Fresh Saturday: Purple Hull Peas For The Freezer

I love peas. Almost any kind.  When I was at the Denton Farmer's Market a couple of weeks back, one of the vendors I buy from was taking orders for Purple Hull Peas.  He has a family farm and grows a pretty large variety of things.  I ordered a half bushel of peas and they came in on the 4th!  It was amazing that farmers were in the market on the Fouth of July, but hey, that's their bread and butter and they were mobbed.  I also bought Blueberries which you will see in a subsequent post.

Southern Roots: Buttermilk Biscuits

The Final Product

Growing up in the Deep South in Northern Florida, I had a lot of biscuits.  Family members from Southern Georgia often baked the most delicious things I have ever tasted.  Some of the biscuits were called "Cat Heads" because of their size... these could surely be called catheads - they are huge and fluffy with a nice bottom snap to the crust.  

Buttery and delicious, not for the faint of heart nor an every day thing, so indulge and get back on that treadmill later! This recipe adapted from Saveur Magazine's article featuring the Island Creek Oyster Bar in Boston. 

Home Made: Jalapeno Cheddar Parmesan Cornbread

Yes, I am a Southerner. Yes, I like grits, cornbread and a multitude of things that aren't really good for me.  But, what the heck, once in awhile you just have to go for it - you won't eat this every day, right?  I adapted this recipe from DamnDelicious, an amazing blog with a ton of useful links! I tweaked their recipe and here is my version - more jalapenos!

Instead of a muffin pan, I used a scone pan which reminds me of cornbread made in a cast iron skillet (which I will do next time for sure).  I also used a 6 muffin silicone muffin pan which really works well.  This recipe made 8 of the "scones" and 6 muffin sized pieces.



Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (I use unbleached)
• 1 cup cornmeal (I used a coarse stone ground corn meal from Virginia)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
• 1 cup lowfat cultured buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 large eggs (bring to room temperature)
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced, plus one thin slice for each "muffin"
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for topping (PLEASE do not use that stuff in a green can)
• 1/2 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar, plus more for topping

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Dry ingredients

 Spray the muffin pan (or scone pan) with non-stick cooking spray.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and pepper, to taste.

In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together the butter, buttermilk, honey and eggs.

  

How much do you love jalapenos?

 Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist.  Add the jalapeno, Parmesan and cheddar and gently toss to combine.

Again, my 50+ year old ice cream scoop come in handy!

 

Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin pan(s).

Top with sliced jalapeno, using your fingertips to gently press the jalapeno into the batter. Sprinkle with Parmesan and cheddar.

Before the cheese toppings

Cheddar and Parmesan topped

 Place into oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Indescribably delicious.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack (if you can resist).  No butter needed, these are moist and delicious.

Dinner: Shrimp & Grits, Texas Style

Tonight I wanted something SPICY, but was also in the "Sunday" frame of mind... comfort food.

Being an addict for shrimp... I thought: Shrimp & Grits! A nod to my Southern heritage.  Living in Texas years ago I have a pretty good palate for hot and spicy.

So here's the scoop:  I took quick cooking grits (1 cup) and used chicken broth and the liquid from a can of Rotel tomatoes (3 cups total) too cook them in.  Once I had the liquid measured, I added back the drained Rotel tomatoes.  Delicious enough, right? Creamy. Spicy.  Not good enough yet.  Add 2 pats of butter and 1/2 cup of aged White Vermont Cheddar and a half teaspoon of roasted garlic grey salt (I get mine from NapaStyle.com).

Then, the shrimp.  I used a pound of large, peeled and deveined Gulf shrinp that have been marinated for a couple of hours in 1 T. of Vietnamese Garlic-Chili Paste - more or less to your taste, but the grits are going to be spicy too so.. tread lightly.  Quick saute of 4 green onions, thinly sliced using only the whites and about 2" of the green ends, one Jalapeno, seeded and FINELY chopped in olive oil (about 3 T.) and butter (3 pats).  Add the shrimp and saute FAST until pink on one side.  Now here's the tricky part: flip em over, remove them from the heat, scoop them all in the center of the pan and cover.  Let it sit for about 3 minutes and they will be PERFECT. Overcooked shrimp are not to be eaten.  Ever.

Shrimp and a little of the pan juices, served over the piping hot grits in a nice earthenware bowl?  H-E-A-V-E-N!

An ice cold beer is the perfect compliment.

Go for it and let me know how it turns out.