A Love Affair with Southern Cooking (31 page)

1½ pounds large shrimp in the shell

6 tablespoons (¾ stick) butter, melted (see Tip above)

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 large garlic clove, finely minced

1 large bay leaf, crumbled

¾ teaspoon crumbled dried leaf rosemary

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon crumbled dried leaf basil

¼ teaspoon crumbled dried leaf oregano

¼ teaspoon ground hot red pepper (cayenne)

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

¼ teaspoon sweet paprika

¼ teaspoon hot red pepper sauce

• 1.
  Wash the shrimp well in cool water, drain well, pat dry on paper toweling, and spread in a large, shallow, nonreactive baking pan (I use a 13 × 9 × 2-inch ovenproof glass baking dish).
  
• 2.
  Mix all remaining ingredients, pour over the shrimp, toss well, then cover and marinate in the refrigerator for several hours or better yet, overnight. About 20 minutes before you’re ready to bake the shrimp, preheat the oven to 325° F.
  
• 3.
  Toss the shrimp well in the marinade, slide the pan onto the middle oven shelf, and bake uncovered for 10 minutes. Toss the shrimp well again in the marinade and bake 5 to 10 minutes longer or just until the shrimp are pink and cooked through—don’t overcook or the shrimp will be tough.
  
• 4.
  Serve the unshelled shrimp hot or at room temperature with crusty French or Italian bread to sop up the marinade and with a bowl to catch the shrimp shells.
  Note:
  If you shell and devein the cooked shrimp, they can be served as an appetizer: Simply spear them on toothpicks and put the marinade out as a dip.
  

CURRIED SHRIMP AND CHICKEN

MAKES
6
TO
8
SERVINGS

Here’s a southern classic reinvented by Elizabeth Terry, for years the creative force behind Elizabeth on 37
^th
, by some accounts Savannah’s finest restaurant. With the help of husband Michael, who abandoned law to lend a hand, Terry opened Elizabeth back in 1981. Eleven years later, she’d made
Food & Wine
’s list of America’s Top 25 Restaurants—a first, surely, for a self-taught chef. Craig Claiborne, the powerful
New York Times
food columnist, came, ate, and raved in private and in print. I myself was so impressed by Elizabeth’s magic that I wrote about her twice: for
Food & Wine
back in the late ’80s, and then again just a few years ago for
More
magazine. The recipe below is adapted from one that accompanied my
Food & Wine
article (a different version appears in Terry’s cookbook,
Savannah Seasons: Food and Stories from Elizabeth on 37
^th
, with whimsical art by Elizabeth’s older daughter, Alexis). Both recipes are new spins on Country Captain and both are brilliant; for me, however, my adaptation is easier. After twenty years behind the stove, Terry has left the kitchen, moved to California, and become a potter. Here, too, she is a virtuoso.

1 cup converted rice

1 tablespoon curry powder

2 teaspoons finely minced fresh ginger

1½ teaspoons finely grated orange zest

1½ teaspoons salt

¼ teaspoon ground hot red pepper (cayenne)

2 cups cold water

1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut crosswise and on the bias into strips 1½ inches wide

¼ teaspoon black pepper

2 medium Granny Smith apples (about ¾ pound), cored and cut into ½-inch dice (do not peel)

1 medium yellow onion, moderately coarsely chopped

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

One 14-ounce can plum tomatoes, drained well and coarsely chopped

2½ tablespoons dried currants plumped in 2 tablespoons hot water

2 large garlic cloves, finely minced

¾ cup rich chicken broth or stock

1½ pounds medium shrimp, shelled and deveined

½ cup lightly toasted coarsely chopped pecans (about 10 minutes in a 350° F. oven)

• 1.
  Preheat the oven to 400° F. Lightly coat a shallow 2½-quart flameproof casserole with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
  
• 2.
  Combine the rice, curry powder, ginger, orange zest, half the salt, and the cayenne in a medium-size saucepan. Add the water, bring to a boil over high heat, adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles gently, and cook uncovered for 20 minutes until the rice is al dente.
  
• 3.
  Arrange the chicken one layer deep in the casserole and sprinkle with the black pepper and remaining salt. Layer the apples on top, then the onion, bell pepper, tomatoes, currants and their soaking liquid, and garlic. Pour the chicken broth evenly over all, scoop the rice on top, and spread so all ingredients underneath are covered.
  
• 4.
  Cover the casserole snugly with aluminum foil and set over moderate heat for about 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to boil. Slide the casserole onto the middle oven shelf and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the chicken is done.
  
• 5.
  Stir the casserole ingredients well, arrange the shrimp on top, cover, and bake 5 to 7 minutes or just until the shrimp are pink.
  
• 6.
  Remove the casserole from the oven and let stand, still covered, at room temperature for 15 minutes.
  
• 7.
  Stir well, scatter with the pecans, and serve.
  

Tartar sauce can lift a simple fried catfish to the realms of ecstasy, turn a fried oyster into an emperor’s feast, or ennoble a fried shrimp into knighthood.

—
PAT CONROY
,
THE PAT CONROY COOKBOOK: RECIPES OF MY LIFE

EASTERN SHORE CRAB CAKES

MAKES
4
SERVINGS

Every Southerner within the sound of the surf has a favorite crab cake recipe. This is my own because the crab cakes are as light as sea foam (not enough bread to weight them down) and they taste like crab instead of green peppers and onion and celery. As a Chesapeake waterman’s wife once told me, “I like to taste the crab!”

1 pound lump or backfin crabmeat, picked over for bits of shell and cartilage, and flaked

2 tablespoons minced parsley

2 tablespoons finely grated yellow onion

2 slices firm-textured white bread, torn into bits and soaked in
¹
/
₃
cup milk (don’t squeeze out the milk)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¹
/
₈
teaspoon hot red pepper sauce

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 to 2 tablespoons butter

• 1.
  Place all ingredients except the oil and butter in a large bowl and mix lightly with a fork.
  
• 2.
  Shape into 8 crab cakes 1 inch thick, patting each firmly so it holds together. Cover with wax paper, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. This chilling helps keep the fragile crab cakes from falling apart as you brown them.
  
• 3.
  Heat the vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a very large, heavy skillet over high heat until sizzling. Ease in the crab cakes, allowing plenty of space between them, and brown 4 to 5 minutes on a side, adding the additional 1 tablespoon butter, if needed. Handle gently; these crab cakes are unusually delicate.
  
• 4.
  Serve hot—no tartar sauce needed.
  

CHESAPEAKE CRAB BOIL

MAKES
6
SERVINGS

Waterfront fish houses up and down the Chesapeake provide moorings for boats as well as parking for cars. Most serve crab a dozen different ways but a universal favorite is the simplest: live hard-shells boiled (or steamed) in cauldrons with plenty of seasoning served on tables spread with newspaper. Bibs are “standard issue” as are little wooden mallets and metal crackers to deal with the claws. Note:
For this recipe you’ll need a large, deep, nonreactive kettle with a rack and a tight-fitting lid–the kind used for clambakes and boiled lobster.

2 cups beer

1 cup white (distilled) vinegar

¼ cup Old Bay or other spicy seafood seasoning

¼ cup salt

1½ dozen live-and-kicking blue crabs

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

• 1.
  Combine the beer, vinegar, seafood seasoning, and salt in a medium-size nonreactive bowl and set aside.
  
• 2.
  Place a rack in the bottom of a large, deep, nonreactive kettle. Pile half the crabs on the rack and pour in half the beer mixture. Add the remaining crabs and beer mixture.
  
• 3.
  Set over moderately high heat and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat so the liquid bubbles gently, cover tight, and steam the crabs for 20 to 25 minutes or until they are bright red.
  
• 4.
  Serve at once with melted butter and plenty of napkins. And don’t forget to put out a large bowl to catch the crab shells.
  

RIVER ROAD DEVILED CRAB

MAKES
4
SERVINGS

On Route SC 61, the Ashley River Road linking Charleston with the antebellum plantations some dozen miles northwest, there used to be a little fish house called Captain Buddy’s that served the most delicious deviled crab. On recent visits, I’ve looked in vain for Captain Buddy’s; it seems to have disappeared in Charleston’s modern sprawl. Fortunately, I got the deviled crab recipe years ago.

4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter

½ cup finely chopped celery

½ cup finely chopped green or red bell pepper

2 large scallions, finely chopped (include some green tops)

1 pound lump or backfin crabmeat, picked over for bits of shell and cartilage, and flaked

2 hard-cooked eggs, finely chopped

½ cup mayonnaise (measure firmly packed)

6 tablespoons moderately fine soda cracker crumbs

1 tablespoon finely minced parsley

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¼ teaspoon hot red pepper sauce

1 to 2 tablespoons milk, if needed to thin the crab mixture (it should be moist, about the consistency of crab salad)

• 1.
  Preheat the oven to 350° F. Coat four large scallop or blue crab shells with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
  
• 2.
  Melt the butter in a medium-size heavy skillet over moderate heat; add the celery, bell pepper, and scallions, and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes or until limp, stirring often. Tip into a large mixing bowl, add all remaining ingredients, and toss lightly to mix.
  
• 3.
  Divide the crab mixture among the scallop shells and set on an ungreased baking sheet. Slide onto the middle oven shelf and bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes or until tipped with brown.
  
• 4.
  Serve at once. The traditional accompaniments are Hush Puppies and a creamy coleslaw (see Sweet Slaw, Chapter 4).
  

INNER HARBOR CRAB IMPERIAL

MAKES
4
SERVINGS

If America has a Blue Crab Capital, it is surely Baltimore. Its Inner Harbor, once a fetid backwater of rotting piers and tumbledown warehouses, is today a lively tourist attraction with restaurants serving blue crabs every which way. I’m partial to them all but if forced to choose a favorite, I’d pick this 100-plus-year-old Baltimore classic first served at Thompson’s Sea Girt House. I’m not alone. It’s said that “crab cakes are to Crab Imperial as meatloaf is to prime ribs.” Note:
You can prepare this recipe through Step 3 a couple of hours ahead of time. Scoop the crab mixture into the gratin dish, cover
with foil, and refrigerate. When ready to bake, remove the foil, sprinkle with the paprika, and bake uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and browned.