Okra Succotash and Justin Wilson

I don't know if Justin Wilson was THE original Cajun TV chef, but in our book he was and remains the most beloved.

Back when Bob and I were newlyweds, before children, before the big yard to mow, before....well...you know....during that honeymoon period when you pretty much have no priority other than each other and your job and friends, we would lazy around the house all day on Saturdays. And an important part of our Saturday routine was watching Justin Wilson's show on PBS. He was so entertaining with his jokes and sense of humor and the food he made looked mouth-wateringly yummy! (Click HERE if you'd like to hear his voice or order his cookbooks.)

This was also way before the Internet, too, and even personal computers, for that matter! The only way to get Justin's recipes was to order his cookbook or to jot down guestimates of what he was "trowing" in the pot. Since our budget couldn't handle ordering expensive cookbooks from PBS, I would sit with pencil and paper in hand through each show in hopes of getting down all the ingredients to try in my own kitchen.

One dish that I've made for years is Okra Succotash and it was inspired by Justin Wilson. I'd be willing to bet it's not precisely like his, but it sure is good! This is a great dish for this season because you can find everything in the grocery store or farmers' markets right now. And did I mention that it is really good and fresh-tasting? It freezes well, too.

Now, a word about okra. If you are buying fresh okra, the pods must be no more than about 3 inches long and with no brown on them. Longer, and they get tough and stringy. Also pay attention to the price. Frozen sliced okra works just as well as fresh in this recipe without compromising a thing, so buy the frozen (do not defrost) if the value is better or you are short on prep time. There is no okra slime in this dish if you follow the directions to cook the okra till it loses its slime...works every time!

Oh, and fresh corn is best, but frozen works great, too. If you can't find really good fresh tomatoes, use canned diced tomatoes. This is NOT a fussy recipe at all! Make lots of this now and freeze it to use this winter.

Okra Succotash

Serves 10-12

6 slices bacon, fried crisp and crumbled
4 T. reserved bacon drippings
2 c. chopped onion
2 c. chopped green bell pepper
½ tsp. or more ground cayenne pepper
1 (16 oz.) bag frozen sliced okra (4 c. fresh)
1 (16 oz) bag frozen corn (4 c. fresh)
3 med. tomatoes, chopped (or one large can diced tomatoes, drained)
Salt & pepper to taste

In a large sauté pan, sauté onion, green bell pepper, and cayenne pepper in bacon drippings until onion is limp. Add frozen okra and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until okra has lost most of its “slime.” Add corn and tomatoes. Mix well and simmer, uncovered, until the corn is cooked (about 10 minutes). Stir in the crumbled bacon and salt and pepper to taste.

Bon Appétit!
Chef Debbie

Roasted Figs with Bacon, Goat Cheese, and Rosemary Honey

One of the reasons farmers' markets are so much fun is that you never know what treasures you will find there. This time it was tiny fresh figs! Hmmmm....what to do with these little morsels of goodness???

Here's my creation for the day. Sweet and soft warm figs, salty and creamy goat cheese, crisp and salty bacon, sweet herbed honey with just a bite of black pepper, and a drizzle of very good balsamic vinegar provides the acid to cut through the sweetness.

Roasted Fresh Figs with Bacon, Goat Cheese and Rosemary Honey

For each appetizer serving:

3/4 c. small fresh figs* (about 10), stemmed and sliced open
2 T. goat cheese (or more)
1 slice smoked bacon, fried crisp and crumbled
1 T. honey
1/8 tsp. finely minced fresh rosemary
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Drizzle of very good balsamic vinegar

Sprig of rosemary for garnish

Heat oven to 425 ˚. Spray small gratin dish for each serving with canola oil cooking spray. Arrange figs in each dish; sprinkle with goat cheese and crumbled bacon. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and drizzle with hot Rosemary Honey and vinegar.

Rosemary Honey: Combine honey, rosemary and ground black pepper in glass measuring cup. Microwave on high for 30 seconds or until bubbling.

*If you have large figs, use three per serving. Stem figs and slice in quarters from the stem end just to, but not through the blossom end. Spread open, fill with goat cheese and crumble bacon over top. Proceed with recipe.

Bon Appétit!
Chef Debbie

Operation Baking Gals

I'm so excited about Operation Baking Gals! (Gals stands for "Give a little support.) All across the country, baking gals (and guys) are showing their support for our troops overseas by firing up their ovens, dusting off their stand mixers, and pulling out their favorite recipes for baked goods!

This is the second round and I've volunteered to be a host this time. What I need is everyone's help to make this "Operation" a real success. We want our servicemen to be bombarded with goodies from home!

My serviceman is my son-in-law, Daryl, who is a staff sergeant in the Air Force serving in Iraq. Many of you have already met Daryl and know that he was shipped out a month before his precious little son, Deven, was born. Lyndsey and Daryl also have a 2 1/2 year old little girl, Mary, who misses her daddy tremendously. He can't wait to get home to see them, but that won't happen till early winter. In the meantime, we are all trying to keep him and his 22 other fellow troops from his air base in good spirits and aware that they are appreciated back home.

This is how it works: Ship anytime the week of August 23-30 and use the USPS for your package that will be going to a camp in Iraq. What can you bake? That's up to you! Just keep in mind that it will take about one week to get to Daryl and will be subjected to temperatures over 100 degrees and lots of jostling around along the way.

If you or any of your baking friends want to join my team, please post a quick comment here and email me at thehungryfox AT yahoo DOT com and I'll send you more info and Daryl's address.

Here's a recent letter from Daryl to a friend of mine after she and her book club sent them a care package:

On behalf of all of the troops on Alpha flight/586ESFS, I would like to say thank you so much for that wonderful care package that you sent us. We really appreciate it. Out of everything that you sent us, the cookies were the biggest hit around here. Everyone just went on and on about them. I also appreciate the beautiful letter that you wrote as well. And trust me I know how blessed I am to have such a beautiful family. Well I have to turn in now, but please pass on our thanks and appreciation to the rest of the wonderful women in the Book Club. It really makes this place not so bad when you know you have such wonderful people supporting you. You and Franklin are wonderful and I thank you for your support during this deployment. I love you guys and can't wait to see you both when I come home. ~Daryl

I hope to hear from you and your friends soon!

Bon Appétit!
Chef Debbie

Here's our team so far!
Heather Peskin of Brooklyn, NY & Sherry Trifle
Carmella Lanni-Giardina of the Bronx, NY & The Food Duo
Amy Gurnsey from Detroit, MI & Wake Me When It's Over
Tanya Schroeder of Hoffman Estates, IL & Take the Cannoli
Beth Morey of Missoula, MT & Muffin Love Chick
Kim Onstott of Estrella Mountain Resort, AZ & Your Place Gourmet
Kelsey Morris of NY, NY & Kelsey Kakes
Linda Harper of Los Angeles, CA & Tender Crumb
Brent Evans of Charlotte, NC & Personal Chefs Network
Gwen Byrd of Lancaster, SC

Mary Makes Pita Bread!

I'm staying with the mid-Eastern theme for one more day. I asked my daughter to bring some pita bread home from the grocery store. It was so dry and tough...the polar opposite of what I had enjoyed at the Lebanese restaurant. So, I decided that since my granddaughter and I had all afternoon together, we should try our hand at making homemade pita bread. It turned out tender and absolutely delicious. I'm sure that Mary had a lot to do with that!

Mary helped form the loaves. The hardest thing for us to do was wait for the loaves to rise, but the reward was worth the wait!

Mmmmmmm, Mimi...this is really really good!!!

What a beautiful stack of pita loaves! Here's the recipe:

The Hungry Fox's Pita Bread

1 pkg. rapid-rise yeast
1 T. sugar
1/2 c. lukewarm water
6 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. kosher salt
1/3 c. milk
1 1/2 c. lukewarm water

-Dissolve yeast and sugar in 1/2 c. lukewarm water until foamy.
-In bowl of food processor, briefly pulse 6 c. flour and 2 tsp. salt.
-Pour into flour mixture the yeast water, 1 1/2 c. warm water and 1/3 c. milk. Pulse until combined and starting to pull together.
-Process with stop & go motion until dough pulls together and becomes smooth and elastic.
-Pour dough out onto floured counter top and briefly knead until able to form a ball.
-Lightly grease large bowl with olive oil, add dough to bowl and turn to coat all sides with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and then clean cotton dish towel. Set over pot of tap-warm water for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size. Turn out onto lightly floured counter top.
-Knead and shape dough for 2 minutes. Form into long rope, about 3 inches in diameter.
-Heat oven to 475 degrees. ( Heat baking stone, also, on bottom rack.)
-Cut into slices (orange-size) and form into balls. Place on baking sheet, cover with clean cotton towel, and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Pat each ball into flat disc, then roll thinly (less than 1/4 inch) in shape of circle. Return to sheet; cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
-Place each disc directly onto heated baking stone or baking sheet.
-When bread is puffed, turn and continue baking for 2 minutes. Timing depends upon thickness of your bread. Do not overbake and it is not necessary to brown this bread.
-Remove loaves to cooling rack. Cool completely and store in plastic zipper bags for one day at room temperature and longer in fridge or freezer.
-Makes 11 -12

Bon Appétit!
Chef Debbie

Chef Debbie's Tabbouli

If you read yesterday's post you won't be surprised that today I made tabbouli. I experimented and think that it comes really close to what I enjoyed at the Kabob Grill last evening. This is a great side for grilled red meat. Good luck finding the bulghur. We had to buy a box of Near East Tebbouleh mix and used just the cracked wheat, leaving the seasoning packet for other uses later.

Tabbouli

6 side servings

1/2 cup bulghur wheat
1/2 cup boiling water
1 large bunch parsley, stemmed & minced
3 T. minced fresh mint
2 cups perfectly ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 finely minced green onions (white & green parts)
Grated zest of one lemon
Juice of one lemon
Drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt, adjusted to taste

Soak the bulghur in water for 15 minutes, then drain well. Place the bulgher in a mixing bowl and add all the remaining ingredients. Adjust seasoning (salt). Chill thoroughly before serving.

Bon Appétit!
Chef Debbie

Personal Chefs at The Kabob Grill

Can you imagine being a restaurateur hosting a group of personal chefs for dinner? Thursday evening our Carolinas Personal Chefs chapter of the USPCA decended upon The Kabob Grill at its location off Rea Road in Stonecrest.

This was an exciting experience for me because Lebanese food is not something I am at all familiar with. The closest I've gotten is lamb grilled on a skewer, or baba gannouj, or teboulleh salad.

The first thing I always do when I know I'm way out of my league with a menu is have a serious conversation with the server who, in this case and by the best happenstance, was one of the owners. I asked him if he would mind choosing my dinner for me and I told him there were no restrictions. (I was pretty sure they didn't serve anything moving on the plate or having six or more legs!) What he delivered was a real "meat and potatoes" manmeal...Lebonese style. I guess that's what I get for leaving the ordering up to a man! I have to say that it was really tasty, though, and a good representation of kabobs at their finest. (Note: There are many vegetable and even vegetarian selections on the menu.)

I should have gotten a picture of Reid's teboulleh salad. It was beautiful....deep verdant green with diced garden-ripe tomatoes gracing the top. I learned this evening that I've never added enough parsley to my teboulleh salad! If you really, really searched, you could find the grains in Reid's salad. Did I say if you really really searched? My body fairly screamed, "This is so healthy; this is so healthy!"

The next logical question was what wine to drink with all this grilled meat and bold flavors. Now, I have to tell you that I was familiar with most of the wines on the wine list, but it's always a good idea to at least try a wine that is created near where the food originates. (That's a rule of thumb to remember...they generally pair well together.) "We do have a Lebanese wine and it's delicious," I was told and so I jumped at the opportunity to try that, my first Lebanese wine!

Out our host came with my glass of Chateau KSara "Le Prieuré!" Deep purple, dark berries, spice, balanced acid and tannins enough to stand up to the grilled meats and olive oil. Yummy and perfect! I will never understand those people who insist on drinking only one variety of wine....they miss so much! If you never thought of wine being made in Lebanon (I never did!) and would like to pay a virtual visit to this winery, by all means click here.

A wonderful evening all around....good friends and colleagues, great food, wine, and service that was welcoming and friendly. I highly recommend a visit to The Kabob Grill in Stonecrest.

Pennsylvania Dutch Pepper Slaw

For generations the Pennsylvania Dutch women in my family have been making pepper slaw and when my friend Debbie of Yummy~Issimo sent out a request for a slaw recipe I immediately thought of this Pennsylvania Dutch Pepper Slaw. She wanted something spicy, and while this is not spicy (most PA Dutch food is not), it can easily be adjusted to individual taste with the addition of diced jalapenos or cayenne pepper flakes.

Here's the recipe as it appeared in Edna Eby Heller's 1968 "The Art of Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking." (My grandma gave me this cookbook in 1980 and her simple inscription inside the front cover still makes me get all misty.)

Pepper Cabbage

4 c. shreded cabbage

1/2 green pepper, chopped fine

1 stem celery, cut fine

1/4 c. grated carrot (opt. and not used in my family)

1 tsp. salt

5 T. sugar

1/2 c. water

5 T. vinegar (apple cider)

Combine all ingredients, mixing well. If refrigerated, will keep well for several days.

Bon Appétit!
Chef Debbie