Flat Bread

Dr. Butler, a guest chef, came to class to teach the buttas how to make homemade flat bread and pasta.  It was such a fun class and everything we had was delicious.  These recipes are definitely keepers.

Flat bread:

1/4 cup warm water

1 Tbs plus 2 tsp yeast

1 large egg, beaten

1/2-2/3 cup water at room temperature

3 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp Kosher salt or 1 tsp fine sea salt

1 Tbs plus 1 tsp sugar

1/4 cup clarified butter (Ghee) at room temperature

olive oil

optional: delicious seasonings, such as Fleur de sel, Piment d'espelette, and Parmesan, to taste

To make the dough: Combine 1/4 cup water and yeast and let stand for 10 minutes.  Mix egg with remaining water and stir into yeast.

Combine flour, salt, and sugar in bowl of a mixer with dough hook.  Add butter and mix at low speed.  

Then add egg mixture and mix till dough comes together.  Continue in machine for 3-4 minutes on low-medium until dough is smooth.

knead by hand for a brief time and then form a ball.

Lightly oil a bowl and put the dough into it.  Slightly oil a piece of plastic wrap and place over dough.  Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise for 2 hours.

Mama B prepared the dough in advance.  This is what it should look like:

Preheat oven to 350.  Put racks at upper and lower oven positions.  

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment and oil lightly.

Flour the dough and cut ingot quarters.  Take one quarter and flatten it into a rectangle to work with; cover the rest with a damp towel.

Open rollers of a pasta machine to the widest setting (Level number 1).  Roll the dough twice through the pasta machine at the widest setting and then once at each setting up to the 8th setting (the second from thinnest).   The flat bread will get thinner as you move it through the pasta machine settings.  Here is a video demonstration:

Once finished, cut into pieces approximately 3 inches wide and 10 inches long.  

Put on parchment paper and brush with good olive oil.  Sprinkle with sea salt, black pepper, or herbs of your choice and cook for 6 minutes.  Then swap the top and bottom trays and cook for 6 more minutes.  

It may take another 1-3 minutes to get the perfect light brown color.  Let cool on cooling racks.  Store for up to a week in air tight containers.  It is so delicious!

We even tried putting herbs into the dough, here is a picture of our Rosemary Flat Bread dough:

It was a really fun night!  The buttas are practically professionals at this now.  Please stay tuned for Dr. Butler's Homemade Pasta recipe.  

Black Bass with Asparagus and Potatoes

We wanted to learn how to pan fry fish, so Mama Butta went to a local fish market and the butcher suggested Black Bass.  The fillets were thick and the skin was on so it would crisp up nicely.  We decided to serve up our bass with delicious roasted vegetables.  Here is a shot of the ingredients:

Sauteed Black Bass:

We used Alton Brown's Pan Fried Fish Recipe

Season both sides of the fish with salt and pepper.

Lightly dredge fish in flour and shake of excess.

When pan is hot, add 2 tablespoons Canola oil followed immediately by 1 tablespoon butter.  Place fish in pan skin side down.  Cook until golden crust forms on meat.  Turn fish and cook until skin turns golden brown.  Remove to a warm plate.

Pour out the cooking fat, add 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon drained capers, fry the capers quickly.  Remove pan from the heat, add juice of 1 lemon and swirl.  Pour sauce over the fish and serve.

Roasted Asparagus and Potatoes:
Snap ends off Asparagus and cut the potatoes in half so they are all roughly the same size.  Season both with olive oil, salt, and pepper:

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Here is the finished the product:

For dessert, Meg surprised us with an amazing chocolate birthday cake for Lauren from a great new bakery, Ally & Eloise Bakeshop, on Forest Drive.

The cake tasted just as good as it looks, so if you are looking for a special treat in Columbia be sure to check out Ally & Eloise!  Stay posted for some homemade Italian recipes to come!

Crawfish Etouffe

Makes 8 servings

Seasoning Mix:
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried sweet basil leaves
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves

1/4 cup of each of the following: chopped onions, celery, and green bell peppers (this is called the trinity in Creole cooking)
7 tbs vegetable oil
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup clam juice + 1/2 cup water or chicken broth
1 stick butter
2 lbs peeled crawfish tails or medium shrimp
1 cup very finely chopped green onions
4 cups hot basic cooked rice

The buttas were extremely excited to be back together and to be cooking such a delicious meal!  Here is a shot of the ingredients and the buttas preparing:

Thoroughly combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.  In a separate bowl, combine the onions, celery and bell peppers (The Trinity).

The first step is to make a roux, this recipe calls for a medium to dark roux vs a blond roux.  In a large heavy skillet, heat the oil over high heat until it begins to smoke, about 4 minutes.  With a long-handled metal whisk, gradually mix in the flour, stirring until smooth.

Continue cooking, whisking constantly until roux is dark red-brown.

Remove from heat and immediately stir in the vegetables and 1 tablespoon of the seasoning mix with a wooden spoon; continue stirring until cooled, about 5 minutes.

Heat stock in a separate saucepan.  Gradually add the stock to the roux and whisk until thoroughly dissolved.

Reduce heat to low and cook until flour taste is gone, about 2 minutes whisking almost constantly.  remove from heat and set aside.

In a separate saucepan, melt 1/2 stick of butter over medium heat.  

Stir in the crawfish (or shrimp), the green onions, and seasoning mix and saute about 1 minute stirring almost constantly.

Add the crawfish mixture to the stock mixture, stirring well.  Add 1/2 stick butter to enrich sauce and cook about 5 more minutes.  Serve immediately over rice, or barley for a healthier option.

Then it was time to enjoy our delicious meal and each other's company.  It was a wonderful evening and so fun to catch up.  Look forward to many great recipes to come!  Next week's menu is Black Bass with Asparagus and Roasted Potatoes, YUM!

Reunited and it tastes so good!

The buttas are finally getting back together to put some spice in the kitchen! Everyone's schedules have been crazy but we are excited to come back together tonight to cook and most importantly catch up over some glasses of wine.

Tonight we are going to make Crawfish Etoufee. As you might remember, Mama Butta is from N'awlins so we are in for a treat!


Photo of Emeril's version from the Food Network!

A New Blog to Explore!

Well the buttas have been quite busy with new jobs, graduations, and busy schedules! But here is a new blog to enjoy:

http://sallyhroberts.blogspot.com/?zx=cd20f99ff4561f50

We hope that you still use some of our favorite recipes that we have posted and hope to be back when life slows down some! Happy summer :)

What's up with the Buttas

Not sure about all the buttas but Mama B baked some delicious looking heart cookies for her loved ones (stole this from her facebook page!)

Our meeting and appetizers the other week was so much fun! It was great to catch up with everyone's happings over the holidays and see what everyone has been up to. The buttas sure have been busy and one baby butta even got a new job - way to go Blanche!!

Mama Butta had a list of all of our classes and we have had 20 classes!!! We have learned so much from our classes with Mama B.

Because everyone has become a little busier these days we have decided that we will not meet every week like we previously had been doing. Instead, we will meet every few weeks or once a month. Our blog postings obviously won't be as frequent but we will still post recipes and pictures. Tomorrow we are going to be making Lentil Soup - it will be a healthy start to our 2011 classes and its starting to get warmer here in Columbia so soon soup will be out of the question!! Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's day!

The Girls are Back in Town!

We haven't been ignoring our blog - we simply have been too busy to get all the Buttas together! But tonight, since the holiday hustle and bustle is over, we are meeting up to discuss a new plan of action for our cooking class. We were able to all see each other on Saturday night and took some great pictures with our Mama Butta and our real mama's - I'm not sure who has those pictures but I'll be sure to hunt them down and post them! We are so excited to be reunited tonight and catch up and maybe talk about cooking- just kidding! I'm sure recipes will be posted very soon!! I'll keep you posted on the details of our meeting. Happy February!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving from The Buttas!


Brushing the Chicken with Olive Oil


Lauren chopping up the sage and rosemary for the chicken!




Time to eat!

Mary's acorn squash!
Cornbread Stuffing

Green bean casserole


Our Thanksgiving Crew! Our special guests included Sally's Mom, Blanche's Mom, Meredith's sister - Lauren, & Mary!



Blanche & Sally with their mamas!


Lauren, Meredith & Lauren!

Happy Turkey Day! Stuff yourselves with stuffing!

This is the recipe for Mama Butta's cornbread stuffing! Although Mama B would claim it got a little too crispy it was a hit and loved by all - Hope you enjoy!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Cornbread Stuffing

1 black iron skillet of cornbread, any recipe (I usually use Jiffy)
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound Jimmy Dean sausage (whatever flavor you prefer)
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup melted butter
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon creole seasoning or Lawry's
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pint oysters, drained and chopped (optional)
1 package Pepperidge Farm herb dressing

Make cornbread ahead of time by your favorite recipe in your iron skillet. Saute bell pepper, celery and onions with the sausage. Add all remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Bake in a 450 degree oven, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the crust is brown on top. This will serve 12 amply!

A Butta Thanksgiving

We had a great time celebrating Thanksgiving with our butta friends and family!

Our menu included:

Sour Cream Drop Biscuits

Macaroni and Cheese

The Pioneer Woman's Green Bean Casserole

Acorn Squash Casserole (this dish was amazing!! will have to steal the recipe from our dear friend, Mary Keenan!)

Cornbread Dressing

Baked Chicken We used the same simple, simple recipe that we have made before. We make this chicken often because it is THAT good! And soo easy. Our thanksgiving was a great example of adding fresh herbs, this particular night we used fresh basil and rosemary.

The Pioneer Woman's Pecan Pie

The other recipes and lots of pictures will be posted tomorrow!

Give Thanks!

Tonight the buttas are going to celebrate Thanksgiving! We've invited friends and the buttas have made their favorite dishes: mac and cheese, cornbread dressing, green bean casserole, sour cream drop biscuits, chicken breast (saving the turkey for next week, and more! Stay tuned for pictures of our wonderful Thanksgiving celebration!

We are so thankful for all of our readers (the few that are out there!), our friendship and fellowship we have made through these Tuesday night get-togethers, and most importantly Mama Butta and her taking the time to meet with us and pass along so many great lessons, not always about cooking, that we will treasure!

Hola! - Fajitas Night

The buttas have been experimenting more and more with cooking - all due to the courage Mama B has given us!

Some of our meals may be on the fancier side for a single gal cooking for herself or a few friends. So here is a meal that the buttas made on their own with simple, easy ingredients. Everyone loves a simple go to meal!!

Fajitas! We took pictures when we made this but they are lost on someone's camera. Here is what you need:


pkg. McCormick® Fajita Seasoning Mix
2 tbsp. oil, divided
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts or boneless beef sirloin, cut into ½-inch strips
1 medium onion, cut into thin strips
1 medium bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/4 cup water
8 flour tortillas (6-inch)
Assorted Toppings: Shredded Cheese, Salsa, Sour Cream, Guacamole or Sliced Tomatoes


HEAT 1 tablespoon of oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add meat; cook and stir 3 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove from skillet. In same skillet, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add onion and bell pepper; cook and stir 3 to 5 minutes. Return meat to skillet.


STIR in water and Seasoning Mix. Cook and stir 3 minutes or until heated through.


SPOON into warm tortillas. Serve with toppings, if desired.

Tipful Tuesday: The Trinity

Mama Butta gives us many tips that are so helpful to beginners in the kitchen. Lots of blogs do themed days - so I figured why not let Mama Butta's helpful tips be a weekly piece of advice to you

so.... introducing TIPFUL TUESDAY!!



The Creole Trinity - onions, green bell pepper and celery


This is a basic combination used for many creole dishes. It is always a good idea to always have the trinity on hand. The possibility for this triplet is truly endless. Try our red beans and rice or gumbo! The French also have a 3 ingredient staple they call mirepoix - carrots, celery and onions. This is used in many French stews and soups.

Tip when cutting celery - glide your knife down the middle of the stalk lengthwise. Cut those pieces in half stack them and chop! Easy dicing!


Mama B has a great way to easily chop an onion. Maybe we will make a video of that for you!!

Check out the red beans and rice recipe we posted earlier today. Hope you will benefit from tipful Tuesday!!