The Dixie Dish

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Wrapping Up Our 2025 Season 💜🐊

As we close out our 2025 season and prepare to shut the doors on the Purple People Feeder on November 1st , our hearts are overflowing with gratitude. What a year it’s been — full of flavor, festivals, and the kind of community that makes everything worthwhile. From steam rising through the falling snow at our first boil to costumes and étouffée under the Halloween moon at our season finale , every event was made special by the people who showed up, cheered us on, and shared a meal with us. We rolled across the San Juans and beyond — popping up at the Bayfield Farmers Market, serving at the Neon Mallard, Lost Goat Tavern, Bootlegger, Gaslamp Tavern, Columbine Roadhouse, and LePlatt’s Pond, and celebrating at Bayfield Heritage Days, Jackalope Acres Pumpkin Festival, Gatorfest, Logger Days, and Passport to Pagosa. Each stop was its own adventure, each crowd its own family — and along the way, we were lucky to work alongside some of the most genuine and generous folks in the San Jua...

Passport to Pagosa: A Night of Flavors, Community & Celebration 🎊

Colorfest’s Passport to Pagosa Food and Wine Festival was one for the books! ✨ Dixie Farms was honored to be part of such a vibrant evening filled with food, wine, and community spirit. We brought a little taste of the South to Pagosa with our Shrimp & Corn Bisque, Chicken & Sausage Gumbo, Prestige Gulf Oysters on the half shell, and Maw Maw’s Apple Cake. Y’all showed up in a big way—we ran out of bisque and gumbo halfway through the event and only wish we could have fed every single guest. We were honored to take home 3rd place for People’s Choice and the award for Best Decorated Booth. 🏆🐊 Our booth was loud, vibrant, and a true representation of Dixie Farms. We don’t just put our heart into the food, we put it into the atmosphere we create. Whether it’s a festival, a pop-up, or a catered event, we want every detail — from the flavors to the feel — to reflect the full experience of Cajun hospitality. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who voted, cheered ...

Bisques, Étouffées, and Gumbos — What’s the Difference? 🥣

Cajun cooking has a way of wrapping you up like a warm hug — rich, soulful, and layered with flavor. But if you’ve ever stood at our trailer menu wondering what sets a bisque apart from an étouffée (and where gumbo fits in), you’re not alone. These dishes may share a common Louisiana heartbeat, but each one brings its own personality to the table. Bisque: Smooth & Silky A bisque is like comfort in a bowl — creamy, velvety, and rich. Ours starts with a slow-simmered stock, layered with aromatics and fresh cream. Into that base go tender shrimp and sweet kernels of corn, creating a balance of sweet and savory in every spoonful. It’s the kind of dish that warms you from the inside out, silky enough to sip but hearty enough to fill you up. Étouffée: Smothered Goodness The word étouffée means “smothered,” and that’s exactly what you get. Crawfish, shrimp, or sausage are nestled into a roux-based sauce that’s cooked low and slow until it turns deep, rich, and full of flavor....

The Journey of a Prestige Oyster 🦪

Not all oysters are created equal. Some are small and briny, some are buttery and mild—but every once in a while, you come across an oyster so fresh, so perfectly balanced, that it feels like the ocean itself is on your plate. That’s what we found with Prestige Gulf Oysters . Their journey starts deep in the Gulf waters, where they’re raised in nutrient-rich tides that give them their bold, clean flavor. Each one grows to a hefty 3 to 4+ inches , making them some of the biggest, most beautiful oysters you’ll ever see. From there, they’re carefully harvested, packed with care, and begin the long trek north. We make the trip ourselves, bringing Prestige oysters straight from the Gulf Coast to the Purple People Feeder in the San Juans. And when they hit your table—whether freshly shucked on the half shell or packed up to-go—they carry that same salty breeze and ocean taste that made us fall in love with them in the first place. For us, serving Prestige isn’t just about bringing in an ...

Purple Skies, Cajun Spice & Live Music at the Pagosa Springs Concert Series 🎶🌅

One purple and amber sky set the stage this past Saturday at Yamaguchi Park. The rain teased but stayed away, leaving us with a cool mountain evening that felt tailor-made for music under the stars. The Pagosa Springs Concert Series brought the energy, the views, and the neighborly vibe that makes this town feel like one big front porch—and we were thrilled to be part of it. The Scene Kids chased balls across the grass, couples swayed to the rhythm, and friends stretched out on blankets with cold drinks in hand. The mountains framed the horizon, glowing in the last light of summer, while live music carried across the park like an old friend’s laugh. The Music Rex Peoples & X Factr opened the night with powerhouse blues and soul, setting a warm groove that pulled folks right up to the stage. High Country Hustle took it from there with foot-stomping bluegrass that kept the dancing going. Closing out the evening, Blessing Chimanga headlined with vibrant, high-energy rhyt...

Maw Maw’s Apple Cake: A Slice of Home 💜✨

People ask me all the time if our apple cake is really my great-grandmother’s recipe , and I can resoundingly say— yes, it absolutely is . I’ll never share the recipe (that’s staying in the family vault), but I can tell you this: it’s been made with love, laughter, and just a touch of chaos across generations, and every bite feels like home . Growing up, we didn’t have the means to buy Christmas gifts for friends, neighbors, or coworkers. Instead, my mom would spend days baking apple cakes to share. It was a true labor of love , and she often drafted us kids into service to peel, slice, or mix —though most of the “helping” turned into squabbles over who got to lick the bowl or the beater . Even when we were sent off to bed, I’d wake to the smell of cinnamon and apples and hear Mom quietly swapping cakes in the oven at 2 a.m. She had the sharpest internal alarm clock I’ve ever known. That smell— warm apples and cinnamon —would fill the whole house. To this day, it’s the kind of scen...