Soul Satisfying Southern Comfort

This is the kind of soul satisfying meal I'm talkin' about!

What is  comfort? In my estimation it a feeling that is warm, inviting, and satisfying; like every positive memory of being held close by your mom and made to feel safe.  Every once in a while we need a little comfort. Food gives us that sensation of love, when a meal is done right. Good food is love. Now, a good meal can not replace a love-filled hug from your momma, but it can sure satisfy your soul. My friend Darryl and I decided that we needed to have a little of that love, so we made dinner together. The result was fried chicken with sweet-hot Carolina dipping sauce, mashed potatoes, succotash, biscuits, and poundcake with peaches and cream for dessert*. We invited a few friends to join us, Ria and Beatriz and had a great time. My thanks to Beatriz for taking the photographs for this post. I typically do not eat like this; however, occasionally you just

Darryl, my partner in crime

have to have a good piece of fried chicken, and then you have to have it cold as a leftover the next day--that's when you know it is good. If you can enjoy fried chicken cold the next day then you have done it right! Well I have to tell you, Darryl and I did this chicken so right! It was delicious. You will love this recipe. It is a bit time consuming, but it is worth it.

Fried Chicken Ingredients
Brine Recipe
1/2 cup Salt
1/4 cup Sugar
2 quarts Water
+++++++++++++++
Chicken Preparation
3-4 pounds of chicken (used boneless, skinless breasts and thighs)
1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons water
+++++++++++++++

Sweet-Hot Dipping Sauce
1 1/2 cups Hot Sauce (we used Texas Pete's, but I like Frank's, too)
5 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
5 tablespoons of peanut or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons of molasses
1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar

1. For the chicken: dissolve 1/2 cup salt and 1/4 cup sugar in 2 quarts cold water in large container. place washed chicken in brine, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours.
2. Whisk flour, cornstarch, granulated garlic, baking powder, pepper, salt and paprika together in large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of water to flour mixture; using your fingers, rub flour mixture and water together until water is evenly incorporated and shaggy pieces of dough form.

 3. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet. Working with 1 piece at a time, remove chicken from brine, letting excess drip off; dredge chicken in flour mixture, pressing to adhere. Transfer to prepared rack. Refrigerate chicken, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
4. Set second wire rack in second rimmed baking sheet and line half of rack with triple layer of paper towels. Add peanut oil (if you are dealing with allergies vegetable oil is fine) to large Dutch oven until it measure 2 inches deep and heat over medium high heat to 350℉. Add half of chicken to pot and fry until breast register 160℉ and thighs, drumsticks and wings register 175℉, 13-16minutes. (Adjust burner, if necessary, to maintain oil temperature between 325℉ and 350℉. )
5. Transfer chicken to paper towel-lined side of prepared rack. Let chicken drain on each sided for 30 seconds, then move to unlined side of rack. Return oil to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining chicken. let check cool for 10 minutes. 
6. For the sauce, whisk all ingredients together in bowl. Microwave, covered, until hot (about 2 minutes, stirring halfway through microwaving. You can either serve sauce on the side or transfer chicken to shallow platter and spoon sauce over chicken.

Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are pretty easy to make. I like to use Yukon Gold potatoes. They cook up nicely and they tend to be naturally creamy.
Mashed Potatoes
Potatoes
Butter
Cream
Salt
Pepper
Notice I did not give measurements. The reason being, some recipes you just do by feel. This is one of them. Regarding the number of potatoes, I think if you are using Yukon Gold, they tend to be smaller, so I think if you estimate two potatoes per person and a few to grown on for leftovers, you should be good.
Directions:
Wash and cut the potatoes into quarters. No need to peel them, Darryl reminds me that the peel is where the nutrition lives. We laugh because after all the butter and cream we add, there needs to be some comfort in knowing that we have some extra fiber to balance out the fat. Place the cut potatoes in salted water and bring to a boil. You will know when they are done because you will be able to stick a fork in them and not experience any resistance. Once the potatoes are ready, drain the water and then mash them with a potato masher. It's old school but that's what makes it comfort food. Some people like to bring out a hand mixer, and that's fine if you want whipped potatoes, but sometimes you just need the rustic chunkiness of a mashed potato, lumps and all! As you are mashing, add a stick of butter. That's right, a whole stick if you have a few pounds of potatoes. Add cream sparingly until the potatoes are the consistency you like. Don't over cream or else you will have soup. Salt and pepper to taste.

Darryl's Southern Succotash
1 TBS of Olive Oil
1 large Vidalia Onion, diced
3 Ears of Corn, remove kernels from cobs
2 Cans of Lima beans
Salt
Pepper
Directions:
Dice the onion. Remove the corn from cob. (Tip: place a small bowl upside down inside of a large bowl and stand the corn large end on top of bowl bottom. Using sharp knife, remove kernels by running the knife from top to bottom while rotating each ear.) Open the cans of Lima Beans and drain the liquid.
Heat oil in a large skillet. I suggest a cast iron one, if you have it. (It's authentically Southern.) Blonde the onions until soft (about 13 minutes). Add corn and cook through. Add beans and continue to stir fry until all vegetables are firm and cooked through. Salt and pepper to taste. 
Well, there it is. A Southern Comfort meal that was as enjoyable to eat as it was to prepare. Thanks to Darryl for the inspiration. I love cooking with him. We share seasoning sensibilities. Stay tuned, we will be launching a new cooking adventure in the near future. Be on the look out for L and D's Big Booty Kitchen.
* See Farm Fresh Post for recipe

Farm Fresh

Pound Cake with Fresh Georgia Peaches and Cream

      Like Your Grandma's Pound Cake is the most recent creation and it really is a lesson in chemistry with fat, salt, acid and heat that I can not wait to share. The result was served with peaches and cream for dessert at the Southern Comfort Dinner*. I prepared with my dear friend Darryl Calkins, which you will read about in an upcoming post entitled Southern Comfort.
    Making this cake was full of firsts for me. First, I used duck eggs for the first time! 

Christie's team. Thank's kids!

     So, I have this really cool friend named Christie who knows that I love to bake. She asked me if I had ever baked with duck eggs? I've never thought about it, nor did I think it was an option. Well, I did some research and it turns out that duck eggs are a preferred ingredient by bakers. Larger yolks--more fat--due to the higher yolk ratio to egg white in duck eggs they contain more fat, which in turn makes baked goods richer. These little guys produced some amazing eggs that helped me produce my latest baking adventure.  In using these eggs I realize how far removed from really working with ingredients in their natural form. I've never worked with fresh eggs before. I am used to the refrigerated kind from the grocery store, where they are all clean and white and ink stamped. The duck eggs were the same size as large chicken eggs and they come with their own natural preservative, so they do not have to be refrigerated. I washed them to prepare to use them. The shell was much more pliable than I expected it to be. 
     The next first for me was that I read somewhere that you can bake a cake in an oven without preheating is, which I thought was pretty odd. Cakes leavened with baking soda can sit while the oven heats because baking soda reacts with acid to produce the carbon dioxide involved in leavening. The short rest period also permits the gluten in your flour to relax, yielding a more tender cake.
     A pound cake is known for its simplicity of ingredients as it was often made from memory. True pound cake is a recipe that dates back to the 1700s. It gets the name of pound cake, because of how it's made. Originally, the recipe called for one pound each of flour, sugar, butter and eggs. 

Fat, Fat, Acid and Salt. Mmmm

Ingredients

• 1 cup of butter (2 sticks) softened
• 3 cups of sugar
• 6 large eggs (I used duck eggs!)
• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract. (I add a hint of almond and lemon flavoring to mine)

Rich looking batter. Go ducks!

Directions: Generously grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan. Do not preheat the oven. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, set it aside. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until mixture is well-combined, light and airy. Add the eggs on at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and heavy cream to butter-sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in flavoring. 

Fresh from the oven.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Put into a cold oven and set the temperature to 325℉. bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes without opening the oven door. (add additional baking time if necessary. Remove from the oven and cool in pan for 15 minutes.The aroma of baked goods is amazing. There isn't a candle or an aerosol spray that can match the authentic smell of something in the oven made with love. I enjoy baking because I believe that everything one prepares with her hands is touched by the emotions she is feeling, which is why I never bake when I am in a bad mood. If I am baking; I am happy. 

My Sous Chef, Touissant

     The final first for me and this experience was that I decided to serve the cake with peaches instead of strawberries. I went to the farmer's market earlier in the morning and they had some Georgia peaches that smelled so fresh and good--they tasted like summer in my mouth!  I peeled and sliced them while the cake was baking. My sous chef, Touissant was watching and waiting, as usual, because he makes sure that if anything drops to the floor he is there to clean it up for me. He did manage to taste a few slices of peach, because they were so juicy they slipped from my hand.

Fresh Peach Topping

• 5 medium-sized peaches
• 1 TBS of light brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp ground clove
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp of cinnamon

Stir together and refrigerate until time to serve dessert.

 Whipped Cream

• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract powder
• 1 tbs of sugar 

Using a wire whisk, whip the ingredients until peaks form. I like to do this by hand because it is a great cardio workout and I can control the consistency. If your arm gets tired, make it a team event and pass the bowl among your friends who are standing around looking for something to do while you are preparing the dessert. Enjoy this amazing treat. I can not help but think of my dad as I write this blog. He loves peaches and he loves my pound cake. I occasionally bake and send a cake to him as a treat. The next time I have duck eggs, I am going to make sure that Dad gets the pound cake, because he will definitely enjoy the rich, pudding-like texture the duck eggs created. Thank you Christie for the eggs! This was fun.

Cooking Lessons

Those of you who know me, know how much I love my family. Being so far away from my siblings, nieces and nephews is a challenge for me. We try to get together as often as possible but time, schedules and travel costs can be prohibitive. About five years ago I became friends with a woman who I now call my sister, Teena, and our friendship extends my sibling count to four. With more siblings come more nieces and nephews, so by extension I experience more love from my niece and nephew here in Florida. Jansen and Todd are now in college so they are home for the summer and we decided that we would have a cooking lesson. I gave them a cookbook, The Whole 30 Cookbook by Melissa Hartwig, because they are very committed to being healthy and Todd is a dedicated college athlete charged with a regime to gain weight. I told them to select a recipe and they chose Chicken and Green Olive Meatballs with Smoked Paprika Tomato Sauce.

The finished product served with spaghetti squash...delicious!

Now the Whole 30 Diet does not seem a likely candidate for our summer reading book Salt Fat Acid and Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking; however the use of the four elements is apparent and the results were delicious. (I did add some grated parmesan cheese to my serving as I just needed to have a little dairy and add a layer of flavor).
While the dinner was delicious and I am excited to make the sauce again very soon, the cooking lessons were a highlight. Jansen is an experienced student as she enjoys cooking at school and she was the resident spaghetti squash expert. This was my first experience working with this vehicle and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it, since I am not a squash eater by nature.
     So, after cutting the squash in half lengthwise and removing the seeds, they drizzled a thin layer of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), massaged it into the flesh and seasoned with sea salt and ground black pepper. The squash halves were then placed cut-side down on a baking sheet and placed in a 350℉ oven for about 45 minutes, or until tender.
     Next we began making the sauce. I am amazed at how rich and flavorful the sauce tasted, given that it took about 20 minutes to make. This recipe will be my go to sauce recipe in the future when I do not have time to do my all day, slow cooker basil-garlic marinara sauce.
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon EVOO
1/3 cup of finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (28 ounces) fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried oregano, crushed
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and pepper
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook stirring occasionally, until tender. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or more. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, tomato paste, oregano, and paprika and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer for 10 minutes more. Season with salt and black pepper.
Moving on to the meatballs...this is the point when I can confess my kitchen envy because my sistah Teena has a double oven situation, so we could preheat the other oven to 375℉ to prepare to cook the meatballs. Instead of lining a baking sheet with parchment paper, which is a viable option, we used a silicon baking pad for easy clean up. In a bowl we mixed the following ingredients:
1 pound ground chicken (turkey is an option, too)
1/4 cup of finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped pitted green olives
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes *
Using a small ice cream scoop we shaped the mixture into 1 1/2 inch meatballs and placed them on the baking sheet. Be baked he meatballs for 20 minutes, until the internal temperature was 160℉ and no pink remains in the middle of the meatballs.
Once the squash was cool enough to touch, Jansen and Todd used forks to pull the squash into shreds, or "noodles" and placed them in the center of a platter. If all goes well, and for us it did because Jansen and Todd are amazing students and worked very well together, the sauce and meatballs finish about the same time. The meatballs were plated on top of the "noodles." The sauce was added and all was garnished with parsley.
*A few tips and tweaks
1. Sometimes crushed red pepper flakes can be aggressive so I suggest mincing them before adding them to the mixture. You still get the flavor and  the heat, yet it is not too much for dinner guests who may not enjoy spicy food.
2. If your sauce appears too thick, including adding a bit of water to sauce to make it a bit thinner, or if you are not concerned with being Whole 30 Compliant (and kids, if your parents allow), I might replace the water with some red wine.
3. Jansen and I made an executive decision to add a bit of the olive brine to the sauce, which was a nice touch and we used a little less salt as the sauce finished.
All in all, it was a fun night, great food, family, and a delicious, healthy meal.
I have to say, I really dig Hartwell's cookbook. It has some great recipes that make trimming the fat, carbohydrates and sugar from your food world really easy and delicious. She supports what my mother, Ouisee and my sister, Angela have always said about cooking, "it's all about the seasoning, and people should never fear using seasoning to flavor their food." So, with that I say thanks for reading my musing from the Ms. Levans' love and soul kitchen.

Lazy Sunday AM Banana Bread

Fresh from the oven...all I need is a great cup of coffee

So, my brother Bobby was visiting me in Florida the other week. He insists on having bananas everyday, which means that he buys a surplus of bananas for fear that he will not have enough for the duration of his visit. You know where I am going with this story...
Yes, the last day of his visit, in an attempt to prove me wrong, he tried to eat the remaining bananas, to avoid leaving any behind. He did not succeed and I was left with three bananas, which is the perfect number for my banana bread recipe. 
In light of my journey this summer with Salt Fat Acid Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat, I have decided to see how these elements enhance or influence an age-old recipe of mine.
So kids, let's begin with Acid, the one element that I was not sure. Because some raw fruits and vegetables are susceptible to oxidation, or "enzymatic browning that results from exposure to oxygen, bananas will retain their natural color if coated with a little acid or kept in water mixed with a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar until they are ready to cook or eat" (Nosrat, 112). So I took the left over bananas, peeled them and placed them in a food storage bag, after treating them with some lemon juice. 
The Salt element comes in the form of sea salt, which adds a nice balance to the high sugar content of the bananas, brown and white sugars. I use a grinder so the crystals are a bit larger than regular table salt crystals. I noticed that there is a distinctive salty presence that counter acts the sweetness of the ripe  bananas.
The Fat is the butter...I can not help it, I love baking with butter. It adds such a richness to this recipe. So much so that even hot out of oven, one need not add more butter because the flavor is so well balanced.

 Yummy Banana Bread

Ingredients:
3 large ripe bananas
1 large egg
1 stick of unsalted melted butter
1 cup of sugar (1/2 c. brown and 1/2 c. white)
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. baking soda

in the beginning there were bananas

dash of vanilla

Directions
1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and 
2: Oil prep a loaf pan
3. Using a fork mash the three bananas to a smooth consistency
4. Add the egg
5. Melt the butter and let it cool before adding it to the banana and egg mixture
6. Fold in the dry ingredients

Ready to pour in the loaf pan

7. Add the melted butter and splash of vanilla
8. Pour in prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes
9. Remove from oven, let cool in pan for a few minutes and then cool on rack until you just can not wait a minute longer to cut. 
10. Enjoy and Share with friends and loved ones!
One more note: this is a popular item in my baking repertoire. Since people know that the recipe calls for three bananas, I am always being "gifted" with three bananas by friends and colleagues. One day I was approached by a student who asked to speak with me privately. "Sure, what's up?" I asked. Alex said that you make really good banana bread and I was wondering if you would make some for me?" he queried. Alex is his older brother who graduated several years earlier. When Alex was a senior he was sidelined with mono, so I made him a loaf of banana bread as a treat since he had to stay home from school for a while. When Alex left for college he returned after the first semester and requested a loaf of banana bread for his holiday gift- Of course, I had to do it, flattery will get you everywhere when it comes to loving my cooking! So, I could not resist the opportunity to make a loaf for his little brother--especially after he handed me three bananas that he was holding behind his back during our conversation. The day I presented the loaf of banana bread to him, he was thrilled. According to Alex, his brother sent him a photograph of him taking his first bite so he could share the experience with him. Food is love, folks!
It's the simply things that bring people the greatest joy. If I have three ripe bananas and an hour, I'm going to make a loaf of banana bread for someone--It's just what I do.
Variations on a theme:
1. Use gluten-free baking mix
2. Use whole wheat flour
3. Add chocolate chips or nuts
4. Use Coconut Sugar or other low-glycemic sugars like agave
5. My favorite surprise was when I added peanut butter-filled chocolate chips to a loaf. It was amazing!
I hope you try this recipe. You will not be disappointed. Remember food is good and it never hurts your feelings.
Peace, love, soul and moderation,
L'Tanya