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Edna Lewis, the Grand Dame of Southern Cuisine

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My favorite excerpt from The Taste of Country Cooking by Ms. Edna Lewis:

“I will never forget spring mornings in Virginia.  A warm morning and a red sun rising behind a thick fog gave the image of a pale pink veil supported by a gentle breeze that flew or thin marquisette curtains out into the living room, leaving them to fall lazily back.  Being awakened by this irresistible atmosphere we would hop out of bed, clothes in hand, rush downstairs, dress in a sunny spot, and rush out to the barn to find a sweet-faced calf, baby pigs, or perhaps a colt.  We always stopped by the hen house to look at the setting hens sitting in their row of nests along the wall.  They had to be checked often to see if the eggs were moist enough to hatch properly.  I can still remember the moist smell of chickens hatching and making quiet, cuddly noises.  The mother hen would fuss and ruffle her feathers, very annoyed at my mother for lifting her from the nest to sprinkle the eggs.  There would be guineas setting under the woodpile where no one could reach and they would appear one day with a brood that was so swift of movement that one could only get a glimpse of them scampering through the weeds.

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.  

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.