More Southern Food Recipes

I just found a new site called Mommy's Kitchen that has killer soul food recipes. Her hot water cornbread recipe is delicious--light, airy and crunchy (I made, erm, a test batch, so I'll have to make another and take pictures). Check out the site, it's definitely worth your time!

10 Most Useful Kitchen Implements

After The Big Wedding (tm), I went on a shopping spree with the gift cards I was so generously given by friends and family. ( I LOVE shopping with other people's money.) I was thrilled to finally have a chance to buy the things I'd been drooling over for months. So in the spirit of kitchen cameraderie, I give you...

10 Most Useful Kitchen Implements

1. Tongs, one long, one short. Because trying to flip over fried foods with your fingers and a fork is ALL BAD.
2.   Food processor. Ever tried shredding a block of Parmesan by hand? Trust me, you don't want to. And that stuff in the green container can be nasty.
3. Microplane. You'll wonder how you got zest off a lemon without it. Nuff said.
4. Sharp chef's knife It's big enough to cut up a chicken, and sharp enough to do it in seconds. Believe it or not, you're more likely to hurt yourself with a DULL knife than with a sharp one, because you're pressing harder.
5. Dishwasher. Read the directions, load it correctly, and multitasking will get a whole lot simpler.Or just make your spouse/roomie/child do 'em.
6. Sturdy cutting board. Get a wooden one for veggies, plastic for meat. Whichever you use, make sure it's thick and fairly heavy. Your cutting board should not resemble your pet's place mat.
7. Upright mixer. You can beat everything from eggs to batter, and it beats the heck out of a fork (sorry, bad pun)
8. Spatulas. Sometimes you just need to get the last 1/2 cup of batter out of a bowl. Get the good ones without the wooden stick handle, they won't fall apart.
9. Vertical chicken roaster. This allows the fat to drain off the chicken into the bottom of the pan. the chicken skin gets crispier, the chicken cooks faster, and you can put vegetables around the base before it roasts. Mmmm, potatoes and onions a la schmaltz...)
10. Storage containers. Whether you buy Tupperware or recycle yogurt tubs, you should have a place to put your leftovers. And taking them to work the next day saves you money and time! Cha ching!
Lemme know what your favorites are!

Creaming Butter or Sugar--Crucial Step or Waste of Time?

The only thing I cooked over the weekend was hot dogs--so lemme talk about creaming butter and sugar today.


When you read most cake directions, you'll notice that the first instruction is, "Cream butter and sugar together." Why waste time doing this when you can just throw everything in the mixer? By blending the butter and sugar together, you're whipping air into the butter, and the sugar helps trap those fine bubbles in there. You'll also notice that the butter will change color as you whip, which is how you know you're doing it right.It may take about five to six minutes to cream properly.


Cakes that have taken this step have much more volume than ones that don't, all other things considered. My mom makes a seven layer cake, but she never bothers to cream the butter and sugar first--as a result, her layers are about a quarter of an inch high. I tried to do the same, but I followed the steps. I used the same recipe, but my layers were four times as big as hers (and I had to stop at three or risk the structural integrity of my cake!) So next time you see this step in a recipe, take the 5-6 minutes and do it. You'll be glad you did.

Since I went to a friend's party over the weekend, I didn't cook--again. But I wanted to talk a little about aphrodisiacs.


Aphrodisiacs, according to Merriam-Webster, are defined as "an agent (as a food or drug) that arouses or is held to arouse sexual desire." A food might be called an aphrodisiac simply because of the way it was shaped--ginger looks sort of like a human being, figs look like testicles, and carrots look like a penis. Science eventually determiined that there were certain foods that had a high nutritional value to them. And, of course, if you feel good, you'll want to do more in the bedroom. Oysters are high in zinc, strawberries in Vitamin C, and ginger and cinnamon help improve circulation. There are two "aphrodisiacs" that should never be consumed, however--Spanish fly and yohimbine. To make a long story short, these two don't arouse you--they irritate the urinary tract, causing a burning sensation when you go to the bathroom. Not the kind of reaction you want when you're trying to seduce your date.


Isabel Allende, author of "House of the Spirits", wrote another book called "Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses". In it, she talks about aphrodisiacs and lists a number of recipes that contain them. You can find crepes at specialty stores, or you can look up a basic recipe on allrecipes.com; they're fairly easy to make. This particular recipe looks so good I may have to save it for my fiance's birthday in a few days--or my wedding night.


Bottom line is, an aphrodisiac is whatever you and your partner think it is. What's yours?


SIBARITA

6 crêpes

2 cups fresh peeled ripe figs

4 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

4 tablespoons very finely chopped walnuts or pecans

2 teaspoons brandy (or Cognac)

Pinch ground nutmeg

6 tablespoons whipped cream


With a fork, mash the figs. Mix in the sugar, nuts, brandy and nutmeg. Divide the filling among the crêpes and fold each crepe into a square. Place in a glass dish and microwave for about a minute. Top each crêpe with whipped cream. Serves six.

Word of the Day

I went out to dinner last night, so I have no recipe for you. Which means it's time for--the Foodie Word of the Day!


Acerola

[as-uh-ROH-luh]

A tiny tree and the small, deep-red,cherrylike fruit that grows on it, found primarily in and around theWest Indies. The fruit, which has a sweet flavor and one of the highest concentrations of vitamin C, is used in desserts and preserves. It'salso called Barbados cherry, Puerto Rican cherry and West Indies cherry .


This word is brought to you by the nice folks at Epicurious.com, and

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.