Archive for the ‘Soul Food’ Category

Cornmeal: Shrimp and Bacon Grits

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

Shrimp and Grits-ForkFingersChopsticks.com

A few of you have said “grits” (the name) is off-putting.

True, it’s a little rough and abrupt. It doesn’t roll fluidly off the tongue. But, I like it. Just like I dig accents and colloquialisms – Southern included. When I lived in Texas, I couldn’t resist picking up a little twang and using “y’all” and “fixin’s” in my vernacular. It was signature to the South, just like grits.

To no surprise, shrimp and grits is also rooted there – South Carolina in particular. It was referred to as “breakfast shrimp” and was a simple fisherman’s breakfast during shrimping season–usually consisting only of shrimp, grits and salt.

Then along came Bill Neal, a young North Carolina chef whose interpretation of the dish has been described as “one of the signature dishes of the Southern culinary renaissance.”

Neal gussied up the low-country version adding sautéed mushrooms, bacon, garlic and cheese grits. It was a hit. Not really a surprise to me since it has bacon and cheese.

His version has become popularized with a little help from a New York Times review and his Southern cookbooks: Bill Neal’s Southern Cooking; Biscuits, Spoonbread, and Sweet Potato Pie; and Good Old Grits Cookbook. Neal died in 1991, but his shrimp and grits are still a favorite at his former restaurant Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill, N.C. For any of you into Southern food, you may also want to check out Remembering Bill Neal: Favorite Recipes from a Life in Cooking, another collection of his recipes used at Crook’s, which was published in 2004.

The recipe below is adapted from Neal’s version. I reduced the amount of bacon, increased mushrooms, tweaked the seasonings and used green chile cheese grits for some extra earthiness and depth. It’s relatively easy to make and is fantastic for brunch served with some home-made biscuits. It’s good. So good, my husband puts it in his top 5 recipes on this site.

Also, I wanted to share this quirky, little black and white film about grits that I found while perusing the internet.

Tidbits on Grits:

  1. Southerners generally prefer stone-ground grits to the instant version. I found at least one reference to instant grits as “hog slop.”
  2. St. George, South Carolina hosts the World Grits Festival.
  3. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Ga., Quaker (the grits producer) introduced the international audience to grits via its grits campaign.

Sources: Good Old Grits Cookbook by Bill Neal & David Perry; “Some South for Your Mouth,” Duke Magazine.

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Cornmeal: Green Chile Cheese Grits

Friday, May 28th, 2010

Green Chile Cheese Grits-ForkFingersChopsticks.com

Do you call ground, dried corn “grits” or “polenta?”  You’d be right if you said either one. Yes, polenta, the haute cuisine of the last two decades, is equivalent to good ol’ grits.

Grits v. Polenta

If you’re scratching your head, it’s completely understandable. The labeling is inconsistent and I suspect regional – in the South, I’d reckon you’d find “grits” on store shelves but in northern Italy, you’d see “polenta.”  Here in Denver, I just bought a bag of coarsely-ground, dried yellow cornmeal labeled “polenta (corn grits)” at the natural food store. What gives?

For intellectual purposes, know that one of the primary differences between the two is that grits are usually made with white corn, while polenta is made of yellow.

Some polenta authorities also distinguish the two by the size of the grind, polenta being larger with a nuttier taste. However, both grits and polenta are available in fine, medium and coarse grinds.

To add even more confusion, there’s also the lighter colored “hominy grits.” Early on, the word “hominy” reflected the lye soak process used to loosen the husk and germ, which made for a softer and creamier final dish. Today, “hominy grits” has become a generic term for “corn grits.”

Ugghh. To me it’s all “mush,” like my brain when I try to figure out all this nomenclature.

Green Chile Cheese Grits

Grits are an institution in the South – served with butter and salt, sweetened with milk and sugar, or topped with red-eye gravy, ham, bacon or shrimp.

This recipe for green chile grits is a bit Southern/Soul Food and Mexican – a reflection of my household and history. Corn (maize) was originally domesticated in central Mexico and eventually became a favored crop among Southerners.

These green chile cheese grits are easy to make and much tastier than regular mush. They are delicious for breakfast with eggs or for lunch or dinner as a substitute for potatoes or rice. Enjoy! Leave a comment about your favorite way to eat cornmeal mush, and if you have a preference for “grits” or “polenta.”

Tidbits on Cornmeal:

  1. Southerners hailing from the Charleston area use the word “hominy” to refer to cooked grits and the term “grist” for its uncooked state.
  2. Early Southern pioneers cultivated more corn than cotton.
  3. The smaller the grind of corn, the faster it will cook. Larger grinds (and most polenta recipes) can take up to an hour to cook. The grits/polenta is ready when it’s no longer crunchy.
  4. Stone ground and whole grain cornmeal has more nutrients because it still contains the germ.

Sources:  The Oxford Encyclopedia for Food and Drink in America, Good Old Grits Cookbook by Bill Neal & David Perry.

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Chocolate: Red Velvet Cacao Nib Cupcakes

Friday, February 12th, 2010

Red Velvet Cupcake with Cacao Nibs_ForkFingersChopsticks.com

Red velvet cake is a Southern classic. It is neither a traditional vanilla cake nor chocolate cake. Yet, cocoa powder is an essential ingredient and the reason why it’s included with my chocolate recipes. That and it’s perfectly gorgeous for Valentine’s Day.

As the name suggests, the cake has a velvety tender texture that is moist and brilliantly red with a subtle chocolate tone. When topped generously with a cream cheese frosting, it makes for a striking contrast.

Instead of a full-on cake, I made cupcakes. They are less formal than a three-layered cake and perfect for sharing with family and friends. Cupcakes were also conducive to cacao nibs – my twist for oomphing up the chocolate factor. It’s not completely traditional but it’s fun.

As for the origins of red velvet cake, the exact history is a bit head-spinning but alluring for foodiephiles . . . Some researchers believe the pinkish-hued chemical reaction that occurs when cocoa powder is mixed with vinegar and/or buttermilk made a precursor cake that was eventually augmented with food coloring. Other researchers point to the rations of World War II, when beets were used to brighten the color of cakes. And, there’s even some food lore involving the Waldorf Astoria and a woman in the 1920s who was billed an exhorbitant amount when she requested their recipe. Apparently, furious, she copied the recipe and distributed it generously. And, still others suggest the cake’s origins are in Canada tied to Eaton’s department store.

Despite all that, I was first introduced to red velvet cake by my husband’s Aunt Gloria. What I remember most about her cake was how lovely it looked sliced and the hint of chocolate and tangy frosting with each bite. She’d make her cake, freeze it and bring it on the plane to Colorado. Now, that’s love. The recipe below is adapted from Aunt Gloria’s family recipe.

Show love this Valentine’s Day . . . Eat chocolate in its many forms.

Tidbits on Chocolate:

  1. Chocolate has an American annual per capita consumption of around 14 pounds per person.
  2. Although not true legumes, cacao seeds are frequently called “beans.”
  3. Typically in the United States, “cacao” is used to refer to the tree and its dried seeds prior to further processing.  “Cocoa” refers to the partially defatted, roasted, and ground cacao seeds. “Chocolate” is generally used to refer to a food prepared from roasted cacao seeds. “Cacao nibs” are unsweetened raw pieces of cacao beans, they are crunchy bits that taste slightly nutty with notes of bitter chocolate.

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Black Eyed Peas: Stewed Black Eyed Peas

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

New Year's tradition

Get ready for the hoopla – banging pots and pans, fireworks, and even firearms shooting off. Yikes! These are just a few of the ways people around the world welcome in the New Year. Originally, these loud rituals were believed to frighten away bad spirits and ensure a good year to come. Me, I’ll be doing something a bit more tame – cooking up a pot of black eyed peas.

Eating black eyed peas on New Year’s Day is a longtime custom among African Americans and Southerners who believe the legumes will bring prosperity and good luck, especially when paired with greens, which symbolize money. Some folks say you just need to eat a spoonful and others say at least 365 (one for each day of the year). Regardless, this year, in this economy, the superstitious dare not skip this tradition.

Some prefer to get their good fortune via a rice and black eyed pea dish called Hoppin’ John. I, however, prefer my peas simmered for several hours until they become creamy. That’s how my in-laws cook them up and how I’ve been eating them for almost two decades. They make a delicious meal served with a dash of Louisiana style hot sauce and maybe some vinegar, along with a generous portion of greens and big ‘ole slice of corn bread.

Black eyed peas can be found in most markets, either dried (found with other legumes), frozen or canned. If you have the time, make them from scratch with this recipe. There really is no substitute. But, if you cannot, opt for the frozen over the canned.

Happy New Year! Below are a few more New Year’s traditions that might pique your interest. Let me know if you have any to share.

Other New Year’s Rituals:

  • Good luck will follow to couples who feed each other grapes during the last 12 seconds of the year. Feed your love interest 12 grapes, representing 12 months in the year; one with each stroke of the countdown and make a wish (Spain and Latin American countries).
  • In you want to travel in the New Year, take your luggage outside and walk around at midnight (Mexico).
  • Eat round-shaped foods such as grapes and prepared desserts for luck; eat noodles for a long life (Philippines).
  • Wear red underwear at midnight for luck with love in the upcoming year or yellow underwear for luck with money (Mexico).
  • For those who are thrill seekers, plunge into icy waters for a polar bear swim on New Year’s Day (Canada).

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Sweet Potato: Andrea’s Easy Sweet Potato Pie

Sunday, November 22nd, 2009

Sweet Potato Pie_ForkFingersChopsticks.com

Sweet potato pie is relatively new to my Thanksgiving repertoire. I grew up with pumpkin pie for the holiday and, to be frank, I never really dug it. It was pretty much bland and boring in my book. However, years ago when I began dating my, now, husband and had Thanksgiving with his family, I delighted on an entirely different Thanksgiving feast:  greens, black eyed peas, corn bread dressing, macaroni and cheese, and yes, the consummate of Soul Food desserts – sweet potato pie.

The bold nutmeg, cinnamon and sweet potatoes won me and my momma over instantly. Since then, I’ve been making sweet potato pies for Thanksgiving. I’ve tweaked my recipe over the last several years. It’s almost home-made (I buy a lovely frozen crust). Actually, it’s more like six because I bake enough pies to share with my large, extended family across two states. I can make pie crust from scratch, but why? Sometimes in life, shortcuts are worth it. I’d rather go for a walk than sweat the small stuff, especially with the stress and extra calories that come with the holidays.

This is an easy recipe, it just takes a couple of hours to do the boiling and baking. Don’t worry, you don’t have to hover over the stove, you can multi-task with this one. Don’t be tempted to buy the canned puree; that short cut is not worth it.

And, one more thing, this pie is damn good! There’s never a leftover, except for a few crumbs, if even that.  This year, I’m topping it with home-made vanilla whipped cream and an extra dash of nutmeg. Note at our house, we enjoy sweet potato pie beyond Thanksgiving and the holidays, it’s delicious with a hot cup of tea, chai or coffee. I like mine room temperature and the husband likes his cold.

Tidbits on Sweet Potatoes

  1. There is some confusion between sweet potatoes and yams, particularly in the U.S. In American grocery stores, what are marked and we understand to be “yams,” including the garnet and jewel varieties, are actually sweet potatoes.
  2. Sweet potatoes spoil quite easily, especially when bruised and wet. Keep them fresh for weeks by storing them in a cool dry place like a pantry or cellar. Do not wash before storing since moisture speeds up spoiling. Do not refrigerate as well.

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Green Tomatoes: Chow Chow – Pickled Relish

Monday, October 19th, 2009

Chow Chow Relish_Green Tomatoes

I confess that even though I lived in the South (Austin, Texas) for several years and am married to a brotha, I’d never eaten chow chow until last summer. Chow chow, also called “cha cha” or “piccalilly” in some parts, is a pickled relish of chopped vegetables that has its origins in Southern fare and Soul Food. As with the name, there are many variations of the relish but nearly all contain green tomatoes, cabbage, onions and peppers.

All you gardeners, who salvaged your summer veggies before the freeze and now have green tomatoes laying about willy-nilly, should give this recipe a go.

For this recipe, I got some direction from my friend Tony, a man of many talents – artist, athlete, handy-man and cook. He graciously shared a recipe and some of his chow chow. His version is greener, in line with tradition, and it’s sweet (think Southern sweet tea sweet) especially when eaten alone. But, on a burger, it’s delish and a good addition in a marinade for grilled chicken, because the sugar caramelizes nicely.

My version, adapted from Tony’s, is spicier, less sweet and has a reddish hue (I used my garden bounty – red cabbage and more red and yellow bell peppers). It also  has a bit of a  “wang” because I used Thai and serrano chiles from my garden. Next time I have a hankering for a pickled relish – I’ve got my own.

Tidbits on Green Tomatoes:

  1. Tomatoes and other nightshade plants like eggplants were grown on Southern plantations decades before acceptance in other colonies or England, according to The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America.
  2. There’s some debate about the origins of the name “chow chow,” some say it comes from the Mandarin Chinese word cha, which means mixed, and dates back to the 1840s when Chinese laborers worked the railroads in the American West. And, others say it is derived from the French word for cabbage, chou.

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Green Tomatoes: Bacon Lettuce & Fried Green Tomato Sandwich

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

BLFGT Stacked

Fried tomatoes are an oxymoron of sorts, don’t you think? A garden fresh, healthy vegetable battered and fried. Pure indulgence, especially when paired with bacon.

In the South, a regular breakfast phenomenon is bacon and eggs served alongside fried tomatoes (green or red), according to John Egerton in his book Southern Food: At Home, on the Road, in History, which is considered a classic.

Not one for cooking such a “big” breakfast, an alternative was a must. This recipe is a modern twist on the consummate of sandwiches, the BLT, and keeps with Southern tradition by uniting fried green tomatoes and bacon in new form. The sandwich is surprisingly good – crisp and salty bacon, creamy garlic mayo, fresh lettuce (although I used spinach), and slightly tangy, crisp green tomatoes – together they are a mouthful of flavor.

Enjoy! Then go for a walk afterward to compensate.

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