Cooking with Tammy Kelly: Recipes from the Art of the Pallette
If you missed “The Art of the Pallette” Event at the Community Council for the Arts, you missed a great event filled with art showings from familiar and new artists, but you also missed many culinary delights. Lucky for you, I am sharing some of the recipes that were served at the event, and some of the art pieces are still hanging, but maybe not for long. Hurry, do not wait to catch them before they are sold!!!
A big thanks goes out to all who attended, but also to our partners, Community Council for the Arts, NC Cooperative Extension – Lenoir County Center Staff, and the very creative Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Lenoir County. We hope you were able to take home a new art piece and a new artful way to present your favorite recipes.
Some of the vegetable garden food arrangements built by Extension Master Gardener Volunteers of Lenoir County.
Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Jeannie Holmes pictured below. Many of the table scape & food pairing ideas were cultivated by her, as well as Peggy Afarian (not pictured). (image provided by Patrick Holmes)
Zucchini High Heel Slippers made by Jeannie Holmes
(image on the left provided by Patrick Holmes)
Hummingbird peppers & bell pepper flower created by Jeannie Holmes.
The Tomato Balloon Arch assembled by NC Cooperative Extension staff Crystal Howard & Paige Petticrew, and the freshly baked bread Chef Seraphim Smith.
Hand Carved Watermelon Turtles, Bell Pepper Sea Urchins, and Fruit Cascade by NC Cooperative Extension staff: Tammy Kelly, Joel Dixon, & Paige Petticrew.
The “Picnic” table featured meatballs & pineapple skewers, pigs in a blanket paired with a horseradish dip, a bouquet of ham, cheese, & pickle skewers, and little piggy deviled eggs. Made by Kelly Tyndall, Tammy Kelly, Kaelyn Mohrfeld, Rachel Howell and Arts Council Volunteer.
The Dog Days of Summer room featured a dog themed charcuterie board. Assembled by Crystal Howard.
Clever Carrot Cheese Balls - made by Jeannie Holmes
“Creamy, spreadable cheeses blended with spices and natural colors, and topped with fresh herbs. Your guests will love this whimsical, seasonal appetizer!”
8 ounces 1 block regular cream cheese, softened at room temp
8 ounces 2 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese, finely shredded & chopped
¼ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon heaping fried finely minced onion
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt or more to taste
Several sprigs of fresh parsley for stems
In a mixing bowl, add all ingredients except for the fresh parsley sprigs. Using a rubber spatula, combine until smooth.
Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap and place the cheese mixture in the center. Lift one side of the wrap up to cover the cheese and shape it into one large roll. Wrap the entire roll completely and refrigerate for an hour or so to let the mixture chill and firm up.
To roll out the individual carrots, divide the cheese roll into several sections - 8 sections make 8 carrots – all slightly different sizes. You can do as many sections/carrots as you like, depending on how big/small you want your carrots to be.
Using your hands, roll out each of the carrot cheese balls – making one end smaller than the other. Using a butter knife, create tiny indentations all over the surface of the carrots and gently lay them on a flat plate as you finish each one and refrigerate. Don’t worry about shaping the “carrots” perfectly – they’re charming and delicious just the way they are. Cover the plate of finished carrots with plastic wrap and refrigerate (for a few hours or up to two days) until ready to serve.
To Serve: Create a small hole in the wide end of each carrot using a toothpick or chopstick and insert stems of fresh parsley to look like fresh carrot greens. Plate with a variety of breads, crackers and/or fresh veggies, and enjoy!
These Carrot Cheese Balls will, naturally, not be as orange as actual carrots. The spices do a good job of coloring up the cream cheese, but if you want a darker orange, add more turmeric or sumac.
Honey Lemon Shortbread Cookies made by Jeannie Holmes
“You'll enjoy the rich buttery goodness of honey lemon shortbread cookies. Honey and lemon are a match made in heaven.”
For the Cookies:
3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 ½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature (3 sticks)
¾ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup honey
1 teaspoon lemon zest
For the Icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice, more as needed
2 teaspoons honey
To make the cookies, in a medium sized bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter and sugar for 3 minutes, or until light in color and fluffy. Add honey and lemon zest; beat until just combined. Scrape sides of bowl as necessary.
Add flour mixture gradually and continue to mix until just combined.
Divide dough in half. Shape dough into logs (about 2 inches in diameter). Roll up in parchment or wax paper and freeze dough overnight.
To bake the cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F. Take dough out of the freezer and slice into ¼ -inch slices (see note). Place on parchment or Silpat-lined baking sheets.
Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until just golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes on baking sheets before removing to a cooling rack.
For the icing: When cookies are completely cool, prepare icing. Mix powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Add honey; stir well. Thin with additional lemon juice, if necessary.
Place baking sheet or parchment paper beneath the cooling rack to catch drips. With a spoon, lightly drizzle icing on cookies. Let icing harden completely before storing cookies in an airtight container.
To store the cookies: Bake as many cookies at a time as you wish. The dough keeps well in the freezer for up to 3 months until you’re ready to use it. They also freeze well after they’ve been baked. Yields about 5 dozen
Mediterranean Pesto Cream Cheese Spread made by Tammy Kelly
“For the Retro Room, we made this is a mold from the 1970’s”
4 ounces goat cheese, or crumbled feta, (I used the crumbled feta)
8 ounces cream cheese
6 ounce Basil pesto, (homemade or store bought)
6 ounces sun dried tomato spread, (to make your own, see below)
Optional for garnish, pine nuts, or fresh basil leaves
Combine cream cheese and goat or feta cheese together.
Use a small bowl or mold pan for your cheese spread. Line the mold or bowl with plastic wrap, then spray with non-stick spray.
Spread 1/3 of the cream cheese combination into the bowl or mold.
Next spread the layer of basil pesto.
Carefully place a second layer of the cream cheese mixture.
Top with a layer of the sun dried tomato spread.
Finish off with a final thin layer of the cream cheese mixture.
Wrap the bowl or mold in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1-2 hours or overnight.
When ready to serve unwrap the mold and turn it upside down on the plate for serving. The plastic wrap will aid in releasing the spread from the mold.
Top with optional pine nuts or fresh basil. Serve with crackers or fresh bread.
Pimento Cheese Spread made by Tammy Kelly
“This was served in a fish mold shape-ish”
1 8 oz. block sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 8 oz. block Colby/cheddar cheese, shredded
1 8 ounce block of softened cream cheese, this was added to aid in shaping and spreading
1-2 Tbsp chopped green chilies with juice
1 4 oz. diced pimientos
1 cup mayonnaise (can use light)
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
4 – 5 shakes red pepper
4-5 shakes black pepper
1 Tbsp chopped jalapenos (may use more)
Combine ingredients and chill.
Notes: the amount of jalapenos can be adjusted according to taste.
Crab Salad Crabs Crab salad made by Chef Julie Babbin.
Crab Salad
(Recipe courtesy of Chef Julie Babbin)
1 pound flake style imitation crab meat
½ cup celery, finely chopped
½ cup red onion, finely chopped
¾ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
¼ teaspoon Cajun seasoning
Juice from half a lemon
½ cup Dukes mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons fresh dill, plus more for garnish
Salt and pepper, to taste.
Combine all of the ingredients. (Julie finely chops the onion and celery, then pulses in a food processor, so they are super fine when added to the rest of the ingredients). Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight for flavors to marry. Serves 4.
