Y'all Sweet Tea comes in large pouches to make one full gallon of tea at a time. Made from a grandparent approved combination of an old family recipe, with a custom-blended black tea, their claim to fame is "One Glass 'n You'll Be Back!" They are correct!

Y'all Sweet Tea Review

As someone who has been blogging for a few years now, I occasionally get samples of cookbooks or products to review, and in turn, if I like it, and only if I like it, I share my review of said cookbook or product with y'all here on the Deep South Dish website.

This, actually, is not one of those times.

Spinach Smoothie Green Drink, Clean(er) Eating and the Year in Review

 

Clean(er) eating, the year in review and my favorite Spinach Smoothie Green Drink

Clean(er) Eating and the Year in Review

Don't worry... that "cleaner eating" thing doesn't mean we're changing our website and recipes, and I'll explain on down the post, but I do want to first say Happy New Year y'all!

I hope you got in your traditional Southern New Year foods by now - or whatever is customary where you live - and I truly wish you much health, wealth and happiness in 2016. Yes, this is my first post of the new year - mostly because, well... I've been spending time with my family, my grandkids, the animal kingdom, and my favorite 3-Rs... relaxing, resting and reading.

 

Frozen chunks of watermelon stand in for ice cubes in this refreshing lemon-lime frozen watermelon slush.

Frozen Watermelon Slush

Here we go, another southerner whining about the heat, but frankly y'all, it's been unbearable for me this summer and it doesn't seem to get any easier as the years go by.

Part of blogging on a full-time basis, means that you work from home, and I tell ya, it's gets mighty comfortable here in more ways than one, air conditioning certainly being one of them.

Low to No Calorie Diet Iced Tea

A low to no calorie recipe for a full gallon of presweetened, robust iced tea, using sugar substitute.

Low to No Calorie Diet Iced Tea (Milo's Copycat)

It used to be you ordered tea anywhere in The South, and iced sweet tea was what you both expected and got, without you having to say so.

There is no doubt that we are still very endeared to our sweet tea in The South, but these days you have to specify - sweet, unsweet, half and half sweet and unsweet, half and half, tea and lemonade, or, hot! I don't have a huge sweet tooth, and find most everybody else's sweet tea to be far too sweet for me, so when The Cajun and I eat out anywhere, I always order the half sweet and half unsweet and that suits me just fine.

Simple syrup sweetened iced tea - refreshing!

Pitcher Perfect Sweet Tea

Summers in the South mean high tea consumption and during this ever present heat wave these past few months, I've been going through ice as fast as kudzu growing on a hillside.

Sweet iced tea infused with a watermelon puree.

Watermelon Sweet Iced Tea

I was browsing through some old cookbooks recently and ran across iced tea made with watermelon more than a few times. I have to say that I was intrigued. I love my iced tea method, and I love flavored iced teas too, but admit the thought of a watermelon iced tea seemed, well... a little odd to me. I really wasn't sure if I would like it to be honest, but with watermelon season here, I was game. Not only did I find that I liked it, I ended up loving it.

Fresh Peach Sweet Iced Tea - Sweet southern iced tea enhanced with a puree of fresh peaches and freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Fresh Peach Sweet Iced Tea

It's gettin' to be southern peach time and we've got the early Georgia peaches already showing up in our markets down here in south Mississippi. The first batch I picked up were nice and ripe and supremely juicy, so I thought it'd be a good time to use some for peach tea.

Cherry limeade, made with lemon-lime soda, cherry syrup, a splash of maraschino cherry juice, and fresh squeezed lime juice, is a refreshing and delicious summer drink.

Cherry Limeade

After that nice little cool spell we had, it sure has warmed up here in a hurry on the Coast. And with all that rain, it's left behind a lot of humidity. Already. Perfect weather for one or three of these. The homemade sno-cone syrup I shared recently is what I use to make these, and while I am not even going to try and say that this is a copycat of the beloved Sonic cherry limeade, personally, I like mine better. You can, of course, use any commercial syrup and I've left a few suggestions in the recipe.

Crushed ice is the key!

Scoops of vanilla ice cream, topped with chocolate syrup and a coffee punch, made with Godiva chocolate truffle coffee blended with more ice cream and homemade whipped cream, makes for a decadent and refreshing coffee punch float.

Coffee Punch Float

Coffee punch is an old-fashioned, familiar and popular adult party punch in the south, that often shows up at wedding and baby showers, ladies teas, potlucks, cookouts, or really any other party or gathering. Ice cream is scooped into a punch bowl, topped with homemade whipped cream and covered in sweetened coffee. I recently had a chance to try out Godiva coffees {affil link} and thought that it would be a good time to transform this familiar southern punch into individual coffee floats, for a refreshing summer treat to serve anytime.

I received samples of both Godiva Chocolate Truffle and Godiva Hazelnut Creme. Both coffees are a medium roast, pre-ground blend, made from 100% Arabica coffee beans, and inspired by signature Godiva chocolates. The inspiration for these two featured coffees is Godiva's rich Milk Chocolate truffle and Open Oyster hazelnut praline truffles - both giving a wonderfully sweet and creamy finish. Godiva coffees are so incredibly fragrant that I gotta say, it was really difficult to settle on one to use for the punch float!

A refreshing summer drink of sour cherries and lemonade.

Sour Cherry Lemonade

It's kinda hard being a blogger of food this time of the year, and especially when it's primarily classic and favorite southern recipes you write about. People are cutting back on calories and passing over comfort foods, for swimsuits and vacation time. On top of that, it's just so darned hot down in this part of the world, that it's pretty hard to think about cooking, much less eating, especially if you've spent any of the day outside. On the rare occasion that we want to stand over the stove or turn on the oven in the summer, it has to be for something special, or to satisfy a particular craving.

This is the time of year that I like to try a variety of cold, fruity drinks. I was recently flipping through the July 2011 issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine, and saw a recipe for sour cherry lemonade. It sounded refreshing, and a little different, so I thought it'd be a great time to add another lemonade to the mix. Of course Martha's recipe was made with fresh cherries and fresh lemons, neither of which I had on hand. I did know however, that I had a couple cans of Oregon tart cherries in the pantry and a can of lemonade concentrate in the freezer, and so, I wasn't troubled in the least! Fresh cherries would have been nice, although much more work, and canned cherries by Oregon contain nothing but fruit and water and are a great substitute and a winner in my book anytime!

 

Southern Iced Tea made with the addition of pineapple, orange & lemon juices.

Southern Fruit Iced Tea

This is a spring and summer take on our fabulous Southern Iced Tea, made with the addition of pineapple juice, orange juice and lemon juice - and a touch of cherry juice, if you're so inclined.

Now if that doesn't scream spring, I don't know what does!

Okay, yeah. I know... as of this writing here in February, I'm a little early, and I know we are technically still in the winter season, yes, even down here, but this little taste of spring weather that we have experienced in the past couple of weeks has had me in the mood for ushering in springtime. It's a short-lived season down here anyway, but one of my favorite times of the year.

Grandma's Old Fashioned Boiled Custard Recipe and Eggnog Base

A heirloom recipe, Old Fashioned Boiled "Drinking" Custard, was once used regularly as a simple drink meant to sooth the sick. It's a rich and creamy beverage, just like Grandma used to make, delicious anytime and an excellent base for homemade eggnog.

Old Fashioned Drinking Custard

Looking for the best eggnog recipe? Well, look no further than old fashioned boiled custard, because that is the beginnings of a most excellent eggnog. I'm pretty sure that boiled custard, or "drinking" custard as it was once commonly referred to, is decidedly southern. Not only is it a traditional drink in The South for the holidays, but it was often used to comfort those in the sick bed. I do know one thing for sure, we southerners absolutely do love our custards, and we love them in many forms.

A cup of hot chocolate, spiked with Kahlua if you like, and spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne.

Spiked and Spiced Hot Chocolate

This Spiked and Spiced Hot Chocolate came about thanks to the frigid cold weather that moved into most of the eastern part of this country last weekend, including the deepest of The Deep South, and my apparent need to warm up from the inside out. It was bone-chilling cold for this southern gal, and although I was wearing two pairs of sweats, two long sleeved shirts, socks and slippers, and had the central heat going, none of it seemed to help at all. It was definitely a hot chocolate kind of night, and we have another couple of those heading in tonight for the weekend. Just in time for that last minute Christmas shopping, brrrr!

I love hot chocolate and when I want it, I usually break out a saucepan and make the good ole familiar and well loved, old fashioned Hershey's cocoa recipe that many of us have been making all of our lives. This time, there on the counter sat these inviting packages of semi-sweet chocolate chips waiting for holiday treats, and just begging for a feature spot in a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

I also had those nice roasted McCormick spices in the cabinet from our BlogHer Food swag, so I thought why not spice things up a bit too? And of course, why not a little pinch of cayenne pepper to help boost up the good ole circulation while we are at it?  What resulted was a delicious blend of spicy flavor, all of which complimented the chocolaty goodness. I probably used somewhere in the middle of 1/8 and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne and it was a very nice, healthy lip tinglier.  Feeling adventurous? Go ahead and stir in a bit of Kahlua or bourbon.  Give it a try!

Weekend Cocktails: Hot Buttered Rum

Hot Buttered Rum

Hot Buttered Rum

Hot buttered rum. A warm drink made from butter, brown sugar and a few typical spices - cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice - oh yeah. And rum.

It's a delicious, heartwarming winter drink that is just perfect for the adults over the holidays. Though it is traditionally made with plain water, I thought why not make it with apple cider?

Careful. These go down real smooth, especially on a cold night, but they are rich and with a punch. Enjoy, but drink responsibly!

Fabulous southern sweet tea infused with strawberry!

Southern Strawberry Sweet Iced Tea

This Southern Strawberry Sweet Iced Tea is a quick and delicious variation of my southern sweet iced tea that is a nice refreshing change from the usual. You can certainly use your own usual tea recipe, or even make adjustments to mine in the strength of the tea, the sweetness, the tartness of the lemon and the level of strawberries to suit your own taste.  Make it your own, but I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do.

A classic made from jello, juices, ginger ale or lemon-lime soda, and sherbet, this party punch shows up at just about every event imaginable in the south. Photo Credit: Taste of Home.

Party Punch

Though this is not a southern punch as far as I know, almost every baby shower, wedding shower, wedding reception, reunion, pot luck, church social, "fill-in-the-blank-home-party," or other social event that I attended most of my life, has had a party punch in some variation of this one. Sometimes it's called Bride's Punch, Reception Punch, Wedding Punch, Creamy Punch, Holiday Punch or Sherbet Punch.

 

  A half and half mixture of half scalded milk and half of a Louisiana chicory blend coffee.

New Orleans Style Café au Lait

Really, this is another one of those non-recipe recipes, but I'm posting my beignet recipe and I have to explain the process of New Orleans style café au lait to go along with that or what kind of southerner would I be?!

Mary’s Mint Infused Southern Sweet Iced Tea

Southern sweet iced tea, infused with fresh mint.

Mint Infused Southern Sweet Iced Tea

I cannot believe that the unofficial end of summer, has arrived! Is it just me, or did it seem that the summer pretty much flew by this year?

This year was the first year that I grew mint in my garden and I have to say that I have really enjoyed it.

Now, yes, I did heed the warnings about growing it in a container so that it would not grow wild and take over the garden, though I did also think what a fragrant ground cover that would be!

 

Super easy to make, using fresh or frozen strawberries and frozen lemonade concentrate, it's sure to become a spring and summer favorite!

Speedy Strawberry Lemonade

I've gotten a few inquiries about my recipe for the strawberry lemonade I mentioned the other day. Well, there's not a thing to it, because for this I use frozen concentrate. Lemons are a bit pricey unless you are lucky enough to have a mature tree, or you can catch them reduced. Since I have just one baby Meyer lemon tree that is barely 2 seasons old and produced exactly one lemon this year, I only tend to make fresh lemonade for special events and holidays.

Many times I use good ole concentrate just like everybody else, and this is one of them, so we'll call this a "speedy" version. Of course you can certainly make a fresh lemonade concentrate (minus the water) with simple syrup and simply add the pureed strawberries to that if you prefer to go from scratch.

Old Fashioned Hand-Squeezed Fresh Lemonade

Old fashioned homemade lemonade made with freshly squeezed lemons and simple syrup.

Old Fashioned Hand-Squeezed Lemonade

I admit, there are some pretty good frozen lemonade concentrates out there, but a holiday like Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day, just calls for something special and that means fresh, homemade lemonade to me. This one begins with a simple syrup, which really helps to provide that perfect balance between tart and sweet. Be careful not to over-boil the syrup though ... you don't want to make candy!