The Sweet Magnolias Cookbook (4 page)
Read The Sweet Magnolias Cookbook Online
Authors: Sherryl Woods
SAUCE
In a small saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar. When brown sugar has dissolved, whisk in the hot sauce and vinegar. Add remaining ingredients, and whisk until well blended.
TO SERVE
When all wings are fried, drizzle with sauce. Stir to coat well. The longer the wings sit in the sauce, the hotter they get. (For milder wings, remove from sauce after 15 minutes.)
SERVES 4â12
(you know what I mean!)
Note: This Sweet Magnolia recipe will remind you of buffalo wings, but down South, we gotta make it just a little something special. Gild the magnolia by serving with our
blue cheese dressing
and some celery sticksâto help cut the heat!
Cheddar Blossoms
2 cups (8 ounces) grated sharp cheddar cheese, room temperature
½ cup butter, room temperature
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼â½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (you decide!)
Poppy seeds
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Combine cheddar and butter in a medium mixing bowl. Blend well.
Whisk together flour, salt and cayenne pepper. Add to cheese and butter mixture. Blend well.
Fill the barrel of a cookie press with dough. Choose the five-petal flower disc, and secure onto the end of the cookie press.
Press cheddar blossoms onto ungreased cookie sheets, spacing 1" apart. (If dough is too firm, it will not press out easily. Microwave the dough briefly to soften, if necessary.)
Sprinkle some poppy seeds in the center of each blossom.
Bake 1 pan at a time in center of oven 20â25 minutes, until golden brown.
Immediately remove cheddar blossoms from cookie sheet, and transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 weeks. Alternately, cover tightly, and freeze up to 4 months.
MAKES ABOUT 80
Note: No Southern affair (whether plain or fancy) would be complete without cheese straws. This is the Sweet Magnolia version of cheese strawsâmaking them just a bit more special with the addition of poppy seeds in the center of each darling little blossom. These are a yummy treat and greatly enjoyed at any cocktail buffet, wedding reception or simply with a glass of red wine.
Blue Cheese Dressing (with cognac)
1½ cups mayonnaise
1 cup heavy whipping cream
½ cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons cognac
4 ounces blue cheese crumbles, divided
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
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In a blender or food processor, combine first four ingredients with half of the blue cheese crumbles. Blend until smooth. Stir in remaining blue cheese, and season with salt and pepper. Cover, and refrigerate up to 1 month.
MAKES 3 CUPS
Note: This drop-dead fabulous blue cheese dressing is a favorite of Sullivan's Restaurant patrons. On Margarita Nights, you can find the Sweet Magnolias feasting on chicken wings and celery sticksâbeing dunked first in this dressing.
I'd like to say that Sullivan's was always my dream, but the truth is until my husband, Ronnie, and I split up, I hadn't put much thought into opening up my own restaurant. I was content to cook for anyone who'd hire me, though I have to say that most of the menu offerings at Serenity's mom-and-pop places didn't present much of a challenge. This has always been a fried chicken, potato salad and greens kind of town.
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Now, as a born and bred South Carolinian, I like Southern cooking as much as anyone, but I just can't seem to keep myself from putting a little spin on the traditional dishes from time to time. I'd accumulated an entire file box of recipes over time, trying them out on Ronnie and my daughter, Annie, and the Sweet Magnolias every chance I got.
When I found out Ronnie had cheated on meâand about two seconds after I'd chased him off with a cast-iron skilletâI decided the time had come to do something exciting and challenging just for me. With encouragement from my best pals, Maddie and Helen, I put together the business plan for Sullivan's, a restaurant dedicated to putting some zip into regional specialties. Though I'm real proud of our fancy decor, the perfectly pressed linen tablecloths and napkins I insisted on and the painting by our world-renowned local botanical artist Paula Vreeland (Maddie's mom) in our foyer, it's the food that brings customers from all over the state.
Yes, that's right. They come from all over. Oh, I had plenty of doubters, folks around here who said I'd never make a success of an upscale restaurant without being in Charleston or Columbia. But guess what? I proved them wrong. The glowing reviews started coming in from the big newspapers and regional magazinesâand so did the customers.
By the time Ronnie and I reconciled, I was a whole lot stronger than I'd been when we first fell in love way back in high schoolâand a successful restaurant owner to boot! By then I didn't need a man in my life, but the pitiful truth is I sure did want this particular man. You know how that goes. Some things just never change. When the right man comes along, it's hard to get him out of your system, even after he's made a mistake the size of Ronnie's. Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith that the apologies and the commitment are sincere.
Now I wouldn't share my trade secrets with just anyone, but folks keep asking about certain dishes, like my catfish with its spicy cornmeal coating or the peachy grilled chicken in a spicy peanut sauce. See what I mean? These are not the same old same old.
There are a lot more recipes here, straight off the Sullivan's menu. Pretty soon you'll be just like me, taking something ordinary, adding a dash of this and a teaspoonful of that and kicking all your cooking up a notch. But if you get any ideas about opening your own restaurant, promise you'll steer clear of Serenity. There's only room for one gourmet restaurant in this town, and Sullivan's has filled that niche. At least I like to think it has.
Toasted Pecan & Red Pepper Jam
8 (½-pint) canning jars, lids and screw-on bands
2 cups (about 8 ounces) pecan halves
1 green bell pepper, seeded, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded, finely chopped
6â8 jalapeño peppers, seeded (if desired), finely chopped
1½ cups apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon butter
6½ cups sugar
1 (3-ounce) pouch liquid fruit pectin
Place jars, lids and bands in a large pot. Fill with hot water. Bring to a boil over high heat, and boil at least 5 minutes.
Scatter pecan halves on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 350°F about 10 minutes, just until nuts begin to smell toasted. Remove from oven, and let cool. Using a serrated knife, coarsely chop pecans.
Place peppers in a 1½â2 gallon saucepan or Dutch oven. Add vinegar and butter. Stir in sugar and pecans. Cook mixture over high heat, stirring often. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down.
Stir in pectin. Return to a boil, and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with a metal spoon.
Ladle immediately into prepared jars, filling to within ¼" of tops. Wipe jar rims clean. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands securely.
Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. Water must cover jars by 1â2". Add boiling water, if necessary.
Cover, and bring water to a gentle boil. Process 10 minutes in boiling water bath.
Remove jars, place upright on towel to cool 30 minutes, then turn jars upside down.
Alternate jars upright, then upside down for the first 2 hours of cooling to help suspend pecans and peppers in jam. Cool completely.
After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lids with finger. If lid springs back, lid is not sealed, and refrigeration is necessary. Properly sealed jars can be stored at room temperature up to 2 years.