Evelyn's Blog - Taste of Gourmet

Our Black Butter Green Beans...

We've had so many people ask about our Green Beans.....I think it is time to actually write down the recipe for the butter we use on the beans.  Any time I am asked at The Crown...I always take time to explain the process!  But writing it is even better!  So here it is!  Oh, we use canned Blue Lake Green Beans at The Crown.

The Black Butter

1 stick of real butter - NO substitute
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 to 4 tablespoons sesame seeds (can use pecans or almonds too)

Put the butter in a heavy pan/skillet (stainless steel so you can watch the butter brown)

Melt the butter and continue to cook it over medium heat and watch it turn brown, browner, then nearly black.

When it is as dark as you want it.....put in the sesame seeds and stir for a minute or two...do NOT let the seeds burn.  Turn the stove off and immediately

THEN step back from the stove and add the vinegar at arms length....it will foam and splatter on you if you are too close.  BE SURE to take care with the splattering!

The butter is finished at that point....let it cool and keep refrigerated until you need it! 
When you are ready to serve the beans (or broccoli or poached catfish fillet or chicken breast or asparagus) warm the butter so you can stir it well.

Drain the hot beans (so the butter isn't watered down) and toss them in 1 tablespoon of the butter (for 4 servings of beans.)   The butter will keep indefinitely in the refrigerator to be used on a variety of meats and vegetables.

That's it!!!  We got this recipe from a lady running a Hotel in Dinard, France....years ago when we were still living in England.  She served the Black Butter on Skate...a flat fish that is TRULY ugly.  People talk about Catfish being ugly...they just haven't see a Skate!  She kindly shared the process with me......she called it Beurre Noir - Black Butter.  You'll find some recipes in French cookbooks for Brown Butter...usually served with almonds on fish.  The deep flavor from the deeper color of the butter just gives a great flavor! 

TRY IT ON A CATFISH FILET that you've poached or lightly baked.  For a fish fillet, drain the poached fish, place into an augratin dish and spoon the butter over the fish....it doesn't take a lot to give flavor....then just bake until fish is heated through!   Yummy!  Or just come to Indianola, Mississippi, visit the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center and enjoy the beans when you have lunch at The Crown!  Even better1

Roast some vegetables for supper....

Roasted fresh vegetables are one of the healthiest, most delicious ways to enjoy fresh vegetables.  Quick to cook....all the vitamins and goodness stays IN the vegetable....and the flavor of the carrot or potato is enhanced.  Try roasting vegetables with our Chimmi Sauce to add great garlic flavor too!

Roast one vegetable at a time....or mix them like I do at home!  My favorite combo is:
Fresh carrots - cut in 1/2 inch slices or strips
Sweet and Red Potatoes cut in slices or dice
Onions - in quarters
Zucchini or yellow squash in large chunks
Bell Peppers in quarters

Turn your oven to 400 degrees. Cut the vegetables and place in a shallow baking pan, drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil mixed with a tablespoon of Chimmi over the vegetables, toss them around to "coat".....it only takes a little oil for a lot of vegetables.  Put the pan in the hot oven.  After 10 minutes, stir the vegetables and check for doneness.  20 minutes is usually just right! 

New Orleans Beef is a WINNER....

This message was on the Comments section of our website!  I loved the praise for The Crown and our products AND that young grandchildren ALSO loved our products!  What I particularly loved was the reference to the "old pot roast with cream of mushroom soup!"  My mother made that exact same roast EVERY Sunday for years!  It was always ready when we got home from church and it was good!  She could put it on before Sunday School and forget about it! 

Tony ate Sunday lunch with us when he was in college for about a year and a half....he did request that we should NOT have that particular meal really often after we got married!  And we didn't!  But I may have to make it the Sunday after Easter..... just for old times sake!  Thanks for a great Comment and your very kind words!!

"My husband and I drove down recently to have lunch and buy Catfish and Capers. Did both..great lunch...also bought New Orleans Beef and Vidalia Onion Dressing among other things. My family loved both items. My 11 year old grandson ate three helpings of the beef for dinner Sunday. My son told me I should give up the old pot roast with cream of mushroom soup and just make this. From one mother/grandmother to another..thank-you for all of your wonderful products."

Love the kids from Tupelo....

Friday, a group of Tupelo Middle School 8th graders came to Indianola to the B.B. King Museum and ate lunch with us at The Crown!  What a wonderful group of young people!  Polite, interested, talkative....just a great bunch of kids!  It was a pleasure to have them in town and in The Crown.!

They have been studying Mississippi History and many had never been to the Delta....our flat landscape was a surprise!  They started at the Museum - it tells the entire story of the Delta from the 1927 Mississippi River Flood, the agriculture and cotton, how people lived, Civil Rights and of course the Music!!  They really liked the Bus.....it is a "bus" with a dozen or so seats with a screen in the front "windshield"  telling the story of what it was really like on the road traveling from town to town making music as B.B. was making a name for himself.  They also liked the "radio studio".....if YOU have not made the trip to Indianola to the Museum....you just have to come see it all for yourself!  www.bbkingmuseum.org
And of course we want you to come for lunch at The Crown....or just stop by to drink a cup of coffee with us!

The Crown's Salad....

The Secret of The Crown's Salad? Crispy Crumbles and Vidalia Onion Salad Dressing! Simple as that! And you can order both "ingredients" right here on the website! Crumbles are $4.95 and the Vidalia is $8.95....The sweetness of the Dressing melds delciously with the spicy, garlicy Crumbles...YUM!

How long will the Crumbles last?  April S. answered that question by freezing the Crumbles and spooning out what she needed to top her salads!   At The Crown we use Romaine lettuce, chopped cantaloupe and apples! We dress the salad with a little Vidalia and sprinkle Crumbles over the top! That's easy isn't it?

We have a 20% Sale on all our Taste of Gourmet foods...now through March 31st. Enter the Discount Code SpringSale for your 20% Discount (no spaces in the words) Don't forget a $40.00 order lets you choose ONE Half-price Customer Special! Order now and enjoy every bite of our good foods! www.tasteofgourmet.com  No excuse for not have good, southern, Mississippi made food wherever you live!  And be sure to come to Lunch at The Crown when you are in the Delta!

 

Spring Break in the Mississippi Delta....

So many people are headed this way next week during their Spring Break to tour the B.B. King Museum (and to have Lunch at The Crown! )   Some are coming from colleges around the country to Pay it Forward by doing work at Habitat and at E.E. Bass Center in Greenville and other sites around the Delta.  Others are just going to be wandering the backroads, eating Hot Tamales and BarBQue, our Bayou Beer Bread and CATFISH!

Put Indianola's B.B. King Museum on your To Do List......PLUS
Sky Lake Cypress Preserve between Belzoni and Itta Bena just off Hwy 8
Wister Gardens in Belzoni (also on Hwy 8)
A walk along Indian Bayou here in Indianola - from Gilmer Park on W. Percy St to Fletcher Park on E. Main.
Cottonlandia Museum in Greenwood (now The Museum of the Mississippi Delta) on Hwy. 82 - great exhibits of Native American artifacts and farming in the Delta.
The Viking Store and Alluvian Hotel in Greenwood.
Music at The Blue Biscuit on Friday and Saturday nights across from the B.B. King Museum.
Billy Johnson's Hwy 61 Blues Museum in downtown Leland AND 
Lunch at The Crown .....we'd love to see you Tuesday - Saturday with lunch from 11:00 to 2:30!

The Delta is FILLED with great entertainment!

If you are Delta Bound or are lucky enought to live here.....there is ALWAYS some music or theatre or a blues player at a local club to enjoy!   FOR EXAMPLE:
Last night we were at a FREE concert hosted by Delta State University with Mose Allison at the piano!  The Bologna Performing Arts Center was full - enjoying his music and the great jazz group that opened for him!  Wonderful!

Tonight we are going to the Greenwood Little Theatre for a production on "Delta Swim Club".....
(March 1st...our Indianola Mid-Delta Arts Theatre will be presenting "South Pacific" with some great musical talent from around the Delta)  Call The Crown for tickets - 1662-887-4522 and Jen will take care of you!)

This Saturday night....there are TWO wonderful concerts....Eden Brent, Jessica and Bronwyn Brent are doing a concert at the E.E.Bass Auditorium in Greenville....These girls are incredible and they will be singing some of their mother's music too!  It's a fundraiser for the Greenville Arts Council....can't wait for that!

AND ALSO on Saturday night, the B.B. King Museum in Indianola is presenting a FREE concert/storytelling presentation of Mahalia Jackson....this great story teller "did" Ma Rainey a few months ago and it was wonderful!  Diane Williams has a great voice and great musicians to back her up!  We want to see that too!
We are so torn between the two events....don't ever say there is nothing to do in this little part of the world!

Sky Lake Cypress Preserve.....

Have you walked on the boardwalk out into Sky Lake yet? If the answer is no....then put this little excursion down as a MUST DO! Tony and I went for the third time on Sunday and enjoyed it even more than before! Sky Lake is filled with centuries old Cypress trees....some are 1000 years old and one could be 2000! The boardwalk is raised 12 feet and stretches for about 1/3 mile into the lake bed. This Fall when it was opened, the lake was dry as a bone (we had one of the driest summers ever.) But on Sunday the water was a few inches deep, the trees were reflecting in the water and the place was magical! Spanish Moss was hanging from some of the trees, the story boards are in place now to "talk" about the trees, the wild life and the "history" of Sky Lake. No we didn't see any alligators but old timers say they have seen them! Sky Lake is just off Hwy 7 (between Itta Bena and Belzoni) - about 1/2 mile south of the junction with 4 Mile Lake Road. Go to www.skylakemississippi.org for more info. The Preserve is a beautiful addition to the natural beauty of the Mississippi Delta. When Tony and I left on Sunday afternoon, we were treated to one of the most gorgeous sunsets....deep reds and oranges on the skyline with bare trees shadowing the sunset. Incredible! One of our new artists has a picture in The Crown now that IS that sunset. See some of her work at www.facebook.com/sarah.beaugez. You'll find lots tourism information at The Crown in Indianola too...just give me a chance and I'll give you all of MY favorite places and food! I love nothing better than sharing "off the beaten path" places in the Delta! But ONLY after you've gone to Indianola's B.B. King Museum first!

Ideas for Mama's Meatloaf....

One of the big "winners" of the Favorite Product survey already...is Mama's Meatloaf.  And several customers shared HOW they prepared their Meatloaf.  (Send me your favorite product at evelyn@tasteofgourmet.com.)

Wendy wrote, "At my house, we must have Mama's Meatloaf at least once per week...per my son.  It also must be made with ground turkey.  No complaints from this Mama."   Ground Turkey is a healthy, nutritious and delicious product that you can use with many of our soups and main dishes!  
Take a hint from Wendy's son....eat well and eat healthy! 

Deborah wrote, "Made Mama's Meatloaf last night for supper....it was delicious.  I used 1/2 pound of chorizo sausage with 1 3/4 pounds of ground round.  I used catsup for my "moisture."  I was very happy with the results, and so was my husband.  I have NEVER been unhappy with anything I have gotten from you."  

Cindy simply wrote, "My favorite is Mama's Meatloaf, Handsdown!"  I don't know Cindy's "way of preparation" but loved her enthusiasm! 

Seeing the "favorites" and reading the comments has been so much fun the last few days!  If you still haven't sent YOUR favorite to me...please do!  

Indianola's "remarkable downtown".......

A lovely couple from North Mississippi had lunch with us Tuesday at The Crown!  They had just come from the B.B. King Museum and were in awe of the Museum's quality and story!  They said, "We are really museum lovers and the B.B. King Museum is one of the best we've ever seen."  And we really loved hearing that because we think so too!

But that wasn't all.....their next statement was..."Your town is just beautiful.  HOW did Indianola manage to keep the downtown alive?"   I was very proud to say that thankfully...our downtown never died!  Some of our loyal, local businessmen, years ago, raised private money to add great lighting, planters and plantings on the Bayou, paint some of the buildings that needed it, refurbish an old church for a Little Theatre and more! And most importantly Indianola's residents continue to support our local merchants and restaurants...on the highway AND downtown!  Indianola works together!

I couldn't be prouder of our little town of Indianola, right in the very center of the Delta.  The Museum attracts visitors from all over the world and our "job" is to make sure that everyone who drives down Indian Bayou enjoys their visit to Indianola, the Museum and the entire Mississippi Delta!  The daffodills are starting to bloom....ya'll come see us in Indianola and order some Catfish Allison at The Crown!