Charleston Spoleto 2012

Our yearly visit to Charleston during the Spoleto Festival was a success this year. The performances we chose were just the best. We heard the Westminster Choir on a Friday afternoon and they had such good selections of music---from Rachmaninoff to Dolly Parton. Dolly’s song, ‘Light of a Clear Blue Morning’, was written by her in 1977, and it concerned her struggles from a split from a business partner. It was perhaps the most beautiful song of all.

There is a Piccolo Spoleto Festival that goes on during the same time as the real Spoleto. These events are usually free or much cheaper than the usual tickets for the main events. We just happened to see a poster promoting John Rutter’s , ‘Requiem’ being performed  by the St. Michael’s Episcopal Choir. It was uplifting and free, and if you know church music, you know John Rutter’s compositions and arrangements are always beautiful.

That afternoon we went to the Dock Street Theater for a performance of Noel Coward’s, ‘Hay Fever’.  A funny, funny play about a dysfunctional family who invite friends for a weekend in the country and of course everything goes haywire!

Of course, the food is the thing. The meals did not disappoint. We usually stop by McCrady’s every year. This year Sean Brock had a 4 or a 10 course menu, or you could order off the al la carte menu. We chose the 4 course meal with wine paring and from the starter to the cheese course it was just the best. A salad of warm vegetables was the starter, then a fish course of shrimp with peas and butterbeans, and then the entrée was a loin of pork with a small amount of pork belly with vegetables. We choose a cheese course for the dessert. I was just impressed with how fresh everything was, and the portions were small and one did not feel full even with 4 courses.

Sean Brock has another hit restaurant called Husk, and we went for lunch there on Saturday of our trip. I tried to get a dinner reservation but they told me they were booked a year in advance! Lunch was a serving of fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese and a small slice of country ham. It was really a good combination and one I came home and duplicated. My husband and I shared the appetizer, but had for our main course a bowl of squash soup with sweet corn and a crab fritter in the middle. One could not taste the crab in the fritter but it was a nice touch. I came home and did this soup and used a small fried cornmeal fritter and left out the crab.  Our daughter once said of a restaurant dish, “The only thing the crab added was cost.”

Our last meal was at FIG, Food Is Good! We had a lovely appetizer made with rudderfish, perhaps like a grouper, made into a tartare. It was so simple and fresh. We both had a sautéed soft shell crab for the main course, with an heirloom tomato and arugula salad. Again, so simple and yet so fresh tasting.

I cannot wait to go back next year. The best part, I lost three pounds. So, you can eat well and lose weight!

My take on Husk’s Squash Soup! I’ve done this twice now and it is a winner.

Squash Soup with Sweet Corn

Serves 2

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

2 yellow medium squash and 1 medium zucchini, chopped

½ yellow onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups vegetable broth

½ cup fresh corn kernels

In a 4 quart saucepan, put the butter and olive oil. Turn heat to medium. Saute the onion and minced garlic for a minute. Add the chopped squash, vegetable broth, and cook covered, until soft, about 15 minutes.

Let cool. Purée in a blender. Pour soup back into pot and add the sweet corn. Cook for another 5 minutes, so the corn gets somewhat tender. Pour into two bowls. Garnish with some greens, drizzle some olive oil and cream around the bowl. Delicious!

I made my fritter with cornmeal and onions.  Fry, drain and add to the soup just before serving.

My Take on Husk’s Fried Green Tomatoes with Pimento Cheese and Ham

Fried Green Tomatoes

Fry 4 or more slices of bacon (preferably Benton’s) in a large heavy skillet. Remove and drain, leaving the hot grease. Slice several garden-fresh tomatoes, picked anywhere from gourd-green to ripe but firm, depending on your preference; making the slices about ½ inch thick, and allow 3 to 4 per person. Coat each slice in cornmeal seasoned with salt and pepper. Lift them gently with a fork or spatula into the hot grease and fry until the meal is brown and crusty, then turn and cook the other side. Additional grease may be needed. When the tomatoes are fried to a toasty crispness, drain on paper towels.

Pimento Cheese

Grate 1 pound sharp cheddar cheese. Add to this ¼ softened cream cheese. To this add about 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, salt, pinch of cayenne pepper, 1 small jar of roasted red peppers, dash of Tabasco. Mix well. Chill before serving.

To plate: Put 3 slices fried green tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of pimento cheese on the plate with a small slice of country ham (Spanish ham such as seranno or prosciutto would be good).

Quinoa

Grains are “in” these days and rightly so since they are healthy and low in calories. The one that seems to be all the rage is quinoa pronounced (keen-wa). Twenty years ago the Quinoa Corporation introduced this grain to the world. This important grain has ancient origins, dating back over five thousand years to the mighty Inca civilization of South America. The Inca referred to it as the Mother Grain.

What does this grain have that makes it so great? Quinoa contains more high quality protein than any other grain. It stands alone as a complete protein. In other words, it provides all the essential amino acids in a balanced pattern, close to the ideal set by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Since many people cannot eat gluten these days, quinoa contains no gluten, which means it is wheat-free. Quinoa is easy to digest and less filling than most grains and pasta. It is also easy and quick to prepare.

I have noticed lately at the Whole Foods prepared food area that there are always three or more salads prepared with quinoa. I have started using it because it is good with almost any vegetable and can be enhanced with some lemon juice and olive oil.

You can find a box at Wal-Mart (in the rice section) for around $4.00 so it is easy to locate. It is prewashed if you buy in the box, but if you buy in a bin in some stores it needs to be washed before cooking. It cooks in 10 to 15 minutes so an easy answer for a quick grain salad for dinner.

The June issue of ‘bon appétit’ had a whole section on grains, in fact the opening editor’s letter was about quinoa. These recipes were taken from the magazine. They are cooling, healthy, and taste of summer.

Quinoa Tabbouleh

6 servings

1 cup quinoa, rinsed well

½ tsp. kosher salt plus more

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 garlic clove, minced

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large English hothouse cucumber or two ordinary cucumbers, cut into ¼ “ pieces

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved (or use your fresh tomatoes, chopped)

2/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

½ cup chopped fresh mint

2 scallions, thinly sliced

Bring quinoa, ½ tsp. salt, and 1 ¼ cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Meanwhile, whisk lemon juice and garlic in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

Spread out quinoa on a large rimmed baking sheet, let cool. Transfer to a large bowl; mix in ¼ cup dressing. DO AHEAD.  Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover remaining dressing and quinoa separately, chill.

Add cucumber, tomatoes, herbs, and scallions to bowl with quinoa; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle remaining dressing over.

Quinoa and Spring Vegetable Pilaf

6 servings

1 ½ cups quinoa, well rinsed

1 cup vegetable broth

2 cups frozen petite peas, thawed, divided (You might like to substitute fresh green beans.)

5 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves, divided

1 garlic clove, peeled

3 tablespoons butter

1 large leek (white and pale green parts only), halved, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)

¾ cup sliced shallots

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, stemmed, thickly sliced

1 12-ounce bunch asparagus, trimmed, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces

Bring 2 ½ cups water to boil in small saucepan. Add quinoa and 1 teaspoon salt; return to boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender and water is absorbed, 10-15 minutes. Drain if necessary.

Puree broth, 1 cup peas, 4 tablespoons mint, and garlic in blender until smooth.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add leek and shallots; sauté until soft and light brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, then asparagus; sauté until mushrooms are tender and asparagus is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Mix in puree and 1 cup peas; stir until heated through, about 2 minutes. Add quinoa; stir to coat.

Divide pilaf among bowls; sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon mint and serve.

Green Beans

Green beans, string beans, snap beans are coming into the markets locally now.  We have had a poor pea crop this year? But the green beans appear that they are going to be good.  I prefer pole beans as they produce over a longer period of time.  I have been growing Rattlesnake beans for several years and save seed.  They are “a heavy producer in the hot, humid areas…of the South,” according to the seed catalogue and I tend to agree.  This year I tried a new one, Louisiana Purple Pod; another one touted as a “beautiful Southern heirloom with prolific, drought-resistant vines.”  They turn green when cooked and it looks like they are going to be a good producer too.  If you want to grow your beans perhaps on a patio trellis, the Louisiana Purple Pod has purple vines too and therefore more colorful.  If you have your own beans in the garden you can choose to harvest when small and stringless or let them get larger and more mature.

In John Edgerton’s Southern Food he notes “there is only one basic way to cook them: very slowly, in a black pot or skillet, with a ration of cured pork or bacon grease added to enhance the flavor.” He notes two variations of the cooking method. You can either simmer a 2-inch cube of salt pork or a small piece of country ham hock in a deep, covered pot or skillet with 4 cups of water for 1 hour or more.  Put in 1 pound of beans and cook them covered over low heat for 3-4 hours.  Stir occasionally and add water if necessary.  Some salt may be needed if the pork is not enough.  Or put 2 tablespoons of bacon grease in a heavy iron skillet over medium heat.  When the grease is hot, put in the beans. Reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook slowly for 3 hours or more.  It may be necessary to add a little water now and then, but condensation in the closed pot should provide most of the moisture needed.  Add salt if necessary.  He notes some cooks add a little sugar or a pod of red pepper or an onion to the pot.  Throughout the South this is a mess of beans—the most popular dinner-table side dish.

Sheri Castle in her The New Southern Garden Cookbook notes, “Few aspects of southern cooking are more maligned and misunderstood than the issue of how long to cook vegetables, particularly snap beans.  At one time, most snap beans were sturdy pole beans with thick, tough pods that required extensive cooking to become edible.  Subjecting the newer stringless varieties to long cooking would dissolve them into a tasteless mess.  Each variety of bean requires the appropriate approach.  If a bean pod is delicate and tender enough to eat raw, it needs quick, gentle cooking.  If a bean pod is thick and has strings that must be pulled off, it needs long, slow cooking.”

My favorite Southern chef, Frank Stitt, gives this recipe in his Southern Table.

Pole Beans with Onions and Potatoes

2 onions, quartered

Several thyme sprigs

Several savory sprigs

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 quarts water, preferably spring water (Now where does he get this?)

1 pound small new red or white potatoes, scrubbed and halved

2 pounds pole beans, strings and stem ends removed

1 tablespoon extra- virgin olive oil

Combine the onions, herbs, salt, and garlic in a medium pot, add the water, and bring to a boil.  Add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the beans and cook until tender, 10-15 minutes. Drain and reserve the broth for another use.  Serve drizzled with olive oil.

I usually do my beans this way.

Green Beans with Onions

Measure 2 cups of water and 2 cups of beans in a pot, then add a tablespoon of salt. Add ½ chopped onion and a few red pepper flakes. Cook for 5-7 minutes over medium-high heat. Drain. Add a splash of olive oil and heat gently and finish with freshly ground pepper and salt if needed.

Julia Child in Mastering the Art of French Cooking tells us to blanch beans in a large kettle of rapidly boiling salted water until tender or almost tender and drain immediately. She talks about 10-15 minutes and suggests tasting to test the tenderness.

Haricots Verts a l’Anglaise (Buttered Green Beans)

Toss the hot beans in the saucepan over moderately high heat to evaporate their moisture.  Toss briefly with salt and pepper. Turn them into the serving dish and distribute 4-8 Tb of butter cut into pieces over them.

Haricots Verts a la Maître d’Hôtel (Buttered Green Beans with Lemon Juice and Parsley)

Toss the hot beans in the saucepan over moderate high heat to evaporate their moisture.  Toss with salt, pepper and a piece of butter. Add 6-8 Tb softened butter gradually alternating with drops of lemon juice (2-3 tsp). Taste for seasoning.  Turn into the vegetable dish and sprinkle with parsley.

I learned a few years ago how good vegetables can be when roasted.  Sheri Castle suggests,

Oven-Roasted Whole Beans

1-1 ¼ pounds slender beans, ends trimmed (Save sturdy bean-filled pods for recipes that bring out their flavor through long cooking.)

1-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

½ teaspoon ground black pepper or to taste

Preheat the oven to 450ᴼ

Put the beans on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with enough oil to moisten, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.  Spread the beans in a single layer and roast until tender with a few browned spots, 6-10 minutes.

You can also use infused olive oil, such as garlic, lemon, basil, or mushroom.