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Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

Buttermilk biscuits.  The Kid calls them “tasty little bastards.”  I should probably reign in his profanity, but he’s right -- they are tasty little bastards.  Hot from the oven and slathered with butter & honey -- what more do you need on a Thursday night?  Maybe ham.

Fried Chicken & Domaine Ste. Michelle 2002 Luxe Sparkling

My husband says I’m trying to kill him.  Mmhmm ... he’s a pussy.  No one gets out of this life alive, and there are worse ways to die than by gustatory ecstasy.  Not that fried chicken is gustatory ecstasy per se, but a tasty, farm-raised chicken, well-seasoned and perfectly fried, served with a chilled glass of really good Champagne, is fairly close to the pinnacle.  Now, if the same (now perfectly chilled) chicken is quietly plucked from the fridge around midnight and served in the dark with a really good Champagne and a movie ... well, I think that’s the actual definition of gustatory ecstasy.  I could be wrong -- you can look it up.

The Sparkling Wine:

Luxe is luxe.  It’s decadent, creamy and toasty with an almost warm lemon exuberance to it -- at least that’s what it tastes like tonight.  The lovely synergy between sparkling wine and fried food is the refreshing, palate-cleansing bubbles that cut through the dish’s richness.  I want to believe it clears the richness right out of the arteries too, but I can’t prove that.  You could look it up though.  

‘Cue: the Fanaticism, the Feuds, the Sheer Fortitude

In the South, barbeque is not just a food, “...it’s a cultural ritual, practiced with a kind of religious fervor among various barbeque sects, each of whom believes their particular concoction of smoke and sauce and spices is the only true way to culinary salvation.”

-- William Schmidt, New York Times 

The great thing about decades of fervent Southern ‘cue feuds?  The rest of us reveling in the proceeds.  A hundred years, give or take, of focused effort on the perfect medium, the best methods, precise timing, just the right to-go-withs; there can’t possibly be anything else to discover about barbeque.  With generations of proving this and trying that, it stands to reason the subject is pert’ near all-inclusive.  Now, getting hold of those highly protected secrets ... well, that’s a whole ‘nother thang.  

The most famous Southern barbeque sects share common practices, yet each have their own unique style, and each believe the others practice heresy.

Spicy Shrimp & Dirty Grits with Chateau Ste. Michelle 2007 Eroica Riesling

After hours of shrimp ‘n grits research and recipe testing, I decided I likes ‘em like my men -- spicy, smoky and dirty.  There’s a zillion variations of this Low-Country dish, and quite honestly, I haven’t figured out the original.  From what I can tell, if shrimp, bell peppers, Tabasco, and some type of smoky, fat-rendering pork product are included, it’s a fairly genuine nod to tradition.

Creamy Meyer Lemon & Chive Grits

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Deliciously creamy & lightly lemoned, these grits make an elegant side dish to grilled fish, roasted chicken or fried green tomatoes.

Creamy Meyer Lemon & Chive Grits

Based on The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook

Makes 3 cups

1 cup stone ground grits

3-1/2 cups water, plus more to float the chaff

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup unsalted butter, divided

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

Pinch freshly ground white pepper, to taste

1 Tablespoon buttermilk, or more to taste

Zest of 1 Meyer lemon

1/4 cup snipped chives

Broiled Grits with Smoky Bacon & Sharp Cheddar

Broiled grits is an excellent dinner party dish.  Made and topped in advance, this method lets you focus on your guests, not your grits.  When it’s time to serve, place them under the broiler for a few minutes to heat the grits and melt the cheese.  It’s also a great way to use up leftovers.

For an authentic touch, stir the grease from the bacon right into the grits at the end to dirty them up -- just don't tell your cardiologist.  If you don’t want the extra step of cooking bacon, a little chopped Kentucky ham is a delicious substitution.  

Creamy, Simple Grits

Great grits require love.  Sure, a basic understanding of the cooking method is important; but with simple dishes, it helps to mentally jump into the pot, especially near the end when consistency & flavor are key.  That extra bit of love and attention can turn good grits into great grits.

A tip or two:

• A drizzle of buttermilk stirred into the finished dish gives it a delightful boost without being too acidic -- lemon juice can obliterate its inherent corniness.

Grits is Good

Grits -- a simple peasant dish of warm, creamy cornmeal; occasionally dirtied, mostly buttered, always textured, never instant (that’s heresy).  They say, “A man full of grits is a man at peace.”  True... true.  I’ve found this dish, more so than any other, will induce a Southerner’s wistful thoughts of youth, breakfasts past, and usually their mother.  Grits are well-loved by many -- it’s a dish of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Southern Boiled Peanuts

“Fresh peanuts seem to occupy a space between snack food and a habit, like chewing tobacco.  As any diehard boiled peanut fan can attest, the salty, wet little beans inspire your mind to take a lazy walk while your hand shuttles between bag and mouth and your teeth do the chewing.”

--Matt & Ted Lee, The Lee Bros. Southern Cooking

Boiled peanuts can be a bit disconcerting upon the first encounter -- not unlike wondering who licked them all before you got there.  But once you get over the fact that roasting isn’t the peanut’s only path to the snack bowl, they can become very addicting.  They were definitely the conversation starter at our last dinner party.

Southern Cuisine: A Culinary Obsession

The subject of my latest chef dinner at Chateau Ste. Michelle has quickly become my latest culinary obsession -- Southern food.  My knowledge of Southern food was pretty general, so I did what I always do: purchased a dozen cookbooks; ordered some authentic ingredients; and tested, tasted, tested, tasted.  The result is, besides being unbelievably full, I am head-over-heels in love with everything Suthun’!

The more research I did, the more I became completely enamored & beguiled with the South.  It just buttered my biscuit, so to speak.  From the shellfish of the low country’s coastal regions, to the amazing varieties of field peas & legumes of the inland territories; from the one true grit (the stone-ground variety) to the highly debated barbeque feuds between each state, region, county & city.