Great time for trying out new recipes is at Neshoba

The kitchen table of Cabin 16 is always loaded with food for friends and family at the Neshoba County Fair. And it is a great time to try out new recipes.
This year’s favorites included Lemon Cake, Butter Pecan Cake, Strawberry Chocolate Chip cookies, Yellow Rice Salad and Corn Dip.
The yellow rice salad was a great side to the barbecue supper for Kate Salter Gregory’s baby shower meal.
Among the desserts were strawberry chocolate chip cookies which disappeared as quickly as the pink Rice Krispie treats.
And Deanna’s butter pecan cake was great as a dessert or as breakfast bread.

“Cream of mushroom soup” casseroles no longer abound, but breakfast casseroles of sausage, crescent rolls, eggs and cheese do, as well as our Fair staple of sausage pinwheels.
For one meal, there was an array of dips to choose from.
The corn dip was a favorite, as well as spinach-artichoke, salsa and our traditional taco dip.
The “dip meal” went over better with the men than a salad meal last year.

Kate’s lemon cake was an absolute hit following a huge lunch dish of chicken spaghetti, green salad and sauteed Brussels sprouts.
Fried rice, whipped up by Lisa, was the main dish of our last supper which also included any Fair leftovers, and it was enjoyed by all.
Our final dessert was another Fair keeper, homemade chocolate Butterfinger ice cream.

Corn Dip

(Lisa Denley McNeece)
2 cans Mexicorn (drained)
16 oz. sour cream
16 oz. Hellman’s mayo
1 pkg. taco seasoning (1/2 in mixture and 1/2 sprinkled on top)
1/4 cup chopped Jalapenos
3-4 cups taco cheese
Mix all together and then sprinkle remaining taco seasoning on top. Bake at 350 until bubbly (45 min.). Serve with Frito Scoops.

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Celia Denley Hillhouse)
1 box (18.25 oz.) strawberry cake mix
1 tsp. baking powder
2 large eggs
1/3 cup vegetable/canola oil
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350°. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper, silicone baking mat or use cooking spray. In large bowl, mix together cake mix and baking powder and set aside. In smaller bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, and vanilla by hand. Add egg mixture to cake mixture and stir to form dough. Stir vigorously until all of the pockets of dry cake mix are gone. Gently mix in chocolate chips. Drop rounded balls of dough, about 2 Tbsp. each, onto prepared baking sheet. Stick a few more chocolate chips on top of cookie dough balls if you want them for looks, if desired. Make sure the balls of dough are taller than they are wide. Bake 10 minutes, do not let the cookies get brown. Allow to cool on baking sheet for three minutes. They will be very soft at first. As they cool, tops may settle down. Press them down gently with your fingers if they are not sinking much. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to one week.

Lemon Cake
(Kate Salter Gregory)
Mix one lemon cake box mix as directed substituting milk for water, and add a small package of lemon pudding mix. Bake as directed in two greased round cake pans. Remove from oven and poke a few holes in tops of the cakes. Sprinkle juice of half a lemon over each of the cakes. Refrigerate covered overnight or for a few hours. Frosting: Mix 1-8 oz. block cream cheese and 1 stick unsalted butter on medium speed 2-3 minutes. Mix in 1 tsp. vanilla. Then mix in 3 cups powdered sugar. Add more powdered sugar as needed. (I add a little more.) Frost first cake, then top with second layer and frost. Garnish with crushed up Lemonhead candies.
(Note: Original recipe said to substitute oil in the cake mix directions for butter but I like the oil better. The butter made it less fluffy, I think.)

Butter Pecan Cake
(Deanna Denley Clements)
1 box Butter Pecan cake mix
1-8 oz. butterscotch instant pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1-8 oz. sour cream
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Optional: 1-8 oz. bag butterscotch chips
Blend cake mix and pudding together. Add eggs, oil, sour cream, water and vanilla. Mix well. Add pecans (and chips if desired) Bake in greased 9×13 pan for 20-25 at 325°, then test for doneness with a toothpick.

Yellow Rice Salad
(Sharon Salter Pratt)
Cook 10 oz. Mahatma yellow rice per package and add three chopped green onions during cooking. Dress rice and onions with chopped artichokes in oil, green pimento olives, julienne cut sun-dried tomatoes in oil, and fresh ground black pepper. Pour a 16 oz. bottle of Olive Garden Italian dressing over all. Mix. Serve chilled.