Jay D's Bites: Pimento Cheese Cornbread

Cornbread is a staple in the typical Southerner’s diet. It is used to soak up your favorite stews, as a side with your collard greens, or simply serve it with butter for breakfast. While delicious just as it is, cornbread adapts to all kinds of personal touches. So we added our famous pimento cheese to this cast iron cornbread. The star in this recipe is Jay D’s Spicy and Sweet Rub; mix it in the butter slathered on top before chowing down.

Pimento Cheese Cornbread

Serves 8-12

Photo: Jordan Hefler Photography

1½ cups cornmeal
½ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter, melted
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
16 oz Jay D’s Pimento Cheese (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350℉. Combine dry ingredients. Add all wet ingredients plus pimento cheese. Mix until combined. Place in buttered cast iron skillet. Bake 35-40 min or until golden brown and is pulling away from skillet.

Jay D’s Pimento Cheese:
2 Tbsp Jay D’s Spicy & Sweet BBQ Rub
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp Jay D’s Louisiana Molasses Mustard
12 oz Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated
12 oz Smoked Gouda Cheese, grated
1, 4-oz jar diced pimentos, rinsed

Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and allow to marry flavors for at least 30 minutes.

The Porch Taproom at Lazy Magnolia Brewery

by Charles Pierce

A few weeks ago I had the chance to visit the Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company located in Kiln, MS. At their quaint taproom, affectionately named The Porch, I was able to enjoy some food and delicious taproom only brews. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to my next visit.

The Lazy Magnolia Brewery has been distributing delicious craft beer since opening in 2003. In the last few years they have been doing contract brewing for some smaller breweries, including Chafunkta Brewery out of Covington.

During my visit I tasted quite a fed of their taproom exclusives while enjoying some delicious pimento cheese and artisan bread from their kitchen. 

Though all of them were tasty as hell, these are the ones that stuck out to me the most:

Southern Pecan w/Rum - This one was probably my favorite. The booziness of the rum shined through but didn’t take away from the true flavor of the brown ale. With no ABV listed I’d guess it’s close to at least 9% if not more.

Bramblin’ Man Sour - This is the perfect sour for anyone wanting to try this style for the first time. Subtle with just enough bite. This is a beer I could drink many of in one sitting.

Mole Ole - This reminded me of the Cocoa Mole from New Belgium’s Lips Of Faith series but with less heat which isn’t a bad thing. This would be great on a nice cold evening.

Black IPA - This one had some nice roasty notes to it and a touch of sweetness. Reminded me a bit of Dr. Hoptagon from Parish Brewery. Very tasty indeed.

If you find yourself traveling the Gulf Coast either on a local brewery tour or just looking for a pit stop for some food and good beers I highly suggest stopping off in Kiln and visiting the folks at Lazy Magnolia. Tell them Chuck P sent you!

Jay D's Bites: Pimento Cheese Stuffed Jalapeños

by Aimee Tortorich

One of our most popular recipe creations, Jay D’s Pimento Cheese, has spread like wildfire. It’s packed with flavor from Jay D’s Spicy & Sweet Rub and Louisiana Molasses Mustard and uses smoky gouda and cheddar cheese. It’s not an uncommon treat around the office, so naturally I wanted to use it in a recipe. What better way to eat pimento cheese than stuffed in a jalapeño with bacon crumbles?!

Pimento Cheese Stuffed Jalapeños

Yields 4-6 servings

12 jalapeños
6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
¾ cup Jay D’s Pimento Cheese

Preheat oven to 375º.

Slice each jalapeño lengthwise and remove seeds and membrane. Parcook jalapeños cut side down for 5 minutes. Let cool and stuff each jalapeño with 1 Tbsp of pimento cheese. Place jalapeños on sheet pan and bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Garnish with crumbled bacon.

Lucy B Goode: A Farm-to-Table Gem in Gulf Shores

The list of local farms they source their ingredients from.

Let me start by saying, "Wow." We rolled up to Lucy B Goode, which rests by the harbor, surrounded by the spectacle that is LuLu's, to an extremely embarrassing though fun-spirited surprise. Personalized menus gave Blair and Aimee some gut-bursting laughter while our rock star waiter articulated the mission of this farm to table restaurant. I guess sometimes when a restaurant knows who they are inviting over for a media dinner, they feel like going the extra mile. From the moment we walked in the door until we were almost the last people to leave, Lucy B Goode provided a dining (complete with custom cocktails) experience I would love to have again.










Chef Randall Baldwin welcomed us by sending out an off menu starter. Aimee doesn't go for tuna (still don't understand why), so that meant more for Blair and myself! The juicy grapefruit slices and sesame chili oil took the fresh tuna to an entirely different level. Seasoned with superb salt and pepper, this dish delivered a light and refreshing combination of bold and natural flavors.

Fresh Gulf Tuna, Grapefruit Slices, and Celery Leaves in a Sesame Chili Oil

Next came a dynamite pimento cheese dish which will make you wonder how anybody could possibly live outside the south. Pimento cheese is a simple concept, but when done right it can be irresistible. And as much as I don't like pickles, these house-pickled local cucumbers were pretty delicious as well. Merging the flavors together, the subtle savoriness of the pimento cheese combines with the sweet and slightly spicy pickles to create an appetizer that could be served as a game-day snack or on the finest of dining menus.

Pa-menna Cheese: House Made Pimento Cheese served with Rosemary Flatbread, Roasted Pecans, and LuLu's Sweet and Sassy Icebox Pickles

As we moved on to entrees we felt it necessary to try different dishes so that we could also sample them. While known for their fresh fish, I couldn't help but notice the braised ribs on the menu. I thought it would be an interesting twist on the Gulf Seafood weekend. The ribs are incredibly tender while boasting an Asian barbecue flare. The jicama slaw on top adds a pleasant crunch and the cheese grits on the bottom catch all of the juicy goodness coming off of the ribs... a little bonus at the bottom of the bowl!

Braised Sticky Sweet Pork Ribs topped with Homemade Jicama Slaw served over Cheese Grits

The two fish dishes we tried were the fresh catches of the day prepared two different ways. Both of the preparation options were quite rustic in a way that let the fresh Gulf fish be the star. We enjoyed red snapper with roasted potatoes and green beans as well as wahoo with a lovely summer succotash. Both dishes were absolutely on-point with their execution of the fish and pairing of the hearty sides.

Fresh Gulf Red Snapper served with Red Potatoes, Sautéed Green Beans, Grilled Lemon, and Brown Butter Vinaigrette

Fresh Gulf Wahoo served over a Summer Succotash with Sweet Corn, Field Peas, Cherry Tomatoes, Bacon Lardons, and Fresh Herbs

No meal is complete without curing the sweet tooth at the end. We tried a couple devilishly delicious desserts, but I almost have to say the star of the sweets were the local blueberries. They really lightened up decadent chocolate and cream flavors we had in store. One of the local blueberry farmers actually had a table behind us! Lucy B Goode presents a dining option that is unique to Gulf Shores though it is bringing dining back to the basics at the same time. I might have a hard time going back to the beach without stopping in to dine there again.

House Made Fudgesicle dunked in Mascarpone Cream topped with local Berries

Tres Leches Cake topped with local Berries