Innholdsfortegnelse for Fall 2006 i Taste of the South

And where there’s football, there’s tailgating. If your idea of tailgating is just munching on chips and dip and maybe a sandwich or two, hold onto your hats! As we found out, tailgating in the South is serious business that calls for serious food. Food editor Betty Terry and photographers Marcy Black and Arden Ward—none of them football fans—experienced that firsthand when they set out to document tailgating at The Grove (University of Mississippi) and at Auburn University. We had heard that Ole Miss fans go above and beyond in their tailgating, setting up tents complete with silver trays, candelabras, and heirloom tablecloths—the rumor was quite true, and the food was fantastic. Although no one tailgates in quite the same fashion as Ole Miss fans at a home game, the…

Cheese is a very sociable food. It gets along well with other ingredients in so many recipes. (Think of cheesecake, macaroni and cheese, or even Philly cheesesteaks.) But at Sweet Grass Dairy in Thomasville, Georgia, artisan cheese makers Jeremy and Jessica Little make cheeses that are so rich and flavorful, they can easily stand alone. Sweet Grass Dairy cheeses are the star of any meal. When you bite into Sweet Grass Dairy’s smooth Fresh Chevre, made from creamy goat’s milk, or its buttery Green Hill, a semi-ripened cow’s milk cheese, you taste the rich flavors of the farm—the creaminess of the milk with its subtle overtones of summer grasses, sunflowers, and clover. It’s as if you’re tasting cheese for the first time. Contented Cows (and Goats) Make Better Cheese That…

At first glance, the sweet-potato plant looks like just a beautiful ornamental vine, its heart-shaped leaves and trumpet-like flowers evidence of its family ties with the morning glory. But the real treasure lies below the blossoms and curling tendrils. Just under the rich, loamy soil grows a rather humble-looking tuber that has much to brag about. Native to the tropical Americas, the sweet potato can trace its domestication back at least 5,000 years. Christopher Columbus introduced the vegetable to Europe upon returning from his New World adventures. The Spanish embraced this new treat with fervor and began cultivating it, eventually exporting it to England, where the sweet potato found equally enthusiastic acceptance at the court of Henry VIII. The Portuguese can stake claim to bringing the vegetable to Africa and…

Well y’all, fall is here, and things will shortly be cooling down here in Savannah. What a hot summer we have had! I have struggled all summer to keep all the plants watered and all the animals cool. Sam, Otis, and Cody are enjoying long naps on the porch; and I am enjoying the rocking chairs. Although, I won’t have much time this fall to enjoy the cool weather. My new book Paula Deen Celebrates comes out at the end of October, and it celebrates all the holidays throughout the year. I will be going on a national book tour, which will keep me on the road most of fall and right up until Christmas. You can check my new website www.PaulaDeen.com for my book-tour schedule. This summer, I planted…

Test kitchen provided by Lowe’s. Cover: Napkin from Table Matters. Location courtesy of Marsha and David Smith. Home for the Holidays Pages 12–17: Soup tureen from The Dande-Lion. Cake stand from Home- Goods. Location courtesy of Virginia and Bill Spencer. Grand Finale Pages 18–26: Angel-Food Cake stand from HomeGoods, napkin from Table Matters, and cake knife from Christine’s. Casserole holder, green salad plate, and napkin from Table Matters. Cookie platter from Home- Goods, table mat from Table Matters. Lemony Christmas Cake stand, place setting, and napkin from Table Matters, cake knife from Christine’s. Red-and-white Spode® plate from HomeGoods. Come Together Pages 36–45: Cheese-dip bowl and platter by Arthur Court Designs. Fischer & Wieser: Doing Something Special Pages 46–51: White platter with Saucy Sesame Wings and white plates with Raspberry Cream-Cheese…

Roasted Root Vegetables Yield: 12 servings Preparation: 30 minutes Bake: 1 hour 8 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick 4 parsnips, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick 1 rutabaga, peeled and diced 1/2-inch thick 1 (10-ounce) bag pearl onions, peeled 1/4 cup olive oil 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper • Preheat oven to 450°. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil; set aside. • In a large bowl, combine all vegetables. • In a small bowl, combine oil, thyme, salt, and pepper. Add oil mixture to vegetables, tossing to coat evenly. • Bake for approximately 1 hour until tender, stirring halfway through cooking time. Green Beans with Red Peppers Yield: 12 servings Preparation: 30 minutes Cook: 40 minutes 1/4 cup olive oil…

Across the South this fall, thousands of families will be loading their SUVs, vans, and motor homes with folding tables and chairs and picnic supplies and will be hitting the road. They’ll drive hundreds of miles, traveling eight hours or more in some cases, to be reunited with the people they care about. Their destination will not be a wedding, a family reunion, or even a church revival. They will come together for a common purpose—to break bread and reconnect with friends and family on the campus of their favorite college football team. They will come together for a tailgating party. Tailgating at college football games is a wellestablished tradition throughout the South. So last fall, I set out, with photographers Marcy Black and Arden Ward, to visit two college…

the sight was incredible—a house made of gingerbread and covered with sugary sweets greeted Hansel and Gretel as they emerged from the dark woods. The excitement and fascination of these two fairytale children is nothing compared to the experience of modern-day visitors to the Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa in Asheville, North Carolina. Escaping the cold Blue Ridge winter, they enter a room filled with hundreds of magical creations—from tiny abodes and chateaus to cathedrals and castles—each constructed of spicy dough and decorated with tiny confections. This dreamy, magical setting can only mean one thing—the Annual National Gingerbread Competition. Nowhere is the Southern fascination with gingerbread more apparent than at Grove Park’s competition. Begun in 1993 as a way to entice guests to the historic inn during the winter…

“It was a recipe created out of desperation,” explains Debbie Rowley of Conway, Arkansas, referring to her Fiesta Chicken Strata. One warm Sunday morning, Debbie needed to get something ready for lunch before heading off to church, but there weren’t many options available in her pantry. “I threw these things in a pan, put it in the oven, and left for church.” When Debbie and her husband returned, the spicy aroma filled the house, and the desperation dish was quite delicious. “We agreed we’d make this again,” says Debbie. Debbie remembers that she has always been in the kitchen, even as a tiny child. “My mom had two babies, only 11 1/2 months apart; and she kept us in the kitchen with her. She’d give us a tiny pan and…

Chocolate Angel-Food Cake Recipe development by Betty Terry Yield: 1 (10-inch) cake Preparation: 30 minutes Bake: 50 minutes 1 cup cake flour 2 cups sugar, divided 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa* 2 cups egg whites (approximately 14 to 16 large egg whites), at room temperature** 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon almond extract 1 teaspoon coconut extract 1 recipe Chocolate-Coconut Glaze (Recipe follows.) 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted • Preheat oven to 350º. • Sift together flour, 1 cup sugar, and cocoa. Set aside. • To help egg whites achieve better volume, gently warm them in a double boiler, or in a stainless-steel bowl set over simmering water, until slightly warm to the touch. Transfer egg whites to the bowl of an…

When Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain in 1492, seeking a shorter trade route to India, what was at the top of his shopping list? Black pepper! The common everyday spice that can be found in almost every kitchen today was once a scarce and very valuable commodity. Today, pepper remains the most widely used spice; it accounts for one-fifth of the world’s spice trade. All true peppercorns—black, white, and green—are the fruit of the same plant, in Latin piper nigrum, or blackpepper plant. The pepper plant is thought to have originated along the Malabar Coast in India more than 4,000 years ago; and today, it is grown around the world in the tropical region within 20 degrees of the Equator. The differences in color and flavor are determined by…

Does anybody out there have a good recipe for cornbread dressing? I don’t mean just a few notes scrawled on the back of an envelope. I’m talking about a real recipe with measured amounts and detailed instructions. I’ve never met a good Southern cook who does. That’s because cornbread dressing is one of those traditional Southern foods we learn to make at our mother’s knee, using a handful of this and pinch of that. A good cornbread dressing is less about following directions and more about feeling and intuition. My sister Susie learned to make cornbread dressing over the phone. As a young wife and mother, her husband’s career had taken her family to faraway lands—Macon, Georgia. (Well, it seemed a long way to them.) A few days before Thanksgiving,…

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