Spicy Baked Jumbo Shrimp

Spicy Baked Jumbo Shrimp - shrimp marinated in a spicy hot sauce and baked.

Spicy Baked Shrimp

This recipe was intended to be somewhat of a take on classic New Orleans BBQ shrimp, but with a barbecue flavor infusion instead, which is exactly what New Orleans style BBQ shrimp is not.

I know. Confusing isn't it? You can read more about the New Orleans style version on this post, which explains it a bit more.

CHA! by Texas Pete® Sriracha Sauce

Hot pepper sauce is no secret to the Deep South and many Southerners are well familiar with the North Carolina based Texas Pete® family of wing and hot sauce products. While Sriracha hot chile sauce may be a bit more elusive here in the Deep South, though some of us certainly are familiar with it and do use it, it is certainly highly popular all over the world, including here in the United States.

Texas style chili, made with a roast, loads of sweet and hot peppers, stewed and Rotel tomatoes and beef stock and beer if you like, heavy on cumin and chili powder and thickened with a slurry of masa harina.

Texas Style Chili

I think the major differences in Texas style chili over what most of us know as chili, is that it is most often made from chopped beef off of a whole roast, like a braising roast, or even venison, rather than ground beef, or heaven forbid, chicken. There are more chilies, whether they are reconstituted dried, powdered or chopped fresh, and it's heavier in cumin and chili powder for heat and never, ever beans cooked in.

Books of Southern Poetry by Patricia Neely-Dorsey

Update! Congratulations to Patsy who said...

"I'm from Mississippi too. I live in Laurel. I would love the book of poems of Mississippi." ~Patsy H.

Patsy left me her email so she's already been contacted. Thanks so much everybody for participating!

Except for the distinct connection between poetry, romance and food, this post today isn't directly related to food, but with Valentine's Day approaching us, I wanted to share these books of poetry by one of our Mississippi treasures, Patricia Neely-Dorsey. You may recognize Patricia by her widely popular poem entitled "Southern Life" that has often been shared around the net.

Enchilada Casserole, layered with crushed tortilla chips, cheddar cheese, and a sauce of ground beef, onion and garlic, cream soups, green chilies and enchilada sauce.

Ground Beef Tortilla Enchilada Casserole

I would imagine there must be a thousand different ways to make this Tex-Mex style casserole that uses tortilla chips instead of corn or flour tortillas, and I've tried quite a few of the variations myself. This recipe was shared by one of our readers Cindy, who gave me permission to share it on our recipe sharing Facebook page. Cindy's version of this popular casserole was the best tasting of all that I have tried.