Innholdsfortegnelse for Fall 2005 i Taste of the South

That seems to be what little Emily Grace is thinking as she stares at a plate of cookies that is almost as big as she is—and these are just five of the seven types of cookies that are a part of our cookie swap. To have your own swap, ask your guests to bring enough cookies so that each can take home a dozen or so of each kind. Although we arranged our treats on platters and then filled our own containers with an assortment, your guests may prefer to bring their cookies creatively packaged in take-home portions. Don’t forget to leave a few cookies out for taste-testing, though! Many other tempting recipes fill the pages of this issue just in time for the holidays and the cooler days of…

As the warm days of fall meld into the crisp days of early winter, hunters throughout the South look forward to the opening of hunting season—and cooks throughout the South begin wondering what to do with meats such as venison and quail. We asked Chef Doug Allen, who enjoys the outdoors as much as the kitchen, to show us some new ways to cook wild game. PEPPERED VENISON with Brandy Sauce GRILLED QUAIL “Drummies” QUAIL BREAST Mediterranean Oven-Roasted Tomatoes VENISON RIBS Peppered Venison with Brandy Sauce Yield: 4 servings Preparation: 20 minutes Cook: 20 minutes 1½ pounds venison medallions, approximately ½-inch thick, cut from top round, sirloin, tenderloin, or “backstrap” ½ cup olive oil as needed Sea salt and pepper seasoning blend to taste* Coarsely ground black pepper to taste…

“Good chili has a nice bite to it. It leaves a nice glow going down.” — KEN RODD 2005 Texas Open Chili Champion “Everything’s bigger in Texas.” Or so my friend Todd Jones, who hails from Tyler, Texas, often reminds me. Usually, in the context in which he says it, what Todd actually means is, “Everything’s different in Texas.” When it comes to Texas chili, as it turns out, Todd just might be right. In Texas, chili-making is serious business. The citizens of the Lone Star State prefer their chili in its most elemental form: no beans, just chunks of beef simmered for hours with tomatoes, spices, and lots and lots of chili powder. Born on the cattle drives of the 1800s to feed trail-weary cowboys and popularized in open-air…

“I’m just a Yankee,” explains retired Ohio businessman Bryan Hinkle, “but I love grits.” He and his wife, Jean, found more than Southern food to love when they moved to North Carolina ten years ago. Both are avid golfers, and they now make their home in Whispering Pines, a golf community near Pinehurst, the home of the U.S. Open. The best part of living in the South, Bryan says, is walking the golf course in shorts in the dead of winter. Paula Deen’s recipe for Scalloped Potatoes in the premiere issue of Taste of the South last fall prompted Bryan to share his own version with us. (He adds a touch of brown sugar to his potatoes to give them a sweet taste.) Accompanied by Jack’s Ham, they make a…

Cover: Glass with milk is antique. Red tray is from Pottery Barn. A Holiday Feast Pages 10–17: White cake stand, white bowls and platters, white dinnerware, and silver chargers from Pottery Barn. Crystal stemware from Bed, Bath & Beyond. Location courtesy of Sheryl and Terry Treadwell. Wild About Game Pages 26–32: Dinner plates, salad plates, serving platters, and place mats from Pier 1 Imports®. Table linens and Café flatware from Williams-Sonoma®. Location courtesy of Cora and Allan Causey. Venison available from Old World Venison Company. Quail available from Diamond H Ranch. Memories & More Pages 33–40: White dishware, stemware, flatware, and table linens from Williams- Sonoma®. White plates under the soup from World Market®. Moreton Neal’s book, Remembering Bill Neal: Favorite Recipes From a Life in Cooking, is available from…

on the menu... Phyllo Cheese Tarts ✽ Spicy Slaw ✽ Herbed Cheese Biscuits Grilled Beef Tenderloin ✽ Brandied Mushroom Sauce Mashed Red Potatoes ✽ Vegetable-Stuffed Tomatoes Chocolate Bread Pudding ✽ Vanilla Cream Sauce What would a Christmas dinner be without the familiar aromas tempting us until we beg for “just a taste” to hold us until the meal is served? With your finest china and heirloom silver as a backdrop, our Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Brandied Mushroom Sauce is just the dish to lure everyone to the table. While the entree may take center stage, we all know the star is only as good as its supporting cast. Show off a little with the Vegetable-Stuffed Tomatoes and Spicy Slaw. Only you will know how easy they are to prepare. And…

Most of the wild venison harvested in the United States is white-tail deer, one of the most prolific species of deer. They can survive almost any adverse condition that nature throws at them as well as encroachment by humans. White-tail deer are primarily vegetarians, and they have been known to forage for food almost anywhere. “Don’t be surprised if they come up and sample your new rose shoots,” says Chef Doug Allen. Red deer are more common in the northern part of the United States, and they are the species that is most often farm-raised for commercial consumption. When farm-raised and harvested, their meat is always tender and lean. With venison, one of the most important considerations is how the meat is handled from the time of the hunt to…

Christmas may be the season of giving, but no one minds a little receiving either. Why not combine the two for delightful and delicious fun by inviting friends to a cookie swap? Just imagine your table laden with scrumptious treats as everyone engages in a little friendly competition for the tastiest confections. But it’s no contest: You’ll win hands down with our seven easy, but irresistible, Christmas cookie recipes. the menu: PB&J Cookies Almond Butter Crescents Fruitcake Cookies Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies Chocolate Cheesecake Bars Almond-Raspberry Bars Sugar Cookies R.S.V.P.? There’ll be no “regrets” with these cookies on the menu. pb&j cookies Yield: 6 dozen Preparation: 35 minutes Refrigerate: 1 hour Bake: 12 minutes 1 cup butter, softened 1 cup creamy peanut butter 1¼ cups sugar 1 cup firmly packed brown…

We can’t imagine why anyone ever coined the phrase “plain vanilla.” There’s nothing plain or ordinary about this deliciously fragrant bean. Vanilla adds an extra punch of flavor to ice cream, cakes, custards, and cookies—without adding volume or changing the consistency of the recipe. Pure vanilla comes from the bean of a certain type of orchid plant that is native to Central and South America. Today, it is primarily grown in four geographic areas: Mexico, the Bourbon Islands (including Madagascar) off the coast of Africa, Indonesia, and Tahiti. Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, with its smooth, mellow taste, is considered to be the highest quality vanilla—75% of the world’s vanilla-bean supply comes from this area. Vanilla extract is made by soaking vanilla beans in alcohol to extract the flavor. It has a…

E very city has a favorite restaurant—a place that is known for its outstanding service and welcoming atmosphere as well as its wonderful food. It’s the special place where the locals go to celebrate birthdays, weddings, and other milestones in their lives. For five generations of New Orleans natives, that special place has been Galatoire’s. To native New Orleanians, “Galatoire’s is it,” explains Poppy Tooker, culinary activist and instructor at the New Orleans Cooking Experience. “The be-all and the end-all.” Housed in a three-story Creole townhouse on Bourbon Street in the city’s famous French Quarter, Galatoire’s Restaurant was founded in 1905 by French immigrant Jean Galatoire. His nephews, Justin, Gabriel, and Leon Galatoire, took over the restaurant in 1919; and today, a 23-member board made up of their descendants continues to…

I am sitting in an airport, exhausted and missing Rupert, the world’s most extraordinary cat, reading Moreton Neal’s Remembering Bill Neal: Favorite Recipes From a Life in Cooking. The book’s recipe for pimiento cheese is the first thing I turn to. And though I am suspicious of the cumin it calls for, I am in love with the late chef Bill Neal’s quote about one of my favorite foods: “Pimiento cheese is the paté of the South.” Immediately, I am awash in memories. A word of advice to my fellow southeners: If you ever decide to move to California, take plenty of pimiento cheese with you—because they’ve apparently never heard of it. I know this to be true because, at age 24, I fled the South only to miss it…

I have been out on my booktour and have gone from East to West Coast. It was so nice to meet many of y’all and make so many new friends. Well, I am finally settled back in Savannah, for the time being; and Michael and I are enjoying our time together. The other day, Michael asked me if I wanted to ride out to Tybee Island—that’s our beaches for those who don’t know. We took a nice walk down the beach, and it reminded me of the beauty God has created for us to enjoy. So I highly recommend getting out and taking a walk with the one you love this season. Of course, while we were out, we couldn’t help but bring up the subject of food. I was…

Cindy Reed Wilkins probably didn’t know what she was getting into 18 years ago when her parents invited her to tag along to a chili cook-off. Two years later, Cindy started competing herself; and in 1992, she took home the champion’s trophy at the CASI Terlingua Cook-off. The following year, she made history by doing it again, becoming the only two-time CASI Terlingua International Chili Cook-off winner. It’s no understatement to say that Cindy’s life revolves around chili. “I met my husband, Bruce, cooking chili,” she explains, “and half the guests at my wedding were chili cooks.” Earlier this year, after years of prompting from their friends and fellow chiliheads, she and Bruce launched Cin Chili, her own brand of Texas chili mix. Cindy describes her chili as quick and…

Peanuts, however, are not actually nuts, according to Randy Griggs, executive director of the Alabama Peanut Producers Association. They’re legumes—edible seeds enclosed in a pod, like beans and peas. In the plant world, they are also unusual because they flower above ground but develop fruit below ground. (We’ll explain more about that oddity later.) Native to Brazil, peanuts were brought to the American South from Africa, just like okra and many other Southern favorites. In fact, the nickname “goobers” is most likely from the African word “nguba.” Today Alabama, Georgia, and Florida together produce more than 60 percent of the peanuts grown in the United States. The little corner of the world where the three states meet is known as the Wiregrass Region. It was named for a tough, wiry…

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