Fry

Cornbread was for many years the basic bread of the rural South, the very poor South. I mentioned earlier that cornbread and barbecue are close to being religion in the South. But, for years, cornbread was the primitive Baptist to the Episcopalian biscuit, the all-night tent revival to the ladies’ prayer luncheon. Cornmeal griddle cakes are the most basic of Southern breads. Biscuits require expensive dairy products, while cornmeal griddle cakes, also known as hoe cakes, can be made with little more than meal, a bit of oil, and water. The batter should be quite soupy, but not watery. When the batter hits the hot oil the edges sizzle and become very crisp. For best results, be sure to cook the cakes until the edges are a deep, rich, golden brown. Meme always served them as a very quick bread on the side. They are especially delicious when used to sop up juices and gravy.

Every week or so, it seems that the movie Fried Green Tomatoes airs on one of the myriad cable television stations. I watch it every time. It’s a sweet story, and unlike most “Southern movies,” the accents are not too bad. One of my favorite scenes is when the Kathy Bates character, Evelyn Couch, takes a plate of fried green tomatoes to Ninny Threadgoode, played by the incomparable Jessica Tandy, for her birthday. I like the way she thinks! Don’t make the mistake of coating too many tomatoes at a time. The coating won’t stick and the tomatoes will become soggy. Set up a workstation with the eggs and dry ingredients leading to the skillet of oil. Your tomatoes will taste better and it will help with cleanup.

Soft-shell crab season starts the night of the first full moon in May and lasts through September. A soft-shell crab is a blue crab fortuitously interrupted (for us, not the crab) in the middle of a growth spurt. A blue crab emerges from the muddy waters to shed its outer covering (exoskeleton). A soft-shell crab is a blue crab before its new shell hardens. Fishermen use baskets to catch crabs known as “peelers,” crabs that are beginning to split at the ends and are about to molt. They bring them onshore and hold them in water tanks until they complete the molting process. Once the peelers are in the tanks, they are watched closely to catch them within one hour of shedding. Softshell crabs that are newly shed and not pulled from the tanks are in danger, since they are immobile and basically dinner to other crabs in the water tank. Another reason to harvest them soon after shedding: if the new shell gets too hard, the fishermen have lost their harvest.

When vacationing as a child on the Gulf of Mexico or along the Atlantic, we would often spend an afternoon crabbing along a shallow pier or rocky jetty, using crawfish nets whose white-cotton webbing was long-ago colored a muddy red-brown. We would tie a bony chicken neck in the center of the net, toss it out into the shallow waters, and wait. Being a child and waiting patiently to pull in the nets do not go hand in hand. Until one of our parents intervened, we would pull in the nets to check them so often that the crabs didn’t have a chance to find them, much less saddle in for a good gnaw on the chicken. When we did catch them, it was important to release the females to help maintain the crab population. I always had a hard time telling them apart until one crusty Maryland crabber explained to me years later, “The male looks like the Washington Monument and the female looks like the Capitol.” Indeed, the underbelly flap of the male is decidedly pointed and long and the female’s is round with a nubbin of a tip. I like crab cakes, not crab-and-bread cakes—there needs to be just enough binder to hold the crab together. Use jumbo lump or lump crabmeat, be sure to keep the crab very cold since it spoils easily, and carefully pick through the meat to remove any bits of shell.

Capers are the preserved unopened flower buds of a prickly shrub native to the Mediterranean. The shrubs thrive on rocky cliffs of arid regions, including southern France and Sicily, where they are farmed as a cash crop. Salted capers are hand-harvested then cured and aged in sea salt. This process preserves the intense floral tones, herbal flavor, and firm texture of the buds. Brined capers are soaked in saltwater, then packed in brine or a mixture of brine and vinegar, which dulls the flavor. The salted capers tend to be a little more expensive, but are hand-harvested and worth every penny. While working for Epicurious television, I was able to travel to Italy to do a story on salted capers. Standing on the rocky hillside of an island, looking out over the sun-drenched Mediterranean, watching the peasant women harvesting the capers by hand while chattering in their local dialect, was pure poetry. When I returned to the States, I was reviewing the rough cut, which is a very basic edit of footage, a visual rough draft. A colleague who spoke Italian interrupted, “Wait a minute, play that back.” Turned out the pleasant chatter was not as idyllic as the scenery. One of the women was talking about her son-in-law, whom she called a worthless bastard and car thief. We decided to replace their conversation with a little music.

Cornmeal-coated fried fish is a product of modest country living: fish were free and cornmeal was cheap. You will not feel poor at all if you try these crusty fillets with Grits with Corn and Vidalia Onion (page 156) for a satisfying supper. This fried grouper also makes an excellent fish sandwich accompanied by homemade mayonnaise (page 282), lettuce, and tomato. Or you can dress it up by serving the fish on a bed of vegetable slaw (page 38). Fried fish with grits is another Southern classic that is good for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If grouper is unavailable (which is likely, since it is overfished), or you would like to use a more sustainable fish, try mahi-mahi, wild striped bass, or wreckfish.

Fried chicken is as deeply rooted in Southern culture as kudzu. It would be my hands-down choice for my last supper. Meme knew how much I loved it and spoiled me. When I lived far away and flew home to visit, it didn’t matter what time of the day or night I arrived—2:00 P.M. or 2:00 A.M.—she would be at the stove frying chicken to welcome me home.

A simple meal of fried fatback, braised cabbage, and a wedge of cornmeal was one of Meme’s stand-by suppers and is seriously old-fashioned country food. Fatback is the layer of fat that extends the length of a hog’s back. It is available fresh, meaning unsalted, uncured, and unsmoked. Fatback with the rind is used for making cracklings, which are fried pork skins with a bit of tooth to them, commonly eaten as a snack (yes, still), or baked into cornbread.

One of the keys to frying meat is having the oil at the right temperature (about 375°F) so it “sings” when you add the meat. At a lower temperature, meat will cook slowly and stew rather than fry, absorbing the oil and becoming greasy and heavy. Meat, fish, and vegetables begin to brown at around 230°F. The transformation that develops the characteristic brown color of foods cooked on the grill, in the oven, or in oil is called the “Maillard reaction.”

When we lived in small-town South Georgia, we used to travel to Atlanta to visit Aunt Lee, a stylish lady in the glamorous big city. Before we left Atlanta for home, we would stop by the Dekalb Farmer’s Market, which opened in the late 1970s as a small produce stand and has now grown into a 140,000-square-foot market, serving up to 100,000 people every week. There, Mama would buy the ingredients for this hearty salad to make after we got home.

Meme loved asparagus, which she called “asparagus salad,” although there wasn`t anything to preparing it other than opening the familiar shiny silver can. Even though I know the flavor of canned asparagus (really, there isn’t any) cannot compare to freshly cooked, I enjoy that taste memory. The ends of fresh asparagus can be tough and woody. I prefer to slice off the last inch or two of the stem instead of snapping it off where the spear breaks naturally. Not only is it more visually appealing when all the spears are exactly the same size, but they will also cook at the same rate. As these are best fried at the last minute, I suggest you serve them as a first course at a small dinner, not as an hors d’oeuvre at a large party.

I promise these enchiladas are unlike any you have ever had before. Although the tortillas are fried, the enchiladas are light and vibrantly flavorful because they are not smothered in cream and cheese. Instead the fresh cheese is crumbled on top and the tangy Mexican crema is served on the side.

Quesadilla literally translates to “little cheese thing.” In Mexico, these little cheese turnovers are eaten as snacks throughout the day and can be left plain or stuffed with a filling. The filling is a combination of regional and personal preference. In all cases, these portable turnovers are quick and easy to make with ingredients you are most likely to have on hand—making them the perfect snack!

This recipe seems complicated, but it’s truly not hard to do, there are just a few steps. The good news is all the work (and mess) can be done well ahead of time. I know lump crabmeat is expensive, but don’t be tempted to use anything else. It’s still cheaper than going out to eat and your date wouldn’t be impressed by mushy crab cakes. If you are lucky enough to have a seafood store near you that carries fresh lump crab, by all means, get it fresh. Otherwise, the canned lump crab is a fine substitute.

I know this chapter is “Just Like Mom Makes,” but this is actually one of my dad’s specialties. With his culinary repertoire being limited to meatloaf, pot roast, salmon cakes, and any breakfast food, we were guaranteed to have these whenever Mom was out of town. Good thing we liked them. These are very similar to crab cakes, but since salmon is about one sixth of the cost of crabmeat we have them a lot more often.

These are one of my favorite things to order in a restaurant, so when we figured out how to make them at home, I was super excited. They are actually pretty easy to make, which is even better. For an even lower-budget option, leave out the ground beef, use the whole can of refried beans, and add an extra cup of cheese.

When I suggested potato pancakes for this chapter, my mom questioned whether college students would own blenders. I foolishly said, “Even the guys next door who have one fry pan and eat with plastic silverware have a blender.” I quickly added, “You know, to make smoothies.” I don’t think she bought the smoothie thing, but the recipe stayed. These crispy potato pancakes are a yummy dinner plain or with applesauce or sour cream.

When I was an exchange student, my German host mom made “hooner schnitzel” every day for my host dad’s lunch, but my favorite part was always the brat kartoff (fried potatoes), and the crispier, the better. This is truly a German dish that is served in almost every restaurant. You can also make Wiener schnitzel (veal) and schnitzel vom schwe (pork) the same way.

Full of flavor and textural contrast, Filipino turon embody the Asian knack for taking the commonplace banana and turning it into a spectacular fried treat. A popular street food, these fried rolls benefit from the delicate crispness of Shanghai spring roll skins. The bananas become creamy inside during frying and rather custardlike. You can eat these rolls alone or gild the lily with a scoop of rich vanilla ice cream or drizzle of caramel dulce de leche. Thin strips of jackfruit can be rolled up with the banana, too. The shallow frying can get a little dramatic at the end, but it is well worth the clean-up.

A perfect taro puff (pictured) is ethereal; its gossamer shell crisp and not greasy. The underside of the dough is rich and creamy, enveloping a well-seasoned filling. I eagerly look for wu gok, as taro puffs are called in Cantonese, at dim sum restaurants. Unfortunately, most versions are lackluster and leaden by the time I pick them off the cart. Homemade ones are significantly better because they are consistently tasty and hold their crispness for hours. The dough and filling can be prepared in advance and refrigerated for a couple of days. Dumpling assembly is easy, and the deep-frying is fast. Brown and barrel-shaped with distinctive rings, taro is sold at Asian and Latin markets, often near other tubers like sweet potato. For this recipe, the large variety is used because its flesh is much drier than that of the small taro. Select a firm, full one with no signs of shriveling or molding. When cut open, taro should smell fresh; its flesh should be bright and feel firm like coconut. Store taro in a cool, dry spot and use it within a few days of purchase. Peeled and trimmed taro sold in Cryovac packaging works great. Feel free to substitute chicken thigh for the pork. Finely chopped bamboo shoots, water chestnut, or rehydrated shiitake mushrooms can replace the shrimp. Weighing the wheat starch and cooked taro and frying at moderately high heat ensures that the puff will hold together.