Mint Juleps
10 fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 ounce bourbon whiskey, Pappy Van Winkle Special Reserve preferred

Combine fresh mint, water and sugar and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Allow mint simple syrup to cool.

Fill 4 glasses with crushed ice (Sonic sells crushed ice by the bag) then divide the Bourbon among the glasses. Add 1/8 cup of syrup to each glass. For the faint of heart you can add a splash of soda to tame it bit.

Curry Dip for Crudités
1 cup Hellmann's mayonnaise
3 tablespoons catsup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons grated onion
1 tablespoon curry powder
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco

Mix all ingredients well and chill.

Serve with blanched asparagus, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, blanched green beans, baby carrots, artichoke hearts, radishes with stems, and red, yellow, and orange bell pepper strips. Also serve with cooked, cooled, and quartered new potatoes and zucchini rounds.

Crawfish Cardinale Dip
2 pounds fresh or frozen crawfish tails
1/2 cup green onion, sliced
1/2 stick butter
24 ounces cream cheese
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons Tony Chachere original creole seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste

Thaw crawfish and reserve juice. In a saucepan, cook onions in butter. Add crawfish and cook until warmed through. Stir in cream cheese, garlic, creole seasoning, salt and pepper. If necessary, add the reserved liquid to thin the dip. Serve with toast cups.

Toast Cups
1 loaf white bread
1 stick of salted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Using a large biscuit cutter, cut bread rounds from the sliced bread. Brush both sides of the bread with the melted butter. Press each piece into a muffin cup and cook until they are completely dry throughout. If they do not get completely dry, they will not be crisp once they cool.

West Indies Crab Salad
1 medium onion
1 pound fresh jumbo lump crab meat
Salt and pepper
4 ounces vegetable oil
3 ounces cider vinegar
4 ounces ice water

Spread 1/2 the onion over the bottom of a large bowl. Cover with crab meat then the remaining onion. Season with salt and pepper. Pour oil, vinegar and ice water over it all. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 12 hours.

Toss lightly before serving. Serve in butter lettuce cups as a first course or with crostini as a dip.

Beef Tenderloin
1 5-6 pound trimmed beef tenderloin, room temperature
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper
1 stick of butter, softened
2 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Pat tenderloin dry with a paper towel. Mix the butter, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic. Generously coat the tenderloin with mixture. Salt and pepper liberally. Place tenderloin on a rimmed baking sheet that has been covered with foil. Roast for 25 minutes for rare and 28 minutes for medium rare. Remove from oven and cover with foil. Allow tenderloin to rest for at least 10 to 15 minutes. The filet will continue to cook. Slice thin and mound on silver trays.

Horseradish Cream Sauce
1 cup sour cream
6 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Hellmann's mayonnaise
1teaspoon pepper
Combine well and refrigerate until ready to use.

Blue Cheese Biscuits
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon soda
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup blue cheese
1 tablespoon chives
3/4 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 450. Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter with your fingertips until it resembles coarse meal.

Add blue cheese and chives. With a fork, mix in the buttermilk until it comes together.
Roll dough into a ball and press into a flat disk on a flowered surface until it is 3/4-inch thick. Using a 1 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out rounds and transfer to a baking sheet.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes until golden. Yields 20 biscuits.

Chocolate Truffles
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons brandy or other liqueur
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, small pieces
2 cups cocoa

Pour the cream into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and add the chocolate, stirring until melted. Add in brandy. Pour this mixture into a shallow, rimmed baking pan, cover and chill for at least 4 hours.
Using a melon baller with a spring handle, scoop out balls of chocolate, and then roll them in the cocoa. Refrigerate until serving. Yields 2 dozen balls.

Chocolate Mousse Cups
2 boxes phyllo cups
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
Fresh raspberries

Beat egg yolks in small bowl with electric mixer on high speed about 3 minutes or until thick and lemon colored. Gradually beat in sugar.

Heat 1 cup whipping cream in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat until hot. Gradually stir at least half of the hot whipping cream into egg yolk mixture; stir back into hot cream in saucepan. Cook over low heat about 5 minutes, stirring constantly until mixture thickens (do not boil). Stir in chocolate chips until melted. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours, stirring occasionally, just until chilled.

Beat 1 1/2 cups whipping cream in chilled medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Fold chocolate mixture into whipped cream. Pipe or spoon mixture into phyllo cups. Immediately refrigerate any remaining dessert after serving.
Top each with a fresh raspberry. Yields 30 cups.

Lemon Squares
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter, melted
4 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
5/8 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
In a medium bowl, stir together 2 cups flour and confectioners sugar. Blend in the melted butter. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light. Combine the sugar, baking powder and 1/4 cup of flour so there will be no flour lumps. Stir the sugar mixture into the eggs. Finally, stir in the lemon juice. Pour over the prepared crust and return to the oven.
Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until set. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares. Yield depends upon size.

Cream Cheese Stuffed Strawberries
1 pound package of strawberries
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 vanilla wafers or graham crackers

Remove tops by slicing across the top of the berry. Gently scoop out a hollow depression in each strawberry using a melon baller.

Combine the softened cream cheese with the powdered sugar and vanilla. Fill a pastry bag with the mixture and squeeze filling into the hole in each strawberry. Be generous.

Crumble one or two vanilla wafers (or you can use graham crackers) and sprinkle the crumbs over the cream cheese. Yields 10 strawberries.

Pecan Pie Bars
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup margarine
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 tablespoons margarine, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Cut in 1 cup of margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the prepared pan, and press in firmly. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven.
While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. In a large bowl mix together the eggs, corn syrup, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 3 tablespoons margarine, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the chopped pecans. Spread the filling evenly over the crust as soon as it comes out of the oven.

Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until set. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing into bars. Yield depends upom the size of bars.