Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2010 - January 2011 i Taste of the South

GIFTS FROM THE KITCHEN ARE A MEANINGFUL EXPRESSION OF love. This Christmas, I’m giving homemade fig preserves, blackberry jam, Meyer limoncello, and hazelnut shortbread sticks. They’re perfect treats to share with friends, neighbors, and co-workers. If you’re looking for new gifting ideas this holiday season, see our fabulous cookie recipes on page 32. Think Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies and Salted Caramel Thumbprint Cookies. Still searching for the perfect Christmas menu? Our Christmas dinner is full of seasonal yet sophisticated Southern flavors the whole family will love, from a Collard Green and Cornbread Stuffed Beef Tenderloin to a Vanilla-Buttermilk Cake. (The cake is so good, I’ve already baked it twice!) Our time-saving, do-ahead plan will give you more time to spend with your family. For other holiday get-togethers, we’ve got fun…

Those who think they don’t like Brussels sprouts may never have had them prepared properly. This veggie shouldn’t be bitter and mushy but rather slightly sweet and crisp. Roasting is an easy cooking technique that brings out their natural sweetness. Try them roasted with balsamic vinegar, shredded and added to pasta, sautéed with bacon and pecans or with sesame oil, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar. Try our Brussels Sprouts with Mushrooms and Bacon on page 24.…

MENU spinach salad with goat cheese and toasted almond vinaigrette ? collard green and cornbread stuffed beef tenderloin ? glazed carrots and parsnips with tarragon ? brussels sprouts with mushrooms and bacon ? garlic-herb potatoes ? vanilla-buttermilk cake spinach salad with goat cheese and toasted almond vinaigrette Yield: 8 servings 3 medium beets, washed and trimmed ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided 6 ounces goat cheese 1 cup ground toasted almonds ¼ cup sugar ⅓ cup apple-cider vinegar ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper 8 cups fresh baby spinach 3 oranges, peeled and sectioned 1. Preheat oven to 400°. 2. Place beets on a sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Fold edges of foil up around beets to seal. 3. Bake…

SWEET, JUICY, BRIGHT, AND COLORFUL, FLORIDA STRAWberries offer a wonderful reprieve in the winter months. To honor this delicious fruit and the dedicated farmers who grow it, the Florida Strawberry Growers Association and Taste of the South magazine teamed up to sponsor the recipe contest A Taste of Summer All Winter Long. Sue Harrell, Eva Nell Griffin, and Teresa Griffin from the Florida Strawberry Growers Association joined Taste of the South editor Brooke Bell and food editor Betty Terry for a day of strawberry judging. Here are the winning entries in each category. We hope you enjoy these recipes and the incredible flavor they bring to your kitchen this winter.…

Yield: 3 servings 15 jumbo fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails on) 1 to 2 tablespoons jerk seasoning ½ cup peeled, pitted, and chopped avocado 20 large Florida winter strawberries, quartered and divided ¼ cup plain yogurt ¼ cup fresh lime juice 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 tablespoons honey ⅛ teaspoon salt ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper 2 cups baby arugula or spring mix 2 naval oranges, segmented (about 1 cup) 1. Spray grill rack with nonstick, nonflammable cooking spray. Preheat grill to medium-high heat (350° to 400°). 2. Sprinkle shrimp evenly with jerk seasoning. Grill, covered with grill lid, until pink and firm, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Set aside to cool. 3. In the container of an electric blender, combine avocado, ½ cup strawberries, yogurt, lime juice,…

FOR LYNDA BORDEN OF PINE Level, Alabama, holiday gift giving often centers around her homemade shortbread. She found the idea for her recipe in the Montgomery Advertiser years ago in an article about cookies from around the world. “It’s one of the most basic cookies you can make,” she points out. “You don’t even need eggs. It’s not the showiest cookie, but once you’ve tasted it, you’re hooked.” Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Lynda often makes six or more batches of shortbread—if the weather cooperates. “Shortbread is best made when the air is a little drier and colder around the holidays,” Lynda points out. But sometimes, when Lynda is ready to bake, Alabama will experience a succession of warm and rainy days. “Some years I have been thwarted in making shortbread,”…

Want even more Taste of the South? Our first South’s Best Comfort Food issue will be on sale December 28, just in time to ease into the new year with plenty of cozy recipes for macaroni and cheese, pot pies, gumbo, red beans and rice, and more! Shellfish Broth Substitute In your “99 Days of Summer” series [a daily e-mail this past summer], you had a recipe for Shrimp Pilau, which sounds wonderful. However, where do I find shellfish broth? Can vegetable or chicken broth be substituted for it? —Barbara Behm Sheboygan, Wisconsin That Shrimp Pilau recipe is from Damon Lee Fowler’s The Savannah Cookbook (Gibbs Smith, 2008), and it’s one of our favorites. Shellfish broth is quick and easy to make using discarded shrimp shells. You’ll find the recipe…

fresh strawberry monkey bread Yield: 1 fluted cake ½ cup toasted sliced almonds or pecans 1 (16-ounce) container fresh Florida winter strawberries, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices, divided (about 2½ cups) 1½ cups sugar, divided 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3 (12-ounce) cans refrigerated buttermilk biscuits, cut into fourths ½ cup butter 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 15-cup fluted pan with nonstick cooking spray. 2. Sprinkle nuts evenly into bottom of prepared pan. Top with 1 cup sliced strawberries. 3. In a small bowl, combine ½ cup sugar and cinnamon. Dredge biscuit quarters in sugar mixture. Layer half of biscuit quarters over strawberries in prepared pan. Top evenly with 1 cup sliced strawberries. Layer remaining biscuit quarters over strawberries. Set aside. 4. In a small saucepan, combine remaining ½ cup…

The best-known New Year’s celebration in the United States is the dropping of the ball in New York’s Times Square. But some Southern renditions of the ball drop have also developed over the years. In Mt. Olive, North Carolina, the home of the Mt. Olive Pickle Company, several thousand people gather to watch a 3½-foot fiberglass pickle descend into an antique redwood pickle tank. Since 2008, the city of Mobile, Alabama, has dropped a 12-foot, electrified MoonPie over the Mobile River. Why MoonPies? Mobile residents and MoonPies go way back. The tasty sandwich is the most popular throw from Mobile’s Mardi Gras floats. Eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day is a Southern tradition that is said to bring good luck throughout the year. We like our peas in hoppin’…

Wilton Christmas Tree Comfort Grip Cutter Retail: $3.19 Why we love it: Cushioned grip gives you comfortable control for cutting out dozens and dozens of cookies. Where to buy: wilton.com Christmas Tree with Star Cookie Cutter Retail: $1.19 Why we love it: Four-inch cutter makes a cookie that is perfect for decorating with royal icing. Where to buy: cookiecutter.com Pine Tree Primitive Cookie Cutter Retail: $2.25 Why we love it: Dainty 3½-inch cutter makes a cookie you can gobble up in two bites. Where to buy: bakeitpretty.com Christmas Linzer Cookie Cutter Set Retail: $12 Why we love it: Six holidaythemed inserts (Christmas tree, bell, angel, candy cane, star, and ornament) make it easy to create these beautiful, jamfilled, European-style cookies. Where to buy: fancyflours.com Christmas Tree Cutter with Wooden Handle Retail: $2.50 Why we…

When the 137-year-old Capital Hotel reopened in November 2007 after a major renovation, the biggest change most guests noticed was not in the structure of the building, but in the menu. New Orleans native Lee Richardson had stepped in to offer his New Americana cuisine, based on the best foodstuffs Arkansas and the surrounding states had to offer. Today, you can meet friends for drinks at the Capital Bar & Grill and linger over Southern favorites, such as pimiento cheese with homemade soda crackers, country-fried steak, and Rice-Fried Catfish (see recipe on page 56). Or dine in elegance at Ashley’s at the Capital. Here you’ll find Gulf shrimp cooked in browned butter with Ashley’s own rice grits or roasted chicken from Falling Sky Farms and winter vegetable pot au feu…

floridian-style strawberry shrimp ceviche Yield: about 6 servings 1 pound cooked medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and chopped 1 (16-ounce) container fresh Florida winter strawberries, chopped ¼ cup thinly sliced sweet onion ¼ cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro 3 tablespoons fresh Key-lime juice 2 tablespoons honey ¼ teaspoon salt ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon Endive leaves Garnish: fresh cilantro leaves 1. In a large bowl, combine shrimp, strawberries, onion, coconut, and cilantro. 2. In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, honey, salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Add to shrimp mixture, tossing gently to coat. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 3. Spoon ceviche into endive leaves. Garnish with cilantro leaves, if desired.…

kitchen tip Always check strawberry containers to be sure you are purchasing Florida-grown strawberries. savory and sweet strawberry crostini with balsamic syrup Yield: about 3 dozen crostini ½ cup balsamic vinegar 1 (8-ounce) container nonfat plain Greek yogurt 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened 4 slices hardwood-smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar 36 (¼-inch-thick) slices French baguette, toasted 1 (16-ounce) container fresh Florida winter strawberries, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices (about 2½ cups) 3 tablespoons finely sliced fresh basil 1. In a small saucepan, bring vinegar to a boil over mediumhigh heat. Reduce heat, and simmer until vinegar is reduced to ¼ cup, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Set aside. 2. In a small bowl, combine yogurt and cream cheese, stirring until smooth. Add bacon and…

THE MOST CHERISHED DISH IN OUR HOME OVER THE years has been a rice-based concoction called Chicken Purlow. Our kids, now adults, grew up enjoying this Lowcountry delicacy. Food writer friends Matt Lee and Ted Lee describe purlow as possibly the definitive Southern dish. In researching for a recent book I wrote on the food and folklore of the Lowcountry, I uncovered that this magnificent rice dish the rest of the country calls “pilaf” has found favor all over the world for centuries. Beginning in the late 1600s, the rice plantations that centered around Charleston helped propel the city to the lofty status as the most prosperous in America. Rice, of course, became the primary dish of Charleston from the Carolina colony’s early days. Charleston caterer Ben Moise said, “We…

CHILDREN’S NUTCRACKER TEA Treat little ones to a special Christmas experience at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, complete with hot chocolate, cookie decorating, an appearance by Santa, young dancers from Atlanta Ballet’s The Nutcracker, and caroling by the Dickens Singers. December 18 and 19 at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m; December 20 at 2:30 p.m; and December 21 at 11 a.m. $52 for adults, $47 for children (exclusive of tax and gratuity). 404-240-7035; ritzcarlton.com/buckhead.…