Cook's Exchange | Two cookbooks highlight good Southern food
Roots deep in the Mississippi Coast and the Delta create the foundation for two women's new cookbooks.
The love of family, good food and good cooking run through both of these books. Ocean Springs, Miss., native Mary Foreman's recipes are ones that can be found on kitchen tables around the Deep South. They are some, but not all, of her grandmother's and mother's recipes.
In "Deep South Dish: Homestyle Southern Recipes," Foreman also features recipes from her blog, deepsouthdish.com, which gets 1.9 million page hits a month, and her two Facebook pages, Best Southern Recipes from the Deep South and Deep South Dish.
Foreman and her book are to be introduced to an even larger national audience when she appears on "In the Kitchen with David," on the national shopping channel QVC, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. April 19. She also will get the chance to cook some of the dishes in the book.
Jennifer Hill Booker takes her recipes from the family farm in Charleston, Miss., to Le Cordon Bleu-Paris. The book pairs the foods on which she grew up with her French culinary training. The result is an interesting read, from personal family stories to a fresh perspective of contemporary Southern food.
"My Southern heritage gave me a very strong foundation in growing, harvesting and cooking, while my formal French culinary training allowed me to expand my palate and present food in a more aesthetically pleasing way. These combined experiences had added to and greatly benefited my culinary career and have contributed to the many home recipes in this book," said Booker, who now lives in Lilburn, Ga.
Readers of "Field Peas To Foie Gras: Southern Recipes with a French Accent" can take the journey from poke salad and chitterlings in pepper sauce to lemon chevre cheesecake with a cookie crumb crust. Booker not only shares her favorite recipes, but explains cooking methods such as seasoning and cooking with cast iron to making the lightest puff pastry. Now as the own
er of a personal chef and catering company, Your Resident Gourmet LLC, Booker's classical training comes through in her instructional vignettes.
"Field Peas to Foie Gras" presents simple and challenging recipes for novice and experienced cooks. With chapters devoted to everything from breakfast foods to vegetables to pork dishes, Booker elevates the palate from the traditional, more familiar flavors of the South.
Foreman is not a professional chef, but a woman who loves to cook and share that love of cooking. After Hurricane Katrina, she found herself displaced, job-wise and feelings-wise, but she found herself in her love of cooking. Her blog started as a way to share recipes with friends and to chat with them back and forth.
"Never in a million years when I lost my job -- and frankly my entire career -- to Hurricane Katrina, did I have any idea that I would find myself where I am today, first a successful blogger, and now a published cookbook author," Foreman said. "No matter how down and out things seem, folks, never give up!"
"Deep South Dish: Homestyle Southern Recipes" is being published by Quail Ridge Press and will be available to order on QVC and then at bookstores on May 1. Copies also may be ordered from the publisher at quailridge.com or by calling 1-800-343-1583.
"Field Peas To Foie Gras" is published by Pelican Publishing Co. and is available at bookstores and from Pelican by calling 1-800-843-1724.
Here is a tasty sampling of these two books. First up are some recipes from Foreman.
HOMEMADE CHICKEN STEW
1 (3- to 4-pound) chicken, cut up
2 teaspoons kosher salt
12 onion, cut into quarters
1 carrot, cut into chunks
1 celery stalk, cut into chunks
4 slices bacon
1-12 cups chopped onion
14 cup chopped green bell pepper
13 cup all-purpose flour
2 pounds russet potatoes, cut into medium chunks (about 4 cups)
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, cut up, undrained
3 to 4 (15-ounce) cans vegetables your choice, drained
2 teaspoons sugar
12 teaspoon black pepper
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk, divided
12 to 1 stick butter, melted
12 teaspoon crushed dried thyme
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 tablespoon dried parsley
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Place chicken pieces in tall stockpot; cover with water; add salt, quartered onion, carrot, and celery. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cook until chicken is falling off bone. Remove chicken; strain, reserving all broth and discarding vegetables. Debone chicken when cooled; set aside.
In bottom of same stockpot, cook bacon with chopped onion and bell pepper until bacon is rendered, but not crisp.
Stir in flour; cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly stir in reserved stock. Bring mixture to a boil; add potatoes; return to a boil, and cook 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes, canned vegetables, sugar, and pepper. Bring back to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes. Set aside 14 cup evaporated milk. Stir in remaining evaporated milk, cooked chicken, butter, thyme, Cajun seasoning, and parsley.
Make a slurry of reserved 14 cup evaporated milk and cornstarch; add to stew. Bring to a near boil; reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Taste, and adjust seasonings, if needed. Serve with cornbread or crackers.
Yield: About 1 gallon.
-- Recipe from "Deep South Dish: Homestyle Southern Recipes"
"Macaroni and tomatoes is a Depression-era dish that so many folks have handed down. In its purest form, it's simply lightly stewed tomatoes and macaroni, stirred in, maybe a little butter, and salt and pepper. I paired it up with spicy andouille for a little Deep South Cajun kick," says Foreman in her book.
MACARONI AND TOMATOES WITH ANDOUILLE
8 ounces elbow macaroni (about 1-12 cups dry)
1 pound andouille or other spicy smoked sausage, sliced
12 tablespoon bacon drippings, butter, or cooking oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 (14.5-ounce) cans stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 small bay leaf
Kosher salt, black pepper, and/or Cajun seasoning to taste (optional)
12 tablespoon butter
Boil macaroni to al dente according to package directions in well salted water. Drain; place into serving bowl; set aside.
Sauté sausage in bacon drippings over medium heat, about 4 minutes. Add onion; cook and stir another 3 minutes.
Add tomatoes with their juices, and bay leaf; bring to a boil; reduce heat to low. Simmer 20 minutes at a very low bubble, stirring occasionally, and using a spoon to break up tomatoes. Taste, and add salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning, if needed.
Stir in butter, then pour mixture over macaroni. Let rest until ready to serve, then stir to combine. Discard bay leaf before serving.
Cook's notes: The andouille may be omitted entirely for a more classic macaroni and tomatoes. If using fresh tomatoes, add 2 teaspoons sugar, 12 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, and 18 teaspoon garlic powder.
Servings: About 4.
-- Recipe from "Deep South Dish: Homestyle Southern Recipes"
And now, two of Booker's recipes.
"I used to watch mortified, as my grandfather would use fresh biscuits to sop up his tomato and okra gravy. I wondered how something as slimy as okra could give him such obvious pleasure. It wasn't until decades later that I grew to appreciate the summertime dish," Booker writes.
TOMATO & OKRA GRAVY
3 tablespoons bacon drippings
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup chicken stock or water
5 medium garden fresh tomatoes, cored and sliced
1 pound tender young okra, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper
In a medium skillet over low heat, warm the bacon drippings. Add the onion and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until soft, but do not brown. Add the flour and stir for 5 minutes, or until it is well incorporated.
Whisk the stock into the skillet, and simmer for 10 minutes, whisking occasionally, until the gravy is thick and smooth.
Add the tomatoes and okra to the gravy, increase the heat to medium and bring it to simmer again, stirring frequently. Cook 20 minutes or until the okra softens and the tomatoes begin to break down, thickening the gravy.
Add salt, pepper and cayenne pepper, and continue to simmer another 10 to 15 minutes, until the okra has cooked through. The exact time will depend on how tender your okra is.
Adjust the taste with salt and pepper. Serve the Tomato & Okra Gravy over white rice or with buttermilk biscuits.
-- From "Field Peas to Foie Gras: Southern Recipes with a French Accent"
"Southern and French cuisines have a lot of foods in common and pickled beets is an example. Shallots add a mild onion flavor to the beets and the garlic gives this dish a little heat. I make jars of these for gifts, the are so pretty. If you are making these for yourself and don't need 12 pints, you may halve the recipe," Booker writes.
PICKLED BEETS WITH SHALLOTS & GARLIC
5 pounds fresh small beets, stems removed
12 large cloves garlic, peeled
12 medium shallots, peeled
1 cup sugar
2 cups cider vinegar
1- 1/2 teaspoons pickling salt
Sterilize your jars and lids.
Place the beets in a large stockpot with enough water to cover the beets by 2 inches.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook 15 minutes or until the beets are fork tender. Drain, reserving 2 cups of the beet water. Allow the beets to cool, then peel and cut them into quarters.
Tightly pack each sterilized jar with the beet quarters, then add 1 whole garlic clove, and 1 shallot to each jar.
In a large stainless steel saucepan over high heat, combine the sugar, reserved beet water, vinegar, and pickling salt. Bring to a rapid boil and pour the hot brine into the jars with the beets, garlic and shallots, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
Wipe the rims clean, add lids and secured the bans until the fit is fingertip tight.
Process the jars in boiling water, the remove and let cool. Jars may be stored in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year.
Yields 12 pints.
-- From "Field Peas to Foie Gras: Southern Recipes with a French Accent"
Andrea Yeager, can be reached at ayeager51@cableone.net and takes requests at Cook's Exchange, P.O. Box 4567, Biloxi, MS 39535-4567.
This story was originally published April 15, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Cook's Exchange | Two cookbooks highlight good Southern food."