Red Beets with Pine Syrup, Cured Lardo, Tobacco and Sorghum (July 2015)
Soufflé Potatoes, Arnaud’s Restaurant, New Orleans (March 2015)
The Making of Amazing (September 2014)
Spring Strawberry Salad with Orange Sabayon Dressing (May 2014)
Kurt Wickiser's South Carolina Style Brunswick Stew
Many chef recipes call for long lists of exotic foods but Kurt Wickiser of the Creekside Bar-Be-Que in Anderson SC makes his famous Brunswick Stew with only four ingredients.
It's a comfort food that anyone can throw together at home, yet so filled with complex aromas guests won't guess how easy it is. Kurt learned the technique in his grand-daddy's kitchen in the Carolina mountains and never had reason to change. People flock to his restaurant for real barbecue, stone-ground grits, heaps of creamy slaw and bowls of his smooth, spoon-able Brunswick Stew.
Wickiser's recipe starts with 350 pounds of beef chuck, a barrel of ham hocks and two cases of vegetables, and the meats are put through a grinder after hours of cooking, but here's a counterfeit version so simple you can cook it at home or over the campfire. To get the real McCoy, of course, you'll have to travel to South Carolina. Kurt claims he uses only salt and pepper for seasoning, so that's up to you. Keep in mind that ham hocks vary brand to brand and they add salt, sweetness and smoke.
2 pounds lean ground beef chuck
2 or 3 meaty ham hocks
2 cans, 15 ounces each, cream-style corn
2 cans, 15 ounces each, diced tomatoes
Salt, pepper to taste
Fry out the ground beef until it's browned and broken apart, then add ham hocks and a little water. Cover and cook over low heat until ham hocks are tender enough to shred. Remove ham hocks, cool, and shred the meat after discarding bone, fat and gristle. Stir in vegetables and simmer over low heat until flavors are well blended. Ladle into soup bowls. Serves 10.
ALL ABOUT MANGO!
Mango is the signature tropical fruit of South Florida. The only mainland area of the United States where this fragrant fruit can be grown, Florida shows off a great number of mango varieties including the following most known:
Angie, Batchelor, Bailey's Marvel, Cushman, Brooks, Gogshall, Carrie, Duncan, Early Gold, Edward, Florigon, Ford, Jean Ellen, Joellen, Irwin, Haden, Torbert, Tommy Atkins, Van Dyke, Z80, Zill, Parvin, Osteen, Smith, Sensation, Springfels, Sunset, Jubilee, Keitt, Kent, Lily, Lippens, Rosigold, Ruby, Saigon and Pillsbury.
Mangos come in a wide variety of color, shape, flavor, texture, aroma and uses. Many of the mango varieties are best just as they come off the tree, fresh and tasty – the perfect summer snack. Others are at their best when combined with other ingredients and served as salads or a side with a main dish.
Because mangos come in a rainbow of reds, yellows, oranges, and greens, color is not the best way to determine ripeness. Selecting the proper ripeness of the fruit is best done with your hands or with your nose. As to ripening, providing a warm room temperature for the perfect conversion of starch to sugar.
Tips for serving from the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden:
A delightful way to serve a mango is to have an exquisite Indian mango as a 'Dusehri' served whole, with the skin peeled back. It can be placed in an elegant cup or just simply held in the hand like a lollipop; kids will love it.
Recipes courtesy of the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden website
Mango Salsa
Ingredients:
Combine all ingredients and serve with corn chips
Mango Smoothie
Mix all ingredients in the blender. Chill the smoothie if you wish, then serve in tall glasses.
Mango Chutney
Ingredients:
Mango: hard, ripe, peeled, seeded and sliced. Place all ingredients in heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for about 12 hours. Again bring to a boil, lower heat, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
How to freeze mangos – Tips from the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
One of the advantages of preserving fruits is to have them available for consumption over a longer period of time. By freezing mangos, one is able to utilize all of the fruit in a single season.
Procedure:
Freezing mangos is accomplished by storing fruit at temperatures bellow 32F. This limits the enzymatic breakdown of the fruit. Mangos can be frozen without any special treatment except washing, while some fruits need to be peeled or seeded. Frozen mango pulp looks and tastes very similar to fresh fruit. The pulp can be used in smoothies, jellies, chutney, bread, ice cream and more. After a year it may change the color, but the flavor still good, and perfect to make mango chutney.
Courtesy of The Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (Miami).