Field Peas

12/19/2023

This is a very simple recipe for field peas similar to what my grandmother used to make. Simple but delicious! Pictured below are Sea Island Red Peas, but any field pea will work.

Field Peas

Ingredients

3-5 strips fat back, cut into 3" pieces
1 small onion, diced
1 cup dried field peas
enough water to cover field peas
Salt & pepper, to taste

Serves 4 - 6
Cook time: approx. 1 hour, depending on type and age of field pea

Sautee fatback over medium-high heat to render some of the fat. Sautee onion in the fatback until translucent. Add dry peas and enough water to cover. Cook until done - depending on the variety and age of pea this could take 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Keep an eye on the water level and add more if needed, you'll want the beans to be submerged during the entire cook time.

Candied Pepper Canapés

12/12/2023

These quick little treats are sure to please a crowd and tide the over until it's time to eat. I use candied hot peppers I preserved from my summer garden, but if you don't have any pepper jelly will do just fine and look great!

Candied Pepper Canapes

Ingredients

1 pack phyllo cups (approx. 15 cups)
4 oz. goat cheese
2 Tbsp. sour cream
8 oz. candied peppers

Servings: 4-6

Whip cream cheese and sour cream together until smooth. Using a bag with a snipped end, pipe mixture into the bottom half of each phyllo cup. Top cream cheese mixture with a dollop of candied peppers. These can be made up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerated, just bring to room temperature before serving.

Grits & Greens

11/27/2023

This is a great casserole for either breakfast or dinner. I made it to clean out a lot of garden produce that needed to get used, but the vegetables can easily be modified. Enjoy!

Grits & Greens Casserole

Ingredients

1 cup grits
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups milk
1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 onion, diced
2-3 stalks celery, diced
1-2 cups peppers, sliced
1-2 cups okra, sliced
1/2 lb. breakfast sausage
1 cup gouda, shredded
4-6 eggs
salt & pepper, to taste

Serves 4-6
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes

Preheat oven to 350.
Make grits by bringing stock and water to a boil; whisk in grits and cook 20-30 minutes or until grits no longer taste metallic. Add mayonnaise and salt and pepper to taste.
While grits are cooking, saute onion, celery, and peppers until softened and beginning to brown. Add sausage and cook through. Add okra and cook until softened; salt and pepper to taste.
Add cheese to grits and then mix in vegetable mixture. Using a serving spoon, make depressions (one at a time) in the top of the grits and crack and egg into each depression (it is easiest to crack and egg into a little bowl or cup and pour the egg into the depression).
Bake 20-25 minutes or until egg whites are cooked through.
*A wide, shallow casserole dish is best for this dish.

Herbed Potato Salad

11/8/2023

A fairly traditional potato salad with a little twist! This is a great make-ahead dish that will work at almost any summertime party. It's easy to throw together and will feed a crowd - it's also easy to size down to accommodate a slightly smaller party. Enjoy!

Herbed Potato Salad

Ingredients

6 lb. small red potatoes
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup red onion, minced
1/4 cup tarragon, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
salt & pepper, to taste

Serves 18 - 20
Cook time: 25 minutes

Place the potatoes in a large pot of salted water Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife. Drain the potatoes.

Meanwhile, whisk together remaining ingredients.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them into quarters or halves, depending on their size. Dress potatoes with dressing while still warm so they absorb the most liquid. Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve later.

Southern Panzanella

11/8/2023

Panzanella is a classic Italian bread salad - it's a great way to use day-old bread and an abundance from the garden. My version pays homage to the classic Southern lunch - the tomato sandwich. It's a simple mayonnaise-based dressing and is a great way to use up day-old bread and an abundance of tomatoes!

Southern Panzanella

Ingredients

Salad

1/2 loaf day-old bread, cubed
1 quart cherry tomatoes, halved
chives, for garnish
Dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise (more of less to your taste)
1 medium tomato, halved
salt & pepper, to taste

Serves 6-8

To make dressing, sliced tomato and squeeze out liquid into the mayonnaise, salt and pepper to taste and whisk ingredients together. Combine cubed bread and halved tomatoes (you can dice slicer tomatoes, but the cherry tomatoes hold up better) with dressing. Garnish with chives.

*If traveling, wait to combine until you arrive at your destination. Depending on how dry your bread is you may want the salad to sit together for a few minutes to rehydrate the bread.

Three Bean Chili with Fresh Tomatoes

11/8/2023

This is a great vegetarian chili that uses fresh tomatoes from the garden. You can substitute canned tomatoes if you'd like, but it really is great with fresh!

Three Bean Chili with Fresh Tomatoes

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. avocado oil
2 onions, chopped
1-2 bell peppers, chopped
4-6 hot peppers, chopped (or more if you'd like)
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 lb. fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 Tbsp. cocoa
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
salt & pepper, to taste

Serves 10
Cook time: 2 hours

Sauté onions, in a small Dutch oven, in oil until softened, add peppers and sauté a few minutes, then add garlic and sauté 1 more minute. Add spices and sauté until browned and vegetables are coated in spices; then add tomatoes and cook down for at least one hour, or until chili has reached the consistency you would like. Add beans about 30 minutes before serving.

Moussaka

10/10/2023

I love to entertain in the summer with moussaka! It's a long-cook dish that takes a lot of time to make, but can easily be made a day, or even two, in advance and just popped in the oven for when guests arrive. It's also a great way to use up eggplants - not my favorite vegetable to eat, but one that is beautiful to grow in the garden and I can't resist planting a few seeds every year. Since the eggplant plays a supporting role in moussaka, I can enjoy the dish without being overpowered by the eggplant taste.

Moussaka

Ingredients

Casserole

4 lb. eggplant, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
4 cups frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb. ground lamb
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 can cherry tomatoes
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3 sprigs oregano, chopped
1 medium potato, thinly sliced
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
salt & pepper, to taste
Cheese Custard
6 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup flour
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of salt
4 cups milk, at room temperature
2 cups kefalotiri cheese, grated
2 eggs + 2 egg yolks

Serves 6-8
Cook time: 2 hours

Preheat oven to 450. Brush sliced eggplant with olive oil and roast until softened, about 30 minutes (this should take 2 sheet trays). Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat, add onion and cook until soft, then add garlic and cook one more minute. Salt and pepper lamb, then add to onions, break apart as it cooks. When lamb is mostly cooked, deglaze pan with wine, once alcohol cooks off add tomatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, cinnamon and nutmeg (salt and pepper, to taste). Cook for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the cheese custard. Melt the butter over medium heat and whisk in the flour; cook till light blonde in color. Slowly whisk in the milk, nutmeg, and salt. Slowly bring to a boil, whisking. Allow mixture to simmer for a few minutes to thicken, then remove from heat. Add half the cheese, the eggs, and the egg yolks, whisking.
Line a casserole dish with potato slices and sprinkle with breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper. Layer as follows: 1/2 the eggplant slices, 1/2 the lamb sauce, 1/2 the spinach, remaining eggplant, remaining lamb sauce, remaining spinach. Top with cheese custard and bake for an hour and twenty minutes (check occasionally to make sure cheese custard does not burn, cover with foil making sure not to touch the top, if needed). Let rest 20-30 minutes before slicing and serving.

Ratatouille Gumbo

10/10/2023

This is a vegetarian version of gumbo that uses many vegetables found in ratatouille. It's a great way to use bumper crops of many late summer vegetables!

Ratatouille Gumbo

Ingredients

4 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup flour
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 large or 3 small eggplant, chopped (about 4 cups chopped)
3 lb. tomatoes, chopped
3 cups okra, sliced
salt & pepper, to taste

Serves 4-6
Cook time: 1 1/2 hours

Begin by making a roux: melt butter over medium-low heat, add flour and stir to combine; keeping an eye on the roux, cook until tan to chestnut brown in color. Add onions, celery, and pepper cooking until translucent; add eggplant and brown. Add tomatoes and cook until tomatoes are broken down, roughly one, hour, or until the consistency you want. Add okra about 30 minutes before serving. Serve over rice or grits.

White Bean Soup with Roast Tomatoes & Basil Pistou

9/4/2023

This simple bean soup starts with dried beans, so it takes a while to make, but it's mostly hands off. It features delicious summer produce over a warming and comforting bowl of soup - great for a rainy day in the late summer or early fall.

White Bean Soup with Roast Tomatoes & Basil Pistou

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, grated
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cup dried white beans (or beans of your choice)
6 cups water
salt and pepper, to taste
1 quart cherry tomatoes
1/2+ cup olive oil, divided
3 cups loose basil

Serves 4-6
Cook Time: 2+ hours

In a medium Dutch oven, heat olive oil until it shimmers. Add onion and celery - allow to caramelize until golden brown - 15 minutes or so; then add carrot and garlic; allow to cook for another 10 minutes to develop deep, rich color and flavor. Add beans and water and simmer until done; depending on the age of the bean, this will generally take 2-3 hours. Check your beans periodically, as they will often need more water.
Towards the end of cooking roast your tomatoes and make your pistou. Toss tomatoes in 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast at 400 until they begin to pop.
Chop basil and add to chopper or small food processor with olive oil and salt. Blend until cohesive.
If you would like you can use and immersion blender to puree your beans completely or just a little. Ladle soup into bowls and top with roast tomatoes and basil pistou.

Tomato Pie

9/4/2023

Here's a Southern classic to add to your summer routine! I go easier on the cheese than a lot of recipes do, but I really want to highlight those garden fresh summer tomatoes. This also freezes well, so you can enjoy it in the dead of winter too!

Tomato Pie

Ingredients

1 pie crust
5-7 slicer tomatoes
1/3 cup fontina (Manchego or Havarti are good too)
1/3 cup Parmesan
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 to 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup basil leaves, chopped
salt & pepper, to taste

Serves 4-6
Cook Time: 50 minutes

Blind bake pie crust according to package directions; meanwhile, slice tomatoes. Line two baking sheets with paper towels and lay tomato slices on paper towels, sprinkle with salt and pepper, flip slices and sprinkle other side. Allow tomatoes to drain for about 30 minutes, then press with more paper towels to help "ring out" some of the water.
Combine cheese and mayonnaise until they form a cohesive ball; press ball into "frisbee" shape to set on the top of pie.
If oven has cooled, preheat to 350. Sprinkle bottom of pie crust with 1/3 of the breadcrumbs, then shingle stack in tomato slices, then layer with 1/3 of the basil. Repeat another layer of breadcrumbs, tomatoes, and basil twice (you should have three layers of breadcrumbs, tomato, basil; top with remaining tomatoes (this means a total of four layers of tomato slices - they can dome up in the center because this will cook down, but use your judgement). Top with cheese/mayonnaise mixture and, finally, sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
Bake, covered, at 350 for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 20 minutes. This will be incredibly hot, so please cool for a minimum of 15 minutes before slicing into.