In Good Taste

While we are on the topic of Southern parties...

This oldie but goodie is one of my favorites. In Good Taste: A Collection of Occasional Buffet Menus is a very stripped-down version of how to throw a party, without glossy photos.  The author, Joan Downs, writes the introduction to the book to her "Daughters" that would be you the reader.  (If you are a son, well, you can still use the cookbook.)  She signs her introduction, "Momma."  Momma says that a buffet, while signalling abundance, can be a small affair.  She wants you to break out your sideboard or your huntboard, whichever is available and serve up some food.  And while there are no photos, there are suggestions for wine and decor. 

There is als a bit of back and forth between Momma and her Daughters just in case you have a question or two.  There are bon voyage buffets, Superbowl buffets, Christmas buffets, and simple Sunday night suppers.  The cookbook has a ringed top and hard covers that allow the cookbook to stand on the counter. 

Remember we told you of the simple Sunday night supper.  Here is what you will be serving:

Drink

Bourbon Sours
Vodkatini

Starters

Sherried Mushrooms

From the Huntboard

Minestrone
Italian Filled Bread
Pepper, Olive, Beet, Red Onion Salad
  or Valdalia Onions, Baked
Baked Chantilly Potatoes
  or Souffle Potatoes

From the Dessert Board

Creamy Ices Chocolate Cake
  or Sabayon
  or Ice Cream Pecan Balls and Chocolate Sauce
  or Angel Food pie
  or Rhubarb Cake
Flaming Brandy Coffee

Wine Suggestion

Red Burgundy of Italian Borolino

Decoration

Wooden or pottery bowls filled with celery stalks, green peppers. fresh tomatoes and fresh basil.

Granted, it looks a bit longer than it actually is.  You need to pick a single dessert to go with the Flaming Brandy Coffee, but still...

In this menu we decided to opt for the Valdalia Onions.  And here is where we get to talk to Momma:

D. What's the difference between a Valdalia onion and a plain white onion?

M.  Valdalia onions are grown in Georgia.  They cost about 35 cents each. they are seasonal, usually through the month of June.  They are very sweet, and there are some who eat them raw like an apple. I prefer an hour at 325 myself!

We love the emphasis on "each."  We also noticed that they are spelled Vidalia, but Momma tried.  She would be shocked to go grocery shopping today!

Valdalia Onions, Baked a la Maude

Valdalia onions (one per person)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbs. brown sugar
1 tbs. butter or margarine

Skin onions. Cut a slice from the root end, so it will sit in a pan evenly.  Cut out a small hole from the top of the onin.  Place onions, side by side, in a buttered baking dish or pan.  Add water to the pan of 1/4 " depth.  Pour seasonings in hole. Bake at 325 degree F. oven until onions are done. (for about 1 hour.)

Just guess what the Christmas Buffet entails!  A quick google will point you to your own downloadable copy of In Good Taste.  Now clear off that huntboard and get to work.

Julia Reed's South

I got Julia Reed's South as a birthday present (thank you Anne.) But it wasn't published till after my birthday, so it was one of those gifts that keeps on giving.  Julia Reed is great ol' broad, in the truest sense of the phrase.  The spirit of this greatness comes through in her book.

My Mother had a friend and she would say about her:  "She always has champagne in the fridge, but she never has toilet paper."  While my Mother saw this as a weakness, I was rather enamoured of this philosophy and it seemed all together Southern to me.

Here are some of the things we know about Southerners.

Give them a minuet or two and they can party for weeks.  Kentucky Derby: about two minutes.  Parties: two weeks.  Mardi Gras: Fat Tuesday becomes Ash Wednesday at midnight.  Parties: three weeks.

Southerners have loads of china and other forms of dishes.  I personally have 4 sets of picnic dishes and I am not ashamed.

Baptists aside, a Southerner can mix up a fine cocktail with little more than a jar of grain alcohol and a peach from Chilton County.

As Julia Reed will tell you in her book, you can set the most elaborate table, order new napkins, have engraved invitations and still serve Popeye's... and that's what I like about the South.

Now Julia Reed's South is one of those books that is often classified as "aspirational" that is to say you probably can't call your favorite Pulitzer Prize winning author and get them to loan you their house for a party that involves a photo shoot for your cookbook like Reed can, but we know in your heart of hearts you want to.

So each "party opportunity" comes complete with exactly which china it was served on, who printed the invitations, where the napkins were bought, what vintage the wine was, and who lent the gorgeous property where the party was photographed.  Frankly, we love that kind of info.  In fact, many cookbooks go to enormous lengths to make you think that you have just stumbled on some grandly orchestrated tableaux, without filling in the details.  We love the details.

The food is delightful and runs the gamut from tea sandwiches to a fine pulled pork.  One of our favorite party items is a savory sorbet and Reed weighs in with variation of the Belle Meade Country Club tomato sorbet.  Mac and cheese is elevated to Gratin de Macaroni.  Chess pie becomes squares. 

I do love this book because it follows in the tradition of one of my favorite cookbook authors of all time, Lee Bailey.  Bailey would revel in the new found adoration of Southern food. Frankly, he should be adored even more.  Reed writes:

"But the book that had the greatest impact was Lee Bailey's Country Weekends."

Many years ago, my friend Harry Lowe and I were cooking.  He had a recipe he wanted to try and he was reading it to me.  "It sounds like Lee Bailey," I said.  Harry Lowe looked and said it was indeed.  You could just tell.  Bailey had the ability to take high and low and mix it up into something wonderful.  He would be very proud of Julia Reed.
 
This recipe is a take on a crab dip that one often sees at fancy soirees, but here it becomes a rather heavenly grilled cheese. 

Grilled Deviled Crab & Cheese Sandwiches 

4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, plus more for grilling
1 cup finely diced andouille sausage
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
¼ cup thinly sliced scallions, including some of the green tops
¾ cup heavy cream
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¾ cup grated good Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 ½ teaspoons Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
1 large egg yolk
1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over for shells and patted dry
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 loaf Pepperidge Farm Very Thin Sliced White Bread
½ cup finely minced Italian parsley or chives, or a mixture of both 

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and fry for 5 minutes. Drain off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat. Add the onion and sauté until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the scallions, cream, Parmesan, Cheddar, Tabasco, and Worcestershire sauce and still until the mixture is bubbling and thickened, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat. 

Beat the egg yolk in a large bowl. Gradually add about 1 cup of the cheese mixture, mix well, and stir in the rest. Toss the crab in the lemon juice and fold it into the filling. Taste for seasoning and refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, for at least 1 hour before making the sandwiches. (At this point the filling may be refrigerated overnight.) 

 To make the sandwiches: Cut the crusts off the bread, spread a layer of crab filling between 2 slices, press them together, and repeat. In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Place as many of the sandwiches in the skillet as it will hold. Press down lightly with a spatula and turn over after about 2 minutes, or as soon as the underside is golden brown. Press down again and remove the sandwiches to a warm baking sheet when the flipsides have browned. As you cook, you will likely need to add more butter. If the butter gets too brown after a few batches, you may need to wipe out the pan and start over. 

When all the sandwiches are done, spread the minced parsley on a plate. Cut each sandwich in half into triangles and dip the long edges into the herbs. Serve immediately. 

Feel free to serve them on your Grandmother's Haviland or on a My Little Pony paper plate!  Julia won't mind.

The Southerner's Cookbook: Recipes, Wisdom, and Stories

Recently, one of our favorite Southern magazines, Garden & Gun, published a cookbook.  The Southerner's Cookbook: Recipes, Wisdom, and Stories is a collection of many of the recipes that have appeared in the pages of the magazine. It is a fine cookbook and it saves you the time of trying to find that recipe for chocolate gravy you saw last year, or maybe the year before.

It is a kind of highbrow community cookbook if your community includes Julia Reed, Edward Lee, and Rick Bragg. Not a bad community to live in. You are not going to say, "OMG I never thought of FRYING chicken."  Here is the funny thing about the South (and perhaps regional food in general) everyone knows how to make pemiento cheese because the recipe is the name, but ask 25 Southern cooks for their recipe and you will have 25 different recipes. Same thing with fried chicken, cornbread, babbecue sauce, or shrimp and grits. Everyone has their own tweak and we like that.

One thing that stands out in the South is the absolute ability to celebrate anything. A good example of our zealous celebration is an event like the Kentucky Derby.  The race averages roughly 2 1/2 minutes.  The entire event is said and done in a mere 150 seconds, however, the parties associated with those seconds can last for three weeks. For those mathemeations out there, that is a week of parties for every minute of activitiy.  A week of party per minute of activity is a good ratio for the South.

While some folks need months of preparation for an event, a Southerner can throw together a fantastic party with very little notice. The most mundane items in a pantry can become the stuff that legends are made of. Like bacon crackers. Clearly, this is one of those recipes born out a need to throw and impromptu shotgun wedding reception. Found in many a community cookbook, this particular recipe offers both a sweet and savory option.

Bacon Crackers: Classic, Herbed and Brown Sugar

12 bacon slices (not thick-cut)
48 saltines or buttery crackers, such as Club brand
48 fresh rosemary tips (for Herbed Bacon Crackers)
6 teaspoons dark brown sugar (for Brown Sugar Bacon
Crackers)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line the bottom of a broiler pan with foil.

Cut bacon slices in half lengthwise and then crosswise to create 4 long strips.

Arrange crackers on a work surface and wrap a bacon strip around each, overlapping the ends on top.

If making Herbed Bacon Crackers, tuck a base of rosemary tips under overlapping ends of bacon. If making Brown Sugar Bacon Crackers, carefully sprinkle 1⁄8 teaspoon brown sugar on the bacon on the top side of each cracker, pressing to help it adhere (avoid getting sugar on the cracker or it will burn."

Set a perforated rack on top of the foil-lined broiler pan and arrange the crackers seam-side-down, 1⁄2 inch apart in a single layer and bake for 1 to 1-1⁄2 hours, until the bacon is your desired level of crispness. Transfer crackers to a cooling rack and cool completely before serving.

If there is something to complain about in this book, we will say we were disappointed not to find the authors of the recipes listed. Garden & Gun presented each of these recipes in articles they published and it seems a shame that authors weren't listed. 

Southern Soups & Stews

This Christmas present was from Ann because she likes soup. Usually, when she comes for Christmas, I make up 4 or 5 batches of soup and freeze them so she can leave with a cooler of soup. Little did she know that Southern Soups & Stews was written by one of our favorites, Nancie McDermott.

(Now I am going to digress and tell you what I hate about most cookbooks as a way of pointing out what is really great in McDermott's book. Many cookbook authors act like they invented cooking. Like no one before them ever thought of putting macaroni and cheese together in a casserole dish! How about putting bits of chocolate into cookies?  And then one day, I dropped my chicken in a big vat of hot oil and it was delicious. I admit it, my cornbread recipes is the same one my Mother used and she got it from her aunt, who got it from her grandmother and it is the same cornbread recipe that 90% of Southerner's use and frankly, I don't know who thought it up...but it does have a history, even if it is just my history.)

Sitting alone in the kitchen with Southern Soups & Stews you will find that not only is Nancie McDermott there with you, but the kitchen is jam packed with other people who have helped build a culinary legacy, and a damn fine cookbook.  McDermott always gives credit where credit is due. In doing that, she takes the reader and cook on mad romp through the history of Southern cooking.

You will find Rufus Estes who published what as probably the first cookbook by an African-American chef. There is Nathalie Dupree, who was promoting Southern cooking on PBS before "Southern" cooking was the new big thing.  There is a chicken bog that in some form or another, graces my table every Sunday. The Crab Soup from Buster Holmes that brought back memories of 721 Burgundy.  When I was kid, I used to venture back in the French Quarter to Buster Holmes. I was often the only white face in there and I could never afford crab soup, but the red beans and rice were transcendent.

This shrimp is McDermott's own.  Drawn from years and years of French Arcadian cooking in Louisiana an etouffée comes from the French word étouffer to smother or braise.  Cajun and Creole cooks for generations have smothered the local shrimp and crawfish in a thick roux with peppers, onions, and celery. 

Shrimp Etouffée

1 1/2 pounds head-on medium shrimp, or 1 pound medium shrimp, unshelled

1 1/2 cups shrimp stock, chicken stock, or water

1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

3 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

 Rice, for serving

1. Remove the shrimp shells, tails and heads if you have them, and place them in a medium saucepan. Cover and refrigerate the shrimp. Pour the stock over the shrimp shells and place the saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring it to a rolling boil, and then lower the heat to maintain a lively simmer. Cook for 20 minutes and then remove from the heat.

2. While the stock is simmering, stir the thyme, salt, pepper, cayenne, and paprika together in a small bowl, using a fork to combine them. When the stock is ready, pour it through a wire-mesh strainer into a measuring cup. Add a little water if needed to make 1 1/2 cups.

3. Place a large heavy skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the butter. Swirl to coat the pan as the butter melts. When a pinch of flour blooms on the surface when added to the butter, scatter in the flour and stir quickly and thoroughly, combining the butter and flour evenly into a thick, smooth roux. Continue cooking, stirring often, as the roux turns from white to golden-brown, about 2 minutes. Add the spice mixture, onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic and stir quickly, mixing the vegetables into the roux. Cook until everything is fragrant and softened, 1 to 2 minutes more. 
4. Slowly add the stock, stirring and scraping to mix it in evenly. When the sauce is bubbling and boiling gently, lower the heat and cook, stirring now and then, until the sauce is thickened and smooth, about 15 minutes.

5. Scatter in the shrimp and let them cook undisturbed until the sides are turning visibly orange or pink, about 1 minute. Toss well and continue cooking, stirring often, until the shrimp are pink, firm, and cooked through and nicely flavored by the sauce. Add the green onions and parsley and stir well. Transfer the etouffée to a serving dish and serve it hot or warm over the rice. 

At Cookbook Of The Day, we are always stressing that cookbooks are really just history books with food interspersed within them.   Nancie McDermott is one of those authors who never disappoints. The book is filled with histories, famous chefs, infamous cooks, family, friends, memories,  and a whole bunch of delicious recipes. There is even a bibliography -- a must for a modern cookbook. This is the perfect book for cooks and for historians alike, so grab yourself a copy of Southern Soups & Stews.

A Confederacy of Dunces Cookbook

In the Christmas pile was this gem. I saw a brief reference to this book, but I didn't investigate much further. As one might imagine, I keep a pretty extensive "Wishlist" on Amazon to keep track of book out there that I am interested in. My friend Ann knows of this list and often uses it as a guideline for book purchasing.  She carefully examines the cookbooks, decides what she might like to eat and purchases books accordingly. 

Every year, however, she goes off script for a particular book.  There was a book about hand pies that she chose, because she likes pies.  The was a very popular cocktail book that she bought, because she thought it was offal book. This year she heard about A Confederacy of Dunces Cookbook on NPR. She knows I lived in NOLA, that I like Southern food and Southern authors and she bought it immediately. Another excellent choice, Ann.

The author of the cookbook, Cynthia LeJeune Nobles, is a write and editor. Her previous cookbook collected recipes from the famed Delta Queen. When she became a cookbook editor at the Louisiana State University Press one of her first duties was to recommend someone to write the "Confederacy of Dunces" cookbook.  It wasn't a difficult question. The answer for Nobles was -- me!  Nobles said. "When I first read the novel, the most captivating thing to me was it had all this food in the book."

Nobles set out on a year long journey to follow the food of Ignatius J. Reilly through the backstreets and byways of New Orleans.  The book is filled with the lively characters of John Kennedy Toole. Nobles didn't just skim the novel, find a food item mentioned, and slap in a recipe.  She did extensive research into where, what, and how the food impacted the novel.

When Mrs. Riley eats canned food, Nobles finds a way to make it from scratch.

With the help of an old friend of Toole's, she was able to find the inspiration for the bakery, German's, home of Ignatius' donuts.

Alas, one can no longer find the almondy Dr. Nut, Ignatius's drink of choice, but she does have a photo of the squirrelly bottle.

There is even a chapter on "that whirlpool of despair,"as Toole would call Baton Rouge. 
This recipe is one of those. As Nobles tells us.

"When Ignatius was in Baton Rouge, which he famously called the "whirlpool of despair," he could have stopped for a meal at Bob and Jake's restaurant on Gov­ernment Street and sampled the hottest salad in town, Jake Staples' Sensation Salad. Created in the 1950s, this cheesy, garlicky salad grew to be so popular it became a regular menu item throughout South Louisiana, and it's still a fixture in many restaurants. Back in the 1950s–60s, iceberg lettuce was, of course, pretty much the only thing around. But go ahead and give iceberg a try; the salad needs this lettuce's crunch and heft to complement the bold dressing."

Sensation Salad

1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup canola oil
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon mashed or minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 large head iceberg lettuce, chopped
2/3 cup freshly grated Romano cheese

Combine olive oil, canola oil, lemon juice, vinegar, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper in a pint jar, and shake well. For best flavor, refrigerate 24 hours. When ready to serve, toss let­tuce with dressing and cheese.

As a fan of iceberg lettuce, I highly approve. If you have spent many an hour with Ignatius Reilly, or have explored the literary side of New Orleans, A Confederacy of Dunces Cookbook is a must have.

Field Peas to Foie Gras

If you have read this blog foe even a short time, you will know that we love French cookbooks and we love Southern cookbooks. When we get the opportunity to have them meld together, we are plum ecstatic! That was the way we felt when we saw Jennifer Booker's Field Peas to Foie Gras. Take a Southern girl with serious cooking chops, send her to a fancy French cooking school and you get a book like Field Peas to Foie Gras, comforting and homey with all the technical know-how to elevate the most simple ingredients.

The wild mushroom ragout gracing the cover of the cookbook would be at home on any Paris table, but open the book and you will find my favorite, fried chicken gizzards. Very few things in a cookbook make me happier than a recipe for gizzards!

When talking about the similarities between French cooking and Southern cooking one this stands out, seasonality. One gets a strong sense of farming seasons while reading this cookbook. The first section of the book takes us straight to the larder where putting up jams, and pickles is a way to preserve the summer bounty.

Like the title says, you will find recipes for fois gras and filed peas, and you will also find lemon chevre cheesecake and sweet potato pie, braised short ribs and smothered squirrel, and host of recipes that will seem familiar and daring and most of all tasty.  Interspersed with the lively recipes are stories of home and family. Let's be clear, cooking is a family affair and Jennifer Booker is quick to include family stories in her collection of recipes.

I know you, you always say everything is better with bacon, but Booker gives you instructions on how to make it yourself. She says:

Curing meat takes time and the right ingredients, one of which is Pink Curing Salt. This curing salt, also known as Prague Powder #1 and TCM, or tinted curing mix, is not to be confused with table salt. It is a mixture of sodium, nitrates, and nitrites that inhibit the growth of microorganisms that can cause food-borne illness. It is colored pink to help distinguish it from salt or sugar, and to blend better with the meats it’s being used to cure. Curing salts can be ordered on-line or acquired from a butcher. No matter what its name, curing salt should be used sparingly, and due to its high nitrate and nitrite levels, never eaten alone.

Black Pepper Bacon

¼ cup sea salt
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground bay leaf
1 teaspoon granulated onion
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
½ teaspoon ground thyme
2 teaspoons Pink Curing Salt, or Prague Powder #1
3 to 4 pounds fresh pork belly

Mix the salt, brown sugar, black pepper, bay leaf, onion, garlic, and thyme together and place in a large flat plastic container with a cover. Taste and adjust the seasoning before you add the Pink Curing Salt. Add the Pink Curing Salt and mix well.

Add the pork belly to the container and spread the cure mix over the entire pork belly, being sure to press the mix into all the cracks and crevices of the belly. Cover and refrigerate for 10 days, turning the pork belly after 5 days.

After day 10, remove the pork from the container and rinse with cold water; removing as much of the cure mix as possible. Discard the mix left in the container.

Pat the pork belly dry, place on a wire rack in a sheet pan, and refrigerate, uncovered, for 24 hours to form a pellicle, or sticky skin.

Preheat the grill or smoker to 300° F using a fire made of hickory wood and ?charcoal. Smoke the cured pork belly for 1 ½ hours per pound at 200° to 215° F, or until the internal temperature reaches 155° F.

Remove and let the bacon rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Refrigerate the bacon before slicing to make it easier to cut.

Fry the bacon slices in a hot cast-iron skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes on each side, or until crisp.

If you are a true fan of bacon, go ahead, make it yourself. Grab a copy of Field Peas to Foie Gras and head into the kitchen with someone you love. I would start by making the Fried Gizzards, but that is just me.

Collards: A Southern Tradition From Seed to Table

We love esoteric, scholarly books. And cookbooks. So when we find a scholarly, esoteric book about one of our favorite food; a book that has recipes, too...we are plum ecstatic!

Edward H. Davis and John T. Morgan have written the definitive book on the history of collards in Collards: A Southern Tradition From Seed to Table. The journey they take is part mystery, part geography, part horticulture, part folklore, and great recipes.

Now if you are like most people, you think of the collard as a Southern dish. As with many Southern dishes, like rice, okra, and watermelon, one might think that the collards origin is from Africa. One of the most fascinating finds in Collards is that the Southern collard is most probably not from Africa but from jolly old England. I, too, was surprised.

As the plant was dying out in England in favor of cabbage, it was finding new life in the old South. Davis, who writes about collards on his blog, Collard Geography, inaugurates it with this personal tale:

"I grew up without collards because my mother (Lucy Claytor Davis) hated (and still refuses) to cook them. It is the smell, of course.  In fact she won’t allow anyone else to cook them in the house.  Instead, she offered me many kinds of green vegetables – peas, green beans, lettuce, broccoli… But I was worse than your typical child on this subject – In spite of persistent nudges (in fact, daily doses – it seemed like medicine to me) I would not allow anything green into my mouth. "

Collards got a bad rap from their rather pungent smell during cooking. Some people, like Davis' mother, simply refuse to cook them in their house. One also runs into the socioeconomic stigma of collards -- they are the food the poor folks ate. The section on collards in the history of cookbooks is an area we were drawn to.  The earliest cookbook by and African American woman, What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking, by Abby fisher contain not a single recipe for collards.  

Mary Stuart Smith's Virginia Cookery-Book doesn't contain collards either and even cabbage gets a short shrift.  
"This vegetable, so staple and article of food among out-of-door workers, has fallen into general disuse with the upper classes on account of the disagreeable odor it emits, permeating every corner of an ordinary constructed house from garret to cellar."

 It wasn't till the early 1970's that Southern Living published a recipe for collards. It was the first big wave of Southern cooking going mainstream in the form of Soul food which, "members of the jet set ...have discovered." 

Fresh Greens

1/4 pound salt pork
1 large bunch turnip, mustard, or collard greens
1/2 cup boiling water
Salt to taste

Cook the salt pork in the water for 10 minutes, add washed greens, and cook until tender. Salt to taste. Don't overcook. Serve with vinegar.

Not much water if you want a lot of potlikker, but it was a start. And now, you can't trow a stick at Southern Living without hitting a recipe for greens.  Collards, not just our favorite side dish, but a book whose time has come.




 

The Big Jones Cookbook

I feel like a 100-year-old Italian grandmother when I see another "Southern" restaurant opening in Brooklyn.  I hear a voice in my head saying, "Y'all know Yankees can't cook Southern food."  So when some guy from Chicago named Paul Fehribach sets out to write a Southern cookbook...let's just say we were skeptical.  But wait a minuet, this Southern girl can make a bolognese that would make your Nonna weep.  So all things are possible.

Paul Fehribach was a reader. And readers can accomplish anything!  When he opened Big Jones, his restaurant in Chicago and namesake of his cookbook, he was pretty proud of himself.  Then he tells a story of an couple who were having dinner at Big Jones.  They were very happy with the restaurant and the chef and then they asked a simple question, "Have you read Edna Lewis?"  For Southerners, Miss Lewis is just as important as Julia Child.  His answer was no, but he quickly got her books and totally revamped Big Jones. 

These days, there is a lot of talk about "ingredients" as being the driving force behind cooks, but here we believe that equally as important as the ingredients are the cooks and the recipes that went before us.  One doesn't become a great musician without playing a lot of scales and one doesn't become a great chef without following a lot of old recipes.

In The Big Jones Cookbook, one could eliminate all the recipes and still learn boatloads about Southern cooking just by reading the influences and cookbooks that Paul Fehribach writes about. The other really interesting element of this book is Fehribach's inclusiveness of Southern cuisine.  It is not just about the lowcountry or NOLA, or some southern mashup of cuisine.  He looks at individual areas from Kentucky, to the Appalachian Highlands, to the Deep South to the Lowcountry, giving an excellent overview of the diversity of foods that often simply get lumped as "Southern."

In the original planning stages of Big Jones, Fehribach was looking for a meat-free option to serve during Lent in the largely Catholic Chicago. He turned to Louisiana for their favorite Lenten food, gumbo z'herbes.  Most days other than ones during Lent, a ham hock or bit andouille will probably find its way into the pot but for Lent, it's all green.

Gumbo z'Herbes

1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups yellow onion, finely diced
1 cup green bell pepper, finely diced
2 ribs celery, finely diced
6 cloves garlic, mashed and minced
1 bottle (6 ounces) Louisiana-style hot sauce
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
2 tablespoons granulated onion
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 quart mushroom stock, unsalted
1 cup shiitake mushroom caps, thinly sliced
4 packed cups finely chopped greens, including mostly collards, turnip greens, and/or mustard greens, you can also use some parsley, radish, or carrot tops. More greens is better.
2 bay leaves
1 small can (6 ounces) tomato paste
2 tablespoons kosher salt
A few dashes Worcestershire is optional, or you can use a good quality soy sauce

In an 6- to 8-quart, heavy-bottomed stock pot, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat until just smoking. Immediately turn off heat and add flour to the hot fat, sprinkling it in gradually to avoid splatter, and stir with a wooden spoon. Turn the heat back up to medium, and continue cooking and stirring. Once flour starts to brown in four to five minutes, gradually turn heat down to medium-low but continue browning the flour, stirring constantly, until dark brown, the color of milk chocolate, another 45 minutes. Stir constantly to avoid burning. If you burn the roux you'll know by the awful smell and you'll have to start over.
Once you have the color you want, it's time to add the vegetables. Turn off the heat, and using a long-handled wooden spoon, stand back to avoid splatter and carefully add the onions, celery, and bell peppers to the pot and stir well. Return heat to medium and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the vegetables sweat well and turn soft, six to eight minutes. Add the garlic, hot sauce, and spices, turn off the heat, and stir for a minute or two. Allow the roux to rest off the heat for ten minutes to infuse. Add half the stock and turn heat back to high. Stir to incorporate the roux to the stock, and bring to a low boil, stirring constantly, at which point the mixture will be very thick. Add the rest of the stock and return to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.
Add the greens and mushrooms a cup at a time, adding the next cup after the previous is wilted and soft, stirring well before and after each addition. Once all greens are added and have wilted, add the bay, tomato paste, and one tablespoon of the salt, stir the pot well, reduce to a simmer, and simmer one hour uncovered, stirring regularly. Skim off and discard any fat that rises to the top, using a small ladle. After an hour, add the rest of the salt to your taste and Worcestershire or soy if desired. Serve over hot boiled rice.

Not only is The Big Jones Cookbook a great survey of Southern cuisine, but it's also a great bibliography of "must own" cookbooks.  So read it close to your iPad and keep your Amazon app open!

Honey & Jam

In our ongoing disdain for desserts that resemble compost, we have found another ally, Hannah Queen. He lovely new book, Honey & Jam is a tribute to dessert and to baking in particular.  Born and raised in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Queen picked up a cupcake cookbook when she was 16 and she never looked back. She began blogging as Honey & Jam and it quickly became a "go to" site for bakers.

The obsession, or lack there of, of "deconstructed" dessert is not born out of a desire to relegate dessert to the land of Betty Crocker, but rather from a place of craft and precision. Grind up enough cake, cookie, meringue and scatter it about with jam, coils, jelly, mousse, foam and a sprinkling of herbs and chances are one bite of it will be decent. But take a cake. It is a thing that every child knows. It is vanilla or chocolate. It is predictable...except when it isn't.

The recipes in Honey & Jam are anything but predictable.  Open the book to any page and you will be able to say: Cake! Pie! Cupcake!  But delve into the flavor profile and you find something completely modern. Butter is browned and bourboned. Vegetables take their place with seasonal fruits. Crumbles are enriched with herbs. The result is a collection of recipes that will elevate your baking to a new level.

One of our favorite types of cakes to bake are those that are baked in a single layer and require not frosting.  This is a great example.

Cherry-Almond Brown Butter Cake

1/2 cup (1 stick/115 g) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups (170 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (70 g) almond flour
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup (80 g) pitted whole fresh cherries
1/4 cup (30 g) slivered almonds
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until it turns golden brown and nutty scented. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter a 9-inch (23-cm) round cake pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, vanilla, almond extract, and the browned butter.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, stirring to combine. Stir in the cherries.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and sprinkle it with the almonds. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before turning it onto a wire rack to cool completely. Dust the cake with powdered sugar before serving.

 Honey & Jam is the perfect blend of old-fashioned baking and thoroughly modern flavor profiles. It is quite literally, the best of both worlds.  Betty Crocker is turning over in her grave.

The Broad Fork

We have posted a lot about Hugh Acheson’s The Broad Fork on our Facebook page, but it seems time to write about the book here. So here goes.  The Broad Fork grew out of a conversation with a fellow CSA member who asked a simple question: “What the hell do I do with kohlrabi?”

Indeed.  We learn to cook because someone taught us how, and we cook foods that we are familiar with, and if not, we learn to cook foods that we like and want to make at home.  So, what the hell does one do with kohlrabi?  

Our “what the hell” is artichokes. Don’t have them in the garden, don’t like to clean them, don’t like to eat them, don’t want them in my CSA!  Hey everyone has a veggie they hate!  Truth of the matter is, there are tons of vegetables out there that have very creative uses without boiling them in some salted water and slathering them with butter.

Hugh Acheson sets out to give the reader a look at many creative ways to showcase vegetables or a showcase for many creative vegetables.  The book is helpful, insightful, and never makes you feel like you are getting a lecture about not eating more vegetables.  He is funny, giving the impression that he would never come into your to kitchen and shout obscenities at you for minor kitchen infractions. In fact, he writes like he is exactly the kind of person you would want to let into your kitchen. 

Acheson would, as he does in this cookbook, make fun of you for having a refrigerator door with, “stuff in there from the 1990’s.”  For his Tatsoi Salad he will tell you, “No tatsoi? No problem. Use spinach or bok choy.”  But he will also tell you that tatsoi is “resplendent” so get some for your salads.  The first restaurant he worked in featured fried zucchini with, “the tenderness and attention to detail of a drunken sailor,” and from that experience he fries up green beans. Funny and helpful.

So how does Hugh Acheson answer the question: “What the hell do I do with kohlrabi?” 

Kohlrabi Puree

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 pound kohlrabi, peeled and chopped, greens and stems reserved for garnish

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 sprig fresh thyme

Kosher salt

1. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter.  Add the onion and then the kohlrabi. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring the vegetables to coat them with the butter. Then add the chicken stock and the thyme sprig. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat then turn back down to simmer.  Place a round of parchment paper on top of the mixture, and simmer until the kohlrabi is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

2. Transfer the mixture to a blender, add the remaining tablespoon of butter, and puree until smooth. Season with kosher salt to taste. Serve alongside finely sliced reserved kohlrabi stems and greens.

Pureed kohlrabi is the perfect side dish for a big ol’ steak, not to mention at least two folks at the table will ask you,  “What the hell did you do to the potatoes?”

The Charleston Academy of Domestic Pursuits

After watching The Lee Bros.' new show Southern Uncovered, set this week in Charleston, we were kind of in a Charleston mood, so we pulled out The Charleston Academy of Domestic Pursuits.  Though it may not seem exactly self-explanatory, the book is really a jam packed recipe book with etiquette tips interspersed.  Suzanne Pollak and Lee Manigault have put together a great collection of recipes and some tips on just how easy entertaining can be. They do not always agree with each other, which is a refreshing.  Many books that purport to be about entertaining give the impression that there is only one way to go...the authors often choose differing paths such as where one places one's dessert cutlery.

Now we just love "entertaining" books ; in fact, we would probably rather read entertaining books than actually entertain, but if need be, we are good to go for most any occasion.  No matter how much one entertain, however, there is that moment when you think, "What am I going to do?" This is the perfect book to pull off the shelf.  It is familiar enough to ease you into that party planning mode with recipes for spicy nuts, deviled eggs, angels on horseback, and a fine old-fashioned. 

On the other hand, there is the element of surprise, that item one would never think of as entertaining fare that will leave your guests blown away, like my fave, oxtail. There are also sautéed carrots and peaches, crunchy shallots, and ginger cheesecake for an unforgettable dinner party.

Here is a piece of advice we can get behind: "Two or three bacon appetizers are not overkill."
Indeed!

Candied Bacon

1/2 pound of your favorite sliced bacon
Turbinado sugar or light brown sugar
Freshly cracked black pepper
Cayenne

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Halve the bacon slices crosswise and arrange on parchment lined baking sheets so that the pieces don't touch. Sprinkle the sugar liberally on top to cover the bacon; season with black pepper and cayenne to taste. Bake, rotating once, until the sugar is caramelized, about 20 minutes.

There were a couple of reviews that implied this book was a bit old fashioned or that it was geared to wealthy housewives, like only rich people cared about such things as etiquette and entertaining.  Yes, for years we have been told, politely that one should chew with ones mouth closed and still, go to any fine dining establishment and you are likely to find a gentleman who wants you to remember him for his $10,000 Rolex, but all you will remember is seeing the food in his mouth!  Truth be told, one does not need a Victorian townhouse in Charleston, grandmama's collection of Francis 1 silverware, nor a Viking stove to host an elegant dinner party.  Even the girls down at the trailer park can tell you which side of the plate the fork goes on! 

Everyone can benefit from a little guidance on the domestic sciences.  The world is a better place with manners and a good candied bacon. The Charleston Academy of Domestic Pursuits is a fine place to get your party started.

Pure Pork Awesomeness

Kevin Gillespie is the brother, son, guy-next-door(who owns a really big grill) that I have always envisioned.  I loved him the first time I saw him on TV and have followed his career since then.  Let's just get it out of the way: most of the really talented, on-TV, own-my-own-restaurant(s), James Beard Blah-Blah-Blah appear to be a-holes! (Hey, you know it's true and you know which one you want to slap!) Lord knows, Kevin Gillespie's momma and grandma raised him right!  And who doesn't love a guy who puts a Ray Stevens epigraph in his cookbook?

Pure Pork Awesomeness is a love letter to the pig. It is also a love letter to the world.  Lest one think for a moment that Pure Pork Awesomeness is simply a barbecue book, it is not.  It is exactly what the title conveys, a look at the pure awesomeness of pork that is not relegated simply to the South, nor to America, but to the world, where pork is a staple in many languages. 

Don't worry, Granny's Ham and Navy Bean Soup is in there along side Brunswick Stew, and Deep Fried Baby-Back Ribs.  You will also find Pork Pho, Sichuan-Style Twice-Cooked Pork Belly, Lemon-Ricotta Tortellini in Ham Broth, Zigeunerschnitzel, even tacos.

Tacos al Pastor

1 pineapple, peeled, cored, cut into 1-inch cubes, about 2 cups, or 1 (20-oz.) can unsweetened pineapple chunks, drained 

1 medium Vidalia onion, cut into rough chunks  

10 cloves garlic, peeled 

2 tablespoons ancho chili powder  

1 tablespoons cumin seeds 

1 tablespoons dried oregano  

1 tablespoons kosher salt 

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes  

1 pound lean pork shoulder, cut into 3/4-inch chunks (see Worth Knowing)

3 teaspoon grapeseed oil or canola oil  

8 fresh corn tortillas 

1/2 cup sour cream  

1 lime 

1 bunch cilantro  

Reserve 1/2 cup pineapple chunks and onion and refrigerate for later use. Combine the remaining pineapple, onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and red pepper flakes in a blender and blend to a paste. Place the meat and marinade in a gallon-size zip-top bag, squeeze out excess air, and zip closed. Refrigerate overnight.

Strain the pork and discard the marinade.

Heat a sauté pan over high heat. Add just enough of the oil to the pan for a thin coating and heat until the oil just starts to smoke. Working in batches, add the tortillas in a single layer and heat just until starting to char, about 1 minute per side, then flip and cook for another minute. Wrap in aluminum foil to keep warm.

Add just enough of the oil to cover the pan, swirl to coat, and heat until smoking. Add the pork and reserved pineapple and cook for 1 minute, or until browned. Shake the pan to flip the meat and cook until the pork is cooked through and the pan juices have cooked dry, about 7 minutes, shaking the pan frequently.

In a small bowl, combine the sour cream with the juice of 1/2 lime and whisk until smooth. Cut the remaining 1/2 lime into 4 wedges.

 Coarsely chop 1/2 cup cilantro leaves. Reserve 4 sprigs.

Serve the tortillas topped with the meat and pineapple mixture, reserved onion, chopped cilantro, a drizzle of the lime sour cream, a lime wedge, and whole sprig of cilantro.

Worth Knowing
 
Look for a lean shoulder roast for this recipe. It will be a piece of a boneless Boston butt. Get the smallest and leanest roast you can find, which will probably be 2 to 3 pounds. If you get a piece with excess fat, just trim it away before cutting the meat into chunks. 

Not only do we love this cookbook, but we were huge fans of his first book, Fire In My Belly.  If Kevin Gillespie were our father, we would give him a copy of both books for Father's Day.  Of course, that would be really stupid as he wrote them, but we would give him a big, ol' pork butt and hope that he invited us over! Really, nothing says "I Love You" more than a pork butt and Father's Day is approaching.

Southern Made Fresh

We were so happy to find that Tasia Malakasis was not a one-hit cookbook wonder!  We loved her first book, Tasia's Table, and we were delighted to find that there was a companion book, Southern Made Fresh.

Since her last book she has been selected as one of the 50 people changing the South, she's built a new creamery, and put Elkmont, Alabama on the map, and she still had time to write another cookbook!  Just writing about it exhausts me. We were beyond bummed that our last (and first) trip to Elkmont was on a Sunday when Belle Cheve was closed. We simply must plan better on the next trip.

Southern Made Fresh is at the same time familiarly Southern and wonderfully contemporary. There are tea sandwiches, fried green tomatoes and deviled eggs but one will also find a chicken posole, vegetable soup with pecan pesto and a summer corn risotto.  Yes, there are peach fried pies, and there are also apple phyllo hand pies, and a sausage and sweet potato pie, too.

Her lemonade has a jalapeño bite, the iced tea features bourbon, and her moonshine is peachy.  Vegetables seem to stand out and the recipes appear to be plucked straight form the garden.  It's no wonder people want to party with Malakasis! 

Here is a recipe we love. And while it is true that we would eat gigantic bowls of rice every single day, this is the kind of recipe that would have us eating out of two bowls!
 

Cajun Dirty Rice

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
4 oz. chicken livers
4 oz. ground pork
1 tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp. chili powder
1½ cups chicken broth, divided
1 small onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tsp. dried oregano
3 cups cooked long-grain rice
⅔ cup chopped green onions
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
Garnish: celery leaves

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken livers; cook 3 minutes or until browned. Remove chicken livers from skillet. Let stand until cool enough to handle; chop.

2. Add pork to skillet; cook, stirring to crumble, 4 minutes or just until beginning to brown. Stir in chopped chicken livers, salt, pepper, and chili powder; cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes.

3. Add ¼ cup chicken broth, and cook 3 minutes or until broth evaporates and meat mixture is browned, crusty, and slightly sticks to skillet. Add onion and next 4 ingredients. Cook, stirring occasionally, 7 minutes or until vegetables are browned, crusty, and slightly stick to skillet.

4. Add rice, green onions, parsley, and remaining 1¼ cups broth. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is thoroughly heated.

 Is it too early to be on the look out for book number three?

Culinary Echoes From Dixie

In 1914 according to Kate Brew Vaughn:

"It has been a great pleasure and gratification to me to see the growth of interest in cookery and household efficiency. Fifty years ago, women of refinement were prone to declare almost boastingly that they had never cooked a meal in their lives, and today we note with interest their granddaughters cooking wholesome meals without becoming degraded in the work."

Ah, those poor degraded women of the late 1800's who were forced to cook for the family. In a attempt to instruct these "granddaughters" who are now making their way into the kitchen, Mrs. Vaughn wrote Culinary Echoes from Dixie.  However, before one can set about to cook for the family, Mrs. Vaughn has very strict rules for the budget.

" Twenty-five percent for food, twenty percent for rent, fifteen percent for operating expenses, fifteen percent for clothes, and twenty-five percent for  higher life --education, benevolence, entertainments, and savings."

And one might imagine, cookbooks.

Now one of the reasons folks just love old cookbooks is because they find recipes that have been adapted into the most ravishing dishes, when in fact, the origins are quite simple.  For instance, several years ago in the New York Times, Julia Reed raved about the frozen tomato at the Belle Meade Country Club in Nashville. Well truth be told, frozen tomatoes, a kind of  tomato ice cream served on a bed of lettuce were quite popular.  Mrs. Vaughn's recipe is a bit less complicate than Belle Meade's; more if a tomato sorbet than an ice cream, but the effect is the same.

Frozen Tomato Salad

Peel and chop fine 8 ripe, firm tomatoes. Season with a little salt , pepper, and sugar and three drops of onion juice; turn into a freezer and freeze.  Fill a melon mold with this frozen mixture, pack in ice and salt, and let stand for several hours to ripen.  Serve on a bed of white celery leaves garnished with olives, with mounds of thick dressing over it.

Now while both of these recipes are fine, here is Miss Lucinda's trick for accomplishing the same thing in no time.  Grab a bottle of you favorite Bloody Mary mix.  Pour in in the ice cream maker following the factory instructions.  In 40 minutes you will have a tasty tomato sorbet that will make you the Belle (Meade) of the ball, or tasteful summer luncheon, which ever comes first.