Southern Comfort

As most know, when it comes to being picky about food, I'm not. My one exception: Southern cooking. With my entire family rooted in the deep south and the two year sabbatical I spent living in Mississippi, I have quite the affinity for southern food. This past weekend we headed down to Portland for a mini-vacation. In addition to the 80 degree weather and sunshine, I enjoyed a surprisingly scrumptious southern brunch at a lovely place called The Screen Door. This is saying a lot from a girl who grew up with the southern adages "if it ain't fried it ain't food" and "butter is a food group". I take pride in my ability to distinguish if chicken breast was soaked in buttermilk before it was fried and the fact that I would never choose sweet over savory when it comes to grits, so I'm thrilled to report that I've found a formidable provider of some of those southern staples I crave from time to time! WARNING: The Screen Door is not recommended for the health conscious… but if you know the value of a good southern breakfast, dive in! The fried chicken that came on a buttery brick of a homemade biscuit that would make my Granny jealous was delicious! Perfectly moist and tender breast meat, perfectly spiced, and generously portioned (of course). To top it all off, it was smothered in a rich gravy with yummy chunks of sausage, zero lumps, and an impressively bold, peppery flavor. We're talking thick enough to make the spoon stand up and that beautiful color that comes from using all the sausage drippings. After the unbuttoning of my jeans, I sampled wonderfully cheesy grits and Praline Bacon. And whether you pronounce it PRAH-line or PRAY-line, the bacon was fantastic. I am a huge fan of the southern treat, brown sugared bacon, and this took it one step further. I could taste a hint of possibly cayenne (which is what I use in my recipe) along with the sticky sweet and nutty goodness. If you've thrown cholesterol and calorie watching out the window, there is hardly a more worthy indulgence than bacon and sugar.

It was hard to stop there, everything on the menu from Chicken and Waffles (one of my favorite southern traditions) and Pimento Cheese and Fried Egg sandwich looked not only authentic but mouthwatering. I can't wait for another reason to go back down to Portland and increase my risk for heart disease (and The Screen Door is well worth the risk).

Here is my guilty pleasure bacon recipe:

Brown Sugared Bacon
Thick-cut bacon (I usually get it at the deli counter at the grocery store and allow for 2-3 pieces per person)
Brown Sugar (light or dark makes no difference)
Cayenne Pepper

Set oven to high broil. Liberally sprinkle each slice of bacon on each side with brown sugar and a tiny dash of cayenne pepper. Broil for about 5-8 minutes on each side (depending on desired crispiness). Let cool for about ten minutes, or set aside to serve later (excellent if you can wait an entire day and serve)

Fiesta Feast (or Seattle De Mayo part 2)

What better way to kick off our fiesta fabuloso than with themed libations? I was very excited to try out a recipe for jalapeno margaritas; however, after a few odd test runs with the end product being too boozy, too sweet, or too "green" tasting, we concluded that this was just one of those recipes that was better on paper. The good news about test driving said failed margaritas? We were all warmed up and ready to turn up the mariachi music to begin prep for the Avocado Gazpacho Boats and Green Chicken Enchiladas (YUM!). The enchiladas had a nice kick, due to the serrano chiles (which have a greater amount of capsacin than jalapenos but less than a habanero in case you're wondering about the spiciness). We also whipped up this awesome, more festive version of my favorite snack, Insalata Caprese. In this recipe you simply substitue strawberries for tomatoes: it was genius and delicious!

The conclusion of the evening was reached with a bottle of tequilla, a case of Buswiser (which tasted enough like Pacifico) and a pile of lovingly dirtied dishes. Siesta anyone?

Avocado Gazpacho Boats
(adapted from savoringtimeinthekitchen thank you!!!)
2 Tbsp thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup diced tomatoe
1/2 cup peeled and diced cucumber
1/2 cup diced green bell peper
2 tsp minced jalapeno pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
4 tsp lime juice
2 avocados, peeled, pitted, and halved

Comine onions throgh lime juice to make gazpacho. Spoon gazpacho into avocado halves (I actually spooned a little extra avocado out of the center to make room for more gazpacho). Serve immediately. Serves 4

Strawberry Caprese
12 oz Strawberries
8oz fresh mozzerella in water
fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper
olive oil
balsamic vinegar

Cut the tops off the strawberries, slice length-wise. Slice mozzerella balls into discs about the same width as the strawberries. Assemble alternating strawberry/mozzerella/strawberry etc. on a plate and top with freshly chopped basil. Sprinkle with salt and peper and drizzel lightly with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Serves 4-5 as a small appetizer

Green Chicken Enchiladas
3 large chicken breasts (also 2 cloves of garlic and 1/4 whole yellow onion)
1.5 lbs tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1-2 serrano chile peppers
5 cloves garlic
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro, stems ok
12 corn tortillas
1 small can green chiles
3 Tbsp sour cream
1-3 cups shredded jack cheese (I always perfer the cheesier version)

Heat oven to 375F. Cover chicken, 2 cloves garlic, and 1/4 onion with water in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil then reduce to a low simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside in separate bowl to cool.

While chicken is cooking, place tomatillos and serrano chiles into a separate sauce pan, cover with water, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and wait untill the tomatillos have changed color but are not mushy (about 5 minutes). Transfer tomatillos and chiles plus 1/2 cup of cooking liquid to a blender. Add 5 cloves of garlic, chopped onion, and 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro, and half the can of green chiles to the blender. Blend until smooth. Pour sauce into a sauce pan and simmer on low.

Shred cooling chicken and add the other half of the can of green chiles and half up of tomatillo sauce (plus salt if needed).

Warm tortillas in the microwave until soft, then dredge in tomatillo sauce, place the tortilla in baking pan and place a scoop of chicken and a sprinkel of cheese inside the tortilla, roll up, and repeat. When baking dish is full of stuffed enchiladas, place in the oven to bake for 10 minutes.

Incorporate sour cream into remaining tomatillo sauce, remove enchiladas from over, pour tomatillo sauce over the enchiladas and top with remaing jack cheese. You may serve immediately, garnishing with remaining cilantro, or put back in warm over to melt all of the cheese on top. Mmmmm

Seattle De Mayo

In celebration of yet another holiday that Americans have usurped in order to indulge in weekday drinking and boost imported beer sales, we will be hosting our own little fiesta. The menu will include Gazpacho in Avocado Boats, Green Chicken Enchiladas, a nifty version of Caprese Salad that calls for strawberries instead of tomatoes, and plenty of themed booze! I am a strong supporter of any adopted holiday that encourages this kind of behavior, and Cinco de Mayo is certainly not an exception!

Does anybody really know the history of Cinco De Mayo and why we as hedonistic Americans choose to celebrate it? Contrary to popular belief, it has nothing to do with Mexican independence from Spain (September 15, 1810). It memorializes the 5th of May, 1862 when the underdog Mexican army defeated the invading French army. By preventing the French invasion, the Mexicans also helped to prevent Napoleon III from supplying the rebel confederates with French soldiers (a contributing factor to the Confederate Army's defeat at Gettysburg 14 months later).

Perhaps we are more deserving of this commercial holiday than I thought...but I am still on board primarily for infused margaritas and mini Corona bottle necklaces. Feliz Cinco De Mayo!