Recipe Review: Southern Living's Okra and Corn Maque Choux

The heat of the summer has left me craving lighter meals, and this month's issue of Southern Living Magazine delivered some great inspirations! The "Summer's Glorious Trinity" article of recipes using tomatoes, okra, and sweet corn had us positively salivating! At first glance we were both agreed that we had to try the Okra and Corn Maque Choux. If you're not familiar with Maque Choux (pronounced mock-shoe), it originated in Louisiana and I believe it was a Cajun spin on a Native American dish.

I faithfully followed Southern Living's recipe, which isn't an easy thing for me to do, resisting the temptation to add Herbs de Provence, which I add to most everything I cook. This was such an easy dish to make and it was so tasty. Here are a few of my notes on the newest staple to our summer recipe collection:

• I used Rodger Wood Polish style smoked sausage, which is made here locally in Savannah. This sausage gave a nice smoky flavor to the dish and had a nice texture. Next time I think I would use their spicy version, as Southern Living used a spicy smoked sausage when testing the recipe for the magazine.
• I chopped all of the vegetables before hand, mixing them in two separate bowls per steps of cooking. That way everything was prepared and I only had to dump in the bowl of vegetables that were required at each step. The corn took the longest to prepare, so it was well worth doing in advance.
• OK, I didn't completely follow their instructions. Since I wasn't using spicy sausage, I added a sprinkle of red pepper flakes with the green peppers, onion, and garlic.
• I found that 6 ears of corn yielded 3 cups. Most of the ears were fairly large too.
• For a vegetarian version, omit the sausage but do add a few drops of liquid smoke as the vegetables used really benefit from having that smoky flavor. You could even add tofu or mushrooms, adding them at a later stage than the sausage so that they are not over cooked.
• As with most dishes, this was tastier on the second day.
• We chose Jacob's Creek 2008 Riesling to have with this, which we thought turned out to be the perfect pairing.
• Left overs: we made amazing wraps with the left overs and some BBQ pulled pork. Such a fantastic combination. Am thinking this was better than eating it on its own. If I made it specifically for wraps, I would leave out the sausage as the pulled pork would be enough meat. For me at least.

With a few ears of corn left, I'm looking forward to trying their Tomato and Corn Pizza!

Pimento Cheese: My Latest Food Obsession

Pimento Cheese is an iconic food in the South. Most Southerners have idyllic childhood memories of eating Pimento Cheese Sandwiches on a hot summers day. This is one food that most people are passionate about, I've heard few negative comments about Pimento Cheese. My recent run in with the stuff at the Happy Tomato Cafe in Fernandina Beach has sparked my latest food obsession. Lucky for you, you don't have to live in the South to eat it, and it couldn't be easier to make. Ingredients:

• Cheddar cheese, shredded
• Mayonnaise (Dukes is THE only mayonnaise in my opinion!)
• Jarred roasted peppers, chopped
• Olives, chopped
• Hot Sauce (Cholula rocks my world)
• Fresh cracked black pepper

Mix it all together:

You have probably noticed that I don't give measurements. That is because you really don't need them. You can make this with any amount of cheese you have on hand, though you will probably want to use at least one 8 oz block to start with.

Put cheese in a mixing bowl and add a little bit of mayonnaise to bind. Stir, if it seems dry, just add a bit more.

Next I add the chopped pepper (pimento) and olives. For 8 oz cheese, I use about 1 whole pepper from a jar of roasted peppers. Adjust to your taste. This also goes for the amount of olives you use. I just use a few olives to enhance the flavor, but not overwhelm the taste of the cheese mixture.

Once the pimento and olives have been mixed in, add a few dashes of hot sauce and fresh cracked black pepper to taste. Mix well.

At this point, some like to process the mixture in a food processor to blend into a smooth mixture and create more of a uniform taste. I like to keep mine rugged. The good thing about Pimento Cheese is that there really is no right or wrong way of making it, add or omit what suits your taste buds. I've seen many recipes that call for chopped dill pickles or absolutely no extra add ins at all. In true Southern fashion, just have fun with it and enjoy!

What to do with Pimento Cheese?

Pimento Cheese is traditionally used as a sandwich spread. In fact, the Pimento Cheese sandwich is the official food of the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. Served with a little chopped sweet onion and some watercress, this is a sandwich even non-sandwich lovers can't resist. You could also use it as a dip for chips, or even top a steak with it.

A new favorite of ours is to have it on a pulled pork sandwich. You'll have to excuse the quality of my photos (or lack there of), my priority was getting to the main event of delighting my taste buds:

The next night we had it on a burger. That was divine! Seriously divine. My one tip would be to put the cheese on the top of the bun, then add lettuce, tomato, pickle, etc. so that the cheese does not come in direct contact with the burger. I put the cheese directly on the burger and the heat from the meat melted the cheese, causing most to run off. Yum, can't wait to try that again!

The Happy Tomato Cafe ~ Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island

The first week of November was very exciting for me. My friend Jane (from Cakebook) came over from England to visit us for 10 days. Our friendship formed 10 years ago over our mutual love of food and we've been great friend ever since. While I haven't seen Jane in 4 years, there is rarely a day that passes that I don't speak to her in some way; e-mail, Facebook - it's amazing how you can keep in touch these days. We had been planning what to do for months and seemed to come up with a Southern food theme. We took a trip up to Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island (close to the northern boarder of Florida's east coast) and had great expectations of a lovely Southern lunch.

Noon rolled around and we were in search of somewhere to eat. While on the way to a place on 3rd Street I wanted to try, our noses were treated to the most heavenly, smokey BBQ smell. It was a good thing the place I wanted to go to was closed for the day, as it gave us no choice but to follow our noses back to the Happy Tomato Cafe...
The cafe itself is in a small wooden building with an outside deck...

... and courtyard seating...

We had a quick look at the menu and got in line as the place was quickly filling up. This place seemed to be very popular with the locals, which is always a good sign.

My Dad and James were with us and there was one item on the menu that caught all of our attention: THE WORKS. The Works is a pulled pork sandwich with pimento cheese! Yes, pimento cheese!!! This isn't the sort of thing I would eat on a daily basis, but it did sound good and we were on vacation after all. It's not everyday I get to have lunch with Jane! We were all very happy with our choice. The Works is served with a side of BBQ sauce (I highly recommend the Mustard based sauce) and dill pickles. Jane ordered a side of coleslaw, which was also very good.

Enjoy a close up glimpse...

The sandwich was so filling there is no way I could have eaten anything else. Sitting outside on a sunny day with great company was the icing on the cake. I can't wait to go back!

The Happy Tomato Courtyard Cafe & BBQ

7 S. 3rd St, Fernandina Beach, FL 32034

(904) 321-0707

Culinary Creations: Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich

This first time we had this flavor combination was at the Bubble Room on Captiva Island. As I'm not a huge fan of cole slaw, I thought combining BBQ pork and cole slaw sounded absolutely vile. It appealed to James, so he ordered it, and I'm glad he did. The flavors of the cole slaw really did compliment the flavors of the BBQ pork, and I've since (sort of) become a fan of cole slaw. We've had this sandwich at various places since then, one of James's favorites coming in the form of a wrap at the Southend Brewery in Charleston.

The "Boston Butt" cut of pork works best for shredding. While the pork is coming up to room temperature, I heat my slow cooker on "low" for about 30 minutes, adding 1 small sliced onion to the bottom. Next I add the pork, lightly seasoned, adding a roughly sliced clove of garlic or two and various fresh herbs to the crevasses. If I have extra veggies like carrots or celery in my fridge, I like to add them to the bottom of the slow cooker as I use the juices at the end of cooking at a later date. Cook for 6-8 hours, until pork is easy to separate with a fork (usually about 6 hours).After I put the lid on the pork, I move on to making the cole slaw:

* 1/8 cup of white-wine vinegar

* 1/4 cup of Duke's Mayonnaise

* 1 tsp Dijon mustard

* 1 bag of Cole Slaw Blend (cabbage & carrot mix)

* celery salt to taste

Combine the wet ingredients, whisk, then pour over Cole Slaw Blend. Stir and refrigerate while to pork continues to cook.

Once the pork has finished cooking, let cool for around 1/2 hour. While the pork is cooling, I transfer the liquids from the slow cooker into a freezer safe container to be used for soup or sauces (I usually leave about 1/4 cup of the liquids in the pot). Once the pork has cooled, take two forks and start pulling ir apart, returning it to the slow cooker.At this point, you can use any type of BBQ sauce. My favorite is Sticky Fingers Mustard based sauce, but as I was out of it I used a smoky tomato BBQ sauce. Coat to your liking. I add a little more sauce as it will absorb into the pork while reheating. Once coated, put the lid back on and let heat for about 1/2 hour. If your slow cooker runs on the hot side, you might want to turn it down to the "keep warm" setting to do this.

While the pork and sauce are warming, I get the buns ready. First I fire up my broiler to the highest setting. Next I butter the buns, season with a salt free garlic blend, then broil until nicely toasted.
Once everything is ready, I slap a nice amount of pork onto the toasted bun, topping with cole slaw.Not only will your taste buds thank you, but so will your nose as it makes your house smell divine! Enjoy!!!