Innholdsfortegnelse for August - September 2010 i Taste of the South

IN THE SOUTH, FOOD IS EVERYTHING. FOOD IS TRADITION. Food is sharing. Food eases us from one season into the next in a magical sequence. As summer winds down and school days return, it’s time to take pleasure in one last tomato sandwich, bake another fruit-filled pie, and freeze field peas for a sneak taste of summer when the weather cools. It’s also time to invite family, friends, and neighbors over to bid summer farewell. Pair our easy grilled vegetables (page 34) with a decadent Southern sandwich like our Bacon and Bourbon Barbecue Burgers (“Between Bread,” page 45). Then end the meal with s’mores, that classic chocolate-marshmallow-graham-cracker snack. Whether you toast your marshmallows over a beach bonfire or a backyard fire pit, the melted chocolate and pillows of marshmallow will…

THERE AREN’T MANY RULES AT FLIP BURGER Boutique. From the creative burger combinations to the restaurant’s futuristic soda-jerk design, it’s all about flavorful fun. But one rule: The burgers must consist of a ground protein (beef, lamb, veal, turkey, chorizo, chick peas, crab, or shrimp, to name a few), but they can be ordered on perfectly toasted brioche buns or wrapped in lettuce. The sides are what you’d expect to complement a burger— but so much more. The french fries get the ultimate “spa” treatment (see box), the onion rings come with a vodka batter, and the tempura sweet-potato fries are dusted with chocolate salt. Then there are the liquid-nitrogen frozen milk shakes with ever-evolving flavors to woo kids and adults alike. “My team is a think tank,” says Richard…

I COULD FUSS ALL I WANTED, BUT S’MORES WERE never sliding beneath Mama’s broiler. As a self-proclaimed kitchen purist (ahem, food snob), she made sure that I was a proper Gulf Coast girl who knew my way around a bag of Royal Reds and a rolling pin. But the fun food—the kind that came from boxes and bags and the Hershey Corporation—would have to wait. A different chef would have to teach me the glories of the graham-cracker sandwich, stuffed to capacity with little squares of melted chocolate and golden toasted marshmallows. At summer camp, sometime in the early 1990s, I met my first s’more—and my future husband, Jamie. I suppose I owe a lot to that small Episcopal camp on Week’s Bay. I remember Jamie was a long-legged, shy…

“I absolutely love your magazine and recommend it to everyone. I enjoy using the subscription as gifts for friends. Thanks for providing such an interesting and unique magazine. I look forward with great anticipation to each issue and will forbid myself to look through the issues on the newsstand before mine arrives in the mail!” —Mary Lynn Van Gelderen Ann Arbor, Michigan Still a Favorite I love the Italian Cream Cake from Pollman’s Bake Shop in Mobile, Alabama (Taste of the South, Spring 2005 and Southern Favorites, 2009). I have made it both ways—with pecans and with walnuts. Both are good, but with walnuts is even better. I have baked it a couple of times for friends, and they loved it. Thanks for sharing. —Lanicia Thorpe Leland, North Carolina Lanicia,…

Kuhn Rikon Piranha Swivel Peeler Retail price: $8 Why we love it: Serrated blade peels tomatoes, even fuzzyskinned peaches, with ease. A staff favorite. Where to buy: kuhnrikon.com Kuhn Rikon Original Swiss Peeler Retail price: $3.50 Why we love it: Carbon-steel blade stays sharp. Handle fits comfortably in your hand— whether you’re a righty or a lefty. Where to buy: kuhnrikon.com Kuhn Rikon Julienne Peeler Retail price: $15 Why we love it: Makes perfect julienne strips. Where to buy: kuhnrikon.com The Pampered Chef Kernel Cutter Retail price: $7.50 Why we love it: Plastic husker blade makes quick work of husking corn. With cutting edge mounted facing away from the handle, cutting kernels off the cob is safer. Where to buy: pamperedchef.com Chef’n Stem Gem Retail price: $7.99 Why we love it: Hulls strawberries with…

SINCE THE LATE 19TH CENTURY WHEN THE COLORFUL “CHILI QUEENS” COOKED AND served their chile-laced stews at a downtown plaza, San Antonio has been proud of its reputation for great Tex-Mex food. But as the rest of the nation began to hone its palate 25 to 30 years ago, so did San Antonio. Locals sought out chefs with vision and creativity, along with restaurants that embraced their demands for innovative cooking and fresh ingredients. The Culinary Institute of America is putting finishing touches on its third campus, at the site of the old Pearl Brewery near downtown. The influx of talented CIA chefs and students is already making its presence known. Mexican cafés will always provide affordable breakfast tacos, enchiladas, and other flavorful examples of everyday local fare, but San…

ON A RECENT MORNING IN BANKS, Oregon, Brettni Brumfield woke up early and decided to cook a mess of collard greens with ham hocks and cornbread. When her husband, Brad, walked into the kitchen a little later, he said, “It smells like Mississippi. It smells like home.” For Brettni and Brad, both Mississippi natives, the Magnolia State will always be home—even though Brad’s work as an optical engineer has taken them more than 2,500 miles away to Oregon. The abundant Douglas fir trees growing nearby remind Brettni of Christmas-tree lots in the South. “It’s definitely rainy,” she adds. It’s a soft, misty rain that rarely lets up. Sometimes Brettni gets homesick for Mississippi thunderstorms—the flash of lightning and the crash of thunder followed by a heavy downpour that is over…

a few of our favorite ways Stew with water, butter, and a touch onion; grill for a salad, sandwich, pizza, or quick side; roast thin slices with olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs, and top with goat cheese before serving; fry crabmeat- or ricotta-andherb- stuffed blossoms.…

southern club sandwiches Yield: 6 sandwiches 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons Tomato Chutney Aïoli (recipe follows) 18 slices whole-grain bread 1 head green-leaf lettuce 18 slices deli-sliced Virginia ham 12 slices deli-sliced Havarti cheese 12 slices applewood-smoked bacon, cooked Sweet-potato chips 1. Spread approximately 1½ tablespoons aïoli on each of 6 slices whole-grain bread. Layer each with lettuce and 3 slices ham. 2. Top each sandwich with another bread slice. Spread approximately 1½ tablespoons aïoli on top of each bread slice. Layer with 2 slices cheese and 2 slices bacon. Top with remaining 6 slices bread. 3. Cut sandwiches into quarters. Place a wooden pick in the middle of each sandwich quarter. Serve with sweet-potato chips, if desired. tomato chutney aïoli Yield: approximately 3 cups 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes,…

FOR OVER 70 YEARS, OLD BAY SEASONING has been synonymous with seafood. From crabs to shrimp, cooks have relied upon Old Bay’s blend of spices to add a bold burst of flavor to any seafood selection. “There’s a familiar and comfortable flavor profile with Old Bay that you don’t get with many other seasonings,” says Kevan Vetter, executive chef and manager of culinary product development for McCormick & Company, which owns and manufactures the seasoning. “People who grew up with Old Bay love the flavor, and it reminds them of home.” Today, the savory seasoning has become an integral ingredient for cooks across the South. So much so, in fact, that one would be hard pressed to find a home that doesn’t have a can of the popular blend in…

If you’re driving from Charleston to Myrtle Beach, drop in at Seewee Restaurant in Awendaw, South Carolina. Mary Rancourt and her son Kurt Penninger have been turning out Lowcountry favorites at this grocerystore- turned-diner since 1993. Highly recommended: she-crab soup with hushpuppies, and fresh local seafood cooked SeeWee style—with Old Bay Seasoning, garlic, lemon, and sherry. 4808 U.S. Highway 17 N (843-928-3609); seeweerestaurant.com.…