Straight to My Heart - Red Velvet Cake for Valentine's Day

Red Velvet Cake, Red Velvet Cupcakes, Red Velvet Ice Cream, Red Velvet Cookies, Red Velvet Waffles, Red Velvet ... Everything is all the rage, and has been for a few years now. Back in the day it was considered a regional dessert, common enough in the South but not well-known elsewhere. There's a bit of a joke there as the original Red Velvet Cake was developed at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. There is no definitive story about how it came to be popular in the South, but it was certainly a fixture at my grandmother Dorothy's Christmas table during my youth. In fact, it was such a hit with my brother Dale that to this day it's the cake he wants for his November birthday.

I'm not sure why RVC caught the imagination of the rest of the country a few years ago, but it's certainly entrenched now. I'm sure the current fad for Southern cuisine has helped keep it front and center. The problem, though, is that even when you are presented with an actual layer cake (as opposed to any other red velvet treat), it has often been bastardized. The "improved" version then often gets a reaction along the lines of "I don't understand why people make a fuss. It's just mediocre chocolate cake with a metric ton of artificial dye."

Well ... yes and no.

Georgia Peaches in Nashville & Peach Chutney

I've lived in Tennessee a long time, but in all these years I have yet to find a decent fresh peach. It's astonishing, really. Most peaches I find at produce stands, farmers' markets, and even Whole Foods that are touted as "local" come from Kentucky or South Carolina. I don't mind a slightly distant provenance, but I'm sorry to say the peaches -- even ones from Tennessee -- aren't even very good. More often than not they aren't very sweet, or juicy, and sometimes have a weird, mealy texture. I don't think that's necessarily a function of the quality of peach that CAN be grown in those areas, but just what we wind up getting here in Nashville. I've heard Alabama peaches are good, but we don't seem to get those up here, either.

I long for the Georgia peach of my youth. I remember going to the Georgia Farmers' Market in Forest Park, just south of Atlanta and my hometown of Hapeville, GA. There were certain things we'd always load up on in the summer time in those huge outdoor sheds, peaches and watermelon being chief among them. We'd eat the peaches plain, after they'd macerated with a little sugar to form a syrup, or my mother would make peach ice cream. Of course the sepia-toned memories of childhood might make those peaches a little more tasty in retrospect than they really were, but I know they were always ripe and sweet and juicy, qualities that can be hard to find in the modern peach available to me now.

I wasn't even going to bother with peaches this year, so great was my disappointment last year. Enter The Peach Truck. Entrepreneur Stephen Rose grew up in Snellville, Georgia but was born in Ft. Valley, the epicenter of peach farming in Georgia. His aunt and uncle have a multi-generation farm in the area, Pearson Farm. Stephen's day job is in personal finance, but The Peach Truck is a sideline that grew out of his desire for Georgia peaches. He had also been disappointed by the quality of peaches in Nashville after moving to the area a couple of years ago. After describing his dilemma to his aunt & uncle, they suggested he try selling their peaches here. A year of discussion, and a spring of going door-to-door to local restaurants, and a surprisingly successful enterprise was born.

Pearson's is the peach source for some notable Atlanta restaurants, and now customers of Edley's, Burger Up, Capitol Grille, City House, and many more can enjoy creations made with Pearson's peaches.  The peaches are also available all week at the two Turnip Truck locations, and Thursday through Sunday you can buy directly from The Peach Truck itself. Stephen sets up shop from the back of a vintage pickup truck, parking in hip locales like imogene + willie in 12South, or even less hip venues like the monthly Flea Market at the Fairgrounds; you can find out where The Peach Truck is parked on any given day by following it on Twitter. In addition, this weekend they will be at the Nashville Farmers' Market, and there's currently a contest on Yelp to win a box of peaches. A bag of peaches from the truck is about 3 pounds worth and costs $6 -- about what you'd pay for gnarly Kentucky or South Carolina peaches from a produce stand. So far Stephen has been able to keep up with the burgeoning demand, and Pearson's predicts they'll be able to supply peaches through about July 15. Also, it turns out that the brutally hot weather that's causing us humans to go droopy 'round the edges is great for peaches, and this year is a bumper crop.

So what did I do with my precious booty? First, I peeled and sliced one and ate it and swooned. Then ... the dishes that usually leap to mind first when faced with a horde of fresh peaches are cobbler and pie. I did make a pie this week, and it was incredibly good. I'll probably make a cobbler with my next haul, using my mother's time-honored, super-simple Georgia cobbler recipe. (It's similar to this one on Pearson's web site:  Easy Cobbler.) Both pie and cobbler are especially delicious if you toss in a generous handful of fresh blueberries or raspberries, which come into season at the same time.

A favorite of mine, though, is Peach Chutney. Chutney can be made from many types of fruit and even vegetables; mango chutney is probably the most well-known in the U.S., owing to the ubiquity of Major Grey's Chutney in even the smallest supermarket. A Southeast Asian condiment, the chutney you usually find in the U.S. and Europe is simultaneously sweet, tart, savory, and often a little spicy. In addition to being a delicious addition to Indian dishes, chutney is terrific with chicken, pork, and some fish. It's also good on sandwiches or dolloped on cheese and crackers. It's especially good with a soft, creamy cheese like chevre or even plain cream cheese. (This last combination is kin to that Southern potluck staple of cream cheese covered in Pickapeppa or pepper jelly.)

I've used various recipes over the years, so I don't have a standard. Today I used a recipe from Epicurious.com, the parent site for Bon Appetit and the late, lamented Gourmet. I was quite pleased with the end result. Chutneys are fairly forgiving. You want the right balance of tart and sweet and heat and savory, but you can fudge things a little to make use of what you might have on hand. If you don't have white raisins but do have dark, go ahead and use the dark. For example, in this case I didn't have a whole red pepper but did have a mini red and a mini yellow, so in they went, and I didn't worry about making up the difference in volume. If I'd found the heat lacking in the final product, a pinch of red pepper flakes would have set things right.

Chutney is best made with peaches that are slightly underripe. When I snagged my 2 bags on Saturday, I was advised that they still needed ripening, and that they'd be ready to eat in a day or two. Actually, it was Tues before they were OK to eat out of hand, and by Wednesday they were perfect. On Monday evening, though, they were just right for chutney.

Fresh Peach Chutney

adapted from Epicurious.com
1/2 cup cider vinegar
3/4 cup loosely packed brown sugar
1 large sweet red pepper, seeded & diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 small white onion diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded & minced (2 tablespoons)
1/3 cup white raisins
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pounds firm (not completely ripe), fresh peaches, peeled & diced

Put the vinegar and sugar into a non-reactive pot, place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Add the red pepper, onion, jalapeño, raisins, garlic, ginger, salt and simmer 12 minutes. Add the peaches and simmer an additional 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the peaches are still firm, cook several minutes more.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Serve at room temperature. Transfer all excess to a clean container and refrigerate, covered, for up to one week.

Restaurantpalooza

Anderson Design Group

I've written previously about the round of restaurant visits I did with my sister and her husband over the extended Memorial Day weekend (Quickies, Part 1 and Quickies, Part 2). This last week I had BFF Scott in town. Scott and I have a long history of cooking and exploring restaurants together. I also owe quite a bit of my culinary knowledge to him. He used to live here in Nashville, but the food scene has changed a great deal since then, and even since his last visit. So, I took him on a tour of a few of my current favorites so he could experience first-hand how Nashville has come up in the world in the last decade or so. We also had one notable new adventure at an unusual, world-class restaurant. I'll write more detail about some of these later, but for now here's a brief recap.

• Scott lives in Connecticut now, and has been missing southern food. A true Southerner, he's as fond of good side dishes as entrees. Knowing that, we hit up two barbecue joints that have not only great smoked meats but excellent, interesting sides:
• Edley's, previously reviewed here.
• B&C BBQ (Melrose location), where the garlic cheese grits were better than they have ever been before.
• We're both fans of Asian food, so I thought a visit to Arnold Myint's Suzy Wong's House of Yum on Church St. would be fun. Here Scott had what he declared his favorite dish of the whole trip, a spicy raw tuna napolean.
• One of my favorite spots in town is Eastland Cafe in East Nashville, and our visit didn't disappoint. I've discussed Eastland Cafe previously, but this time I had a new dish, a vegetarian fettuccine with fresh summer zucchini, corn, & corn cream, which was outstanding.
• We revisited Arnold Myint at ChaChah. As with my trip there with Kellie & co., we made a delicious, leisurely meal of tapas and small plates.
• Wednesday night brought a truly special occasion -- dinner at the nationally-acclaimed The Catbird Seat. I'll post a full review soon; suffice it to say here that it was a memorable night.
• Our final outing was at City House. We were joined by two other friends of mine, Jon and Matt. We had a typically excellent City House meal with lots of good conversation and laughter. Again, I'll post a full review in the near future.

 There's nothing better than spending time and catching up with an old friend, except when doing so with good food and drink!

Smoky Goodness

It's been a tough couple of weeks. Once every 2 or 3 years the computer systems I support at work are upgraded to the newest version. It's an all-hands-on-deck situation, and requires lots of extra hours. So after a regular work week, I worked 12-hour days over the weekend, and 9- or 10-hour days most of the rest of last week.

This hasn't left a lot of energy to write blog posts, or think creatively about food.

One day last week, though, I took a real lunch break and tried a new restaurant in the 12South neighborhood. Edley's Bar-B-Que has been in business for about 6 months. As with most BBQ joints, the decor is rustic and super-casual -- wood paneling, chalkboard menu boards, food served in plastic baskets. Garage-door windows open onto 12th Ave South when the weather is nice, as it was the day I visited. A deck with metal tables and chairs is on the south side of the building, perfect for enjoying some sun with your BBQ. There is no host/hostess and no wait staff; you order at a counter, pour your own tea or soft drink, and seat yourself. (If you prefer a beverage of the adult variety, there is also a bar.) You are given a number to put on a little metal stand at your table (if your table has one; not all of them did) and your order is brought to you.

The chalkboards posted around the ordering counter list the sides and specials available that day, but the full menu is available on paper at the register. Desserts (pie slices and dessert squares) are in individual clamshell boxes next to the register as well. If you've not been before I'd suggest looking the menu over online before you go, or grabbing a menu and a table first, then go back to order. Otherwise you might feel a bit rushed to decision as other hungry patrons line up behind you.

Edley's offers a variety of BBQ items, from the usual pork, brisket, and chicken to turkey and non-BBQ catfish and shrimp. The brisket is available only during lunch; at dinner they also offer ribs. I decided to stick to the basics this first visit and ordered the pork sandwich; my sides were BBQ restaurant standbys, potato salad and cole slaw. I also grabbed a wedge of fudge pie.

The sandwich was a generous size without being gargantuan, with plenty of chunky pork and a drizzle of sauce. I would have preferred more sauce, and realized later that squeeze bottles adorned some tables,  but not mine. I could have asked to borrow one or go looking for one; I suspected there might be some available around the drink / flatware stand. A few nibbles of unadorned pork told me it was good enough and moist enough to not need to be slathered sauce. I DO like a slightly saucier BBQ sandwich, though, so next time I'll look harder for the bottles.

I don't have a sophisticated BBQ palate - I can't argue the merits of this or that style, this restaurant vs that. I have a few simple requirements for declaring any BBQ a success: First, it can't be dry. Second, it has to have a definite smoke flavor, but not be excessive. Third, there also has to be a nice, meaty flavor to the pork itself -- it can't just be a carrier of smoke and rub or sauce. Finally, if it's a sandwich, there should be a decent amount of meat to fill the bun. Edley's met all of these qualifications. In fact, I would say it's one of the best pork BBQ sandwiches I've ever had, and here's why: The bun. The pork stands on its own, and I would happily eat it solo with a fork any day. Unlike any other BBQ place I've ever been too, though, Edley's doesn't use your garden variety Sunbeam/Bunny Bread white supermarket bun. This was a sturdy, large bun that tasted good by itself. Barely kissed by the grill, with a little brush of butter, it put what would have been a merely good sandwich over the top.

The sides came in little plastic portion cups. At first I thought the serving sizes were a bit chintzy, but by the end of the meal the size of the sandwich more than made up for them. The sides were actually pretty good. I rarely have any expectations about side dishes at BBQ joints -- they often come out of a gallon container from the restaurant supply company, or they just don't receive the care that the star attraction does. I was pleasantly surprised here, though. Both had all the hallmarks of being made from scratch in house. The potato salad wasn't all that unusual -- red potatoes cut into chunks, with a light application of mayonnaise dressing that had a touch of mustard. The cole slaw is not my preferred style -- it had bell pepper, and a vinegar dressing. Still, I enjoyed it much more than I would have guessed. The bell pepper wasn't overwhelming, and the vinegar dressing was not just sour, but also sweet. I like a sweet slaw, but not everyone does -- if this is you, be warned.

Finally, I sampled the pie. The cashier had called it chocolate pie, but it was what I've always known as a fudge pie:  Deep, dark (but sweet) chocolate filling in a pastry crust. Some fudge pie can be very dense, or even approach a brownie-like texture. This pie had a creaminess that was surprising. It was still thick and rich, but smooth as silk and not at all heavy.  The crust was obviously of the frozen commercial variety, but that didn't bother me. My major complaint was that the filling had been poured into a raw shell and then underbaked. This left the crust under the filling more than a bit gummy. I learned a long time ago to fully blind bake pie shells, even if the complete pie with filling is to be baked. Otherwise, you never get a satisfactory crust. Add to the fact that this particular pie hadn't baked quite long enough (the rim of the crust was still beige, not brown), and you get a pie that isn't nearly as good as it could have been with that wonderful filling.

Overall, my trip to Edley's was tasty, and I'll be back to try some of the other dishes.

My wish list for Edley's would include:  Bottles of sauce already on every table; a full menu board that could be easily read while waiting in line; umbrellas on the patio to provide shade when needed; blind bake those pie crusts before filling.

Cornbread, Georgia Style

A while back I read a quote from Bill Maher about cornbread: "Cornbread isn't bread. It's cake." Of course, if he's only had Yankee cornbread, he would think so. But Southerners know that traditional cornbread from the Deep South doesn't have any sugar in it. Mark Twain agreed, Missourian though he was: "If God had meant for corn bread to have sugar in it, he'd have called it cake."

Traditional Southern cornbread also doesn't have flour in it, and is made from white corn, not yellow. I discussed this with an acquaintance from Alabama a few months ago, and he nodded knowingly. "White corn is for people; yellow corn is for hogs."

Now, I will eat most cornbreads put in front of me. A little sweetness beyond what the corn brings can be a good thing with certain foods. Cookbook author Pam Anderson (no, not THAT Pam Anderson - THIS Pam Anderson) adds a teaspoon of sugar to her cornbread recipe, explaining that it enhances the corn flavor. I can live with that. I enjoy the famous corn cakes from McCabe Pub, which have corn kernels in them if memory serves. I know that lots of people like to load up their cornbread with chiles or peppers.

When I make cornbread, though, I go back to basics and make my Mama's Georgia cornbread. The recipe couldn't be simpler, and it's been engraved on my brain since I was a wee one.

Barbara Ferrell's Georgia Cornbread

1 egg, beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup self-rising white cornmeal / cornmeal mix*

Preheat oven to 450F. Generously grease a medium (about 8-inch) cast iron skillet** with shortening, bacon grease, or vegetable oil. Put the skillet in the oven to heat while you mix the batter.

Combine the egg & buttermilk. Gently stir in the cornmeal and mix until just moistened; it's ok if there are still a few lumps. When the fat in the skillet is rocket-hot, remove the skillet from the oven and pour in the batter. (Be careful, it may sizzle and spatter a bit.) Return pan to oven and bake until top starts to brown, 10 to 12 minutes usually. Invert the bread onto a plate immediately and slice into wedges. Serve piping hot with plenty of butter.

* Self-rising cornmeal without flour is hard to find these days, so I usually wind up using the stuff labeled "mix" and live with the bit of flour. I'm a White Lily girl, but Martha White is OK if you must. If self-rising cornmeal/mix isn't available in your area, you can make your own: http://www.food.com/recipe/self-risi...eal-mix-254874

** If you don't have a cast iron skillet of the appropriate size, of course you can use any similar-size pan you have on hand. You just want to use the sturdiest pan possible so it can take the preheating, and make sure it's not non-stick or have plastic parts that aren't suitable for the high oven temp. If you want to use a muffin tin, or have a corn pone pan, just start checking for doneness about halfway through the stated baking time.

Oh Brother, Part 1

A few years ago my brother Paul and I made a dinner for a crowd. We picked a Louisiana theme -- the food was very tasty and the meal went over well. He'd lost the recipes and asked for them today, so I thought I'd post them here.

The first is a really good way to use some of that summer corn.

Cajun Corn Maque Choux
Adapted from Southern Living, DECEMBER 2001

1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen, thawed)
2 plum tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup chopped green onion tops
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Sauté onion and bell pepper in hot oil in a large skillet over medium heat 8 minutes or until tender. Add corn and tomato; cook, stirring often, 15 minutes. Stir in green onions, salt, and pepper; cook 5 minutes.

Makes 6 servings

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This recipe makes a LOT -- 12 servings. Obviously, you could scale the recipe down if you're not feeding a mob. This dish uses the tasty Holy Trinity of Louisiana cooking: Onion, celery, and green bell pepper. The addition of a healthy amount of parsley is pretty standard, too, not to mention the roux.

Grillades and Grits
From GumboPages.com

Grillades (gree-YAHDS) and grits, like salt and pepper or bread and butter, are an assumed pair in New Orleans. It sounds like dinner, and sometimes it is, but brunch is the most popular menu spot for the Creole dish.

4 1/2 pounds round steak (we used petite sirloin, pounded)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
Vegetable oil
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 cups chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 bay leaves
2 cups water
Cooked Grits

Cut meat into serving-size pieces; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour 1/2 cup oil into a Dutch oven. Fry steak in batches in hot oil over medium-high heat until browned (about 2 minutes on each side.) Remove to platter, and repeat until all meat is browned.

Measure pan drippings; add enough oil to drippings to measure 2/3 cup, and return to Dutch oven. Add flour; cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 10 minutes or until roux is caramel colored.

Stir in onion and next 5 ingredients; cook until tender. Stir in tomatoes, next 3 ingredients, and 1 cup of water, stirring well.

Return meat to Dutch oven. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard bay leaves. Serve with Cooked Grits.

Yield: Makes 12 servings