Cheese.  Pour into prepared pan.  Bake for 55 minutes or until golden brown and set. 

Source: Paula Deen

Southern Style Green Beans

Southern Style Green Beans

I don’t really have a 'recipe' for my Green Beans but I know every time I make them they are goobled all up and I end up saying I should have made twice as much.  This year my brother in law requested them for Thanksgiving AND again they were goobled up in the first go round … no second servings left!!!  I just barely had time to get a picture snapped as you can see the pan is bout empty!  I should have made twice as much lol

Here’s what I do ~ I take Bacon and brown it a little bit in a pan (I think I used about 4 strips for this pan of Green Beans), not like you’re going to eat it but just enough to get the fat rendered from it.  Then I add the fresh Green Beans and, if necessary, a tad of water … just enough to cover bottom of the pan.  Add a about a tablespoon of Ham Seasoning, a little Sea Salt and a pinch or two of Sugar (that’s a trick I learned from my Nanny and my Mama … I do this with all fresh veggies).  My real secret though is something another family member taught me … add a teaspoon or two (I don’t really measure) of Apple Cider Vinegar.  Cook on low heat for a couple hours, stirring occasionally to make sure there is still water in the pan.  Sometimes I serve them still a bit crunchy (some like it this way) but most times I cook them down like real Southerners do (see my picture).

Delicious!

Fresh Apple Pound Cake

This was originally my Nanny’s recipe passed down to my Mama.  It’s probably not written like your used to but this is the way my family wrote down recipes … a lot of it assumes you know what you’re doing … believe me, there was a time I’d have to ask questions about this hand written recipe too.

 So here it is as I would have written it down for all of you:

Fresh Apple Pound Cake

1-1/2 cups Cooking Oil (I use Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

2 cups of Sugar

3 Eggs

3 cups Sifted Flour

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Soda

2 tsp Vanilla Flavoring

3 lrg Apples (Peeled, Cored and Cubed)

1 cup Pecans, chopped

Glaze:

1 stick Butter

½ cup Light Brown Sugar, packed

2 Tblsps Milk

Preheat oven to 325°.  Combine and beat Oil, Sugar and Eggs on medium speed for 3 minutes.  Add Flour, Salt, Soda and Vanilla and beat until blended.  Fold in Apples and Pecans. 

Pour into a greased and floured Tube Pan and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean.

After cake has cooled, heat the Butter, Light Brown Sugar and Milk and bring to a boil for 2 minutes.  Pour over completely cooled cake.  The glaze will be thin but will soak into the cake.

Fresh Apple Pound Cake before placing in oven

Look what happened as I went to place my cake in the oven ...
I was wearing a long necklace (not a good thing when cookin)
and off popped the 'keys' and into the back of the oven they flew
LOL ... I had to use plastic coated tongs to remove them!

Fresh Apple Pound Cake before adding Glaze.

I made this cake for the first time over the weekend and it was just as delicious as I remembered it.  Perfect for this time of year ... being apple season and fall and all … hope ya'll enjoy it too!

Good old Southern Pepper Sauce

Good old Southern Pepper Sauce … we put that ____ on everything.  LOL  Pepper Sauce is not to be confused with Hot Sauce … Pepper Sauce is a vinegar based sauce with a dirty water sorta look whereas Hot Sauce, which is also vinegar based, is made using red peppers and paprika, hence the red tomatoey color.  There is a difference in flavor between the two.

No Southern table is complete without a bottle/jar of Pepper Sauce and we literally put it on everything … well at least some of us do … collard greens, turnip greens, kale, mustard greens, black eyed peas, field peas, white acre peas, purple hulls and zipper peas and whatever else you feel like splashing it on.

Now normally I make mine with Thai Chile Peppers but this year I couldn’t find any plants for that particular pepper so I grew Cayenne … I’m sure it will be just as good, just not quite the kick of the Thai Chile Peppers.  Depending on the type hot/spicy pepper you use … the flavor can be different … from mild to blow your head off HOT!

I reuse my bottles … GLASS bottles … let me rephrase that … Clear Glass Bottles (cause you want to see what’s inside plus the peppers look pretty through the clear glass) … from things such as malt vinegar or red wine vinegar since they have the little sprinkling cap on the top, otherwise, the sauce would just come pouring out.  You don’t want to use plastic bottles … for many reasons.  Now I’ve seen some that use mason jars and that’s fine too but you might need a spoon to dip it out cause pouring from a mason jar just wouldn’t be pretty.

This year my pepper plants didn’t produce quite as many peppers as usual.  I really didn’t have enough to completely fill (tightly pack) my bottles.  This is fine but the sauce won’t be near as potent.  You really need to pack ‘em in as tightly as possible.  I really prefer the Thai Chile Peppers for several reasons (1) they are much more potent than the cayenne that I grew this year (2) they are much smaller … growing to about 2-3 inches and (3) they are multi colored … red, green and yellow.

Another helpful hint, if your sauce begins to run low from harvesting season to harvesting season … just pour in a little more vinegar mixture to get you through the year!

It’s easy to make your own and besides that you know where the peppers came from.  Mine are totally organic … I do not use pesticides in my gardening ~ I use companion plants when necessary.  I had some today (after it sat for a few days) on my kale and man was it good!

Pepper Sauce

1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tsp Kosher Salt

1 tsp Sugar

Thai Chile Peppers

Tightly pack your glass bottle with chile peppers which have been stemmed to within one inch from top.  Bring vinegar, salt and sugar to a boil over medium heat, stirring until salt and sugar are dissolved (about 3 minutes).  Remove from heat and let stand for about 5 minutes.  Pour hot mixture over peppers in jar.  Whalaa … you’ve got yourself some homemade Pepper Sauce … its just that easy!  Hint: You might want to wear rubber gloves when working with hot peppers.

One Recipe = one bottle (if peppers are packed in as tightly as possible)