Modern Hospitality: Simple Recipes With Southern Charm Hardcover – July 5, 2011 (11 page)
Read Modern Hospitality: Simple Recipes With Southern Charm Hardcover – July 5, 2011 Online
Authors: Whitney Miller
Jalapeño Cornbread
The secret to creating a crunchy outer crust for your cornbread is using a hot cast-iron skillet. This technique was passed down to me from my mom who learned from her mom and grandmother. I like to spice up my cornbread with diced jalapeños. Feel free to add more or less than called for below, depending on how much heat you prefer. I cut my cornbread into triangle wedges and serve it warm with butter.
2 cups fine ground cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
½ cup low-fat buttermilk
3/4 cup fat-free milk
¼ cup plus 1½ tablespoons canola oil
½ cup corn kernels
3 tablespoons shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoon diced fresh jalapeño peppers
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Mix the cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the egg, buttermilk, fat-free milk, and ¼ cup of the oil and stir until well combined. Mix in the corn, cheese, and jalapeños.
Add the remaining 1½ tablespoons oil to 9-inch cast-iron skillet. Rub the oil around to thoroughly coat the bottom and sides of the skillet. Heat in the oven for 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and pour in the batter.
Bake until the crust is golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve hot.
Serves 4 to 6
ELEGANT
ENTRÉES
I KICK OFF MY FLIP-FLOPS, put on my heels, and pick up my stemmed glass of “Southern wine,” aka sweet tea. Decorative touches make an everyday meal special, and my friends and family deserve the best. In the
MasterChef
kitchen, I had an assortment of dishware to choose from when plating for the judges. At home, my culinary creations are elegantly displayed on vintage and unusual dishware, results from my explorations of flea markets and garage sales. Presentation counts!
Oven-Fried Catfish with Fresh Dill Tartar Sauce
Shrimp and Sausage with Grits Soufflé and Yellow Pepper Sabayon
Cranberry Chipotle BBQ Chicken with Potato Salad
Butter- and Herb-Roasted Chicken
Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Rosemary-Cranberry Glaze
Shrimp Bisque and Grits
Even in the South, most people are nervous about eating “grits” for any meal other than breakfast. But once they taste my cheesy parmesan grits, they quickly change their minds! I top my grits with a creamy, spicy shrimp bisque. Try serving it with slices of crusty French bread or Jalapeño Cornbread (page
83
) so your guests can sop up the extra sauce.
SHRIMP BISQUE
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
¼ cup diced yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup corn kernels
1½ cups fresh or drained canned diced tomatoes
3 links (½ pound) andouille sausage, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into ½-inch slices
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, deveined
2 teaspoons crab boil seasoning
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
PARMESAN GRITS
3/4 teaspoon salt
1½ cups quick-cooking grits
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (4 ounces)
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
GARNISH
1/4 cup chopped scallions
To make the shrimp bisque: Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisking constantly, gradually add the broth. Stir in the cream. Add the corn and canned diced tomatoes (if using fresh, don’t add them until the end or they’ll fall apart). Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes to melt the flavors.
Meanwhile, cook the sausage in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until heated through and lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
Add the sausage to the bisque. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes.
Toss the shrimp and crab boil seasoning together in a small bowl. Add to the bisque. Cook until the shrimp are opaque throughout, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover, and set aside.
To make the parmesan grits: Bring 5 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Stir in the grits. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the butter, Parmesan, cream, pepper, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Cook for 5 minutes to melt the cheese.
To serve, spoon the grits into shallow bowls. Top with shrimp bisque. Garnish with scallions.
Serves 4 to 6
Oven-Fried Catfish with Fresh Dill Tartar Sauce
Eating out on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night in the South usually includes dining at a catfish house. A typical catfish house features a menu of fried whole catfish or fillets, coleslaw, fries, and hushpuppies. My cookbook would not be complete without a recipe for my variation on this tradition: baked catfish served with fresh dill tartar sauce.
CATFISH
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
4 catfish fillets (about ½ pound each)
3/4 cup fine-grind cornmeal
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon crushed freeze-dried chives
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
TARTAR SAUCE
1 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons stone-ground mustard
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon minced fresh dill
3/4 teaspoon minced fresh chives
To prepare the fish: Pour the buttermilk into a shallow baking dish. Place the catfish fillets in the buttermilk and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 25 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Combine the cornmeal, onion powder, garlic powder, lemon-pepper seasoning, salt, chives, and cayenne in a shallow dish or pie plate.
Pour the oil into a large cast-iron skillet and turn to coat the bottom. Place in the oven to heat for 6 minutes.
Working with 1 fillet at a time, shake off the excess buttermilk and dredge in the cornmeal mixture to coat.
Place cornmeal-coated fillets in the preheated skillet. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn the fillets and bake until golden brown and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes (depending on the size of the fillets).
Meanwhile, to make the tartar sauce: Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
Serve the hot fish with the tartar sauce.
Serves 4
Shrimp and Sausage with Grits Soufflé and Yellow Pepper Sabayon
This is my upscale version of shrimp and grits. It’s made with pan-seared shrimp, andouille sausage, and roasted corn fresh off the cob. The grits soufflé is surrounded by a yellow pepper sabayon, which is the French name for a thick, creamy sauce. This dish takes a little time to prepare, but it is absolutely mouth-watering and definitely worth the effort.
CORN
3 ears corn, unhusked
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
SABAYON
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup diced yellow onion
¼ cup diced yellow bell pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1½ cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg yolk
GRITS SOUFFLÉ
2 cups whole milk
½ cup quick-cooking grits
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (2 ounces)
2 eggs, separated
SHRIMP AND SAUSAGE
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Dash of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces andouille sausage, cut on the diagonal into 1-inch slices
GARNISH
¼ cup chopped scallions
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease six 8- to 10-ounce soufflé dishes and refrigerate.
To prepare the corn: Peel the husk back, remove the silk, and rub each cob with 1 tablespoon butter and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Replace the husk and place on a baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. (Leave the oven on but reduce the temperature to 375°F for the soufflés.) When the corn is cool enough to handle, pull back the husks and slice the kernels off the cobs into a bowl. Set aside for using in the sabayon and as a garnish.
Meanwhile, to make the sabayon: Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the cream and 1 cup of the corn and cook over medium heat until the cream thickens and the corn is heated through, about 4 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree. Set aside while you start the soufflés.
To prepare the grits soufflés: Bring the milk to a slight boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the grits and cook, stirring occasionally, until the grits reach a porridge consistency, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Stir in the salt, pepper, butter, Cheddar, and egg yolks.
With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the grits mixture. Remove the soufflé dishes from the refrigerator and fill with the grits mixture. Place the dishes on a baking sheet and bake until the soufflés are just set, 18 to 20 minutes. While the soufflés are baking, finish the sabayon. Place a sieve over the top of a double boiler and strain the pureed sabayon mixture through it. Bring water to a simmer in the bottom of the double boiler. Place the strained cream mixture over the simmering water. Sprinkle in the salt. Whisk in the egg yolk and continue whisking over the simmer water until the sauce thickens, 5 to 8 minutes. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm while you cook the shrimp and sausage.
To make the shrimp and sausage: Toss the shrimp with salt, black pepper, and cayenne in a bowl. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and cook for 2 minutes on the first side, and 1 minute on the second side or until pink and opaque through. Transfer the shrimp to a plate.
In the same skillet, cook the sausage until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Cover to keep warm.
When the soufflés are done, assemble the plates: Spoon the sabayon sauce in the middle of a plate. Unmold a soufflé onto the sauce. Top with some sausage, shrimp, and some of the remaining corn. Sprinkle with the scallions and parsley.
Serves 6