Sweet & Savory: Southern Style

For the winter holidays, warm up your home with a Southern-style buffet for relaxed, informal entertaining. Consider having two buffets, one for appetizers and one for the main meal. Greet guests with a refreshing glass of champagne. Add a splash of pomegranate juice and pomegranate seeds for a more festive beverage. Create your dinner buffet with casseroles and Southern side dishes that can be made a day or two ahead and heated just before serving. Rather than large casseroles, bake two smaller portions of the same dish to make it easy for guests to serve themselves with no waiting. Those are just a few hints to bring flair and hospitality to enhance guest dining experience.


Orange Shrimp & Scallops

16 large scallops
8 extra-large shrimp
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup sliced leeks
1 cup sliced fennel bulb
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups fresh orange juice
reduced to 1/2 cup (reduce
by boiling over high heat)
1 tablespoon champagne
vinegar
Pinch sugar
6 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon (chopped)

Season scallops and shrimp with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook shrimp and scallops until just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Set aside and keep warm.
Add leeks and fennel to the pan and saute for 2 minutes, careful not to burn. Add wine, orange juice reduction, vinegar and sugar, bring to a boil and reduce by half. Swirl in butter and fresh tarragon.
Add sauce to shrimp and scallops and toss well to coat.

For a sweet ending, nothing says Southern like pecan pie with vanilla ice cream. Display your culinary skills by livening up the table by elevating some of the platters and decorating with fresh holly, candles or silver ornaments. To brighten your holiday buffet.

Southern Pecan Pie is sure to be the grand finale for Thanksgiving. Being such an easy recipe, it just made sense to include a video. There wasn't a need to list the ingredients or directions. Hope you Njoy! **video source-allrecipes.com****