Delicious Details

Southern Heart Attack
Guests:

9

Appetizer:

Fried Pickles (Recipe)
Yep, we never heard of them either. In lieu of Fried Greed Tomatoes, which apparently aren't available in our neck of the woods, we have opted for another southern tradition made famous by Bernell "Fatman" Austin in 1963 at the Duchess Drive In located in Atkins, Arkansas.

Bread:

Piping Hot Hush Puppies (Recipe)
Don't worry, no puppies were harmed in the making of this dish, but as long as we were heating enough grease for the pickles, we though we may as well use up the rest of it!

Main Course:

Buttermilk Fried Chicken (Recipe)
With more variations than we could read through, we settled on a recipe with lots of fresh herbs, and 24-hours of marination.

Side Dish:

Green Beans (Recipe)
A vegetable every now and then never hurt anybody.
Orgasmic Mac 'n' Cheese
Elbow macaroni smoothered in a bechamel made up of parmigiano reggiano, chevre and cheddar, with sauteed crimini and shitake mushrooms mixed in, topped with white truffle oil and a crunchy panko crust, this is no blue-box mac n cheese.

Dessert:

Bread Pudding with a Whiskey Sauce (Recipe)
What better way to use a dozen eggs and a quart of heavy cream? This bread pudding features french bread drowned in a creamy custard, baked slowly over three hours in a water bath and will be topped with a drunken whiskey sauce.

Music:

Miscellaneous Southern Tunes

Board Game:

Pictionary Telephone (see photo)

Appetizer

Fried Pickles
(based on the recipe by Wikipedia)

Ingredients

• 1 Egg, beaten
  
• 1 c Milk
  
• 1 tbsp Flour
  
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 6 drops Hot Sauce
• 3/4 tsp Salt
• 3/4 tsp Pepper
• 3 1/2 c Flour
• 10 oz jar Pickle Spears
  
• Dried dill
  
• Vegetable oil for deep frying

Instructions

1. Heat oil to 350 degrees.
   
2. Combine the egg, milk, flour, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce in a bowl, stirring well. Set aside.
   
3. Combine flour, salt and pepper in a bowl, stirring well.
   
4. Dip pickles in milk mixture and dredge in flour mixture, repeat process. Deep fry in oil, until pickles float to surface and are golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with Dried dill to your liking.

Serves 8

Bread

Pipping Hot Hush Puppies
(based on the recipe from the Chitterling Site)

Ingredients

• 2 c Yellow Corn Meal
• 1 c Flour
• 2 Eggs
• 1 c Buttermilk
• 3/4 tsp Seasoning Salt
• 1/2 tsp Pepper
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 2/3 tsp Baking Soda
• 2 tbsp Bacon Grease
• 3/4 c Honey
• Frying Oil
  

Instructions

1. Mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add eggs, oil, and buttermilk. Stir until well combined.
2. Add enough oil to the pan to be 3 inches deep. Heat the oil to 350 degrees. Drop your hush puppies in using a table spoon. Allow them to brown on all sides. They will float when done.

Serves 10

Main Dish

Buttermilk Fried Chicken
(based on the recipe from Foodnetwork)

Ingredients

• 2 (3 pound) Fryers, cut into pieces
• 3 c Buttermilk
• 9 cloves Garlic, smashed
• 1 large Onion, sliced
• 1 c Herbs (Rosemary, Tarragon, Thyme), fresh, mixed, chopped
  
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 2 c Flour
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
• 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
• 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
  
• Salt
  
• Pepper
• 3 c Shortening, butter flavor

Instructions

1. In a large ziplock bag, combine chicken, buttermilk, garlic, onions, herbs, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours.
   
2. Heat 3 cups shortening in large frying pan until 350 degrees.
3. Drain in colander, leaving some herbs on chicken. In a large bag, mix flour with seasonings. Place chicken pieces in bag with flour and shake, let sit 1 minute, then shake again.
   
4. Add chicken to hot pan and fry on 1 side for 20 minutes, then turn to finish.

Serves 8

Side Dishes

Green Beans
In the store I found these new, nifty things in the Ziploc section called Zip n Steam which allow you to steam veggies in the microwave. My first thought was, "Great, a new way to create waste in our world." My second thought was, "Well, it's on sale." They turned out to be amazing. With super instructions right on the bag, and the fastest cooking times, even we couldn't mess things up. I highly recommend them!

Ingredients

• Zip n Steam Bags
• Green Beans
• Salt
• Butter

Instructions

1. Wash desired amount of green beans and cut off ends.
   
2. Put green beans in Zip n Steam Bag. Add salt. Follow instructions on bag for microwaving times.
3. Empty bag into serving bowl. Smoother in butter. Serve.

Orgasmic Mac 'n' Cheese
(based on the recipe from what we're eating)
The hunt for a great Mac 'n' Cheese recipe was long and hard, but this one looked the best, hands down.

Ingredients

• 2 c Crimini Mushrooms, sliced
• 2 c Shitake Mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tbsp Bacon Grease
• 1 1/2 tbsp Sherry Vinegar
• 4 tbsp Butter
• 4 tbsp Flour
• 3 1/2 c Milk, warmed
  
• 4 oz Herb Chevre, crumbled
• 4 oz Sharp Cheddar, shredded
• 6 oz Parmigiano Reggiano, shredded, divided
• 1 tbsp Thyme, fresh, minced
• 2 tsp Rosemary, fresh, minced
• 1 tsp Sage, fresh, minced
• 1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 3 tbsp White Truffle Oil
• 1 c Panko
• 12 oz Elbow Macaroni
• Salt
• Pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a large pot of water over high heat and cover. Place a large saute pan with bacon grease over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the mushrooms to the pan and saute for 7-10 minutes or until the mushrooms are fully cooked and slightly caramelized. Toss or stir occasionally. Season with a pinch of kosher salt and black pepper then deglaze the pan with sherry vinegar. Allow all of the vinegar to cook out, then remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside.

2. Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Once all the butter is melted and hot, whisk in flour. Cook the flour, whisking, for about 30 seconds. Add the thyme, rosemary, sage, and red pepper flakes. Continue stirring and allow the herbs to saute for about another 30 seconds. Slowly pour in the milk while whisking continuously, so the roux and milk incorporate smoothly and there are no lumps. Allow the bechamel to come to a simmer (it won’t gain it’s full thickness until it does), stirring occassionally.

3. While waiting for the sauce to come to a simmer start the pasta. Liberally salt the pot of boiling water, almost to the point it tastes like sea water. Add the pasta to the water and cook the pasta for a minute or two less than the suggested time on the box.

4. Once the bechamel has reached a simmer, stir in the chevre, cheddar, 3oz of parmigiano, and truffle oil until all the cheese has melted. Turn off the heat and and taste the sauce for seasoning levels. Season with salt and pepper as necessary. In small mixing bowl, mix together the panko and remaining 3oz of parmigiano reggiano.

5. Strain the pasta immediately once finished cooking. In a mixing bowl, toss the pasta, cheese sauce, and mushrooms together. Pour the macaroni and cheese into a deep glass or ceramic loaf pan and sprinkle the panko/parmigiano mixture evenly across the top. Bake the mac-n-cheese in the upper part of the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the topping is golden and the cheese sauce is bubbly.
   

Serves 8

Dessert

Bread Pudding with a Whiskey Sauce
(based on the recipe from NOLA Cuisine)
We should have chopped the bread into slightly smaller pieces, and used slightly less bread as well, but otherwise this was yummy. The sauce made this dish!

Ingredients

• 2 c Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
  
• Pinch of Salt
• 13 Eggs
• 3 c Heavy Cream
• 1 c Milk
• 2 tbsp Vanilla
• 2 loaves of French Bread, cubed
• 1 tbsp Butter

• 2 tsp Corn Starch
• 2 tbsp Water
• 1 1/2 c Heavy Cream
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1/3 c Jack Daniels
  
• 1/3 c Sugar

Bread Pudding Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 13 pan.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl whisk the eggs, then whisk in the cream, milk and vanilla extract. Add contents from the small mixing bowl. Fold in the bread cubes being sure to not break them up too much.
4. Place the prepared mixture into the cake pan, cover with foil and place the cake pan into a larger pan, sufficient enough to allow for a water bath which will cover the smaller pan by half way.
5. Place the pans into the oven and bake for 2 hours. Remove the foil and raise the temperature to 300 degrees for 1 hour more or until the top of the pudding is golden brown. The finished pudding should be slightly firm, while moist, but not runny.
6. Serve warm, topped with Whiskey Sauce (instructions below)
   

Whiskey Sauce Instructions

1. Mix together the water and cornstarch in a small bowl.
   
2. Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. While boiling slowly whisk in the cornstarch slurry.
3. When the sauce is thickened remove from the heat and add the vanilla, bourbon and sugar. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Serves 8