Southern Appetizer

[Rosalie]

I am going to a Murder Mystery Dinner Party on Saturday night and the theme is set in the Deep South (Plantation Era). I need to bring a Southern Appetizer...any suggestions? I live in Georgia, so Okra, Vidalias, or anything else "southern" can easily be bought. Thanks for the input!

[cookgirl]

I realize it's at nighttime, but wouldn't it be neat if you could bring something like "Bloody Marys" (okay, so that's not an appetizer) or a dish that has a theme name. (mystery meat....hmmmm.....)

[MrsReber]

I believe it was cookgirl who told me to make sweet potato fries. They sure sound good! Sweet potatoes are a southern thing, yes? I have a whole book of potato recipes from VA at home with an entire section of appetizers. I think I shall have to take a look later when I get home! If I find something good, I'll post it for you.

[comabri]

What about the obvious - Fried Green Tomatoes? (They are southern - right?)

[Leanne]

Fried green tomatoes are very southern. How about fried okra. Also - like you said - anything vidalia counts too.
Here's a vidalia recipe that's yummy & easy - not low in fat though.

8 oz mayo
8 oz parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
2 cups vidalia onion chopped

Mix & put in square pyrex baking dish & heat at 350 until brown & bubbly. Serve with triscuits. (I usually make this with artichoke - so you may want to make this once to check on the cooking time - I've only done it once with onions, but I've had it a million times & it is good!)Depending on the size of the party, you may want to double the recipe.

[ellielk]

A friend of mine who lived for a long time in Arkansas says that the traditional appetizer is a can of Ro-Tel poured over cream cheese.

[paige]

i live in tn and the most common appetizer i encounter is blackeyed pea dip:


2 cans of blackeyed peas(drained)
2 cans of rotel (drained)
2 cans of shoepeg corn (drained)
2 medium tomotoes chopped
1 bunch of green onions chopped (about 1/1.5 cups)
cilantro (1/2 cup)
italian dressing


mix together the first 6 ingredients. pour 3/4 of the bottle of italian dressing 1/2 hour before serving.

dip with tortilla chips or fritoes corn chips

this is great and i hate blackeyed peas!!

[LIsaP]

Hi All,
As a Northern girl, I am wondering what rotel is-never heard of it!
Thanks,
Lisa

[Vanessa]

I have an excellent book The Heritage of Southern Cooking
In the appetizer chapter they mention
stuffed shrimp (with Roquefort cheese)Chicken liver pae with tarragon
Special dressed eggs (like devil eggs stuffed with tuna, capers, anchovy, mayonnaise)
Old Kentucky beer CheeseCrawfish, shrimp, lobster butter (served as yu would pate on French bread or melba toast)A lot of pickled options such as oysters, monkfish, shrimp & mushrooms
Piggies en broschette
Camembert fritters
Baby Hot browns (chicken with a thick cheese sauce)
Oysters
Crab cakes
A good source might be Southernliving
If you need any recipe let me know

[Abby]

I've lived in AR all of my life and haven't heard of this as an appetizer! I wouldn't think it would be a good thing to poor over cream cheese because the liquid is quite watery, not thick at all. Although, a very popular appetizer using Rotel is cheese dip made with Rotel tomatoes and Velveeta cheese.

Originally posted by ellielk:
A friend of mine who lived for a long time in Arkansas says that the traditional appetizer is a can of Ro-Tel poured over cream cheese.

[MrsReber]

Lisa, I believe they are referrint to Ro-Tel tomatoes that come in a can. I am a northern girl myself who was introduced to Ro-Tel by a guy I worked with who had lived in Houston. They're quite spicy with the hot peppers in them. I've made chili with Ro-Tel and it gave my chili quite a kick! I find them in the canned veggie section in my supermarket. Hope this is correct!

[Rosalie]

Thanks for all the responses!!

I was tempted to do fried green tomatoes and the Blacke eyed Peas...I'll keep you posted on how it goes!