Innholdsfortegnelse for January/February 2022 i Taste of the South

THE OTHER MORNING as I was buttering a biscuit in a rare moment of relative quiet, I thought about my sister’s wedding last summer in the sun-dappled hills of northern Virginia. The day couldn’t have been more beautiful, and among the other delightful and memorable moments, I got to catch up with my Uncle Barry, whom I hadn’t seen since my wedding. During the conversation, he gave me a bottle of honey from the bees he keeps on his farm. In the meantime, I’ve been parsing it out here and there and thinking about him and the wedding whenever I use it. Whenever we gather around the table—whether for a special occasion or a simple weeknight dinner—we create indelible memories. In this issue, Brenda Gantt reminisces about a winter storm…

TO ME, GREEN is not just a holiday color. It is, more specifically, a winter color. Through the years, my husband, George, and I grew collards and turnips and kale and spinach. He loved kale. I love collards. Since George passed away, I haven’t planted a garden, and I miss it from time to time. Oh, I don’t miss pulling the weeds or hoeing the rows, but I do miss pulling food from the ground and putting it on the table. And, I especially miss having a hot pot of fresh, homegrown collard greens. Last fall, I was at my favorite produce stand (Wingard’s Market in Andalusia, Alabama) buying some fresh collards. As I sorted through the selection looking for the deepest green leaves, an elderly man approached me and…

At dawn on a cold winter morning in Louisiana, folks gather around, hushed and heads bowed, as the Butcher’s Prayer is recited in honor of the pig soon to be harvested. A single gunshot rings, friends and neighbors prepare their posts, and a centuries-old Bayou State tradition begins. A boucherie—which comes from the French word for butchery—is a traditional Cajun community hog harvest that began many generations ago, long before the advent of supermarkets or refrigeration. “Every family had to maintain their gardens; every family had sons who would fish or hunt to bring in game, and different times a year, communities would get together to share the wealth, so to speak,” says renowned chef and Louisiana food authority John Folse. The sharing of wealth had nothing to do with…

The Ultimate Grilled Pimiento Cheese Sandwiches MAKES 4 Cooking your sandwiches with mayo ensures a crisp, golden toast. 1 cup shredded white Cheddar cheese1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese¼ cup diced pimientos, drained¼ cup cream cheese, room temperature¼ cup mayonnaise¼ teaspoon hot sauce8 slices sourdough breadMayonnaise, for toasting 1. In a small bowl, combine Cheddar cheeses, pimiento, cream cheese, ¼ cup mayonnaise, and hot sauce, stirring until just combined. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight. 2. Spread ⅓ cup pimiento cheese mixture on one side of 4 slices bread and top with remaining 4 slices bread. 3. Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on both sides of sandwiches. 4. Working in 2 batches in a large skillet, cook sandwiches over medium heat until golden brown and cheese…

Classic Meat Loaf MAKES 1 (9X5-INCH) LOAF With four types of meat and lots of flavor, this hearty main dish will be a crowd-pleaser. 3 tablespoons unsalted butter1 cup chopped yellow onion4 cloves garlic, minced¼ cup tomato paste1 pound ground beef1 pound ground pork½ pound ground veal2 large eggs, lightly beaten5 tablespoons stone-ground mustard, divided3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, divided2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley1 tablespoon kosher salt1 teaspoon ground black pepper½ cup bread crumbs¼ cup whole milk1½ cups ketchup3 tablespoons light brown sugar1 teaspoon crushed red pepper4 slices thick-cut baconGarnish: chopped fresh parsley 1. Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. 2. In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Add garlic; cook…

PEOPLE LOVE COOKIES, but we didn’t realize just how much until 1996 when my brother, Joe, and I bought a barbecue restaurant in Birmingham, Alabama. It was a little cinder-block joint in Birmingham’s Southside named Pat James’s Full Moon Bar-B-Que after owner Pat James, who ran the restaurant with his wife, Eloise. They opened in 1986 with a menu of barbecue classics. Over a wood-burning pit, they cooked exceptional ribs and pork for barbecue sandwiches, but they also introduced more surprising barbecue shop finds. One of those was their chowchow. If you don’t know anything about chowchow, it’s a very spicy, mustard-based Southern relish, and at Full Moon, it goes on every single sandwich and plate that we serve. From the start, our chowchow set the restaurant apart from other…

BREADS Buttermilk Biscuits with Honey Butter 88 Cornbread 58 Memama’s Cornbread Muffins 32 Meyer Lemon–Poppy Seed Quick Bread 25 DESSERTS Blood Orange–Buttermilk Pie 54 Chocolate Mashed Potato Cake 85 Easy Lemon King Cake 23 Full Moon Bar-B-Que Half Moon Cookies 90 Grapefruit Shaker Pie 22 Mississippi Mud Cake 40 Mississippi Mud Cheesecake 39 Mississippi Mud Cookies 38 Mississippi Mud Dip 37 Mississippi Mud Pie 38 Orange Crinkle Cookies 23 Orange Curd Cookie Cups 22 MAINS Appalachian Soup Beans 61 Bacon Patty Melts 70 Baked Penne Rigate with Spinach and Mozzarella 33 Brunswick Stew 62 Burgoo 62 Cast Iron Barbecue Pizza 67 Cheesy Cajun Pasta Casserole 70 Chicken and Andouille Jambalaya 56 Classic Meat Loaf 78 Creamy Chowder 29 Shrimp and Oyster Gumbo 64 Southern Shepherd’s Pie 83 Texas Chili con…

Baked Penne Rigate with Spinach and Mozzarella MAKES 8 TO 10 SERVINGS This weeknight staple is simple yet filled with flavor. 3 tablespoons olive oil1 cup chopped yellow onion3 cloves garlic, minced½ cup white wine2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes2 tablespoons sugar1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano1 teaspoon crushed red pepper¼ teaspoon ground black pepper2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed1 cup heavy whipping cream1 (6-ounce) bag fresh baby spinach, chopped1 pound rigatoni pasta, cooked al dente per package instructions1 pound mozzarella cheese, coarsely shredded and dividedGarnish: fresh thyme, fresh oregano 1. In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions; cook, stirring frequently, until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook,…

Blood Orange–Buttermilk Pie MAKES 1 (9-INCH) PIE In-season citrus shines in this beautiful pie. 1 disk Pie Dough (recipe follows)1½ cups sugar3 tablespoons all-purpose flour½ teaspoon kosher salt3 large eggs, room temperature6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature1½ teaspoons vanilla extract1 teaspoon blood orange zest¾ cup whole buttermilk, room temperatureGarnish: sweetened whipped cream, blood orange segments 1. Preheat oven to 400°. Place oven rack in bottom third of oven. 2. On a lightly floured surface, roll Pie Dough into a 12-inch circle with ⅛-inch thickness. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate, pressing into bottom and up sides. Trim excess dough to ½ inch beyond edge of plate, if needed. Fold edges under, and crimp as desired. Freeze for 15 minutes. 3. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar,…

“I was raised on Camellia beans, and to me, this is the only brand people buy.”–CHEF CHRIS MONTERO IN LOUISIANA, there are as many variations of red beans and rice as there are king cakes during Carnival season. People experiment with heat levels and Cajun spice blends and debate whether andouille sausage or smoked ham is the superior protein, but no one sways too far from tradition. A classic bowl of red beans and rice starts with the trinity (chopped onion, bell pepper, and celery), is eaten on Mondays, and most importantly, most often stars bayou-born-and-bred Camellia beans. The oldest dried bean company in the country, Camellia Brand has fostered family meals and the Bayou State’s love of red beans and rice for nearly 100 years. “I was raised on…

Loaded BBQ Baked Potato MAKES 6 Grab some pork from your favorite local barbecue shop for these over-the-top potatoes. 6 large russet potatoes2 tablespoons vegetable oil1 tablespoon kosher salt1 (16-ounce) container barbecue pork½ cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese1 avocado, peeled and diced1 (8-ounce) container sour cream¼ cup sliced red onion1 jalapeño, thinly slicedBarbecue sauce, for toppingGarnish: fresh cilantro 1. Preheat oven to 400°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place a wire rack on top of foil. 2. Rub potatoes with oil and sprinkle with salt. Place potatoes on wire rack. 3. Bake until potatoes are very tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let stand for 5 minutes. 4. Cut a lengthwise slit down center of each potato, making sure not to cut all the way through. Carefully squeeze sides to open each…

GUMBO IS ONE OF THOSE SUREFIRE WAYS to get to any Southerner’s heart. Many folks reminisce on the times spent watching their parents or grandparents stirring up a roux in a cast-iron pan, the craving for a bowl building as the soul-soothing aroma wafts through the house. Like many regional delicacies, family recipes are held close to the heart and passed down through generations only to be revived for special occasions, cool winter nights, and those days when you just need a hearty helping of nostalgia. Then, there are the times when you want to let someone else do all the heavy lifting so you need only to sit down and savor the flavor. That’s the beauty of living down South. There are oh-so-many restaurants at our fingertips serving up…

IN A WATERFRONT PARK ON THE COAST OF BRUNSWICK, GEORGIA, sits an old, weathered 25-gallon iron pot atop a stone pedestal. “In this pot,” the words inscribed in the base read, “the first Brunswick stew was made on St. Simon Isle July 2, 1898.” A seven-hour drive northward, a town of 16,000 also named Brunswick in southern Virginia begs to differ. Brunswick stew is a hearty, meaty concoction that, like some of the South’s most loved dishes, has a hazy history. The Peach State has long claimed ownership of the dish, but beyond the iron pot monument (one of two in the area) and the town’s name, factual evidence proving that Georgia was the birthplace of Brunswick stew is hard to come by. Virginians, however, dish up a more convincing…

Grapefruit Shaker Pie MAKES 1 (9-INCH) PIE This tangy pie incorporates an entire grapefruit to ensure a generous supply of citrus flavor. 1 large red or pink grapefruit1¾ cups granulated sugar, plus more for dusting¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar½ teaspoon kosher salt1 (14.1-ounce) package refrigerated piecrusts3 tablespoons all-purpose flour1 teaspoon ground cardamom4 large eggs, lightly beaten1 teaspoon vanilla extract¼ cup unsalted butter, melted1 egg white, lightly beaten1 tablespoon waterSweetened whipped cream, to serve 1. Using a citrus zester, remove zest from grapefruit to equal 2 tablespoons, avoiding white pith. Remove pith from grapefruit and cut into sections over a small bowl. Finely chop grapefruit sections to equal ¾ cup. Squeeze membrane and remaining segments to yield ¼ cup juice. In a medium bowl, combine zest, chopped sections, and reserved…

Appalachian Soup Beans MAKES ABOUT 8 SERVINGS Taste the quality of Camellia Brand beans with this classic dish, and get to know all about the family business on page 71. 1 pound dried pinto beans*5 slices bacon, coarsely chopped1 cup chopped yellow onion5 cloves garlic, minced4 cups chicken stock2 cups water1 smoked ham hock½ teaspoon ground black pepper¼ teaspoon ground red pepper1 bay leaf1½ teaspoons kosher saltChowchow and cornbread, to serve 1. Rinse and sort beans. Place beans in a large bowl. Add enough water to cover beans by 2 inches. Cover bowl and let stand overnight. Drain beans. 2. In a medium skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon and let drain on paper towels, reserving drippings in skillet. 3. Add onion to bacon…