Southern Comfort (7 page)

Fill a heavy, deep saucepan with at least 6 inches of oil. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it registers 340°F on a deep-fry thermometer.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and pepper. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and eggs. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix with a whisk moving from the inside out until you have a smooth batter.

Add the shallots to the batter and fold them in completely. Then add the melted butter and mix until the batter is nice and smooth.

Line a plate with paper towels and have nearby. Using a 1-ounce ice cream scoop or just a large spoon, scoop the batter and drop into the hot oil, no more than five at a time. Fry until nice and golden brown, about 3 minutes, then remove and drain on the prepared plate.

To serve, halve each hush puppy and trim the bottoms flat so they stand up on a plate. Top each hush puppy half with caviar and crème fraîche and finish with chopped chives.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

To make the dough, in a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and 1 teaspoon of the salt and whisk thoroughly. Add the diced butter to the flour mixture and working quickly, using your fingertips, combine them until the butter is in small, pea-size pieces. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, water, and vinegar.

Make a well in the middle of the flour-butter mixture, then pour the wet ingredients into the well. Using your fingertips, stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, until the mixture begins to clump together. Place the dough on a floured surface and knead until the dough becomes completely yellow and smooth, about 1 minute. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

To make the filling, heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the oil, shallots, and garlic and cook until the shallots begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the green onions, cumin, remaining 1 teaspoon of salt, and Aleppo pepper and cook until the spices are fragrant and the green onions soften, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and place the mixture in a bowl along with the black-eyed peas and chopped egg. Mix well.

To make the empanadas, place the chilled dough on a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough evenly until it is about ⅛ inch thick. With a 3-inch round biscuit cutter, cut the dough into circles. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of filling in the center of each circle. Brush the edges with the egg wash and fold in half over the filling, forming a half-moon shape. Press the
edges together and seal with the tines of a fork. Arrange the empanadas on a nonstick baking sheet, spaced evenly apart. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Serve warm with
Green Tomato–Vinegar Sauce.

Using the tip of your knife, remove the seeds from each tomato wedge and discard them. Cut the wedges into small dice and put the dice in a small bowl. Halve the jalapeño chile, remove the seeds from one of the halves, but leave them in the other for a bit of heat. Dice the chile and add to the tomatoes in the bowl. Add the cilantro, garlic, green onions, salt, Aleppo pepper, black pepper, vinegar, oil, and agave nectar, and mix until well combined.

To make the filling, preheat the oven to 400°F.

Season the duck legs all over with Creole spice. Place in an ovenproof sauté pan and roast in the oven until the skin is brown and crispy, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. To test if the duck legs are done, wiggle the leg bone. It should easily twist away from the thigh bone if it is ready. Transfer the duck legs to a plate to cool and discard all but 2 tablespoons of the rendered duck fat in the pan.

Place the sauté pan on a burner over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, and carrots to the pan and cook for 2 minutes to soften, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon and scraping the bottom of the pan. Once the vegetables are soft, add the cabbage, brown sugar, salt, and pecans and cook until the cabbage has softened, about 3 more minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the filling cool.

While the filling is cooling, remove the bones from the duck legs and finely chop the duck skin and the duck meat. Fold the meat into the cooled filling.

Fill a heavy, deep saucepan with at least 6 inches of oil. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it registers 340°F on a deep-fry thermometer.

To assemble the spring rolls, arrange 20 spring roll wrappers on a work surface; cover with slightly damp paper towels to keep them moist. In a small bowl, vigorously whisk the egg.