New Orleans is perhaps my favorite city in the country, but it's the last place I'd want to be during Mardi Gras. I just don't get too excited about raucous bars and dirty streets, and I'm definitely not looking to add any plastic beads to my jewelry collection. (Give me Jazz Fest any day!) But I never need an excuse to cook up some spicy Creole cuisine and Fat Tuesday is as good a day as any. Or rather, "Fat Sunday," as we celebrated with a little family gathering over the weekend since we'd all be indisposed during the work week. I think Tina Thompson and "krewe" did Louisiana proud if I may say so myself.

Walt's little brother whipped up a batch of Hurricanes to get the celebratory juices flowing. A vat of spicy corn dip almost ended the party before it even started (Caroline, if you are reading this: oh-my-God-that-stuff-was-mind-blowingly-amazing), but somehow we managed to keep our appetites in check for the main event. For dinner, we overindulged in two different styles of seafood gumbo—a gumbo dual, if you will—as well as creamy crawfish pasta, grilled herb-butter shrimp, and pan-fried crab cakes. I'm still full even thinking about it! Nah, we don't mess around at the Thompson house. At least not when it comes to food and booze.

For the grand finale, I went all out and baked up some homemade MoonPies. In Mobile, MoonPies are typically thrown to parade revelers as party favors; they make a good, i.e. soft, replacement of the more dangerous boxes of Cracker Jacks pelted at the crowds of yesteryear. I grew up eating these famous Southern treats not at any wild and crazy Mardi Gras parties but in the parking lot of the Bread & Buggy, our neighborhood country store. (What can I say, I am from Alabama. You can't even make up a name like that.) Looking back, we were a walking redneck cliché: my dad slinging back his boiled peanuts and his like-minded daughter armed with a fistful of MoonPies and a can of RC Cola. It's crazy how much hasn't changed. Well, except for the fact that now I'm making them from scratch...

HOMEMADE MOONPIES

Source: Nealey Dozier**

Yields: approximately 18 MoonPies (will vary with size of the cookie cutter)

Basically, a MoonPie consists of two graham cracker cookies stuffed with a creamy marshmallow filling and dunked in a bath of chocolate. Store-bought are good, homemade are great! This recipe is definitely a labor of love, but a fun one. It's not technically difficult, it just involves a little bit of patience. I'd give yourself a relaxed weekend afternoon to pull it all off. And don't wait for Mardi Gras to make these; Moon Pies should be enjoyed year round. (They're especially good in banana pudding!)

For the cookies:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the marshmallow filling:

2 packets unflavored gelatin powder

3/4 cup water, divided 

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup corn syrup

Pinch of salt 

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the chocolate coating:

8 ounces good-quality semisweet or milk chocolate, chopped

8 ounces (1 cup) heavy cream

For the cookies: Combine the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or with a handheld mixer), cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 - 3 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and beat on low speed until a thick dough has formed, about 1 minute. Divide the dough in half and press each half into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least one hour or up to one day.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking pans with parchment paper. On a floured surface, roll out a disc of dough to about 1/8-inch thick. Using a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out rounds of dough and place on the baking sheet. Gather scraps of dough and re-roll to cut out additional cookies. Continue with the other disc of dough.

 Refrigerate the cookies for 10 minutes before baking, then bake for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven. Leave on baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

For the marshmallow filling: Whisk together the gelatin and 1/2 cup cold water in a small bowl and set aside. Fit a pastry bag with a large, round tip.

Stir together 1/4 cup water, sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring the sugar mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. As it’s coming to a boil, dip a pastry brush in water and brush down the sides of the pot to remove any sugar stuck to the sides. Once the temperature reaches 225 - 230 degrees, microwave the gelatin on high until melted, about 20 - 30 seconds. Pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and set on low speed.

When the syrup reaches 240 degrees, remove from the heat and slowly pour it into the mixer bowl. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 5 minutes. Increase to medium-high and beat for 5 more minutes. Add the vanilla and beat on highest speed for 1 more minute. Using a silicone spatula or greased spoon, scoop the marshmallow filling into the prepared pastry bag. Working quickly, pipe a generous mound or "kiss" onto the center of a cookie; top with another cookie, pressing firmly to disperse the marshmallow evenly.

For the chocolate coating: Combine the chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) a pot of simmering water, stirring occasionally. Once the chocolate is melted, whisk until the mixture is glossy and completely combined. Reduce the heat to low; you want the chocolate to stay warm and malleable while coating the cookies.

Place a few sheets of parchment paper under a wire cooling rack. Using an offset spatula, drop a marshmallow-filled cookie into the chocolate and flip a few times to coat thoroughly. Tap the spatula against the bowl a couple of times to allow the excess coating to drip off, smoothing the top of the cookie with another spatula if necessary. Place the coated cookie on the wire rack. Continue coating the rest of the cookies, adjusting the temperature of the water as necessary in order to keep the chocolate a "pourable" consistency. (Here's a helpful video about coating the cookies; skip to the 13 minute mark.)

Allow the cookies to sit at room temperature until the coating is set, preferably overnight. You can refrigerate them to speed up the process, although it may alter the texture of the coating/cookie. Store the moonpies in an airtight container in the refrigerator or in a cool place, separated by parchment paper to prevent sticking.

**I created my version of homemade MoonPies after doing considerable research of other online recipes available. The cookie base is loosely adapted from The Pastry Queen Cookbook via Confections of a Foodie Bride, the marshmallow recipe is my own, and the chocolate ganache is adapted from Fine Cooking.

When I look back to my first few posts on Dixie Caviar, I die a little inside. The photographs, the recipes, even the writing, they all make me cringe. My first instinct is to go back and edit every. single. page. But then I have to laugh out loud and realize just how far I've actually come. My photography still has a long way to go (although Walt's has vastly improved!), and my writing, well, when is anyone ever really satisfied with their words. I do think there has been some forward progress in those aspects, though. Isn't that all you can ever really hope for?

But seriously -- and I can't believe I'm going to reveal this to you -- before Dixie Caviar there was, in fact, another food blog. Way back in 2008, Kitch Potato is where it really all began. I had just ended my exhausting career as a 'wedding planner to the stars' and was blindly fumbling for the next big step. I wanted to do something that truly inspired me, something that made me proud. I had always enjoyed writing, and even more, eating. So I set out with my dinky point-and-shoot and a food blog was born.

The thing was, I barely even knew how to cook, much less how to work a camera. The fact that I figured out how to start a Wordpress account is still a minor miracle. Despite those tiny details, I trudged forward. My first post on Kitch Potato was Ina Garten'sShrimp Scampi. I have no idea why on earth I chose that dish. I don't even know if I'd tasted shrimp scampi before then, let alone liked it. What followed on that blog was a hodgepodge of recipes, ranging from banana nut bread to buffalo chicken dip and everything in between. Some weren't bad (although some weren't good), and I definitely wasn't bringing in readers by the droves!

So what does Kitch Potato have to do with Dixie Caviar? For starters, it became clear that I wanted a career in food. Unfortunately I wasn't sure how or where to start, so I just kept cooking, and eating, and learning. I've always been a big believer in the whole "put it out in the universe" thing and as a result fate will eventually step in. (A little hard work doesn't hurt, either.) Fate finally did appear and her name was Amelia Saltsman. Amelia was a well-known California cookbook author and in desperate need of a "savvy assistant." I answered her call, and the rest, as they say, is history.

I suddenly found myself immersed in the exciting new world of farmers' markets, recipe development, cooking demonstrations, and more. While I was learning so much professionally, however, I still hadn't found my own food calling -- in a personal sense, at least. Kitch Potato just didn't have any real focus. Thankfully, four little words changed that for the better.

Amelia had recently returned from an annual food writers' conference, so we hunkered down in the kitchen to transcribe her notes. Amelia thoughtfully reflected upon each writing session, and in the process generously passed her newly acquired knowledge along to me. I'm sure there were many wise gems shared at the table that day, but it was these that held a lasting effect: "Cook what you know." I raced home down the Pacific Coast Highway with the words dancing in my head; it was clear now what I had to do. Two days later Dixie Caviar went live.

I was in desperate need of a compass, and Southern food became that much-needed guide. I seized the opportunity to explore my roots through cooking, delving deep into the food I knew. What started as a hobby became a full-blown obsession: I collected vintage cookbooks with abandon and haggled family and friends for treasured recipes. Slowly but surely, I found my purpose. Dixie Caviar not only became something bigger than me, it became a part of me.

Dixie Caviar has been a wonderful gift to myself in so many ways. I have tendency to begin things that I never quite finish -- like history books, organizational projects, and laundry -- so both starting and maintaining a blog is quite a feat for me. Just goes to show that if you love something enough, you'll find a way to make it work. Another unexpected benefit is the constant connection between past and present, snapshots of my life now immortalized in cyberspace. Snapshots not only of meals shared and recipes cooked, but of happy times, sad times, and memories I might have otherwise forgotten. I'd always wished I was the journaling type, but again, the habit never seemed to stick (I have lots of pretty notebooks just begging for attention). Looks like I may have finally found my niche.

I still get butterflies each time I hit publish. Is the recipe delicious, the photography mouthwatering, the story interesting? Is anybody even going to read it? Or better yet, make it? Maybe they won't. But with every post, I've got a new recipe, a new photo, and a new memory. And that's enough for me.

Here's to 100 more!

Lots of love, Dixie Caviar

Nana Dozier's Chocolate Pie

Source: Janie Dozier

Yields: 8 - 10 slices

It only seemed appropriate to celebrate 100 posts by pulling my nana's famous microwave chocolate pie from the archives. It was my first post, after all. This pie will always remain my most cherished recipe; it was the first thing I ever baked as a child. I can only hope it will bring as many good memories to your table as it has to mine. Enjoy!

1 (9-inch) pie crust, cooked and cooled

3 ounces semisweet chocolate

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups milk

3 egg yolks, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Homemade whipped cream, for serving

In a large microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate on medium power for 2 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the sugar and flour and stir until combined (the mixture will be very crumbly). Whisk in the milk and eggs.

Microwave the filling on high 6-7 minutes, whisking every 1-1/2 to 2 minutes until it is very thick and smooth. Fold in the butter and vanilla until completely mixed and pour into the prepared pie crust. Refrigerate until set. Top with homemade whipped cream and chocolate shavings before serving.