Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Cookbooks of the Future—Now

Get ready for cookbooks to undergo a revolution in the coming years as they go digital and interactive.

Some already are. Next week, the Culinary Instiute of America is releasing an iPad edition of The Professional Chef, a cookbook that is also a textbook for budding chefs.
Here’s added features you won’t find in the print edition:
 

—More than 100 embedded video demos of tips and tricks..

—Nearly 750 photographs with the ability to zoom in, and with pop-up descriptions and step-by-step slideshow capability.

—Shared notes, discussions and comments from readers all over.

—Digital highlighting and sticky notes to mark pages as desired.

The digital book, with an SRP of $49.99, is due out Oct. 25.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Chili for Chilly Days

Fall is in the air, and for a lot of folks that means it’s time to make chili, and with good reason.
A hot, and spicy, bowl of chili will warm you up every time.

If you’re looking for a slightly different chili recipe to try, this one below uses the new Buffalo-style hot sauce that Tabasco makes. Other Buffalo-wing sauces certainly could be used, too.

The real twist here, though, is the garnish: Blue cheese—also served in dressings with Buffalo chicken wings—is sprinkled on the chili instead of the usual cheddar or Monterey Jack.

BUFFALO CHICKEN CHILI
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 celery stalks, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground chicken or turkey
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 28-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup Tabasco brand Buffalo Style Hot Sauce
1 15.5-ounce can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
Heat oil in 4-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add celery, onion, green pepper and
garlic; cook about 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender-crisp. Remove vegetables
to bowl with slotted spoon.
Add remaining tablespoon oil to same saucepan. Cook ground chicken over medium
high heat until well browned on all sides, stirring constantly. Stir in chili powder, cumin
and salt; cook 1 minute.
Add tomatoes with their liquid, water and Tabasco Buffalo Style Hot Sauce. Heat to
boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 15 minutes, stirring
occasionally. Add beans; cook 5 minutes longer.
To serve, top each serving with some crumbled blue cheese.
Makes 6 servings.

Recipe and photo courtesy of the McIlhenny Co.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Pairing with Pears

It’s pear season, and though pears probably never will rival apples in popularity, they do make for a good snack. Also, like apples, pears are good in all kinds of dishes, from salads to entrees to desserts.

Here are a few suggestion from USA Pears trade association:
• Add pear slices to sandwiches, quesadillas, and paninis for a sweet burst of flavor.
• Dice pears and mix into homemade salsa, stir-fry, or wild rice.
• Puree ripe pears and cooked pumpkin or other winter squash, such as acorn or butternut, and serve as a savory accompaniment to pork or chicken.
• Top sliced celery with nut butter and pear pieces for a kid-friendly snack.
• Slide pear chunks and chicken onto skewers and grill, or skewer pears with other cubed fruit to end meals with a sweet treat.

Here’s a lunch ideas that pairs pears with grilled chicken in a sandwich with crisp greens and tangy goat cheese.

If pomegranate syrup isn’t available, honey or maple syrup can be substituted. And any fruit juice can sub for the pomegranate juice.

Casablanca Pear and Chicken Sandwich

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup purchased pomegranate syrup, honey or maple syrup
2 tablespoons pomegranate or other fruit juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 medium Bartlett pears, cored and halved
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (12 ounces)
4 7-inch whole wheat round pocket breads
4 ounces soft goat cheese
2 cups mixed greens
Pomegranate seeds for garnish, optional

1. Combine olive oil, pomegranate syrup, salt and pepper. Reserve ¼ cup for drizzling on sandwiches. Preheat grill to medium heat. Brush cut side of pears with pomegranate vinaigrette. Grill cut side down until lightly grill-marked, about 5 minutes. Cool. Slice thin.

2. Place chicken in a dish with remaining vinaigrette. Turn to coat. Remove from vinaigrette and grill on medium heat, 6–7 minutes until lightly grill-marked. Turn. Brush with remaining vinaigrette in dish. Cook 6 minutes or until internal temperature is 170 degrees. Cool. Slice thin.

3. Cut pocket breads in half. Fill halves with sliced chicken, pears, goat cheese and greens. Drizzle with reserved vinaigrette and garnish with pomegranate seeds.

Makes 4 servings.

Recipe adapted from USA Pears. Photo courtesy of USA Pears.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Brunswick Stew

As we prepare for fall, I’m thinking of all of my favorite soups and stews.

A Southern classic sometimes overlooked these days is Brunswick stew, variously claimed by Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia.

Here is a North Carolina version from Beth Tartan’s North Carolina and Old Salem Cookery.

Skip the rabbit or squirrel if you must. An interesting substitute is about 2 cups North Carolina chopped pork barbecue.

George Kempton’s Brunswick Stew
1 large stewing or baking hen (5 pounds or more)
1 pound lean veal or beef
1 rabbit or squirrel, if available
Water to cover
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
4 cups whole-kernel fresh white corn
4 cups small fresh lima beans
2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
3 teaspoons salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce or to taste
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup butter
Stew chicken and meat together in salted water to cover until the meat falls from the bones. Cool; shred with the fingers, discarding skin, bones, and fat. Put meat back into strained broth and continue to simmer.
In another pot, cook potatoes with onion, corn, lima beans, and tomato sauce in water to cover for about twenty minutes or until the potatoes are done. Combine with meat. The mixture will be thin like soup. Simmer for several hours, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Watch to prevent burning. Season with salt, pepper, hot pepper sauce, and Worcestershire. Add butter. Makes four quarts.
From North Carolina and Old Salem Cookery by Beth Tartan (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1992).

Monday, September 26, 2011

Seafood Celebration

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Southern Favorites

In case you didn’t see my story today, it’s about Sara Foster’s new book. Unlike her other three books, this one actually focuses on Southern food. It even has a lot of her grandmother’s recipes, and a whole chapter on preserving.

Here’s Foster’s grandmother’s recipe, which appears in “Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen.”

Granny Foster’s Sunday Fried Chicken

Makes 4 servings.

The secret to her grandmother’s fried chicken, Foster said, “is the overnight brine of water, salt and spices that drives extra moisture and flavor into the meat, where they are locked in during the cooking process.”

1 3- to 3½-pound chicken, cut into 10 pieces

3 tablespoons sea salt, plus more to taste

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

2 bay leaves

2 cups well-shaken buttermilk

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

Pinch of ground cayenne pepper

Crisco vegetable shortening or canola oil for frying

Fried Chicken Gravy, optional (See Note)

1. Place the chicken in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Add 2 tablespoons of the salt and the sugar, vinegar, bay leaves and stir until the salt and sugar dissolve. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

2. When ready to cook the chicken, place the buttermilk in a shallow bowl and transfer the chicken from the brine to the buttermilk.

3. Place the flour, remaining 1 tablespoon of salt, the black pepper and cayenne in a separate large shallow bowl or plastic bag and stir or shake to mix.

4. Melt the shortening about ½-inch deep in a large, cast-iron skillet and place over medium-high heat until the temperature reaches between 350 and 375 degrees. The melted shortening should be deep enough to submerge the chicken about halfway; the level of the shortening will rise slightly when you add the chicken.

5. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and dredge or shake in the flour mixture, one piece at a time, to coat evenly on all sides, beginning with the large pieces. Shake off any excess flour.

6. Place the chicken, skin side down, in the hot shortening, reduce the heat to medium, and fry until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Check the pieces to make sure they are not browning too quickly; if so, reduce the heat or turn the pieces. Turn the chicken and fry the other side until golden brown, about 15 minutes more. The chicken is done when the juices run clear when a thigh is pierced with the tip of a small knife and an internal thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads about 165 degrees. The chicken should cook for a total of 30 to 35 minutes.

7. Line a platter with a brown paper bag and transfer the chicken to the platter to drain. Season with additional salt and pepper and let sit for about 10 minutes before serving warm with gravy, if desired.

Note: To make the gravy, after the chicken is done, remove all but 2 tablespoons of the shortening from the skillet. Leave the brown bits in the bottom. Add 3 tablespoons flour and cook, stirring constantly over medium heat until the flour is light brown, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and cook, stirring until the gravy is thick, 2 to 3 minutes.

Recipe adapted from “Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen” (Random House).

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Guest Chefs

Crippen’s restaurant in Blowing Rock is mixing it up this month. It is bringing in three guest chefs, all of whom have been nominated for Best Chef of the Southeast by the coveted James Beard Awards.

Bruce Moffett, the chef of Barrington’s Restaurant in Charlotte, will be at Crippen’s on Sept. 13. Barrington’s, known for upscale American food, was cited in “Zagat’s 2003-2011: Top Restaurants in America.”

Bill Smith (pictured), the chef of Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill, will be there Sept 20. Smith, known for his take on Southern food, is also the author of “Seasoned in the South.”

Keith Rhodes, the chef of Catch in Wilmington, will cook at Crippen’s on Sept. 27. Rhodes, whose specialty is seafood, has been voted Wilmington’s best chwef for three years in a row.

For more information, visit http://www.crippens.com.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Quick Chicken and Veggies

Here’s a stir whose flavors veer away from the usual Asian style, instead using coriander, fennel and turmeric for an Indian vibe.

This recipe can be almost endlessly varied with different veggies and different proteins to provide lots of 30-minute weeknight meals.

Seared Herb Chicken and Veggies
1 tsp. each fennel seeds and cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. dried turmeric
1/4 tsp. coriander
(can also substitute 2 tsp curry powder for fennel, cumin, turmeric and coriander)
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4-1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 Tbsp. canola oil, divided
1 small red pepper, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 small yellow bell pepper, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 large carrots, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped
5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp. cayenne or red pepper, or to taste
Salt, to taste
1 1/2 to 2 tsp. lime juice, or to taste
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint

1. Grind fennel and cumin seeds in pestle or spice grinder to a coarse texture. Place in bowl and add turmeric, coriander, oregano, cornstarch and salt and stir to combine. Add chicken and stir until coated.

2. Preheat wok or iron skillet over high heat. Add 1/2 tablespoon oil. When oil shimmers, add bell peppers, carrots, onion, garlic and cayenne pepper and pinch of salt, to taste. Cook, stirring, until vegetables begin to brown. Transfer and set aside.

3. Reduce heat to medium-high and add remaining tablespoon of oil to pan. Add coated chicken and cook, stirring, until no longer pink in middle, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in vegetables, lime juice and mint and cook until heated through, less than 1 minute.

Makes 4 servings.

Recipe and photo courtesy of American Institute for Cancer Research.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Parade the Potatoes

In honor of National Potato Day, Aug. 19, here’s a simple but tasty recipe.

Be sure to trim the potatoes so they sit flat in the pan. Also watch carefully when browning, so they don’t burn, and when basting, so they don’t run out of liquid and burn.

Fondant Garlic Potatoes

Makes 2 servings.

2 large potatoes
1 ounce butter
1 teasp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
8 ounces chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
Salt and black pepper

1. Peel the potatoes, cut a thin slice from the top and the bottom of each - enough so it can stand upright on its own - then cut each potato in half widthways. The ideal size is about 2-inches deep but a little more or less won’t matter so long as all the pieces are the same size.

2. If you want the traditional round sided barrel shape, use a plain biscuit cutter, about 2-inches in diameter depending on how large your potatoes are, to cut uniform shapes, then trim the sharp edges from the tops and bottoms to give a more rounded effect.

3. Heat the butter and olive oil over a medium heat in a small pan which has a close fitting lid. Once it starts to foam but before it has a chance to brown, add the potatoes, season with salt and pepper and sauté gently for about 5 minutes, basting from time to time, until golden brown.

4. Turn the potatoes over and continue to sauté for 5 more minutes, basting once or twice, until golden brown.

5. Very carefully add the garlic and enough stock to come about one third up the sides of the potatoes. Take care as it will splutter fiercely. Bring to simmering point then cover with a lid, reduce the heat and cook very gently for around 20 minutes or until the potatoes are very very tender. Check half way through the cooking and add a little more stock if necessary to prevent it drying out and sticking.

Serve with any remaining liquid poured over the top of the potatoes.

For a vegetarian version, use a strong vegetable stock.

Photo and recipe courtesy of http://www.Recipes4us.co.uk.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Tomato Pie

On Aug. 10, I published a few recipes of tomato dishes that local restaurants contributed to the Journal’s Slice of Summer tomato tasting. Click here for those recipes.

Here’s one more tomato recipe, from Sweet Potatoes restaurant on Trade Street. The recipe appears in the new book, “Well Shut My Mouth! The Sweet Potatoes Restaurant Cookbook.”

Stephanie’s Tomato Pie

Makes 6 servings.

To peel the tomatoes, make an X on the bottom. Remove the core and drop into boiling water for about 30 seconds. Transfer to ice water and skin should come off easily.

Sweet Potatoes’ recipe for homemade cheese is available at . Search for the words “Stephanie Tyson pimento cheese.”

1 9-inch pie shell

3 or 4 ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced

¼ cup julienned fresh basil

1 or 2 green onions, chopped

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

½ cup Parmesan cheese, divided use

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 cup homemade Pimento Cheese

1. Bake the pie shell in a 350-degree oven for about 10 minutes until lightly browned.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine diced tomatoes, basil, green onions, thyme and ¼ cup of the Parmesan. Add the salt and pepper.

3. Sprinkle remaining ¼ cup Parmesan on bottom of pie shell. Add tomato mixture. Spread the top evenly with pimento cheese. Bake 30 to 45 minutes until bubbly and brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe from “Well Shut My Mouth! The Sweet Potatoes Restaurant Cookbook” (Blair, 2011).