A Love Affair with Southern Cooking (20 page)

3 tablespoons butter

3 medium potatoes, peeled, diced, and blanched in hot water (about 1 pound)

1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped

1 small green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced

1 small celery rib, trimmed and diced

1 tablespoon minced fresh jalapeño pepper

¾ cup finely diced country ham (see Tip above)

2 cups drained, cooked hominy or one One 15-ounce can whole hominy, drained (see Note above)

Salt and black pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon finely snipped fresh chives

• 1.
  Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet over moderately high heat and when it froths, add the potatoes and fry for 8 to 10 minutes or until crisp and brown.
  
• 2.
  Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, jalapeño, and ham and fry, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
  
• 3.
  Mix in the hominy, season to taste with salt and pepper, then heat about 5 minutes more. Sprinkle with the fresh chives and serve for breakfast or brunch.
  

GRILLADES AND GRITS

MAKES
6
SERVINGS

To be honest, I can’t remember exactly when or where I first tasted grillades. Louisiana to be sure, but I don’t think New Orleans because I’ve spent more time prowling the countryside than in the Big Easy. I didn’t expect my small-town North Carolina butcher to know what I was cooking the first time I ordered two pounds of top round sliced ½ inch thick. But quick as anything, he said, “You makin’ grillades?” I’ve taken a few liberties with what most folks would consider to be the New Orleans classic. For another layer of flavor, I like to add a little white wine, also a bit of oregano. Note:
Top round is exceptionally lean and unless handled with TLC will be tough. In restaurants, grillades are often scaloppine-thin, but I’ve had better luck keeping them tender if they are
½
inch thick. Here’s another good preventive: Once the browned grillades go into the sauce, keep the heat low and keep the pan covered; too much heat will surely toughen them
.
Tip:
If you prefer not to use bacon drippings in this recipe (they do add flavor), use
¼
cup of vegetable oil instead of two tablespoons each of drippings and oil.

¾ cup unsifted all-purpose flour

1¼ teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

2 pounds beef top round, sliced ½ inch thick and each slice cut crosswise into thirds

2 tablespoons bacon drippings (see Tip above)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped

12 large scallions (about 2 bunches), trimmed and coarsely chopped (include as many green tops as possible; also reserve 3 tablespoons chopped scallions for a garnish)

1 small green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and moderately coarsely chopped

1 large celery rib, trimmed and finely chopped

3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 large whole bay leaves, preferably fresh

1 teaspoon dried leaf thyme, crumbled

½ teaspoon dried leaf oregano, crumbled

¼ teaspoon ground hot red pepper (cayenne), or to taste

2 tablespoons dredging mixture (reserved from above)

1½ tablespoons tomato paste

½ cup dry white wine

1 cup beef broth

One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, with their liquid

¼ cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley

1 cup grits, cooked by package directions (preferably stone-ground grits)

3 tablespoons coarsely chopped scallions to garnish (reserved from chopped scallions above)

• 1.
  Shake the flour, salt, and black pepper in a large plastic zipper bag to combine. Now dredge the beef by shaking a few pieces at a
  time in the dredging mixture; tap off the excess. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the dredging mixture to thicken the sauce.
  
• 2.
  Heat the bacon drippings and oil in a deep, heavy skillet large enough to hold all the grillades in a single layer over high heat for 1 to 1½ minutes or until ripples appear on the skillet bottom. (I use a 14-inch, 2-inch-deep sauté pan.)
  
• 3.
  Brown the grillades in the hot fat in three batches over high heat, allowing about 1 minute per side per batch. As the meat browns, lift to a shallow roasting pan and reserve.
  
• 4.
  Add the onion, scallions, bell pepper, and celery to the skillet; reduce the heat to moderately high; and cook, stirring now and then, for 10 to 12 minutes or until limp and lightly browned. Mix in the garlic, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, and cayenne and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
  
• 5.
  Sprinkle the reserved dredging mixture evenly into the skillet and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Blend in the tomato paste and cook and stir 1 minute more. Add the wine and boil uncovered for about 30 seconds or until slightly reduced. Add the broth and the tomatoes and their liquid and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes or until lightly thickened.
  
• 6.
  Return the browned beef to the skillet, arranging in one layer, and cover with the sauce. Adjust the heat so the sauce barely bubbles, cover the skillet, and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the beef in the sauce, cover the skillet again, and cook 5 minutes longer or just until the grillades are tender.
  
• 7.
  Transfer the grillades to a heated platter, cover loosely, and keep warm. Simmer the sauce uncovered for about 5 minutes or until the consistency of gravy. Remove and discard the bay leaves, then taste the sauce for salt and cayenne and adjust as needed.
  
• 8.
  Stir the parsley into the sauce, return the grillades to the skillet, and heat for no more than 30 seconds.
  
• 9.
  Ladle all over the grits, sprinkle with the 3 tablespoons reserved chopped scallions, and serve.
  

BEEF AND MIRLITON CASSEROLE

MAKES
6
SERVINGS

Wherever mirlitons grow (principally in Louisiana and Florida), these pear-shaped, white-fleshed, pale green vegetables (kin both to cucumbers and summer squash) are also called vegetable pears, christophenes, custard marrows, and chayotes. As far back as the sixteenth century, Spanish explorer Francisco Hernandez found them growing in Mexico (they’re believed to be native to Guatemala) and entered this observation in his journal: “This Aztec chayoti is like a hedgehog…The fruit is eaten cooked and is sold in markets everywhere.” In the Deep South, cooks prepare mirlitons in countless ways and among the best, I think, is this casserole. Note:
Mirlitons (often marketed as “chayotes”) are becoming more widely available beyond the South; many specialty groceries and some supermarkets now stock them. Look for them in late fall and winter.

1½ tablespoons bacon drippings or vegetable oil

2 medium-large mirlitons (about 1½ pounds), quartered lengthwise, peeled, pitted, and cut into ½-inch dice

1 pound ground beef chuck

1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped

1 small green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely diced

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

One 4.5-ounce can chopped green chilies, well drained

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

2 cups coarsely crumbled stale, firm-textured white bread (about 4 slices)

2 cups coarsely shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

• 1.
  Lightly spritz a shallow 2-quart casserole with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
  
• 2.
  Heat the bacon drippings in a large, heavy skillet over moderately high heat for 1 minute. Add the mirlitons and stir-fry for about 2 minutes or until golden. Reduce the heat to low, cover the skillet, and cook the mirlitons, stirring now and then, for about 25 minutes or until nearly tender. Toward the end of cooking, preheat the oven to 350° F. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mirlitons to a large plate and reserve.
  
• 3.
  Raise the heat underneath the skillet to moderately high, add the ground beef, and cook, breaking up the clumps, for 3 to 4 minutes or until no traces of pink linger. Mix in the onion, bell pepper, and garlic and cook, stirring often, for about 10 minutes or until limp. Mix in the chilies, salt, and black pepper and cook and stir for about 1 minute. Return the mirlitons and any accumulated juices to the skillet and stir well to mix.
  
• 4.
  Set the skillet off the heat and mix in the crumbled bread, then the shredded cheese. Scoop all into the casserole, spreading to the edge.
  
• 5.
  Slide onto the middle oven shelf and bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbling and tipped with brown.
  
• 6.
  Serve at once as the main dish of a casual lunch or supper. Sliced red-ripe tomatoes are the perfect accompaniment and all you need to round out the meal.
  

ROASTED RACK OF LAMB WITH FIELD PEA RELISH

MAKES
4
SERVINGS

No one in the Raleigh neighborhood of my childhood would eat lamb, and my friends were startled to learn that my mother often broiled lamb chops or roasted a leg of lamb. One night a school chum who had come home with me after school stayed for dinner. Enjoying the meal, she turned to compliment my mother: “Miz Anderson, that was the best steak I ever ate.” Mother smiled, then added, “I’m glad you liked those little steaks, Bettie Lou. But actually they were lamb chops!” My friend gagged. “But we
never
eat lamb! We
hate
lamb!” That was the first time lamb had passed Bettie Lou’s lips
and I suspect that it was the last. Old habits die hard down south. This peculiar prejudice appears to be a “class” thing; certainly it has nothing to do with the range wars out west. The South’s better-educated, more aristocratic families have always eaten lamb, indeed since Colonial days. Only the hardscrabble folk and those descended from them eschew it. Fortunately, Walter Royal, a gifted southern chef whom I once profiled for
Food & Wine,
appreciates the merits of lamb and does it proud with a peppery field pea relish. The recipes here are adapted from those that accompanied my article.

4 large garlic cloves, finely minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried leaf rosemary, crumbled

½ teaspoon coarse or kosher salt

½ teaspoon hot paprika

¼ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, crushed

¼ teaspoon black pepper

One 8-rib rack of lamb (about 3 pounds; have the butcher “french” the rib ends)

1 tablespoon fruity olive oil

Field Pea Relish

• 1.
  Combine the garlic, rosemary, salt, paprika, crushed pepper flakes, and black pepper in a small bowl, then rub all over the lamb. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or better yet, overnight.
  
• 2.
  Remove the lamb from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350° F.
  
• 3.
  Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over moderately high heat for 1 minute. Place the lamb in the skillet fat side down, and sear for about 2 minutes. Turn, browning the meaty ends of lamb, allowing 2 to 3 minutes for each.
  
• 4.
  Transfer the lamb to an ungreased large shallow roasting pan, standing it on its rib ends so the fat side is up. Roast uncovered on the middle oven shelf for 20 to 25 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer, inserted in the meatiest part of the lamb, not touching bone, registers 130° F.
  Note:
  The lamb will be rare; for medium-rare, roast 5 minutes longer or until the thermometer reaches 135° F. to 140° F. But roast no further, please.
  
• 5.
  Remove the lamb from the oven and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes to allow the juices to settle.
  
• 6.
  Carve the lamb by cutting down between the ribs. Allow two chops per person and spoon a generous portion of the field pea relish alongside.
  

The North seldom tries to fry chicken and this is well; the art cannot be learned north of the line of Mason and Dixon.

—
MARK TWAIN