Lately

I've been devouring a new cookbook.

Literally.

Figuratively.

My Mom recently gave me a copy of this:

(via)

And I love it.

Southern My Way is full of flavor and makes dinnertime come together quickly. Southern flavor...with new flair. My only complaint is that I've almost exhausted the main dishes...at least the ones that all my family can eat. (She has several amazing-looking shrimp recipes, but the younger members of our family are wary of eating shrimp again.)

Being a native Texan, the only thing I had a hard time adopting in North Carolina (which was and always will seem like "home") was their version of BBQ. Pork. Chicken. Vinegar-based BBQ sauce. I didn't buy it. Give me beef brisket and thick, sweetly spicy sauce.

Then Brent and I lived in eastern NC after we got married. And sometimes we ate at Wilber's. I'm sure I always brought up brisket. And Vitek's of Waco, TX.

But I didn't realize how much it had grown on me there in eastern North Carolina until last week.

With this recipe, I think I've learned that there's a tiny bit of room on my palate for that vinegar-sauce, made this time, thanks to Gena Knox, with turkey.

Marinated Turkey

I tweaked her recipe a bit...to allow for my crock-pot and for a few ingredients that were missing from my pantry.

5-6 lb turkey breast (I used frozen and boneless)

Marinade:

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar plus white wine vinegar to equal one cup

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley

1/8 cup vegetable oil

1/8 cup freshly ground black pepper (I used about half of this amount)

1/8 cup kosher salt

whole grain sandwich buns

1. Place turkey breast in a crockpot. (I removed any turkey skin first.)

(When opening, be careful not to puncture the enclosed gravy bag. Trust me.)

2. Combine all marinade ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour the marinade over the turkey. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.

3. When cooked through, turkey should be fork-tender. Remove turkey breast to a large bowl. Ladle all marinade into a large measuring cup and refrigerate. Meanwhile, using two forks, shred the turkey. Cover and keep warm in a serving bowl.

4. When marinade has cooled, drizzle over the turkey in bowl. Serve on sandwich buns...although it is delicious on it's own as well.

And if you don't already have the cookbook, you should definitely put it on your list! I'll be making a risotto and a pie from it later this week...I'll let you know how it goes.