​{Vegan} vegetable minestrone 
$7 Small/ $12 Large

Crab and corn bisque 
​$7 Small/ $12 Large

Meatloaf with gravy
$22 Serves 4

Italian spinach $7

by Jennifer Biggs
Commercial Appeal
September 5, 2017

We've had requests for meltaways and lemon meltaways, and I can fulfill both of those today. But I'm looking for a different meltaway: A coffee cake. 
They came with different fillings from Seessel's, but the one we ate in my house was a butter meltaway, an oblong cake with a streusel topping and ribbons of drizzled icing. The sides were lighter and the middle of the cake was dense and buttery (or filled with fruit, if that's how you liked it). 
Does anyone remember the cake and have any idea of how to make it? I've found recipes online, but they don't seem right. This one is personal—I'd love to be able to make a few of these to keep around for holiday company, so I'm putting the word out now: Help me.
Meanwhile, Stephen Sciara at Cooper Street 20/20 came through with the adorable meltaway rolls, and I found a recipe for lemon meltaway cookies that seem close to the ones at Seessel's. If you want yours coated in powdered sugar instead of iced, just leave off the icing and roll the cookies in the sugar. 
More requests Pam Key wants to know how Ben Smith prepares the black rice for his signature sea bass at Tsunami. 
Sandy Bane wants the ham and cheese quiche from the long-gone Houlihan's.
And Gari Nywening still seeks the pear poppyseed dressing from the former Bronte. 
Can you help? Are you looking for a recipe? Email me at biggs@commercialappeal.com. 


Meltaways Ingredients  
12 ounces unsalted butter (cold)  
1 ounce sour cream (plain yogurt or ricotta cheese will work)  
4 cups all-purpose flour  
2 tablespoons kosher salt  
1 tablespoon baking powder  
¾ cup milk  
Directions  
Hand grate cold butter into large bowl with box grater. Add all ingredients except milk. Mix, adding milk a little at a time until soft dough forms.  
Roll dough on floured surface about ¾ inch thick and cut in small square or with a cutter about the size of a quarter. Bake on lightly greased baking pan at 375 for 12-18 minutes, depending on your oven. You want them lightly browned. Dough freezes well if you want to make a partial batch.  
Source: Stephen Sciara, Cooper Street 20/20  
Lemon Meltaways Ingredients
3/4 cup butter, softened 
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar 
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1 teaspoon lemon zest 
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 
1/2 cup cornstarch 
Icing:
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar 
1/4 cup butter, softened 
1 teaspoon lemon juice 
1 teaspoon lemon zest 
Directions 
In a medium bowl, cream together 3/4 cup butter and 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar until smooth. Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon lemon zest. Combine the flour and corn starch, and blend into the lemon mixture to form a soft dough. Divide dough in half, roll each half into a log about 8 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until firm. 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut each roll into 1/4 inch slices and place onto the cookie sheet. 
Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 12 minutes, or until set. Cool completely before frosting. 
In a small bowl, blend together 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, 1/4 cup butter, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon lemon zest with an electric mixer until smooth. Frost cookies and allow to dry before serving or storing. 
Source: allrecipes.com 

by Jennifer Biggs
Commercial Appeal 
July 27, 2017

It’s a staple of our diet at luncheons, wedding showers and funerals, a simple snack or a gussied up party food. Pimento cheese is the magnolia, the mint julep, the Moon Pie and RC Cola of spreads, the most Southern of all the sandwich fixins’.
Except not. Incredibly, shockingly, pimento cheese hails from the North, created when a soft cream cheese from an upstate New York farm met a jar of pimientos from Spain. It's documented culinary history, and what can we say to that except so what? Everyone knows that today, pimento cheese (we lost the Spanish “i” long ago) is a Southern touchstone.
The sad pimento cheese of our youth, at least for many of us, was store-bought and either Mrs. Weaver’s or some similar sweet and runny version. Nevertheless, we persisted with our affection, learned to make our own and got by on that for years until it was no longer necessary. I might have missed a few, but the chain for me was La Baguette, then Holiday Ham and finally Tom’s Tiny Kitchen pimento cheese, all considerably different from each other but good in their own right. Each is accessible to-go (Holiday Ham and Pimento’s are the same; Tom’s is available in most grocery stores including your neighborhood Kroger). And thanks to them, no more grating cheese at home unless I just want to.
Five to TryTo launch Five to Try, a new occasional dining feature, we tried five other pimento cheese spreads that are also to-go products. While we know that many restaurants serve a good spread and you can get it to go, we wanted to stick with the basic walk in, pick it up and pay product. (However, take a look at my Facebook page at facebook.com/jennifer.biggs.100 if you want to see a photo of the pimento cheese scone at Lady Bugg Bakery in Hernando; a road trip is in order.)
Are these the rest of the best? I can’t say, because I haven’t tried all the others. But they’re good and spread around town, so you can try what’s convenient to you and see what you think.
Creamy. Thick. Mayonnaise-Heavy.Pimento cheese comes in three basic varieties: Creamy, mayonnaise-y and thick. For points of reference, La Baguette is mayonnaise-heavy; Tom’s is thick, and Holiday Ham/Pimento’s is creamy (different from mayonnaise as it contains more cream cheese).
Kathy Katz’s Cooper Street 20/20 (800 Cooper; 901-871-6879) offers three pimento cheese selections: Plain, Zesty Southwesty and Spanish olive. All are thick, solid versions, made with little mayonnaise, and all start with cheddar, mozzarella, cream cheese, spring onions and roasted red peppers. They have a lot of flavor, even the plain, and compare in texture and taste more closely to Tom’s than La Baguette or Holiday Ham. Prices are $6 for an 8-ounce container of plain or Zesty Southwesty and $7 for Spanish olive. While you’re there, pick up a pack of Cowboy Crackers.
Face it: Everything at Porcellino’s Craft Butcher (711 W. Brookhaven Circle; 901-762-6656) is good. The pimento cheese is no exception. It’s the spiciest of the ones I tried, a creamy-thick variety generously spiced with cayenne, but with the heat offset by cheddar, Havarti and cream cheese, a bit of tang from pickles and mayo, and flavor from the pimentos, of course. And it's $4.50 for an 8-ounce container. To go with? Grab a big log of the frozen chocolate chip cookie dough and bake it.

At the newish to-go shop Le Jardin (2877 Poplar in Chickasaw Crossings Plaza; 901-672-7000), the pimento cheese is one of more than a dozen spreads and dips available refrigerated or frozen. (The store also offers entrees, salads, sides and canned items.) The consistency is very nice, slightly creamy at room temperature but still leaning toward the pleasantly thick side. It’s milder than Cooper Street’s and Porcellino’s, but it has plenty of kick, too. It’s $7 for an 8-ounce container. Also buy: Pickled quail eggs, because why pass on that? Be warned that they’re hot—lots of jalapenos.
Bluff City Coffee (505 S. Main Street; 901-405-4399) now offers pimento cheese in the cooler. It’s basic and mild with spice, though sharp with cheese flavor, with a slight tanginess that seems to come from the pimentos. It’s $5.95 for an 8-ounce container, Downtown and you can be in and out, with your pimento cheese and your Nutella “poptart” in hand.
It’s pimento cheese, but at Hope Church (8500 Walnut Grove; 901-755-7721) it’s called—get ready--church cheese. It’s been named the best pimento cheese at Soup Sunday twice, and I get it. It’s creamy, with enough spice to let you know it’s there but nothing to hurt. Hours of availability vary according to the season, but you can always buy it around church services on Wednesday and Sunday, and on other days once school resumes; be safe and call for hours before you head that way. It’s $7 for a 16-ounce container. Might as well take home a container of roasted corn dip, too.

by Jennifer Biggs
Commercial Appeal

SHOUTOUT: There are other good pimento cheeses in town — there’s Tom’s Tiny Kitchen in the grocery and a nice version at Kathy Katz’s Cooper Street 20/20, to name only two. But if you want to sit down and eat a PC sandwich in a fast casual restaurant, this is your place.

​For the full article, click here. 

SUMMER SOUP: 
Gazpacho $7/ $12
Summer squash soup with coconut milk and curry $7/$12
Cauliflower Turmeric and ginger soup

Neptune seafood pasta with lump crab, Atlantic cod and shrimp $18- 7” round
Blue crab ravioli in a vodka cream sauce $20 - one dozen ravioli
Crawfish Mac and Cheese $15

Chunky Gazpacho (Serve Cold)
$7/12

Coconut Cauliflower Turmeric Soup
$7/12

Neptune Seafood Pasta 
$18 Serves 2-3

Caponata (Eggplant Caviar)
$6 Yields 8 oz.

Butternut Squash Ravioli
$12 per Dozen