Down-Home, Southern Dishes, On A Budget
It's summertime and the livin's easy, and there's nothing like down-home, Southern home cooking to stay in that mindset.
On The Early Show Saturday, Southern chef Martha Hall Foose took on our "Chef on a Shoestring" challenge of cooking up a three-course meal for four on a budget of only $40.
Born and raised in the Mississippi Delta, Foose cooks Southern food with a contemporary flair.
She trained in France, then returned to Mississippi and opened Bottletree Bakery in Oxford, which became a Southern institution, and later, with her husband, the Mockingbird Bakery in Greenwood.
Foose brought some of her favorite recipes to our plaza from her new book, "Screen Doors and Sweet Tea: Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook" (Clarkson Potter), which is loaded with simple Southern dishes.
FOOD FACTS
Sweet tea: Has long been a staple beverage in the American South. It is almost universally made with black tea, sweetened with large amounts of cane sugar, and served over ice. The sugar is added to the tea while it is still hot, a process that creates a super-saturated solution of sugar and water. It is this higher-than-normal level of dissolved sugar that makes it distinct from most other regional varieties of sweetened tea. It is a signature drink of the region, to the point where the Southern use of the word "tea" is largely used to refer specifically to cold, sweet tea and not to hot or unsweetened varieties.
Catfish: Have been widely caught and farmed for food for hundreds of years in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Judgments as to the quality and flavor vary, with some food critics considering catfish as being excellent food, and others dismissing it as watery and lacking in flavor. In the South, catfish is an extremely popular food. The most commonly eaten species in the United States are the channel catfish and blue catfish, both of which are common in the wild and increasingly widely farmed.
En Papillote (the method used on the show to cook the catfish): A French word meaning "in a paper bag." En papilotte is a cooking process that cooks foods in their own juices in a bag (sealing the foods to cook in their own juices, rather than adding water as in steaming; re-enforces flavors rather than diluting them). Traditionally, the food is enclosed with parchment paper, but today, it's also cooked enclosed in aluminum-foil bags. Pastry is also used in the same way, such as pasties. The bag is slit open tableside so that the diner can enjoy the escaping aroma.
Black-eyed peas: The black-eyed pea is a small beige bean with a black circular "eye" at its inner curve. It can be purchased fresh or dried. Though originally cultivated for animal feed, the black-eyed pea is now a popular food, and important in Southern cuisine.
MENU
Sweet Tea
Watermelon Salsa & Chips
Baked Catfish with Black-eyed Peas
Lemon Icebox Pie
TAKE-HOME TIPS:
RECIPES
Sweet Tea
4 pitcher-size cold-brew tea bags, or 6 tablespoons orange pekoe tea leaves in a diffuser
3/4 cup sugar
2 lemons, sliced
Ice cubes
Fresh mint sprig (optional)
Place the tea bags in a large pitcher.
Add 3 quarts cold water, and steep for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine 1 cup water and the sugar. Boil, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved.
Remove the tea bags.
Add the sugar mixture and stir to combine.
Serve over ice with lemon and fresh mint, if desired.
Watermelon Salsa
4 cups diced, seeded watermelon cubes
1 cup diced, seeded cantaloupe cubes
2 green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped basil
Grated zest and juice of 1 lime
1 bag tortilla chips
In a large bowl, combine the watermelon, cantaloupe, onions, jalapeno, salt, sugar, chile powder, cilantro, basil, and lime zest and juice.
Chill for 30 minutes before serving.
For more recipes, go to Page 2.
Paper Sack Catfish
4 teaspoons unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
4 (6-ounce) U.S. farm-raised catfish fillets, rinsed and patted dry
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 sprigs fresh dill
1 lemon, sliced into 4 rounds
4 lunch-size paper bags
With nonstick cooking spray, lightly spray all over the outside of the paper bags.
Cut six 8-inch lengths of butcher's wine. Set aside.
Adjust the racks in the oven, placing one in the lowest slot and one in the middle position.
Preheat the oven to 350º
In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter with the garlic, salt, oil, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
Place the catfish in a single layer in a dish. Pour the sauce evenly over the fish, and then sprinkle with the pepper.
Place one dill sprig and one lemon slice on each fillet.
Gently slide one fillet into each paper sack.
Gather the mouth of the bag and give it a twist, then tie with twine.
Place three bags on a large rimmed baking sheet and the other three on another baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes, halfway through reversing the pans.
Serve immediately, placing an inflated sack on each dinner plate.
For maximum effect, slice open the bags at the table.
Delta Peas and Rice
2-1/2 cups frozen black-eyed peas
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium white onion, peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups diced, peeled ripe tomatoes
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 cups cooked long-grain white rice
¼ cup minced parsley
Fresh ground black pepper
In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, combine the peas, 1 teaspoon salt, and enough water to cover.
Simmer the peas over medium-low heat until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain the peas and set aside.
Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat and add the oil and onion.
Cook and stir the onion for 5 minutes or until tender.
Add the garlic and continue to cook for 1 minute.
Add the tomatoes, thyme, vinegar, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
Add the black-eyed peas and simmer for 15 minutes.
Stir in the cooked rice and parsley.
Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.
Lemon Icebox Pie
1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
4 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 cups heavy cream
6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
In a medium bowl, combine the crumbs, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter.
Pat into a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan and bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until slightly browned.
Remove to a wire rack to cool.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the milk, yolks, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
Pour the lemon filling into the cooled crust.
Baked for 10 minutes, until set.
Cool on a rack. Chill the pie for 30 minutes.
When the pie is completely cooled, whip the cream with the confectioners' sugar until stiff peaks form. Mound the whipped cream on top of the pie and chill for 1 hour.
So, how did Foose do with out $40 budget?
1ST COURSE
tea bags $3.29
lemons $1.00
mint .69
watermelon $1.19
cantaloupe .99
green onions .66
jalapeno .16
ancho chile powder .99
cilantro .89
basil $1.49
lime .25
tortilla chips $2.89
2ND COURSE
garlic .39
lemon .50
catfish fillets $7.49
dill .89
black-eyed peas .75
white onion .56
tomatoes $2.09
thyme leaves $1.49
apple cider vinegar .89
white rice $1.19
parsley .69
3RD COURSE
graham crackers $2.19
condensed milk $3.18
lemon .50
heavy cream $1.19
confectioners' sugar .99
FINAL COST = $39.47