1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (138 page)

Golden as the sun and hearty with a salt-sweet grit, cornbread is an equal sustainer of body and psyche—especially so when served hot and fragrant with butter or bacon drippings, with a cold glass of buttermilk on the side.

Grown all over the United States (particularly in the Midwest), corn remains closely identified with the Southern states, where cornbread has always been made with white—not yellow—cornmeal. Initially, it was slaves’ food, made of meal mixed with water and baked in
the hot sun on the hoes the slaves used in the fields (hence the name “hoecake,” a synonym for cornbread). But the history of corn and cornbread goes back even further: Throughout the Americas, from Canada to Mexico, when European settlers arrived, Native Americans were adeptly roasting kernels of corn, then grinding them into a cornmeal that was cooked into a variety of breads, two of which we still know as tortillas and arepas.

Gradually, several key ingredients were added to create the basic formula of what is now known as American cornbread: salt, bacon grease, eggs, buttermilk, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and flour. The most traditional way to make good cornbread is the way Southern cooks have been doing it since antebellum days. A batter of medium thickness, neither runny nor stiff, is made of coarsely ground white cornmeal and the aforementioned ingredients, minus the sugar. Ideally, just before it is poured out into a cast-iron skillet and baked in a hot oven, a couple of tablespoons of chopped-up bacon are stirred in. The resulting bread is a singularly spectacular affair: crisp on the outside, moist and soft on the inside, the corn lending a mineral flavor and the bacon a smoky richness.

Where:
In Roswell, GA
, Greenwood’s, tel 770-992-5383,
greenwoodsongreenstreet.com
;
in Atlanta
, Watershed on Peachtree, tel 404-809-3561,
watershedrestaurant.com
;
in Savannah, GA
, Mrs. Wilkes’ Dining Room, tel 912-232-5997,
mrswilkes.com
;
in Houston
, Goode Co. at multiple locations,
goodecompany.com
;
in New York
, Good Restaurant, tel 212-691-8080,
goodrestaurantnyc.com
.
Mail order:
For stone-ground cornmeal,
ansonmills.com
.
Further information and recipes:
Bill Neal’s Southern Cooking
by Bill Neal (1989);
Harvest to Heat
by Darryl Estrine and Kelly Kochendorfer (2010);
New American Table
by Marcus Samuelsson (2009);
Artisan Baking Across America
by Maggie Glezer (2000);
epicurious.com
(search real skillet cornbread; zucchini cornbread; cornbread for dressing);
cookstr.com
(search corn sticks; cranberry and sage cornbread).
Special event:
National Cornbread Festival, South Pittsburg, TN, April,
nationalcornbread.com
.
See also:
Arepas
;
Tortillas
;
Corn Fritters
.

It’s easy to find bad crab cakes. Crabmeat is expensive, especially the jumbo lump meat, and fillers and binders are cheap—but nothing is worse than a bulge of something that used to be a glorious piece of crabmeat surrounded by a heap of starchy, mushy ingredients dragging it from glory.

A crab cake, at its essence, is made of four things: crabmeat (prime crab cakes are made with the solid white chunks of blue crab, labeled “jumbo lump”), binding (usually egg or mayonnaise), seasonings (various herbs, spices, and vegetables, including diced onions, green or red peppers, and scallions), and filler (bread crumbs, cracker crumbs, and so on). A good crab cake will contain just enough of these other ingredients to enhance the crabmeat itself, but no more.

The other secret to crab cake excellence is known far and wide by all Baltimore fishermen’s wives: After the cakes are formed, they
should be chilled for two or three hours in order to firm up, so that when they’re eventually fried or broiled (both are acceptable, but lightly, delicately fried is better), they remain intact instead of falling apart.

There are more than 4,400 species of crab, most of them in North American waters, but it is the blue crab (
Callinectes sapidus
) of the Chesapeake Bay, along the mid-Atlantic coast, that is most sought after and that makes the very best crab cakes. Thus it was that the cakes sprang up in and around Baltimore in the 1820s, when the harvesting of the tidal waters of the eastern seaboard became the driving force of that town’s prosperity. By 1939, crab cakes were so well known that they were served at the World’s Fair in New York.

Golden brown, puffy pillows showcasing snowy, gently saline crabmeat, they offer easy, luxurious sustenance as an appetizer or main course—and as you can buy the meat already picked over, usually they do not require the tedious, messy task of working through the hard shells of the saltwater crustaceans to extricate their rich, sweet white meat. Be willing to make an exception, however, for crabmeat purchased on docks and from outdoor markets.

Where:
In Linthicum Heights, MD
(also mail order), G&M Restaurant, tel 877-554-3723,
gandmcrabcakes.com
;
in Savannah, GA
, Mrs. Wilkes’ Dining Room, tel 912-232-5997,
mrswilkes.com
;
in Houston
, Danton’s Seafood, tel 713-807-8889,
dantonsseafood.com
.
Retail and mail order:
In Baltimore, MD
, Faidley Seafood in the Lexington Market, tel 410-727-4898,
faidleyscrabcakes.com
.
Further information and recipes:
Eating: A Memoir
by Jason Epstein (2009);
Mrs. Wilkes’ Boardinghouse Cookbook
by Sema Wilkes (2001);
Jasper White’s Cooking from New England
by Jasper White (1998);
New American Table
by Marcus Samuelsson (2009);
cookstr.com
(search crab cakes ponzek; thai crab cakes; jumbo crab cakes with spicy mayonnaise).

Halved ears of corn join the merry crawfish boil.

Most of the English-speaking world knows these tiny, scarlet, freshwater crustaceans as crayfish, or in francophile circles as
écrevisses.
In Sweden, where they are wonderfully prepared, they are known as
kräfter
(see
listing
). But in Louisiana, where they grow both wild and farmed (and are devoured in abundance),
Procambarus clarkii
are called crawfish, mudbugs, or, pretentiously, miniature freshwater lobsters.

Time was when they could be enjoyed only between May and July, but farming has greatly lengthened their season without dampening the enthusiasm for the treats. In crawfish-loving territories, children are taught at an early age how to hold each tiny, spiky mudbug between thumb and forefinger in order to crack them open and efficiently make the most of their succulent meat before sucking the savory juices out of their heads. They are most sublime when simply steamed with the spice combination known as crab boil, which imparts aromas of bay leaf, chile pepper, black pepper, nutmeg, cloves, coriander seed, thyme, and more. Ideally they are eaten out of doors, on newspaper-covered tables, with plenty of paper towels and beer at hand.

More elaborate preparations include the famed Creole étouffée, a peppery, rose-colored crawfish stew with a rich sauce rewardingly sopped up by steamed rice. The crimson tails may also be crisply fried, or simmered with rice, tomatoes, and diced ham for a sumptuous jambalaya (see
listing
). More ambitious cooks dig the meat from the shells and turn it into salads, or chop and mix it with finely diced scallions (aka green onions) and eggs before frying them into delicious patties. Those with even more time and patience may choose to stuff the crawfish heads with seasoned bread crumbs and crawfish meat before baking them. Crawfish pie is another favorite in Cajun country, with its flaky crust and intimations of scallions, celery, parsley, garlic, and a nice dash or two of the native Tabasco sauce for fiery good measure.

Cooks far beyond Louisiana’s borders can try their hands at crawfish recipes using frozen, uncooked specimens widely available in upscale fish markets; even some of the distant markets carry them fresh, usually by special order.

Where:
In New Orleans
, Deanie’s Seafood, tel 504-581-1316,
deanies.com
;
in Lafayette, LA
, Prejean’s, tel 337-896-3247,
prejeans.com
;
in Atlanta
, Big Easy Grille, tel 404-352-2777,
bigeasygrille.com
;
in Houston
, Ragin’ Cajun at multiple locations,
ragin-cajun.com
; Danton’s, tel 713-807-8883,
dantonsseafood.com
;
in New York
, Great Jones Cafe, tel 212-674-9304,
greatjones.com
; Aquavit (in August), tel 212-307-7311,
aquavit.org
.
Mail order:
lacrawfish.com
, tel 800-221-8060;
cajuncrawfish.com
, tel 888-254-8626.
Further information and recipes:
Hoppin’ John’s Low Country Cooking
by John Martin Taylor (1992);
The Dooky Chase Cookbook
by Leah Chase (1990);
bonappetit.com
(search boiled crawfish with horseradish sauce);
saveur.com
(search crawfish boil).
Special events:
Louisiana Crawfish Festival, Chalmette, LA, March,
louisianacrawfishfestival.com
; Crawfish Eating Contest, New Orleans, April,
deanies.com
.

“I’m strong to the finich, ’cause I eats my spinach,” sang the cartoon character Popeye as he downed the vegetable straight from a can. It must have been a cold, mushy, and acridly bitter sort of medicine.… How much happier he might have been with a nice, warm bowl of creamed spinach, surely one of the most comforting preparations any vegetable has inspired. Though it’s popular in many European countries, creamed spinach has taken on an especially American character, thanks to the steak houses where it has become a menu fixture as a gentling foil to seared and bloody beef.

Sprightly, pine-green spinach leaves can be delicious when simply steamed and buttered, but a light and flavorful cream sauce neutralizes the needly bitterness of the vegetable’s high oxalic acid content and mellows the texture of the chopped leaves.

To be at its best, the spinach must be fresh, never frozen or canned (a downright travesty), ideally young, tender, unbruised leaves that show an even Christmas-green right down to the tips of their stems. It must be thoroughly washed in at least two changes of water to ensure that all sand is removed before being cooked for about five minutes in rapidly boiling, well-salted water, preferably with a few paper-thin slices of onion or garlic to counteract its acidity.

Drained and cooled along with the cooked onion or garlic, the spinach should be picked up in small handfuls and squeezed as dry as possible prior to being finely chopped. Then it’s stirred into a hot and freshly prepared cream sauce based on butter, flour, and either half-and-half or a mix of heavy sweet cream and a little whole milk seasoned with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, or a more fiery hint of mace, and given a gentle heating. To hold it for up to thirty minutes before serving, set it aside in the uncovered pot and spoon a thin layer of cream over the top, to be stirred in upon reheating.

Where:
Throughout the U.S.
, Palm Restaurant,
thepalm.com
;
in New York
, Porter House, tel 212-823-9500,
porterhousenewyork.com
.
Further information and recipes:
The Joy of Cooking
by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker (2006);
The Fannie Farmer Cookbook
, 13th Edition, by Marion Cunningham (1996);
saveur.com
(search creamed spinach locke-ober);
epicurious.com
(search creamed spinach 2004).
See also:
Ong choy
.