Innholdsfortegnelse for June - July 2011 i Taste of the South

I GREW UP ON THE GULF COAST, where summer meant more time on the water: sailing, swimming, nighttime crabbing, afternoon fish fries, cast-netting for shrimp, and waiting for that rare Mobile Bay jubilee. Whether you live near the Gulf, visit it frequently, or find yourself landlocked, our grilled seafood recipes (page 62) offer easy ways to bring a taste of the coast—and vacation—to your backyard. Summer also means blueberries, blackberries, peaches, corn, tomatoes, and field peas—those vibrant and refreshing flavors that make this season the most anticipated of the year. And it’s the perfect time, while the days are lazy and the pace is a bit slower, to share summer’s sweetness with family and friends, be it a casual cookout with neighbors (“Star-Spangled Spread,” page 42) or a dinner to…

One of the oldest cultivated fruits, figs are a Southern summer icon. For many, their arrival is so anticipated that when they “come in,” taking time for daily picking trumps all other activities. Common backyard varieties include Brown Turkey and Celeste, or “sugar figs.” But Louisiana State University has released several new varieties of figs in recent years, including O’Rourke, Champagne, Tiger, LSU Gold, and LSU Purple. Make preserves, slice them for salads, chop into a relish for pork chops and fish, or try our Grilled Goat- Cheese-Stuffed Figs with Prosciutto on page 43.…

RAINBOW— Large yellow tomato with red striping throughout. Extremely sweet and very juicy. RED BRANDYWINE— Amish heirloom variety that produces large meaty fruit with a mild, sweet flavor; not very acidic. LEMON BOY— Brightly flavored, low-acid tomato that is almost perfectly globe shaped. Holds up well in sauces. Good for roasting. PURPLE CALABASH— Deeply ribbed purple tomato that is well worth the effort to grow. Intense tomatoey, almost smoky flavor. NEBRASKA WEDDING— Heirloom favorite passed down to brides as a wedding gift on the Great Plains. Good slicing tomato. RED LIGHTNING— Small, perfectly round, orange tomato streaked with deep red. Heavily acidic. Very firm. JAPANESE BLACK TRIFLE— Meaty, pear-shaped tomato that is easy to grow. Very intense flavor. If it were a wine, it would be a Bordeaux. BLACK ZEBRA—…

IN THE NEW SOUTHERN GARDEN COOKBOOK, FOOD WRITER AND cooking instructor Sheri Castle finally answers the often-posed question, “What’s for dinner?” It’s simple, she says. It’s whatever is in season. This collection of more than 300 brightly flavored recipes, peppered with handy tips and great stories, celebrates the vast array of seasonal produce grown in the South, making for both good food and a good read. Southern food, in all its forms, is evocative. It makes us talk; it makes us want to sit down together.–SHERI CASTLE In the introduction to your book, you quote some of the lyrics from “Woodstock” by Joni Mitchell. “And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.” Will you be planting a garden this summer? Where I lived before, I had an 80-squarefoot…

Long Live the Queen of Southern Cakes My husband requested a coconut cake for his birthday last week. After a careful search on the Internet to find the best recipe, I found yours, which was published in the April/May 2011 issue [page 80]. What a winner! He loved it! And so did everyone else who ate it. The cream of coconut and coconut milk in the cake gave it just enough coconut flavor. The cream-cheese frosting was a fabulous combination with the coconut flavor. I think this recipe tops all the others! —Mary Lynn Van Gelderen Manchester, Michigan Getting a Grip on Ribs In the recipe for Dry Rub Ribs in the April/May 2011 issue, you say “Remove thin membrane from back of ribs by piercing it with a sharp…

Get the Look! A farm table pulled into the yard greets guests and sets the tone for a relaxed gathering. Pitcher Perfect The Amazon Dreams pitcher is great for hydrangeas or iced tea. Available at Anthropologie. $58; anthropologie.com. Floral Plates We love these eye-catching Sliced Persimmon dinner plates. Available at Anthropologie. $18; anthropologie.com. Lemonade Bottles Look for pretty lemonade bottles at specialty-food stores or World Market. The bottles can be reused for flowers or to store olive oil. Napkins A simple running stitch with embroidery floss gives a plain white napkin a nice burst of color. Papier-Mâché Trays Vintage trays are indispensable for entertaining. Find similar ones in varying shapes, sizes, and colors at antiques stores and on eBay. QUICK TIP seasonal style Pull a casual table together by using what’s in…

fast fix flounder in parchment Yield: 6 servings 6 (5- to 7-ounce) flounder fillets 6 tablespoons Tomato Butter (recipe on page 36) 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 18 slices small heirloom tomatoes (we used Lemon Boy and Rainbow) 12 paper-thin slices Vidalia onion 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Cut 6 large hearts out of parchment paper about 14 inches wide. 2. Place 1 piece of fish in center of 1 side of parchment-paper heart. Spread 1 tablespoon Tomato Butter on fish. Season with salt and pepper. Top with 3 slices tomato and 2 slices onion. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Repeat with remaining ingredients. 3. Fold extra sides of parchment hearts over fish. Starting at the top, crimp edges of parchment, tucking as…

fast fix grilled goat-cheese-stuffed figs with prosciutto Yield: 12 servings 12 medium to large ripe figs ¼ cup goat cheese 12 (5- to 6-inch) slices prosciutto 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1. Spray grill with nonflammable, nonstick cooking spray. Preheat to medium-high heat (400° to 450°). 2. Cut a 1-inch slit in the side of each fig. Divide goat cheese into 12 equal portions. Insert 1 portion inside each fig. Wrap figs with prosciutto slices to secure goat cheese. 3. Grill figs over direct heat until proscuitto is crispy, 1 to 2 minutes per side. 4. In a small bowl, whisk together honey and vinegar. Drizzle over warm figs. Serve immediately. potato corn salad Yield: 8 to 10 servings 1 pound red potatoes, cut in 1½-inch cubes (approximately…

Greenville Culinary Tours: What foodie can resist these new tours offered by Greenville History Tours and the Table 301 Restaurant Group? The 21/2- to 3-hour tour visits five destinations with high-profile chefs cooking regional ingredients at each. Held on Tuesdays and Saturdays, these tours are a bargain at $39. (864-567-3940, greenvillehistorytours.com) Carolina First Saturday Market: This bustling Saturday market has a little of everything from more than 50 area farmers and restaurants. It’s open from 8:00 a.m. until noon, May to October. (Main Street between Washington and Court, saturday marketlive.com) Fluor Field at the West End: This contemporary minor-league diamond gem features the Greenville Drive, an affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. Forget the standard ball-park concession fare, and head to the Spinx 500 Club down the right field line for restaurant-style…

MY SON JOE JOE JUST TURNED 8 YEARS OLD. EACH year, he gets to pick a theme for his birthday celebration. Last year it was “long,” so we hired a limo to take him and his pals to the party, which featured foot-long hot dogs. This year, he chose “beans” as the theme. It was a huge success. Beans lend themselves to all sorts of creative roles. The party’s mail-ordered Mexican jumping beans, bean quesadillas, and taco-shaped cake with brown M&M’s simulating the meat and beans were a major hit with the kids—and parents. All the bean-themed birthday planning got me thinking about bean dishes. My mind immediately went to succotash, one of the most colorful—and hearty—Southern bean-based offerings. As festive as the dish is, it didn’t fit the party…

1. Keep homemade ice cream cold on the go to picnics and gatherings this summer with these 1-pint ice-cream storage containers from Zak. $11.40; amazon.com. 2. Get dinner on the table in a hurry with more than 115 recipes from Rebecca Lang’s Quick-Fix Southern (Andrews McMeel Universal, 2011). $16.99; amuniversal.com. 3. These cotton tea towels from Wisteria are printed from 19th-century European engravings. $24 each; wisteria.com. 4. The ultimate chocolate indulgence, Sin In A Tin, is a great end to any meal. And there’s no cooking involved. Just serve and enjoy. $6.99 at participating Publix stores or sininatin.org for more retailers. 5. Hit the farmers’ market in style with this jute bag with waterproof lining, handcrafted in Bangladesh, from Apolis Global Citizen. $58; apolisglobal.com. COOKING CLASSES AT JACKSON’S STEAKHOUSE If you’re vacationing in the Pensacola, Florida, area this…

Masthead Page 6: Fruit baskets available at Bake It Pretty, 828-254-2929, bakeitpretty.com. Summer Pies Pages 20-30: Plate with peach crostada available at Anthropologie, 800-309-2500, anthropologie.com. Tomato Celebration Pages 32-38: Piccolo serving bowls available at Bella Cucina, 800-580-5674, bellacucina.com; juice glasses available at World Market, 877-967-5362, worldmarket.com. Star-Spangled Spread Pages 42-49: White platter available at Target, 800-591-3869, target.com. Grilled Seafood Pages 62-69: Blue coupe plate available at Urban Outfitters, 800-282-2200, urbanoutfitters.com. Taste of Tradition Pages 76-81: Purple plate available at Vietri, 919-732-5933, vietri.com; patterned ramekin by Rae Dunn for Magenta, 510-849-3888, magenta-inc.com.…

One of the delights of a visit to the Gulf Coast is eating seafood from the Gulf of Mexico. So naturally when BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana and more than 200 million gallons of oil spewed into the delicate Gulf ecosystem, we were concerned and disheartened. We welcomed the opportunity to participate in Seafood, Science, and Celebrity with Food Network star Alton Brown. During three days on Dauphin Island, Alabama, we met with scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), who explained the testing procedures in place for seafood along the Gulf of Mexico. The waters of the Gulf were reopened to commercial fishing last August. Since then, NOAA representatives have been meeting boats dockside…

Oyster Knife Retail: $7.95 Why we love it: Efficiently pries open oyster shells Where to buy: bakeandcookco.com Enameled Crab Crackers Retail: $16 for a set of 2 Why we love it: Cracks hard shells without damaging delicate meat inside Where to buy: williams-sonoma.com Seafood Scissors Retail: $9.95 Why we love it: Makes cutting through hard lobster or crab shells easy Where to buy: williams-sonoma.com Piazza Seafood Forks Retail: $32 for a set of 4 Why we love it: Lets you retrieve every last oyster, mussel, or clam Where to buy: williams-sonoma.com OXO Shrimp Cleaner Retail: $5.99 Why we love it: Makes quick work of deveining shrimp Where to buy: oxo.com Fish Spatula Retail: $19.95 Why we love it: Flexible head slides neatly under fish, allowing cooking oil to drain back into pan Where to buy: bakeandcookco.com…

Heirloom-tomato farmer Elizabeth Sandlin is not into instant gratification. She likes to do things the old-fashioned—and often more time-consuming—way. “I don’t like modern things,” says Elizabeth, who farms 90 acres in Holly Pond, Alabama, with her husband, Scott, and their sons, Caleb and Jacob. “I like the old-timey way of doing things. It’s simple and pure, and I love it. “We’re really low tech at Sandlin Farms,” Elizabeth explains. “I actually seed by hand.” She broadcasts her heirloom-tomato seeds in 20x10-inch trays, packing 300 to 400 seedlings in each one. This year she has started more than 25,000 plants from seed, including 200 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, such as Purple Calabash, Nebraska Wedding, and Russian Rose. “I’m always adding new varieties and culling old ones that don’t live up to…

WHEN KRISTEN ERICH AND HER family bought a new home in Deland, Florida, six years ago, it came with a bonus—four citrus trees. “There was a lemon tree, an orange tree, a grapefruit tree, and a lime tree,” Kristen recalls. “They were just saplings when we bought the house.” When the trees started producing fruit a few years later, she found herself with a problem— more limes than she knew what to do with The tree yielded more than 100 baseball-size limes that year, and Kristen struggled to come up with ways to use them. “I was making pie, cookies, limeade, anything to do with limes that I could think of.” Then she remembered her grandmother’s lemon bars. “I really love lemon bars; my grandmother would always make them at…