Southern

The complex, bittersweet syrup for these roasted sweet potatoes is inspired by Southern redeye gravy.

Editor's note: This recipe is part of a special Thanksgiving menu created by chefs Allison Vines-Rushing and Slade Rushing of MiLa restaurant in New Orleans. While traditional beignets are on the must-have list of every New Orleans tourist, we personally think flavor-wise they can be a bit one note. This version, however, is sweet and savory with a spicy dipping sauce. The addition on coconut and shrimp honor the Carribean persuasions of New Orleans cuisine.

Editor's note: This recipe is part of a special Thanksgiving menu created by chefs Allison Vines-Rushing and Slade Rushing of MiLa restaurant in New Orleans. Fried turkey is the answer to a Thankgiving under the gun. There is no need to wake up at the crack of dawn to put the turkey in the oven. Let that bird brine for 36 hours then pop it in a cauldron of hot fat (outside, of course). And you've got turkey on the table in under 2 hours. It's not just any turkey. It has juicy meat all over, even the breasts. Don't feel guilty about the frying, you probably only eat turkey once a year. Serve it with a healthy array of sides if that makes you feel better. You'll need to invest in an outdoor turkey frying kit.

Editor's note: This recipe is part of a special Thanksgiving menu created by chefs Allison Vines-Rushing and Slade Rushing of MiLa restaurant in New Orleans. The licorice root is optional, but if used, will add a slightly sweet, woody flavor to this fall soup. If you can't find it locally, the chefs recommend Gourmet Spice Company as an online source. We have yet to come across a person who does not like butternut squash soup. Even staunch vegetable haters fall for it. (Maybe its sweet richness makes them think that it can't be healthy.) When it is on the menu at the restaurant, probably eighty percent of our customers order it, leaving the cooks to complain about how much they have to make. And if you peek through the kitchen doors, you will undoubtedly see one of us with a steaming hot bowl of it in our own grubby hands.

Tim Love, Woodshed Smokehouse, Fort Worth, TX: "Charred mustard and citrus make for a great combo, especially when combined with a marbled steak."

Get juicy shrimp by gently steaming them in an herb-and-lemon infused broth.

Sweet pickle juice and a mashed consistency give this Southern potato salad, inspired by one at Sally Bell's Kitchen, its character.

If you have difficulty finding buster crabs or small soft shells, you can use large soft shell crabs, quartered, and they'll still make a great dish.

A close relative of Brunswick Stew, Burgoo was traditionally made with small, wild game such as squirrel or rabbit. This recipe adapted from B. Smith makes about 1 gallon, an amount that can easily be made on the stovetop in an 8-quart Dutch oven or soup pot. There are two parts to the recipe: first, making the flavorful meat broth, and then cooking the meat and vegetables together. Burgoo freezes well and tastes even better if it's refrigerated a few days before serving. Lawrenceburg is home to the Anderson County Burgoo Festival, held every September.

"If gumbo is the national stew of Cajun country, burgoo is the stew of Kentucky," Ronni Lundy asserts in her book Shuck Beans, Stack Cakes, and Honest Fried Chicken. Because the stew is made in many different ways with a variety of ingredients, the "Burgoo Song" by Robert Myles claims, "You can toss in almost anything that ever walked or flew." Many early recipes for burgoo include squirrel in addition to chicken, beef, and pork. In Kentucky, Anderson County, which hosts its Burgoo Festival every September, is known as the burgoo capital of the world. Arenzville, Illinois, makes a similar claim. But the French lay claim to the basic concept of burgoo, and it's conceivable that the word burgoo arose somehow from the French ragout (pronounced ra-goo), also a term describing a stew. Burgoo makers agree • Burgoo should be made in stages: cook the meat first, and then add the vegetables.
• No less than 4—6 hours should be devoted to making burgoo. Some recipes call for a 24-hour cooking period.
• Burgoo should contain more than one meat.
• Burgoo should be prepared outdoors over an open fire.

"There is no point in cooking country ham and burgoo to serve just six," Charles Patteson advises the Derby Day host in Charles Patteson's Kentucky Cooking (1988). "Start with the mandatory mint juleps," he continues. "Burgoo, which is midway between a hearty soup and a stew, succeeds the juleps in the guests' cups as a first course." I hadn't known that. Nor had I known that it's traditional for burgoo to be scooped into silver mint julep cups at the annual Kentucky Colonels' Barbecue the day after the Derby. In Kentucky's Best (1998), Linda Allison-Lewis writes that burgoo must "simmer for twenty-four hours prior to being served," then confides that burgoo chefs used to listen for the splatter of the "mysterious ingredient"—the ingredient that fused all flavors—being added "sometime in the dark of night." Legend has it that that ingredient was a black snake that fell out of a tree into the first batch of burgoo. Historians doubt that but most do agree that burgoo was created during the Civil War by Gus Jaubert, a French chef serving Confederate general John Hunt Morgan. At war's end, Jaubert settled in Lexington, Kentucky, began making burgoo on a massive scale, and soon gained fame as "the burgoo king." On his death, according to Ronni Lundi, author of Shuck Beans, Stack Cakes, and Honest Fried Chicken (1991), Lexington cook J. T. Looney "inherited both Jaubert's pot and his title." While traveling about the Bluegrass State some years ago to research my Grass Roots Cookbook, I ate burgoo every chance I got. I also learned more about this Kentucky classic. Jaubert's original recipe apparently contained blackbirds. Unable to say "blackbird stew" not only because French was his first language but also because he had a hairlip, Jaubert pronounced it "burgoo." Or so I was told. Elsewhere I learned that those early burgoos contained mostly squirrels plus whatever vegetables came to hand. I daresay that there are hundreds of different recipes for Kentucky burgoo today. This downsized version of the burgoo served for years at the Pete Light Springs Restaurant in Cadiz, Kentucky, was given to me by Lois Watkins, whom I profiled in my book. "This burgoo is the best in the world," she said as she handed me the scribbled recipe. I won't quarrel with that.

For many years Tandy Ellis, the Kentucky wit and raconteur, ran a daily column in the Louisville Courier-Journal. It was considered quite an honor to be invited to his sanctum (Rambeau Flats) at his home in Ghent, Kentucky. Once, when I published a recipe for burgoo which called for cabbage, he took exception and sent me his own version of this distinctive Kentucky dish. He wrote: "I have been asked many times for my recipe for burgoo, especially for home use. I learned to make burgoo from Gus Jaubert of Lexington, and from several of the other old-time makers of Kentucky burgoo. I trailed with Gus Jaubert on one occasion when he went to Ohio and served 10,000 people. He had one kettle that held 600 gallons. I have made burgoo for several meetings. My recipe to serve at the home for about 8 people* follows":

This fairly classic recipe for Key lime pie comes from Pepe's Cafe in Key West, Florida, and is a favorite of lime pie aficionado and author David L. Sloan. The addition of whipped egg whites, says Sloan, makes for a filling that's fluffier than those in more traditional versions. For more on Sloan and the story behind Key lime pie, see Molly O'Neill's feature, "The Curious Case of Key Lime Pie."

Seafood boils are a mainstay of Southern cooking, the type of shellfish varying by region. Shrimp boils are most commonly associated with Low Country (South Carolina) cooking, while crawfish is a specialty of Louisiana. In most of these one-pot dishes, new potatoes and corncobs (and sometimes onion wedges and sausages) are first cooked in the pot, often on the grill, and the shellfish added at the end. Then everything is piled onto a platter and served with lemon wedges, melted butter, and hot sauce on the side. Despite the name of the preparation, shrimp shouldn’t actually be boiled (or even poached), since they will toughen if overcooked. And the point at which they turn from perfectly cooked to overcooked is very hard to detect when in boiling water. Here, the cooking water is spiked with a few simple aromatics, but you could use Old Bay Seasoning (follow the suggestions on the package for the amount) for classic peel-and-eat shrimp. Or replace the water with Court Bouillon (page 231). Serve chilled shrimp with cocktail sauce (recipe below) or as an ingredient in salads.

Next time you want to welcome guests Southern-style, cook up a batch (or two) of crisp fried chicken. It’s hard to imagine anything else that exudes both down-home appeal and true culinary wizardry. The recipe here is for one chicken, but you can easily double the ingredients to fry two. Whenever you are preparing a mixture for dredging, start off by whisking together only half the amounts called for; then, if you find you need more, whisk together the rest. Many recipes call for more dredging ingredients than you’ll need, and the excess must be discarded because it came into contact with raw meat. Or, you can whisk everything together, transfer some to the bowl for dredging, and then freeze any unused (and untainted) portion in a resealable plastic bag. When pan-frying most foods, you do not want to crowd the pan. But fried chicken is an exception. Placing more pieces in the pan helps to stabilize the temperature of the oil during frying so that it does not spike as much or as quickly. The chicken can be soaked in ice water overnight in a covered dish in the refrigerator to remove any blood or impurities; be sure to change the water a few times. If you prefer a thicker crust, double dredge: coat the chicken in the flour mixture and let sit for 15 minutes, then dredge in the flour again, tapping off excess.