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!

Food Memory: Magnolias ~ Charleston, SC

A couple years ago we were fortunate enough to stumble upon Magnolias restaurant in Charleston, SC. Advertised in many local paper and magazines, we had to have a look at the menu. Billed as "Uptown Down South", we had to try. (Mel27 - this place is totally you! Kate, if you haven't tried yet, you must!)

Most of the restaurants that we ate at in Charleston had their own cookbook, so we asked our server to see theirs. While we were expecting a softback, spiral bound book we were presented with an amazing hardback book, with beautiful photography, signed by Donald Brickman himself! This was a "souvenir" I could not leave without. (Photo of Magnolias Cookbook from Amazon.com)
As we had been eating glutinously for a week and it was our last day in Charleston, I opted for a lighter meal. I had a bowl of their Ham Stew to start with, followed by the Wadmalaw Field Greens with Lemon-Lingonberry Vinaigrette. Both were good. Very good. I'd even goes as far as to say amazing. I can't remember what James had to start with, but for a main he had the Bacon Wrapped Buttermilk Fried Chicken with Tasso Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Collards, and Creamed Corn. If it sounds like a lot of food, it was. And I was even happier at the sight of it that I had only ordered a salad. I'm salivating just thinking of it now. If I were told that I had one day to live, Magnolias is where I'd spend it. Eating my way through the menu. I'd probably goes as far as saying that it is my favorite restaurant in the US. From the food, to the decor, to the wine list, it is truly an elegant experience.

Back to the cookbook: I love to do themed Holiday meals, and have gone "Southern" for Thanksgiving the past two years. This proves to be a popular choice, and the Magnolias cookbook is a savior when it comes to side dishes.Their Creamed Corn and Collard Greens are a must. Both are really easy to make and the results are divine. They are now family favorites, and I've almost perfected them without using the book... almost. Last year they accompanied our Maple Roasted Turkey, Mom's Stuffing, and Potato & Rutabaga Mash.

Product Review: Duke's Mayonnaise and Cholula Hot Sauce

~ Ok, I admit it, I'm a sucker for advertising. While not a huge mayonnaise eater, there was a recent advert for Duke's Mayonnaise saying that it was the official mayonnaise of the South, or something to that effect. There was a man saying that it was what his mother used and it is the secret ingredient of his prize winning potato salad. I might add, he looked like someone who'd know a good potato salad when he sees it. That was all it took for me to scope it out in the supermarket. I was impressed with the ingredients, easier to identify than most commercial mayonnaise, so I bought it. It was pure mayonnaise magic, and I'm now a convert! In the first week or two I made dill potato salad, macaroni salad, all these "American" classics I don't usually eat, just to use this blissful new-to-me condiment. Since then, the novelty has worn off, so I'm back to a healthier consumption level of mayonnaise, high cholesterol need not be a worry.

~ Then there is Cholula Hot Sauce. I don't really remember where I first tried it. I only know that I now cannot live without it. It is the best hot sauce, in my opinion, and I eat it on almost everything. It is sheer bliss on a black bean taco with fresh cilantro, or on any sort of taco for that matter. It also seems to be the sauce of choice at most of our local Mexican restaurants, which are actually run by Mexicans and not some corporation that has as much to do with Mexico as Pizza Hut (and their 'Tuscani' pasta) has to do with Italy.

~ Just recently we mixed the two together for our favorite "Buffalo Chicken Baguette" and it was divine! We have also made if the official sauce for our Fried Green BLT's.

~ The last time I went to buy Duke's I accidentally picked out "Whipped Salad Dressing" instead of mayonnaise. This was on a day that they had wine sampling throughout the store, which probably is the reason for this happening. It's my excuse anyway. Now while I have no idea what "Whipped Salad Dressing" is, it wasn't horrible and is very similar to salad cream that you get in the UK. It was tangier than mayonnaise, so probably just has more vinegar. While I would sometimes choose vinegar over oxygen, I think I'll get regular mayonnaise next time.

Swing FM: The Soundtrack to Southern Food

Some might say that I'm obsessed with French radio. I think it's just a coincidence. Every time I find a radio station that I like, it just so happens to be French. I should mention, all of these stations are found on-line. We have a wi-fi radio receiver in our kitchen, that is hooked up to my regualr radio, allowing us to listen to stations from all over the world. For a few years, my favorite has been La Radio De La Mer. Which is still is, but when I'm cooking southern food, I want something a little more suitable. In my quest to find something that had jazz, blues, ragtime, and swing, I came across Swing FM. They play Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Rose Murphy and a fantastic mix of all the above genres with the odd bit of gospel. It provides the perfect soundtrack to eating southern food...

To listed to Swing FM, click on the following link:

http://www.swingfm.asso.fr/html/index-en.html

Culinary Creations: Fried Green Heaven

Last night, J made one of my favorite things: Fried Green Tomatoes! We also had this for the first time during our trip to Charleston. I don't eat a lot of fried foods, and never would have imagine being so enamored with them. The few places we tried them at all seemed to like serving them in the form of a "BLT". As they seemed to know what they were doing, who could argue? J is now a master at making them, and does so 3-4 times a year. We made them last night, and they made the perfect coupling with the left over peanut soup. When we make them, it is usually just for the two of us. Instead of halving the batter, we've taken to using the extra to make Fried Dill Pickle Chips! As dill pickles are my favorite food, it doesn't get any better than this for me...

* After slicing and and coating the tomatoes, J fries them in a small amount of oil for 3 minutes per side, on a medium-ish heat. The dill pickle chips take around 30 seconds per side. Through trial and error, we've found that Mount Olive's organic chips work best. They are a bit thicker so hold up well to the heat.

*Then drain on paper towels. Ahhh, look at that lovely golden color. I'm salivating!!!

* Paired with African Peanut Soup...

* Up close and personal. Good condiments are the key to completing this meal. For the BLT, I make a mayonnaise/hot sauce mixture. The Dill Pickle Chips are completed with a few dashed of Screamin' Dill Pickle Hot Sauce, that we picked up in Savannah.