the amazing face

When work is busy, the blog suffers. I'm sorry I've neglected you, old friend, but duty calls. Monday and Tuesday of this week, I attended the Governors Conference on Tourism here in Jackson. It's essentially an excuse for tourism peeps all over the state to get together for a good time. Sure there are seminars and forums, but they really just get in the way.

One such seminar was conducted by Ann Marks, an expert in face reading. Not expressions or emotions, but the actual features of the face forehead to chin, ear to ear. The presentation itself was fascinating, especially for a former psychology major like me. Ann discussed how everything about our faces tell a little about our personalities - both nature and nurture. The eyes you inherited from your dad may have also given you your open-mindedness. The nose that's the spitting image of your mom may be the reason you love art. And your ears that stick out a little might be what hears the beat of that different drummer you seem to march to.

I know it sounds like witchcraft or tarot cards or palm reading, but this is a practice that's been around since the ancient Chinese wrote of it thousands of years ago. The great Greek philosopher Aristotle published on it as well. We've all heard the old adage "the eyes are the windows to the soul," and there may be more truth to that than we ever thought. You better believe I stuck around until way after the session was over to have my own face "read." As I'd hoped, she was spot on. It was eerie how she was able to pinpoint specific personality traits simply by identifying certain features on my face and head. I of course bought the book for a small price and plan on reading each of your faces when I see you next. Oh, and those of you that might be interested in hearing what she had to say about the faces of the presidential candidates, I asked her that, too.

As the blog suffers, so does the Delicious Dish. I know you were all heartbroken to stumble upon my blog on Monday and the recipe had not been added. Fear not, I've got a great one this week!

Mexican Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cheddar cheese soup (the nacho cheese kind is good in here)
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup (i like to use a can of Ro-tel)
1 (10-ounce) can tomatoes
1 whole chicken, cooked, boned, and chopped or 4 cups leftover cooked chicken (sometimes I just boil a few chicken breasts and shred them)
Unsalted butter, for greasing pan
1 (11 1/2-ounce) package flour tortillas
2 cups shredded Cheddar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13 by-9-inch pan with the cooking spray.
In a large bowl, stir together the 3 kinds of soup and the tomatoes. Stir in the chicken.

Layer the tortillas and the chicken mixture in the pan, beginning and ending with tortillas. Sprinkle the cheese over the casserole and bake for 30 minutes.

* This one makes great left-overs, too!

l-o-v-e

L is for the way you look at me
O is for the only one I see
V is very, very extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you adore

LOVE is all that I can give to you
LOVE is more than just a game for two
Two in love can make it
Take my heart and please don't break it
LOVE was made for me and you!

Happy LOVE Day!

it's my mississippi, too

I admit I've slacked on the blogging this week, but it wasn't for lack of material. Since my last post, I escorted a Japanese journalist all over our great state, drowning her in information and photos of the interesting, the funny and the interestingly funny spots in Mississippi. On each trip of these I take, I see, experience or taste something I never have before, and it inspired me to give you a few highlights of my journey. Sometimes we're so focused on "getting away" that we don't realize the great stuff in our own backyard.

Romie's Restaurant in Tupelo is soul food central. Their lunch menu is a never-ending list of deep-fried comfort foods from chicken spaghetti and fried green "maters" to corn bread and pork chops. Check your diet at the door, folks. Don't miss: the banana pudding was the best I've had to date.

We all know Oxford has great shopping and dining - it's the envy of college towns all over the nation. When you're in the area, venture off the square onto Ole Miss's campus. Though the maroon blood pumping through my veins moved a little slowly when I passed The Grove, I was fortunate enough to see the Civil Rights Memorial near the campus's Lyceum. This powerful monument of Ole Miss's first black student James Meredith is worth a visit - even for the Bulldogs out there. Don't miss: William Faulkner's Nobel Prize in the Lyceum.

Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil at The Crossroads - the junction of Highways 61 and 49 in Clarksdale - for the ability to play the guitar like no other man before him. Blues junkies from all over the world make the pilgrimage to this soulful mecca to stand on the same ground as this blues great. Even if you're not all over the blues, you'll love Cat Head, the ultimate delta blues and folk art purveyor. This store is packed with photography, music, t-shirts and art, all indigenous to the Mississippi Delta. Don't miss: the folk art paintings by L.V. Hull - I even gave one to Claire for Christmas this past year!

Ok, so I'm partial to Greenwood. The small town that changed my mind about the Delta in general is changing the minds of people all over as well. The downtown area is growing and developing in a way that would make the cotton brokers of yesteryear puff their chests with pride. Don't miss: Russell's Antiques. Even if you can't afford anything, you can play in the diamonds. They are a girl's best friend, after all. Tell them I sent ya.

Prior to this job, my only thoughts of Vicksburg were those cultivated in Mrs. McCoy's 5th grade history class in our Civil War unit. A bunch of 10- and 11-year-olds in a motor coach with a sack lunch and canned Cokes with names scribbled on masking tape doesn't exactly say "solemn," "mournful" or even quiet. But, I ran across something even a 5th grader can appreciate. Enter Mrs. Margaret's Castle - her husband told her if she married him, he'd build her a castle. Not exactly what I had in mind, but to each his own. Don't miss: well, just don't miss the whole thing. It's folk art on steroids.


And for this week's Delicious Dish, I chose something that I made for my honey last year for Valentine's Day. Since we are poor and I am developing my culinary prowess, I'm cooking again this year. Not sure what just yet, but I have a few things in mind. Anywho, these are super-easy and a fantastic appetizer - the best fungus you'll ever eat.

Paula's Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms (the real recipe is for Crab-Stuffed, but sausage is cheaper ;) and good year-round)

1 of those tube things of ground sausage, browned and crumbled (or 1 c. crab meat)
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
4 tablespoons Parmesan (I prefer the grated kind)
House Seasoning, recipe follows (not really necessary to make Paula's unless you just want a good general spice blend. I use Shapley's.)
2 portobello mushroom caps, or 10 white mushrooms caps (both are good)
1/2 cup bread crumbs (store bought are best, believe it or not)
Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine the crabmeat, cream cheese, parsley, green onions and Parmesan. Season with House Seasoning, to taste. Stuff the mushroom caps with the mixture and top with bread crumbs (I just pour some on a plate and press the tops of the stuffed mushrooms in the crumbs). Spray the tops with nonstick spray to help them brown. Transfer to the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the filling is hot and melted.

Paula's House Seasoning

1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder

YUMMY! Best when shared. ;)

choosy marys choose...

Recent conversations with friends, family and coworkers have spawned a discussion that often elicits strong, passionate reactions - "real" or generic? Brand loyalty is something that companies of all kinds spend millions of dollars in advertising trying to convince you that their product is the best, always has been, always will be. What we ate as children is usually what we want as adults, which is why these companies start advertising aimed at little ones just old enough to ask their mommies for things in the grocery store.

Upon moving out on my own into the wild blue yonder (read: Greenwood) a few years ago, I began to appreciate the savings generic products provide. I learned when generic will do and when cheapness doesn't cut it, and it developed into a amateur "nature vs. nurture" study of my own. Here are a few of my findings; check them out and see if you can find the pattern:

Acceptable penny-pinching products...

1) To me, if you are throwing something away after its use or literally flushing it into oblivion, it is ridiculous to spend big bucks on it. I'll buy the cheapest napkins, toilet paper and paper towels I can find (KK disagrees with me on the paper towels.), and if the State of Mississippi would let me buy whatever they use in the bathrooms, I would in a minute.

2) In an effort to incorporate more veggies into my diet AND be more fiscally conservative, I've started purchasing generic canned vegetables - I mostly only get the green beans and black-eyed peas and occasionally mandarin oranges, but they are just as good as the real stuff.

3) I never hesitate to take medicine if I think it will help me. Got a headache? Take some medicine and feel better. Car sick? Take some medicine and feel better. Stuffy nose? Take some medicine and feel better. Not to sound like a pill popper, but it's a no-brainer. It's cheaper and just as effective to stock your medicine cabinet with Equate.

4) I can remember my Sunday School teacher one Sunday telling me that a sin is a sin is a sin just like bleach is bleach is bleach. Seriously, it's a chemical compound. It's all the same, people.

5) Thanks to MK, I have painted my nails more in the past 6 months or so than I have in 5 years. And, I'm getting better at it, I must say. But, I'm known to occasionally paint my whole finger, and when I do, I use the cheapest nail polish remover I can find to correct my little masterpiece.

Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby...

1) Few products draw such intense emotions as which ketchup to use. I personally don't care for it (unless combined mustard and pickle on a cheeseburger), but those that do are loyal to the point of severity. For most, I've found Heinz reigns supreme here.

2) I grew up eating rice and cream of mushroom soup, so it was natural for me to indulge in this as an adult occasionally. Those of you NOT using Campbell's are doing yourselves a disservice. Seriously, none of that other junk will do.

3) My dear friend Beth Williams showed me the light when she introduced me to Jif peanut butter. I pretty much bought whatever brand was cheapest prior to her intervention. It really is superior.

4) I don't have ice cream a lot in my house - too many points, and I would be inclined to eat a scoop every time I walked past the freezer. But when I do and I want to top with chocolate syrup, I only use Hershey's.

5) Cereal may not pop into everyone's head when one thinks of a "comfort food," but Cheerios is. What are those others trying to prove? Give it up, Brand X - you'll never get it right.

What do YOU think? Let me know what I may have left out...

state of the (colvard) union

Congrats to the Bulldogs for their definitive win over the Rebs this weekend. It's nice to be perfect - in the SEC, that is - which is less than I can say for our North Mississippi rivals. I love that the Hump is such a tough place to play - kind of like where rankings go to die, per se.

While in Starkville, we visited the Union on campus, and it most certainly puts the old one to shame. If you visit Bulldog Country, it's worth a peek. We didn't venture too far past the food court, but even what little of it we saw was like a different place. I felt that familiar pain that strikes me every time I hit MSU's campus - I think about places I wish I had gone more, things I wish I had taken advantage of, and what it was like to be a carefree college student in general. I could almost picture myself walking across the Drill Field. Sorry to be so sentimental, but that's what State does to me.

And here's this week's Delicious Dish: You may be familiar with the recipe, but if you're not, it's probably the easiest and most delicious dessert ever. It's a great one to take to a friend or bring to a party.

"Better than Death by Chocolate" Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert

Ingredients:

1 box of ice cream sandwiches (I usually get the 12-pack so Kell can eat the extras)
1 jar of caramel sundae topping
1 tub of Cool Whip, defrosted (I get the fat free kind, but it's sort of a wash in this recipe)
1 bag of Heath topping (these are near the chocolate chips), divided or about 8 Skor bars, divided and crushed (Kell prefers Skor bars, but I can't really tell the difference)

Spray a casserole dish with unflavored cooking spray (the size of the dish will determine how many ice cream sandwiches you'll need). Cover the bottom of the dish with the unwrapped sandwiches. I always cut them to fit exactly, but you sure don't have to. (I like to not be able to see any of the bottom of the dish.) Pour the entire jar of caramel topping over the sandwiches, covering completely. Sprinkle about 3/4 of the Heath topping or crushed Skor bars, reserving the rest to top. Spread the entire tub of Cool Whip over the crushed candy (it helps if the tub is completely softened and thawed in the fridge first). Sprinkle the remaining Heath topping or crushed Skor bar (I sometimes drizzle a little caramel on top, too), and freeze to set. Let thaw slightly so it's easy to serve. YUM!

And check out another great review of Ballast AND the awards the picture won! Nina and her crew never cease to amaze.

"Ballast" buzz

I mentioned in my previous post that "Ballast", filmed entirely in Mississippi and cast with Mississippians, was one of the movies braving the cold in Park City, Utah at Sundance. Well, check out these reviews: one by CNN movie critic Tom Charity and another by Newsweek's David Ansen. Our Mississippi motion picture is listed as one of few stand-outs! Congrats Nina and all others who worked on the film!

mississippi's own sundance kid

Few things earn an actor, director, screenwriter or producer street cred better than Sundance. This indie film festival was established in 1981 by the original Sundance Kid himself, Robert Redford, to create an environment that would effectively "foster independence discovery and new voices in American film." The Sundance Institute is the end-all, be-all of independent film showcases in the U.S., supporting features, documentaries, film music and theatre, and putting talented go-getters in touch with seasoned professionals in the film industry. Each year in January, the Sundance Film Festival is held in and around Park City Utah as a celebration and platform for these extraordinary individuals and their works of cinematic art.

One such individual is my colleague and WW buddy, Nina Parikh, who is a program manager in the Mississippi Film Office, a division of MDA. As if getting to go to Sundance isn’t cool enough, Nina’s film Ballast was one of 16 out of thousands selected for the festival’s Dramatic Competition. The entire picture was filmed in Mississippi and cast only with Mississippi actors, only one of whom had prior acting experience. Already getting great reviews, Ballast screenings will continue until Saturday’s awards ceremony. Nina and fellow producer Lance Hammer are keeping their fingers crossed that they’ll find distribution to bring their masterpiece to screens all over the nation, especially in their home state of Mississippi!

Woo hoo, Nina!