My Moveable Feast

New Year’s weekend always takes me on a one of a kind adventure of cooking in a dormitory on the Georgia coast. My dad has been the coordinator and compiler of The National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count on Sapelo Island for about 45 years. Since I’m not a qualified birder (and you have to be in order to be invited), I attend for a reason and one reason only. I cook for the group of 16 birders on both nights.
Like most daughters, I think the world of my father. My dad has been a student of ornithology since his high school years and has an unwavering respect for the undeveloped coast. Dad, a former student of Dr. Eugene P. Odum, is right in his element during this birding weekend and I'm very blessed to get to spend it with him. Now that my husband has taken up birding as well, it is an annual weekend with my two favorite men.

We sleep and cook in the dorms of UGA’s Marine Institute. After several years of spending this special weekend in the dorm, I’ve streamlined my cooking and now have it down to a science. It only takes producing a meal in a dorm kitchen once to learn a long list of lessons of what works and what doesn’t. For example, my first trip I made shrimp and grits from scratch in the tiny, badly equipped kitchen. That was not a good idea.

I now cook a great deal of the food ahead of time and pack it into coolers. I also pack my knives, a few basics like cutting boards and tongs, and some kitchen towels and an apron. To get to the dock, it’s about a 5-hour drive from our house before a much anticipated short and breathtaking ferry ride to the island.

My menus change from year to year, so I’m always thinking of recipes that feed a crowd and can be made ahead. I took my Fast Brunswick Stew this year and it worked perfectly. I made it at home, packaged it, and packed it on ice. All it needed on the island was reheating. Because it’s ready to go, I have the luxury of more time to enjoy the island with my camera before supper.

I rode a bicycle most of the day on Saturday, taking in meandering creeks through the salt marsh, exploring the property once owned by RJ Reynolds, and reading while listening to the surf. Every cook should be so lucky.

Fast Brunswick Stew

Makes about 17 cups

1 pound lean ground beef

2 (15.25-ounce) cans whole kernel corn or 3 cups frozen kernel corn, thawed

2 (15-ounce) cans sweet peas or 3 cups frozen sweet peas, thawed

2 (14.5-ounce) cans stewed tomatoes with onions and celery

1 (14.75-ounce) can cream-style sweet corn

3 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce

1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles

3 cups chopped barbecued pork

2 cups chopped cooked chicken (1/2 rotisserie chicken)

1/4 cup white vinegar

2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon hot sauce

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 teaspoons salt (see Note)

Brown the ground beef in a large stockpot over medium heat. Use a spatula or a spoon to break up any large clumps as it cooks. Drain the meat and return to the stockpot.

While the beef is browning, drain the cans of whole kernel corn and sweet peas. If canned stewed tomatoes are in large pieces, use a pair of kitchen scissors to chop them slightly, right in the can. Once the beef is browned and drained, add the drained corn, peas, and stewed tomatoes to the ground beef.

Add the cream-style corn, tomato sauce, green chiles, barbecued pork, chicken, vinegar, brown sugar, hot sauce, lemon zest and juice, and salt to the stockpot. Simmer the stew for 15 minutes.

Note: The amount of salt is going to depend on the brand of canned items. Some vary more in salt amounts than others. Taste for salt and add as you need it.

Copyright © 2011 Rebecca Lang Cooks, LLC

Warm Curried Fruit

Here's a short note and an easy recipe for a traditional and unique side for your holiday table. Christmas is just days away and my kitchen is filled with groceries, mulling spices, and two little ones in the floor with monster trucks and tea sets. Experiencing Christmas with my children is a gift like nothing else. Their excitement is literally contagious. I am grateful for every second of the season.
Curried fruit is an old Southern holiday favorite. It's not as common as it once was, but it is worth revisiting. It's divine with roasted duck, turkey and I'm serving it for Christmas dinner with a standing rib roast. Enjoy every bite and each single blessing of Christmas.

Warm Curried Fruit

Serves 6 to 8

1 (20-ounce) can pineapple chunks in 100% juice

1 (15-ounce) can pear halves in 100% juice

2 (15-ounce) cans sliced peaches in 100% juice

3/4 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup dried raspberries

1/2 cup chopped dried strawberries

1/3 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Lightly spray a 7 by 11-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Drain the pineapple chunks, pear halves, and sliced peaches and toss the fruit together in a large mixing bowl. Reserve the juice for another use. Add the cherries, raspberries, strawberries, and pecans and stir well.

Pour into the prepared baking dish.

Melt the butter in the microwave. Stir the brown sugar, curry, and vinegar into the hot butter. Pour over the fruit.

Bake for 45 minutes. Serve warm.

Serve Up a Stuffed Stocking

Christmas stockings are not just for children. If stuffed with the best items, they can be great fun for grown-ups too. I remember mine from childhood very well. My sister and I both had stockings that we colored way before we could stay in the lines. The older I became, my stocking was filled with more and more practical gifts each Christmas. As a teenager, it turned into a plethora of toiletries like toothpaste and cotton swabs. Now, with stockings hanging on my own mantel, stuffing them with fun little things is one of my favorite traditions.

After three emails last week asking for Christmas gift suggestions, I thought I’d share my list of can’t-live-without tools that will create a cook’s dream stocking. They are small in size but make a big difference in the kitchen.

RSVP Spice Measuring Spoons

Microplane Stainless Steel Zester (without the handle)

Kuhn Rikon Corn Zipper

Oxo Mini Angled Measuring Cup

Joyce Chen Kitchen Shears

Progressive International Magnetic Measuring Spoons

Jar Pop jar opener

Lemon Squeezer

Oxo Bag Cinch

Messermeister Pro Serrated Swivel Peeler

Small offset spatula

Peugeot salt and pepper grinders

Cork Pops Original Wine Bottle Opener

The one item I don’t own, but would love to find in my stocking (hint for Santa…) is a Thermapen thermometer.

I always get asked where I shop for items in my own kitchen. I teach a lot of classes at my favorite shop, The Cook's Warehouse in Atlanta. The store has every kitchen tool you can imagine, as well as a deal on shipping for the holidays.

Sipping, Shucking, Slurping, and Reflecting

I try to use Thanksgiving as a time to truly appreciate the year and be mindful of all my blessings. After all, if you can’t be thankful on that day, there’s a problem. I am a big believer in blessings and it’s been a year full of them. My children are healthy, my home is comfortable, and my family is happy. The truly important things in life are all incredibly good.
We have a family oyster roast on Thanksgiving eve each year. We bundle up, head outside, sip on a fun cocktail, and shuck and slurp our way to the satisfaction that only comes from a full stomach. It was during this meal last year that I announced to my parents about having a book contract on the way.
During this same ritual last week, I kept thinking about that night one year ago when I was bursting with the news until the right moment emerged. As I shucked oyster after oyster, I couldn’t help but think how much has happened in one year. The very same book that was news rolling off my tongue has now shipped to the printer. It’s hard to believe. One bushel from the Gulf later (tasting as wonderful as ever, I might add) and it was a night filled with briny simplicity and good memories.Cookbooks have been such a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. Even in high school, I found comfort in cookbooks. With food, I had a place to fit in. My ultimate goal in college was to work as a food editor of cookbooks as a career. As soon as I started my job as an assistant food editor with Oxmoor House, it’s like I found what I was meant to do.
I’d written two regional books before, but I knew that I wanted this book to be different. I embarked on the traditional journey that so many authors know too well. I started working on getting an agent. Once that hurdle was behind me, I listened and learned from her each step of the way. If a journey isn’t filled with lessons, it’s one that’s not worth taking. I can certainly say this one was jam-packed and I’m a better person because of it today.On the day my agent called with the news that we had a publishing contract, I can’t really describe how I felt. I cried. I laughed. I danced in the kitchen. It was amazing. The closest comparison I can make are the moments I learned I was pregnant with each of my children. I didn’t know the details, but I knew that my life just got better.
With the year behind me, I can only wish that I could kick off the next one standing at the press as the first page rolls off. Quick-Fix Southern (Andrews McMeel) will be released on March 8, 2011.

Pomegranate Tonic

3 cups tonic water
3/4 cup orange flavored vodka
1/2 cup Pomegranate juice
Pomegranate seeds, for garnish

Combine the tonic water, vodka, and juice in a pitcher. Serve over ice in rocks glasses. Garnish with pomegranate seeds.
Serves 6

Vegetarians Beware

All cookbooks that enter the Lang household start out in one place: the bedroom. I have spent many nights in bed, propped on my pillows, reading countless cookbooks.

After tucking in with Jean Anderson’s new book, Falling Off the Bone, I woke to the thought that this book has earned both a spot on the reference shelf in my office and a place on my kitchen counter.

I am not a girl to go long without a steak and I’ve always thought of red meat as a lifelong friend. Just at first glance, this book was right up my alley. I have been a fan of Jean’s for years. Her book, A Love Affair with Southern Cooking, is one of my favorite books of all time. When I learned Falling Off the Bone was being released, I knew I wanted a copy. I find myself impressed again.

Falling Off the Bone takes tough cuts of meat and shows readers how to cook them slowly and perfectly to make meals that are not only economical, but also incredibly comforting. The cooking teacher in Jean comes through so the information is clear and educational. The chapters (beef, veal, lamb, pork) are complete with diagrams of cuts of meat and where they come from on the animal. She also includes a dictionary of ingredients, time saving tips, and a list of kitchen gadgets that make life easier. Each chapter even has information on nutrition, storage, and the best uses for each cut.

Most importantly, the recipes are really good. The recipes are clear, obviously well written, and precise. (As a recipe writer myself, I truly respect a well-written recipe.)

With so many great recipes, I had a hard time trying to decide what recipe to make for my family’s supper after trick or treating. I chose a stew of lamb and peppers. We came home, hands chilled, legs tired from walking the neighborhood, and stomachs growling. With the opening of the back door, the house really smelled like home and dinner was ready, without any last minute work. Perfect.

I thought the stew was so pretty when I pulled it from the oven, I ran for my camera. Jean's recipe is below.

HASSLE-FREE OVEN STEW OF LAMB WITH PEPPERS AND PROSCIUTTO

Makes 6 Servings

When I was growing up in the “small-town South,” my Midwestern mother often served lamb to the horror of southern neighbors who wouldn’t touch it. Pork and chicken were their meats of choice with more expensive beef a close third. At long last the South has embraced lamb. Even farmer’s markets sell it, pampered organic lamb grazed on pesticide-and herbicide-free meadows. What I’ve done here is update one of my mother’s hearty lamb stews for today’s tastes. She’d be appalled by the amount of garlic, and to my knowledge, had never heard of prosciutto.

3 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, trimmed of excess fat and cut in 1-inch cubes

1 cup unsifted all-purpose flour mixed with 1 tablespoon paprika, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon each freshly ground black pepper, crumbled dried leaf rosemary and thyme (seasoned flour)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 ounces prosciutto, finely diced

2 large yellow onions, halved lengthwise and each half cut in 2-inch wedges

2 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, cored, seeded, and each half cut in 2-inch wedges

2 large yellow or orange bell peppers, halved lengthwise, cored, seeded, and each half cut in 2-inch wedges

8 large garlic cloves, smashed and skins removed

2 large whole bay leaves (preferably fresh)

2 cups dry red wine such as Valpolicella, Merlot, or Cabernet (about)

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.

2. Dredge lamb, a few pieces at a time, by shaking in a large plastic zipper bag with seasoned flour and set aside.

3. Heat oil in a large heavy nonreactive Dutch oven over moderately high heat until ripples appear on pan bottom—1 1/2 to 2 minutes.

4. Add prosciutto and stir-fry until lightly browned—2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, scoop to paper toweling to drain.

5. Brown dredged lamb in several batches in oil, allowing 8 to 10 minutes per batch and lifting each to a bowl as it browns.

6. Add onions, red and yellow bell peppers, garlic, and bay leaves to pot and sauté, stirring often, until limp—about 5 minutes. Return prosciutto and lamb to pot along with accumulated juices, add wine, and bring to a boil.

7. Cover, slide onto middle oven shelf, and braise until lamb is fork-tender—about 2 hours. Check pot now and then and if liquid seems skimpy, add a little more wine. Discard bay leaves, taste for salt and pepper, and adjust as needed.

8. Serve hot with boiled brown or white rice, buttered broad noodles, boiled or mashed potatoes. I even like this stew ladled over baked sweet potatoes, halved and plumped.

Excerpted from Falling Off the Bone ©2010 Jean Anderson.
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Connection at the Cotton Gin

As a chaperone on my son’s field trip, I had an experience yesterday that most people will never have. The preschool outing was to the Bostwick Cotton Gin in Bostwick, Georgia. This is the very same cotton gin that, so many years ago, my grandmother and her family relied on to remove the seeds from their freshly picked cotton. On our visit, the gin was running, the noise was almost intolerable, and cotton was swirling in the air like snow. I had two thoughts (besides keeping an eye on the few children that were around me). One was a new appreciation for the clothes on my back and the people who make those threads possible. The other was how hard Tom, my grandmother, and her family worked to get the bills paid and put food on the table.
Tom grew up a few miles from the gin and growing cotton was a way of life. The house, flanked by a row of pecan trees, still stands up on a hill. At first glance the farm looks eerily the same as when it I was a child.
The cotton had to be picked, loaded, and taken several miles down the road to the gin. We all complain about how hard our lives are today, but really. Compared to 80 years ago, we are all on permanent vacation.
My son, being 5 years old, can’t grasp the amazing fact that his great-grandmother quite possibly stood in the same spot and watched cotton emerge as a clean white bale, just as he did yesterday. I can, and I’m incredibly grateful for the few minutes we had to connect with our past.

The Recipe That Almost Died

I have a passion for making recipes that my grandmother, Tom, cooked for our family. Tom and I documented her recipes during her late nineties (when she felt more like an average 70-year-old). But there is one recipe I never approached until now. I'm not sure why I almost let this recipe die with her. Maybe I was scared and maybe it was painful. My sweet, sweet grandmother died in January 2003. Two weeks ago was the first time I tasted her incredible Scuppernong Hull Pie since she’s been gone.

Her pie recipe was personal, distinct, historical, and only Tom had made this pie. The house I grew up in had a glorious scuppernong arbor in the backyard. It had been there for decades and the vine that emerged from the black soil was as large as my thigh. On warm fall afternoons, the sweet smell of the golden grapes filled even the screen porch when the breeze blew towards the house.

Fall always brought some long awaited pleasures. Most importantly, it ushered in the recipe that was worth waiting a year to taste. As children, my sister and I would help the grown-ups by taking empty bowls out to the arbor and fill them slowly, one little orb at a time. Each and every one of us picked the grapes for one purpose and one reason only. The pie.

I remembered the pie like my last bite was yesterday. The crust was flaky, tender, unsweetened and the perfect companion for the sugary filling. The hulls were overly sweet, with a tinge of sourness when they were crushed between my teeth. No pulp, no fancy stuff, just hulls and sugar.

A few weeks ago, I bit the bullet, sucked up my hesitation, and bought some scuppernongs. My parents sold the house we still call home, and unfortunately, the arbor went with it. I found some scuppernongs (a type of muscadine native to the South) from my local co-op. I pulled out Tom’s handwritten recipe from the safe-deposit box, made a copy that could get dirty, and got to work.

I knew no matter what, my pie would not be as good as the ones that Tom brought over, still warm from her oven. In the last two weeks, I have made the pie several times over, cried a few tears, purchased more and more scuppernongs, and missed Tom with each bite.

I not only satisfied a craving that was years in the making, but I also connected with the past and one of the most important people in my life. Pick up a family recipe and share.

Tom’s Scuppernong Hull Pie

Filling:

8 cups (2 1/2 pounds) scuppernongs

2 cups sugar

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup Crisco shortening

1/3 cup ice water

1 large egg, beaten

2 tablespoons water

To make the filling, place about 8 grapes at a time in a stockpot or deep mixing bowl. Use a potato masher to squeeze grapes, a few a time. The pulp (containing seeds) should be squeezed out. Transfer the hulls to a mixing bowl. Leave the pulp and any juice in the stockpot as you squeeze more grapes. Continue to mash all the grapes. You should have about 4 1/2 cups of hulls.

Pour the pulps and juice through a fine strainer. You should have about 1 cup of juice. Add enough water to the juice to make 2 cups. Reserve pulps for another use.

Combine the hulls, juice, and water in a clean stockpot over medium heat. Cook, covered, for 15 minutes.

Add sugar to the hull mixture. Simmer, uncovered, for 40 minutes. The hulls will look like preserves. The mixture will be thickened and syrupy. Remove from the heat and cool completely. The filling can be made up to one day ahead and stored covered in the refrigerator.

As the filling cools, make the piecrust. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour and salt together. Use a pastry blender to cut the shortening into the flour mixture. Sprinkle in ice water and stir just until all the flour is damp. Gather into two equal-sized mounds and wrap each mound in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Working with one mound at a time (leaving the other mound in the refrigerator) roll out dough on a floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch glass pie dish. Trim the dough overhang to 1/2 inch. Pour the cooled filling into the crust. Roll out second dough mound on a floured surface to 12-inch round and place on top of the filling. Trim the edges to 1/2 inch. Press the edges of the dough together, fold edges under, and use 3 fingers to flute the edges.

Whisk together egg and 2 tablespoons of water. Brush the top crust lightly with egg mixture. Use a very sharp, small knife to cut slits in the center of the crust for the pie to vent.

Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the crust is browned, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes: 1 (9 inch) pie

Copyright © 2010 Rebecca Lang Cooks, LLC