Weekly Dish

The U.S. South, as a geographic region, is often pigeonholed as one monolithic entity, all of us southerners grouped into the same slow-talking, barefoot-going mass. But think through just the culinary traditions, and you’ll see quite a variance from one part of the South to the next. Take the simple idea of barbecue. Now I grew up in Mississippi, only three hours from Memphis (or for the more adventurous, an hour and a half from a joint in the middle of nowhere called Letha’s), so I will tell you that barbecue means ribs, plain and simple. And I like mine dry. But just ask folks from Texas or North Carolina to describe barbecue, and you’ll see. They have definite ideas about what goes in the sauce, and those ideas vary widely. Oh, and they also have very definite ideas that their state’s barbecue is the absolute best.

To be sure, there are traditions that appear consistently across the South, but many regions have distinct specialities that you can’t find in other places. In the hill country of Kentucky, where some of my mom’s family is from, they make these wonderful concoctions called ham biscuits, homemade biscuits slathered with butter and topped with the best ham I’ve ever eaten. In southern Louisiana, of course, Creole and Cajun cooking reigns supreme; jambalaya, etouffee, and gumbo aren’t likely to appear as frequently in other parts of the region.

In Mississippi, I grew up with frequent tutorials in frying–a staple method in most parts of the deep south–and what I would call good southern comfort food. When asked, my brother Jason requests what I think of as the quintessential comfort meal: fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and black-eyed peas with pepper jelly. Oh, and homemade biscuits, which we smear with butter and honey. Southern food, for us, also meant wild game: my dad and brothers all hunt, so baked doves, roasted quail, and dry-fry (fried venison) were also big parts of our meals.

If the blogging event Food Bloggers’ Geography: Southern Style, put on by My Husband Cooks, had fallen at a different time in my life, I would love to have whipped up one of these dishes that so represents the culinary heritage of my southern family. But, alas, I had to go back to the days before the nausea set in to find something appropriate.

In the first few weeks of pregnancy, I felt hungry all the time. Mostly for salty, crunchy things. I ate olives by the handful and although I am usually not a potato chip girl, if they were near, I could eat a whole bag. One Sunday for lunch, after a heavy rain had knocked some of the not-yet-ripe fall tomatoes from the garden on the ground, we fried them up for what is, in Mississippi anyway, the quintessential southern summer sandwich: a BLT. Instead of ripe red tomatoes, I used the fried green ones, whose tartness works well with the bacon. Instead of lettuce, I added our garden arugula, and I loved the peppery flavor against the salty crunch of the bacon and the spicy coating of the tomatoes. If this were a traditional southern BLT, it would have to have homemade mayonnaise on it, but since I’m avoiding raw eggs, that wasn’t an option (and storebought mayonnaise is never, ever an option). Good, crusty bread is also a must: I used ciabatta for this one; sourdough also works.

I’m sorry I don’t have a real southern “recipe” to offer, but if you dig around in the archives, you’re likely to find many a southern dish: the South has, in many ways, defined the kind of cook I am. I’ve fried green tomatoes here before, so in case you want to make BLT’s with stray fall tomatoes, here’s how to do it.

I’m excited to see how other folks interpret “the South”; you can head over to My Husband Cooks and find out on Sunday.

You may not know that because I make way more pasta than I post about. Mostly because I keep dry pasta in the pantry for nights when dinner needs to be thoughtless and fast, throw some noodles on to boil, and top them with whatever strikes. No measuring takes place on those nights, to be sure.

I made this pasta dish several weeks ago in this fashion, and it was so good, I wanted to recreate it both so I could take the time to photograph it and share it with you and so I would remember what I did.

Some people immediately dismiss a pasta recipe if it has heavy cream in it, largely because restaurants have given cream sauces a bad rap. A plate of fettucine alfredo at a place like Olive Garden is probably at least 2 whole servings (maybe more) of pasta, and the noodles are usually swimming in a bath of butter, cream, and cheese, for a grand total of, what, at least 2 days worth of calories and fat grams? Not to mention the bread…

But who wants a bath of cream anyway, when you can add a small amount of cream to coat the noodles and soak into the vegetables, giving the dish the rich flavor you want without all of the fat? Some, yes, but not a week’s worth.

Dusting the artichokes in a bit of flour and seasoned salt and then pan-frying them in olive oil with the garlic deepens their flavor and makes them a little bit crispy on the outside, which I love, but it isn’t necessary. You can also just add them in with the olives and sundried tomatoes. I also added a grilled chicken breast because I had one leftover, but leaving it out won’t compromise the flavors in the least if you want a vegetarian dish.

Good feta cheese and high-quality olives (I like the Greek ones from the deli counter at my grocery) will make a difference, and I like the sudried tomatoes packed in oil for this, rather than rehydrating the dried ones.

Oh, and I love olives, so I use a lot; strongly flavored ones like kalamatas can overwhelm, so if you’re not a huge fan, you may want to reduce the quantity.

The best part? The sauce was ready to toss with the noodles by the time they were finished cooking, AND it tastes fabulous. My kind of meal.

Ziti with Olives, Pan-fried Artichokes, and Sundried Tomatoes

1 pound ziti
2 T. olive oil 1 14 1/2-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained
Flour
Seasoned salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup sundried tomatoes, slivered
1/3 cup roughly chopped black olives (I like the Greek ones)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup lowfat milk
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Put the pasta on to boil. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat. Drain the artichoke hearts and lay flat on paper towels. Dust with a bit of flour and sprinkle with seasoned salt. When the oil is hot, lay the artichokes in the skillet in a single layer, as many as will fit at once. Press down with a spatula and let them fry undisturbed for a couple of minutes. Flip them over and fry until brown on both sides. Remove that batch (if you need to do two), and repeat with the remaining artichokes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic. Saute the garlic until fragrant and soft, a couple of minutes, then stir in the tomatoes, olives, and fried artichokes. Turn the heat up to medium high and add the cream. It should reduce quickly; add the milk, and stir continuously until the sauce is thickened. Stir in the feta. Drain the noodles and add them to the sauce; toss until the noodles are coated and the vegetables are evenly distributed. Serve immediately. A simple green salad with mint, lemon, and olive oil makes an excellent accompaniment.

Sometimes I get an uncontrollable urge to fry something. I say uncontrollable because if a girl were to be logical, she might envision herself standing in front of a boiling pot of oil in hundred-degree heat and be able to talk herself into something less, well, hot. Perhaps it’s my southern blood forcing its will right through any sensible notion of health, or comfort. Or perhaps I’ve just eaten one too many salads. Either way, when the urge strikes, nothing will do but to whip up a batch of fried something or the other, and zucchini is what I had in my fridge.

And, because Barbara is collecting recipes that feature local ingredients for this month’s Spice Is Right, I used locally ground spices — cayenne and paprika — in the batter. Both the cayenne and paprika are made from red peppers — one spicy, the other sweet — grown and ground by Papa Tom Bonnecaze Farms, who I see every Saturday morning at the market (they also make the best pepper jelly in town). The zucchini is straight from another Louisiana farmer just down the road, the buttermilk came from a local dairy, so besides the flour, seasoned salt, and oil, this dish is completely south Louisiana. And, of course, as far as techniques go, you can’t get more locally southern than frying.

These crunchy little spears are a cross between fried dill pickles–popular at state fairs around these parts–and some eggplant fries I had once at a restaurant. The zucchini held up nicely–it turns very soft, but doesn’t fall apart–and I love the mild flavor of the vegetable dressed up by the spices in the batter. Comeback sauce would, I’m sure, make a delightful dipping sauce for fried zucchini, but it’s not necessary in my opinion.

After a half-hour of frying up this zucchini, a heck of a mess in my kitchen, what with dribbles of buttermilk, splatters of grease, and bits of uncooked batter strewn from counter top to stove, one bite into the well-seasoned crunchy batter satisfied my craving and assuaged any sense of craziness I’d felt as droplets of sweat dribbled down my forehead during the frying process.

I’m already thinking of other things to fry in these precious weeks before school officially starts, so don’t be surprised if I show up here again with a batter-laden concoction to present to you.

Until, then, here’s the menu for the week and the fried zucchini recipe:

Links:

• David’s Roast Chicken
• Chipotle-Glazed Ribs
• Lemony Spinach

Locally Spiced Fried Zucchini

2 medium zucchini, cut into long, thin, spears
Buttermilk (about 2 cups, maybe less)
2 cups flour
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
2 t. ground paprika
2 t. seasoned salt
Vegetable or canola oil, about an inch deep

Heat about an inch of oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.

While the oil is heating up, prepare the zucchini. Place the spears in a large zip-top plastic bag, and add enough buttermilk to immerse the spears. In another zip-top bag, mix together the spices and the flour. When the oil is hot — a drop of water should sizzle and pop when dropped into the pot — transfer some of the zucchini to the flour bag and shake to coat well. Add one spear at a time to the hot oil, being careful not to overcrowd the pan, and fry until golden brown, turning once to ensure even frying. Mine took about 4 minutes per batch. Remove with a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle each batch with additional seasoned salt.

Repeat the process until all of the zucchini has been coated and fried. Serve immediately. This recipe makes enough for 4 people as a side, or two hungry people as a combination appetizer/side dish/late-night snack over Scrabble. What can I say? Fried things don’t keep well, and it would be a shame to let such goodness go to waste.

Every cook has her own version of this Italian bread and tomato salad, I’m sure, but I’ve made this one so many times this summer, I had to share. I’m not a big fan of soggy bread, so I like to get my bread cubes nice and toasty, almost like croutons, and with the help of olive oil and some fresh garlic, the bread also packs quite a punch of flavor. Add some vegetables and a quick dressing, and you’ve got yourself a light summer supper.

One trick I’ve used in carting this salad to picnics or other events is to mix the dressing in the bottom of the bowl before you add everything else. That way, you can toss the salad whenever you get ready, and not worry about everything turning to mush.

Panzanella

1 small loaf French bread, or half of a long one, cubed
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 t. + 1/2 t. Kosher or sea salt
1 yellow bell pepper, julienned
1 cucumber, seeded and sliced into half moons
1 large tomato, seeded and cubed
1 avocado, diced
Juice of half a lemon
Coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 T. dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Coat the bread cubes with olive oil, and spread in a single layer on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with 3 cloves of the minced garlic and the Kosher salt. Toast for about 15 minutes, stirring once during toasting, about half-way through.

In the bottom of a large salad bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, and the remaining clove of garlic. Slowly whisk in the olive oil, stirring constantly to emulsify. Add the tomato, bell pepper, and cucumber pieces to the bowl. Sprinkle the avocado slices with lemon juice, and add them too. Salt the vegetables with the remaining half teaspoon of salt, and with coarse black pepper, if you like. If serving immediately, you can go ahead and toss the veggies with the dressing. If you plan to wait, then don’t toss it just yet.

Add the toasted bread crumbs last, tossing to coat with the dressing just before serving.

This recipe makes enough to serve 4 for a light supper, or 6-8 as a side. Either way, just eat it all; the salad will definitely be mushy by the next day.

The menu for this week is relatively short; as you can see, we’re headed to Mississippi to spend some time with family and friends before school starts. Most of what I’m planning revolves around what I have an excess of: tomatoes, basil, and Vidalia onions.
The farmer that I buy my tomatoes from starts about this time in the season boxing up very ripe tomatoes and selling them for cheap. Yesterday, I bought 15 pounds for $10! So, the only thing to do with that many tomatoes is make tomato sauce to freeze (and to use to make a lasagna for friends who are moving). And, of course, reserve some fresh ones for this pizza.

Not so much a recipe as a suggestion, for this pizza, you simply prepare whatever kind of crust you like, spread it with pesto, top with sliced tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, and drizzle the whole thing with olive oil and Kosher salt. Bake until the cheese melts.

Here are the other links for this week:

• Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce
• Basil Pesto
• Lasagna

Happy end of July, everyone!

I have written often about my culinary heritage, particularly the influence of the composers of the Aunts’ Recipe Book, my dad’s four younger sisters. The youngest, Emily, is the only one who’s made a career out of food; for years, she ran her own catering business and is now the director of the cooking school at the Everyday Gourmet in Jackson, MS. Interestingly, my memories of her contributions to my love of food include really sugary cereals, Butterfingers, and bowls of melted cheese: when I stayed at her house as a kid, she let me eat WHATEVER I wanted.

These days she often sends me interesting specialty food items from work, for which I am constantly on the lookout for creative preparations. The most recent packages have included these gorgeous white and black beans, labeled Calypso Beans on the bag, and a bright, fruity Meyer lemon olive oil, which I have been rationing.

I had visions of a lemony salad including both gifts from Aunt Em, and a few weeks ago, I planned to make such a concoction, adding leftover grilled chicken for a substantial weeknight supper.

One of the things I love about reading other people’s food blogs is that I am constantly inspired to create new dishes. The only problem is that I find myself with vague memories of recipes I saw one place or the other, but no idea exactly where.

For instance, I knew I had somewhere read of just such a salad–with beans and a lemony dressing. But, for the life of me, I could not recall where I saw it. I did some searching and nothing looked familiar. I emailed the resident veggie expert, Alanna, to see if it was perhaps a recipe of hers. No, she replied, but she’d keep her eyes open.

And, she found it!

Of course, by the time we’d figured it out, the salad had long been made and eaten, with no guidance from a recipe, so my version looks very different from Gabriella’s.

So, why am I telling you all of this? Well, just in case you find yourself in such a predicament–a vague recollection of a recipe and no help from Google–I thought I’d share a few tips I’ve learned along the way to help me solve this organizational problem (and then the recipe for the salad).

First, Google’s Blogsearch. Alanna alerted me to this handy tool, and if you want to search for a recipe, but you only want results from bloggers, this search page will help you do just that.

Second, del.icio.us. If you’re looking for a super-easy, user-friendly way to store bookmarks to recipes online, this site might be for you. Elise at Simply Recipes posted a helpful tutorial on how to use it, and I finally got around to following her suggestions. You can see my list of recipe links here, and if you start yours, you can add me to your network and we can share. Isn’t that fun?

And now, for the bean salad! Once the beans are cooked, this is a snap to throw together. It keeps well and would be perfect for a picnic. (Not that anyone can stand to be outside around here!)

The inspiration for this recipe, it turns out, comes from Gabriella at My Life as a Reluctant Housewife, and I’m pretty sure I spied it at an ARF/5-a-day round-up at Sweetnicks. Since my version turned out much differently (since I didn’t find the recipe until after the fact), I’ll contribute this variation to this week’s Tuesday event.

Thanks to Alanna for helping me locate the recipe, to Gabriella for inspiring this creation, to Elise for the lesson about del.icio.us, to Cate for hosting ARF/5-a-day Tuesday’s every week, and to Aunt Em for the ingredients.

And who says cooking isn’t collaborative?

Calypso Bean Salad

3 cups dry calypso beans (white beans would probably work just as well)
2 cups water
1 clove garlic, quartered
2 lemons
1 t. lemon pepper
1/4 cup lemon-flavored olive oil (of course, I’m sure regular would work too)
1/2 t. Kosher salt
1 T. fresh oregano, minced
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped (it strikes me now that the first time I made this salad–and photographed it–I used fresh tomatoes; either will work)
1/2 cup artichoke hearts, chopped
1/4 cup Greek olives, minced
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2 chicken breasts, sliced (optional)

Cover the beans with water and soak overnight. They should absorb most of the liquid. In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to boil. Add the quartered garlic clove, the trimmings from the two lemons, a sprinkle of salt and lemon pepper, and the beans. Simmer the beans for 2-3 hours, or until they reach the consistency you like. (I’m really funny about bean texture; I don’t like them mushy, especially in a salad, so I tend to undercook them. 2 hours was a perfect texture for me.) Drain and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the juice from the 2 lemons, lemon pepper, salt, and fresh oregano. Add the oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly. Mix in the olives, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and chicken if using. Toss this mixture with the beans and top with the feta. Serves 4; refrigerates well.

Links:

Boiled Shrimp
Cobb Salad
Rorie’s Tomato Paninis (Note: I used homemade foccacia bread; with a green salad, these make the easiest, yummiest summer supper!)

Another easy, quick recipe, inspired by Karina at Gluten Free Goddess, were these vegetarian tacos. We had a few leftover, and they were even better the next day.

Spicy Black Bean Tacos

1 t. olive oil
Half a sweet onion, sliced into half-moons
1 clove of garlic, chopped
2 sweet peppers, cut into matchsticks
1 jalapeno pepper, sliced
1 14 1/2-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup salsa
1 t. cumin
1 t. chile poweder
1/2 t. seasoned salt
Corn tortillas or taco shells

To serve:
Monterey Jack cheese with peppers
Sliced avocados
Lime wedges

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium. Add the garlic, onion, and peppers, and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the beans, salsa, and spices; stir and let the mixture simmer while you prepare the tortillas.

To make taco shells: heat a half-inch of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add one tortilla to the skillet and quickly coat both sides with the hot oil. Then, let one side fry until it’s nearing the crisping stage; turn quickly and fold over with tongs, holding the top slightly open. Flip again, and remove from the oil when both sides are crispy and golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

To serve: fill each taco shell with the black bean mixture; top with cheese, avocado slices, and a squeeze of lime. Yum!

Inspiring recipe: Karina’s Black Bean Enchiladas

If you come by my house around dinner time and expect to find me slaving over a hot stove these 100-degree, humidity-laden days, you will likely be disappointed. Around here, our evenings tend to look like this: a quick, easy meal, tossed together over white wine and NPR’s Fresh Air, and then, Scrabble.

As a wordy, nerdy, (culinary) bookworm, my love of Scrabble is probably not a mystery. But I really learned to love the game from my great-grandmother, Nanny, who taught me to play. She had one of those fancy, lazy-Susan-esque boards, coated in shiny plastic with neat little cubbies for each letter, upon which she regularly dazzled me with her crossword puzzle-enhanced vocabulary.

Between turns, Nanny was always whipping up something fabulous in her tiny kitchen, so perhaps the combination of delicious food and interesting words is the legacy I’ve always been meant to inherit.

Although Nanny is sadly no longer with us, I can’t help but think she’d be pleased as punch to know that her eldest great granddaughter is carrying on the tradition of loving people through food and, at the same time, soundly defeating them at the game of words. Sorry, David, it sounds like I come by it honestly.

But look at it this way: at least I feed you well in the process.

For a Scrabble dinner date one night a few weeks ago, I put these farmer’s market sweet peppers to work in a salad with some crawfish tails, bacon, goat cheese, and a salty-sweet maple vinaigrette. The quantities are approximate, as with any salad, and the possibilities are endless. Shrimp or grilled chicken could certainly replace the crawfish, and the quantity and variety of veggies is completely up to your personal taste. However you decide to fix your salad, I highly recommend it with Scrabble on the side.

Spinach Salad with Crawfish, Goat Cheese, and Bacon-Maple Dressing

4-6 slices bacon (I like the maple-flavored kind in this salad)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 T. maple syrup plus a drizzle for the nuts
1 T. honey dijon mustard
1 T. balsalmic vinegar
2 T. olive oil
1 T. reserved bacon drippings
Spinach leaves
Sweet peppers (I used two), cut into matchstick-sized pieces
Goat cheese (about 2 ounces)
1 cup cooked crawfish tails (optional)

Cook the bacon in a heavy skillet until it reaches your desired doneness. Remove the slices and set aside. Drain off about a tablespoon of the drippings to reserve, and discard all but a very tiny film on the bottom. Return the skillet to medium heat and add the pecans. Stir, toasting the nuts until they are brown and fragrant. Drizzle with a tiny bit of syrup and stir to coat. Turn off the heat.

In a small bowl, whisk together the reserved bacon drippings, mustard, maple syrup, and vinegar until well-blended. Drizzle in the oil in a very slow stream, whisking constantly until the mixture emulsifies.

Cover two plates with spinach leaves. Top with the peppers, dollops of goat cheese, the toasted nuts, crumbled bacon, and the crawfish tails. Drizzle with the dressing.

The antioxidant-rich peppers and vitamin-laden spinach make this recipe a good candidate for ARF/5-a-day Tuesdays over at Sweetnicks. Head over there to see how other people are eating healthy and staying cool.

Pesto is a summer staple at our house. In fact, it was so abundant last summer that we named a lurking kitty after it. I’m sad to report that the kitty has disappeared, but the basil pesto has returned in full force.

If you have leftover pesto hanging around your fridge and a bagful of new potatoes that need to be cooked, here’s a quick and simple way to use both. These were so delicious that David and I picked them off the cookie sheet as we were cleaning up the kitchen until they all disappeared.

Pesto Potatoes

6-8 small red-skinned or other new potatoes
1 T. olive oil
2 T. basil pesto
Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray. Cut the potatoes into eighths (about 1-inch chunks), and spread them in an even layer on the cookie sheet. Mix the pesto and oil together; drizzle over the potatoes, and then toss to coat (I use my hands to get all sides of the potatoes evenly coated). Sprinkle with a palmful of salt. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring about halfway through. Serves 2 people who have little self-control; 4 who are better behaved.

Wondering how to harvest your basil and make it last until winter? Check out Kalyn’s helpful basil tutorial.

Muffins are a wonderful lazy morning food, I think. You can throw them together without too much effort or thought, enjoy a nice cup of coffee while they bake, and then leisurely nibble one or two or three as the morning turns to noon, drinking more coffee all the while. And once you’ve made a dozen, then you have a quick on-the-go breakfast for those not-so-lazy mornings that unfortunately have become more the norm around here.

Heavy with carrot, coconut, and chunks of apples, these muffins are packed with more nutrients than most, making them fair game for ARF/5-a-Day Tuesdays over at Sweetnicks. They are dense, moist, and laced with the spicy kick of cinnamon. Grating the carrots takes some time by hand, but a whirl in the food processor will also do the trick. Other than that step, they come together pretty quickly, leaving plenty of time for you to enjoy your morning.

Carrot, Coconut, and Apple Muffins

2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar plus extra for sprinkling
2 t. baking soda
1/2 T. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
2 cups carrots, peeled and grated (about 4 large carrots)
1 apple, small-diced
1/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
3 large eggs
1 T. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a muffin tin and set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add the grated carrots, diced apples, and the coconut; stir to blend.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the butter, oil, and eggs. Stir in the vanilla, and then add the wet ingredients to the dry all at once. Fold until just combined.

Spoon the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops with sugar, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Note to faithful readers: Sorry for the sporadic posting; I had such grand illusions about my month-long break from school and how much fabulous food I would make and post about. There has certainly been no shortage of food creation, but I’ve been so busy enjoying sharing it with friends and family that I’ve neglected the documentation part of the process. Now that I’m back in a regular routine–summer school started today–I hope to post more regularly as well.

Another sort of technical note: Alanna brought it to my attention that my RSS feed has been acting up. Apparently, there are two Weekly Dish feeds, pre- and post-Wordpress. If you are a subscriber to the feed and your reader hasn’t updated in quite some time, would you be so kind as to drop a comment and let me know? I’d be oh so grateful.