Classic Bread Pudding

My husband requested bread pudding for his celebratory Father’s Day dessert this year. This classic dessert is second only to cheesecake in his heart. ❤

This isn’t technically another strawberry dessert… but the fresh strawberry topping definitely brought this fabulously creamy bread pudding to the next level.

The recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart.com. I omitted the raisins, modified the presentation, and added the fresh strawberry garnish. Delicious.

Yield: Serves 8 to 10

• 2 T unsalted butter, softened, for baking dish
• 12 ounces brioche or challah, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 cups whole milk
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 4 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp coarse salt
• 1 T pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 cup raisins, optional (I omitted them)
• 1 cup boiling water, optional (if using raisins), plus more for pan
• fresh strawberry slices, for garnish, optional

1. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish; set aside.
2. Put bread cubes in a large bowl; set aside.
3. Heat milk and cream in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until just about to simmer; remove from heat.
4. Whisk eggs, yolk, sugar, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl.
5. Whisking constantly, pour cream mixture in a slow, steady stream into egg mixture.
6. Pour over bread; fold to combine. Let stand 30 minutes, tossing and pressing occasionally to submerge bread.
7. Meanwhile, soak raisins in 1 cup boiling water for 30 minutes, if using. Drain; stir raisins into bread mixture. (I omitted the raisins.)
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, preferably on convection.
9. With a slotted spoon, transfer bread to buttered dish; pour remaining liquid in bowl over top. Using spoon, turn over some of the bread cubes so that they are positioned with the crust side up.
10. Set dish in a roasting pan; transfer to oven.
11. Pour boiling water into pan to reach about halfway up sides of dish. Bake until golden brown, about 45 to 50 minutes.
12. Let dish cool on a rack 10 to 20 minutes.

Note: For individual bread puddings, divide the mixture among eight buttered six-ounce ramekins; bake until golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Fried Chicken with Biscuits & Tomato Gravy

Like my last post, this special and indulgent feast was also included in Food and Wine Magazine’s “40 Best-Ever Recipes” issue celebrating the 40th anniversary of their publication. I made it for the second year in a row to celebrate my husband’s birthday! 🙂

The recipes were adapted from The Gift of Southern Cooking by Scott Peacock, the then chef at Watershed in Decatur, Georgia, and co-author Edna Lewis, the legendary Southern cook, his mentor and close friend. I modified the cooking techniques and substituted sunflower oil for lard. Last year, I made Lewis’ wonderful biscuits from this full menu, but, this year I served the chicken and gravy with sourdough biscuits.

The chicken is double-brined, first in salt water and then in buttermilk, and then fried in a cast iron skillet filled with oil (or lard), butter, and bacon fat. It was very tender and juicy. The creamy and rich gravy is reminiscent of Italian vodka sauce. Pretty delicious. 😉

We ate the chicken, gravy, and biscuits with macaroni and cheese (my favorite version), and iceberg wedge salad on the side. My husband’s birthday meal is not complete without his favorite Vanilla Bean Birthday Cheesecake for dessert. ❤

For the Fried Chicken & Tomato Gravy:

• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 2 quarts cold water
• One 3 1/2 to 5 pound chicken, cut into 8 to 10 pieces (I cut each chicken breast in half)
• 3 cups buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups (6 3/8 oz, 180.7g) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons potato starch (optional) (I included it)
• fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound lard or solid vegetable shortening, for frying (I substituted 2 cups of sunflower oil)
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
• 1/4 pound sliced bacon (I used 4 thick slices)
• 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups drained canned diced tomatoes (from three 14-ounce cans)
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups milk (I used whole milk)

To Make the Fried Chicken:

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the kosher salt in the cold water. Add the chicken pieces; cover and refrigerate for 4 hours. Drain.
2. Put the chicken in a large bowl, add the buttermilk and turn the pieces to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours. (The chicken can be refrigerated overnight at this point, if desired.)
3. In a gallon-size zip-lock bag, combine the flour, cornstarch, potato starch, 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and shake.
4. Set aside 1/2 cup of the flour mixture for the gravy.
5. Lift the chicken out of the buttermilk, wipe off any excess and set the pieces on a wire rack; let dry for 5 minutes.
6. Add the chicken, a few pieces at a time, to the flour mixture in the bag; shake to coat.
7. Dry the rack. Shake off any excess flour and return the chicken to the rack.
8. Meanwhile, in a large cast-iron skillet, melt the lard (I used sunflower oil) and butter over medium heat. (I used a 12-inch cast iron skillet.)
9. Add the bacon and cook over moderate heat until crisp, about 5 minutes; reserve the bacon for another use. (I crumbled the bacon over our wedge salads.)
10. Add the chicken, in batches, and cook over moderate heat, basting and turning, until golden, crisp and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Lower the heat if necessary. (I kept the cooking oil temperature between 300 and 340 degrees. I also completed cooking the larger pieces (especially the breast pieces) in the oven at 300 degrees, until they reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees.)
11. Set the chicken on a clean wire rack to drain.

To Make the Gravy:

1. Transfer 1/4 cup of the chicken cooking fat to a large saucepan.
2. Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is golden, about 5 minutes. (I chopped the onion and garlic in a food processor.)
3. Add the reserved 1/2 cup of seasoned flour and cook, whisking, for 2 minutes.
4. Add the drained tomatoes and thyme and stir constantly until blended.
5. Whisk in the cream and milk until the sauce is smooth.
6. Season with salt and pepper and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened and no floury taste remains, about 10 minutes.

To Serve:

1. Transfer the fried chicken to a platter.
2. Pour the tomato gravy into a gravy boat and serve with the chicken.

For the Biscuits:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons single-acting baking powder or double-acting baking powder (see Note)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup cold lard or vegetable shortening, cut into pieces (I used bacon fat)
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

To Make the Biscuits:

1. Preheat the oven to 450°.
2. In a bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, work in the lard just until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
4. Stir in the buttermilk just until moistened.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead 2 or 3 times.
6. Roll out or pat the dough 1/2 inch thick.
7. Using a 2-inch round cutter, stamp out biscuits as close together as possible. Transfer the biscuits to a baking sheet.
8. Pat the dough scraps together, reroll and cut out the remaining biscuits; do not overwork the dough.
9. Pierce the top of each biscuit 3 times with a fork and brush with the butter.
10. Bake the biscuits for 12 to 14 minutes, or until risen and golden. Serve at once.

Note: The unbaked biscuits can be frozen in a single layer, then kept frozen in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Thaw before baking.

Shrimp & Grits with Mustard Seed Chowchow

Charleston, South Carolina is a very special place for me. As a tribute, I make a lot of Southern food. 🙂 I also make shrimp and grits as part of our traditional Easter celebration.

We were lucky enough to travel back to Charleston recently and we brought home a couple of different types of grits. The fresh from South Carolina grits really made this dish extra special. I also baked the grits for the first time and the results were amazing. I used a blend of stone ground white and yellow grits for this dish, but, I also have special pink “unicorn grits” from Millers All Day which I’ll be sure to share with you in another dish.

This dish is from a Food and Wine “staff-favorite” recipe, contributed by Isaac Toups of Toups South in New Orleans. It was absolutely incredible. (We need to go to his restaurant!)  It may be quite difficult to try a new version next year. I served it with roasted asparagus. Lovely.

Yield: Serves 4

• 1 pound peeled and deveined tail-on raw large shrimp
• 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning (such as Tony Chachere’s)(I used Slap ya Mama)
• 4 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (4 ounces), divided
• 1 cup uncooked freshly ground grits (such as Bellegarde Heirloom Grits)(I used stone ground yellow & white grits)
• 3 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup yellow mustard seeds
• 1 medium-size (8-ounce) green tomato, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I substituted a red tomato and it was still delicious!)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3-4 diagonally sliced scallions (about 1/4 cup)

1. Preheat oven to 200°F, preferably on convection.
2. Toss together shrimp and Cajun seasoning in a medium bowl. Cover; refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Place milk and 1/4 cup butter in a medium ovenproof saucepan. Bring to a vigorous simmer over medium, stirring occasionally.
4. Gradually add grits, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens slightly and grits are evenly suspended in milk, about 6 minutes.
5. Cover saucepan; transfer to preheated oven. Bake until grits are tender, 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove from oven; stir in 2 teaspoons salt and remaining 1/4 cup butter. Cover to keep warm until ready to use. (I put the pot in a warming oven.)
6. While the grits are in the oven, stir together vinegar, 3/4 cup water, sugar, and remaining 1 1/4 teaspoons salt in a saucepan; bring to a boil over high.
7. Stir in mustard seeds. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring occasionally, until seeds are tender, about 35 minutes.
8. Add tomato and bell pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and mixture has thickened, 14 to 16 minutes. Remove from heat.
9. Remove shrimp from refrigerator. Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over high until smoking.
10. Add shrimp to skillet in a single layer; cook until opaque and lightly charred, about 1 minute and 30 seconds per side.
11. To serve, divide grits among 4 bowls. Top evenly with shrimp and chowchow; sprinkle with sliced scallion.

Note: The chowchow can be made up to a week in advance.

Fresh Corn Grits with Shrimp & Roasted Pecan Butter

Another Easter weekend food tradition in our family is to eat shrimp and grits as a celebration of one of our favorite places- Charleston, South Carolina. The spring sunshine reminds me of how lovely it is there. It is a particularly special place for us because it’s where my husband and I met. ❤ Charleston is also an incredible food city.

I really like the story behind this amazing version. Apparently, it was created on Top Chef season 5 by Jeff McInnis, owner of Miami’s Yardbird restaurant. He was challenged to create a shrimp and grits dish without using grits. He made fresh corn “grits” using fresh corn, but, the best part was that he incorporated pecan butter in the grits because of a memory of eating fresh nut butter from his grandmother’s pecan tree. The fresh nut butter put this dish over the top. Delicious. I wish that I had the imagination to dream up a dish like this one.

This was my husband’s favorite shrimp and grits (thus far), and I’ve made quite a few versions. I pointed out that it may be because this dish didn’t actually have grits. 🙂 This recipe was adapted from Food and Wine, contributed by Jeff McInnis. I increased the amount of fresh corn in the grits and slightly increased the amount of prosciutto. Next time, I may reduce the amount of lager. I may increase the amount of grits as well- we wanted more!

Yield: Serves 4

For the Roasted Pecan Butter:

• 1 cup raw pecans
• 1/2 tsp canola oil
• coarse salt, to taste

For the Grits:

• 6 large ears of corn, shucked and coarsely grated on a box grater (2 cups pulp and juice)
• 1/4 cup milk, plus more for stirring/serving, as desired
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• roasted pecan butter (about 1/4 cup), directions below

For the Shrimp Sauté:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 to 4 ounces thinly sliced country ham or prosciutto, cut into strips
• 1/2 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
• 6 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed
• 1 cup fresh corn kernels (from 2 ears)
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound shelled and deveined large shrimp
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup lager, to taste (I used 1 cup but may reduce it next time)
• lemon wedges, for serving, optional

Make the Roasted Pecan Butter:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, preferably on convection.
2. Roast the pecans about 5 minutes, or until lightly browned and fragrant.
3. Process toasted pecans in a mini food processor with canola oil until smooth, about 2 minutes.
4. Season with salt to taste.

Make the Grits:

1. In a saucepan, simmer the grated corn and juices with the 1/4 cup of milk over moderate heat, stirring, until thick, 4 minutes.
2. Season with salt and pepper and fold in the pecan butter; keep warm.

Make the Shrimp Sauté:

1. In a large, deep skillet, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter.
2. Add the prosciutto and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the onion, snap peas and corn, season with salt and pepper and cook until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring, until they just begin to curl, about 3 minutes.
5. Add the lager and bring to a boil.
6. Simmer, stirring frequently, until the shrimp are cooked through and the liquid is slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.
7. Swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter.

To Serve:

1. Whisk a little milk into the grits so it’s the consistency of polenta; heat until warm.
2. Spoon the grits into shallow bowls, top with the shrimp sauté and serve at once.
3. Serve with lemon wedges, as desired.

One Year Ago: Seared Scallops & Cauliflower Grits

Two Years Ago: Classic Shrimp & Grits

Three Years Ago: Shrimp with Fresh Corn Grits

Four Years Ago: Shrimp & Grits with Tomatoes

Five Years Ago: Hominy Grill’s Shrimp & Grits

Ritzy Summer-Squash Casserole

They said it wasn’t pretty, but it sure tastes good. 🙂

Summer squash casserole is such a Southern food standard. I was first introduced to it while living in Savannah, Georgia. My friend made it by coarsely mashing boiled yellow squash and onions, mixing in mayonnaise and parmesan, and then baking it as a casserole with breadcrumbs on top. Simple and tasty!!

This version is a little bit more upscale- if one can use the word upscale to describe a squash casserole! 😉 It was really full-flavored and delicious. I substituted a breadcrumb-panko mixture for the homemade breadcrumbs- a mistake in retrospect. Next time I’ll take the extra time to top it with the fresh breadcrumbs. This recipe was adapted from The New York Times, contributed by Julia Reed. Great!

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

• 2 pounds yellow summer squash (about 3 large)
• 7 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, chopped (I used 2 small Walla Walla onions and a red onion from my CSA share)
• 1 to 3 large cloves garlic, chopped, to taste
• ½ red bell pepper, chopped
• ½ green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 jalapeño or Serrano pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)
• 4 slices plain white bread, toasted (or 3/4 cup breadcrumbs or panko)
• 24 Ritz crackers, crumbed in food processor (I used Trader Joe’s Golden Round Crackers)
• ½ pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated (I used extra-sharp)
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• chopped parsley, for garnish, optional

1. Crumb the toast in a food processor, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and pulse together. Set aside.
2. Crumb the crackers in the bowl of a food processor. Set aside.
3. Mince the garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Then dice the onions in the same bowl. Remove and set aside.
4. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 2 1/2-quart baking dish, or spray with cooking spray.
5. Cut the squash into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Cook in boiling, salted water until tender, about 7 to 10 minutes. Drain. Purée in a food processor.
6. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and peppers and cook until just tender.
7. In a large bowl, mix the squash purée, onions, peppers, garlic, cracker crumbs and cheese. Stir in the eggs, cream, sugar and seasonings. Blend well.
8. Pour into the baking dish. Top with bread crumbs and bake until browned, about 40 to 45 minutes.
9. Garnish with minced parsley, as desired. Serve.

One Year Ago:

• Roasted Sicilian Eggplant & Ricotta Bake

Two Years Ago:

• Warm Potatoes with Salsa Verde
• French Green Lentil & Beet Salad with Orange-Mustard Vinaigrette