NEW YORK, July 12, 2008
Farm-Fresh Delights, On A Budget
Louisville's Edward Lee Accepts "Chef On A Shoestring" Challenge
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Play CBS Video Video Southern-Style Summer Recipes Chef Edward Lee, of the popular restaurant 610 Magnolia in Louisville Kentucky, creates a "Chef On A Shoestring" Southern country-style stew and 3-course meal for under 40 dollars.
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Chef Edward Lee prepares Blue Cheese and Bacon Salad, stuffed into hollowed-out tomatoes. (CBS)
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In The Spotlight Chef on a Shoestring Check out recipes and tips from many chefs who accepted our "Chef on a Shoestring" challenge!
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News Tools Recipes Galore Searching for a new dish? Get cooking with recipes presented on "The Early Show"!
And chef Edward Lee has made that his mantra.
Five years ago, he left New York for the greener pastures of Louisville, Ky., to practice his farm-to-table philosophy, and he opened "610 Magnolia."
He had another challenge Saturday, taking The Early Show up on our challenge of bringing a delicious, three-course meal for four in on a mere $40 budget.
At 610 Magnolia, Lee offers a unique combination of Southern hospitality and urban sophistication, making it one of Louisville's finest dining establishments.
MENU
Blue Cheese and Bacon Salad
Summer Brunswick Stew with Braised Chicken
Fresh Strawberry and Tomato Granita
TAKE-HOME TIPS
FOOD FACTS
Bibb Lettuce: This butter-head lettuce has delicate, loose leaves and lots of flavor. The only downside is that it's usually expensive for lettuce.
Blue Cheese: Blue cheeses tend to be stronger in flavor and aroma than other cheeses; these characteristics become even stronger as the blue cheeses age.
Brunswick Stew: Brunswick Stew is a traditional dish from the southeastern United States. Recipes vary greatly, but it's usually a tomato-based stew containing various types of lima beans/butter beans, corn, okra, and other vegetables, and one or more types of meat. Most recipes claiming authenticity call for squirrel or rabbit meat, but chicken, pork and beef are also common ingredients. The stew essentially resembles a very thick vegetable soup with meat.
Country Ham: Country ham or Virginia ham is a variety of cured ham from the U.S., associated with the South. It's typically very salty in taste. Country hams are salt- and nitrate-cured for about a month and may be hardwood (usually hickory and red oak) smoked, then aged for several months to a year.
RECIPES
Blue Cheese and Bacon Salad with Bibb Lettuce & Pickled Corn Relish
Corn relish:
1 ear corn, kernels removed
4 tomato hearts, diced (reserve the shell for later use)
1 small cucumber, peeled and diced
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
Pinch cumin
Pinch of sugar
Salt & pepper
Salad:
6 ounces crumbled blue cheese
4 teaspoons crumbled bacon
1 cup bibb lettuce
For the Relish:
Add the corn, tomato hearts, cucumber and shallot to a medium sized mixing bowl.
Add the vinegar, mustard seed, cumin, sugar, salt & pepper and toss.
Let stand at room temperature.
The corn relish can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for up to two weeks.
For the Salad:
Cut the Bibb lettuce into ribbons and add to a separate mixing bowl.
Cook the bacon and when it cools crumble it small pieces. Add the crumbled bacon and the crumbled blue cheese and gently mix together.
Stuff the hollowed out tomato shells with the salad about ¾ of the way full. Fill the remaining space in the tomato shells with the corn relish.
Garnish with additional corn relish around the plate.
Serve immediately.
Summer Brunswick Stew with Braised Chicken on Corn Cakes
One four-pound chicken
5 quarts water, or enough to submerge the chicken completely
2 bay leaves
1 small bunch fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup country ham, diced
2 cups tomatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup fresh corn, kernels removed
Corn Cakes:
4 tablespoons Corn Oil, for frying
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1 cup water
1 ear corn, kernels removed
salt & pepper
For Brunswick Stew:
Place the chicken in a casserole pot with the water, thyme, bay leaves, crushed red pepper, ham and tomatoes and cover.
Simmer on low for two hours or until the meat is falling off the bone.
Add the onion, carrots, peas, and corn and simmer for another 20 minutes or until the vegetables are just soft but still have vibrant color.
For Corn Cakes:
In a mixing bowl, add the flour and baking powder and mix well. Then add the egg, water, corn, salt & pepper. Blend until a runny batter forms.
On a skillet, fry 2 inch diameter corn cake rounds on both sides for about 1-2 minutes on each side.
Make 4 and reserve warm.
To Plate:
In a bowl, place the corn cake in the center.
Pull some chicken meat off the bone and place over the corn cake.
Finish by spooning vegetables and braising liquid over the chicken and around the plate.
GO TO PAGE 2 FOR ANOTHER RECIPE!
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More From Chef On A Shoestring
Add a Comment
- We happened to be having company for dinner the day after I watched the Saturday Chef on a Shoestring segment. I added the Blue Cheese and Bacon Salad with Bibb Lettuce & Pickled Corn Relish to my menu. Instead of stuffing the tomato shells I made 5 cuts down the sides to open it up, shaping it like a flower. I added the salad and topped it with the corn relish. It looked really beautiful on the plate. I found the combination of flavors to be fresh and delicious. Everyone at my table enjoyed it. Keep recipes like this one coming!
- Reply to this comment
- Wonderful - except this is no such standard as "farm fresh".
Things spoil on the farm just like anywhere else. - Reply to this comment
- Whew! Good thing I already ate supper before reading this. The Farm-to-table philosophy does take time. But its mostly a priority issue. I have more time than I do money,...believe me. Do you want to watch American Idiots all the time? Or any TV for that matter? I learned when I lived in Germany what priorities they have for their yards. Not much lawn mowing going on as there was gardening. It is so satisfying to do folks! There has been plenty of times in my life when cash was scarce yet I was never left with nothing to feed my family with. It doesn''t have to be potatoes and collard greens every night if your broke. Think about what you like, search for the directions on the hows and turn off that Idiot box and get some free exercise. Finds some pots to fill good dirt with and plant some tomatoes if you have no ground. In this day and age, its nice to know where your food come from, who wasn''t around it, and where it is going. Thinking away wasted time from your life pays big time!
- Reply to this comment
- I see as usual they omitted just enough ingredients on the cost list to bring the total under the magic $40.
With the price of corn oil nowadays the 1/4 cup of that would most likely run the budget over without considering the flour and egg they left out. - Reply to this comment
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