a great southern finale

Ok peeps! Its been a while..I've been lacking in my southern hospitality. I hope this is suitable end to my southern menu
I'm done visiting the south...and the recipe I've chosen to share with you is a big time favorite. Its a great end for any southern meal or holiday dinner. And its super easy. A crazy yummy praline sweet potato pie. I know what your thinking..its not thanksgiving but this recipe is worth writing down and stashing away for when you want to impress people because its super easy..and they will think your an evil genious in the kitchen.

Ingredients
Pie dough:
1 cup AP flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 stick of cold cold butter cut into small chunks
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortning
You can do this in a food processor or with pastry cutters. Put the flour and salt in a food pro and pulse. Add butter and shortening and pulse until crumbs form. Add water and pulse again until it comes together. Don't over work the dough. It should be rough or it won't be flakey when its baked. Place dough onto a flat surface and press into a flat disk. Refridgerate for a few hours so its nice and firm before you roll it out

Pie filling
2 large sweet potatoes. Baked until super soft. Then mashed.

Yes I said baked. Some old timers boil the hell out of their sweet potatoes. But I find that you lose a lot of all that sweet potato love in the water. When you bake them..oh those potatoes get all lovely.

2 eggs lightly beaten
1tsp real vanilla
1tbsp maple syrup. (The real stuff)
1/2 tsp mace
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp salt
Topping
1 cup pecan halves
2tbsp packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Ok..take your pie dough and roll it out on a floured surface until it 1/4 inch thick and line a pie pan (feel free to use a ready made crust..no shame in that. Saves time). Your gonna blind bake the crust for 20 minutes at 375. Line it with foil and throw some dried beans or if your el fancy..use pie weights. While your piecrust is blindbaking, whisk together from the sweet potatoes down to the salt. Take out the beans and foil and pour this mixture into the pie shell. Mix your pecans with the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top. Bake it off in your already hot 375 degree oven for 40 minutes or until set. Keep in mind this is a custard and residual baking will occur after you take it out of the oven so don't over bake the hell out of it.
Ok honeybees and bears..we're done in the south..stay tunes for my next series or recipes..more will be revealed!

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the jump-off :)

Ok my faithfull followers...here it is. Another tasty idea. The polenta recipe in the previous blog is perfect to swing a second dish out of. I take a square aluminum pan and spray it with fat free cooking spray. I pour my polenta in and refridgerate. When its firm I slice the polenta 1/4 inch thick. I make a breading station consisting of buttermilk in one bowl, and panko bread crumbs in another. You can use regular milk but buttermilk is thicker and your panko with stick better. I dip the polenta into the buttermilk and then right into the panko. You can use regular seasoned breadcrumbs or you can season your panko. I opt for the latter. The panko always comes out awesome. So just throw a little salt, pepper, garlic powder, and italian seasonings in your panko and they will be be happy happy breadcrumbs. I put about a 1/4 inch of vegetable oil in a pan and when its screaming hot I fry away. You want to fry until crispy and then turn and do the other side. Don't move your polenta around too much when its frying or your breadcrumbs may fall off. When its golden put it on a papertowel lined plate to drain the excess oil. I like to grate some pecorino romano cheese on it and serve with marinara. (Home made of course)..
Hope your inspired once again :)

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the south will rise again lol

Hey Y'all...
That seems appropriate considering I'm on a southern kick. With all the new year madness I've been neglecting my blogging duties..but don't worry I've been making lots of things and saving the recipes so I have lots of material. The recipe I will be sharing with Ya'll today is my take on a traditional southern favorite. Shrimp and grits. However I will be substituting polenta for the grits. I have yet to make grits but I make polenta all the time. I really like polenta because you can do so much with it. You can eat it right when you make it and serve it with anything from shrimp to short ribs (if that's your gigiddy) or go full vegetarian and serve it with marinated sauteed tofu. Then you can put the rest in a pan and make fried crispy polenta the next day. So first I will take you through my polenta and then through the shrimp that I made to go along with it.

Polenta
1/3/4 cups corn meal
6 cups water
1 teaspoon salt (I have made this before with black truffle salt and it comes out super yummy)
2 tbs unsalted butter
2 tbs mascarpone
Pepper to taste

Ok, this is a basic recipe.
I bring the 6 cups of water to a boil and then slowly add in the corn meal while whisking contantly. You will have to wisk continuously or your polenta will have lumps and stick to the bottom of your pot. (Not fun to clean). When your polenta is soft and smooth and yummy, make it more yummy by adding your salt butter and mascarpone. If you want to skip the mascarpone(it ain't cheap ya know) and add some cream cheese go right ahead. You can even add scallion cream cheese and it would be really good. Keep in mind what your serving it with will also dictate what you add in at the end. As yummy as truffle salt is...it can be over powering. So you don't want to serve it with spicy shrimp. The flavors might compete. If I was using truffle salt or truffle oil I would probably keep it vegetarian and serve it with oven roasted potobellos. Since I kept the flavor of the polenta mild I chose to serve it with spicy shrimp.

Shrimp
Smoked paprika to taste
A small pinch of cayanne pepper
Salt and black pepper
Hot sauce
1 tsp butter
I took my cleaned shrimp and sprinkled my seasoning on it and tossed to make sure none of my shrimp were neglected. I made sure my saute pan was screaming hot and threw them in for a few minutes and then added a few dashes of hot sauce..and the butter at the very end to round it out. How spicy they will be all depends on how heavy handed you are with the cayanne. This is completely up to you. I made it medium. Pair it up with a green salad and you're golden :)
Ok bees and bears (does anyone freakin know why I keep callin my people bees and bears..I don't even know where I got that from)..lol..
Ok...off for now..and I hope your inspired

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the southern saga continues

Hey bees and bears

I just downloaded Paul Deens new cookbook to my kindle and tried to make a popover. The recipe said I wouldget these light airy pillows that were hollow inside. What I got were these very eggy dense muffin looking things.I am not particulary pleased at this moment in time with Ms.Deen or her recipe :/
Oh well...win some and throw some right down the incinerator.
Off for now.

the southern madness continues

I couldn't let the southern series pass everyone by without sharing a recipe for biscuits. So I picked a recipe that I really like. This is a Paula Deen recipe and you can't get more southern than Ms.Deen.The reason why I like it so much is because its super easy. I need to share though that these biscuits are super flakey and crumbly. So if you try to eat one right out of the oven I guarantee when you pick them up they will fall apart. They definately benefit from a rest. Since there is a lot of butter in this recipe (like an obscene amount) I suggest making them a mini-muffin size.

Ingredients
2 cups self rising flour
1 cup sour cream
2 sticks of melted butter (yea..I know what your thinking..but this type of stuff you don't eat everyday so lighten up)
Make a well in the center of the flour and add your wet ingredients and mix until combined. Don't overmix.
bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until golden.
Try not to gobble these when they come out of the oven. They are better when they cool down. Hope you enjoy...next up cornbread!
Stay tuned :)

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my southern table

Hello bees and bears..thanks for tuning in today. I'm so excited to present to you the second recipe in the southern series. Mac-n-cheese often graces many southern tables. I decided today to do a lighter version. I'm doing a cauliflower mac-n-cheese. By replacing half the pasta with cauliflower we can save some calories for our desert.

Ingredients
2 cups of cauliflower florettes
2 cups or macaroni or baby rigatoni. ( I personally like pasta with ridges..I think it holds the sauce better)
1 cup shredded chedder cheese
4 tbs butter
4 tbs flour
2 cups whole milk
Ground nutmeg or mace
Salt and black pepper

I personally like to roast my cauliflower under the broiler so it gets some nice charring on it. It adds some really good flavor to an otherwise bland vegetable. But if you want to boil it until tender go right ahead. Your choice. If you want to roast it, cut your florettes into same size bites, drizzle with olive oil and season with a good size pinch of salt and pepper. Roast under the broiler at 400 for 20 minutes..but make sure you keep an eye on it. You don't want it burnt. You just want some nice toasty charred goodness
Make about 2 cups worth. Boil your pasta and undercook by 2 minutes. Set both to the side
melt your butter in a medium saucepan and add the flour. Whisk together. Its going to look pastey. This is normal. Continue to whisk for a few minutes. You want to get rid of that uncooked flour taste but don't overcook. You don't want the flour mixture to be anything darker than a pale blonde. While still whisking add your whole milk slowly. They key to this is to keep whisking. Whisk the living daylights out of it until all the milk is incorporated. It will thicken up and when it does add a teaspoon of salt. 1/2 tsp of pepper and 1/2 tsp of mace or nutmeg. I like using mace which is actually the hard outer covering of the nutmeg. I think the flavor is better. You can swap mace for nutmeg in any recipe,just cut the measurement in half. Add your shredded cheese and whisk until melted. Now make sure you taste and adjust the seasoning as you go. Take a casserole dish and just give it a little spritz of fat free cooling spray. Take a half a cup of your cheese sauce and spread on the bottom of your dish. Put half the cauliflower and half the pasta down over the sace and pour more sauce on top. Layer the rest and pour the remainder of the sauce on top. Top with some extra shredded chedder and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until nice and melty. You can do toasty breadcrumbs on top or those french fried onions in the can as well if you want some added texture. But I think the roasted cauliflower adds enough. If you choose to use boiled cauliflower definately add a crunchy element on top. If your not fond of chedder than by all means use a good shredded pecorino romano cheese in your sauce. I always have a big block of romano in my fridge for shredding. Don't use the pre-grated one. A fresh block lasts longer and just tastes better.
So I hope your inspired to try my new take on a southern classic!
Off for now my lovelies!

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can a jewish girl from forest hills cook southern food?

..and make it vegetarian? When I
think about southern cooking, visions of ham hocks, man-n-cheese and bacon dance in my head. But 10 years ago I swore off eating all things that had legs, or made a sound. It certainly limits me sometimes. This is probably why I lean more towards ethnic cuisines such as indian or tai. Even chinese caters more towards a plant based diet.
However I love the homey-ness of southern comfort food. So its my mission (at least todays mission) to prepare a menu stellar enough to be served on any southern table. Of course mac-n-cheese always comes to my mind..but I'm trying to eat a little healthier these days. So I'm not sure exactly how much mac-n-cheese Ill be eating lol. Visions of Paula Deen saying "I looove my butter yaul" dance in my head as I read through her recipes. What's a struggling weight watcher member to do. I'm going to try to focus on the vegetables and healthy grains. (But of course splurge on desert)
The first course in my southern series is an appetizer of fried green tomatoes with a chipotle dipping sauce. This is so stereotypically southern I couldn't resist. It even has a movie named after it. And they are easy. I don't have a deep fryer so I do mine in. A regular frying pan. I guess it makes me feel a little better about eating something fried if its done in a shallow pan lol

Fried green tomatoes
4 medium green tomatoes
Salt and pepper
Self rising flour
Buttermilk
Slice your tomatoes about an 1/8th of an inch thick. Salt them and let them sit for about 30 minutes. This will allow for the salt to pull the water out of them. Nothing worse than soggy tomatoes. After you've drained them. Pat them dry and sprinkle with black pepper. At this point you'll want to start getting your oil hot. I like vegetable or canola. Just remember you don't want to put too many in your pan at one time. Too many tomatoes in your pan will bring down the temperature considerably. They will take forever to get GBD (golden brown and deliscious), thus resulting in oily tomatoes. Oily tomatoes do not kick ass. So make a note...NO OVERCROWDING. Tomatoes need room.
Ok...when your oil is nice and hot, take a tomato and dip it in the buttermilk and then dredge it in the self rising flour and into the hot pan. Fry until Golden.


Chipotle dipping sauce
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup fat free plain yogurt (not vanilla..I said plain!)
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce chopped. Remove seeds and ribs to tone down the heat
1 tbs of adoba sauce from peppers
2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
Mix everything together and put in the fridge. This sauce tastes better when you let the flavors marry.

I hope you like and try this recipe..and please stay tuned for my next southern recipe. Off for now boys and girls!!

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