"What garlic is to food, insanity is to art." Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Bacon Cheddar Cornbread

It's important to use a cast-iron skillet for this dish-12 inches works best.You'll need about 12 pieces of good quality bacon. Cut them into pieces with a sharp knife, approximately an inch to an inch and a half wide. Don't make them too small as they will shrink during the cooking process and larger chunks of bacon are better in cornbread. In your preheated cast iron pan, cook the bacon over a medium heat until it's not quite done. Put the majority of it in a mixing bowl where you'll put the rest of the filling, but set aside a bit of bacon to put on the top. Leave a little bit of the grease in the pan and reserve the rest.
Next, the corn. Four ears should do you just fine. Cut the kernels off the cob. Preheat that same cast iron pan to a high heat (no need to clean in between). Add a tablespoon of butter and then throw in the kernels. Sear until slightly browned but not too soft, about two minutes or so. Mix it with bacon. Add three or four chopped scallions to the mix, but reserve some for the top. Next, you'll need three cups of grated cheddar cheese. This is the last ingredient you're going to have to reserve a bit of for the top. Mix the rest with the bacon, corn, scallions and cheese. Set the filling aside.
Mix together the dry ingredients. You'll need three cups all-purpose flour, one cup yellow cornmeal, one quarter cup sugar, two tablespoons baking powder, two teaspoons kosher salt and one tablespoon garlic powder.
Separately, combine some wet ingredients. You'll need three lightly beaten eggs and two cups heavy cream. Melt two sticks of butter and add in the reserved bacon grease from earlier. Mix it all together. Next, stir the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry items until the majority of the lumps are dissolved, but don't over mix it. Finally, gently fold in the bacon, corn, scallion and cheddar mixture just until evenly distributed. Let the batter sit at room temperature for twenty minutes.
Dump it all into the cast iron skillet (it will still be greased enough from the cooking of the bacon and corn, so don't worry about greasing it again). Even it out and top with the remaining cheese. Then comes the layer of reserved bacon and on top of that, the scallions. Cook in a 350 degree oven for approximately 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:
2 pkg. active dry yeast
1 c. warm water (105-115 degree)
2/3 c. plus 1 tsp. granulated sugar, divided1
c. warmed milk
2/3 c. butter
2 tsp salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
7-8 c. all-purpose flour, or more if needed
Filling:
1 c. melted butter, divided (2 sticks)
1 3/4 c. granulated sugar, divided
3 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 c. chopped pecans, optional
1 1/2 c. raisins, optional (I leave them out)
Creamy Glaze:
2/3 c. melted butter (1 stick plus 2 tbsp.)
4 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4-8 tbsp. hot water
Preparation:
In a small bowl mix together warm water, yeast and sugar and set aside. In a large bowl, mix milk, remaining 2/3 cup sugar, melted butter, salt and eggs; stir well and add yeast mixture. Add half the flour and beat until smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining flour until dough is slightly stiff (dough will be sticky).
Turn out onto a well-floured board; knead 5 - 10 minutes. Place in well-buttered glass or plastic bowl, cover and let rise in warm place, free from drafts, until doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
When doubled, punch down dough and let rest 5 minutes. Roll out on floured surface into a 15 x 20 inch rectangle.
To prepare filling: Spread dough with 1/2 cup melted butter. Mix together 1 1/2 cups sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with walnuts and raisins, if desired.
Roll up jellyroll-fashion and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices. Coat bottom of a 13-by-9-inch baking pan and a 8-inch square pan with remaining 1/2 cup melted butter, then sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in pans. Let rise in warm place until dough is doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until rolls are nicely browned. Cool rolls slightly.
To prepare glaze: Meanwhile, in medium bowl, mix melted butter, powdered sugar and vanilla; add hot water 1 Tbsp. at a time until glaze reaches desired spreading consistency. Spread over slightly cooled rolls.

Cheese Straws

These savory little snacks are essential to any Southern gathering.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese ( I use extra-sharp)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper



Preheat oven to 300 to degrees.

In a food processor, add the butter, cheese, flour, salt and cayenne and process until a smooth dough is formed. Scoop dough into a cookie press fitted with a flat ridged tip.

Alternatively , refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes and roll on a lightly floured surface into a 1/4 inch rectangle. Cut into smaller rectangles, about 2 x 3 inches, with a pizza wheel or sharp knife.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to racks to cool.

Hot and Hot Fish Club Tomato Salad

2 large Beefsteak Tomatoes
2 large Golden Delight Tomatoes
2 Big Rainbow Tomatoes
½ pint Sweet 100 Tomatoes
Salt and Pepper
30 small whole Okra, fried (recipe follows)
4 ounces fresh butter beans (recipe follows)
½ small Onion, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh Thyme
3 ears Silver Queen Corn, (recipe follows)
Balsamic Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Chive Dressing (recipe follows)
4 ounces Smoked Bacon, thinly sliced and cooked until crisp
Wash, core and slice tomatoes. Toss in Balsamic Vinaigrette. Add salt and pepper. Set aside.
Prepare okra, corn, butter beans, Balsamic Vinaigrette, Chive Dressing and Bacon.
Fried Okra
¼ cup Buttermilk
¼ cup Corn Flour
¼ cup Corn Meal
¼ cup All Purpose Flour
Salt and Pepper
4 cups Vegetable Oil
Heat vegetable oil to 350 degrees. Trim okra stems and place in a small bowl with the buttermilk. Toss to deep coated. Combine corn flour, cornmeal and all purpose flour in medium size bowl. Add salt and pepper. Drain okra from buttermilk. Toss in cornmeal mixture and shake off excess. Fry in vegetable oil until golden. Drain on paper towels. Set aside.
Butter Beans:
Simmer butter beans in onion, water, bacon trimmings and salt until just tender. Add fresh thyme. When done, drain and set aside in small bowl.
Corn:
Boil corn in salted water. Remove when tender. Shave kernels off cob and combine with butter beans. Add 3 tablespoons Balsamic Vinaigrette and let sit.
Balsamic Vinaigrette(Yield 1 cup)
½ cup Balsamic Vinegar,
scant ¼ cup Olive Oil
¼ cup Virgin Olive Oil
2 scallions, thinly sliced
6 fresh Basil Leaves, chopped
Place scallions and basil in small bowl. Add balsamic vinegar. Whisk in olive oils. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Chive Dressing(Yield 1 ¾ cup)
2 large Cloves Garlic, finely minced
1 medium sized bunch Chives, thinly sliced
1 Egg Yolk
1 small Lemon, juiced
1 cup Olive Oil
¼ cup Crème Fraiche
Place garlic and chives in small bowl. Add egg yolk, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Vigorously whisk in olive oil, being sure to create emulsion. Add crème fraiche. Add a drop or two of water if too thick.
Presentation:
Arrange sliced tomatoes on plates. Place whole Sweet 100 tomatoes around the sliced tomatoes. Divide butter bean and corn mixture evenly among plates. Arrange okra and bacon on plates. Drizzle Chive dressing over all ingredients and serve.
Note: Look for a variety of locally grown tomatoes at the farmer’s market. If not available, look for good local tomatoes.

Some summer whites

Upon the arrival of warm weather, white wine is often preferred over red. It is lighter and is served chilled. Keeping this in mind, I've come up with a few suggestions:
A New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is zesty and grapefruity, really refreshing in the heat. Great drinkability, goes good with grilled light meat, seafood, salads. Kim Crawford's Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2008 scored 91 points by Wine Spectator, can be found at about $20. Monkey Bay is another good choice, it scored 86 points and is can be found for about $11.
My personal favorite white is Gavi. Minerally, and to my taste just the right acidity. Broglia Gavi di Meirana is a great value for around $16, most quality Gavi run much higher. This stuff will impress your friends!
For inexpensive beach/pool drinking, try Domaine du Tariquet. It's hint of peach and apple flavors finish off with a lively spiciness that make it very enjoyable drinking.
For Chardonnay lovers on a budget, Bogle has a good one you can find in your local grocery store for around $10, and it scored an 87. Mirassou has a nice one for about $12 that scored 86. Try Chardonnay with fried chicken or lobster, delicious!

Planning a Party with Wine

Planning a soiree and want to provide wine for your guests?

One of the first things people want to know is, how much wine do I need? A serving of wine is approximately 5 oz., and a bottle will yield about 5 servings. A good rule of thumb is that people consume a serving about every half hour. A simple way to estimate the amount is to multiply your number of guests by the length of the party, in half hours.
Normally, you like to start with a very light, or sparkling white, next a heavier white (like Chardonnay) and then on to the reds. If you are planning a full meal, you will pair the wines accordingly. Provide plenty of water/non alcoholic drinks for non-drinkers and to transition people away from alcohol nearing the end of the party. You may want to consider serving sweets or dessert with coffee to signal the end of the party. It takes a human about an hour to process one drink, so try to steer them towards the non-alcoholic stuff at least an hour before you want to end the evening