More Southern Delights

A couple of weeks ago, while watching Good Morning America, I saw Martha Hall Foose prepare a few dishes. Martha Hall Foose is the head chef for Viking stoves and specializes in Southern cooking. Two of the on air personalities are from the South and were terribly excited to see a particular dish on the table. It made George a bit curious..."What's the deal with the carrots?"

Robin told him it was a "Southern thing" and MHF explained it was old fashioned Copper Pennies.

This reminded me of how much I adored this dish and how long it had been since I tasted it. So here is my version:

Copper Pennies

2 lbs carrots peeled and sliced a uniform width
1 red onion, sliced thin
1 green bell pepper, julienned
1 can condensed tomato soup
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp Worcester Sauce

Mix soup, oil, vinegar, sugar, and Worcester Sauce in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly to blend. Remove from heat for 10-15 minutes.



Place carrots in a 4 qt pan of boiling water and cook until al dente, approximately 10 minutes. Drain.



Place in bowl with onion and bell pepper. Cover with marinade and refrigerate overnite.



Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day for me, and I needed something to take to movie nite with my friends. Of course, it's not like there will be any shortage of food...but I like to cook for my friends. I plan on taking the Copper Pennies and a pound cake, but I wanted to make some pimento cheese.

First, I made my mayonnaise. Then I grated cheese and onions, and mixed everything together and let the flavors meld overnite.

Savory Pimento Cheese

1 lb mild cheddar
4 oz chopped pimentos, drained
1 tsp grated onion
2 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese
Celery salt to taste
Mayo to bind



Mix together.



Taste. Season as needed. Refrigerate



For the record, the mayo has cayenne pepper to add a little interest to the pimento cheese.

Great on sandwiches, crackers, or celery.