Tag Archives: food

My New Favorite Cookbook

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You have to add “The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper” to your cookbook collection. If you’re a fan of the public-radio show “The Splendid Table,” it’s a must-buy. If the sound of “Splendid Table” host Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s voice is enough to send you into the kitchen with renewed enthusiasm, it’s a must-buy. If you like to eat, it’s a must-buy. If you’re fascinated with food, it’s a must-buy. If you think nothing’s new in the cookbook section, it’s a must-buy. And that pretty much covers everybody.

Why will you love this book? The recipes are new and fresh, with unexpected twists on tried-and-true classics. The photography is lush — while some reviewers have wished for more, the low number of photos leaves room for more recipes and, besides, the lively graphics and layouts keep things fun. But it’s the text that’s so compelling — the stories behind the recipes, the valuable how-to’s, the quick “Cook to cook” tips and the guidelines to answering such perplexing puzzles as how to buy a wok, how to read olive-oil labels and what to do with not-on-purpose wilted greens. One of my favorite chapters doesn’t have recipes: “Essential Equipment,” where authors  Kasper and “Splendid Table” producer Sally Swift tell you to buy the best you can afford and give us a glimpse into what’s usually found dirty in their own kitchen sinks.

Tennessee Trips

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If you’re headed to Lynchburg, Tenn., this fall, make sure to stop at Woodards Market, south of town on Hwy. 55 (Fayetteville Highway) and home of some of my favorite food ever. Woodards is a general-store gathering spot for all of Moore County. You can buy almost anything you need here and catch up on the latest news: distillery gossip, high-school football scores, Sunday sermons, presidential politics — it’s all discussed while roaming the produce section in case your tomatoes are bad and you need to buy some or while waiting in line for fried chicken and sausage biscuits at the deli counter. And while you’re eavesdropping … uh, listening, I mean … pick up local treats such as creamy store-made pimento cheese in regular, white or jalapeno; Granny’s Cow Patties, classic chocolate-oatmeal-peanut butter no-bake cookie, from nearby Decherd, Tenn.; and a bag of whole Uncle Bud’s Salted Peanuts, which are deep-fried so you can eat the shell. If you want to. The shells taste sort of like fried sticks — a bit woody and fibrous — but it’s nice to know you can chow down on them if you want to. Less waste that way, at least.

My favorites are the cookies. I cannot pass up a chocolate-oatmeal no-bake cookie, and these are rich and creamy with authentic flavors and nice chewy oatmeal. Perfect for breakfast — I mean, it’s oatmeal, right?

Sunday Morning Papers and Coffee

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I believe it’s time to start going through the stack of newspapers that seems to pile up at our house whenever we slack off from reading them every day. Plus, since my husband and I both work with newspapers — although he’s an actual boss/editor and I’m just a lowly writer — we pick up papers everywhere we go, from the freebie weeklies to the weighty Sunday editions. I’m embarrassed to tell you that this is a mere couple weeks’ collection, not counting our local dailies we read and recycle pretty regularly. I just hate to get rid of any paper or magazine we bring in the house because I might miss something important. At least when I made coffee this morning in the iffy stovetop espresso maker — sometimes it works the way it should and sometimes not, although I think when it doesn’t that it’s more a matter of user error than anything else — I got some nice foam for my cappuccino, so I think I’ll pour a cup in the pretty red coffee mug my friend Jana gave me this week and sit down and start reading papers. Until it’s time to go to church.

And here’s the other thing about this morning here in northwest Alabama: It’s cool outside! If I had to be out for any length of time right now, I’d have to wear a sweater. It’s not even 60 degrees. This is big news around here. Even though the weekend football games were hot and humid, cool mornings are definitely progress. I’ll pour another cup of coffee to that!

Cookie Chemistry

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Something happened with my favorite peanut-butter cookie recipe this weekend and I’m not sure what. Usually when I make this, the cookies turn out thick, soft and crumbly. However, when I stirred up a batch on Monday morning for a family Labor Day gathering, the cookies ended up flat and crunchy instead. Why? This has happened a few times in the million years I’ve been making this recipe and I never know why. Monday, I could tell I was on the way to flat and crunchy because the dough was smooth and glossy — more like a batter than a dough — as I mixed it up. When the cookies turn out thick and soft, the dough is thick and solid and definitely has to be spooned. Luckily, the cookies were a hit — some people prefer thin and crunchy — although my daughter immediately noticed that they weren’t my usual. I guess it’s good that I’ve got a go-to recipe — it’s so quick and easy  I can do it in my sleep and probably have — but I’d love to know why it turns out one way sometimes and another way other times. Alton Brown, where are you when I need you???

Here’s the recipe (it’s also one of my favorites because, with no eggs involved, you can eat the dough with abandon. Not that I do that or anything.):

Peanut Butter Cookies

Melt one cup butter. Stir in one cup each white sugar and dark-brown sugar. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Stir together 2 1/2 cups flour and 2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda and add to mixture. Stir in 1 cup peanut butter. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet and bake about 10 minutes in preheated 350-degree oven. Let cool in pan a minute or so before removing to cooling rack.

Eating NOLA in Tupelo

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For a taste of New Orleans in Tupelo, Miss., swing by Boondock’s Grill, downtown at 206 Troy St. This casual Cajun/Creole/Caribbean restaurant is a Tupelo favorite, with a fun selection of lively appetizers, draft beer, fried catfish, po’boys, meat-and-vegetable lunch specials, creative salads and soup of the day — all with a Louisiana twist. I especially like the house salad because it’s not your usual iceberg/grated carrot/shredded red cabbage pre-mixed mix. Instead, it’s a taste adventure with walnuts and blue cheese-bits rolled in a spicy herb mixture, cubes of some sort of delicious (smoked?) ham and a creamily firey house vinaigrette. No iceberg in sight. And while your eyes are rolling back in your head with delight, take a look at the exposed brick walls, stone tile floor and pressed-tin ceiling that gives the restaurant its authentic French Quarter feel. Boondock’s is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Friday and 5-10 p.m. Sunday. Call 662.840.5680.

So Bring Us Some Figgy Pudding

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We 50-something-year-old women are supposed to eat a good healthy breakfast for the sake of our bones, hearts, arteries, brains, waistlines and whatever else needs help. But when a friend (thank you, Susan!) shares with you some fresh homemade fig preserves, deliciousness trumps nutrition and there’s nothing to do but dig in and enjoy and be grateful for talented and generous friends. And really, is there anything much better than the sweet taste of summer lathered over a slice of toasted sourdough bread? No, there is not. And that sounds pretty healthy to me.

Wine on Court

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Wine has come to downtown Florence, Ala.! While it surely was fun to buy wine at Mapleton Cellars (in the almost 200-year-old George Coulter House on South Pine Street), it’s equally fun to buy wine downtown now that The Wine Seller is open. The Mapleton folks needed the space back in their home, so they closed the business earlier this summer. But a new downtown wine shop is filling the empty niche Mapleton left. Open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, the Wine Seller is at 324 N. Court St., on the corner of Court and Seminary where Lori Davis Gallery most recently was located (and where Culpepper’s Bakery was 40 or so years ago — you almost still can smell the cinnamon rolls and cheese bread). The new shop is stocked with wine for any budget and any occasion, with a helpful staff to help you figure out what you need. But wait, there’s more! What’s wine without cheese? Find the perfect accompaniment to your bottle in a small cooler stocked with delicious hard-to-find-locally choices. There’s also crackers, bread, vinaigrettes, oils and other gourmet goodies, many under The Wine Seller’s own label. Plus, you can find jewelry and other gifts here. The store is elegant yet cozy, with space set up for wine tastings (planned for twice a month, including First Fridays) and other events such as after-hours private parties. Get on the e-mail list at wineseller@att.net or call 256.766.1568.

Muffin Mania

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Muffins are the perfect food. I’m talking here about real homemade muffins, warm and melty from the oven, with crunchy tops and moist middles bursting with good things such as blueberries, apples, raisins and nuts —  then torn in two and reverently topped with your spread of choice. (Do not try this with anything you have to tear the plastic off of.) In my former life as the mother of teenagers, I was a master muffin maker, but I gave it up as my nest gradually emptied and friends started taking their hamburgers out of the buns. But a recipe in this cookbook inspired me to try again. Martha Foose is the author of “Screen Doors and Sweet Tea” and owner of famed Bottletree Bakery in Oxford, Miss., (go to www.oxfordcvb.comisfor Bottletree  and other Oxford info, especially if you’re headed there for the first Presidential debate on Sept. 26). She’s the best kind of Southern woman: Smart, funny and strong — the kind who can feed a sweaty park full of hot and hungry people while wearing an adorable sundress with coordinated espadrilles. That’s what Foose did when she was the guest chef recently at the Spring Park Farmer’s Market in Tuscumbia, http://www.cityoftuscumbia.org/Latest_News/index.html, Ala. (This link is from 2007 but the information is still correct.)  The audience at Spring Park demonstrations always is a tough crowd — they know what good food is — but Foose charmed them, deliciously. She made me believe that even after a couple-years’-break, I too could turn out to-die-for blueberry muffins. And she was right, although it took me a couple tries to get my rhythm back. (Click here to read the rest of the story: http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20080822/ARTICLES/808220302)

If you value food, family and friends, Foose’s cookbook is a must-have. The photography’s gorgeous, and Foose adds tips and suggestions in her own Mississippi style — you can almost hear her Delta accent. Almost all bookstores and online booksellers have this book. Visit http://www.marthafoose.com/ for a list of stores that sell autographed copies.

Here’s the Blueberry Muffins recipe:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon each baking soda and salt

Grating of nutmeg

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen (do not thaw) blueberries

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon grated lemon or orange zest

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Spray 18 muffin cups or line with paper baking cups. In large bowl with a whisk, combine dry ingredients. Toss in blueberries to coat and evenly distribute. In separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients. Using rubber spatula, combine wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir until just moistened. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full. Bake 15 minutes or until tops spring back lightly when touched. Let cool 5 minutes then turn out onto rack.

Franklin Frolics Part 2

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The Factory at Franklin, Tenn.

The Factory at Franklin, Tenn.

Constant Craving Carryout

Another option in Franklin, Tenn. — after you’ve checked out the historic downtown area — is The Factory, www.factoryatfranklin.com. It’s a renovated 80-year-old factory full of shops and eateries as well as artists’ spaces set up in the walkways sort of like an arts-and-crafts show. The developer wanted this to be a creative as well as commercial center, and it is. Even though The Factory is an enclosed mall, you’ll feel as if you’re strolling along a hometown Main Street and shopping with local family

Ordering at Frisky Berry Coffee Co.

Ordering at Frisky Berry Coffee Co.

businesses — no Gap or American Eagle here. Don’t miss: Stoveworks Restaurant, with incredibly delicious bite-sized spoon rolls served in a basket; Constant Craving Carryout, where you can pick up fresh gourmet food to eat there or take home for supper; and Frisky Berry Coffee Co., where a guitar-strumming folksinger will accompany your afternoon cappuccino. Hmm … food and drink seems to be a theme for me here. But you actually can shop and buy things, too. Probably one of the most “famous” retailers at The Factory is The Viking Store, www.vikingcookingschool.com. Folks come from all over to take cooking classes here and buy some of those wonderful didn’t-know-I-needed-it-’til-I-saw-it kitchen tools (but the store’s being remodeled now and inventory is low). There’s also an antique shop, a consignment store, art galleries, a smocking shop and a couple women’s boutiques as well as, luckily for grandparents, toy stores and an upscale children’s clothing shop.

As a working factory, the building has housed Dortch Stove Works and Magic Chef, and The Factory pays tribute to those roots with touches such as vintage appliances, retro home decor and this oversized wreath decorated with kitchen essentials. (Note my suitcase-like green purse on the bench below for size comparison!)

A vintage apron hanging from a clothesline at The Factory

The exterior of The Factory is landscaped beautifully, and the renovation work to what could have been a dump is a must-see. The Factory is a great place to spend the day. I met friends there at 11 a.m. and we stayed until at least 4 p.m. — talking, eating and wandering around. It seems that’s sort of what the space is meant for: people meeting and greeting and enjoying themselves. And, oh yes, buying things!