Chapter 5: Fried Chicken and Grits

I recently visited my parents and spent a few hours paging through my mother’s large collection of cookbooks for menu ideas. The more the spine is broken and the pages are food stained, the more I know I will find treasures. Molly O’Neill’s New York Cookbook, published in 1992, is one of the most well loved on her shelf. The recipes are compiled from food purveyors all over New York City, and though some recipes seem dated, it is a wonderful cross section of ingredients and cultures. Despite the breadth of cuisines represented, for some reason the simple, good old American recipe for fried chicken caught my eye. And this got the ball rolling for the following Southern inspired dinner party.

The Menu:

Fried Chicken
Souffléed Cheese Grits
Baked Okra with Tomato and Ginger
Fava Bean Succotash
Sweet Potato Biscuits
Peach Salad

Fried Chicken

According to the cookbook, this recipe was the winner of the annual fried chicken contest at the Mississippi Picnic in Central Park. I did not know such an event existed but it sounds like a good endorsement to me. I’ve modified it since the original called for two sticks of butter (why add more fat to fat?!). Also, since I was serving seven people, I cooked two chickens. There was no need to double the other ingredients. If you have a dutch oven, I recommend using it to fry the chicken instead of a skillet since the high sides are better at containing oil splatter.

Ingredients:
1 chicken, well rinsed, patted dry, and cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
2 tsp Tabasco sauce
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 cup canola or corn oil

1. Whisk together milk, eggs, and Tabasco and pour into a large bowl.
2. In another large bowl combine the flour, salt, and pepper.
3. Heat the oil over high heat in a large heavy skillet.
4. Meanwhile, dip each piece of chicken first in the milk and egg mixture and then the flour until completely coated.
5. Immediately add chicken to the hot oil (if the chicken pieces sit too long, the flour will soak up the milk and egg mixture and ruin the crispy coating).
6. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 30 minutes, turning 3 or 4 times to evenly brown. Remove from heat onto paper towels to collect excess oil. Serve immediately.

Souffléed Cheese Grits

Grits are the ultimate Southern comfort food. Imagine the taste of polenta and texture of cream of wheat and grits fall somewhere in between. Warm and satisfying, this version, with cheddar cheese and souffléed eggs will win any skeptic over. Add bacon to the leftovers for breakfast or another classic addition, shrimp, for dinner. Adapted from the Joy of Cooking. The quantities below are doubled from the original recipe. It fit perfectly into a large casserole dish.

Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
10 cups water
2 cups grits
2 tsp salt
3-4 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 cup milk
4 eggs, separated
1/2 tsp ground pepper

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for another minute.
2. Add water and bring to a boil. Then stir in the grits and salt.
3. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook stirring occasionally, until the consistency of runny oatmeal, about 25 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 2 quart casserole dish.
5. Stir cheese into grits.
6. Whisk milk, egg yolks, and pepper together and stir into grits.
7. With an electric mixer, beat egg whites until they hold soft peaks and gently fold into grits.
8. Transfer to casserole dish and bake in over for 50-60 minutes, until the top is browned and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

Baked Okra with Tomato and Ginger

Okra is not a favorite ingredient of mine. It reminds me of glue. As with many vegetables that get a bad reputation, it is usually overcooked and loses its structure becoming too squishy and slimy for my taste. Since okra is heavily used in Southern cuisine (pickled, fried, in gumbo, etc.), I thought I should give it another chance.  I came across this recipe in the Ottolenghi Cookbook that claims it will persuade anyone who dislikes okra otherwise. The consensus amongst guests at dinner was that it is indeed a recipe with the power to convert.

Ingredients:
1 lb okra
5 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic loves, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper flakes (or other dried chili flakes)
3 medium ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sliced the stalk end off the okra as closely as possible so as not to expose the seeds inside.
2. Combine okra with 3 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper on a roasting tray in a single layer. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes, until just tender.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a large saucepan. Add garlic, ginger, Aleppo flakes, and fry for one minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, uncovered for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens and most of the tomato juices have evaporated off.
4. Stir baked okra into sauce and cook together for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
5. Sprinkle cilantro on top just before serving.

Fava Bean Succotash

Succotash is summer in salad form made with all the favorite ingredients of warm weather: corn on the cob, tomatoes, and fresh basil. Though typically lima beans are used, the farmer’s market was overflowing with fava beans so I swapped them in. Be warned, shelling fava beans is not a task for the impatient. Once you remove the outer shell, they are still not in edible form. The inner casing must be taken off too. My suggestion: find a good radio station or chatty friend. They are labor intensive but the reward is sweet. The beans are buttery and smooth and make this succotash something you’ll crave all year round. For lunch today, I added crumbled blue cheese to the leftovers. Yum. Adapted from a recipe that appeared in Gourmet, August 1999.

Ingredients:
4 ears of corn
2 lbs of fava beans in pod
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 lb cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tbsp sherry wine vinegar
1/3 cups fresh basil, chopped
2 cups small arugula leaves (chop if using large leaves)
4 pieces cooked bacon, crumbled (optional)

1. Bring large pot of water to a boil. Add corn and boil for about 10 minutes. Remove corn from water with tongs and set aside. Once cool, cut the kernels from each ear of corn.
2. Meanwhile, remove the fava beans from their outer shell. Return the water used to cook corn to heat and bring to a boil. Add beans and blanch, about 2 minutes. Drain and run cold water over beans. Using a knife, remove the inner casing of the beans and discard. Set beans aside.
3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent, about five minutes. Add garlic and cook for one more minute. Add the corn, tomatoes, and vinegar, stirring for about 2 minutes until tomatoes just start to soften. Be careful not to overdo it, you don’t want the tomatoes to lose their shape. Remove from heat and stir in beans. Cool to room temperature.
4. Just before serving, stir in the basil, arugula, and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with bacon if desired.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

One of my Southern classmates at boarding school would always return from vacations with a week’s worth of sweet potato biscuits and paper bags filled with fresh pecans straight from her family’s farm. When she was kind enough to share with her dorm-mates, she was lucky if the biscuit supply lasted more than a day. Dense, sweet, and flaky, they were truly heavenly. Though not the same recipe I remember, this one is a close second. I particularly like the addition of pecans to the dough called for here. Adapted from Bon Appétit, November 2010. These are best eaten warm and straight out of the oven.

Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato
1 1/3 cups flour
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 stick chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup maple syrup
2/3 cup pecans, toasted, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
2. Pierce sweet potato all over with a fork, wrap in a paper towel and microwave for about 6 minutes, or until cooked through. (The paper towel keeps the moisture in and allows it to cook evenly).
3. Once potato has cooled, scoop out all the flesh. Discard skin and set flesh aside.
4. Blend flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until it forms a coarse meal. Add potato flesh, buttermilk, and syrup, process to blend. Add nuts and stir just to blend.
5. Let dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour. This allows the cornmeal to soften a bit and the dough will hold its shape better.
6. Scoop out about 1/3 of a cup of dough for each biscuit and drop onto prepared baking sheets.
7. Bake in oven until lightly browned, about 18 to 22 minutes.

Peach Salad

A light dessert after the heft of fried chicken and grits hit the spot. Simplicity requires perfect ingredients so make sure the peaches are ripe. If you can find whole nutmeg to grate, you’ll notice what an improvement it is over the ground powder that has likely been sitting on your spice rack, losing flavor, for years. Recipe is adapted from The New York Times Cookbook.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup dry Madeira
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
freshly grated nutmeg to taste
4 ripe peaches, pitted and sliced
heavy cream for serving (optional)

1. Whisk together sugar, Madeira, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg until sugar dissolves.
2. Place peaches on a serving platter and pour dressing over.
3. Serve with a small pitcher of chilled cream if desired.

One Last Treat (so much for the light dessert)!

I would be remiss if I neglected to mention the delicious fruit crumble MS made and the Humphrey Slocombe ice cream (vanilla and their pure-genius flavor called secret breakfast which is bourbon ice cream with cornflakes) he brought over. The crumble was made of strawberries, rhubarb, and cherries with a pecan crust on top. I think it is safe to say this crumble is on the top of my list. See mouth watering photos above and below. If you want the recipe, post a comment and I’ll put a request in.