Yeast Bread - Yes You Can!

When I was out on my own and expanding my culinary skills beyond the (very good) Southern basics I learned from my mom, I decided to tackle yeast bread for the first time. I had a number of failures, a number of mediocre loaves, but gradually with practice I got better. One day I came across this recipe for an enriched white loaf, and everything finally came together. I've been making this loaf since the mid-80s, and now I'm excited to finally share it.

Homemade Marshmallows - Yes, Virginia, It's Candy

A few years ago, homemade marshmallows were all the rage on cooking bulletin boards I frequent. I gave it a try. They were OK but kind of chewy and underwhelming. I thought, "Well, I've done that now. Meh." Then my sister Kellie tried them last year, and discovered where my effort probably had fallen short (or long, actually). It's been a while, but with the cold weather and the increased consumption of hot cocoa, I thought I'd try again. The improved result is below. They aren't difficult, but there are two crucial things you have to get right.

In a way, marshmallows are cubes of super-whipped Jell-O. A sugar & corn syrup mixture is cooked to 240F, then beaten into softened unflavored gelatin. The mixture is whipped and whipped at high speed in a stand mixer, and fluffs up into clouds of sticky goodness. Given that the syrup is cooked to a specific temperature, marshmallows are, by definition, candy.

Buttermilk Scallion Corn Cakes

A traditional staple of the Southern table is cornbread, whether made in a skillet or as muffins or cornpone. Another option is to take that same batter and turn it into corn cakes. I'd long suspected that my mother's simple Georgia cornbread recipe would make excellent corn cakes. I put the idea to the test recently, tweaking the recipe just a bit to make it suitable for griddle cooking, and a little more interesting than just plain corn cakes.

It's common for corn cakes to include corn kernels for a little texture. Instead I went the flavor route and did a riff on Asian scallion pancakes. The result was very satisfying. They were good all on their own as a side; even better with some butter. (Isn't everything?) Next, I used the scallion corn cakes as a base for for serving chili, and that was definitely a winner. I can imagine the would be a good base for any sort of stew, or pulled pork or beef.

Mini Chocolate Empanadas

It was a tough week. It started on Sunday with a difficult evening on the personal front, then it evolved into a long work week. (Because we can't let personal issues get in the way of work, can we?) I'm not a chocoholic, so I'm not a person who keeps bags of Hershey's Kisses around for emotional emergencies. Still, I'd been thinking for a while about experimenting with an idea I'd had for chocolate empanadas, and even I am not immune to the power of chocolate. So, it seemed as good a time as any to give it a go.

Chef Charlie Trotter Passes

Sorry for the lack of posting lately ... I have some topics in the hopper just waiting for a lull in a very busy fall. In the meantime, it's worth noting that Charlie Trotter died today. For those who are relatively new to the foodist world, the name might not mean much, because he doesn't fit the mold of the current "celebrity chef." A lot of what we take for granted in the current American restaurant and food landscape is due to the vision and efforts of Trotter, however. He opened his landmark Chicago restaurant in 1987 and many darlings of today's national food press are proteges or friends. If you were lucky enough to catch his short PBS series The Kitchen Sessions, you were able to see a master at work. I'm proud to say I own autographed copies of the book from that series and of his "Dummies" book.

This article from The New York Times gives a little insight into how influential he was in shaping the way we eat in 2013.

Charlie Trotter, Chicago Chef, Dies



A few other points worth mentioning:

• Tasting menus are all the rage in fine dining. He started the trend.
• Ditto vegetarian tasting menus.
• Trotter's was the first restaurant I'd heard of to pair non-alcoholic beverages with courses. I've since enjoyed similar service a couple of times at Nashville's Catbird Seat restaurant.
• Trotter also introduced a "chef's table" that was in the kitchen of the restaurant; now chef's tables or counters are all over the place. In fact, the entire Catbird Seat restaurant is essentially a chef's table.

Fudgesicles - Frozen Chocolate Treats for Summer

A couple of years ago, home made popsicles popped up on the foodie radar. The recipes I ran across were a far cry from the frozen Kool-Aid pops we made when I was a kid. Instead, a wide range of fruit, flavorings, and liquids were used to create frozen treats in all colors of the rainbow and with a variety of flavors and textures. The game was on in the SingleGrrl Kitchen.

A Chronicle of Annoyance: 15 Pet Peeves of the Food World

1. Spicy grits (or any spicy starch) served with a spicy main dish.
   The grits with shrimp and grits can be plain or enriched with cream, butter, cheese, but please ... Take a lesson from the hot chicken restaurants who serve plain white bread with the incendiary bird:  The starch should be a soothing counterpoint to the spicy shrimp. Same with grits served with barbecue. Ditto cornbread, cole slaw, mac and cheese, etc. Leave out the peppers and give the diner's taste buds a break.
2. People who refer to themselves in the third person as a "chowhound" (or worse, "hound") on the Chowhound forums.
   It's not cute. Stop it.
3. Referring to barbecue as " 'cue."
   Or spelling it "barbeque" as I saw recently in a online ad for WalMart.
   
4. Use of commodity tomatoes between June 15 and September 15.
   You may not be a "farm to table" restaurant, but there's no excuse for not calling up Howell Farms and getting some real tomatoes during tomato season.
5. Pies where the crust has not been pre-baked.
   Pour a wet mixture into a raw crust and the end product will have a gummy, limp crust. If pie is the new cupcake, then bakers are going to have to get used to blind baking crusts. (Note: Lisa Donovan of Husk Nashville is exempt from this rule.)