Take It Easy

Take it easy

Hey, Mama, how you doing? I'm great. How are you doing, son? I'm doing good

Can we do some easy stuff today? Yes. Because you know how I like to cook easy. Take it easy

And what could be easier than Bobby's Hot Tomato Jack and Crab Deal

Oh, son. Oh, my gosh. Next, we're serving up Mahi Mahi with a zesty basil butter sauce

alongside Bobby's favorite couscous with mushrooms. To you, son. To you, Mama

Finally, Bobby calls the gang over to make grilled pineapple sundaes with shortcake topping, y'all

Love it. Love. Do you love? I love. Well, hey, everybody. I'm here in the kitchen with Mama today on Best Dishes

I love being here. I love cooking with you. Well, since we're here in Savannah, you know we got access to all this great local seafood

Oh, my gosh, yes. Especially the blue crabs. Yes. And I'm catching them right now, so I'm in the mood to do a nice spicy crab dip

Oh, listen, you don't go to a party in Savannah without your tomato sandwiches and your shrimp or crab dip or both

And a good hot crab dip. And you can do it a few different ways. Put me to work, son. I need for you to open up that mayonnaise and get us a half cup

So I'm going to start out with a cup of pepper jack cheese. I'm just going to grate this down into our bowl

That pepper jack, y'all, is going to give it a little bite. This is a hot, spicy dip. So we're going to add a little hot sauce to it

Okay. And the cheese that I'm using is going to have pepper flakes in it. Okay. All right, in with the mayo

All right. Eight ounces of cream cheese, and it's been softened. May I go ahead and start blending this? Absolutely

Now, we're going to use our little hand mixer on this, but after we put in our crab, we'll

just fold it because we don't want our crab to be beat to death. Right

And I'm also going to give you the juice of two limes. Okay. And that should help blend it together and make it a little easier too

This looks delicious, son, already. Okie doke. And with a little bit of lime juice

I'm going to go ahead, son, and add one teaspoon of hot sauce

Wow, that's a lot of juice in that lime, too. I'm telling you, that was a juicy lime

And a little bit of salt and pepper. Looks like a half teaspoon of pepper you got lined up. Mm-hmm

Fourth of a teaspoon of salt. Not much salt, y'all, because, you know, crabs live in salt water

So they're bringing their own salt to the party, you might say. Right, still to. About the limes

Tell them about that little trick. If you drop them in the microwave for 10 or 15 seconds, you'll get a lot more juice from them

Yeah. All right, I'm going to take two cloves of garlic here and just mash them

Chop them up a little bit. I love what cream cheese does to hot dip, son

It adds a lot of flavor. That's mixed up really, really well

And I'm going to be chopping your tomatoes. Does the recipe call for..

I need for you to dice them. It calls for two medium tomatoes

Those are kind of small, so we've got three of them. Okay. So you just want these diced

I got you. So, Bobby, for all those folks out there that don't know

They don't know. I think they know everything, don't they? Oh, yeah. What you want to talk about now

Your love life. Oh, my goodness. I'm chopping these onions. I'm going to drop some green onion in there

And I'm going to use all of it, not just the green. I'm going to go all the way down to the meat. John is in love

And I'm so happy. I think you're as in love as I am. Well, you know, it just always makes a parent feel real good when you have real good taste

when it comes to picking out the person that you think you want to be with

So that's just great. And hopefully Katie will be able to stop by later

But we do love her. Well, you introduced me to her, so. I did. All right

Get this stirred up. And it looks beautiful already. It does look beautiful

Love the color. And the tomatoes are going to add a wonderful little flavor and color to it

This is going to be great. And I'm going to finish it off with a little bit of basil

Okay. Love this flavor. Love it mixed with tomatoes. You know what I mean

Like in a tomato pie. Yes. And also in this crab dip

It's going to be great. So you think that's enough, son? Does that look tomato-y enough for you

I think so, don't you? I think so, too. Yeah. Gosh, you smell it

Oh, I sure do smell it. All right, so you've got your little casserole dish out here for us

I have. How about if I give it a quick little spray? Please do. And the oven on 350, please

Okie doke. Done. The oven's on. You know, the thing about a crab dip, and what you, you know, with really with everything

what you've always told me is to go right by the recipe the first time you make something

Absolutely. any time after that. Make it your own. Absolutely. So you could, you know

there's a couple of different variations that you could do with this crab dip. Yeah. All right, and finally

I'm going to add about a pound of crab meat. All right, you're using lump

Absolutely. Yum. Mm, it was so good. I know it is good

We're going to cook it at 350 for about 30 minutes. Okay Bobby let move on down here and start on your favorite this couscous with mushrooms I adding a half a stick of butter to our pot and about a cup of onion Son let start on the mushrooms

Okay. Now these have been wiped down. Do you want them sliced or diced? Just slice them

Okay, well I'm just gonna slice these up then. And I just did this the other night at my house

I used chicken stock instead of just all water. I usually use water. Yeah. And the chicken stock made it much more flavorful

Chicken stock makes everything better, son. We're going to let those cook down

Now, son, do you like yours kind of crisp? I like them nice and soft, just like that

Well, we'll let those cook down for a minute. All right. Then we have got some chicken stock that we're going to cook this in

A cup and a half of a rich chicken stock. This is ready, Bobby

Doesn't that look good? All right, a couple and a half of chicken stock. Okay. In it goes

Okay, and we'll come back to a bowl. We'll tape it in a sec

No, because I had that pot. Hot, honey. You want to measure out your couscous

Yes. And we're going to throw in one cup. I think your recipe goes

It's ready to go, right? Yeah, it's boiling around the edges. Stir that couscous in

Mm-hmm. And when we come back, we'll make it. Take it off the heat? Yeah, turn it off and remove it from the heat

Off the heat. When we come back, we'll make a beautiful white fish to go with that

What do you think? Yes. Coming up next, Bobby grills the fish, and I cover it in a zesty basil butter

The zesty basil butter is what makes it. And later, Bobby's friend, Coach Carter, is going to lend a hand to our grilled pineapple sundaes with shortcake topping, y'all

You and I look as comfortable as a couple of nuns in a casino. Welcome back

We're taking it easy today, y'all. And we made a wonderful crab dip a few minutes ago, y'all

Are you ready? You want to try it? Oh, you know I do, son. We've got fresh basil, some pepper jack cheese

Fresh blue crab? Uh-huh. A pound of lump blue crab. Now, I'm going to just chop a little fresh avocado to put on top of our dip

just to kind of green it up. Oh, that's all right. Not to worry, son

Look at there. Not to worry. Isn't that pretty? It's really hot, so be careful

I know. Is it hot season-wise? It's got a little of my hot sauce in it, not much

Oh, son. So great, so rich. Oh, my gosh. It's out of this world

Very good, very rich. I love the avocado with it. I do, too. We've got to balance this out because that's really, really, I mean, let's face it, that's a heavy dish

It's kind of fattening. No, it's perfect for appetizers, you know, when you're standing around getting your meal ready

Delicious. So let's balance it out with some fish. Okay. Beautiful mahi-mahi

I'm going to, whoa! I'm going to spray your grill, son. Right

I've got four gorgeous mahi-mahi steaks here. They're about six ounces apiece

I love mahi. And we're going to do them with a really nice zesty basil butter. And the only thing I do to mine is just I rub a little olive oil on it

a little salt and pepper and garlic powder, and that's really all you need for a good piece of fish

While Bobby is all in our fish, y'all, I'm going to be making this butter

It's a zesty basil butter. And, you know, it just depends on how many people you're feeding

as to how much butter you want to mix up. Or to who's making it

Or who's eating it. But anyway, I'm throwing probably about three tablespoons in there, son

All right, Mama. Of softened butter. Now, I'm going to take one fat garlic clove

I want to really mince it up fine so that that garlic flavor will get right in that butter, like, immediately

A little bit of salt and pepper. Yeah. All right, son, you know what I'm going to do for you

I'll do. I think if you'll pass me that olive oil, I'm just going to go with a little bit more on it

All right. Just to juice that fish up. I'm going to put about a teaspoon and a half of lemon juice

I'm just going to squirt that in our butter. This lemon feels a little ahoyd

Let's do this one. Watch the fish. Okay. All right, son, just chop me up about a tablespoon and a half of that, a little bit finer

All right. Will you put a little salt and pepper, please, on the other side, Tish? I will do it

You know, the wonderful thing about being in a kitchen is don't sweat the small stuff

You know, everything can be fixed. It more about the fact that I in here with my child having a wonderful time All right The food is just kind of the vehicle that got us here you know what I mean What a tablespoon About a tablespoon and a half of fresh basil

And son, I'm going to put just a wee little bit of salt and pepper to our butter

There you go. So we're taking it easy with seafood today, aren't we

Doesn't get much easier than this. No, or better. I think that the fish is ready

Yeah, I mean, it doesn't take long. How easy was that? Very easy

All right, now here comes the good part. Bring that platter over here so I can reach it, Bobby

Here we go, y'all. Oh, that looks and smells so good. Incredible

I'm just going to put a little basil on it, a little twist of lemon

You ready to fix the plate? I am so dadgum ready. Come on down here. All right, you want me to bring the fish

Yes, please, son. Come on. Put it right there. And I'm going to dip us up some couscous, if I may

Please do. Looks delightful. The mushrooms and onions are... You can, like, still see them

Let me get our fish. Yeah. You cook the fish perfectly. You see, y'all, you can still see that it's moist

Mm-hmm. It's like a really nice, perfect medium. Right on the money. How about a little crusty bread

All right. Mind if I go ahead and try this? No, honey. You dig in

Is it, like, wonderful? The zesty basil butter is what makes it

Look here. It's all about balance. Bobby, this couscous is out of this world

You know, the only flavors I'm getting is like garlic and butter. Those are good flavors to get

And a little basil. Bobby, you know, you've been talking about balance and all that stuff

Are we going to balance it out? Yeah, we're going to balance it out. What are we balancing next

We're going to even the playing field, honey. Maybe Sam will stop by

You think he would? So what we'll do is I'll introduce you to the man who introduced me to balance

Well, see, I know Sam. Well, I know, but they don't. Poor thing, he's been trying to balance me for years

Good luck with that. Sorry, Sam. Coming up, we got Coach Sam Carter out of his gym, y'all, and into my kitchen

And today, I'm teaching him how to make grilled pineapple sundaes and about a balanced diet

A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand. And later, love is in the air when Bobby's girlfriend Katie joins us to make grilled pineapple sundaes with a shortcake topping

Love it! Love! Do you love? Love! Do you curl your eyelashes, Sam

No, man. Look at his eyelashes. He's so curly. He's a pretty man

Yes, he is. He's a pretty man. Introduce Sam to everybody. This is my good friend, Coach Sam Carter

He is, uh... Wait, wait, wait, Sam. Now, we've got to have some lessons

I know you're the best in your gym, but I want you to take that flower

and we need five of these. You see how I've got it leveled off pumpkin

He is my good friend, he's my trainer, and he's also the strength and conditioning coach at SCAD

Fill that cup up. And now you're under Paula Deen's gun. You're baking with her

Can you believe it? Well, I am going to teach y'all how to balance your meals

This is the sinful side of the balance. Yes. I'm going to teach y'all how to make grilled pineapple sundaes with short cake topping

All right, now Sam is measuring out, y'all, two and a half cups of all-purpose flour

a half a cup of sugar, and I'm cutting in a three-ounce package of cream cheese

All right, I'm going to add us two teaspoons of baking powder. Bobby's going to be measuring out a third of a cup of heavy cream

I'm going to add a half a teaspoon of salt, Coach. Tell Mama what y'all do in this

Right into the bowl, a third of a cup of heavy cream. When I met Coach, I was easily 25 pounds heavier than I am now

Before I met Bobby, you know, Bobby helped me out also because the friendship that we've developed over the years

I look forward to him coming in. It's more than just weightlifting. It's like he keeps me well-rounded and balanced in my life also

And it's good to have him. Bobby's a good guy. Yes, yes, yes. And it's good to know Mr. Bobby Dean

You know what? And I've surrounded myself with good people. All right, so Sammy Lou, this is my kind of balance

You know, I've always said, in fact, I've got a sign in my pantry, y'all

a balanced diet is a cookie in each hand. So Sam, what I want you to do is take the cutter and finish cutting that up for me

All right, Bobby, come down here, because I thought, well, gosh, this is looking dry, y'all

We need that one stick of softened butter. All right. And look at those muscles

How's the wife and children? They're doing great. They're doing great. Is she pregnant again

No, ma'am. No, ma'am. Okay. I just couldn't remember. They do have three. Yeah

I know they have three. Three precious children. Bobby, I want you to pull out a little of this flour

All right. Sprinkle it right here, son. All right. You got your rolling pin

You can dust your rolling pin a little bit. All right. Because these are actually going to look like biscuits y Going straight to the gym from here You realize that right Sam so let me tell you what we going to do with this We going to crumble it up y and put it on a grilled pineapple sundae

Ha, ha, ha. Are you feeling balanced? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha

Now just take this, Coach. Do it like that. And then we're going to knead it

You want to put it over here? Yes, I want you to pile it in one pile, honey. Right there

Doing good, doing good. All right, now look here, Bobby. You get the gist of it, don't you, son

You get the gist of it, don't you, Coyote? So roll that out. Not too thin, guys, now

Not too thin. Okay, that's enough, son. Now, y'all get in there with your biscuit cutters

And now, listen, I want y'all to dip them in your flour and then come over here

and we're going to cut us out our shortbread biscuits. Okay. Snuggle close together

because we don't want to waste a drop. Okay. All right, and just transfer them onto the baking sheet

that's lined with parchment paper. You and I look as comfortable as a couple of nuns in a casino

Look at this. We're only going to get about five. No, we're going to get more than that

Now, what we're going to do now is we're going to take our leftover and we're going to roll it back up in a ball

because I want y'all to get these close together, guys. Now, y'all don't act stupid

You know, I wanted you on the show today to come help me with my mom. Let's talk about balanced eating, and this is not what I had in mind

I'm sure this is not what you had in mind. No, no, no. So, Sonny Boy, that oven, 375 for about 15 minutes

Y'all don't go anywhere. Stick around, because I'm teaching my boys today about eating balanced meals

Coming up next, Bobby's girlfriend, Katie, is here to help us top off these grilled pineapple sundaes

with a shortcake topping. Hey, y'all, welcome back. You know, I'm bringing some balance to these boys' life

I am preparing for them a grilled pineapple sundae. And look who's joined us

Y'all all know Bobby's girlfriend. Hello. Kate. Isn't she adorable? Speaking of balance

Speaking of balance. I love it. All right, now Coach is slicing us up some fresh pineapple

Bobby, I found this cutest little cookie cutter. Excuse me, Coach. Why don't you take that and remove the core from the pineapple

Now get your cute little butt over there and cut the cute little center out of the cute little pineapple

All right, I'd rather go hang out with Katie, though. Oh, you did it perfect, son

Right? Look at that. We got a little shamrock center. All right, now I got my melted butter right here, y'all

I got my griddle hot. Now I'm just going to take this butter, and I'm going to lather up

Katie, come over here and help me. No, Katie, come back over here. Gladly

Katie. Katie. All right, what I want you to do, my precious, is sprinkle the brown sugar on these

because I'm just going to put a little brown sugar on them, y'all, to help encourage the brownness

I love brown sugar. I do, too. All right, you brush the butters

Yes, ma'am. And I'll flip these over for you. Put a little bit more brown sugar, and then you just keep on going

Yes, ma'am. All right. This is coming along nicely. All right. Look at here, doll baby

Yes, honey. I'm just going to put a little bit more butter on this one. Okay

Right there. All right. I'm going to flip that over. Oh, oh, oh

Love it. Love. Do you love? I love. All right, Katie, bug

Yes, ma'am. I've got these done. Now, if you want to get our shortbreads

I would love to. Now, this is what I'm talking about, y'all

Balance. All right, now, Bobby. Ma'am. I've got our plates down there, son

All right. If you would dip us up one scoop of ice cream on top of these pineapples I'm giving you

Oh, my God. Love it. Okay, y'all. Let's finish up these sundaes

with a little bit of caramel sauce, our crumble shortcake on top

a little bit of fresh whipped cream, and, of course, we need our vegetable

a little mint, y'all. All right, what does this say, children? A balanced diet is a cookie in both hands

That's it! That's what balance is all about. Y'all dig in. How great is it

I love it. I knew you would, my angel. Out of sight. Yes, Coach, thank you so much

Thank you. for coming out and helping balance our lives and being such a friend to Bobby

and making him all buff and pretty. But Katie... And eating this food with me

Missy loves popping up. My sweet Katie, I so appreciate you popping in

I appreciate y'all popping in out there. And I wish you loving best dishes

from my kitchen to yours. Bye, y'all. Bye, y'all