Special to the HHES

The Central Texas College (CTC) Culinary Arts program will host a Patio Café Cuisine Nights dinner this Friday, October 13 featuring a Southern cuisine. Dinner, prepared by students in the American Region cooking class, will be served from 6 – 7:30 p.m. in the Student Center (Bldg. 106).

The menu opens with an appetizer of shrimp and grits ($8.50): cheesy, ground grits cooked with four savory shrimp and garnished with crispy bacon, scallions, and garlic. The soup of the night is chicken and dumplings ($8 for a bowl, $2 for a cup with an entree): a creamy shredded chicken soup with mushrooms, peas, carrots, potatoes and homemade country dumplings.

Diners can choose the fried chicken cobb salad ($12): bacon, hard boiled eggs, bleu cheese and freshly fried chicken tossed with salad greens and homemade sweet honey mustard vinaigrette or the house salad ($4 or free with an entree).

The entrees are BBQ-style chicken ($12.50): oven-baked chicken thigh and leg glazed in a flavorful, spicy tomato sauce; fried catfish ($14): crispy cornmeal-breaded, milk-soaked and southerly-fried catfish served with a buttermilk cornbread muffin; and smothered pork chop ($16.50): pan-roasted pork chop covered in a divine bourbon sauce.

Each entrée is served with a choice of two side dishes. Choose from baked macaroni and cheese: creamy, extra cheesy mac ’n’ cheese with cheddar and smoked Gouda cheeses; brandy and mashed sweet potato orange cup: mashed sweet potatoes mixed with milk, nutmeg and brown sugar mixed with toasted marshmallows; sweet butter corn: yellow corn simmered in milk and creamy butter then garnished with bacon and green onions; and collard greens: freshly cut greens slow-cooked in broth with smoked turkey necks, garlic and onion. Each side dish is also available a la carte.

For dessert, the choices are grandma’s sweet potato pie ($4.50): sweet potatoes mixed with cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla then garnished with whipping cream and candied pecans; or roasted peach cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream ($5): roasted peaches covered with a sweet and buttery crumble and topped with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Reservations are required and can be made by calling the CTC Hospitality department at 254-526-1515.