New Year's 2014

Sean Brock who is a visionary Charleston chef, went to Dakar in Senegal to find the origin of low-country dishes like hoppin’ John and gumbo. As the chef at McGrady’s and Husk in Charleston and also Husk in Nashville, Brock is a strong voice in the Southern culinary revivalist scene; he’s attempting to bring back not just the dishes, but the pig breeds, heirloom vegetable varieties and near-extinct grains of the region. In his trip to Senegal, he visited the kitchens of three different women to see how Senegalese cooks go about making some of his favorite dishes: hoppin’ John (a stew of rice and black-eyed peas), collard greens and more.

How appropriate to try some of these dishes as the New Year approaches. We tend to eat greens and some form of hoppin’ John on this day to bring luck for the year. The two dishes I tried were delicious and just a small change from the traditional beans and rice and collards. The Senegalese do not use pork to flavor (most are Muslim) so Sean added smoked oysters on top of the dish of hoppin’ John to add a meaty flavor and it really works. The collards are topped with roasted peanuts which add a great crunch.

“Every culture has its own incarnation of rice and beans,” says Sean Brock. “You only begin to understand what a person is all about after you have tasted their version.”

These are delicious dishes. Start out the New Year right with something a little different!

Recipes taken from ‘Food and Wine’ November 2013.

 

Hoppin’ John with Smoked Oysters

4 servings

 

Peas and Gravy

2 quarts chicken stock or low-sodium broth

1 cup peas, soaked overnight and drained (Brock uses Sea Island Red Peas) I used regular black-eyed peas

1 medium onion, quartered

1 small carrot, halved

1 small jalapeño, halved lengthwise

2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed

10 thyme sprigs

1 bay leaf

Kosher salt

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoons unsalted butter

 

Rice

Kosher salt

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup Carolina Gold rice, preferably Anson Mills Carolina Gold (I did not use this but used a long grain rice)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed

Two 3-ounce cans smoked oysters, drained

Thinly sliced scallions, for garnish

 

Prepare peas and gravy: in a large pot, bring the chicken stock to a boil, add the peas, onion, carrot, celery, jalapeño, garlic, thyme sprigs and bay leaf and cook over moderate heat, partially covered, until the peas are tender, about 1 hour. Season with salt. Drain the peas, reserving the broth. Pick out and discard the vegetables, thyme sprigs and bay leaf.

Transfer 1 ½ cups of the peas to a blender, reserving the rest. Add 2 cups of the broth, the vinegar and the butter and puree until smooth. Transfer the gravy to a bowl and keep warm. Reserve the remaining broth for another use.

Make the rice: Preheat the oven to 300°. In a medium pot, bring 7 cups of water to a boil with 1 teaspoon of salt and the cayenne. Add the rice and simmer over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the rice is al dente, about 12 minutes. Drain and rinse the rice under cold water; drain again.

Spread the rice on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Dot the butter evenly over the rice and bake for 15 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, until the grains are almost dry and separated. Transfer the rice to a bowl and stir in the reserved peas. Serve the rice and peas in bowls, topped with pea gravy, oysters and scallions.

 

Sautéed Collard Greens with Roasted Peanuts

4 servings

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 bunches tender young collard greens (1 ½ pounds) stems and ribs discarded. Leaves thinly sliced

2 cups packed baby arugula (2 ounces), finely chopped

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 dried arbol chilies, crumbled (2 teaspoons)

Kosher salt

½ cup roasted peanuts, chopped

In a very large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until fragrant about 30 seconds. Add the collards and arugula in large handfuls, letting each batch wilt slightly before adding more. Cook, tossing frequently, until the collards start to soften, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and crumbled chilies, season with salt and toss to evenly coat the greens. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Transfer the greens to a serving platter; top with the peanuts and serve.

Happy New Year! and good luck! and lots of green in your pocket-book or on your plate!

 

Christmas Eve '13

It is time to start preparing for the big day and deciding what to cook. Every year I ponder what I can do that is different, but seem to always come back to a pork or beef roast or perhaps ham for my Christmas day meal. I want to do a special dinner for Christmas Eve this year since it is my anniversary. We always get home late from the Christmas Eve service so I decided I could have a good meal if I worked ahead. Since I sing in the choir on Christmas Eve, we always eat afterward. ‘Southern Living’ had a menu that seemed to be just perfect. A light tomato bisque that can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator for 4 days is a simple first course. The salmon dish can be cooked in just a few minutes. So here is my 2013 Christmas Eve meal, even if it is eaten at midnight. I could have a little champagne before the meal!

Merry Christmas to you all!

Taken from ‘Southern Living’ December 2013 issue.

Tomato Bisque

Serves 4

3 (14.5oz.) cans good quality diced tomatoes

2 large onions, diced (about 2 cups)

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 bay leaves

4 Tbsp. tomato paste

3 Tbsp. fresh brewed coffee

1 Tbsp. jarred beef soup base

1 tsp. jarred chicken soup base

2 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs

1 ½ tsp. dried thyme

½ cup heavy cream

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1 ½ tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. black pepper

Garnishes: whipped cream, golden caviar, fresh parsley or chive sprigs

Bring first 10 ingredients and 5 cups water to a boil in a large stockpot over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-high; simmer, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes or until reduced by one-fourth. Cool 15 minutes.

Process with a blender until smooth. Stir in cream and next 3 ingredients. Garnish as desired. Serve immediately.

Note: Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 4 days, or freeze up to 8 weeks. Reheat over medium heat until soup simmers. Do not boil.

 

Pecan-and-Dill Crusted Salmon

This salmon dish is really delicious. I did a trial run to see how it would go and found it so easy and wonderful. A few simple side dishes of perhaps potatoes and green beans or broccoli would be just perfect with this dish. A simple dessert would be fine also.

This makes 10-12 servings but I bought a wild caught salmon and only used a pound and it was good for two meals. It may be expensive but it does go a long way. Shorten the cooking time for just one pound.

1 ½ cups pecan halves

6 Tbsp. butter, melted

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 ½ tsp. dried dill weed

1 (3-3 ½ lb.) boneless, skinless side of salmon

1 ¼ tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Parchment paper

Preheat oven to 400°. Pulse first 4 ingredients in a food processor 5 or 6 times or until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper; place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Spread pecan mixture over salmon. Bake 18-20 minutes or just until salmon flakes with a fork. And there you have it.

 

 

 

 

Christmas Appetizers

Most of us will be invited to some sort of Christmas party and maybe we will be asked to bring an appetizer. The magazines are full of new ideas and actually I like appetizers as much as the real meal. It is a chance to sample a small bite and another small bite if it is good.

I have been working on some appetizers and really like some of the outcomes. We sample them with drinks in the evening and decide if they are worthy of a real party dish. I like hot appetizers but you need to have some cold ones since it is so hard to have all of them hot.

Here I have included some of my newest appetizers and they are easy and good and should be something you can bring, of use for your own party.

Cheesy Caramelized Onion Flatbreads

Prep: 12 minutes

Cook: 20 minutes

Stand: 5 minutes

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

½ large white onion, very thinly sliced

¼ teaspoon salt, divided

2 soft flatbreads or naan (about 4 to 5 ounces each) I used the naan bread and it was excellent.

½ cup fresh ricotta cheese

 1 large garlic clove, minced

4 ounces fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced (about 6 slices)

¼ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

¾ teaspoon black sesame seeds

1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh basil

½ teaspoon orange zest

Preheat oven to 450°F. Heat 1 ½ tablespoons oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and ½ teaspoon salt; sauté 8 minutes or until onions are lightly caramelized. Transfer to a small bowl.

Brush flatbreads with remaining 1 ½ teaspoons oil. Stir together ricotta, garlic, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt in a small mixing bowl, and spread onto flatbreads. Top evenly with cheeses and caramelized onion. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Place flatbreads on a large baking sheet, and bake 12 minutes or until cheese is melted and flatbreads are crisp. Let stand 5 minutes. Sprinkle with basil and orange zest; and cut into slices. Serves 8.

I have done this recipe twice now and it is very good and tasty.

 

Goat Cheese Poppers with Honey

Prep: 20 minutes

Freeze: 20 minutes

Cook: 3 minutes

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 large egg

¾ teaspoon sea salt

2/3 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

1 (11-ounce) log soft goat cheese, at room temperature

2 cups grapeseed oil or canola oil

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon minced chives

¼ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Combine flour and black pepper in a small bowl. Whisk together egg, ½ teaspoon sea salt, and 2 tablespoons water in a second small bowl. Combine panko and remaining ½ teaspoon sea salt in another small bowl.

Roll goat cheese into 24 balls (about 1 tablespoon each). Roll each goat cheese ball in flour mixture, dip in egg mixture, and dredge in panko mixture. Freeze 20 minutes or until firm.

Heat oil to 350° in a deep saucepan over medium-high heat. Fry goat cheese, in batches, 1 to 2 minutes or until golden and crisp on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon, and place on paper towels to drain.

Arrange goat cheese poppers on a platter, drizzle with honey, and sprinkle with chives and red pepper. Serve immediately. Makes 8-10 servings.

Mini Corn Cakes with Smoked Salmon and Dill Crème Fraîche

Make the corn cakes in the morning and top with salmon and dill crème fraîche just before serving.

1 (8.25 oz.) can cream-style corn

1 cup plain white cornmeal

1 cup sour cream

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. table salt

2 large eggs

1 cup crème fraîche

2 Tbsp. finely chopped dill weed

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 (4-oz.) packages thinly sliced smoked salmon, flaked

Garnish: fresh dill

Preheat oven to 350°. Whisk together first 7 ingredients until smooth. Spoon 1 heaping teaspoonful corn mixture into each cup of a well-greased 24-cup miniature muffin pan.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes.

Stir together crème fraîche, dill, and lemon juice. Top muffins with crème fraîche and salmon.

 

 

 

 

Birthday Dinner

My husband is having a birthday on December 6^th and I am cooking with my friend in North Carolina to prepare him a nice meal. My friend Alice (a friend of 35 years) will do half of the menu and I will do the other half. My husband chose a French menu with 6 dishes to prepare and actually all the dishes can be semi-prepared in advance.

I am doing the appetizer called gougѐres, which are little delicate cheese puffs. They are easy to do but taste so good and impress everyone. I have noticed since I started working on this menu that these little cheese puffs have been in several magazines. They would be great for an appetizer for your Christmas meal or for a cocktail bite for New Year’s Eve.

Alice will be doing a French onion soup with the wonderful cheese Comté. Our main course will be a chicken with apples and apple brandy. A potato cake and a leek dish will be the side dishes for the chicken. I will be doing the chicken dish and have spent some time finding the Calvados (apple brandy) but finally got some in a liquor store in New Orleans. Dessert is a Gâteau of apples which are caramelized before being baked.  YUM!

Recipes taken from ‘bon appétit’ October 2013 issue.

Gougѐres

Makes about 50

6 Tbsp. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

¾ tsp. kosher salt

Pinch of nutmeg

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

4 large eggs

6 oz. (1 ½ cups) grated Comté cheese or Gruyѐre

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 large egg yolk

Preheat the oven to 400°. Bring butter, salt, nutmeg, and 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring until butter is melted. Remove from heat, add flour, and stir to combine.

Cook mixture over low heat, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon, until mixture pulls away from sides of pan and forms a ball, about 2 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring vigorously, until a dry film forms on bottom and sides of pan and dough is no longer sticky, about 2 minutes longer. Remove pan from heat and let dough cool slightly, about 2 minutes. Mix in whole eggs one at a time, incorporating fully between additions. Mix in cheese and pepper.

Scrape dough into a piping bag fitted with a ½” round tip (alternatively, use a plastic bag with a ½” opening cut diagonally from 1 corner whichî is what I did). Pipe 1” rounds about 2” apart onto 2 parchment lined baking sheets. Whisk egg yolk and 1 tsp. water in a small bowl: brush rounds with egg wash.

Bake gougѐres until puffed and golden and dry in the center (they should sound hollow when tapped) 20-25 minutes.

Do Ahead: Dough can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and chill. Gougѐres can be baked 2 hours ahead; reheat before serving.

Poulet Vallée d’Auge

Named for a region in Normandy known for its apples (and Calvados), the traditional recipe combines both in a rich, creamy sauce.

6 servings

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided

3 firm, tart apples (such as Pink Lady or Braeburn; about 1 lb.) peeled, cored, quartered

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 3 ½ -4lb. chickens, quartered

Kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper

1 leek, white and pale-green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced crosswise ¼ “ thick

2 shallots, finely chopped

½ cup Calvados (apple brandy)

¾ cup apple cider

4 sprigs thyme

2 bay leaves

½ cup low-sodium chicken broth

½ lb. crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, trimmed, halved

½ cup crѐme fraÎche

1 large egg yolk

Heat 2 Tbsp. butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add apples and cook, turning occasionally, until golden in spots, 10-12 minutes. Transfer apples to a plate and set aside.

Increase heat to medium-high and add oil and 1 Tbsp. butter to pot. Season chicken with salt and pepper and, working in batches, cook until browned about 5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to another plate; set aside.

Add leek and shallots to pot; cook, stirring often, until softened about 4 minutes. Remove pot from heat, add Calvados, and ignite with a long match or lighter. After flames die down, return pot to heat and add cider. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.

Return reserved chicken to pot and add thyme, bay leaves, and broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover pot, and simmer, adding reserved apples back to pot halfway through, until chicken is cooked through, 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook, tossing occasionally, until browned and softened, 6-8 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Transfer mushrooms to a plate.

Whisk crème fraîche and egg yolk in a small bowl. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken and apples to a baking sheet and remove pot from heat. Whisk crème fraîche mixture into cooking liquid in pot. Gently mix in chicken, apples, and mushrooms.

Do Ahead: Chicken and apples can be cooked 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Cook mushrooms and finish sauce just before serving.

 

 

 

 

Delta Dinning

We recently went to the Delta for a conference sponsored by the National Trust’s Main Street Program.  I went to visit Greenwood, the home of Viking Ranges and the Alluvian, a great old hotel that has been renovated across the street from Viking—“a cosmopolitan boutique hotel” as they describe it. I want to go back and do a session at the Viking Cooking School one of these days. The hotel was constructed in 1917 but closed in the 1980’s.  It was resurrected in 2003 by the Viking Range Corporation.

We had dinner at Giardino’s (pronounced Gardenia’s like the flower) in the Alluvian, begun in 1936.  They still have the curtained alcoves dating from prohibition! A bit different and something I have never seen before. Another restaurant in Greenwood, Lusco’s also has the curtained booths dating to 1933. There is no longer prohibition so we had cocktails, then we shared oysters Giardino which were roasted with a slice of Benton’s bacon on top. Oysters and Benton’s---how can they go wrong. The main course for my husband was a catfish cake (apropos since Belzoni, the catfish capital is nearby) topped by comeback sauce, another Delta specialty although it may have begun in Jackson. I had a great pasta dish with a creamy basil pecan pesto, with Grana cheese and chicken.

Our finale meal was the next evening in Greenville, about 40 miles away. Doe’s Eat Place began in 1941.  It’s a dive!  One enters through the kitchen.  There is no menu.  We had been told to order tamales which we did; then their green salad which is served with a fantastic lemon/oil dressing.  The reason to go to Doe’s, however, is steak.  We were told to share one which we did.  Out came this enormous T-bone—a couple of pounds—covering the whole plate.  The side of fries had to come on another plate.  No way I could eat one on my own, and even sharing we needed a doggie bag, and the dog had steak for 3 days.

So for something after the Thanksgiving leftovers try some catfish cakes with comeback sauce. A green salad dressed with olive oil and lemon juice would go just fine with the meal.

 

Catfish Cakes

Makes 10 3oz. cakes

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

2 lbs. boneless skinless catfish fillets, cut into 1 inch cube

½ cup finely chopped red onion

1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and minced

¼ cup finely diced red bell pepper

2 teaspoons minced garlic

½ cup mayonnaise

½ cup finely sliced chives

½ cup cilantro leaf

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 ½ cups white bread crumbs (fresh or dried)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon lime zest

Kosher salt

Fresh ground black pepper

1 ½ cups peanut oil

½ cup flour

 

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat.

Add the catfish, onion, jalapeño and garlic.

Sauté until the vegetables are wilted and the catfish is cooked through, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the cooked fish and vegetables, mayonnaise, chives, cilantro, mustard, crumbs, eggs, zest, salt and pepper.

Form the mixture into 10 3-oz. patties; pack them fairly tight so it will stay together while cooking. Set these aside on a plate.

Heat the peanut oil in a pan until smoking slightly. Dust each cake with flour and gently slip into the hot oil.

Fry the cakes for approximately 2 minutes on each side, or until they are golden brown. Do not crowd the cakes but cook in batches.

Remove the cakes and drain on paper towels. Serve hot.

 

This in a basic recipe for Mississippi Comeback Sauce.

Mississippi Comback  Sauce

¼ cup of olive oil

¼ cup of chili sauce

¼ cup of ketchup

1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon of spice mustard

1 cup of mayonnaise

¼ teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper

Couple dashes of hot sauce

¼ teaspoon of Cajun seasoning (like Slap Ya Mama), or to taste

½ teaspoon of onion powder

½ teaspoon of garlic powder

The juice of ½ of a lemon

Put all of the ingredients in a blender and process until well mixed. Taste and adjust for seasonings. Store in fridge. Use on everything!

The First Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving holiday we celebrate every November began in 1863 with a proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln but was not made into law until 1941.

 

The first American Thanksgiving was not in Massachusetts in 1620, but in 1619 at Berkeley Plantation on the James River. On December 4, 1619, Captain John Woodlief, a former Jamestown colonist, came ashore with thirty-seven new, English settlers to develop the Berkeley Hundred, an 8,000 acre site named for its sponsor, Sir Richard Berkeley. Asking the settlers to kneel, Woodlief began reading Berkeley’s proclamation, “ Wee ordaine that the day of our ships arrival at the place assigned for plantacon in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God.”

 

 

This, insist members of the Virginia First Thanksgiving Festival, Inc., which reenacts the event every November at Berkeley Plantation, was the first Thanksgiving. No Indians and probably no food, although bacon, peas, cornmeal cakes, and cinnamon water have been mentioned.

The irony here is that for 300 years nobody remembered, let alone celebrated, that first Thanksgiving. Then one day in 1931, the Berkeley Company documents surfaced in, of all places, the New York Public Library, among them a record of the 1619 ceremony.

In 1958 a group of determined believers formed the Virginia First Thanksgiving Festival, Inc., “to gain appropriate recognition for Virginia’s documented claim to the first official Thanksgiving in America.” And then in 1962 came a mea culpa from President John F. Kennedy via his special assistant, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. “You are quite right,” he wrote, corroborating the Virginia Festival’s claim, “and I can only plead an unconquerable New England bias.”

We got to see Berkeley Plantation while on the Virginia garden tour this past April. It was very exciting to see where the first Thanksgiving took place and to wonder what they really ate. The Berkeley date is December 4, 1619 (from the old calendar) and people from all parts of the state flock to the celebration. Tables are spread on the lawn, chairs are pushed near tall green boxwood, and a feast is prepared of turkey, ham, Virginia oysters, candied sweet potatoes, and carrots and parsley potatoes. The dining room at Berkeley has a handsome sideboard filled with all kinds of desserts such as wine jelly, ambrosia, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and a pineapple garnished with strawberries, pineapple, and melon balls on bamboo skewers.

In honor or Berkeley and my own Thanksgiving feast I prepared the recipe for pecan pie from The James River Plantations’ Cookbook, which I had purchased on my visit in April. I also researched the best pie dough I could find and think you will find the one I have here is just the best. Lots of butter but really flaky.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and hope all of those pies turn out well!

From The James River Plantations’ Cookbook, ‘A Glimpse into the Homes and Kitchens of Old Virginia.’

Berkeley Pecan Pie

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

Pinch Cinnamon

1/8  teaspoon salt

½-1 cup pecans pieces

1 teaspoon vanilla

9-inch unbaked pie shell

Mix the ingredients, adding the nuts last.  Pour into pie shell. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325° and bake until filling is firm.  (Old timers shook the pie slightly and when its center remained still, the pie was cooked.) Baking time is about 50 minutes.  When done, the top will be firm and crusty with the pecans showing.

From the 2013 November issue of ‘Saveur’ magazine, I found this great pie dough recipe. It makes enough for two crusts and you can freeze it for a month. Believe me it is delicious.

Flaky Butter Pie Dough

For all types of pies including fruit, nut, and custard pies.

2 ¼ cups flour

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

12 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled

6 tbsp. ice-cold water

Whisk flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Using a dough blender, two forks, or your fingers, cut butter into flour mixture, forming pea-size crumbles.  Add water, work dough until smooth but with visible flecks of butter. (Alternatively, pulse ingredients in a food processor.) Divide dough in half and flatten into disks. Wrap disks in plastic wrap; chill 1 hour before using.

Remember for a good dough let it rest before rolling out. Use high fat content at least 83 percent butter for a flaky crust. I use Kerrygold unsalted butter from grass-fed cows but there are some other European brands that work well also. Butter your pan before putting the dough in to keep from sticking. To avoid soggy bottom crusts add about one tablespoon each of flour and sugar over the crust before filling.

Oysters Madeleine Pan Roast

I always do scalloped oysters for my Thanksgiving feast from an old recipe handed down from the housekeeper of my husband’s grandmother, but I read an article in the October/November issue of ‘Garden and Gun’ that made me rethink my recipe.

John Currence is a great chef and restaurant owner in Oxford, Mississippi and I have eaten at two of his restaurants and they are terrific. His article in ‘Garden and Gun’ referenced the original Madeleine recipe first published in the Baton Rouge Junior League cookbook in 1959; the book was called River Road Recipes and it is still in print. The dish is a Louisiana classic built around processed cheese and jalapeños. I did an article about the Spinach Madeleine several months ago. Mr. Currence decided to use spinach cooked in bacon fat and add oysters and reinvent this famous dish.

This article was of interest to me since I have gotten to know the real Madeleine and go to church where she attends. She is there most Sundays. Her husband died this year and she is somewhat in decline but still has a kind word to say to everyone.

This recipe has perhaps a hint of Oysters Rockefeller but is not as rich. Red pepper flakes gives it a little kick, but nothing really fierce. The roux made with bacon fat is the key to the flavor. We all have our Thanksgiving favorite like creamed onions and peanuts (my husband’s) and scalloped oysters (my son’s), but this recipe may be added to the list of favorites. Give it a try and I think you will like it!

Recipe from the October/November 2013 issue of ‘Garden and Gun’ magazine.

Oyster Madeleine Pan Roast

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

3 tbsp. butter

2 lbs. fresh spinach

3 tbsp. bacon fat

3 tbsp. flour

½ cup yellow onion, small diced

1 ½ tbsp. garlic, minced

¼ cup celery

3 tbsp. heavy cream

½ tbsp. lemon juice

2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves

1 ½ tsp. red pepper flakes

½ tsp. crushed toasted fennel seed

½ cup plus 3 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

2 dozen shucked medium oysters

½ cup breadcrumbs

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

Preparation

Melt butter in a medium soup pot over low heat; add spinach, raise heat to medium, and stir, turning until just wilted. Remove from pan, turn into a colander, and press water out as much as possible, reserving spinach liquor. Allow spinach to cool, then chop roughly.

In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, melt bacon fat and whisk in flour. Continue whisking until roux just begins to turn golden and smell nutty. Add onion, garlic, and celery, and stir until vegetables soften. Stir in ¾ cup of reserved spinach liquor, cream, lemon juice, thyme, red pepper flakes, and fennel seed, and continue stirring until mixture thickens.

Blend in ½ cup Parmesan cheese and stir in chopped spinach. Combine well. Season lightly with salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Remove from heat and allow to cool briefly.

Stir in oysters gently and pour mix into a large pie tin rubbed with butter. Combine remaining Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, and lemon zest; sprinkle over casserole and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until breadcrumbs toast.

 

 

James Farmer, Southern Living Editor, and Cornbread Dressing

I attended the 25^th Southern Garden Symposium in St. Francisville, Louisiana last week.  I had never attended before because my husband is primarily the gardener but I decided to attend and had a great two days and got lots of ideas.

I spent two hours learning about flower arranging from John Grady Burns, who has worked at the White House and has a design shop in Atlanta. He said the work in arranging these days is “organic”. I guess organic is not just for food! He means using anything in nature such as interesting branches, fig vines, banana stalks, and logs with resurrection ferns growing on them. In other words, you do not have to have anything perfect to make an interesting arrangement! This lecture was outdoors in the fabulous Afton Villa Gardens, a restored plantation garden augmented with plantings in the ruins of the old villa. Mrs. Trimble, the owner, noted in her welcome that her gardener, Ivy, came to help them for two weeks and has remained for 40 years.

The highlight was the afternoon speaker, James Farmer, whose talk was farm to table. He has the perfect name, doesn’t he? He is one of the three Editors-At-Large for ‘Southern Living’ along with Jenna Bush Hagar, and Kimberly Whitman. He has written 5 books and has a design studio in Perry, Georgia where he was born. He is an Auburn graduate and there he got his interest in farming and food. When I got my November issue of ‘Southern Living’ there was an article on a Georgia Christmas by James Farmer. He talked at the symposium and in the article about his grandmother Mimi, and the influence she had on his life. She passed away this year. He gives the recipes for his Thanksgiving meal in honor of Mimi. I did her cornbread dressing in preparation for my Thanksgiving feast. I wanted to do a trial run and I wanted a picture for my readers. It was very good and easy and actually reminded me of my grandmother’s dressing which was always done with simply cornbread (which she baked from scratch) and vegetables. And its dressing here in the South, not stuffing.

Get the November 2013 issue of ‘Southern Living.’ It not only has an article on a Georgia Thanksgiving but an Alabama one as well.

 

From the November 2013 issue of ‘Southern Living’ magazine.

Mimi’s Cornbread Dressing

Makes 8-10 servings

2 Tbsp. canola oil, divided

2 cups self-rising white cornmeal mix

1 1/3 cups buttermilk

1 cup self-rising flour

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

5 to 6 cups reduced sodium chicken broth

¾ cup butter, divided

3 cups chopped sweet onion (about 1 large)

2 cups chopped celery

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

2/3 cups chopped fresh flat-leafed parsley

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh sage

2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

1 ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp. kosher salt

Preheat oven to 400°. Coat bottom and sides of a 10-inch cast iron skilled with 1 Tbsp. oil; heat on oven 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir together cornmeal mix, next three ingredients, and remaining 1 Tbsp. oil. Pour batter into hot skillet.

Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven to a wire rack; cool 15 minutes. Crumble cornbread into a large bowl. Stir 5 cups broth into crumbled cornbread until moistened, adding more broth, 1 Tbsp. at a time, if necessary. (Mixture should resemble wet sand.)

Melt ¼ cup butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onion and celery and sauté 8 to 10 minutes or until tender. Add onion mixture to cornbread mixture.

Microwave remaining ½ cup butter in a small microwave safe bowl at HIGH 1 minute or until melted. Stir melted butter, eggs, and remaining ingredients into cornbread mixture; spoon into a lightly greased 13-x9-inch baking dish.

Bake at 400° for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until golden brown. Serve immediately.

We had this for lunch served over a slice of turkey and added a little Tabasco.

 

Simple Supper

I like to be able to prepare a simple good meal even when I have little time. People are impressed when you can do this, but you still need to have a plan. I did a simple meal the other evening with little prep and cooked the meal while having a glass of wine.

There is a section in bon appétit called fast, easy, and fresh. I have over the years been able to get some good recipes from this section. This month featured an apple salad with caraway. The main ingredient was to be kohlrabi (which I could not find) but I did substitute celeriac. My main dish was salmon which I bought wild-caught, and broccoli was my vegetable. It was a wonderful delicious meal and so healthy. Now I am all for healthy and fast!

Taken from ‘bon appétit’ October 2013.

Celeriac and Apple Salad with Caraway

4 servings

1 tsp. caraway seeds

3 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

1 medium celery root, peeled, thinly sliced on a mandolin (I grated mine)

2 small heads lettuce such as frisée, about 6 cups torn into bite-size pieces

1 crisp red apple such as Pink Lady or Honeycrisp, thinly sliced

4 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives, divided

Toast caraway seeds in a small dry skillet over medium heat, tossing often, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop.

Whish caraway, oil, vinegar, and mustard in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper.

Add celeriac, lettuce, apple, and 2 Tbsp. chives to bowl with dressing and toss to coat: season with salt and pepper.

Top salad with remaining 2 Tbsp. chives just before serving.

 

Roast Salmon and Broccoli with Chili-Vinaigrette

4 servings

1 bunch broccoli cut into florets

4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

4 6-oz. skinless salmon fillets

1 jalapeño, thinly sliced into rings, seeds removed if desired

2 Tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar

2 Tbsp. drained capers

Preheat oven to 400°. Toss broccoli and 2 Tbsp. oil in a large rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Roast broccoli, tossing occasionally, until crisp-tender, 12-15 minutes.

Rub salmon with 1 Tbsp. oil; season with salt and pepper. Push broccoli to edges of baking sheet and place salmon in the center. Roast until salmon is opaque throughout and broccoli is tender, 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile combine jalapeño, vinegar, and a pinch of salt in small bowl and let sit until jalapeño is slightly softened, about 10 minutes. Mix in capers and remaining 1 Tbsp. oil; season with salt and pepper.

Serve salmon and broccoli drizzled with chili-caper vinaigrette.

 

 

Woodville Willdlife '13

We have just attended our 5^th Deer and Wildlife Festival in Woodville, Mississippi, and we get to eat something new every time. I was working the gate this year and missed eating the samples from the “wildlife cook-off.” The big draw at this festival was having one of the Duck Dynasty people come, for quite a sum I might add. I had never heard of Duck Dynasty when the planning committee first proposed someone from the show last spring.  Unfortunately there was an extra charge to ‘meet and greet’ John Godwin so I never even saw him.

Anyway, I had a buffalo burger from the booth of the local Vine’s Meat Store in Centerville and it was quite good. Benny from Vine’s, has to order 2,000 pounds of buffalo at a time to help defray the cost of shipping. He also had an elk burger and elk sausage. I went down to his store the next week and bought some elk sausage and it was delicious, but expensive. I cooked some slices in the microwave and served it with hot mustard and it was a tasty treat. I plan on using it in my red beans and rice next week. It’s similar to deer sausage which a lot of hunters make. Vine’s is the place around here that deer hunters take their deer for Benny to make sausage.

I have just received my new issue of ‘Louisiana Cookin’ and who was on the cover but the Duck Dynasty family! They were giving the recipes they were going to be using for their Thanksgiving feast. Some of them were of interest to me so I tried their appetizer called armadillo eggs. Yes, when the peppers are cooked they do look interesting, but since I have never seen an armadillo egg I cannot say for sure if they look like their eggs! Do armadillos lay eggs? Apparently not, so where did this dish originate.  It seems that it started in Texas.  I had not had any experience with armadillos until I came to Alabama (they have not yet populated North Carolina), but there is an armadillo festival in Victoria, Texas where armadillo eggs may have originated. They also serve real armadillo, if you are interested. I guess armadillo eggs have traveled northeast with the armadillos to Monroe, Louisiana where the Duck Dynasty clan live. I did not try their cornbread and rabbit dressing but it did sound good. Their dessert of sweet potato tarts sounded tasty so I may give that a try also.

Both recipes from ‘Louisiana Cookin’, November-December 2013, issue

Armadillo Eggs

 

These are slightly large for a pickup at a cocktail party, but would be nice for a first course using a knife and fork or they could be sliced to use as a pick up treat.

Makes 8 servings

8 jalapeños, halved and seeded

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 pound ground breakfast sausage

1 pound bacon, thinly sliced

 ¼ cup butter, melted optional

Preheat oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and top with a metal cooking rack.

Fill each jalapeño half with cream cheese. Make 16 sausage patties. Mold a patty around each jalapeño half, making sure to cover the whole pepper. Wrap one piece of bacon around the sausage.

Bake until bacon is crispy, and sausage is thoroughly cooked, about 12 to 15 minutes on each side. Remove from heat, and brush with melted butter, if desired.

 

Sweet Potato Tarts

Makes 2 (10-inch) tarts

2 Homemade Piecrusts (recipe follows)

2 pounds sweet potatoes, cooked, peeled, and mashed (about 3 cups mashed)

2 cups sugar

6 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ cup butter, melted

1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll out homemade piecrusts; and fit into 2 (10-inch) fluted tart pans with removable bottoms. Gently press crusts into bottom and up sides of tart pans and trim. Line crusts with parchment paper, and place pie weights on top.

Bake until crusts begin to set, about 10 minutes. Remove pie weights and parchment paper, and bake until lightly browned, about 8 to 10 minutes more. Let crusts cool on a wire rack 10-15 minutes.

In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sweet potato, sugar, egg yolks, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, evaporated milk, and vanilla. Mix on low speed to combine.

Divide filling evenly among prepared crusts. Bake 10 minutes; decrease heat to 300°, and bake until tarts have set and are dark golden brown, about 45 to 50 minutes.

 

Homemade Piecrusts

Makes 2 (9-inch) pie crusts

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes and frozen

5 tablespoons ice water, or more, as needed

In the work bowl of a food processor, pulse together flour and salt. Add butter and pulse until mixture has pea-sized pieces of butter.

Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition, until dough comes together. Add more cold water, if necessary. Remove from bowl, and place on clean work surface. Separate dough into 2 even disks, being careful not to overwork. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, 1 to 2 hours or up to overnight.

 

 

Jerusalem Artichokes

My husband has been digging Jerusalem artichokes.  It is a little early in the season but he wanted to clean out an overgrown area. And I have been finding new ways to cook them instead of just boiling them and adding butter. They are ugly little creatures and are hard to clean, but they are a good vegetable with a misleading name.

Jerusalem artichokes are neither from Jerusalem nor artichokes. These tubers are actually a member of the sunflower family, and their name is probably a derivative of girasole, the Italian word for sunflower, or girasol, a Spanish word that means “follow the sun.” The association with sunflowers explains why they are sometimes marketed as sunchokes. In southern Louisiana they are known as tompinambours. By any name, they are intrepid growers that come back and flourish annually, to the point that some gardeners might wonder whether the towering plants will take over the garden.

A native of North America, Jerusalem artichokes were eaten by Native Americans, who both cultivated then and harvested the ones that grew wild along the eastern seaboard. Jerusalem artichokes were taken back to the Old World in the early 1600s by explorers, who suspected they would be a hit back home. They were. Even now, Jerusalem artichokes are more popular in most of Europe than they are in the United States, although there are pockets of great devotion in communities across the South. People praise this vegetable’s sweet, nutty crunch when raw and its earthy, silky smoothness when cooked.

Most cooks make a relish out of the artichokes or use them in a rémoulade. I made a rémoulade with the artichokes and celery root recently. It was very good with a piece of beef. I think one of the best ways to use the artichokes is in this soup combined with wild mushrooms and hazelnuts. This soup is perfect for a cool autumn evening and worth the effort for finding some of the ingredients.

 

Taken form The New Southern Cookbook by Sheri Castle.

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Wild Mushrooms and Hazelnuts

Makes about 2 quarts

 

Soup

1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar or cider vinegar

1 ½ pounds well-scrubbed Jerusalem artichokes

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup chopped leeks (white and tender green parts) shallots, or sweet onion

½ cup chopped celery or celery root

3 ½ to 4 cups chicken, duck, or light-colored vegetable stock

1 teaspoon kosher salt

8 ounces russet potatoes, peeled and cut into1-inch chunks (about 1 ½ cups)

1 small bay leaf

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

¾ cup half-and-half

1 tablespoon Madeira, tawny port, or dry sherry

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

 

Wild Mushrooms and Hazelnuts

2 tablespoons butter

8 ounces wild mushrooms, stemmed and cut into ¼ -inch slices

¼ cup peeled and finely diced Jerusalem artichoke

¼ cup shelled, skinned, and coarse chopped hazelnuts

2 tablespoons Madeira, tawny port, or dry sherry

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Porcini oil or hazelnut oil, for drizzling (optional) (I had only olive oil.)

For the soup: Fill a medium bowl with cool water and add the vinegar. (This will keep the artichokes from darkening when cut.) Peel the artichokes only if the skins are blemished and cut them into thin slices, dropping them into the water as you go.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan or small soup pot over medium heat. When the butter stops foaming, stir in the leeks, celery, and a pinch of salt.  Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in 3 ½ cups of the stock and the salt and potatoes.

Drain and quickly rinse the artichokes, then add them to the pot. Add the bay leaf and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer partially covered until the artichokes and potatoes are very soft, about 30 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Purée in a blender (working in batches) and return to the pot, or purée the soup directly in the pot with an immersion blender. Stir in the half-and-half and Madeira. The soup should be very thick but not pasty, so add the rest of the stock or another splash of half-and-half if needed. Season with the pepper and more salt, if needed. Keep the soup warm over low heat, stirring occasionally.

For the mushrooms: Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter stops foaming, add the mushrooms, making sure they are in a single layer in the skillet; cook them in batches if necessary. Stir the mushrooms briskly to coat them with butter. Sauté stirring or shaking the skillet occasionally, until the mushrooms are browned and barely tender, about 4 minutes. Add the artichokes and hazelnuts and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the Madeira and cook, stirring until the liquid cooks away. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the nutmeg, thyme, and parsley. Season with a tiny bit of salt and pepper.

To serve, ladle the soup into serving bowls. (Shallow soup plates work well.) Spoon a portion of the mushroom mixture into the center of each serving. Drizzle a few drops of the oil around the edge of the soup, if using, and serve straightaway.

Although this soup can be a hearty meal, it is fine enough to be a soup course at a nice dinner party.