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!

Jumbo shrimp, marinated in a spicy Buffalo sauce then grilled and served on a bed of Cajun Rice Pilaf.

Buffalo Grilled Shrimp

Most people think of Frank's RedHot with wings, or maybe chicken, but I thought that I'd give it a run on some grilled shrimp for a change of pace.

The next time that The Cajun headed out to shrimp with Dad, I put out my request for some proper grilling jumbos. To grill shrimp, you really need colossal or jumbo sized. Anything smaller will overcook too quickly on the grill unless you are quick on the draw and stand over them.

Right off the boat, caught in our Gulf in the mornin', cooked that same day - now that's as fresh as it gets y'all!

A garden fresh casserole featuring sweet summer corn and tomatoes, onion, sweet bell pepper and garden fresh herbs.

Fresh Corn Casserole

I don't watch QVC as much as I'd like to, well except during Christmas time, not because I don't love it, but because I do. I would be flat broke is all! At any rate, Terresa Ray was recently filling in as on-air host for two of my favorite Mississippi "Cookbook Ladies" Gwen McKee and Barbara Moseley of the Best of the Best cookbook series fame and the company that published my own cookbook!

She was on the 'In the Kitchen with David' segment to do a pre-sell on their upcoming and QVC exclusive August release, Recipe Hall of Fame Fresh from the Farmers Market cookbook. They sold out thousands of cookbooks on that show very quickly.

 

Salsa made with fresh off the cob corn and summer garden tomatoes, black beans, lime and cilantro. Just add some chips.

Fresh Corn and Black Bean Salsa

One of my favorite snacks is tortilla chips and salsa, and one of my favorite salsas is the corn and black bean variety.  I sort of fiddled around a bit with the basics of my restaurant style salsa and came up with this homemade version, both making and plowing through it several times already, all on my little own.

Thinly sliced or pounded pieces of boneless chicken breast are grilled, then topped with barbecue sauce, bacon and shredded cheeses, and finished with a garnish of fresh chopped tomatoes and sliced green onion.

Grilled Cheesy Barbecue Chicken

This is a such a quick, easy and super tasty meal that's really perfect for any weeknight. Known across the net as a copycat of Chili's Monterey Chicken, it's really nothing more than a simple boneless, skinless chicken breast that is brushed with barbecue sauce, topped with bacon, a little shredded cheese and finished with a garnish of fresh chopped tomato and sliced green onion. Cheesy, smothered and covered y'all. Not a thing wrong with that!

A great summer side or light meal, garden fresh tomatoes are sliced, dredged first in flour, then dipped in an egg wash, rolled in bread crumbs, topped with shredded cheese and passed under the broiler.

Broiled Tomatoes

When we think of a tomato with a crumb coating, the first thing that probably comes to mind are our well loved southern fried green tomatoes. We rarely think about doing something similar with these wonderfully fragrant and juicy red tomatoes we all love to devour this time of year.

If you're looking for something a little different to do with your bounty of garden tomatoes, this very old fashioned recipe just might be the ticket. Broiled tomatoes make a great light summer meal or can serve as a wonderful supper side. Let's enjoy those tomatoes while they actually taste like a tomato!

Quick fresh fig refrigerator jam - simply chopped figs, sugar, a little bit of water, and some lemon. Simple. Perfect.

Fresh Fig Refrigerator Jam

Seems like I just planted my Celeste fig tree but it's been more than 4 years already.

I planted it in honor of my mama not long after Hurricane Katrina made me a full-time homemaker and well, eventually a blogger of southern food too I guess now!

You can read more about Mama's fig tree on my recipe for a delicious lemon poppy seed fig glazed cake. The cake there is "glazed," or really just topped to be honest, with nothing more than a thicker form of refrigerator jam.

An old fashioned southern salad of thinly sliced cucumbers and sweet Vidalia onions, dressed in a sweet and sour mayonnaise dressing. 

Creamed Cucumbers and Onion

I've been eating my share of cucumbers here lately that's for sure. First, I was gifted with a bag of them. Then, finally after replanting seeds multiple times because the heat was literally melting my poor plants, the last four that I planted finally started producing for me.  The Cajun doesn't eat cucumbers at all, but I love garden cucumbers, so that's just all the more for me. I've made cucumber cream cheese sandwiches and every single cucumber salad I have here on the site more than a few times the last few months, and realized I hadn't posted this creamed version yet.

Simplicity is what makes up a Cajun Shrimp Stew - a simple light roux, onion, sweet bell pepper and a few seasonings is all there is to it!

Cajun Shrimp Stew

Cajun food kinda reminds me sometimes of Mexican food. No, I haven't lost my mind. What I mean is a reference to how the same basic ingredients are often used and simply the application or process within the recipe and presentation differ. To me Shrimp Stew is like that.

Zatarain's Frozen Entrees

Most of you know that I do my share of cooking around here, and that while I do occasionally use some convenience products, my primary focus is on scratch cooking with fresh ingredients. Just like the rest of you though, I have days where I am too hot, too busy or just plain too tired to want to spend any time in the kitchen. It doesn’t happen often, but it happens.

Lots of folks are cutting way back on eating out in this economy and are often so busy that frozen dinners can help to fill in occasionally.  They are handy for busy workdays when you can't break away from the office, weeknights when life is a rush to begin with, and especially right now when the thought of cooking in this heat make you want to just skip eating altogether. I also know that many of you are already familiar with, love and use Zatarain's products – from boxed mixes, to pouches, to seasonings. I only recently learned, however, that they were carrying a new line of frozen dinner entrées so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to give them a taste test. There are currently eleven meals to choose from.

The first time I went to the store, I picked out Sausage and Chicken Gumbo and Jambalaya Pasta with Chicken and Sausage. I tried the gumbo first.