Innholdsfortegnelse for February - March 2009 i Taste of the South

I CAN STILL REMEMBER WHERE I WAS THE FIRST time I had grits for a meal other than breakfast. A decade or so ago, some co-workers and I were eating supper at Magnolia’s in Charleston, South Carolina. Since I really enjoy seafood, I ordered the special of the day, which was served with stone-ground grits. These grits were unlike any I had ever tasted—they were creamy and had an intense corn flavor. I decided I just had to have some to cook at home, and so my quest began. I visited countless grocery stores across the South looking for stone-ground grits and soon discovered that they are not usually available there because of their perishability. Stone-ground grits must be refrigerated or frozen to prevent spoilage because the corn germ, which…

mocha brownie sundaes Yield: 8 servings Preparation: 5 minutes Bake: 40 minutes 11⁄2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels 2 (1-ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate, chopped 8 tablespoons unsalted butter 11⁄2 cups all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 11⁄4 cups sugar 3 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Vanilla ice cream 1 recipe Hot Chocolate Sauce (Recipe follows.) Garnish: cherries and chopped pecans PREHEAT oven to 350°. Lightly coat an 11-x-7-x-2-inch baking dish with baking spray; set aside. IN A MEDIUM BOWL, combine chocolates and butter. Microwave on HIGH (100 percent power) for 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until chocolate is melted and smooth. IN A LARGE BOWL, sift together flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt.…

WHEN YOU ENTER KUDZU BAKERY & MARKET IN GEORGETOWN, South Carolina, it feels like you’re stepping back to a more relaxed time and place. It’s not just the charm of the old building, which once housed a livery stable. It’s not the rustic beamed trusses on the ceiling or the wide scarred planks of the wooden floor. It’s more the warm welcome you receive from owners Stacy and Joey Rabon. At Kudzu Bakery, they know their customers by name. “It’s a different world in a small town,” says Joey, a tall, likeable guy with saltand- pepper hair and a wide grin. He grew up in Georgetown, about 60 miles northeast of Charleston, South Carolina. He and his wife, Stacy, know their neighbors, so they know their customers. “We know your…

. . . her words “maybe add a little water” made me nervous. And what was “cook it down”? DURING THE YEAR I WAS PRESIDENT of the National Speakers Association, I sent each of my 18 board members what I thought was the perfect Christmas gift from a Southern humorist—slices of country ham. Real country ham trimmed with enough fat to make redeye gravy. My gift card proclaimed, “Southern ham from a Southern ham.” It seemed clever to me. The Southern board members raved— well, of course. For the Southerner, receiving real country ham is like finding gold. But, heaven help me, the responses of speakers from “somewheres else” revealed that they had no idea what to do with country ham. A seminar leader in Arizona cooked her slices in…

Hands down, all of the Hoffman Media holiday issues are the best of any of the magazines I have seen. There are so many great ideas and recipes; I am not sure what to try first. Please keep up the good work. I wait with anticipation when any Hoffman Media special edition is coming out. These products are quickly becoming, by far, my favorites. —Rebekah Hogue Scott Depot, West Virginia The Nicest Gift I just made the recipe for Pork Chops with Cinnamon Apples from Christmas Cooking Southern Style 2008, served it to my family, and received rave reviews. Experimenting with different recipes is what I enjoy most, and your magazine has given me so many opportunities to do just that. All the back issues have been ordered, and you…

THE SEPTEMBER 2005 ISSUE OF A NATIONAL MAGAZINE LISTED NEW ORLEANS AS ONE OF AMERICA’S top five restaurant cities. Ironically, by the time the issue hit newsstands, 20 percent of the list was wiped out in one long, dark, and extremely wet and windy day. Hurricane Katrina made landfall near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, on August 29. The levees in New Orleans were breached several hours later, and one of our most important food cities was closed for business. Photo by Richard Nowitz / Photo courtesy of New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau My earliest memory of New Orleans is of the aroma of friedoyster po’boys and gumbo wafting through Jackson Square and up to the wrought-iron balconies of Royal Street in the French Quarter. In my mind’s eye,…

OUR GRANDMOTHERS MAY HAVE made piecrust with a couple of handfuls of flour and a pinch of salt, but with today’s baking recipes, accurate measurement is essential. Here are some of our favorite measuring tools to ensure that your baking efforts yield outstanding results. For measuring spoons, we recommend sets with deep bowls like the ones pictured on the opposite page. They make it easy to level dry ingredients for accurate measurements. The narrow width of the Cuisipro (1) and Endurance (3) stainless-steel measuring spoons is convenient when you’re measuring spices from a jar. Or you can add a splash of color to your kitchen with the Endurance Splash! Measuring Spoons (4). If you don’t like keeping up with sets of spoons, the Trudeau Flipper 4-in-1 Measuring Spoon (2) is…

“I SERVE THIS CASSEROLE WHEN I HAVE A CROWD OF PEOPLE WHO love good ole Southern cooking,” says Sarah Bladorn of Gadsden, Alabama. Sarah is referring to the praise-garnering recipe inspired by one she found in a church cookbook years ago. As Test Kitchen Professional Loren Wood’s beloved Nannie, she fondly recalls baking cookies with young Loren, though she won’t take the credit for her granddaughter’s abundant culinary talents. Sarah is not only a fabulous cook, but the family historian as well, keeping up with all the branches and twigs of her family tree. Loren loves receiving her grandmother’s frequent letters, filled with wonderful stories and memories of growing up in rural Etowah County. Now retired from a busy nursing career, she has more time to cook the fresh vegetables…

WHEN GEORGIE YOUNG LIVED IN WASHINGTON, D.C., and worked as a budget analyst, she loved to cook and entertain. But she never imagined that years later she would be giving cooking classes, arranging cooking events with local chefs, and facilitating food tours. And she certainly could not have dreamed—even in her wildest—that she would be doing all this cooking from Wade’s Mill, an 18th-century working flour mill. “Our experience in Washington was most definitely not a qualifying experience for mill ownership,” laughs Georgie. Tucked in a glade of rocks, water, and green valleys, Wade’s Mill has an almost storybook setting near Raphine, Virginia. Sheep and cattle graze in the distance. Lavender and rosemary grow in paths around the mill and the miller’s house. A creaking water wheel mingles with the…

I wish I could have a wonderful meal with my grandparents so my grandmother could watch me cook instead of me spending so many hours watching her. —Chef Michelle McRaney Who does the cooking at home? I do. I’m a chef! How did you learn to cook? By watching my grandmother cook. My mother worked, so my grandmother did the cooking. What is your favorite comfort food? I do love mashed potatoes. Also, macaroni and cheese. And, of course, I love M&M’s. Do you have a special memory of that comfort food? My grandparents were very “meat and potatoes” people. When my grandmother would cook dinner, she would save potatoes on the side (not mashed) for me to mash and prepare on my own. She spoiled me. How often do…

3 Easy Weeknight Suppers Pages 14 –21: Yellow napkins from Pottery Barn, 888-779-5176, www.potterbarn.com; yellow casserole dish by Le Creuset, www.lecreuset.com; green “Sorrento” bowls and plates by Signature Housewares, www.sighouse.com. Location courtesy of Virginia and Bill Hornbuckle. Desserts to Delight the Ones You Love Pages 22 –28: Red take-out box from Michaels, 800-642-4235, www.michaels.com; red-and-white plate from Anthropologie, 800-309-2500, www.anthropologie.com. March Madness Pages 30–36: Double-tiered stands from Pier 1 Imports, 800-245-4595, www.pier1.com; basketball party plates from Party City, 973-983-0888, www.partycity.com; beverage bucket from Swoozie’s, 866-796-6943, www.swoozies.com. Location courtesy of Lynn and Cam Terry. Where Everybody Knows Your Name Pages 46–53: Crab bowl and yellow plates from Kudzu Mercantile, 932 Front St., Georgetown, SC 29440, 843-546-0040. Taste of Tradition: Gravy Pages 74–79: Cast-iron skillet by Lodge Manufacturing Company, 423-837-7181,…